There was a small valley behind my house when I was a boy. In the field that ascended on the opposite side was a wonderful fencerow filled with oaks, maples, birches and sumac. My little dog and I loved to wander along the...
There’s a great quote by Salmon Rushdie. He said, “Most of what matters in our lives takes place in our absence.” I never thought about that before but he is absolutely right. We were not present when we were conceived. ...
In the middle of “Finding Nemo,” a 90 some minute Disney film about two fish trying to find each other, my 4 year old granddaughter stood up on her seat and said, “If they aren’t going to find each other, let’s go home.” She...
There is a wonderful little balcony off the back second story of our house. Since we live on top of a hill there was a marvelous potential for an awesome view but when we moved in years ago the view was completely obstructed by...
Today I shared my favorite of Jesus’ parables with my students. The reaction was, “Oh hum.” I was literally filled with pain as I saw the lack of response to Matthew 20 where Jesus tells us about the man who paid all his...
When I was a little boy I used to wonder where in China I would come out if I started digging a hole in my yard and burrowed the whole way through the earth. Now as an adult I know where I would come...
Despite all we know about the human mind consciousness is still a mystery. The self and its awareness and interaction with its environment awes us. The mind is incredible. It is small enough to put in a box and yet big enough to...
There is something wonderfully satisfying about chopping firewood. Late summer days are good chopping days. Often I have tried to analyze what is so gratifying about swinging a heavy ax down on a nice piece of hardwood and having it split in two....
We spent the class period in Abnormal Psychology today learning how to use the DSM-IV. Most of my students had never seen one and were fascinated by all the things that can go wrong with a person’s mind. The DSM-IV is a fairly...
In Acts 9 Saul, soon to become Paul, is bashed off his horse by a brilliant light. “Who are you Lord,” he asks? “I am Jesus,” boomed the answer. And so Paul began an incredible journey to find out everything he could...