The afternoon of Christmas Day is the worst, especially as a kid. All the presents are unwrapped. Piles of wrapping paper have filled the living room. You’ve gotten in a few hours of playing with all your new gadgets, and then reality sets in…it’s over Christmas is over. All of that anticipation is over. Time…
In Favor of Social Media Overuse
I fully admit that I use social media far too often. I joined Facebook back in the days of college exclusivity. I joined Twitter before Oprah joined and it blew up. And since then I’ve continued to pour hours and hours into the ongoing boom that is social networks. I’ve even made what I consider…
The Church and Race “Issues”
Over the past few weeks I’ve posted a fair amount of thoughts on various social networks related to Ferguson, Eric Garner, privilege, and the church. Needless to say, I’ve received a fair amount of pushback in the process. The comments have been: “I don’t know all the facts.” “I wasn’t on the grand jury.” “I’m…
The Silent Killer
One of the more surprising parts of the Bible (to me) are the Psalms of lament. This is surprising because when most people think of godly men and women we think of exemplary men and women of faith who rarely struggled with doubts or frustrations. Consider the opening verse of Psalm 74: O God, why…
Taking After God, like David
One of the more confusing parts of the Bible is David’s description in 1st Samuel 13, as a “man after God’s own heart.” At the moment God has declared this of David we know little of him. He’s the youngest son, severly overlooked and undervalued. We get the sense that he’s a hard worker, but…
The Empty Moments
This past week I’ve crawled into the half-frozen covers of my bed earlier than usual. Sometimes I just stare at the ceiling. Thinking. Pondering. But mostly just trying not to think about how cold I am before the sheets warm up. Usually it’s this part of the day I despise most. I’m a doer. Give me…