In the last two months our family has been giving and receiving gifts celebrating 3 birthdays, a graduation, Mother’s and Father’s Day, a wedding anniversary and a graduation. It’s good for the economy I’m sure but it is even better for us as we think about what would make a good gift for the object of our affections and celebrations.

On occasion one of you will “like” one of these little missives of mine on Facebook, LinkedIn or one of other the places we post to. That produces more “views” and as we know then an “algorithm” can kick in and create traffic and interest – and we get more “views”. It is insidious, occasionally addictive but can be corrosive to our souls. It’s a good platform for our message but if I tailor the message to trigger the algorithm, I’m in trouble.

The other day I was chatting with my granddaughter about milestones in life. She is graduating into high school and recently has passed senior music and swimming exams. She said she had to write a short speech about her experience at her school – highlights, who was most helpful, best teacher etc.

Have been listening to “Miserere” approaching my morning coffee with God. It’s a historic classical choral version of Psalm 51 – a deep cry for mercy based on trust in the love and compassion of God. But it is also based on a frank and clear understanding of moral failure that caused marital infidelity and the calculated killing of the woman’s husband in a military conflict.