Network Marketing

When I was about 25, my boss invited me to a breakfast with “local business leaders.” I was kind of honored. I thought he might be sponsoring me for the Rotary or Elks club. Everyone was dressed in business attire. We arrived a few minutes late, but the guy who was speaking was very inspirational. […]

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. […]

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, […]

Kinda Prayin’

I must preface my remarks today with an observation. Love has become an almost meaningless word to me. It is so ubiquitous in our lexicon that it can refer to hamburgers, sex or a lifelong commitment. So I am going to stop using it. For today’s entry the word I will use to convey my […]

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 Black Hole

Deep inside of me there is a black hole. It is a malevolent mass of pure evil. Were it to be freed, I might be capable of doing unthinkable things. Usually, it is under wraps. It is buried so deeply in my psyche, that under normal circumstances, I cannot even access it. But under prolonged […]

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 […]

A Generous Idolatry

I have been thinking about Idols a lot recently (not the Paula Abdul kind). The second commandment says you shall not make carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven or above. If you go with the narrowest interpretation of the commandment, it would be pretty easy to keep. I do not […]