Somewhere along the way this morning, the 43 bus turned into Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. My stomach was not a fan and is still recovering ( Read more... )

My friend Kendall has recently adopted a morning routine that includes journalling; hearing about that and its rewards reminds me of how rich that kind of simple discipline has been for me in the past. For years I've struggled with (and against) creating spaces for stillness in my life. Part of me would very much like to stop kicking against the ( Read more... )

The gospel is about church formation before it is about personal formation.

-Scot McKnight, Jesus Creed
Our annual church leadership offsite meeting seemed to go well yesterday. Always encouraging and exciting to hear how God is on the move. My nose has been pressed so hard to the grindstone recently (in part for this very event) that I don't keep ( Read more... )

Woke up early and couldn't settle back into sleep, so opted to just go ahead and get started with the day. Surprised to see snow falling and staying on the ground; very unusual for Seattle on the cusp of March. Beautiful, too.

In a previous entry, I mentioned that my habit of gorging on feeds of information and entertainment from the internet and ( Read more... )

Getting out of my usual comfort zone gives me some new perspective on what we're all like (and I very much include myself in these observations). For many, if not most of us, we simply want what we want. There's sometimes plenty of window dressing, but consideration of others, higher purposes, and any greater good seems largely incidental, coming ( Read more... )

Tried keeping daily logs for my own reference for a few weeks, documenting who I saw, what I did, and so on, but it just ended up being a pain. While I don't like not being able to remember stuff, this cure was more trouble than the disease. If I forget, that's going to have to be OK. Not like I ever looked back at them anyway ( Read more... )

Our church just began a sermon series (likely a long one, since the intent is to preach through the whole book) on Exodus. It'll probably be months before we get here, but much of the political drumbeat in our congregation and elsewhere reminds me of nothing so much as the golden calf of Exodus 32.

( Calf making in Exodus )

Sneak peek at the cover quote for this Sunday's sermon on Psalm 109:

Without entrusting oneself to the God who judges justly, it will hardly be possible to follow the crucified Messiah and refuse to retaliate when abused. The certainty of God's just judgment at the end of history is the presupposition for the renunciation of violence in the middle ( Read more... )

Just watched a hummingbird flit about outside of Irwin's. Fun.

Spent more time at the movie theater in the last couple of weeks than I have in ages. The list:

• WALL•E (at Cinerama with barlow_girl, velouria73, and Carrie)
  
• The Incredible Hulk (at the Metro with barlow_girl)
  
• When Did You Last See Your Father? (at Seven Gables with barlow_girl)
  
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army (solo at the Metro)

( Read more... )

Enjoyed I Am Legend for what it was (a big budget Hollywood blockbuster). Understanding its limits, there's a scene that stuck with me because of the larger story it reflects.

( Cut for spoilers-most of this is in the trailer, but isn't it nice when people have enough consideration for others to bother with inserting an LJ cut? I know I wish it were more common… )