Brent Bailey

Transmissions

Last night, an extraordinary sensation: I was on the couch, and the dog was sleeping adjacent to me, as is usually the case when I'm winding down before bed. Slowly the rapid (and unsettling) movements that often manifest in his face and breath and limbs when he's dreaming began to emerge. I began to feel… Continue reading Transmissions

“Go to the next room”

I played: The Legend of Zelda, released in the U.S. on the NES in 1987, two years before I was released, i.e., born. It's the first in the series and one of the most beloved and recognizable games of all time. Evidently the complete Japanese title is The Hyrule Fantasy: The Legend of Zelda, which… Continue reading “Go to the next room”

Floral, 1

A friend recently took a class on flower arrangement and gave me this bouquet for my birthday. Absolutely stunning! And she was so casual about it, this gorgeous eruption of colors and texture and fragrance.

“What God Has Entrusted to Us”

A sermon delivered to LaSalle Street Church on 3/21/21, revised for reading. You can watch the full service here, or watch only the sermon embedded below. One night when I was a child I saw two images that permanently shaped my relationship to creation. I grew up in Houston in a family of hunters. A few times… Continue reading “What God Has Entrusted to Us”

Preaching from the choir

On Thursday evening I went to the LaSalle Street Church sanctuary to record a sermon for this Sunday's streaming service. There's...a lot of emotion packed into that statement! It was my first time inside the church building since February 2020, and there are few religious spaces that mean as much to me as this sanctuary.… Continue reading Preaching from the choir

Transfiguration

A remarkable sight today: After walking the dog, we stopped on the porch with the front door open to practice a sit-stay command. He’s nearly mastered the skill inside, but for anxious dog who grew up in a neglectful home, maintaining the impulse-control and presence of mind that a sit-stay requires, in the midst of… Continue reading Transfiguration

Butler and Monet

I traveled: to the Art Institute of Chicago for the first time since COVID this afternoon, taking the day off work for my birthday. My time there confirmed how much my attention span has atrophied over the last year: I struggled to take in a painting for more than 15-20 seconds without losing interest. It's… Continue reading Butler and Monet

Hello!

I'm starting a blog for three reasons: First, I want to build a front porch on the internet.* Here's how Austin Kleon described blogging in 2017: "It feels good to have a spot to think out loud in public where people aren’t spitting and s****ing all over the place." I want a place where I… Continue reading Hello!