I've been trying to read more classic literature. Currently I'm about four chapters shy of finishing Jane Eyre. Last summer I read East of Eden, which is a remarkable volume that touches on original sin. I've been wanting to purchase the TV miniseries on DVD from Amazon.com, as it stars Jane Seymour in the unlikely role of Cathy…
Some nine years ago I sat on a weight bench at the Wolf Creek YMCA in Toledo listening to some new music by Sara Groves. (Has it really been nine years that I've been working out? I really should be in much better shape.) The opening song to her All Right Here is "Less Like Scars,"…
There's a little ice cream shop in the small town where we live. There are two, actually. One, a soft-serve place that's been around for decades by the look of it. The other, which opened up last year, offers hard ice cream -- or, as some of the folks call it around here, hand-dipped. The later…
Having grown up in a Pentecostal church that shunned formal liturgy, then spending my early adult years at a church where the pastor, a former Baptist, shied away from anything traditional, I didn't recite the Lord's Prayer much. Even now, I couldn't say it from memory. The first few times I heard it I remember…
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a confession. I wrote several confession posts back at SWYW, but not lately. So here goes. I confess that I’m an embezzler. There, that feels good to get that load off my back. Now, of course, I’m not talking about an embezzler of money, as in a bookkeeper who…
My creative energy has been sapped lately, which is why I haven't posted here on Mondays in a couple weeks. I spent a few weeks reflecting and crafting my sermon I preached at my church on November 25. I don't think I could ever preach every week like some pastors do. I always need time…
In nearly every aspect of life, I tend to be well-prepared and deliberate. A thinker, I am typically slow to react, though not quite at the snail’s pace I’ve found some church committees move. In music, I’m well-rehearsed. In writing posts here, I edit multiple times before clicking “publish.” Even my clothing selections for Sunday…
Several months ago I set out shopping for a netbook. I’d wanted something light-weight to carry in my small backpack, specifically when commuting on my bicycle. The computer didn’t need to be powerful, since I already have one for work that’s plenty beefy, and weighs a ton, for the processor-heavy-demanding projects on my task list…
A couple months ago I received an email from someone at my church — someone, shall we say, not young — who just happened to check out our Facebook page. He was disappointed that he, for some reason, never receives status updates from our church on his Facebook news feed, despite that we post several…
I recently read a book I recommend for every parent of a teenage girl, or if your girls will soon become teenagers. A heads up: they all do eventually. The book is called Girls Uncovered. Now hear me out. It's subtitled: New Research on What America's Sexual Culture Does to Young Women.
