TIME
One word. A tremendous amount of power and significance behind it. The last few weeks I’ve not had much TIME to do anything more than work, study, work some more, and try to find TIME for family in there somewhere. As the weeks of my studies drew to a close, TIME became more and more of a precious commodity because I seemed to have less and less TIME to get anything critically important done. All things worked out though. Barely. March 14th was my daughter’s ten-year-old birthday. Every year on each of my daughter’s birthdays, starting back when they were five years old, I began taking them out for an all-day father-daughter date. Not this year. I finally did get around to taking my oldest out on that father-daughter date – over...
What is real freedom?
What do you think of when you think of freedom? Maybe, like most people, you probably think of things such as freedom from slavery, freedom from oppression, freedom from social injustice, and on and on that list seems to go. There’s nothing wrong with setting captive individuals free, but lately I’ve been seeing the cry for freedom in American society take on other tones. In fact, it seems a lot of the talk of freedom has to do with breaking away from anyone or anything someone may consider personally binding in any way. It’s as if there are people out there who want to be free from anyone telling them what to do in any way, shape, form, or fashion. The problem with that desire is that the real world does not, and will not ever work that...
A Real Church
What do you think of when you hear someone talk about church? I’m sure there are those reading this that will say a local church is a local body of believers and part of the larger church which is the bride of Christ. This is true, but is it really what you think of when someone else is talking about church? I mean, really?!?! I always hear people talking about going to church, as in the building. There are activities at church, services at church, weddings at church, and worship at church. For all those people talking about church, there seems to be a whole lot more talk about a building than a living organism. When I was growing up, I was pretty much taught the same way. “Church is people, not a building,” was heard from the pulpit,...
Moms vs Dads
I was reminded earlier of the different roles moms and dads have in a child’s life as I thought about a former comedian who noted this particular difference: “A father will take his son out to a baseball field, teach him to hold a bat, teach him to catch with a glove, teach him how to hit a baseball, and practice for hours and hours, for weeks and years on end. The kid eventually grows up, gets a sports scholarship through college, and eventually makes it into the Big Leagues. On the day he makes his professional baseball debut, in his first ever interview and before the reporter asks the first question, this young boy whom the father groomed his entire life will look into the camera lens, smile, wave and say “Hi, mom!’” If...
The Thought Experiment
You can have some pretty interesting conversations with kids as they can come up with some pretty interesting questions out of the blue. Just such a conversation happened earlier this week with my oldest daughter. During our little talk, I asked her to imagine what would happen if an unbreakable chain was suddenly formed between the earth (presumably nearest the equator) and the moon. Her little mind raced with different thoughts, none of them good for the planet earth, and we finally concluded that anyone who lived long enough to survive the catastrophic events in the immediate term would certainly be doomed within 10 hours as the coil of chain reeled in the moon until it collided with the planet. “That could never really happen though,” she...
THROUGH the Storm
Flashback to April 27th, 2011. What do you personally remember from that day? Unless you were in Alabama or a neighboring southern state, probably not much. However, for those of us around that day, each of us has a story to tell. That morning, I remember being awakened by the strong sound of wind outside. I got up with a tense sense of unease, walked to the window, and could see the trees in my back yard leaning hard over and steadily to one side as the sound of the wind whistled through their branches. Even the house seemed to be making low, groaning noises I’d never heard before. This wasn’t a tornado. It was straight-line winds that I later would learn had knocked down dozens of large trees all over the area, blown some structures...
How to Love Unconditionally
With Valentine’s Day approaching this week, much will be spent on flowers, chocolate, and small baubles as men of all ages seek to communicate in just the right way the simple words: “I love you”. February 14th is a day when some will even seek out the bonds of marriage, while some others may have chosen this day specifically to tie the proverbial knot. As I watch this yearly phenomena, I wonder how much of it is sincere, how much of it is advertising coercion (buy this for her and she’ll love you, or don’t and you’re a dead man!), and last of all, how long it will last. That last question really bothers me. I hope it bothers you, too. How long does “I love you” last? It reminds me of the joke where some...