clothes are not bodies – church is not faith

June 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I was given a fleece layer from "the master" of climbing

The most memorable gift I've ever received is a used fleece jacket previously owned by climbing legend Fred Becky.  Fred is to climbing the Cascade mountains what Babe Ruth is to hitting baseballs,  or LeBron James "is" (hahaha) to basketball - Fred's a legend, one who's mastered his craft utterly.  At ninety years old, he's still seen in the Patagonia store in Seattle, and roaming the Cascade mountains.  When I opened the gift and heard the name of the previous owner, the garment took on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: body, church Tagged With: , , Leave a Comment

The value of trials – lessons from just below St. Helen’s summmit

May 13, 2013 By 1 Comment
IMG_0260

Stuff happens.  Job loss.  Marriage challenges.  Parenting that wearies you to the bone.  Accidents.  Health.  Money.  Wendell Berry says, "By expenditure of hope, Intelligence and work, You think you have it fixed; It is unfixed by rule" Life happens and it's the unexpected turns that reveal what we're made of.  This is a priceless gift, because if we're teachable, we'll adapt, adjust, and come back stronger.  Here's what I mean: The alarm goes off at 3AM and it … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creation Tagged With: , , , 1 Comment

Old Testament God: Angry fundamentalist, or loving friend? And why it matters!

May 3, 2013 By 1 Comment

In my Bible reading this morning, I came across the phrase "put away the foreign gods" and realized that it comes up over and over again the Old Testament.  Instead of creating and arrogant and judgmental provincialism, pondering what it means for us today could lead to a whole new way of living: Thoughtful people sometimes have a hard time reading the Old Testament because the Old Testament God as mean, judgmental, violent, utterly other than the God of the New Testament, where Christ is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: life, questions Tagged With: , , , , 1 Comment

What’s the Most Important thing in Life? Ask the Tree

April 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment
IMG_0041

Something's going on in my backyard which has been immensely helpful in reminding me of what the highest priority should be in both my personal and professional life.  When we moved to Seattle 17+ years ago, we brought a California redwood tree with us that was, at the time, about 7 feet tall.  We planted it, along with several other big evergreen trees, in our backyard because my wife and I don't like yard work.  The best way to avoid such labor in the Pacific Northwest is to make your own … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creation, life Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment

Holy Week – and the mysterious glory of our guide

March 26, 2013 By 1 Comment
SAMSUNG DIGITAL CAMERA

It happens every time I'm in mountains with people in better shape than me.  We start skiing or hiking or climbing and once we're in a rhythm on some steep uphill slope, they start asking me questions:  about family, faith, sport, politics.  They want conversation; I want to breathe!  They're faster than me, and I know that my presence is holding them back because when they say things like, "Yeah, when I was on Mt. McKinley for the fourth time last spring..."  I'm trying to ski up 800 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: intimacy, life, questions Tagged With: , , , , 1 Comment

Quitting Religion for Lent?

February 26, 2013 By 1 Comment

"I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your assemblies.  Even though you offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offering of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them"  Amos the prophet It happens to all of us at times;  Events and moments which, in better times, would be pregnant with joy and meaning, are reduced to obligations.  "Off to church with you" your mind says, on a Sunday morning, and so there you go.  … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Inhaling, intimacy Tagged With: , , , 1 Comment

If you fail at falling, you’ll fail at everything.

February 18, 2013 By 4 Comments

Eric Fromm, in his classic "The Art of Loving", writes that a healthy environment for growing up would include parents who, between them, would receive both an unconditional love and a very conditional and demanding love.  That sounds controversial of course, and probably is.  But I wonder if there isn't some merit in thinking about it a bit before dismissing it outright.  After all, Jesus, we're told, was full of grace and truth.  He told his followers that they needed to be perfect, and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: church, life, questions Tagged With: , , , , 4 Comments

Turn off the TV, come to my senses

February 12, 2013 By 8 Comments

The days recently have been fuller than they ought to be.  Obligations, activities, teachings, preparations, all good things in themselves, have been stacked, like smooth bricks, so tightly that you can't fit a piece of paper between them.  When this happens life becomes reactionary.  When this happens margins disappear and life begins to feel like a video game, where stuff is just coming at me and I'm reacting. The worst part of this is the toll it takes on the end of the day.  When I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: generosity, life, Rule of Life Tagged With: , , , 8 Comments

Finding the best mentor in the world

February 11, 2013 By 2 Comments

I have a friend in Germany who works at one of the best Bible schools in the world.  I say "best" because of what I believe to be the goal of a Bible School.  The purpose of investing time in Bible School is, primarily and overwhelmingly to grow in one's relationship with Christ.  Arguments about the authorship of Genesis, the nuances of eschatology, and esoteric ethic discussions all have a certain values, but they are always entirely secondary to the dominant goal, which is to develop an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: church Tagged With: 2 Comments

Instead of new goals for a new year…try this

December 28, 2012 By 3 Comments

I like goals that are measurable and have lots of them:  Ski 100k vertical feet in January (now objectively measurable courtesy of a nifty phone app), trim 15 seconds off jogging "per mile" time by the end of February, eat 5 servings of veggies per day (by far the hardest), be consistent in my reading, praying, journaling, blog at least once a week, finish book proposal. I'm close to throwing all these in the trash though, because I keep adding more and more goals to my life, and the end … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , 3 Comments