The Prodigal Gomer

The Prodigal Gomer Hosea 3:1–5 (The Message) Then God ordered me, “Start all over: Love your wife again, your wife who’s in bed with her latest boyfriend, your cheating wife. Love her the way I, God, love the Israelite people, even as they flirt and party with every god that takes their fancy.” I did […]

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Orderly

a swirling maelstrom of shame and discontentment

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Legacy Code

I have no time for sermons, platitudes, politics and cliche one liners. But sitting quietly in an empty room surrounded by my beloved dogs? Sometimes, just sometimes, I feel connected to the universe.

Eleanor Rigby

Last Sunday, I attend a new church for the second time. During the sermon, I found myself thinking, “Why do I do this?” Why indeed. I can think of dozens of “Why nots.” But I am running short on “whys.” The only thing I could come up with is that I am lonely. But is it […]

Sky Cake: The Middle Weigh

Before reading this entry, watch the video that inspired it. I love cake. My middle can attest to this fact. Red velvet in particular is very tasty. But as I am sure you can already guess that this posting is not about actual cake. Rather it is an appreciation of Patton Oswald’s routine on faith. […]

Attachment and Engagement

Here are thoughts for a rainy day from a practicing agnostic Christian Buddhist. I have been struggling of late with the third noble: suffering is the result of attachment. I think what I got hung up on was the antonym of attachment: detachment. Detachment denotes aloofness. Visions of a monk in a cave come to […]

Noteworthy

I stumbled onto an old album by Pete Seeger at the Sing-along Sanders Theater. The album covers many traditional and folk songs. As the name would imply, the audience sings along. One song in particular just released waves of pent up emotion coursing thought my veins. It was “Amazing Grace.” I was at my desk, […]

Taming the Smoke Monster

Zen and Ben, they rhyme, that is about the only thing those two words have in common. Not exactly true, but finding inner peace is not one of my strong suits. I have moments, fleeting moments of insight. I cannot imagine what true enlightenment would look like, but I can achieve several minutes of peacefulness […]

The Swinger

When my son was first born, I was on the cusp of going into the ministry. Because I was quasi clergy, I felt that I had to put a positive spin on everything. I said obnoxious things like, “thank God this happened to us. We have the resources and a strong relationship. We can deal […]

I’d rather laugh with the sinners, than cry with the saints

The older I get the more I think that I may not be compatible with heaven. It is most assuredly not for a lack of information. I have heard about heaven and hell for all of my life. I have spend most of my life surrounded by people that knew beyond a shadow of a […]