Good Morning Friends & Neighbors ! Hello Again and Happy Monday! Taking a little time away from the parish to visit one of my life long friends and his wife in an even more remote location than were I normally hang my hat. A few miles out side of Fayette, MO. Quiet - I mean - SUPER quiet during the day and at this early hour there is the fly buzzing around the room and a little light Jazz, Coltrane, paying softly on the iPhone. A small mini-vacation of sorts for me.
Randy and I went for a country drive for a few hours yesterday - hardly a car on the road, lush countryside everywhere, a little flooding here and there and a few small towns in-between our stops. We passed through Fayette, New Franklin, Booneville on out tour of the area. It was one of those slow rides, barely doing the minimum so as to soak in the sights. Belle is visiting family and will return this mooring with Tator the Pomeranian. Rommel the 95 pound attention needy shepherd and his older girlfriend Gypsy who weights in around 70 pounds are our other house mates along with countless flies and a few lizards running there are there. It is a an old house - built in the 1870's I think that is being rehabbed and restored by Randy & Bell who have a love for antiques and most things old & historic. But thy do have fairly decent internet so Randy can work remotely from here. That is a plus. 😊
I can't say if this place creates quiet humility - but it opens to door for its discovery if one wants to find it. There will be visiting, reading and some country walks by myself or with the pack depending on how the days flow between now and Wednesday when I return home.
No schedule for me is the real vacation, I don't desire busy vacations, I don't desire to take in every sight, I just like to slow down, to be away from demands and interruptions which I appreciate but at times find draining. I love my vocation and ministry, I couldn't ask for a better parish family, but breaks from the norm do the mind, body and souls well. Happy Monday Friends!
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 ...
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.
