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U is for Umbrage

[My middle daughter, Kyra, and I are continuing our commitment to blog all the way through the alphabet. Rather than lasting 26 days, we’re going on almost a year now, but we’re gonna get it done.] UMBRAGE Definition: [noun] a feeling of anger caused by being offended; “he took umbrage at my question” Synonyms: offense, offence Source:Continue reading “U is for Umbrage”

Response to responses to the death of Whitney Houston

I cannot talk meaningfully about the death of Whitney Houston. I don’t have anything productive to add to the dialogue. But I can respond to some of the other responses to Whitney’s death. When Whitney Houston ruled the world I was in high school and her music was not my style. But there was neverContinue reading “Response to responses to the death of Whitney Houston”

I Believe…

[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false”]123rf.com[/featured-image] I believe in love. Not the squishy, touchy-feely kind, but the kind that takes guts and practice and a lot of failure before we start to get it right. I believe in freedom and pluralism, grateful that I live in a country where I am free to believe in God butContinue reading “I Believe…”

Living in peace

This is one of the world’s most popular photos. The burning man is Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk who burned himself to death in June, 1963 to protest persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam’s Catholic government. Photographer Malcolm Brown won a Pulitzer Prize for it. President John F. Kennedy said of the photo,Continue reading “Living in peace”

On Being a Non-Anxious Presence

Ultimately all you really have to give to another person is yourself. And that is enough. Presence is the most powerful force in the universe, humanly speaking. When I go to hospitals to visit sick and scared people, they already know I can’t fix them and they don’t expect me to. What they really needContinue reading “On Being a Non-Anxious Presence”

All sin is not the same

One of the church’s teachings that is most easily shown to be (at least partially) wrong is the teaching that all sin is the same. All sin, quite clearly, is NOT the same. This teaching is based mostly on the passage where Jesus says, Matthew 5:27-28 (NIV) 27 “You have heard that it was said,Continue reading “All sin is not the same”

The Christian craving for guilt

Christians love feeling guilty. In fact, they positively crave it. In fact, to Christians, guilt feels like devotion. The popularity of books like Francis Chan’s Crazy Love and David Platt’s Radical testifies to this. Anyone who speaks or writes of all the ways the church is blowing it, falling short, and insufficient is almost destinedContinue reading “The Christian craving for guilt”

Braveheart of mid-Michigan

Braveheart. My favorite movie of all-time, by a substantial margin. Every time I watch this movie I end up having fantasies about being William Wallace of Scotland — living and dying for a great cause, far beyond myself. Being willing to take risks. Living to go after what I want, and not merely to avoidContinue reading “Braveheart of mid-Michigan”

Our high schools are not serving most of our kids

I love teaching. It is a calling, and it is one of the few things in this world that I believe I am very good at it. But I think high school, for most kids today, is a huge waste of time. When I was in high school we were required by the state toContinue reading “Our high schools are not serving most of our kids”

Marriage Danger Signs

I was on NBC 25 News this morning doing a segment about signs that you may be dangerously close to divorce. My remarks were based substantially on the work of Dr. John Gottman, who has probably done more research on marriage than any other person in the country. I highly recommend his books.