Softball Season has begun!Blue Crush 5, Other Team (Name unknown by me) 7 Darn!Season Record 1-1The thoughts of Eugene Peterson in the most recent edition of Christianity Today has done me much good. To wit:Spirituality is no different from what we've been doing for two thousand years just by going to church and receiving the … Continue reading Peterson – Spiritual Intimacy

Eugene PetersonAs my plane ride to Sacramento for business hit cruising altitude yesterday morning, I was perusing the latest issue of Christianity Today. From long-time Presbyterian pastor and the author of The Message, we are now blessed with this remarkable interview. If you do anything today, read this please!My thought: all we Believing folk should … Continue reading Spirituality for All the Wrong Reasons

After feeling varying degrees of sadness and angst over being "church homeless", this article renews my faith in what God continues to do each day.Oh that Believing people might love their communities, their unchurched friends, and even their dysfunctional church like that "beloved drunk uncle"!

My mortgage is largeDebt looms over me like fogAmerican Dream?

A response to DerekI received a thoughtful response to two posts, here and here, from Derek, who is obviously a kind, handsome, thrifty, brave, and courteous Christian fellow. Oh, and one who takes well to compliments.Derek had a couple of thoughts that I wanted to respond to here, as they are important ideas that beg … Continue reading A Response To Derek

Henry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau once penned:"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation"This was written as Thoreau spent two years and two months on Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, pondering the life of being removed from civilization. There is wisdom in taking this time of separation to consider one' place in life, and … Continue reading Our Lives of Quiet Desperation

Go Rachel, Go!Feel like your life has too many challenges? Too many bills to pay, kids too noisy, feeling lonely, like your job stinks. Feel overwhelmed? Wonder if life has no meaning?Try this. Try being born with a severe visual birth defect. Try coping with life that way.Then try taking on a 1,131 mile dog … Continue reading Overcoming Obstacles

I had another conversation today with a (different than the other day) pastor friend. He was telling me about his new members class at his church, and how they work to "set the bar rather low" to allow people the room to find their place in the church. He has been teaching this class for … Continue reading Is It Just About Showing Up?

Are The Cleavers "Seekers" or Just "Emergent"?Gosh, come on and smile you people, or is church THAT bad?Ok, so Tod Bolsinger has summarized for us what people want from the perfect church. I love the ideas people mentioned and those things not mentioned. What a nice gaggle of Christian folk. However, this whole topic has … Continue reading But What do the THE REST of The People Want?

Daniel SchorrSo I am driving home today from work, listening to NPR. There is lengthy coverage of the news that freedom seems to be breaking out in several places in the Middle East. Amazing. Its beginning to feel like 1989 in Eastern Europe. I am smiling, thinking, maybe God is at work in all this. … Continue reading White Guy Nearly Crashes Volvo Listening to NPR