Chad C. Ashby

The Wicked Lack Courage

Famous books often have famous opening sentences. Pride and Prejudice‘s iconic, ironic first line comes to mind. Even those who haven’t cracked the cover of Melville’s Moby-Dick know its three word intro: “Call me Ishmael.” Well-crafted first sentences manage to set the tone, pique the reader’s interest, and introduce major themes. They serve as aContinue reading “The Wicked Lack Courage”

BREAD (a poem)

Elements ancient fill the bowl Water, soil, wind, and fire Mix, clod, knead, and fold Left to rest till rising higher Water, grain, salt, and leaven Punched, deflated, fashioned mire Buried, burned in scorching oven Emerging, cracking, browned and blistered Broken, shared, crumb of heaven (photo credit)

Canterbury Tales: Stories for the Pilgrim Way

Medieval folks always did love a good pilgrimage. Grueling journeys had a way of proving the mettle of heroes, and far-flung reliquaries held forth a treasury of grace to any long-suffering commoner willing to tread the pilgrim way. The road to Jerusalem provided Richard I the way to earning his moniker Cœur de Lion–the Lionheart.Continue reading “Canterbury Tales: Stories for the Pilgrim Way”

Cecily Had a Clown Abortion

Colin Jost: “It seems like you really do want to talk about your abortion.” Cecily Strong: “Well, actually I really don’t, but people keep bringing it up, so I gotta keep talkin’ about freakin’ abortion!” This weekend, SNL’s Weekend Update segment featured guest clown Goober (Cecily Strong) and an uncomfortable mix of gags and thinly-veiledContinue reading “Cecily Had a Clown Abortion”

Angry? Try Singing Together.

“Then I heard voices speak, entreating there The Lamb of God who takes our sins away For peace and mercy; this was all their prayer, For Agnus Dei did they still begin, So that one speech, one measure kept they all, And perfect concord seemed to fold them in. “Master,” said I, “these voices IContinue reading “Angry? Try Singing Together.”

Farewell to the Farm: A Personal Note

“My farm was a little too high up for growing coffee.” Karen Blixen (1885-1962) begins the chapter “Hard Times” with a statement of surrender. This unyielding truth had brought a life both foreign and familiar, beautiful and dangerous, wearisome yet rewarding to a punctilious end. Blixen’s memoir Out of Africa (1937) does not wrap upContinue reading “Farewell to the Farm: A Personal Note”

The Tabernacle Is a Parable

“In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” –Hebrews 8:13 As Americans living in a consumer-driven society, we understand the author of Hebrews intuitively. Our culture thrives on making the old obsolete by speaking of the new. ItContinue reading “The Tabernacle Is a Parable”