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When Flesh and Steel Are One
For Christmas, our kids gave us tickets to a Sting concert in Dallas. They know how much I like his music and how unlikely I am to spend the money to see him perform live. The whole experience was priceless, and Sting was in top form. He ended the evening by singing “Fragile,” which has become something of an anthem in times of sudden outbreaks of extraordinary violence. On the evening of September 11, 2001, Sting was scheduled to perform in Tuscany, Italy, and record his first live album in 15 years. We all remember what happened earlier in the day, which left the band wrestling with whether or not to go…
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Malachi…And A Little Zechariah
While in the Navy I was assigned as a “yeoman”. That means I was a clerk/typist. I had a specialty in that I served as a legal typist and part of those duties were compiling Officer Fitness Reports. OFR’s were a very important part of an officer’s career and while very rarely were negative comments made, the underperforming officers were described in ways that everyone knew they were not getting the best marks. It was what Shakespeare described as “damning with faint praise.” You might say things like “Lieutenant Jones has the potential to become a capable officer and pilot.” Abraham Lincoln reportedly asked Thaddeus Stevens about the honesty of Simon…
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Gideon
It’s important to understand the centuries long history between the Midianites and Israel. Even though Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, was a Midianite there was always tension between the two peoples. But, the real dispute is recorded in Numbers 25. Midianite women were seducing Israelite men by inviting them to worship the local gods. In response, Moses instructs the leaders to kill all the men who have been led away. Then we read a passage that is eerily like what we read about the terrorists in Paris this week. Numbers 25:6: “Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole…
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The Measure of a Man
As much as anything Dad relished making and fixing things. What he really loved were the tools. He collected them partly because he needed the right tools to do the work essentially with one hand and partly because he loved working with them. He found delight in patiently figuring out the essence of a problem and then coming up with a solution that was brilliant - and incredibly ugly.
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Psalm 112
In the local paper this morning the publisher’s column made the suggestion that we not think of New Year’s resolutions this year. Instead, we might think about a theme for our year or a word we want to have define our lives over the next twelve months. Here is a Psalm with a theme that would make a good example. This is a great Psalm for beginning the year. In fact, it’s a great Psalm for life and one I recommend for anyone starting out. As well, it is the Psalm I read at my father’s memorial service. It’s something to live into with our lives. 1. “Blessed is the…
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The Year in Pictures: 2014
[vc_row fullwidth=”false” attached=”false” padding=”0″ visibility=”” animation=””][vc_column border_color=”” visibility=”” width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″] Happy New Year. Some of you know I enjoy taking pictures – and then finding something to say. Here are twelve from the year that I hope will provoke some thoughts. [/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid style=”all” items_per_page=”10″ element_width=”12″ gap=”10″ button_style=”rounded” button_color=”blue” button_size=”md” arrows_design=”none” arrows_position=”inside” arrows_color=”blue” paging_design=”radio_dots” paging_color=”grey” loop=”” autoplay=”-1″ item=”mediaGrid_BlurWithContentBlock” grid_id=”vc_gid:1452141965798-1fa904cf-b3a8-1″ include=”13215,13219,13214,13216,13218,13217,13220,13223,13221,13222,13224,13225″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
