There is plenty in Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount to wrestle with. Does he really mean, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and threw it away”? Does he really mean, “Blessed are those who mourn”? Wait … um, doesn’t the Bible also command me to rejoice? (See Philippians 4:4; Nehemiah […]
inspirational
Jesus Has a Brand?
It is interesting how powerful a symbol can be. There is one particular logo I have seen in many different languages (the one shown above is in Amharic, the most common language spoken in Ethiopia, where I went in 2012). The same is true for the other languages in which I have seen the classic white […]
The Wrestle and the Gaze (East Africa pt. 3)
Living overseas has a way of making you quit pretending… …and, honestly, I’ve been struggling with my faith for several years. What follows is like a journal entry about wrestling with my faith as well as the sweet way the Father is meeting me where I am. Over the past several years, living in Atlanta, […]
Millennials (Pt. 3): Passion Tea and Passing Trains
This generation—we’re all on a train, really. The conductor on the intercom said the next stop is Destiny . . . but mile after aimless mile meander by the window, and the passing grass looks browner every minute. Well, while we’re both seated here, let’s talk. Okay, barista, I know working at Starbucks is not […]
Millennials (Pt. 2): Take a Step Way Back
Life in the 21st century is hard. Meet Grant (no, not the guy in the picture). Grant is a 25 year-old millennial. Six years ago, he turned away from an engineering career to follow his heart and work with children. Now after two years of teaching in a public school district, he’s struggling hard to […]
4 Tips from Veteran Teachers on Finishing Well
The hallway was misty dark. A lone security light shone. I walked into the front office of my school to clock in. It was quiet, too quiet. It’s odd how empty a school can feel without the familiar, raucous noise of children. On this teacher workday, though, what needed cleaning more than the walls of my […]
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Madman or American Hero? (Part 2)
Continued . . . A man who attacked Harpers Ferry? Yes. A madman? Perhaps. A radical, Violet abolitionist? Yes. It’s easy to see where this man’s reputation comes from—first, the part you’ve heard. John Brown felt the federal government wasn’t doing enough to in slavery, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. […]
What’s Your Life Shaped Like? Thoughts on the Universe, Part II
To introduce our unit on cells and mathematical powers of ten, I showed my class the 1977 video “Powers of Ten.” The film shows the relative sizes of objects ranging from galaxies to protons and electrons. It’s astounding—Charles and Ray Eames created such a good film that it’s still relevant almost forty years later. In […]
Shouts, Stairs, and Tear Stains
“Where’s my phone? . . . Ugh, I left it in my car.” Relief would elude me a little longer at the end of this 11 hour day of teaching and a trip to Whole Foods. Having just gotten back to my apartment, I turned right around and exited the door. There was a racket […]
What’s your Life Shaped Like? Part I
1. 2. Which is your life shaped more like? Is it the Christmas ornament box, or the solar system planetarium? Choose wisely. Now it’s time for some thoughts on our universe. The two books theory says you can learn about God in two ways: (1) what he explicitly tells man; and (2) what He created. […]