The Cottage (private feed for dmckenzie42@gmail.com)

Hairpin Turns

Today’s post is a video reflection of the final leg of my European pilgrimage. There were many unexpected turns on this trip — from contracting Covid to getting caught in a train strike — and the last days of the journey were no exception. Seems as if the spirit had a thing or two to teach me about switchbacks and U-turns. Listen in as I share how the labyrinth (you can read about my experience walking the Chartres labyrinth HERE) and a road in Norway were similar and yet very, very different. And still the way leads home. It is good to be back. A BEAUTIFUL YEAR is COMING! Look what greeted me in my mail when I arrived home: a readers’ advance copy of A Beautiful Year — and it is a truly beautiful book. I’m excited about how much creative effort and real passion the publishing team is putting into this project. We’ve still got work to do with final edits and revisions as well as some more artwork details to be added. You can preorder HERE. There are several choices for sellers who will deliver to you on the day of publication in the fall. INSPIRATIONYou idiot, is what you sayto the driver five cars ahead of youon the two-lane road that windsthrough the river canyon.There is no passing lane,and you feel the crushof the minutes as they rub against each otherwhile the white SUV five cars aheaddoes not pull overin the wide spot on the roadwhere all conscientious slow drivers knowto pull over to let the other drivers pass.Idiot, you grumble, and missany beauty outside the window—red rock cliffs and diamonding streams—focused as you are on the speedometer,the brake. Once it was you,a girl of fifteen, who drove so cautiouslythe windy roads to churchon a Sunday morning, that first daywith your driver’s permit.And who was it in the long linebehind you who called the policeto report a drunk driver?When the police pulled you over,not one but two squad carswith blaring red and blue lights,you didn’t cry when the officers laughed—there was warmth in their reliefto find that you were not drunk, but young.No, you cried after they walked away,cried all the way to mass.Bless them, the irate ones,the ones who fume in the back,the ones who think furious thoughts.That’s right. Bless yourself,you, the livid one who even nowis hurling names at the other travelerson the same paved path.Settle in. Sixteen miles under the speed limitwill give you time to think abouthow we’re all travelingthe same winding roadno matter which route we take—all of us pilgrims journeying towarda generous, elusive grace.— Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, “Traveling the Same Road”Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer will be joining us this coming January at the Southern Lights Conference on Saint Simons Island, GA. Click here for information and registration: Southern Lights Conference.Cottage readers can receive at 15% discount on in-person and/or virtual registrations now until July 7. Use the discount code: Cot26Sub when you register. HAPPY JUNETEENTH, EVERYONE! ⛓️‍💥🎉 Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

A Cottage Conversation with Sen. Chris Coons

Chris Coons (D-Del.) came off the Senate floor on a busy Friday night to chat with me at The Cottage for a few minutes about faith in these tough days — in between votes and before another media responsibility (which he discusses briefly with his assistant - a quick, and very human, glimpse at the many demands on folks in political leadership!). We started with Sen. Booker’s filibuster and how Sen. Coons asked theological questions and we wound up on the subject of what we — progressive people of faith — can do right now both to continue challenging and to support political leaders who genuinely care about Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves. We had a few technical problems with video, but went ahead anyway. Just ignore the awkward camera….you’ll appreciate his passion, insights, and genuine kindness. But all the clocks in the cityBegan to whirr and chime:‘O let not Time deceive you, You cannot conquer Time.‘In the burrows of the Nightmare Where Justice naked is,Time watches from the shadow And coughs when you would kiss.‘In headaches and in worry Vaguely life leaks away,And Time will have his fancy To-morrow or to-day.‘Into many a green valley Drifts the appalling snow;Time breaks the threaded dances And the diver’s brilliant bow.‘O plunge your hands in water, Plunge them in up to the wrist;Stare, stare in the basin And wonder what you’ve missed.‘The glacier knocks in the cupboard, The desert sighs in the bed,And the crack in the tea-cup opens A lane to the land of the dead.‘Where the beggars raffle the banknotes And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer, And Jill goes down on her back.‘O look, look in the mirror, O look in your distress:Life remains a blessing Although you cannot bless.‘O stand, stand at the window As the tears scald and start;You shall love your crooked neighbour With your crooked heart.’ — W.H. Auden, from “As I Walked Out One Evening.” Auden’s poem contrasts the ease of romantic love to the love of one’s neighbor and social injustice.If you are a contributor, a chair of a committee or writing legislation, it is easy for you to think that you and you alone are the person who can solve problem x, y or z. Because I am chairman of the subcommittee that funds all foreign aid…the sense I occasionally have that if I fail, if this doesn’t happen, if literally millions of children starve as a result, it’s all my fault. So given how much I have tried to do and failed to do in the Senate, humility is easy. Forgiving, accepting that I am forgiven and feeling like it's OK to keep trying, that's the hard part, and there’s where faith comes in for me, personally.— Senator Chris Coons (from a 2023 conversation with Jim Wallis) Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

Gratitude during Apocalypse

A Saturday surprise from the Cottage! An audio reflection on gratitude.“Give thanks in all circumstances…” Really, God? Really? Even these circumstances?On Friday, at the end of a week-long retreat in Southern California, I offered the meditation in the final worship service. The event was hosted by Companions on the Inner Way. It was a thoughtful, gracious, and renewing time. We tended to our inner lives while giving attention to the challenges and calling of our difficult political and social context. The retreat focused on a single question: What are we going to do?Here’s my (mostly) extemporaneous gratitude reflection on from 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18:We urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.I wanted to share it with the Cottage community — I think many of you will benefit from it. You can listen to the reflection above.In my remarks, I share this quote from Br. David Steindl-Rast. Long time Cottage readers will recognize it as one of my favorite gratitude quotes.If you're grateful, you're not fearful, and if you're not fearful, you're not violent. If you're grateful, you act out of a sense of enough and not of a sense of scarcity, and you are willing to share. If you are grateful, you are enjoying the differences between people. You are respectful to everybody.And that changes this power pyramid under which we live.― David Steindl-RastThank you for being part of The Cottage. This newsletter and online community is supported by readers and participants through paid subscriptions. There are no organizations or institutions behind it, no corporate sponsors, no billionaire funders. There are no ads, no trolls, and no list-selling. About 85% of the content is free and open to all. I appreciate your financial support if you are able to do so. And I appreciate your prayers and encouragement, too!Remember to share The Cottage with your friends! Isn’t that the case for our lives? Thank you at the beginning; thank you at the end. And apocalypse in the middle.— Diana Butler BassThe photographs are mine — taken at the Serra Retreat Center in Malibu, California. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

Love Your Enemies. Are You Kidding Me?

Good evening, Cottage friends!I wanted to share my sermon from this morning with you. It’s on the text from Luke 6:27-38. Sunday Musings covered some of the same material, but the preached sermon was different from the written reflection on the same passage. It opens with a history lesson on the Roman context in which Jesus preached the Beatitudes and the instruction to “love your enemies.” And it gave me a chance to use the pulpit as a real “bully” pulpit with a demonstration of turning the other cheek. This isn’t the doormat story you might think it is. Jesus didn’t encourage his followers to roll over and play dead in the face of oppression. Rightly understand, it is a profoundly relevant biblical passage about trying to survive — faithfully — under a dictator who thrives on revenge and retribution. It is about the kind of love that insists on equality, dignity, compassion, and peace. We need to turn this “doormat” passage into a doorway that opens to a more just and loving world. Listen in. I loved preaching this (I think you’ll be able to tell that I had fun with it) — and I hope it nurtures your courage and wisdom in these stressful days. Love relentlessly, Diana* * * * * This sermon was preached on Sunday, February 23, 2025 at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Fairfax, VA. You need to know that to get the Lutheran joke. And, given where it was preached in the suburbs of Washington, DC, you might rightly imagine the worries present in the gathered congregation. This Morning I Pray for My Enemiesby Joy HarjoAnd whom do I call my enemy?An enemy must be worthy of engagement.I turn in the direction of the sun and keep walking.It’s the heart that asks the question, not my furious mind.The heart is the smaller cousin of the sun.It sees and knows everything.It hears the gnashing even as it hears the blessing.The door to the mind should only open from the heart.An enemy who gets in, risks the danger of becoming a friend. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

Cottage Conversation

Here’s the recording of yesterday’s Cottage conversation. It was about being overwhelmed and finding a path ahead. In the first half, I give an impromptu meditation/reflection on surviving in these days, “Find the Jesus Lane.” The second half is Q&A.Sorry we couldn’t get in every question! If you didn’t make it through the queue, leave your question or comment here. I’ll try to reply. Also, share recommendations and resources with one another in the comment thread. Encourage one another! This episode is behind the paywall and cannot be viewed by anyone other than paid subscribers. That is to protect privacy (as much as possible) and ensure that some Cottage content has smaller distribution. If you share with someone, the recipient will be invited to become a paid subscriber (that’s an automatic function of the email platform). They will get that invitation but not be able to view unless they sign up. You might notice the mock-up of my forthcoming book in the background! It releases on November 4, 2025. I know that’s months in the future. I was on a call with the publisher yesterday — and it was great. We’re all very excited about this beautiful book. Preorders help publishers and authors plan for release and build enthusiasm for a book. You can help by ordering even now.MORE INFO AND TO PREORDER: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250409898/abeautifulyear/INSPIRATIONLove everythingLove the sky and sea, trees and rivers, mountains and abysses.Love animals, and not just because you are one.Love your parents and your children, even if you have none.Love your spouse or partner, no matter what either word means to you.Love until you create a cavern in your loving, until it seethes like a volcano.Love everytime.Love your enemies.Love the enemies of your enemies.Love those whose very idea of love is hate.Love the liars and the fakes….Love love.— John Keene, “Beatitude,” PLEASE READ the entire poem HERE. It is both beautiful and incredibly challenging and thought-provoking. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.