My son plays happily. He flits easily between two worlds, the world that is and the world he imagines. His conversation assumes the extraordinary. His play is an adventure in make believe. How like faith. Perhaps nothing is more like faith than play. This “admission” would no doubt make Christians raised in an era of apologetic zeal begin to sweat. It may also delight anti-theist scolds, those … [Read more...] about Make Believe Makes Believers
Best Posts
The Box-Ticker and the Poet Argue About Qualifying Everything
I’m learning something about myself as a thinker of thoughts and a writer of words. I must resist what I feel as a need to qualify every potentially confusing thing I write. I’m growing more comfortable with the idea that I cannot provide all the caveats I need to protect myself from being misunderstood. I’m learning to leave more room for possible misunderstanding where it can’t be helped … [Read more...] about The Box-Ticker and the Poet Argue About Qualifying Everything
Good Lessens
When I do the dishes, I use way more water than my wife uses when she does them. This is because I am not as skilled as she is and I think by an avalanche of water I may drown away my dish washing inadequacies. Of course, my wife doesn’t complain about the water. It occurs to me that the same is true in writing and communication in general. If we are unsure of ourselves, unskilled, we pile up the … [Read more...] about Good Lessens
It Is What It Is, But It Is Not What It Shall Be
It is what it is. I read it on a cubicle wall. It’s a country-craft sign with large, cursive script, a script to make one curse. Words to echo the curse. The sign is made to look like it was made on a farm, but it was made in China. And not on a farm in China. The smooth, shimmering surface lies about its age. It’s made to appear older with new-painted fading, meticulously manufactured cracks, and … [Read more...] about It Is What It Is, But It Is Not What It Shall Be
Passing On
The bicycle pictured is from Vashon Island, Washington. Some history can be learned here, but it appears most people don't know where the bike came from. Some say it was left there by a young man who went off to fight in The Great War, never to return. That's how I first heard of it and it got me thinking. A picture's worth a thousand tears. When I'm leaving the house I sometimes think, "If I … [Read more...] about Passing On
Sigh Not So
Note: This was originally posted at The Rabbit Room. Also, FYI FWIW: This is my 700th post here. It’s a dangerous thing to be alive, where temptations to think we’re better than others are everywhere. Temptations to believe we deserve more, ubiquitous. Sinful pride is part of our awful inheritance, even when we’re depressed. Sometimes I think it’s all about me, that even my failures are more … [Read more...] about Sigh Not So
My Father’s Stunning Failure To Achieve
A great memory from my last birthday was getting the chance to listen to and ask questions of my Dad for a few hours. I got to hear, in more detail than ever, the story of his life in the Army. From his enlistment (he volunteered during Vietnam, wasn't drafted) as a Private, to his honorable discharge a few years later as a Lieutenant. I had to drag many of the facts out of him, because he is … [Read more...] about My Father’s Stunning Failure To Achieve
Don’t Hate…Meditate
"If I get 1,000 compliments and one insult, guess which one I listen to? The insult, of course. I have an unbelievable ability to ignore a swarm of positive words and camp out on the one negative." Jon Acuff Et tu, Acuff? This is from a short post excellently titled, "Quit Giving The Haters PhDs." He refers to the tendency in our minds to promote those who snipe and sideline those who encourage. … [Read more...] about Don’t Hate…Meditate
The Stories We Believe Make Sense Of Our Lives
This idea has been circling in on me more and more. The reason good teaching (right doctrine) is important is because it can connect us to the right story. The story of Jesus and his self-sacrificial, substitutional death --which atones for sin-- is the central story of human history. By hearing that good news and then trusting in Jesus' work on our behalf, we are rescued from our real guilt … [Read more...] about The Stories We Believe Make Sense Of Our Lives
Advent: Living On Purpose
Advent is upon us once more. For those not familiar with (or frightened by) Advent, it’s not something only Roman Catholics do, but an ancient Christian celebration (begun in 380 AD, I’m told) that is growing in popularity among ordinary evangelicals like me. For some reason, a lot of people ask us (my wife and I) about Advent. It’s probably because it’s kind of strange to our area and the … [Read more...] about Advent: Living On Purpose
The Ironic Tragedy Of Social Media
Twitter and Facebook are the latest, greatest waves of attack in the total war on momentary silence. (This is especially true if you have them on your phone, always at the ready.) They don’t reduce reflection, they compound it many times over, ironically rendering it impossible. They entice multitudes with the appearance of an attack on boredom, but result largely in its consistent … [Read more...] about The Ironic Tragedy Of Social Media
Accidental Death and a Sovereign God
I hate traffic, especially drug traffic, but also the congested, automobile variety. Today I was held up by a vast, right-lane conspiracy of cars blocking the road by driving so slow they seemed to be going somewhere between 10 mph and reverse. I angrily imagined my vehicle fitted with sidewinders and me pressing a button, saying, “fox 1, away!” and “fox 2, away!” Just like in Iron Eagle, or … [Read more...] about Accidental Death and a Sovereign God