Well, I was thinking about what I would write for Easter this year, and I came to the conclusion that I had little new to say. It’s the most important series of events in Christianity but, still, we’ve been writing and talking about it for around two thousand  years. We’ve explored it pretty thoroughly.

But as I was looking around in the archives here, and especially at Nebraska Energy Observer, I realized something. Two years ago, both blogs were immensely productive, mostly because of Jessica herself. From Thursday right on to Sunday, she published at least one post on each blog every day.

If you don’t know, this blog and Nebraska Energy Observer (or our blog) as Jess began calling it, shortly after she became my Editor, and I finally after a chuckle, gave in and call it that now (although it has always reminded me of the old joke about married couples, “There’s her money,and there’s our money, that he earns and if he’s lucky he gets an allowance.”) have often worked together with articles and occasionally whole series that jumped back and forth between the two blogs. I think it was good for both, and I miss it.

If any of you haven’t visited, my blog, NEO, is a history, current events, politics blog built on a foundation of Christianity, and I found Jessica’s insights on those topics as keen as they are on Christianity here, and her voice on America to be very valuable as well.

So after speaking with Chalcedon, and asking Jess if it was OK, I have decided to share with you, here, four of Jessica’s posts from our blog. A few of you may remember them but, to most they will be new. They are specific to the day, and they showcase her voice exceptionally well. I think they also showcase her distinct viewpoint which often (for me, anyway) yields a different lesson than what others have written. they will be exactly as she wrote them, with merely a note that they were first published on NEO.

I’ll also note that on NEO, I am running my companion articles from that week. I think it remarkable that we were both writing an article for NEO, and Jess was writing one for AATW as well, and often more than one.

This was one of the high points for our blogs, before in Chesterton’s words:

“And this is the word of Mary,
The word of the world’s desire
`No more of comfort shall ye get,
Save that the sky grows darker yet
And the sea rises higher.’ 

And those skies grew dark indeed, as the seas rose, and in time we came so very close to losing the Chatelaine for ever and despair was very close for all of us. But in the end, God’s grace sustained us and God restored her to life and perhaps some wondrous day she will return to us. As GKC said:

The King looked up, and what he saw
Was a great light like death,
For Our Lady stood on the standards rent,
As lonely and as innocent
As when between white walls she went
And the lilies of Nazareth.

And so, starting tomorrow, All Along the Watchtower, will again feature posts by its Foundress, and our Chatelaine, and my dearest friend, Jessica.

Enjoy!

Just a note on practicalities, comments will be, as always, open. But do be aware since these articles are being published over Jessica’s name, and she is not online, response may be slow. Chalcedon and I will try to keep an eye on it, but…