Author: Ben Jones

healing encounters

Hello, dear friend!  How is life going for you?  Yes, I want to know all about your job, your loved ones, your thoughts on the state of the world and our country.  But really, how are YOU?  Perhaps I am really wanting to know what it is like to be you.  What causes you to feel joy?  What causes you to feel fear?  When do you get excited?  When are you bored and just going through the motions?  I want to know these things for a couple of reasons: 1)… Continue reading healing encounters

two farmers

"Two Farmers" by Carroll Cloar, 1953

I have had a vision in my mind for most of my life of two farmers leaning on a fence.  They are having a conversation as the sun goes down after a day of work in the fields.  This image comes from observing my great-grandparents as a child and catching a glimpse of the unhurried lives they lived in the rural American South.  What in the world was there to talk about when life was so simple?  Didn’t one farmer know exactly what the other had done that day? I… Continue reading two farmers

god’s speed

I am sitting on my front porch on a particularly amazing spring day in North Carolina. Birds are singing their varied songs and there is a light breeze blowing. I am also writing these words through tears, having just watched the short film Godspeed: The Pace of Being Known (https://vimeo.com/200206468) for the fourth time. The film tells the story of Matt Canlis, an American priest who studied in St. Andrews, Scotland. After seminary he went to work in the backwater villages of Scotland, and on day one at his first… Continue reading god’s speed

who’ll stop the rain?

Have you ever been scared to death?  Literally afraid of losing your life?  Have you ever not known what to do in the face of something scary?  One situation scared me to death.  My friend Eric and I had a long history of playing pranks on one another, even going out of our way to get even for the previous prank.  Once when I was in my late-twenties and living in a second-floor apartment,  I had been out of town for the weekend and returned late in the evening.  As… Continue reading who’ll stop the rain?

don’t kick the dog

Have you ever heard the story about the man who went to work, got yelled at by his boss and accused of something he didn’t do, made a mistake that lost him an important account, took a phone call from his wife who told him the dishwasher was broken and would cost a thousand dollars to replace, and spent an hour in traffic that was backed up for no apparent reason?  Do you know what this man did once he got home? He kicked the dog. That’s right, poor Bowser… Continue reading don’t kick the dog

Who is Lord of your moods?

People are always attempting to alter their moods. Pass by the Beer Garden on a sunny afternoon, you will see lots of people in the process of altering their moods through alcohol consumption.  Pass by your neighbors’ house and glance at what is on the TV.  Perhaps you will see a funny movie that will alter their serious mood through laughter.  Look in the coffee shop where throngs of people are altering their sleepy mood with caffeine.  It seems like we are all trying to get out of one mood… Continue reading Who is Lord of your moods?

Addiction and Grace

In many marriages, addictive behaviors are present.  This was the case in mine, and I was the addict.  Situations and types of addictions vary, but the pain of betrayal is always there to some degree in every scenario. It is devastating to think that a substance or addictive experience is more important to the addict than his or her spouse.  To many spouses, it would appear to be true that he either loves me or he loves the addiction.  Often the addict truly would like to stop inflicting pain on… Continue reading Addiction and Grace