An editor once asked about my writing goals, and I answered we write for either therapy or impact, and I focus on impact. Yes, they overlap, and my writing changes me, but impact dominates. Ironically within days, a quote by St. Dominic came up on Facebook, “A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer…”
Read MoreWho Is This Jesus?
Most love Christmas, as we celebrate Jesus’ birth. But his life transcends being a babe in a crib, and for followers of Jesus, or those intrigued with him, knowing his nature will drive how we follow. John’s story of Jesus’ life doesn’t detail the events of his birth, but summarizes them, “The Word (Jesus) became flesh and…
Read MoreTurbulent Transformations
A fellow teaching compatriot, Leilani Smith, has crafted a new skill since we both left the school—painting. That’s her “Water into Wine” above. I easily saw the blue of water, at the top right, and the red of wine at the bottom left, and the turbulent mixing of the two in the center. But she neither intended nor noticed the faint presence of a face top center. A suggested jaw line, a mouth and nose, and shaded eyes.
What a metaphor of the turbulence that accompanies following Jesus and the transformation he brings to our lives. Let’s experiment and…
Read MoreLessons from Nam for a Marginalized Church
This bird above would have been like my bird. Back in college, I signed up for the Navy ROTC, to fly an F-4. They approved my app, sent the paperwork to DC for final signatures, and somehow lost it. By the time they discovered their mistake and asked me to resubmit, life changed and I declined. But seeing this jet at the Palm Springs Air Museum brought back memories, and a lesson for the church in a now secular society.
Not long ago, some friends and I discussed the changes…
Read MoreBorn in Blood and Mud
True confession time—not only am I a bit of a Christmas junkie, but this post is revised from earlier, because the concept haunts me. Our displays seem so bright and cheery and sanitary, but the first Christmas differed, and the difference impacts our following. So, let’s think about that first one.
His parents were alone, far from home and family, and likely delivered their firstborn…
Read MoreA River, a Family, a Faith
The pic comes from the movie A River Runs Through It, taken from Norman Maclean’s book, recounting the mostly true lives of a Presbyterian pastor in Missoula MT in the early 1900s and his two sons. Notice the beautiful writing in these early excerpts, but more so, notice how Maclean weaves his faith into all he does, including fly fishing.
“In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing…
Read MoreMastering Our Passions
Last Friday, I Zoomed with an editor about two book proposals her house might like. At one point, she asked about my writing goals. I said we write for either therapy or impact. Yes, they share ground, my writing changes me, but I focus on impacting people. Then I sat down Saturday to write this Unconventional post, one scheduled for several months. A divine coincidence, perhaps? 😊
Back then, I ran across this quote by St. Dominic, “A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be…”
Read MoreDivine Tension
I never realized tuning a guitar had such complicated principles behind it! Of course, my tonal ability ranks with a paramecium, or likely lower, but this site, one that described how the right tension is set for a guitar string, based on the type of guitar, the style of playing, the diameter of the string, the amplitude of vibration and more, amazed me with the technical details. To summarize it, though, the correct and appropriate tension on a string allows beautiful music to be played by an excellent guitarist. But proper tuning requires…
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