Last Wednesday my wife, son, and I pulled up to our house to find a car in the driveway we did not recognize. I told them to wait in the car and walked up to the front door and found it still locked. It was then that I heard a sound on the side of …
This is why flags don’t belong…
For the first time in my voting life, the presidential candidate I voted for did not win. To say that there is shock is an understatement, not necessarily for me, but for my friends and family on both sides of the divide. Some celebrate, others mourn, others are afraid. Throughout this entire election cycle, and …
let them come…
Most Monday mornings start out the same way, sipping coffee and studying some text of scripture with a group of older ladies who have been gathering together for well over a decade. Yesterday went a little longer than the usual hour, but I didn't mind, because the conversation spiraled into a conversation about persecuted Christians. …
we are…
For the first time, I am spending a couple of days away from my wife and 3 month old son. It wasn't an expected thing but, as circumstances would have it, I am reverting to my bachelor self for a brief moment. That means, above all, that I am wasting as much time as possible …
what’s in a name?
Sometimes I feel bad when I don't post. Not bad enough to actually sit down and write something, but bad enough to think about it. Other times, I'm ok with not posting. I read a lot of what passes for theology and tend to end up very cynical or arrogant because I think I know …
who decided that?
I sit here in a coffee shop on my day off taking care of some work that I am doing for the fun of it. This work includes, but is not limited to, working on the index for a forthcoming publication and doing some preparation, i.e., reading lots of stuff, for an article I am …
why?
Today is a nice day, a bit chilly for some, but a nice day nonetheless. In all actuality today, although it is nice, is probably the worst day of someone's life. Maybe it isn't yours, and it certainly isn't mine, but somewhere around the world someone is suffering the worst heartbreak they will ever experience. …
never pretty and always entails agony…
The march to Lord Stanley's Cup has begun. It is a beautiful march. There are twists and turns, drama and heartbreak, injury and success. It will end in euphoria. Hockey is a sport with more than it's fair share of conflict. Whether that is dropping the gloves or lighting the lamp, hockey wouldn't be what …
worthless and empty
Baseball has begun. Although it did not start well for my beloved boys on the south side of Chicago it is a sign that the winds of the sports world are changing. Hockey is getting ready to begin its second season. Basketball goes into hibernation. Football is starting to bounce its leg in anticipation of …
in the end, I don’t matter…
Those of you who know my story know that I grew up with a Lutheran, that is Missouri Synod Lutheran, identity. Part of that is because of the Lutheran day school attached to the congregation of my youth. Six days a week were spent in its walls, unless I was playing sick, which happened a …
an occasional theologian 