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