Mj Muses

Faith and Politics

Many churches recite the Apostles' Creed and even the Nicene Creed, very ancient statements of Christian faith. My denomination, the Presbyterian Church USA, has a Book of Confessions as part of our constitution. A variety of creeds and confessions, ancient, from the time of the Reformation, and more modern statements, are included. These statements help us see how aspects of our faith were significant in different times. Today, my congregation read aloud a portion of "A Declaration of Faith," adopted in 1985 that has seems very significant today. This is a small piece. "Throughout its history the church has struggled...

September 28th, 2026

School Reform: Answers Exist but They Are Not Simple

Copied from Comments on Roland Fryer's September 23, 2026 article in the Wall Street Journal: "The Education of Nikole Hannah-Jones: School choice is necessary for all children to reach their full potential. But it isn’t sufficient." I retired from teaching in racially and ethnically diverse suburban ring schools. I was a student in an economically diverse, mainly lower-middle-class school in a mill town in a rural area. Your topic is one in which I am deeply emotionally invested. Your article focuses on evidence-based results: "Five practices distinguished the most effective: more instructional time, high-dosage tutoring, frequent teacher feedback, data-driven instruction...

September 24th, 2026

Helpful techniques for memoir writers

Last night I attended the exciting first session of a Murphy Writing class on memoir where we learned two very simple techniques. One strategy was based on A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil Macgregor, former director of the British Museum. His view is that objects have stories of their own. Our task in class was to list objects that were part of our story. My first object was an AT&T switchboard found at the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention in Bellingham, Washington, my niece's wedding reception venue. My husband and daughter were there as well as...

September 23rd, 2026

Changing your thoughts can change your actions

The past few days, I have been reading Hidden Potential by Adam Grant and The Anxiety Toolkit by Alice Boyes. Ideas I learned have given me new perspectives on growth over stasis. I am applying their ideas to a personal issue. I have struggled with getting on an escalator since COVID, even though I spent a number of years pre-COVID without this scourge. Yesterday, September 19, 2026, I tried to ride the Barnes and Noble escalator at Menlo Park NJ Mall but could not get on. When I returned home, I examined the thoughts that preceded my failing to step...

September 21st, 2026

Discomfort

Avoiding discomfort has been a major life motivator for me. What kinds of discomfort do I avoid? Anything I perceive could initiate feelings of shame. No goal has ever been attractive if it involved easily stimulated feelings of shame. Any time or situation that put public eyes on me ran that risk. And because perfect performance was the only strategy I possessed to avoid shame, I never chose to expose myself by trying to accomplish something that might not be perfect. However, in reading Hidden Potential by Adam Grant and Anxiety Toolkit by Alice Boyes I have come to realize...

September 20th, 2026