The Best Version of Myself… What’s the recipe?

April 24, 2013 By 1 Comment
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With vacation, a planned hike to the summit of St. Helen's, and a climbing project brewing that I'm excited about sharing later, I recently reread a book called "Bone Games: Extreme Sports, Shaminism, Zen, and the Search for Transcendence".  Rob opens with the story of his most desperate moment.  He's fallen, is seriously injured and stranded on a small ledge with hundreds of vertical feet below waiting to devour him when he tries to down climb - with his injury - in the dark - in the snow.  … [Read more...]

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

April 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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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...]

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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...]

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The gift of a stone in your shoe (or, “How to build a better life”)

February 18, 2013 By 1 Comment

I'm running to the library on a Saturday afternoon because there's a book waiting for me there about the Grand Canyon.  The run will be 3.4 miles, and somewhere between the first and second miles a tiny stone found it's way into my minimalist shoe.  It's smaller than a rice-krispy, but the level of annoyance is out of proportion to the stone's size.  Even so, I ran on, feeling a mild pinch underfoot with each step, hoping it will go away on its own. I arrive at the library, procure my book … [Read more...]

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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...]

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the danger of saying: “I just do what the Bible says…”

July 24, 2012 By 5 Comments

" I just follow the Bible" is a potentially ridiculous and dangerous thing to say.  If you've heard of the crusades, the travesties of colonization and land theft, the unholy wedding of violence and the name of Christ, you'll know why. Take, for example, Ezra 7:26 where King Artaxerxes says: "Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of goods or for … [Read more...]

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The empire has no clothes. The King has colors of hope

April 30, 2012 By 5 Comments

In my last post I wrote: Until I’m willing to see both the idolatry and insufficiency of the present “McWorld” system, I’ll also fail to see the radically hopeful nature of the gospel, which provides an exit strategy from these false hopes as it invites us into so much more than a ticket to heaven. Assuming that I do see the insufficiency of the present worldview (no matter who's in power), only clears the deck of false hopes.  It deconstructs.  It exposes.  And, if left alone, … [Read more...]

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The Empire Has No Clothes – raw truth precedes real hope – Part One

April 26, 2012 By 3 Comments

The losses and damages characteristic of our present economy cannot be stopped, let alone restored, by “liberal” or “conservative” tweakings of corporate industrialism, against which the ancient imperatives of good care, homemaking, and frugality can have no standing. - Wendell Berry Now that Mitt Romney has effectively vanquished all other contenders, the real election posturing can begin, and we all know it won't be pretty.  More importantly though, we also know it won't be … [Read more...]

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The Challenges of Wealth and the Call of Christ

January 31, 2012 By 10 Comments

David Brooks recent NY Times article entitled "The Great Divorce" speaks of what is becoming on of the largest issues of our day, not just because it's an election year, but because it's a real issue.  Brooks reveals the dramatic shifts in American culture between 1963 and the present, noting that, while there's always been a gap between wealth and poverty, in previous eras that gap wasn't accompanied by a behavior gap.  Brooks writes, "income gaps did not lead to big behavior gaps. Roughly 98 … [Read more...]

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When you don’t like your job

January 25, 2012 By 11 Comments

It's common theme these days, a point of conversation among people in every age group, from 'just out of college' to those near retirement.  "I hate my job", or "I can't wait to do something different", or "I'm counting the days..."  It's a subject worthy of book, because the reality is that there's a time to stay, and a time to leave, and that the real challenge is knowing what time it is.  Leave prematurely, and you'll fan the flames of discontent that should instead be quenched, creating a … [Read more...]

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