• Reflections on 2011: Favorite Reads

    by  • January 9, 2012 • 0 Comments

    Yeah, I know- 2011 is over.  I just didn’t get a chance to write these down at the end of the year.  Still, I read a few books last year that really stood out to me, and I wanted to share them.  In no particular order… Abraham, by Bruce Feiler (History/Religion) Not only does...

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    Sustained

    by  • January 9, 2012 • 0 Comments

    It’s Monday morning, and I am struggling again this morning after a night of fitful sleep, which was accompanied by a developing cold. The weekend was good up front, but again, church was another source of pain as I saw in the bulletin the class I was teaching with her is reoffered this month-...

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    Looking For It

    by  • January 6, 2012 • 0 Comments

    My buddy Ben, mustache man and runner extraordinaire, gave me a copy of Kevin Hall’s book Aspire for Christmas.  The book has been a good read so far.  I didn’t know anything about Kevin Hall or the book before he sent it to me,  but the title caption was inviting enough: “Discovering your purpose...

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    Gratitude and Grace

    by  • January 4, 2012 • 0 Comments

    “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” ~ Cicero Tonight I met my friend Jenise for dinner, and we took some time to catch up about life over Christmas break.  After sharing about how the week blew by, and talking about what we each did, we turned to talk...

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    Resolutions, with Reservations

    by  • January 3, 2012 • 0 Comments

    New year, new resolutions. What do you change? What do you let go of? What do you set out after? What do you change in yourself? Overall, last year was a really great year. But this year is this year- the one to look at and to think about. I am not super stoked...

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    7 Minutes: Simple Spirituality

    by  • January 2, 2012 • 0 Comments

    Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” ~ Genesis 4:6-7 After...

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    A Bungled Break and Outsidedness

    by  • January 1, 2012 • 0 Comments

    It’s Sunday night, January 1, 2012, the second-to-last night of my break from work and for the holidays, in which some 8 days have slid past, and I feel frustrated.  Frustrated that I feel I didn’t accomplish anything over these days off.  Frustrated that I didn’t go snowboarding this break, like I had planned...

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    Seeing the Lighthouse

    by  • December 29, 2011 • 0 Comments

    It has been a good week so far this week taking a break in life, getting some time off from the job and being able to work on some projects at home and get caught up on chores.  Every year between Christmas and New Years, my life takes on a deeper tone of reflection...

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    Christmas 2011

    by  • December 26, 2011 • 1 Comment

    It was a good Christmas this year. Christmas Eve, I was happy to spend some time with my extended family, Wendy and Eric and Zach, along with Eric’s brother and their collective horde of dachshunds and dachshund derivatives.  I had hoped to watch something Christmasy with someone this Christmas, and they came through with “It’s A...

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    Character: “It’s in the trying.”

    by  • December 23, 2011 • 0 Comments

    I heard some tough news this week. I learned earlier this week about a long-time acquaintance and highly-regarded man in the local church community who had left his wife of thirty years to run off with another woman.  This man ran two prominent and successful Christian bookstores here in town over the years and,...

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    O Christmas Tree!

    by  • December 22, 2011 • 0 Comments

    A gift from my running buddy, Kurt, Son of Thor, and his wife.  Kurt asked me if I had any holiday decor up in the old casa.  I told him “No.”  He thought that wasn’t right.  His wife made this little tree for me.  Little gifts mean a lot, don’t they?  Thanks, guys! Consider...

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    7 Minutes: The Big Win

    by  • December 21, 2011 • 0 Comments

    “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Hebrews 2:14-15 My friend Wendy said she...

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    From Kiplinger’s: “25 Ways to Waste Your Money”

    by  • December 21, 2011 • 0 Comments

    If you are, like the rest of us, trying to watch your cash and figure out how to cut your expenses, Erin Burt, Contributing Editor at Kiplinger.com, wrote a great article on some of your money habits to audit. I give you, in summary, Erin’s list of poor practices to avoid here. Carrying a...

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    Dealing with Down Times: The Three Lists

    by  • December 19, 2011 • 4 Comments

    Well, it’s that time of the year again- we are officially in the holiday season. For most of us, this period of the year is a happy time when we visit family, revisit good memories, stuff ourselves silly, and share yuletide cheer with friends and co-workers.  For some of us, though, trekking through the...

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