Denise has always wanted to visit the garden island of Kauai, in the Hawaiian Islands. So, we flew over earlier this month. I thought I would try paddle-board surfing while we were there and Hanalei Bay is ideally suited for a first timer. However, a day or so before we went north, I put on my fins to swim around Salt Pond Beach Park near Port Allen. When I left the water and pulled off my bootie, I found that the scarring over the tendon at my ankle had torn and I was trailing a lot of blood. This had never happened before while swimming, body-surfing or sponge-riding. … Read the rest
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Surviving the flesh-eating bacteria is an ongoing process. Once you make it past the initial 72 hours and find yourself still in the land of the living, dealing with the sometimes devastating effects can be challenging, whether the wounds are great or small. Often, I’ll post stories about those who have overcome incredible loss from this disease and, in light of their challenges, I see my wounds as being on the small end of the spectrum.
Denise has always wanted to visit the garden island of Kauai, in the Hawaiian Islands. So, we flew over there earlier this month. I thought I would try paddle-board surfing while we were there and Hanalei Bay is ideally suited for a first timer.… Read the rest
Someone posted this bizarre video of Benny Hinn on the Triune nature of God…
Which reminded me of a mathematics instructional video a friend pointed me to years ago.
Then, I recalled a bit of advice from Beautiful Eulogy
One of the advantages of my defective and desultory education is a lifetime of discovery and learning! Kudos to the California educational system of the 60’s, leftist news organizations of the 70’s and the vacuous popular culture of the 80’s. (I suppose I should admit that I wasn’t a very enthusiastic learner in those days — it’s not like I was a total victim)
Along the way, I learned that , contrary to nearly everything I was ever taught on the subject of race or saw editorialized in the pop-press, that in the 26 major civil rights votes since 1933, Democrats opposed civil rights in 80% of votes, while Republicans joined the majority in favoring civil rights in over 96% of the votes.… Read the rest
Our family lived in Maine from 1993 – 1997 and the area we lived in was ripe with chance meetings of fate, because so many celebs and power people vacation or retire there. Here’s just one example. More will follow and fans of the old TV comedy, Green Acres, will want to check out this post.
Most people who flew out of our area to the rest of the United States and the world would leave on the 6AM flight out of Bangor International Airport. It was a large plane, flying to Logan International in Boston, where connections were made with the rest of civilization.… Read the rest
I’ve watched boys writhing in the pews and struggling to pay attention for years, as the preacher plows through the text, turning over the soil of the soul. Sometimes the man behind the music stand or pulpit is me.
Other boys get down on their knees, but not to pray. They face a chair with a pencil up and press their noses down close to a piece of paper or a flyer for some church event or a bulletin or a sketch pad, rendering caricatures of superheroes or Transformers or stock cars. Older boys may read an appropriate novel. Some do their homework, while others game away on a device of some kind.… Read the rest
Nothing is more helpful than a handy chart. You can find these 6 Counterfeits that Lead Away From the Biblical Gospel in this blog post at The Gospel Coalition, along with some resources to help you and others steer clear of some of these counterfeits that are often so close, but so far apart.
So, I came across these 4 Tips For Dealing With Procrastination @ Challies Dot Com. Funny, I’ve never thought of myself as one of those slugs who can’t seem to get around to getting around to begin to start to get rolling on accomplishing some work. But, since retiring from two careers at roughly the same time in order to begin doing all those things I’ve always wanted to do… well, it’s been a bit more of a challenge to get going than I’d like to admit.
I’m happy to report that I’m finding myself on task and in the zone far more than I was a year ago and I have Tim to thank for this.… Read the rest
Surviving the Flesh-Eating Bacteria: Understanding, Preventing, Treating, and Living with the Aftermath of Necrotizing Fasciitis: 
This is my new business card, which I designed in a hurry for a speaking engagement. My son provided the artwork over ten years ago and he did a great job!… Read the rest
… Read the restPeople who use escape responses [to conflict] are usually intent on “peace-faking,” or making things look good even when they are not. (This is especially common in the church, where people are often more concerned about the appearance of peace than the reality of peace).
While I appreciate the emphasis on humility, I think Karina Kreminski’s take is predictably defensive and thin. Here’s the post: The Church Is In Post-Christian Exile – But Should We Really Respond Like It’s a War?
The short answer to the question she poses in the title of her essay is, Yes. If we take Jesus and the apostles at their word, standing on the shoulders of the prophets and patriarchs, we are in a war. The Bible uses colorful language, simile, metaphor, and other figures of speech to describe or illustrate the Christian life. Jesus followers are both in exile and at war. … Read the rest
Why do I blog? There are a number of reasons, I suppose. 
I came across a quote which answers that question and may give you some insight into why I do whatever I do:
… Read the restOur calling is to enjoy God as well as glorify Him. Real fulfillment relates to the purpose for which we were made, to be in reference to God, to be in personal relationship with Him, to be fulfilled by Him, and thus to have an affirmation of life. Christianity should never give any onlooker the right to conclude that Christianity believes in the negation of life. Christianity is able to make a real affirmation because we affirm that it is possible to be in personal relationship to the personal God who is there and who is the final environment of all He created.
Occasionally, I provide pulpit supply, filling in for a pastor who needs a break for whatever reason. I’ve only done this a few times over the years, but always enjoy it.
In July, I’ll be talking about the Gospel and Paul’s reminder to Christians at Corinth to stand in/on the Gospel message or “word” he had preached or “proclaimed” to them, years earlier:
… Read the restNow I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. (1
I thought this was a short, informative article to kick off the summer with. And, please notice that I’m leading off with this pull quote:
These infections are extremely rare,” said Amy Kirby, an assistant research professor at Emory University’s Center for Global Safe Water. There were only 88 cases of necrotizing fasciitis recorded in the U.S in 2013.
Whatever you do, please don’t give in to fear. It’s important to remember that, although the bacteria is common, necrotizing fasciitis and other diseases resulting from exposure to these bacteria are rare and, to some degree, preventable. If you will be swimming this summer, as I will be, remember to bathe afterwards, clean and disinfect any wounds you may have.… Read the rest
We all know Evernote is great for keeping track of notes and tasks, but it can be used for so much more than that.
I found some pretty great uses for Evernote that hadn’t occurred to me yet. This is one of those applications that is so simple, yet versatile, well written, and executed that the variety of uses may be endless. Check it out:20 uses for Evernote that you probably haven’t thought of yet | Macworld
If you don’t know what Evernote is, you may want to watch this video:
And, if you’re a note-taker, business person, designer, artist, planner… watch and be amazed:
This was something I posted back in 2005 and I thought it might be worthwhile to look back to where we’ve been and see how far we’ve come.
… Read the restIt has long been a dream of mine to redecorate our home in a modern theme, but it looks like that will have to wait for another 5-10 years. In the interim, we have decided upon a retro look and have been scouring thrift stores, garage sales and eBay for furniture and accessories from the same era as the ribbon-cutting on our home, i.e. 1961.
Today, Denise, and I were leaving a disappointing garage sale, when we happened upon a young gentleman (who happpened to be from New Zealand), standing in the driveway of his new home, next to this sectional.
I wouldn’t wish necrotizing fasciitis on anyone. But, it’s hard not to feel some degree of happiness when reading about Anthony Were. You can find his story at Portland dad: I survived flesh-eating bacteria.… Read the rest
Have you ever noticed how one-sided your relationship with God is? You would almost get the impression that it’s all about Him. I was thinking about this today and, as it turns out, it’s probably more accurate to speak of His relationship with me. Consider this:
- God took the initiative. We love because he [God] first loved us. (1 John 4:19 ESV) I wasn’t consulted, when the Lord first loved me. Nor, was I even around when He decided to embrace me (we’ll talk about that in a moment). I’m not eternal, contrary to the fantasies embraced by some religions. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
This past week was the celebration of the 17th anniversary of our battle with necrotizing fasciitis, the flesh-eating bacteria. I was moved to remember and reflect on some of the new and different experiences the disease brought with it. Here are just a few highlights:
- I had the blessing of saying my final farewell to three of four family members and survived to remember it, urging them to look to Jesus! I hope to be able to do the same the next time around. Camille was sorta freaked out, because she had finals and wondered if she should go to school or stay with me.
… Read the rest“On day four, the bacteria halted at the top of my thigh — Dr. Kellermann believes it was a miracle. That day, the surgeon brought Dr. Kellermann in to show him that the infection had moved all the way up into my lower back. The outside border and time of the examination had been written on my skin with an indelible marker. “We are taking him in for a final debridement, but he is not going to live. It’s like trying to stop a freight train with wet tissue paper,” the surgeon confided. One of the nurses in the burn unit ICU gave my wife the same grim prognosis, motioning with her hand up the left side and lower back.
I had, in the words of one Richard Baxter biographer, a defective and desultory education. I think it was more my fault than any deficiencies in the educational system or my teachers.… Read the rest
That was the day I was kicked in the ankle, playing indoor soccer with a bunch of kids. You can read all about it in Our Story.… Read the rest
Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro is a book for burnouts. I picked it up back in February of 2013, when I finally realized I was experiencing long-term exhaustion (the formal diagnosis). I was a classic case — I didn’t know I had arrived at burnout, until I was actually coming out of it. A friend pointed me to this text as a classic on the subject, specifically written for Christians.
The book was not overly helpful for me, because I had stumbled into solutions or had recognized and addressed many of the symptoms already. It did help me to make sense of the troubled waters I’d just passed through and gave me a few tips or reminders to get back on course.… Read the rest
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