Call me Gomer. So often, I just can’t figure God out. The books of Job and Hosea make it worse. Oh I get the point of the books, but I have such a problem with the thought that God used real, living breathing humans with feelings and emotions to create examples for posterity. Given the context of God’s timeless omniscience, were Job’s wife and children born just to be massacred by Sabeans and Chaldeans? Job’s first wife was famous for her saying, “Baruch Elokhim, ve mos!” Bu

The Third Self Righteous Church of Dunkers & Sprinklers shared Holy Communion this lovely morning. It was a most solemn and reverent occasion, moving the parishioners and even the most otherwise lackadaisical or ambivalent attendees to think deep thoughts about themselves. The sacred gilded dishes were taken out of storage, dusted off, and the hardened on bits of whatever, were scraped off with pious and pre-ordained – maybe even pre-destined – thumbnails. After a significant

I am a Christian. But more and more I feel compelled to say “I’m not THAT KIND of Christian.” I think I hear someone saying, “Now what could you possibly mean by that?” Well I’m so glad you asked. I simply mean that there are Christians who spend their public time and words and energy pointing out the sins of others and then there are Christians who point out the remedy. I strive to be the latter. An understanding of both is worthwhile, but I’m suggesting that we should be mo

Christ was the master of humility, especially if you believe He was God. I guess, actually, if you don’t believe He was God, He wouldn’t seem very humble at all, given His claims of being God. But then if you can put aside those claims, He would appear humble either way given His treatment of others. Some might say this was just His nature as God; I say it was His discipline as He had adopted humanity for Himself. I say God even initially taking the weight of humanity upon Hi

Spare me the sermon if sin is all you can see in your  neighbor on the road. Spare me the words of salvation if you’re too busy to relieve him of his load. Don’t waste your breath speaking of Christ the savior if you think your politics is what will save us. Don’t waste my time speaking of faith if you insist everyone ELSE’s sins are heinous. Stop justifying the judging Cancel the condescension Have a little humility and by all means let’s remove the sticks from our own eyes

In January of 2013, I taught a short series of classes on Changing Attitudes. Looking back at my journal, I’m pretty sure I didn’t learn the lessons I was trying to teach, considering that judging by some of my recent entries here, I’m still more critical and more of a complainer than I should be. The titles of the lessons are convicting without even touching the scripture or meat of each one: Changing “complaining” to “thankful;” “critical” to “loving;” “coveting” to “conten

In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Mr. Pirsig relates a story of some pilgrims climbing a holy mountain. Though I read it years ago, the story struck a chord with me. I paraphrase by memory: One particular climber was trudging up the mountain, his pack seemingly becoming heavier and heavier with each step. As he slowed his pace he noticed that other pilgrims were passing him on the narrow trail, even though they didn’t look any more fit or well trained than he was.

Usually, I would be at church right now, teaching a sunday school lesson, and then attending a worship service. But today, I’m not. Simply did not want to deal with the outside world, however kind and loving the people around me would have been. The loud attacks on senses, the conversation to be made with people just because we are both in the same space, the going over of the same lessons but then songs I’ve never heard before . . . So I sit in my quiet study with acapella h

one tear drop of sadness capsule of self pity morsel of despair escapes the corner of her eye to explore her winter reddened cheek but the swollen gravity of her heart pulls it straight down a small convex mirror it rolls down over the cold and closed pores of her cheeks all her cells shutting it out a reflection of her bruised soul and crushed dreams as well as the faces of strangers on the train diverting their eyes daring not to care too deeply leaving a trail of wet hopel

In my experience, faith in the unseen has a natural and possibly unavoidable ebb and flow, like the tides of the ocean. My relationship with prayer, and to some extent God Himself, moves likewise. My last post on prayer addressed the idea of God always answering or, alternatively, sometimes ignoring, our prayers. I’ve hear several defenses of the idea that God does always answer, those defense again explaining that to say He ignores makes Him sound cold and insensitive which

What would incline me to think I might be a redneck? Why would I strive for such a goal? I’ve never had a skoal ring faded into the back pocket of my jeans (but my friends did), never drank beer from a can (but my friends did), never milked a cow (my parents and cousins did), wasn’t raised fishing, hunting or even shooting (friends were) and I can’t spit more than an inch or so and even that usually leaves a little on my chin (i know a “girl” in Birmingham that can hit a stop

An Open Letter to Whomever the Shoe Fits: I am weary of your contradictions. Stop preaching against bullying while electing bullies. Please take down your tolerance flag if you can’t tolerate whatever flag I fly. Please do not abuse my good sense with your support of the Constitution if you insist on the government promoting an establishment of religion or chilling the free exercise of any. Don’t ridicule me and insist that I should laugh. Don’t tell me you’re a servant if yo

In 1789 the Committee on Style, of the Constitutional Convention for the American Colonies, gave the rest of the gentlemen of the Convention the following preamble for the historic document they were drafting: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and esta

To the Church in the United States: 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  (Rev. 5) 9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. (Prov. 31) 10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonda