Every year we complain. “The traffic is terrible!” “The lines are ridiculous!” “The stuff is out in October!” “If i hear one more Celine Dion ‘O Holy Night,’ I’m going to puke!” “My credit card bill is outrageous!” And then, every year…every year of the world…we do it all again. Why do we think this is what the season has to look like? We’ve been programmed, is why. And who is programming us? Retailers. Credit card companies. The vast and... Read more
Until we understand what the land is, we are at odds with everything we touch. And to come to that understanding it is necessary, even now, to leave the regions of our conquest–the cleared fields, the towns and cities, the highways–and re-enter the darkness of our own absence. Only in this silence and darkness can man recover the sense of the world’s longevity, of its ability to thrive without him, of his inferiority to it and his dependence on it. Perhaps then,... Read more
It seems Mr Mourdock didn't get the message--that when God wants to get something done, and there is no penis in the room, $*^! still manages to get done. There was this whole virgin birth thing that maybe he didn't hear about. But hey, Christmas is coming! Maybe somebody will tell him...Somebody tell him the story of how no male body parts were required to bring the Son of Man into the world. Read more
That's what I would say, if you were slinging your hair around my territory. Alas, I am only a citizen, and i can only tell you that your 5 million, or 5 billion, should not carry more weight than my vote, or my neighbor's vote, or the votes of any number of Americans who will go to the polls, wanting only a future for this country in which you are not the boss of everything. Read more
God forgive us: when we would rather be right than do right. God forgive us: when we would rather feel good than do good. God forgive us: when we would rather have justice than do justice. God forgive us: when we would rather speak of You than work for You. God forgive us: when the people you ‘hate’ look a lot like the people we hate. God forgive us: when fear speaks louder than mercy. when ‘not enough’ talks... Read more
On a lighter note… One of the most miraculous parts of parenting, by far, is listening as the pieces of the language puzzle click into place. Even though i’ve watched it come together with the first kid, it is no less of a wonder the second time around. One day they are screaming, crying, flailing little animals. Then they are saying short, single-syllable nouns. ‘Dad’ ‘dog’ and ‘book’ ranked among the first at our house. Then the single-word utterances take on... Read more
It was a long night. I went to sleep at a decent hour, then woke up at a distinctly INdecent hour, and lay awake until right around the time my kids started stirring. Isn’t that always the way… Normally, I’d attribute my nocturnal twitchiness to some ill-advised afternoon coffee, or a pressing deadline. But no. I woke up in the middle of the night, rehashing the presidential debate; and in my sleep-deprived mind, it sounded something like this: ‘did not.’ ... Read more
When the kids hit that tiny carpet square in Worship and Wonder, they say some of the most profound, prophetic and challenging things you'll ever hear. I'm grateful for adult leaders who know how to hear their words as what they are--gospel--and not as just the cute stuff that kids say. If you ask me, children have a far greater range of spiritual motion than adults do. Again, not because they are 'good,' or pure, but because it is simply a gift of childhood to live with and accept that which is too great for reason, logic, or a business plan. Read more
My kids have birthdays this week. They will be 2 and 4. And while I know this is where I’m supposed to say “I can’t believe how fast they’re growing up!” what I really think is, I can’t remember a time when they weren’t around. In many ways, they’ve been with me forever. The almost 2-year-old has a new favorite word–why. And, as only a small child can do, he throws this one-word question around as though it had three-syllables,... Read more
I was at a conference this week. Which meant i slept in a hotel room, without my kids. Since I moved to the west, I’ve learned a valuable lesson about travel–always try and get there the day before anything important happens. An ‘8am’ start time does not sound so bad at first glance. But then you remember that, to your body, 8am will really mean 5am, which means getting up at pretty much 4am, and well…it is just good to leave a... Read more
Irreverin
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In