By many accounts, 2016 wasn’t a good year. As I read and listen to various summaries of the year just passed, the general consensus appears to be don’t let the door hit you in the backside on your way out! Seems like most folks can’t wait to move on from what they perceive as a year […]
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Obedience Might Be Kind Of Simple
I heard an interesting take on obedience recently. Our culture’s not big on obedience. We sort-of want folks to follow the rules, but we admire the John Wayne types who ignore boundaries and “do it their way.” For those of us who follow Jesus, there’s a bit of internal conflict. There’s that good old USAmerican blaze your […]
Continue readingMore TagIs It Okay To Move Forward?
So you got kicked in the teeth, or the gut, or some other sensitive spot. It won’t go away, this sense of loss and disappointment. Perhaps it fades for a few moments, but then it returns and you’re certain it’s part of your new reality. You’re not going to “just get over it.” Now…what? I’ve […]
Continue readingMore TagThree (Unexpected) Wise Men And Injustice
Seems like we hear a lot about injustice lately. Pipelines. Trafficking. Racism. Sexism. Religion. Immigration. Even bathrooms! Seems like everywhere we turn there’s some sort of debate, discussion, or dialogue about injustice. The FREEDOM TOUR, of course, enters the discussion by supporting kids rescued from the horrible injustice of sexual slavery. So here’s a question: How […]
Continue readingMore TagHope When You Don’t Feel It
“Help me understand hope.” It was a couple of years ago. Hers were those “friendly eyes” a speaker looks for in the audience, belonging to the handful of folks who let you know the message is heard. Now she wanted to go deeper. “I know what hope means…in my head, ” she said, “but I can’t […]
Continue readingMore TagTruth and Truth And Post-Truth
What’s the truth? The tinge of arthritis in my shoulder doesn’t care if I believe it’s there. The doc showed me proof, right there on the x-ray in black-and-white. The objective, observable, scientific truth is that I have a bit of arthritis in my shoulder. I can acknowledge it and deal with it, or lie about it and […]
Continue readingMore TagExploding My Brain (Part 2)
Last time I recalled a college professor’s lesson that exploded my brain. I wasn’t exaggerating. I thought college would be a place to learn math and physics. I didn’t expect some random psychology lesson to to present an idea so completely new that I had no prior learning to which I could connect it. The […]
Continue readingMore TagHow To Design A Self-Driving Car
I think a self-driving car would be cool. In college I commuted with an electrical engineering student. Jack was convinced that we’d see self-driving cars within a few years, and he spent countless hours telling me how they would work. I don’t recall details, but I remember there were two notions about guidance. I’m over-simplifying, […]
Continue readingMore TagHow To Avoid The Chaos
Election season likely has us all a bit flustered. How do we keep our eye on the dream when there’s so much noise and sheer craziness oozing from every corner of the culture? After a coffee conversation with a wise friend (and a nice, peaceful bike ride), I listed a few ideas. Perhaps they’ll help. […]
Continue readingMore TagThe Day After MLK
Yesterday we celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. There’s a risk in setting aside a special day to commemorate Dr. King’s life. We may invest ourselves in a one-day avalanche of feel-good quotes and Facebook memes, then return to business as usual. That would be a shame, because it’s clear that Dr. […]
Continue readingMore TagIt’s Not About The Tree
Poor Charlie Brown. He wanted so badly to discover the true meaning of Christmas, but his friends were too caught up in their activities and busyness to hear his desperation. They decided the answer was to involve him in their craziness by having him direct a modernized version of the Christmas story. When that didn’t […]
Continue readingMore TagWho’s Coming After Us?
An enemy is coming for us. A terrible enemy threatens the very core of all we hold dear. The media, the politicians, sadly even many preachers proclaim the power and might of this ruthless adversary who strikes with reckless disregard for collateral casualties. This enemy entices us to strike back in anger. The anger may […]
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