We Are Strangers in a Strange Land
I grew up in a family that camped. My father was a pastor who got four weeks of vacation. We took all four weeks at once, camping the whole month of …
Christianity
Playboys And Playmen
Last week I watched a nauseating, repulsive, and daft TV show. No, it wasn’t The Big Bang Theory or The Playboy Channel. (Or Barney.) I watched a …
A Blank Sheet of Paper
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” (Hemingway) When I was a kid, I lacked a basic ingredient needed for …
The Death of Difference
I’ve always loved playing devil’s advocate. Perhaps I’m just contrary (or maybe just the devil). I was delighted to discover that my differing nature …
Should We “Put On Our Own Masks Before Assisting Others”?
You probably don’t want to read today’s article. About twenty years ago, I was having some personal struggles, so I visited a Christian …
The Curiosity Vacuum
Last week I slumped at my gate in an airport. Bored. Twenty-five more minutes until boarding, and I felt the tedium of the wait. How could I kill …
The Curse of Conformity
Let me tell you how (and why) I landed my first job in the computer industry. I applied for an open position, sent in my resume, endured two or three …
Spiritual Insanity
A couple years ago I met with a twenty-eight-year-old woman who told me of a struggle she faced. She was dissatisfied. Growing up, she had sensible …
Hearing God in Meditation
“God speaks time and again—in various ways—but nobody notices” (Job 33:14). Most people I know have an innate desire to hear God; actually, more than …
Spiritual Lobotomy
I recently heard a Christian speaker say, “Thinking is the devil’s territory; I just want to experience God.” He continued, “Hearing God is a totally …
How Do We Forgive Betrayals?
I ended last week’s story of betrayal with the faint beginnings of a desire to forgive. But our wanting to forgive doesn’t mean we’ve granted …
Let’s Become Emotional Christians
I woke up last week to the blahs, like Marie Antoinette’s claim, “Nothing tastes.” This happens to me when I’m tired, and ten restless nights had …