Ragamuffin Ramblings

Changed, for good

2011-09-15T11:35:00.003-04:00

I have had 7 addresses, in 5 cities, in 8 years...and two of those cities I lived in for 2 years apiece. So the last several years have been, to put it mildly, "transient." "Nearly rootless" might be a better word. That very transience has made me value the people who have connected with me - some of them at a very, very deep level, very quickly. But I guess I had been in some denial about how

Branching out....

2011-06-19T23:43:00.000-04:00

I am not done posting here. But I am finding the need to post things that don't need to remain anonymous. I'd like to be able to talk on some topics that don't require anonymity...and I'd like to share some of the things I've written here with a wider audience. So I've started a new blog over at A Bubble Off Square. The first post can be found over here. The title comes from a term I

"And so it begins..."

2011-04-01T12:07:00.000-04:00

Actually, it's been underway for about a month - preparations to relocate to a new address have been going for a while, now. Chris's job has been what one generous soul would call "a hot mess" for more than a year. It has been degenerating for at least a year, and he's been developing a case of "homesick" that's been getting more and more obvious over that same year. We had been looking at

Faith, belief, and finding community

2011-03-22T13:30:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have been gone too long. Yes, I have some catching up to do. Sorry, it's going to have to wait.... A friend of mine recently decloaked as a fellow blogger, Ravenmoon at Becoming A Perfect Mom. Her post Not beliving, a lonely business brought me a flashback from my Church History experience with Dr. Kurt Hendel at LSTC. Here's my flashback word, with its Wikipedia reference: Adiaphoron (

Back to the beginning...

2010-06-30T23:11:00.002-04:00

Six years ago this morning, my car got towed from the parking lot of an Osco pharmacy in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood at something like 4 in the morning. I was unemployed, desperate for money, and my friend had just paid me $150 to take care of their pets for two weeks while they were gone to South America. I had taken them to the airport, and on the way home, stopped at Dunkin Donuts in Hyde

Outta my mind on a Wednesday moanin'

2010-03-09T18:47:00.009-05:00

Yet another tribute to the late Bob Talbert of Detroit Free Press fame (1936-1999) - a Southern boy whose accent translated "morning" into moanin' and whose book, Good Moanin', is one of the unsung classics of life in Detroit (along with Richard Guindon's cartoons). So today I divide my early-morning thoughts into Good moanin' and Jus' moanin':Good moanin' - there is nothing like having a cat

Changes in the air

2010-02-22T13:50:00.006-05:00

Taking a moment to reflect on some interesting - and challenging - events out here in the slushy, mushy tundra of the Big Ten College Town in the Cornfields...One of fun trips we allow ourselves is a trip to Indianapolis each year to see the AMA/FIM Supercross (indoor motorcycle dirt-track) races. Yes, I know, you'd never peg me for a motorcycle-racing guy - but it's a good time. The racing is

Finding answers

2010-02-07T23:18:00.011-05:00

We are expecting the next "great wave" of snowfall here in central Illinois - generally, two-to-four inches of the white stuff can medium-paralyze The Big-Ten-College-Town-On-The-Prairie. So we are stocked up with enough groceries that we will survive, well-fed, for a while. Actually, I'm pretty sure we have enough food for Thanksgiving dinner for 12, if we only had enough places for them to

A disciplined return

2009-12-03T22:51:00.006-05:00

I found this in my inbox recently...a clear image of how connected I am, and how ripples in my life are detected by others...~~~Can't sleep. Up browsing.It seems you haven't posted on the ragamuffin blog for a l.o.n.g. time.Are you okay?Are you blogging elsewhere?Are you done blogging?Perhaps none of it is any of my business.I miss your words. your thoughts. you.Still pondering deeply and

Fall reflections...

2009-10-01T12:34:00.012-04:00

It's October 1 - plenty of changes in the fall air...A little known fact about me is that I have had an oldish Oscar Schmidt autoharp in my closet for about a decade. It's had a couple buzzing keys, and it was a pain in the nether-regions to tune (there are thirty-six strings to tune!), so other than using it for a couple of kids' sermons in the 1999-2001 period, I never really pulled it out

Something fun...

2009-09-16T19:06:00.005-04:00

Is it me, or do you see the resemblance?Left, Assembly Hall at the Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Right, the Jupiter 2, from the original Lost In Space.I keep expecting to see Zachary Harris and The Robot rolling out of Assembly Hall each time I drive by....

Thoughts from "Peace and Justice Sunday"

2009-09-14T08:52:00.015-04:00

Mr. Kissinger, as the Church, our job is to ensure that justice flows down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream; and, your job as the State is to irrigate the fields. (William Sloane Coffin, on Amos 5:24)Back in the '60s, two school reformers wrote a book in which they defined education as the fine art of "crap detection." That's not a bad way to describe good theology. (

Just something to consider...

2009-09-01T13:30:00.006-04:00

Someone to need you too much Someone to know you too well Someone to pull you up short And put you through hell And give you support For being alive... (Stephen Sondheim, "Being Alive," from Company) It was 8:10 PM Saturday, well after dark, as I drove through our development towards home. And as I came up to our duplex, my heart sank and panic set it. It was after dark, and Chris hadn't made

A place of healing, a place of hope

2009-06-28T22:34:00.002-04:00

Oh, there's nothing as sweet as fellowshipAs we share each other’s hearts...Sweet, sweet fellowship...- the group AcappellaIt's been a long, long time since I could say that about a church. Thanks be to God, I can say it today.For the last four years, I have been waging a 3-sided internal battle. On one side, I've been wanting to again be a part of a fellowship of Christian believers. On another

Synchro Blog - Bridging the Gap, and loving our neighbours

2009-06-23T20:25:00.010-04:00

And yes, I spelled "neighbours" correctly - specifically for some friends I've never met in Canada....New Direction Ministries is a former Exodus ex-gay ministry based in Canada. Earlier this year they left Exodus because they disagreed with the direction and rhetoric of Exodus, which cost them a lot of support and funding. Since leaving Exodus their goal has been to be an important voice in

Thoughts on "holy unions" and same-sex marriage

2009-06-08T09:08:00.005-04:00

Late afternoon, Saturday...I am sitting in a shady spot at The Badlands Offroad Park in Attica, Indiana. All around me there are the rasps and roars of off-road vehicles - everything from the bumblebee buzz-whine of 125cc 2-stroke dirt bikes to the throaty roar of high-powered dune buggies, and everything in between. For folks who would forsake pavement to ride through the great outdoors, The

Facebook, reunions and Paul Anka

2009-05-27T22:55:00.015-04:00

Good morning, yesterdayYou wake up and time has slipped awayAnd suddenly it's hard to findThe memories you left behindRemember, do you remember?The laughter and the tearsThe shadows of misty yesteryearsThe good times and the bad you've seenAnd all the others in betweenRemember, do you rememberThe times of your life...Paul Anka, The Times of Your Life~~~I'm not really sure where "the times of my

Restart/renew/reboot...

2009-05-14T12:46:00.004-04:00

Starting over, nearly five years in...It's been 65 days since I went into St Luke's Hospital in Toledo, complaining of chest pains. In that 50 days, a lot has happened, and blogging has simply been pushed near the back of the pack, so to speak. So now, as the holiday weekend ends and a new week begins, it's time to catch up, and reboot my blog.A scant 38 days ago, Chris got the phone call he'd

Filling in that one blank

2009-03-22T21:17:00.007-04:00

No matter what our chronological age is, we never really become an adult until we are asked to fill-in the blank that says, "Please list your next of kin." I think we never truly mature until the moment that we acknowledge our mortality.I don't remember who said that quote first, but I remember hearing thoughts like this early on from my dear friend Ted, and then hearing it echoed later-on in

Thoughts from the body-n-fender shop

2009-03-22T14:39:00.014-04:00

Thursday night, 9 PM.I was at the Thursday night Men's meeting when I started to feel this twinge in my left chest, and a little numbness in my left arm. I thought back over the evening - Chris and I had been to two standing-room-only restaurants before settling on "comfort food" at Bob Evans, and my first thought was "...too much caffeine for one evening," and gave it no mind.When I got home,

"Heart and Soul" and nursery rhymes

2009-03-09T00:38:00.006-04:00

OK, here's a freaky one, that has nothing to do with anything at all...There is, in this video, a monotone-ish female narrative, and a melodic line. I'm going to suggest that most (if not all) nursery-rhymes will fit into the narrative rhythm, just as well as...well, whatever she's saying in the background.Try it. Let me know if you find yourself hearing Jack and JillWent up the hillTo fetch a

Not a record to be proud of

2009-03-06T22:29:00.009-05:00

Twenty-nine days without a post.Not a sign of spiritual or emotional solidity, to be sure. Which, I guess, is what a friend would call "the God's honest truth of the matter."My blogging absence started with not feeling quite well - a winter cold that turned into a sinus infection, then into a series of bloody noses and all kinds of plague-like symptoms that even grossed me out, at times. Started

It still hurts, even now

2009-02-05T00:18:00.003-05:00

When I was active in Kansas AA (before my abortive trip to Chicago and seminary-land), I would get asked to speak at "open" AA meetings - those meetings which are open to anyone, not just those with a desire to stop drinking. When I got asked, I almost always said "yes" - because that's what I was taught. If you're asked by AA, and you can possibly do it, the answer was "yes."A fellow frequently

Taking a breather...

2009-01-16T00:11:00.004-05:00

Just a quick update from the frosty corners of northwest Ohio...This week marks a series of changes. Friday the 16th is Chris' last day at Hotel Hell; a local hobby retailer had an opening for a remote-control sales specialist, and Chris jumped at it. His schedule will be a bit screwed for a bit - he will have to work Sundays for a couple weeks, which has been our only "full" day off together.

Is this really an improvement?...

2009-01-11T23:05:00.005-05:00

The mainstream church, Driscoll has written, has transformed Jesus into "a Richard Simmons, hippie, queer Christ," a "neutered and limp-wristed popular Sky Fairy of pop culture that . . . would never talk about sin or send anyone to hell." (Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church, quoted in the New York Times)This article paints Mark Driscoll as the next new voice of the evangelical church. It

As sick as the silences

2009-01-06T22:55:00.005-05:00

Shelly died last Friday. She came to an AA meeting that I attended a week ago. It was not, I later learned, the first time she'd been to a meeting; she'd been plenty of times before, although I don't remember seeing her before last Tuesday. And she waited until the last ten minutes of the meeting to speak up about what was on her mind - a classic newcomer delaying tactic. But she finally spoke

A prayer for the new year

2009-01-01T01:35:00.003-05:00

God of all of us, God of many names and many peoples, hear our prayer for the new year just begun ...Give us the kindness to hear with compassion, to offer support, loving comfort and care.Give us the courage to do what is needed, and the wisdom to choose what is right and most fair.Give us the vision to see what is possible.Give us the faith that will help pave the way for a present that is

Christmas blessings

2008-12-24T23:39:00.003-05:00

In the Eastern time zone, as I started writing this, it lacks a few minutes of Christmas Day. For a Christmas eve, it's been an interesting day.At The Evil Empire, Christmas Eve is simply the 7th day before the start of new new payroll year, so it was pretty much business-as-usual (read: organized chaos). The work day yesterday ended about a quarter to midnight, and I was grateful to be working

A painful, and embarrassing, confession

2008-12-15T00:35:00.003-05:00

I sent this to my church's email-devotional list today. It may well be the last devotional I'm asked to send to this group of church folks. Frankly, I'm not sure that I care. I need to share this sense of being convicted that I got, courtesy of Waving or Drowning? Several of his recent posts have hit home with me, but this one just nailed me. Hence, this confession today:"Come, you blessed of My

Christmas vs The Shopping Season

2008-12-14T00:53:00.003-05:00

It was funny to hear Chris say it, even if it was true."You know, now that I don't have to go shopping for anyone, or worry about how I'm going to pay for things or anything, Christmas seems a lot more like - well - Christmas."I'm not sure whether this is the fourth or fifth Christmas that our family has not done the whole "bury each other in gifts so we can prove to each other that we care"

A long time between drinks

2008-12-12T00:26:00.006-05:00

"I thought that when I got sober, God would open up the gates of heaven, and let me in...but He didn't. Instead, He opened the gates of hell, and let me out." (Bill S., Atlanta, GA)"I know for sure that Jesus Christ saved my soul - but you people, and AA - you saved my ass." (a wise fellow whose name I cannot remember)It snuck up on me, this year.In fact, even though I have the date circled on

Seasons of love

2008-11-26T23:12:00.008-05:00

I started this on Thanksgiving eve...and it's now Saturday night. So this is going to be one of those work-in-process posts...First and foremost, happy Thanksgiving to you all. Part of the blessings I give thanks for is getting to share my life and my loves (and occasional snarkiness) with each of you. Your responses and comments continue to bless me, well after my writing has been forgotten.I

Done with....graceless politics

2008-11-23T23:43:00.011-05:00

(see the original here)I have been taking a bit of a blogging sabbatical. And, as Pete Seeger once said, "it turned into a Mondical, and a Tuesdical..."It hasn't been that I haven't had anything to say; quite the contrary. But I have been so overwhelmed with so much raw emotion that I really couldn't put my thoughts into focus until today. Two blog posts have brought the issue into sharp focus.I

A note of sanity...

2008-11-15T20:59:00.002-05:00

I've been amazed at the anger I built up before the election.I've been afraid of it, actually. I found myself shouting at the walls when Chris wasn't around; shouting at the insanity on some of the radio stations; talking back to some of the moronicity I heard, even on respected stations like the BBC. And, being the conflict-averse person I am, I just shrank back from it all. I didn't want to

Belated All-Saints Day reflections

2008-11-06T17:27:00.002-05:00

I wrote this on Sunday - before the work week got crazy; before I found out about "the letter from 2012"; before the election insanity peaked; before the world changed. So forgive me if it's a bit behind the times. We'll catch up with all that pesky "reality" in a little bit. But for now....As I write this, I am sitting at the trailhead at Island Lake State Park, outside of Brighton, Michigan.

A prayer for healing and acceptance

2008-11-04T06:31:00.006-05:00

Dear God, be with America as it votes for leadership today.Help each of us remember that the person next to us in line is our brother or our sister - regardless how they feel, regardless how they act, or what they are chanting or singing, or for whom they vote. They are not the enemy; they are not "them" or "us." They are "We, the People...." and they are children created in the sight of God.Be

"Oh, you're one of those..."

2008-10-27T06:33:00.004-04:00

I have been avoiding politics like the plague lately. And, if you have a pulse at all, you know how tough that is.I don't avoid it because I don't care - anything but, in fact. But as you might notice, it's awful hard to have a civil conversation with people about much of any topic these days. And there's one phrase that seems to be at the heart of it."Oh, you're one of those...."It's a way of

A time apart, to rest and reflect

2008-10-13T08:13:00.011-04:00

As I write this, it's Sunday mid-afternoon. After a particularly hideous night dealing with local trash at the waterpark/hotel where Christopher works, and a week of dealing with the wreckage of the past at the condo on my part, we decided a rather-spontaneous "vacation day" was in order.So we slept in, drowsing and listening to the excellent "Sunday Jazz Brunch" (8-12 noon Sundays on the local

Life is like a balloon race....

2008-10-07T15:06:00.003-04:00

...because everything's up in the air.So, company #2 is in the "we've passed things on to the hiring manager, they will call you" stage of the game. Chris has been dealing with company #2 for years in the retail hobby business, and has never been overly impressed with their customer service. It seems their general & administrative service ain't all that much better.In the meantime, the HR

Not sure what to pray for...

2008-10-02T22:19:00.003-04:00

What a difference 72 hours can make.On Monday night, after almost two months of questioning, it seemed that the opportunity to move to Champaign, IL to pursue Chris' dream job was going to have to be deferred. Both potential employers seemed to be pulling back, not ready to hire him for either sales or product support positions. Chris also had a disappointing weekend as he'd been working hard on

Alive and well...

2008-10-01T21:55:00.006-04:00

Storytelling is alive and well!Gather 'round people, and listen for a spell,I've got stories and fables and tales to tell!Listen to each story with imagination -The stories you hear will be your own creation!Storytelling is alive and well!(as heard from Heather Forest, a long time ago)Starting tonight, I imagine the traffic this weekend will be considerably heavier along Interstates 81 and 26,

Working at "not regretting the past..."

2008-09-28T22:31:00.004-04:00

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.August 17, 2003. Atonement Lutheran Church, Overland Park, KS. My final Sunday at my home church - my sponsoring church - before I left for seminary at the Lutheran

Facebook-ing and tossing trash

2008-09-25T22:02:00.006-04:00

I finally surrendered to Facebook yesterday.I got an email from a fellow former LSTC student. As Eliza was filling me in on her life (which has been as crowded as mine over the last four years, in different ways), she said, "You know, a lot of people from our class are listed on Facebook," with at least the hint that I could be too.So I went and I registered. Put up a reasonably recent picture,

Letting go of the past, one box at a time

2008-09-13T20:45:00.012-04:00

What a challenge this is for me, winnowing down the stuff of past lives.Doing this takes a certain willingness for self-revelation and self-acceptance that I've not found lately, but events are forcing me into action. Chris and I have resolved that we will not move in the winter-time (moving him here from Missouri at year-end in the snow was NOT a lot of fun...), so we have set ourselves a

Sic transit gloria mundi

2008-08-26T22:44:00.003-04:00

Sic transit gloria mundi, according to Wikipedia, is a Latin phrase that means "Thus passes the glory of the world". It has been interpreted as "Worldly things are fleeting."Today starts the beginning of the end - and the beginning of yet another new beginning - for my sister, my brother-in-law and I. They were approved for a rather nicely sized apartment/duplex in a nearby Toledo suburb - and so

The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat

2008-08-15T21:57:00.002-04:00

Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport...the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat...the human drama of athletic competition...Anyone who knows me knows - I have no use for most sporting events. My one hat-tip to sporting events was to buy a Kansas City Chiefs "starter" jacket (because KC had just lost in the playoffs, and everything was on sale!), and I have taken

A simple meme, for a simple man

2008-08-13T21:28:00.003-04:00

I have been overwhelmed - work, the challenges of finding a new home for my sister and brother-in-law, a potential move, and financial challenges have had me bottled up for a while. But I needed a way to break the spiritual blogjam, and this challenge seemed the perfect entry. The instructions over at Black Pete (formerly Poor Mad Peter)'s Red Wine and Garlic were simple: share seven things

False shepherds damning believers

2008-07-22T21:35:00.009-04:00

I was furious. Way. Beyond. Furious. Remember that old Peter Paul & Mary song, "If I Had A Hammer?" Today my version would be If I had a rocket-launcher, I'd launch it in the mornin' Launch it in the evenin' - all over this land... And the source of my ire? A local congregation of The Institutional Church. (Big surprise there, eh?) Yet another "faithful servant of the Gospel," spreading pain,

Changes are in the wind

2008-07-16T22:03:00.004-04:00

Things could get interesting, boys and girls....So, my sister and brother-in-law (more my sister, actually) have come to the conclusion that there's a very slim chance they will be able to hold onto their condo. For some reason, lending institutions would rather have them walk away from their condo and their mortgage than negotiate down to an interest rates and terms that they would be able to

Looking for truth

2008-07-09T22:41:00.007-04:00

The American government lied to the native Americans for many, maannny years. And then President Clinton lied about a relationship - and everyone was surprised.... A little naive, I feel?......So, perjury, yeah...if you commit perjury, I don't care. I don't give a shit, and I don't think that you should. Because you "grade" murder - you have murder 1, murder 2 - you realize that there can be a

News from around the countryside

2008-06-20T22:43:00.010-04:00

It's time for a catch-up session, just to recap the many powerful events that have been going on here in northwest Ohio...It's a time of growth and renewal, outside as well as inside. The corn here has benefited from the periodic rains (much less than in other Midwest states!) so it actually looks half-way decent here. Chris (who whimpered all through January and February, "Will there ever, ever

Seventy-three years, one day at a time

2008-06-10T22:37:00.004-04:00

We have shown how we got out from under. You say, "Yes, I'm willing. But am I to be consigned to a life where I shall be stupid, boring and glum, like some righteous people I see? I know I must get along without liquor, but how can I? Have you a sufficient substitute?" (the text Alcoholics Anonymous, page 152) The story says it was on June 10, 1935 that a

A fascinating "meme"....

2008-06-04T13:03:00.004-04:00

For those who don't know better, a "meme" is something which you do, and then ask your friends to do as well. It usually is something informative about that person, or their interests (or something less-than-spiritual, on occasion...)So here's Dr. Benton Quest's meme:~Step One – pull out a book on the book shelf.Step Two – go to page 123.Step Three – read and write out the 5th sentence.Step Four

But do we hear it?...

2008-05-30T12:18:00.006-04:00

I can't believe I haven't posted on here for three weeks. It kind of indicates a spiritual slump I've been in, for a while. But this has been on my mind for a while, and it just kind of kicked me to write about it. We start with a wee bit o' familiar Scripture..."For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For

Time for a dose of rigorous honesty...

2008-05-09T17:57:00.004-04:00

For years, I have felt increasingly out of touch with American culture, even as I have felt guilty about being infected by it, to some degree. It started with the wrench in values that said that you weren't having fun going to the prom unless you arrived in a $160-an-hour limousine. It spread to the concept that killing a human being in high-school to steal their Starter jacket or designer

Hold on, indeed

2008-05-02T22:15:00.001-04:00

I saw it first on Erin's blog. Then I followed the link to Patchouli's. Both postings crushed my soul, it seems.Suicide. Not one, but two.Each time I hear of someone who has taken their own life, I am swept back to April 8, 1990. Palm Sunday. I'd spent the night advising a youth-group overnighter, and got the call from my then-wife that my dear friend Skip Bevens was missing.And then, when I got

This says it all

2008-04-25T21:13:00.006-04:00

From anj, via bobbie - taken from a sermon by a pastor named Peter Hiett, this is an addition to the "Things I Now Know To Be True" list:So I’m convinced your deepest problem is not the cigarettes you smoke or the alcohol you drink in secret. It’s not the slander you speak and the gossip you cherish. It’s not the pornography you pleasure yourself with when no one’s looking. It’s not the baby you

Like ten miles of rough road

2008-04-22T22:32:00.006-04:00

It has been a bit of a rough patch, lately - not so much any huge crisis like a car crash, but a bunch of niggling problems that have just been wearing - as a friend used to say, "like riding bareback for ten miles o' rough road." I'm grateful to say, I'm still sunny-side-up, suckin' air and sober, though a bit out of touch with my sisters and brothers in the digital domain...First, for those of

Broadening horizons

2008-04-11T17:55:00.010-04:00

Three enjoyable places I never would have imagined myself attending, a year ago:First: Last Friday and Saturday, as part of the Weak Signals Radio Control Expo - one of the largest trade shows for RC craft in the US, held in Toledo each year - I was with Chris to attend the Electric Tournament of Champions (ETOC). ETOC is devoted to ultralight (6 ounce, total weight) electric-powered stunt RC

"Country club" Christianity

2008-04-09T22:55:00.005-04:00

I am continually astounded by the brilliance of the people surrounding me in the blogosphere. Not as in Steven-Hawking brilliant, but by people who have seen the truth and are not afraid to speak it. Like my Canadian brother-of-the-heart who goes by the unlikely pseudonym [rhymes with kerouac].Whenever I am at risk of standing in lines, I've been reading his book, Today At The Mission, which is

Thinking about financial meltdowns...

2008-04-01T22:55:00.000-04:00

I see the Wall Street meltdown from a couple different perspectives...I was a newbie public accounting auditor, doing mortgage audits of places like First Federal Savings & Loan, Home Federal Savings & Loan, First Federal of Delta and a whole bunch of other S&Ls in northwest Ohio that overstretched themselves and collapsed in the early 80's. As a newbie, I got assigned to the fun stuff - checking

Percolating thoughts

2008-03-31T22:59:00.006-04:00

Saturday was birthday #51.A time of celebration, a time of joy, a time of reflection - all at once.It is a much different time in my life - love life is an A-plus, health is C-minus, up from D-plus, finances are still somewhere between C-minus and D-plus, family still struggling physically and financially. Definitely a "mixed bag," you might say.I have been both celebrating items of gratitude,

The Monday after...

2008-03-24T15:38:00.003-04:00

Erin posted this simple post Friday. Her follow-up post today says everything I want to say about the Monday after Easter - only better, and more clearly.As Gamble Rogers' infamous character Agamemnon Jones would say, "If you find that someone has already made your point, and made it clearer, better, or sharper....then shut up."((((Erin))))

The strangers and aliens among us

2008-03-20T22:48:00.012-04:00

"Do not mistreat or oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt." (Exodus 23:9)><>It's Good Friday, and any good devotional writer would have his face, and his pen, turned toward Golgotha, and the cross. But somehow, my heart is pulling me in another direction...Good Friday. Easter Vigil. Easter Sunday. "The Three Days." Along with Christmas,

The part that remains

2008-03-18T22:58:00.003-04:00

For at least a dozen years, I have been telling a story that I remember from thirty years ago. I remembered it from before I ever called myself a Christian; before I came to belief in God; before I could even pretend to have faith.I don't remember the details any more, and I've been asking questions of folks involved, and no one seems to remember them either. All I can tell you is that sometime

An unplanned sabbatical

2008-03-12T22:02:00.004-04:00

It has been a long, long time, my virtual friends. My apologies for being absent so long.Two things I have been learning these days are (1) how undisciplined I can be and (2) how good I still am at living completely out-of-balance. As friends of mine in recovery often say, "I recognize 'balance' in my life - usually as I'm swinging past it from one extreme to the other..."But for now, let's focus

Flashbacks and thanks

2008-02-25T11:37:00.003-05:00

They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." (John 4:42, NIV) Sunday's Gospel reading was the story of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman of questionable background at the well. Two years ago, after visiting Fourth Presbyterian Church and hearing Pastor James Buchanan preach

Getting back on the bicycle

2008-02-08T20:47:00.000-05:00

I have been struggling, since getting to Ohio, with a number of things. One of the things I struggled with that never really ever floated to the top was the idea of finding a new "church home." In fact, to be honest, I struggled with it from the time I left my real "church home" in Kansas in 2003.In seminary, we were always going where we were told for church. This visitation, this "ministry in

Room at the table for everyone

2008-01-09T01:21:00.000-05:00

Jesus started off with 12 people. Twelve misfits, following a Messiah who said impossible things like "love your neighbor" and "blessed are the meek" and "I am come that you might have life - and have it abundantly!" We know what they did...This weekend, I watched what the Spirit of God did with two hundred eighty-five gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Christians. In the mix were at least

Tidings of comfort and joy

2007-12-25T12:03:00.000-05:00

It's a tiny chip of white Corelle (yes - the dinner-plate stuff), etched by a laser - the finished size is about an inch square, and about as thick as a communion wafer (if that). A casual bump could snap it in two. A delicate ornament, hanging on our Christmas tree, reminding me of what really is important on this blessed holiday.There are no presents under the tree; the third year it's been

The Music of Christmas

2007-12-21T08:59:00.000-05:00

For me, there are lots of Christmas albums which are part of my holiday listening. But there are two or three Christmas CDs which really seem to share the heart of the amazing message of Christmas.When Steven Curtis Chapman's "The Music of Christmas" came out in 1995, I fell in love with it instantly. My faith revolves so firmly around the Incarnation - Emmanuel, God with us - that this album

Farewell to The Leader of The Band

2007-12-17T11:51:00.002-05:00

The leader of the band is tiredAnd his eyes are growing oldBut his blood runs through my instrumentAnd his song is in my soul --My life has been a poor attemptTo imitate the manIm just a living legacyTo the leader of the bandI am the living legacyTo the leader of the band.(Dan Fogelberg, "Leader of the Band")The "leader of the band" was his dad, but Dan Fogelberg's song about their relationship

Are you there?

2007-12-17T08:55:00.000-05:00

Are You there? Are You there?Do You watch me when I cry?And if it’s in Your power,How can You sit idly by?I try so hard to please YouBut you never seem to seeIs it my fate to sit and wait?Wonder what my struggle meansI wish I knew that someone out there cared -Cared for me...("Are You There?", from the pop opera "bare")><>But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bringyou good news of

Not writing over the head of my audience...

2007-12-12T12:24:00.000-05:00

I did this test as a result of my buddy Chris Harrison over at Prophets and Popstars - just to see where these yo-yo's scored me. It does help for trying to sell any future publication, anyway. Not TOO intellectual - but probably not enough images and pictures to make it "elementary school," Chris. Too much text....

Another year, one day at a time

2007-12-12T03:22:00.000-05:00

It's 3:30 AM. I should be asleep, but a late-arriving cold has devastated my intentions for rest this evening. Coughing, sneezing, sore throat - all kinds of happiness. But that's OK. It just means I get to start celebrating early.Seventeen years ago - December 12, 1990 - I walked into the Wednesday Night Men's group of Alcoholics Anonymous in Toledo, Ohio. My life was about as broken as it could

I wish someone would have told me…

2007-12-10T16:59:00.000-05:00

We will not regret the past, nor wish to shut the door on it. (Alcoholics Anonymous, fourth edition, page 84)Of all the “promises” that I’ve heard from the 12-step recovery programs, this one has been one of the most challenging, to me. It has been way too easy, over the years, for me to mourn what could have been rather than move confidently forward toward what might be. After a while, if one

Christmas for "notorious sinners"

2007-12-07T05:34:00.001-05:00

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. (Luke 2:8-9, NIV) Echoing in my mind is a lesson that recurs every year at this time, so forgive me for plowing familiar ground today. It's a powerful lesson I learned about shepherds

Killing me softly...

2007-12-03T22:50:00.000-05:00

I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd,I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud.I prayed that he would finish but he just kept right on...Strumming my pain with his fingers, Singing my life with his words,Killing me softly with his song...(Roberta Flack, "Killing Me Softly With His Song")><>"No wonder, when I peruse the titles of a Christian bookstore, I feel like I

Brushing the dust off the keyboard

2007-11-12T01:16:00.001-05:00

Yes, in response to a couple of your emails, I am alive. Even fractionally well - "sunny-side-up, suckin' air and sober," as my Kansas friend Bob L. would say.It has been a busy month. Full of challenges, hopes, and fears. A brief recap, to catch you up:Work - I am in Chicago this week, as the Evil Empire has summoned me from the hinterlands of Ohio to the the outpost of Payroll World, downtown

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

2007-10-11T12:20:00.001-04:00

I look into the window of my mindReflections of the fears I know I've left behindI step out of the ordinaryI can feel my soul ascendingI'm on my wayCan't stop me nowAnd you can do the sameChorusWhat have you done today to make you feel proud?(It's never too late to try)What have you done today to make you feel proud?You can be so many peopleIf you make that break for freedomWhat have you done

Looking back, looking ahead

2007-10-09T10:46:00.001-04:00

There has been a long silence in the camp of the squires. As I climb back into the light of the digital community, a look back over the last month wouldn't be out of place.... October 1st marked one year in Waterville - 365 Chicago-traffic-free days. Despite that joy, it's not entirely a comfortable anniversary, because much that was challenging on that day (even the physical state of the

Shut up, get on the bike, and ride

2007-10-08T09:45:00.000-04:00

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a

God blessed the broken road...

2007-09-19T23:33:00.000-04:00

Every long lost dreamLed me to where you areOthers who broke my heartThey were like Northern StarsPointing me on my wayInto your loving armsThis much I know is trueThat God blessed the broken roadThat lead me straight to you....(Rascal Flatts, "Bless The Broken Road")They stood at an altar in a rather untypical country church in Holt, Missouri, north of Kansas City. She was beautiful in a

The rest of the weekend...

2007-09-19T22:40:00.000-04:00

...was full of some amazing (and some tragic) moments. Overall, a good theme-song for the weekend would have been Poco's A Good Feelin' to Know....Flying in Thursday night was a mess - but then flights in and out of Chicago often are. Given the fact that I wanted to be up and at 'em by 5:00 AM Friday, it didn't help that I got to the hotel at 1:00 AM...Friday morning was a blessing - first,

A wedding weekend...

2007-09-13T10:18:00.000-04:00

I will be mostly offline for the next several days - I leave this evening for the Kansas City area. One of my dearest enduring friends, Norma, has found what seems like enduring love, and is getting married Saturday. Since both her parents are dead, she's asked me to give her away (knowing that I love to do the "dad" thing, and have been told I'm a "mother..." repeatedly...).So I will be in town

Thoughts on communion and "Jesus as bread"

2007-09-10T14:09:00.000-04:00

This post is directly in response to Bobbie's post about "Jesus as bread" over at emerging sideways. So it would help you if you read her post, and the follow-up post she did, listing some comments...Sister Bobbie, I wrote a half-epistle on communion topics back here, more than 2 years ago. Maybe some of it will apply, maybe not...I'm also very, very curious about whether you have read Take This

Dullness and dangerous wonder

2007-09-09T23:29:00.000-04:00

There are very few times when I will abdicate this space to another author. But today, I am called beyond doubt to share with you the words of the late Mike Yaconelli - author, pastor, and founder of Zondervan's Youth Services. These few paragraphs hit my heart like none other in recent months.These are not my words, though I wish I had written them. They echo the cry of my heart, however, and

Nancy Reagan's answer for iPhone owners

2007-09-07T23:17:00.000-04:00

It started off as "the right thing to say." It became a joke, and eventually became a cultural icon.But I'm afraid it's also the answer to the folks who are whining about the $200 premium they paid for their iPhones. I've read recently that many of them feel victimized, used and abused. They're saying that they'd been listening to the iPhone hype for two years, and when the iPhones finally came

Perceiving the Godhead

2007-09-07T08:40:00.000-04:00

If one man calls you an ass, pay him no mind. If two men call you an ass, pay them no mind. If three men call you an ass, get yourself a saddle. (anonymous)It's saddle time.For 20 months, the theme of my team at work has been, "Hang on, it will get better." Over and over again, the message has been, "If you just hold on, things will get stable, and life will be good." And oh, I held on, because

Not quite getting it right...

2007-08-31T08:41:00.000-04:00

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man

The lies about home sales and poverty

2007-08-30T01:25:00.000-04:00

A couple things in the local papers - articles which have been echoed nationally - have really angered me lately, and it's time I get this off my chest.The first anger-inducing headlines were about how home prices have dropped for the fourth straight quarter. You can read about it in this Money.cnn.com article, with the caption "Mortgage Meltdown 2007."The part that all these articles don't

He knows how we are formed...

2007-08-27T12:52:00.000-04:00

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is the LORD's love for those who fear him;as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.(Psalm 103:11-14, NIV)"He knows how we are formed..."I have

High and dry, for now

2007-08-23T11:04:00.000-04:00

This was the scene Wednesday in Findlay, OH, where sister Sandy lives (Sandy's the one I don't live with). She works for Marathon Oil, whose headquarters were shut down Tuesday through today due to the flooding of the Blanchard River.This next photo is the scene on Tuesday on I-75 southbound near Bluffton, OH, which I pass through every other week going south to Van Wert for DeMolay. Tuesday, it

A rallying cry

2007-08-20T23:03:00.000-04:00

OK, I blatantly stole this from this post by Wayward Drifter, which I found quite by accident following a Sitemeter link. Sheer genius. (Forgive me, Lord, for not finding this when it's almost 4 months old, already...)It's a quiz. I promise you, it will be time well spent.Watch these two YouTube videos in full (yes, all the way to the end), and then decide who is calling the Church Universal

Monday moanin'

2007-08-20T10:06:00.000-04:00

Catching up, in the time-honored tradition of the southern-boy turned Detroit Free Press columnist, the late great Bob Talbert...Good moanin' - actually got caught up on sleep and fluids this weekend. I had gotten quite dehydrated, just by not being intentional about water and other liquid intake. Not a good thing for this boy, so I am starting Monday feeling a bit better than I have in a while.

Be strong, and do the work

2007-08-14T01:43:00.000-04:00

David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid of the size of the task, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. (1st Chronicles 28:20)One the ways I spend my time is working with recovering alcoholics. It can be a powerfully rewarding and

A busy week behind, another one ahead

2007-08-07T00:22:00.001-04:00

I am writing to you from the 7th floor of Offenhauer West dorm at Bowling Green State University, the site of the state conference for the youth group I advise. And, as with many things, it has been a rather mixed experience.My friend Ted K. frequently uses the "Great Lakes freighter" analogy. Most freighter ships are imperfectly watertight - so there are a series of bilge pumps which constantly

Blessings and cursings, life and death

2007-07-30T23:42:00.000-04:00

This day...You set life, you set death right before us,This day...Every blessing and curse is a choice now,And we willChoose to be a blessing for life...(John Waller, The Blessing)Choices...lots of them, ahead.For about a month now, I have been where Renee' Altson once described as "between death and resurrection." Not wanting to make any changes, not wanting to move forward, but not wanting to

No surprise here...

2007-07-25T17:11:00.001-04:00

I knew I was in trouble when they asked me, "Do you know your IP address?"...

Recovering, and waiting...

2007-07-20T01:56:00.000-04:00

I would love to tell you that I've been gone from these spaces for 15 days because I've been on a spiritual retreat. That would be a good reason, I suppose.The real reason would be closer to being a spirit in retreat. It would also have more than a little to do with having trouble sitting up. Literally.I went for a week, starting Sunday the 8th, with unbelievable pain in my lower back, such that