Once there was a climber who set out to climb a mountain. The word from those who had gone before was that the guru at the top of the mountain was God himself and that the closer you got to the summit, the more spectacular the views and the more satisfied your soul became. At the bottom of the mountain, there were many paths to … Continue reading Mountain Climbing
It’s a very long story how it all came to be this way, but I am having the odd experience of raising a 16 year old and a 1 year old at the same time. I say odd not so much because it’s that unusual. But often I feel like I’m starting to get a sense of what sort of person my oldest son is turning out to be and … Continue reading Is it my fault he smells like cumin? Thoughts on parenthood
It has long been a practice among those who want to learn how to pray to pray a psalm each day – preferably by starting at the front and working through them in order. When you do this, you find that some days the psalm speaks to you and some days you are praying someone else’s prayer. Which is as it should be. The point … Continue reading I asked God to hit my husband with a bus
This past week I’ve been looking at the last chapters of the Book of Job. As I said before, these passages have always bothered me because they don’t make sense. Why would a loving and compassionate God show up and affirm that Job did not bring his suffering on himself and then tell him to sit down and get in line because he’s just a … Continue reading The Book of Job: The Happy Ending
Going all theological on ya again! At one point Jesus says that the one sin which will not be forgiven is the sin against the Holy Spirit. But no one seems to know what the sin against the Holy Spirit is. I would say that first of all, the sin must be one that is not repented of. If we ask for forgiveness, it is … Continue reading Sins against the Holy Spirit
I’m going to start my day by ticking people off! Just let me say at the outset that I am not saying that people who hold a belief in what is called “biblical creationism” do not honor God. They may or may not. But the belief system itself does not honor God. Why? Because it denies the work of God’s own hands. The creation is … Continue reading Why Creationism Does Not Honor God
This is my third installment of a series of posts taking another look at the end of the Book of Job. (The other two are here and here.) Today I’m going to look at Chapters 40 and 41 together. The LORD said to Job: 2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” 3 Then Job … Continue reading Book Of Job – Defense!
I have a 20 month old baby girl named Olivia. And she cracks me up. When I tell her “no” she says, “oohhh.” She does it just like someone going, “aw man!” She has this laugh that sounds like whatever she’s laughing at is the funniest thing ever. She also has an unusual command of her body. She’s been walking since 8 1/2 months and … Continue reading What Olivia is Teaching Me
A couple of days ago, I started writing about the ending chapters of the Book of Job. As I said then, the end of Job has always bothered me. It doesn’t make sense that this man would lose everything have God show up and go, “who do you think you are?” and then Job would be satisfied and comforted. It doesn’t make sense for God … Continue reading Book of Job – Looking at our animal friends
In his wonderful book The Happiness Hypothesis Jonathan Haidt talks about the difference between situational ethics and an ethic built on internal character. Situational ethics is pretty much what it sounds like: looking at a situation and trying to apply ethical thinking to it. It says, “in this situation, what is the right thing to do.” He then compares this to an older sort of … Continue reading Raising a bunch of characters
The Upside Down World 