In Word or Deed

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash Milestones have a tendency to make us stop and think. Significant moments in our personal history carry with them a sense of import that in my experience brings other things into sharp relief or at the very least cause us to ponder them in different way than before. These moments seem to our minds bigger and more important than the more mundane day to day and often we cannot help but wonder how many more significant moments remain for us in the days to come? Was this the last big thing? I recently celebrated my 33 rd birthday. Thirty-three years of living and breathing and trying for another new tomorrow. Thirty-three years of days. All in all I really have no room to complain in regards to these thirty-three years. I have experienced trial as well as blessing, pleasure as well as pain, sorrow as well as joy. Through it all; however, I have not been tested to any serious degree nor have I endured suffering to the same extent as ma...

This past week the world tuned in to see another extravagant royal wedding. Another Prince of England's royal family married his bride amidst spectacular fanfare, pomp, and tradition while millions of people sat amazed in person as well as in front of their televisions and computers. The ceremony yet again captured the imagination and attention of people the world over and amid everything that was involved was a sermon by Bishop Michael Bruce Curry. The Bishop's sermon focused on love and its great power to affect change in the world. In his sermon he called the world to seek the power of love and to envision a world where love was the driving force. In his words: “ There's power in love. There's power in love to help and heal when nothing else can. There's power in love to lift up and liberate when nothing else will. There's power in love to show us the way to live. Set me as a seal on your heart... a seal on your arm, for love is...

Photo by Joey Nicotra on Unsplash Have you seen the new “Avengers” movie yet? I have and it was amazing! I'm glad I was able to wade through the swamp of internet trolls, trailers, and memes without falling afoul of any spoilers before finally plopping down in the theater. I can't help but wonder though, just what is a hero? After spending nearly three hours watching Captain America, IronMan, Dr. Strange, StarLord and others gallivant on screen in their desperate attempt to save the world as they know it the question has crossed my mind. You see we often think of heroes in exactly this way, larger than life figures who do incredible things at incredible times for incredible reasons. Giants among men or supreme examples of courage and honor or sacrifice. But would you ever look at yourself and consider yourself a hero? Probably not. I think that really being a hero is not about what exactly you did or do and it's certainly not about having a snazzy...

It's a bit of phenomenon really, our ability to live so much in the moment that even the passage of time itself can be a bit of a shock. We've all experienced this. Whenever a child seems suddenly older or we do just because we heard the exact number of years, or when we look back and suddenly realize just how long it has been since high school, or that your vacation is already over. The point is that although time moves on as it will, our experience of it tends to skew towards the now rather than the will be or has been. Our ability to accurately understand the time we have is woefully lacking. This plays itself out in a number of ways, not the least of which being our abysmal lack of respect for how much time we have left. Do you remember the first time you realized that you are going to die? I do. I was just looking in the mirror one day, getting ready for something I suppose, and the realization hit me that I am now older than ever I have been before...

Recently, the news media has been all abuzz about the coming peace talks with North Korea. Some arguing that U.S. President Donald Trump should be praised for the achievement, others pointing out that a peace has been in the works for years thanks to various members of the South Korean government, and others going in countless other directions with their various perspectives and agendas. I personally find this development quite interesting and I am rather curious to see what all comes out of it in the end. That being said, there is a problem here. North and South Korea are two countries that have been in a state of war for many years, more than a generation, and the reason goes beyond the scope of a simple border dispute and well beyond the scope of little blog like mine. Really it points to an issue that is larger than this particular war and this particular peace talk. You see, there is a problem with peace. The problem is this: long term, ongoing war or oppos...