In my line of work I am connected with a lot of people from many walks of life – all the time. This is an unfinished essay… on purpose. You’ll feel it. During a very trying season a good friend said to me, “James, the good news is that we get to work with people,…
The Songs We Sing and What They Say
Last week I wrote about how music impacts our way of life and thoughts. When it comes then to our lives and what we say to them, they too affect those around us. Continuing this metaphor, I want to express a few ways (songs) that we sing and how they impact the world around us….
Quiet Resolve – Is there Peace?
Peace is a rare and precious jewel. It is often hard to find in a world that is so busy, nosy, and unable to rest. Gladly, some people know and understand the rest that comes through a true knowledge of God’s mercy and grace, but even then, the mind and body are easily unsettled and…
Does Your Song Matter?
Songs have changed the world. Seriously. How many times have you taken a ’jingle’ quiz online and know every single one? I can still hear all the commercials and the songs of my childhood and moreover, replicate the experiences surrounding them. I smell the warm invitation of the mornings as I hear the Folger’s commercial…
Some Random Thoughts on Death
There is little in the world that sobers my mind as powerfully as attending the funeral of a friend. Today I attended a pleasant and short remembering of a dearly beloved community member who was a relative of my wife. She was 90, and so were most of those in attendance. The scripture reading and…
The Perfectionist with Dirty Hands
I have always longed for the day we would have Hazel from the Jetsons running around cleaning and maintaining our homes. Sadly, the “house of the future” that I read about in magazines as a child was more myth than reality. In 2007 we bought our first Roomba on Yahoo’s campus in Sunnyvale at a…
I Hate Fridays – Future Fun
I really don’t hate Fridays, but if I entitled this, “My afternoon thoughts and musings” only about five of you would have read it. If I entitled this, “The logical absence of theological fortitude among Sovereign Grace believers” it would have blown up. Or better yet, “You might be reprobate, read this and take the…
Antics as Comedy – They Hide Me
I have always hidden behind humor as a way of mitigating anxiety and social insecurity. That said, in one-on-one interaction, there is little time where comedic infusion takes place. In this, it is needless to say that when my bride and I were dating, I was a riot, especially when we were out with friends….
Listen Before You Think
Learning to listen requires intention. It is possible, when it is our turn to hear someone else, we have everything but the intention of listening. This small essay looks at listening in relation to dialog or interaction with another person. I’ll write a bit about listening to lectures and teachings another day. Intention. This means…
American Faith Includes No Faith
My entire life I was taught that the United States of America was founded on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that the Founders of our Constitution were men of great faith. In my twenties, I started doing academic research and learned the necessity of getting to the source of any topic in order to…