Ever look back on the “good old days?” Were yours as good as you remember, or has time improved them? Or were your good old days something you impatiently awaited, and they came so slowly? Sometimes the best seasons of our lives still lie before us, but how can we tell?
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image by cbc.ca
Saved?
Let's do some fun, and brief, theology, in a way that may explode your beliefs about being saved. The theological word: soteriology, or the more common word: salvation. What is it? Getting into heaven? Staying out of hell? Good news, we get more than we often imagine.
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image from commons.wikimedia.org
Suck It Up
Life can suck us dry. Home life. Work life. Economic life. Family life. Yeah, the list can go on. We get exhausted and have little to give. We need a break, some rest, like the lion above. A time to refill spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally. But we can't seem to find, or create, a break in the fast pace. Even so, sometimes we need to suck it up. Not always, but sometimes. Here's why...
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Know the Times
John Thurston, whose house is above, raised his grandson, my father, when my granddad abandoned his new family. Thurston rassled a grizzly and won (otherwise I wouldn't be writing this). He knew the world he lived in, and navigated it well. How about us?
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image by masterfile.com
An Uneasy Comfort
After 36 years of marriage, Sheila and I have settled into relaxed comfort. In our first days, we'd talk until 2 in the morning, avidly learning about each other. Now we head for bed at different times. In early years, we'd cuddle in bed and discuss our days. Now we read books. Separate ones. In early years we'd eagerly listen to the other's words. Now we finish their sentences. Life is like that, even the spiritual one. We begin with passion and fervor, and settle into an uneasy comfort. We love, we commit, we serve, but the spark is gone. Should it be?
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Hard Times
The pic above looks serene, two nice looking bikes in the California redwoods on an early morning. September 2015. Yet the surface appearance never reveals a clue to the hard times those bikes and one other experienced on that trip. Nor the difficulties of the riders. Look at ...
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The Power of Yielding
Paradoxes comprise faith, and that continues to attract me—I like the concept of a God I can’t comprehend fully. Like Jesus’ statement, “if you save your life you’ll lose it.” Or, the tension between what we do and what God does in transforming us. I’ve battled that one. A lot...
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Whispers Lost
This semester will wrap up my teaching career, and it’s time. Just one of many reasons—in our discussion-based English classes, I frequently have to ask students to repeat their comments, but louder. When the old guy receives a questioning look, I merely respond, “Listened to way too much loud rock and roll at your age. Just wait…”
That listening loss bothers me. Sometimes I smile and miss parts of the conversation rather than asking for a rerun. It’s not bad enough for a hearing aid, vanity says. But perhaps all of this yields a metaphor...
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