A Life Worthy

Category: A Life Worthy

  • One-a-Day Friday, 10/18/13

    number 1You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

    You probably give great thought to what you wear each morning.  How much thought goes into the “self” you put on?

    One of my favorite stories is “Ragman,” by Walter Wangerin, Jr.  In it Jesus appears as a peddler trading fresh, clean clothes for old, filthy ones. You can see where this is going, because you are very perceptive.  As he travels, Jesus meets people broken in body, mind, and spirit.  He takes the old, foul rags with which they cover themselves.  As he does so, he takes their infirmities as well.  In exchange, he gives fresh, clean garments, and leaves healthy, whole people.

    I love that story.  I love it best because of the truth in it.  God has a fresh, clean you for you to put on this morning.  Take the time to put it on.

    Oh, and if it doesn’t quite fit yet, don’t worry.  You’ll grow into it.

  • The Call of the Window

    window washerOnce upon a time, while sitting in an airport in Bucharest…

    Great start to a story, isn’t it?  I should follow up with a tale of espionage, intrigue, fast cars, and spiffy accents.

    Except, I’m me.

    Once upon a time, while sitting in an airport in Bucharest waiting for my flight, I observed two men toiling at a job both menial and fraught with danger.

    They were window washers…sort of. (more…)

  • Change of Direction

    road signAs you may have noticed, my posting is a bit…sporadic.  My intent is to post twice per week, but it never seems to work out that way.  Call it crazy life, or ineptitudalosity on my part; it is what it is.  So, I’m going in a new direction, and I hope you will come along for the ride.  I am going to post six days per week.

    Counterintuitive, huh?

    Here’s the plan:  Monday through Friday I am going to post a daily Scripture verse, with a short commentary.  I’m talking short—just enough to give you something to chew on as you move through your day.  It’s called One-a-Day, and I hope you find it worthwhile.  On Saturday, I will post a normal—if you can call it that—post.

    We’ll see how this works.

    By the way, if you look to the left side of your screen you may see a truly hideous orange tab labeled “Newsletter Signup.” I don’t have a newsletter, and the button does not seem to be connected to anything, so do your best to ignore it. I’m trying to get a “Subscribe” list up and running, so that readers can get an email notification when there are new posts.  But, since I’m going to be posting six times per week, you can just save time and set this as your home page!

    So, come back tomorrow morning for your first One-a-Day!

  • Babylon

    crownI had dinner with some interesting people the other day.  There were, let’s see, three kings, an angel, and a prophet of God, all munching on Fresh Mex.

    OK, so they weren’t actually real-life Bible characters brought from the past to be my mealtime companions.  They were only actors in the show Daniel—the one I’ve milked three posts out of so far.  Still, they outranked me; I play four minor characters in the show, and each dies gruesomely.

    Anyway, I started thinking about these characters, especially the kings (I don’t think I could get inside the head of a prophet, and I’m not even going to try to understand an angel).  For some reason, Nebuchadnezzar in particular fascinates me.  After all, this was a living, breathing man, not a cartoon character.  Even if he never ate a sweet pork burrito, I’m thinking that he could not have been so very different from me. (more…)

  • Country of the Blind

    blindfold

    This vision/blindness theme really has a hold on me.

    My last post got me thinking about one of my all-time favorite stories, The Country of the Blind.  H.G. Wells wrote this tale of a man who finds himself trapped in a village that has been physically cut off from the outside world for centuries.  Over the years, the villagers have evolved a brutal congenital defect.

    They’re blind.

    All of them.

    Completely.

    Blind like—they’re born without eyes—that kind of blind.

    (more…)

  • Vision

    blindnessIn Iowa, it is legal for a blind person to carry a gun.

    Just…let that soak in for a moment.

    Now, I’m a big supporter of the Second Amendment, and I’m certainly against discrimination based on physical disabilities, but…seriously?  A blind person with a gun?  Immense power in the hands of one who has no means of directing it accurately or effectively could have significant and terrifying ramifications.

    I’m sure there’s a political aspect to this, but we won’t go there today. (more…)

  • Optidultery

    Is it possible to commit optical adultery?Ugly glasses

    I have been faithful to the same optometrist for 35 years.  At age 10 I was, I believe, one of his very first patients. Through college, and moves, and marriage, and kids, I have been a steadfast customer and sustainer of his lavish lifestyle.

    You see, my eyes do this weird thing.  It’s called not working.  (more…)

  • Women Troubles

    So, do cars have estrogen?woman symbol

    I know we call them, “She,” like we do with ships.  I just wonder—how far does the metaphor go?  ‘Cause I’m pretty sure that our van—her name is CocoPuff—is having some sort of hormonal issues.

    Perhaps I’m just hypersensitive to this because I am currently surrounded by a number of—how do I say this and not get disemboweled—emotionally shaky ladies.  (more…)

  • Taste and See

    I really like eating.cake

    The whole experience.  Anticipating that first bite of yummiosity.  The way my mouth waters as I smell the food.  The burst of taste on my tongue.  Delicious, slow chewing.  The swallow.  The sigh.  The occasional discreet belch.

    I mentioned a few weeks ago that my Mother-in-Law has cancer.  The tumor is in her throat, and treatment combines chemotherapy with radiation targeted at her neck.  This combination of radiation and chemotherapy have made it increasingly difficult to eat.  For those of you who are unaware—as I, blissfully, was until a month ago—radiation and chemo attack your ability to eat in a nefarious variety of ways.   (more…)

  • Over Protective

    lock and chainOver Protective?

    You decide.

    You also get to guess where I am sitting as I write this.

    My daughter wants to spend the night at a friend’s home.  Three girls—two seventeen-year-olds and one fourteen-year-old Princess of My Whole Heart (hereafter referred to as POMWH).  My first instinct is to say, “No.” Loudly, emphatically, and with several syllables.

    “Nnnuuhhoooooooooooooooooooooowwww.”  Like that. (more…)