Recently one of my friends shared how she has practiced yoga for 99 days straight. Many people congratulated her, but I didn’t hear anyone that said, “Me too.” Why? Because exercise, getting in shape and creating healthy habits is hard. We take a long walk and our bodies seem to scream out warnings that even a little bit of exercise is way more than we are accustomed to. When I haven’t done yoga, I can feel emotions releasing from my... Read more
When we decided not to go to church anymore, we didn’t really know whether this is a permanent decision or just what we are doing right now. It probably depends upon which one of us you talk to and what day it is. One thing is for sure, we need some time to heal up from being in church consistently for about 25 years. One Sunday, we went to a café in Nebraska for brunch. Even though it was Sunday,... Read more
Most of the religious traditions I have been exposed to promote a literal view of Scripture. Most people in these traditions are quick to point out that a literal view is not a wooden view. Jesus doesn’t literally believe he is a door – it’s a metaphor. I agree, we certainly must account for figures of speech, original language, setting, context, type of literature (just to name a few). But sometimes that’s not enough – occasionally there are still inconsistencies... Read more
Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians—you are not like him – Mahatma Gandhi I assume one of the primary reasons we join a group revolves around the idea that we gain some honor by associating with that group. We like its principles and objectives. And, generally, we like the people in the group. But often people in our group diminish the reputation and efficacy of the group. We find ourselves defending the group and/or the people in the... Read more
I admit there are days when I just want to stop doing social media and just BE. The introvert in me wants to but something else compels me to share what I create. So, if we are going to be together, I would like to share a little of my heart. Laura and I hope you understand we love you all. From the person that praises us almost too much to the person that we had to block, we sincerely care... Read more
Most discoveries I made about sex initially were from my friends. They weren’t necessarily qualified to teach me about such things, but at that time, they were the only ones talking about it. “Do you know about…,” they would tease, “No, you probably don’t.” The journey through the teenage years is one of ignorance and discovery. As a teenager, I thought I knew everything because I was discovering something new every day. At times, I felt like I had been... Read more
We get all kinds of mixed messages from society and religion. My tradition taught me that my body was a temple, but it also stressed that it was some sort of evil machine that just thought about sex all the time and could not really be trusted. Sometimes they stressed it was like a tent to carry around the more spiritual or soulful part of me, but it was also the flesh that was the source of all my sin. ... Read more
Recently people headed back to their favorite sanctuaries: bars, beaches and church buildings. All the other mass gatherings have abstained (except for one specific political candidate that shall remain nameless). I cannot even go sit in most restaurants; but, if I wanted to, I could go to a rural church in my areas without a mask and without social distancing. Let me be perfectly clear, what I am suggesting is that we should not be meeting in churches at all... Read more
We adopted Winston into our family when he was about 2 years old about three and a half years ago. Miniature Australian Shepherds are trainable and by nature are herding, community kind of animals. We often say they are smart, but what we mean is that they are about like an above average 3-year old child. I know this because every time I ask him to get me the remote, he just looks at me like I asked him... Read more
One reality of our political climate in the United States is that it divides us up into identifiable camps. While it doesn’t make for productive discussions, it does allow me to generalize without being too far off base. So, please understand that this is only my opinion and it is also a generalization, but I don’t value my opinion so highly that I would search high and low for prooftexts or Bible verses—I simply share with you what I have... Read more
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