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Praying about the flow of time: Praising God for the sun, light, and seasons

Lynne Baab • Thursday June 19 2025

Today, I want to praise God for the way the Earth is tipped. If you draw a line from the North to the South Pole and extend that line beyond the Earth, the line is not perpendicular to the path of the Earth around the sun. This website has a motion graphic that illustrates what I’m saying. Scroll down to below the video.

Because of the tipping of the Earth, we have seasons. On Friday this week, at 7:42 p.m. here on the West Coast of the United States, the Northern Hemisphere will be at its closest to the sun. The days are...

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Praying about the flow of time: Praising the Three in One

Lynne Baab • Tuesday June 10 2025

In the 1990s, I had quite a bit of contact with Unitarian Universalists. My first exposure to UU folks came through the interviews for my 1997 and 1998 books, which were published by The Alban Institute. That publisher marketed to leaders of Christian and Unitarian congregations, so I needed to get opinions and quotations from members of UU churches in addition to my interviews with Christians from various denominations. Those books are Personality Type in Congregations and Embracing Midlife: Congregations as Support Systems.

I also met UU church members through my involvement with the Association for Psychological Type. When I found myself...

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Praying about the flow of time: Prayers to the Holy Spirit for Pentecost

Lynne Baab • Tuesday June 3 2025

I need comfort this week. When describing the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room, Jesus uses a Greek word that doesn’t have an easy English translation but which can mean “comforter.” In anticipation of Pentecost this Sunday, I want to consider this Greek word, parakletos. It literally means “one who comes alongside,” as in a law court. John 14:16 is the first use of that word in the Bible, and here are Jesus’s words:

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.” In this translation, the NRSVue, a little footnote after Advocate...

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Praying about the flow of time: World Environment Day

Lynne Baab • Tuesday May 27 2025

Researchers asked 16 students to look at two different gardens in Kyoto, Japan. One of them, Murin-an, is meticulously designed and maintained, and the second garden has similar elements but is more casual and less well cared for. The researchers recorded the students’ eye movements and heart rates and asked them about their moods. Here are the results:

“We found that the Murin-an garden was more effective in decreasing pulse rate and improving mood. Also, in the Murin-an garden the participants’ gaze ranged more broadly across the visual field and moved more rapidly. Contrary to our expectations, in neither garden did pulse...

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