The Mysterious
I’m in the middle of a book on Eastern Orthodoxy. It’s a rather odd experience. It’s a lot like going to a new destination, a new place, a far off place. Rather like my first trip to visit Guatemala, my wife’s native country. I flew a red eye flight from LA to Guatemala city. It was 1992 and I deboarded the airplane down one of those stairways out of a 1950’s movie. Right onto the tarmac and then walked inside the building. It was still rather dark. When I arrived at the… Read More
The Long Game
I’ve been using this phrase for a couple weeks now, maybe longer. The Long Game is this idea of strategic thinking, considering the “down the road” aspect of events. It’s used in American football, it’s used in politics. I started using the phrase “long game” because I needed to describe life as a parent with teenage/early 20’s children. My wife and I are starting to see some of the payoffs of how we chose to raise our children. We are also seeing some points where, ya know, maybe we didn’t quite get… Read More
Catechism: Lessons in Truth
So, like I said in my Tinker Bell post, I am reading a lot. The current book is titled “Grounded in the Gospel” a book on teaching the basics of the Gospel. “Building Believers the old fashioned way” is the subtitle of the book,. I really, really like this book. So much I bought my best friend a copy. And, since I had bought it on kindle, I bought myself a paperback copy too. I plan on using it, marking it up and otherwise. The book also includes a short chapter on… Read More
Happy Fathers Day or Why Marriage Matters
An argument for the fundamentally important nature of marriage
Arrogance
As I write this my wife sits next to me in bed wondering why I expend the effort in writing when a sum total of about 4 people will end up reading it. I’m not sure either, but I’ve got to get it out. And Mozart plays in my ears, as it turns out it helps me focus by listening to music, but no words. The thoughts turned to words are the chorus. Which ends up revealing an awful tendency of us humans. To quote Agent Smith from the movie The Matrix “me,… Read More
Hey Everybody, ISIS sure acts real mean
It’s pretty hard to get people to follow your blog if you never post anything. Note to self. But on to my post… I can be a fairly unpopular person at dinner parties. I would rather debate serious issues than share pleasantries over a vegetable plate. It runs in the family. Now, I’m not saying this is always appropriate, but it is my natural tendency, and why my more naturally congenial wife will jab me in the ribs when I do it too often. And see there I go again, digressing… So,… Read More
Jesus, the one man wrecking crew
Repeatedly we are told in scripture that “Pride comes before a fall”. Well, let me tell you, that ain’t just whistlin’ Dixie! Jesus performed one heck of a rear assault on my personality (my sense of self, my perception of self) these last few weeks. If you grew up around the ocean, you learned never to turn your back on it. Well, same principle here. Jesus snuck up and knocked me to the ground. I was so sure of my own self-control, I was so sure I had finally mastered my own… Read More
What to do
I’m over 40 now. You’d think I’d feel “grow-up” at this point. I remember asking my mother about this, this “when will I feel grown up?”, about 10 years ago. She is dead now about seven years. The uterine and colon cancer she had beaten about five years before this conversation would resurge two years after this talk. It metastasized to her lungs and she slowly withered away. My sister, the brave soul that she is, was the one to be with her to the end. I was 1000 miles away. My… Read More
