The Weakness in Life Together

When Jimmy was four, he was in a terrible accident. As a result, he lost his left arm almost from the shoulder down. Thankfully, his other injuries weren’t nearly as severe, but it is hard growing up with only one arm. Ten years later, Jimmy made a strange request to his parents. He wanted to learn kung fu.  His parents thought it was a terrible idea, but they brought him to the dojo so the sensei could be the bearer of the bad news. But to the surprise of all, the sensei decided to take Jimmy in. And for the first three months things were great. Jimmy was working on this one move, and the sensei kept pressing him to master it. But while Jimmy was doing this one move over and over again, the other students were learning new kicks and blocks and holds and strikes every week. Each

Finding Certainty in Life Together

As George Orwell thought about saying, “All breakthroughs are equally impressive (they are after all, breakthroughs), but some breakthroughs are more impressive than others.” I could not agree more. Consider these five great breakthroughs in history. The Wheel. Where would we be without the wheel? Answer: Right where we are now!  Let’s face it, there is no way we would ever walk to get somewhere far away. But thanks to the invention of the wheel, we’ve been going places ever since.   The Printing Press. Sure, without the printing press there would be no Renaissance, no Protestant Reformation, and no scientific revolution, but those are all small historical potatoes compared to the point: Would you want to live in a world where Calvin and Hobbes books were not readily available? Me neither.   The Light Bulb. Many will argue that the light bulb was invented by one of the brightest inventors ever, but its true inventor

Something’s Missing in Life Together, Part 2

True confessions. Five of them. And I don’t like to admit any of them. One, when it comes to buying books, I have little impulse control (in fact, Jo says I have no impulse control). Two, I own my own slot machine. (How many pastors can say that?). Three, I have close to 100 rocks in my study. Most of these rocks I picked up along various trails/beaches or were given to me, but some I stole. That’s right, I am a rock thief. Four, I once lied to a doctor saying that I was too sick to hold a thermometer in my mouth. I was young and had no idea there was an alternative. I bet I was the butt of the hospital.  Five, before I retire, I promised myself I would learn how to make great pizza. I even bought a wood-fired pizza oven. My pizza went up

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