Christ is risen!
They say that you can't buy happiness. Well, that's a bit subjective, because some folks are very happy for a short time when they spend money. There is even a genuine psychological disorder that deals with folks who are addicted to spending money. So, I guess it all depends on how you…
Christ is risen! Identity is a powerful reality, and filled with all kinds of information. But your own understanding of who you are and where you belong is central to how you order your life.
I never will forget my first post-liturgical coffee hour after being received into the Eastern Orthodox Church.…
Christ is risen!
"Step right up Ladies and Gentlemen, see the most amazing sights you could ever imagine!" You've heard these words before. Carnival barkers trying to get you to spend the money to see the "amazing snake boy, half boy, half snake!" Or the "amazing Elephant Man." Curiosity, entertainment, something "different," something "tantalizing."
And it works.…
Christ is risen!
I come from a generation that was suspicious of tattoos! And the generation before me, forget about it! My grandfather, a lifelong police officer, always said that tattoos were degrading to a man. Wow, some pretty strong words, especially in light of today's generation that consider "body art" a form of expression and…
Christ is risen!
T.S. Eliot, one of the 20th century's major poets, said: "And they write innumerable books; being too vain and distracted for silence: seeking every one after his own elevation, and dodging his emptiness."
It strikes me as significant that an author would write something like that. And, in my heart of hearts,…
Christ is risen!
When I was a police officer, we were trained on how to spot counterfeit money. But the interesting thing is we weren't trained to spot bad bills by studying the fake money. We were trained to spot the fake bills by being obsessively familiar with the real money! We knew each nook and…
Christ is risen!
"Take a vacation" he said. Sure, I'll take a vacation, but how? I'm busy. There are things that have to get done. People are depending on me. People expect me to be available to them. I HAVE TO work!
Sound familiar? Yea, I know, we Type A personalities tend to have a…
Christ is Risen!
I have never found obedience particularly easy. In fact, being a head strong and prideful person, obedience has always made me uncomfortable and even fearful that I was "giving myself away."
So, why is the notion of obedience so prominent in Orthodox Christian teachings and the wisdom of the fathers who have come before…
Christ is Risen!
It's always a quandary for me: do I give anything to the guy holding the sign at the side of the road or will I just be supporting his bad choices? I guess it comes from my days as a police officer. There were too many times we'd question these folks holding…
Christ is Risen!
"You must be born again." Hey, where I'm from, that scripture is as well worn as John 3:16. In the '70's fad of the "Jesus Movement" (anybody who was paying attention at all to the culture of the early '70's knows this) being "born again" was all the rage. Billy Graham wrote a…