The Patient Potter and the Impatient Clay
I cracked open my Bible last night to Jeremiah 18. In this chapter, the prophet Jeremiah is sent by God to visit a potter’s house because God wanted to give him a message there. Jeremiah writes: “So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. → Read more...
In Medias Res
Frequent readers of this eLetter will know that I love movies and serial television shows, especially ones that attempt to tell a grand story over a period of time. Some of them employ a literary technique called in medias res, which is Latin for “into the midst of affairs.” This refers to where the narrative starts in the middle of the story instead of its beginning. The characters, setting, and conflict are often introduced through a series of flashbacks or through characters relating past events to each other. → Read more...
Float Like a Butterfly
We “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). This bible verse has burrowed its way inside my heart this week. This week, with the help of the Spirit, I’ve quietly taken stock on the ways I’ve fallen short and, boy, some days are better than others, but on all days, there’s always something. Sometimes it’s something small. Sometimes it’s something large. But my response is always the same: “Man, I wish I hadn’t done that.” → Read more...
The Divine Within
I’ve been reading another book. This time it is The Divine Commodity. It’s a challenging book that asks some tough questions about how Christianity should be spread and shared in our contemporary culture. I’m only a couple of chapters in, but so far it’s amazing how the book details what I’ve been dwelling on lately: the increasing commodification of humans. The definition of commodity is as thus: “Something useful that can be turned to commercial or other advantage.” → Read more...
Jesus, the Human
Ever since I got married, I’ve allowed myself to ponder (sometimes!) what it would be like to have children. I’ve grown up only knowing what it is like to be a child. It will be interesting to be on the other side of the fence to say the least. When we’re children, we hardly think beyond the things and the people that are in front of us. We look to our parents and marvel how amazing it is that they know everything! → Read more...
Spiritual Warfare is A Very Real Thing
On Sunday, May 25, 2008 between 5:30 and 6:15 p.m., a tornado about a mile wide with 205 mile per hour winds roared through Parkersburg, Iowa, a small town of less than 2,000 people. The tornado killed nine people, demolished 288 homes and wiped out one-third of the town. One of the structures that the tornado severely damaged was the Aplington-Parkersburg high school and its football field that the town affectionately knew as “The Sacred Acre.” → Read more...
America, A Country I Love
Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, 56 men signed a piece of paper that came to be called the Declaration of Independence. Through this act, thirteen colonies broke away from the British rule that they were under and formed their own nation. Out of this singular act arose a country that rapidly became a superpower in only two hundred years, an accomplishment that the world had never seen before. It’s a staggering rise in power, an astonishing one that Dr. → Read more...
Enjoying Creation
It’s been hot for the past few days. The humidity makes it feel like we’re all swimming in hot water every time we walk outside. At times like this, it’s easy to stay inside and crank up the air conditioning and watch TV or something of the sort. I did not do much of that when I went to Kentucky this past weekend for a family reunion. All of the days I was there, the temperatures were hot, with the heat index hovering around over 100 degrees. → Read more...
August 28, 2009
Xanga-Matt
Comments Off on
Matt
This is EXACTLY how I feel about life. It only gets worse the older I get. → Read more...