How a song can help us pray for peace in a world full of war Move Over Machiavelli: Rule like the wounded Lamb rules

How a song can help us pray for peace in a world full of war 🙏🏼🫶🏼

open.substack.com/pub/richkirk...

While some push fear and division, Bad Bunny tells a story of aspiration and shared humanity. Here’s what powerful people want us to forget. Stories of hope and love outshine, outlast and outperform the noise of coercion and oppression. Keep creating!

Cruelty is the point.

Opinion | I’ve Covered Police Abuse for 20 Years. What ICE Is Doing Is Different. ICE is operating in a scary new way.

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com

The surge of federal forces into Minneapolis “is about an administration declaring — explicitly, at times — that the purpose of federal law enforcement isn’t to uphold the rule of law or promote public safety but to enforce the will of a single man,” Radley Balko writes.

Amy Grant - "The 6th Of January (Yasgur's Farm)" - Lyric Video YouTube video by AmyGrantOfficial

A youtube version. youtu.be/jAl05lQm4nQ

The 6th Of January (Yasgur's Farm) - Single by Amy Grant on Apple Music Album · 2026 · 1 Song

We’ve lost so much as a country. From marching for peace in past decades to mobs of violence on January 6, 2021. This folksy lament emotionally caught me off guard. Thank you Amy Grant and Sandra Emory Lawrence. We can’t look forward until we make space for grief.

music.apple.com/us/album/the...

Glorious Moments Come From Mud Transcendence arrives while leading through the dangers of messy change

Change still can have glorious moments in the middle of the mess. Here's what that was like while directing music at churches for many years.

open.substack.com/pub/richkirk...

AI (and any new tech) can be a fast race to nowhere, or an amplification of authenticity.

That’s a choice. Worship the tools. Or live out your highest values.

Creativity has so many benefits. The opposite of brain rot? 🧠

“Findings indicate a domain‑independent link between creativity and brain health”

Fort Bragg, North Carolina Slavey was "just and necessary" to Braxton Bragg.

Braxton Bragg was an unpopular military figure whose own soldiers tried to kill him. He contended that slavery was “just and necessary.” In June, the Trump Administration ordered the name of Fort Bragg to be restored.

Terrifying.

⚠️TYLENOL & AUTISM—RFK Jr & Trump are wrong—the largest best study in the world in 2.5 MILLION KIDS—found no increased autism risk with acetaminophen (aka paracetamol/Tylenol). A crude analysis found only a tiny 5% risk, but once you adjust via sibling controls, the even tiny 5% risk vaporizes to 0%📉

Jolted awake near Concord! 😅

Why We Misjudge Support for Political Violence Most Americans oppose political violence. But our skewed empathy and exaggerated perceptions of opponents keep conflict alive.

What we saw last week happen is NOT what literally anyone, other than a very very small amount, wanted to happen or supported. But, it sells paper, clicks and likes. Don't be duped by the algorithm.

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/read...

I think cruel, demeaning, and dehumanizing are better words than callous. The harm such words have and the lack of accountability is disturbing.

Truth and cruelty are opposites. Words of truth require acts of love. It’s why the Word became flesh and walked among us.

God is the only one with authority to seek revenge yet He dispenses grace. May we shun retribution and seek mercy.

Plumes of smoke billow from the World Trade Center towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, after a Boeing 767 hits each tower during the September 11 attacks. Photo from wikipedia.org.

September 11, 2001:
The dark voice of violence is a lasting song. It warns us to choose light and life for our families, neighbors, and the world. Let our laments lead to peaceful acts of defiance and restoration instead of retribution and inhumanity.
We can sing a better song!
Amen.

Lord, have mercy.
On the family that lost a father
On college kids that saw violence
On the parents who’s teens were shot
On a nation divided by fear
Amen.

TEXT reads: Because I have discovered the positive from the past, I hope we go beyond more volume in the echo chamber and discover dialog that forms connections, even friendships. Those benefits have fueled twenty years of blogging, social media, and two books. Together, let’s see what happens next

I still believe that there is a real person on the other side of my laptop screen.

Do you still believe?

open.substack.com/pub/richkirk...

text: Creativity is a process, not a product, commodity, or the ends. It’s the means. I create; therefore, I am!

Creativity is a process, not a product, commodity, or the ends. It’s the means. I create; therefore, I am!

Being kind boosts mental health more than seeking joy.

Evidence: Doing 3 random acts of kindness a week is enough to reduce depression, anxiety & loneliness. It's more beneficial than doing nice things for yourself.

Self-care feels good, but generosity builds lasting bonds.

Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) Why I practice “crop rotation” in the studio

I lvoe this! Crop rotation for creatives, from @austinkleon.bsky.social

substack.com/@austinkleon...

20 Years of Blogging! A celebration of the good the Internet used to be and hope for the future

I have been blogging now for 20 years! What is one vital lesson I can share with you? There is a real person on the other side of your screen.

open.substack.com/pub/richkirk...

MINDBLOWN: Unlock Your Creative Genius by Bridging Science and Magic MINDBLOWN: Unlock Your Creative Genius by Bridging Science and Magic [Kirkpatrick, Rich, Kirkpatrick, Emilie] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. MINDBLOWN: Unlock Your Creative Genius by Bridging Science and Magic

Creativity is what humans do when we thrive! Imagine if you could unlock that natural trait. You can, btw.

amzn.to/41j0vuI

My books are dirt cheap on kindle right now

geni.us/vLzwfXE

My First Substack Post Welcome, new and old friends, to my Substack!

Organic, handmade creativity stands tall against cut-and-pasted, Chat-GPT-prompted “work.” Productivity will never answer meaning, only amplify our lack of it. One kind makes meaning, the other evaporates it into 1s and 0s.

richkirkpatrick.substack.com/p/my-first-s...

We need less content creation and more connection creation. We can consume content or treasure people, including ourselves.

My First Substack Post Welcome, new and old friends, to my Substack!

Here is my first Substack post!

richkirkpatrick.substack.com/p/my-first-s...

LA pastor on hunger strike to protest ICE’s detainment of Iranian Christians WASHINGTON (RNS) — Pastor Ara Torosian’s congregants fled Iran to escape persecution due to their Christian faith. Now, they are being held in immigration detention.

Pastor Ara Torosian's congregants were detained in a wave of ICE arrests that targeted Iranian immigrants shortly after a ceasefire was declared between Israel and Iran in June.
religionnews.com/2025/07/23/l...