If you think about it, modern culture puts tremendous effort towards improving efficiency and convenience in everything we do. Less effort brings satisfaction, a sense of triumph over the world, and even joy. We want “easy!” You might say that we of the modern age are addicted to “easy” if we can achieve it. Now,…
I watched an incredible mountain race this past Saturday in Girdwood. The race is part of a national mountain racing program called the Cirque Series, wherein intrepid and profoundly physically fit racers compete against themselves and one another in places like Arapahoe Basin, Colorado, and Snowbird, Utah. The upcoming Colorado race is an 8.8-mile circuit…
There are many things in day-to-day life that are common occurrences, and then there are those times when the rare and the extraordinary happen. In Alaska, we think nothing when a raven swoops down and steals a morsel of food (i.e., garbage) from the parking lot of the local grocery store. We barely flinch when…
I have been challenged with trying to understand God’s ways quite a bit lately. A good deal of this mental theological exercise has come to the forefront due to close friends of mine navigating intense health challenges. The questions seem to continue tumbling out of my head. “Why do they have to go through this…
My mom walked with a limp her whole life! As a young boy I remember how she needed to sit down a great deal. I never understood exactly why she would not go with us on walks or on long shopping trips. I remember my Dad telling the story of how when my mom was…
Last Monday, I was compelled to write about current events. I was deeply grieving the past weeks’ many developments culminating in the civil protests now labeled the Capitol Riots. Since my last post, we have experienced a second impeachment of the President of the United States by the U.S. House of Representatives. There are thousands…
Have you ever resonated with the vultures in the animated movie Jungle Book? The scene opens with one vulture asking, “What are we going to do?” To which a quippy vulture response comes, “What do you want to do?” This brings the answer, “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” This goes back…
“Surely this can’t be happening!” seems the lament of many in the faith community of late. The specter of religious persecution has come to the fore in our national conversation about the Coronavirus. The purpose, scope, and method of instituting dramatic government-mandated restrictions on public meetings to worship—arguably necessary to prevent the virus’ spread—has polarized…
I don’t think that I am the only one who is experiencing difficult challenges in their life right now. Life can be very difficult at times, and that is even without considering the social and health challenges that are impacting most of society currently. Even with the advancements in science, the medical disciplines, technology, and…
