Juxta (next to). Pose (to place). Juxtapose (to place next to). ‘Juxtaposition‘ describes a situation where two elements that don’t seem to belong together are placed side by side. The contrast heightens emotional impact, creates irony, conveys a clash of realities, and engages the reader, viewer, or listener more dynamically than if each element was…
Month: April 2026
“If only . . .” or “At least . . .”? – the power of regret
It was the women’s individual cycling road race at 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Anna van der Breggen (center) won gold “by the width of a tire.” Emma Johansson (on left) got silver. And Elisa Borghini (on right) came in third for bronze. At the finish line, Anna (gold) raised her arms in…
Darrell and Barbara – an encounter with fellowship
In A ‘problem’ with “Ask Jesus into your heart,” I introduced ‘differentiation’ and ‘integration’ to describe how individuals and organizations work to create their identify. They outline differences to distinguish themselves from others (differentiation) or similarities to show avenues of potential alignment (integration). I shared how Indigenous students in a conservative evangelical college exemplified these…
A ‘problem’ with “Ask Jesus into your heart”
I am 100% Ukrainian on both sides of my parental lineage. Raised in the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church and steeped in Ukrainian culture. It was a strong local church community with a large extended family network through heritage and marriage. From the cradle to the grave.Baptism of babies had symbolic rites including ‘adoption’ by godparents….
Her name was Merrilee
I wish I could find a picture of her. Especially when dressed in her clown costume to do a program with children. She was a woman born deaf but could communicate on levels that surpassed many ‘normal’ hearers. And I believe she was an active agent in saving my life. It was a good day…