The amusing story of a fugitive macaque monkey is worth our attention. It’s from an unknown origin and has been scampering around the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area for several months making surprise visits to pool parties, stealing fruit and causing double takes all over the area. Captors from the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation have been called out more than 50 times to try to snatch the little guy, but they are no match. He just eludes them. He’s been shot several times with... Read more
“One question I’ve had to ask myself repeatedly is this: Am I even open to the possibility that I could be wrong in my beliefs? If so, would I have the courage to change my actions? — Francis Chan, “Forgotten God” When I read the above from Francis Chan, who pastors Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA, I have to be honest. My first reaction was towards others. I thought of everyone else in my life who I think... Read more
Life’s difficulties are often purported to be solved in easy solutions. 12 Steps to an Alcohol-Free Life. 6 Ways to a Thinner You. 8 Shortcuts to more time. The 90-Second Cook. I have subscribed to many formulas in my life, looking a quick fix. I want something sweet to make me happy and a little treat in the box to give me goose bumps.I want a combo-meal existence. I want one price to meet all my needs and wants. I... Read more
“A man sits on the dock with head in hands, wailing for the ships that have sailed—as he is missing the ship that is sailing.” So begins the poignant column by World Magazine’s Andree Seu. “This is a story of my life, of living in regret over past losses, even as I am losing the present moment’s possibilities,” she continues. This set off a chain of emotions, of memories, of regrets. Relationships that I have let slip away. Decisions I haven’t... Read more
It seems that many Christians end up on American Idol, the long-running talent competition on Fox. I think it’s a natural outworking of our music-infected worship. Each Sunday, we give thousands of musicians the chance to sing and play while they lead worship. There’s plentyof God-given talent out there and the church helps it grow. Jonathan Acuff, the seriously funny genius behind “Stuff Christians Like,” asked the question, “How do you know if that contestant on American Idol is a Christian?” There’s... Read more
Flowers. Mom has always had a passion for flowers. She believed they could brighten any drab room, liven any conversation, and change any dour mood. For 20 years, she took this vision earnestly each Sunday at the First Baptist Church. As the flower coordinator, she turned the plain wood altar at the front of the church into a dazzling display of God’s creation. A negligible budget prevented floral shop arrangements, only provoking the creative mind of this resourceful woman. Every... Read more
A handicapped Spokane woman who was inside a church at a prayer meeting had her powered wheelchair stolen by someone with apparently no shame. The woman, who suffers from MS and cerebral palsy, uses the chair for transportation around town. Because her church can’t accommodate the motored chair, she normally parked it outside the front entrance while other parishioners helped her into the church. But last week, as she was being helped outside to her chair after services, her chair was... Read more
When someone you care about Photo Courtesy Mary Schwalm goes away you don’t lose them all at once You lose them in pieces over time like the crisp leaves that drop from a tree in the late fall One by one each a sad reminder of days gone by Please, share with a friend if you feel moved. Read all past issues at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davidrupert Read more
We’re all aware of “snow days,” those blessed days when school is called off and kids spend the days sledding down frozen paths and designing snow men. Their frozen faces are melted only by hot chocolate and the sheer joy of zero responsibility for a single day. My fellow High Calling blogger Billy Coffey even wrote a novel extolling the virtues of the Snow Day. But one Washington school actually declared a “sun day” last week. That’s right – they called school... Read more
When I look around at a physical world of decay and destruction, marked by disappointment and sorrow, I have to ask, “is this all there is?” Modern day philosophers tell us that meaning is found in what we see around us. That the natural world is all that we can ever hope for. According to modernity, all of our answers and our hope lie in humankind with no eternity, no plane beyond the one which we can see and touch. And by... Read more
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