A Long-Distance Runner with Long Covid I went for a 12-mile trail run today. It was strong and I really felt the effects of yesterday’s three-hour spin in a good way. I call runs like this rebound runs. My goal this year is to return to running 50k’s. I ran my last 50k in 2020 and was still posting personal records (PR’s) in 2019. All this changed with COVID-19. After the second shot, I felt like I aged 10 years,... Read more
My news feed and my pastor friends are all talking about the “He Gets Us” ad that was played during the Superbowl this year. I am not a football fan and therefore did not see the ad, though I have seen enough clips of the ad and have read enough commentary to get the idea behind the ad. A Christology Primer The fancy study of Jesus and his divinity is known as Christology. Scholars and thinkers since around 100... Read more
I had a long workout planned this morning, 6-8 miles. I did not get it in, I have a lot of excuses as to why. The biggest excuse was that I just enjoyed spending time with my wife a lot more than I would have enjoyed running in the 25-degree, 11 mph wind this morning. We do not get moments like this much anymore. I work 8-10 hours most weekdays and at least 5 hours on the weekends. She works... Read more
There are nine types of love according to the Greeks: Philia, Pragma, Storge, Eros, Ludus, Mania, Philautia, Agape and Meraki. If we have taken any traditional Sunday school class or marriage encounger class, we have seen at least three of these, eros, philia and agape. This week, as we celebrate Valentines Day, I want to write two posts looking at love, one from a broader, contemplative perspective and one from a personal growth perspective. What does it mean to... Read more
We are hearing a lot about violence these days. Has it ever gone away? Will we ever find peace? As we celebrate Black History Month, I want to briefly highlight the nonviolent thinkers and doers of the Civil Rights movement, I then want to narrow my focus to how we can cultivate nonviolence in ourselves. Blessed are the Peace Makers Jesus was a nonviolent prophet. He used power carefully. But what is nonviolence? In digging around for something I... Read more
We are hearing a lot about violence these days. Has it ever gone away? Will we ever find peace? As we celebrate Black History Month, I want to briefly highlight the nonviolent thinkers and doers of the Civil Rights movement, I then want to narrow my focus to how we can cultivate nonviolence in ourselves. Blessed are the Peace Makers Jesus was a nonviolent prophet. He used power carefully. But what is nonviolence? In digging around for something I... Read more
Alright! We have made it through January. How is everybody doing with their goals? If you have fallen behind on your goals, remember this, every day is a practice of restarting. Today is a great day to renew those goals. Dry January I am taking on a big challenge this year. I have not run a 50k since the 2020 running season. When COVID hit, I like a lot of people got the shots. Something about the second shot changed... Read more
They say you are what you eat. I eat a lot of chicken; I am not a chicken yet. I began utilizing diet to manage my Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the 1980’s when I was a little boy. At that time, my mother was introduced to the Feingold Diet and for several years, I ate a lot of foods that did not have red food dye, salicylates and had to eat carob chocolate instead of real chocolate. It... Read more
Tongues James 3:4-5 offers this: Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also, the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. One of the more intimidating spiritual practices I have avoided as a contemplative is the silent retreat. Silence and ADHD are not compatible playmates. This is not to say... Read more
“Go to Hell” is common parlance when one is disgusted with another’s behaviors. In our house, since I am a former pastor, “I am going to go to hell for saying that” is a joke we pass around quite often. Perhaps one of more trying theological and historical topics to preach and teach about was hell. In this discussion, I want to tackle a couple of notions of hell from several angles: misconceptions; the nature of hell and other religious... Read more
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