Good morning, digital neighbors! Happy Wednesday to all! I hope your week is going along well. We’ve had an abundance of rain the last few days, along with flood alerts, but thankfully no one in the immediate area was harmed. Here are a couple of prayers and reflections for your Wednesday musing. Have a blessed day, my friends!
Let me be quiet now, and kneel,
Who never knelt before,
Here, where the leaves paint patterns light
On a leaf-strewn forest floor;
For I, who saw no God at all
In sea or earth or air,
Baptized by Beauty,
now look up To see God everywhere.
- Ellen Francis Gilbert
The day returns and brings us the petty round of
irritating concerns and duties. Help us to play the
man, help us to perform them with laughter and
kind faces; let cheerfulness abound with industry.
Give us to go blithely on our business all this day;
bring us to our resting bed weary and content and
undishonoured, and grant us in the end the gift of sleep. Amen.
- R. L. Stevenson (1850–1894)
Flower Garden - Jan Canty - Unsplash
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Happy National Best Friends Day Y'all!
I strongly suggest combining celebrations for this with National Name Your Poison Day and National Jelly-Filled Doughnut Day. Think I'll have to wash a custard doughnut down with a cold beer later.
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.
