Towards the end of Brideshead Revisited, Charles Ryder talks to the doctor who is attending Lord Marchmain – who is on the verge of dying…
“He’s got a marvelous will to live, hasn’t he?”
The doctor says, “Would you put it like that? I should say a great fear of death.”
“Is there a difference?” Charles … Read More
Almost 20 years ago, one of the key guys on my youth ministry team was getting credentialed as a minister. He’d graduated from college, answered the right questions, made it through the interview, and was becoming an official “Rev.”
So I got him a nice Bible with “Reverend” and his name in gold on the cover, and planned a special service to recognize this milestone.
I don’t remember all that went into this little celebration. There was probably a reception and cake. I think we invited his parents and relatives to the shindig.
What I’ll never forget, though, was my… Read More
Tony Anderson is a successful composer who is welcoming an extra push outside of himself from an unlikely friend: Donnie. This video with Tony teaches us to embrace interruptions and trash our stuffy/competitive/deadline driven perspectives. I hope his story helps you love the people around you a little more freely… Read More
This is the good stuff – what I read online this week… and read again. So I’m sharing:
1. We Are Made In The Image Of God And We Are Women by Nish Weiseth. Here’s my favorite line(s): “We are given the same commandments and the same marching orders, to love God, love others and fulfill the great commission. We are working to advance the same Kingdom that worships the same Jesus.”
And you cannot understand or comprehend the fullness of the image of God without us.
2. Who’s The Racist? by Carlos Rodriguez. Here’s my favorite line(s): ”
For me it looks like cooking a Puerto Rican meal for my African-American neighbor while we talk about British culture. For us, it’s the combination of hundreds of little acts of love. We could spend days talking about what the white police, or the black community or the latino leaders… Read More
Opal Covey is the cuckoo lady (and self-proclaimed prophetess) who believes God chose her to be the mayor of Toledo. Her campaign slogans? “Remove the curse” and “Opal Covey for mayor – a miracle worker.” She’s run for office 5 times now – and the election results are in for her most recent attempt…
She came in dead last with 1% of the vote.
Prior to the election, she was interviewed by the local news station. During the interview, she claimed that she actually won a previous election, but votes were stolen from her. Then she gave a warning:
“Great destruction will come upon… (speaking in tongues for quite a while) …Thank you, Jesus. That was a confirmation. If people don’t give me… Read More
Do you remember who you are?
I mean, the real you – deep down inside. The you created in God’s image and likeness. The you who is God’s masterpiece. The uniquely gifted you. The one and only you, free from all the comparisons and advertising and marketing and demands and peer pressure and…
Do you remember who you are?
The essence of you. The you that only you can be. The you that God saw necessary to… Read More
Whoever we may be, living authentically in God’s image is a risk, because it is a rejection of the self-serving drives that enthrall us and keep us afraid to put our integrity on the line and release our compassion.
The choice is whether on this day to be full of ourselves or have fullness of life. We lean towards self-fullness when we ask, “What’s in it for me?”
The lowly paths are truly the most ambitious because they ask us to make the toughest choices. They require us to make sacrifices for good and not gain. They call forth from us the courage to let go of the lesser ambitions of self-advancement for the greater ambitions of God’s kingdom of grace, generosity, and compassion. They invite us to become big enough to become small, whatever our place in the social strata.
There we will find the treasure, the meaning of our humanity, the real fullness of life. Enduring significance is not found in our achievements; it is found in the countless and small ways we value and touch people
Enduring significance is not found in our achievements; it is… Read More
I recently had a little extra time to do some reading. I finished a number of books, and my favorite by far is Carry On, Warrior – the Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life by Glennon Doyle Melton. No doubt, this is a mommy book – a book written for moms raising kids.
I’m not even embarrassed it’s my favorite. Because it’s THAT good.
Below is a little sample – it’s a letter she wrote to her son…
* * * *
Dear Chase,
Tomorrow is a big day. Third Grade – wow.
Chase – When I was in third grade, there was a little boy in my class named Adam. Adam looked a little different and he wore funny clothes and sometimes he even smelled a little bit. Adam didn’t smile. He hung his head low and he never looked at anyone at all. Adam never did his homework. I don’t think his parents reminded him like yours do. The other kids teased Adam a lot. Whenever they did, his head hung lower and lower and lower. I never teased him, but I never told the other kids to stop, either.
And I never talked to Adam, not once. I never invited him to sit next to me at lunch, or to play with me at recess. Instead, he sat and played by himself. He must have been very lonely.
I still think about Adam every day. I wonder if… Read More
Sundays are for sharing and shouting – that’s the point of these shout-outs – I want to share what I found to be particularly fascinating, beautiful, and shout-worthy online this past week…
1. This Song: Empty Me Out by Liz Vice.
2. This post: The Sanitized Stories We Tell by Sarah Bessey. Here’s my favorite line(s): “I feel like we give out gold stars to people who get over things quickly. And like any former evangelical over-achiever I wanted my gold star.
We want people to heal on a timeline. Yes, yes, that’s terrible but aren’t you over it yet?
It makes me wonder how… Read More
Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ, for He is going to say, “I came as a guest, and you received me.” —Rule of St Benedict
I squirm whenever I hear someone talking about “The gays…” or “The Muslims…” or “The illegal immigrants…” or ”The Catholics…” or “The whatevers.” Sure, it probably has something to do with the sweeping generalizations, labeling, stereotyping. But I’m realizing it’s more than that.
When we speak about “The whatevers,” we are identifying “them” as separate from “us.” It’s tribalism, and tribalism is all about who’s in and and who’s out. According to Professor Richard Beck, “Ingroup members are considered to be fully human. Outgroup members are infrahumans” (less than fully human).
As the famous anthropologist Levi-Strauss said, “Humankind ceases at the border of the tribe.”
Belgium psychologist Jacques-Philippe Leyens first coined the term INFRAHUMANIZATION to describe the belief that one’s ingroup is more human than those outside it. A classic case of infrahumanization is found in the US Constitution (Article 1. Section 2. Paragraph 3) where… Read More
