Category Archives: Life in general

Editorials, Food for Thought, Life in general, LifeSpring

THAT kind of person….

Woman anointing Jesus' feet 02Simon was a Pharisee.  He lived a monochrome religious life that was “cut and dried” and had no room for questioning or grace.  One day he invited Jesus to his home, presumably for some quiet conversation and theological debate.

So when a woman burst into his polite dinner party, he and his guests were horrified.  In her hands was a beautiful alabaster jar, like the type used to carry perfumed ointment, and her eyes were bloodshot and moist.  A room full of male eyes telescoped to see what the commotion was.  Continue reading THAT kind of person…. →

Food for Thought, Life in general, theology

Choices We Make

Bosch's HellHell is, pardon the pun, a hot topic these days.

The lightening rod that put the topic of Hell on our collective front page was Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins. The book made the pages of local newspapers, news magazines, and religious journals. Some were comforted by its message, and others were downright mad about it. Continue reading Choices We Make →

Editorials, Food for Thought, Life in general

Fear sells!

The ScreamFear sells books. Like the one a man was reading in a local coffee shop about how to stock your pantry for the coming apocalypse.

Fear sells magazines. Like the Newsweek cover that recently declared, “Apocalypse Now.” In that article, writer Simon Winchester declared that recent quakes in New Zealand and Chile, has ratcheted up the chances of a catastrophic seismic event striking in California.

Fear sells medical quackery like it did when thousands of people bought potassium iodine to protect them from the radiation cloud they feared was coming from Japan. Continue reading Fear sells! →

education, Food for Thought, Life in general, Useful Lists

Why Children Need Our Attention

Picture of hand printsBen Bernanke is the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. Recently he wrote an article for the March 3, 2011 New York Times on the subject of early childhood education (ECE). In light of California’s budget crisis and the fear that education could be one of the budget victims, here are 4 reasons early childhood education is a must. Continue reading Why Children Need Our Attention →

Editorials, Food for Thought, Life in general

How much can I keep?

Hand gripping moneyThe man was wealthy and young. Luck had gone his way, and he had amassed a large amount of money and property. He used his money in make more investments and purchase his way into the power structures of his community.

Those who knew him believed him to be an upstanding and religious person. If Time Magazine had been around then, he might well have made the “Man of the Year” cover because of his accomplishments. Continue reading How much can I keep? →

Editorials, Food for Thought, Life in general, Missional

The Importance of Community

In the 1830’s Alexis de Tocqueville wrote this about the United States. “Individualism is a word recently coined to express a new idea…Individualism is a calm and considered feeling which disposes each citizen to isolate himself from the mass of his fellows and withdraw into the circle of family and friends; with this little society formed to his taste, he gladly leaves the greater society to look after itself.” Continue reading The Importance of Community →

Editorials, Food for Thought, Life in general

How to Finagle Your Way Out of a Promise

Law BooksIn Jesus’ time it was not uncommon to hear someone begin a promise with, “I swear by the altar of the Temple.” It sounds like a real promise. Like swearing on “a stack of Bibles.”

But swearing by the altar was a first-century version of crossing your fingers behind your back. The person swearing by the altar believed that oath was not binding and never intended to keep the promise. Continue reading How to Finagle Your Way Out of a Promise →

Food for Thought, Life in general, service, theology

Divine Abundance

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Feeding the 5000If you’ve ever shopped at Nordstrom’s, you know you’ve had an extraordinary experience, especially if you needed additional service or even a refund.

A former Nordstroms employee told these customer service stories. A customer tried to return pants that had clearly been worn for an extended amount of time, but was still given a refund. In another case, Nordstrom split two pairs of shoes in order to fit a man with different sized feet. There are also plenty of stories about Nordstrom employees who have personally delivered items to customers’ homes. Continue reading Divine Abundance →