Stopping to Think

Throwback Thursday is a series of posts, wherein I will on (some) Thursdays post a piece of writing from back in the day. Generally not from this blog. I will edit lightly for readability, but my intention is to allow each piece to stand basically as written. Over the years my mind has shifted on many things, as my knowledge of life, the Scriptures, and myself has grown. I'm not in the business of hiding this fact, so these will probably (at least on occasion) contain some things which even I think are crazy. Originally Posted on Facebook as: Some musings on Salvation... February 9, 2010 Public Friends Friends except Acquaintances Only Me Custom Good feed South Lake Youth Ministries See all lists... Le Mars, Iowa Area Plummer, Idaho Area Family US Postal Service Acquaintances Go Back Just to preface, well...I was going to write a disclaimer trying to explain where I'm coming from, mostly because I'm assuming there will be a lot of people (many of whom...

Monday, March 28th marked six years since one of the best people I have ever known left this world for the next. I still miss him. Here's what I wrote six years ago today. Originally posted on Facebook as "To: Alex" March 30, 2010  ·   To: Alex Flamin' Joe's runs, pool nights, going to the casino to eat at 1 am, and a million other things we did. The long chats about women, good beer, cigars, the good old days of football, what we were gonna do with our lives, and what God had been teaching us...yeah, gonna miss those. I didn't even realize how much you had touched my life until I drove to town today and realized almost every place I looked I had a memory with you there, and I could hear your voice making wise cracks the whole way. Life just won't be the same without you, man. I want to thank you for being the friend you were. No matter what was going on in either of our lives, I knew I could turn to you when I needed someone...

"Grace teaches us that God loves us because of who God is, not because of who we are." Phillip Yancey Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. 

Originally Posted on Facebook, April 21, 2008 at 1:20am Public Friends of Friends Friends Friends except Acquaintances Only Me Custom Good feed South Lake Youth Ministries See all lists... Le Mars, Iowa Area Plummer, Idaho Area Family US Postal Service Acquaintances Go Back So, I was sitting in Sunday School today and we were talking about Christ's resurrection, and how having four different accounts is important. And the question came up as to what the reasons are for having multiple accounts. And of course everyone gave the obvious answers. Multiple (non-conflicting) accounts prove to us that the story is true. Different accounts bring different facts to the forefront. Multiple writers give us at least one we can relate to in either a social, economic, or spiritual way. And while all this stuff is good and true, something else stuck out to me, especially as I read the different accounts. Everyone one of the gospel authors (and for that matter, all the different au...

The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ by Lee Strobel My rating: 4 of 5 stars Strobel interviews a number of experts in relation to current attacks upon the trustworthiness of the Bible and the Christian faith. Quality answers, clearly presented in Strobel's journalistic style. View all my reviews

"The essence of sainthood is expiation." Nero Wolfe [protagonist of Rex Stout's book, Fer-De-Lance] Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. Anyhow. Hope you enjoyed week's installment.

Lone scrub oak, among the stones No trees for miles, but here you grow Among the rolling, broken hills Land untamed, devoid of frills There's grass around, and flowers, too Deep green and gold against the blue Rocks hewn, not by a mortal man But by Creator's omnipotent hand Grey clouds conceal the ev'ning sun Its daily course, the light has run  As hours flee you're left to stand Lone oak, the solitary man This isn't the tree I was thinking of, but close enough.

Throwback Thursday is a series of posts, wherein I will on (some) Thursdays post a piece of writing from back in the day. Generally not from this blog. I will edit lightly for readability, but my intention is to allow each piece to stand basically as written. Over the years my mind has shifted on many things, as my knowledge of life, the Scriptures, and myself has grown. I'm not in the business of hiding this fact, so these will probably (at least on occasion) contain some things which even I think are crazy. Originally Published on Facebook as "It's just what came out." April 1, 2008 at 1:17am Public Friends of Friends Friends Friends except Acquaintances Only Me Custom Good feed South Lake Youth Ministries See all lists... Le Mars, Iowa Area Plummer, Idaho Area Family US Postal Service Acquaintances Go Back This is somewhat disjointed, and incoherent, but it's just what came out of me the night we got home from MWSB. Have you ever wanted ...

Shattered Dreams: God's Unexpected Pathway to Joy by Larry Crabb My rating: 4 of 5 stars Larry Crabb is never an author I would have picked up if it weren't for being required to read one of his books (The Burden's Off) in a counseling class. I struggled to read that book and did with this as well. His writing style grates on me. That said, this book is well worth reading, because Crabb has hard words for our comfort-seeking, pain-avoiding, dream-chasing, pseudo Christianity. What ought we to most desire? God. But we waste our time chasing lesser things. View all my reviews

"Autograph your work with excellence." Dave Donnerberg Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. Anyhow. Hope you enjoyed week's installment.

Is There Anybody Out There?: A Journey from Despair to Hope by Mez McConnell My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book was gut-wrenching, painful, and absolutely fabulous. The story of God's grace to place hope into the most difficult of circumstances shines through in Mez's story. His reflections on and criticisms of church-as-it-is-today were also helpful, if hitting painfully close to home. View all my reviews

"Sometimes I find that the best thing I can do for someone is not giving the right answer, but asking the right question." Dave Kraft Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. Anyhow. Hope you enjoyed week's installment.

On more than one occasion I have heard or read a quip to the following effect, "If you want God to speak to you, read the Bible. If you want Him to speak audibly, read it out loud." It gets me every time. I love the snarky, and helpful, rebuttal it contains of a certain type of subjectivism which wants more from the Christian walk than prayer and Bible reading. More than talking to and hearing from God? More than conversing with the Creator? Come on. So I appreciate the quip. However.  I do think it could be made more Biblical. It would look something like this: If you want God to speak to you, read the Bible. If you want to hear Him audibly, hear the Bible preached . The centering of Christian experience upon the personal Bible reading time is a rather modern development. It requires a few things which for most of church history simply have not been the case (this point is largely drawn from the observations Carl Trueman, Professor of Church History at Westminster The...

Throwback Thursday is a series of posts, wherein I will on (some) Thursdays post a piece of writing from back in the day. Generally not from this blog. I will edit lightly for readability, but my intention is to allow each piece to stand basically as written. Over the years my mind has shifted on many things, as my knowledge of life, the Scriptures, and myself has grown. I'm not in the business of hiding this fact, so these will probably contain some things which even I think are crazy. Originally Published on Facebook as, "I just felt like writing..." April 14, 2008 at 2:24am Public Friends of Friends Friends Friends except Acquaintances Only Me Custom Good feed South Lake Youth Ministries See all lists... Le Mars, Iowa Area Plummer, Idaho Area Family US Postal Service Acquaintances Go Back I don't know why. I don't really feel like I have anything to say, but maybe some intelligable gibbersh will come out. I guess I'll talk about core gro...

The Little Way of Ruthie Leming: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life by Rod Dreher My rating: 4 of 5 stars Part memoir, part biography of his sister, and most generally a reflection on life in a small town with its benefits and limits. Or, perhaps I should say, the benefits of its limits. I loved this book. While I can't relate to the experiences of major public success in any field, I could certainly connect to the sense of feeling out of place in the place that ought to be "home." I enjoyed Dreher's prodding into the causes and cures of the misplaced-ness. And of course, the story of his sister's life and death is both heart-warming, and heart-breaking. View all my reviews