140 Words Or Less

Author Peter Rollins recently told this story: A man named Seamus was stranded on a deserted island.  He lived there for 20 years before a passing pilot spotted him and came to his rescue. The pilot was intrigued to see that during his time on the island, Seamus had constructed three large buildings.  Seamus explained that the first structure was his home and the second building was his church where he went to worship and pray each week. Curious, the pilot asked about the third structure.   "I don't want to talk about it", Seamus replied.   The pilot pressed Seamus further.   "It's an awful place" Seamus explained. "Much too hurtful for me to talk about". "Wow" the stunned pilot said.  "What is this place of such darkness and pain?". "It's the church I used to go to". Word Count: 136

School textbook teaching creationism. twitter.com/BuzzFeedAndrew… — Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) December 28, 2012 There are 100 things I could say about this photo of a homeschooling Science textbook but I’ve only got 140 words, so let me just say this.  If you truly believe that something is “True”, then you should have the confidence that when all the arguments are fairly laid out and discussed, people will ultimately be drawn to the “Truth”.  If the “Truth” requires you to skew the arguments, mock opposing views and insult the people who hold them in order for you to convince a 5th Grader of it’s merits, your “Truth” might just be “truth”.  Personally, I probably lean towards a position of "theistic evolutionism" but as Bono once said, perhaps we need to "Stop helping God across the street like a little old lady". Word Count: 130

“I was...thinking what could I have done different. When you ask someone how they are doing, do you really mean it? When you answer someone back, ‘How you are doing?’ are you really telling the truth? We live in a society of social networks, and Twitter pages and Facebook, and that’s fine and stuff, but we have contact with our work associates, our family, our friends and it seems like half the time we are more preoccupied with our phone and other things going on instead of the actual relationships that we have in front of us.  Hopefully, people can learn from this and try to actually help if someone is battling something deeper on the inside than what they may be revealing.” Quarterback Brady Quinn on teammate Jovan Belcher committing suicide after killing his own girlfriend on Saturday. Word Count: 140

The results of the recent US election: Obama = 62,088,847 votes Romney = 58,783,137 votes No matter which way you voted, a lot of people disagreed with you. My high-school history teacher often joked that the flaw with democracy is that everybody else’s vote counts just as much as yours. Of course, no one holds their worldview by accident.  We are products of our upbringing, environment and DNA.  We have well reasoned arguments for the beliefs we adhere to.  There is certainly need for debate but when we demonize those who disagree with us, we aren’t just attacking an idea, we’re attacking a human being. The people we disagree with are not our enemies to be defeated. Even if they were, Jesus said to love our enemies, so we'd still have to be really nice to them anyways.

“You can’t come with me to the store” my wife Sarah said to our three year old daughter Alexa.   It was approaching bedtime, a busy day lay ahead and Sarah was planning a quick run to grab some groceries while I put the kids to bed.  This was not the ideal time for a Mother/Daughter shopping trip.  “But I want to come!” Alexa insisted.  “Not today” her mother replied. “Please”? “No”. Alexa dropped the argument and Sarah headed to the kitchen to grab her grocery list. When Sarah returned she was greeted by the sight of Alexa, coat and boots on, toque covering her head, waiting patiently by the door.  “I’m ready” Alexa stated simply.  Unsurprisingly, Sarah did not go shopping alone. Sometimes faith is realizing that just because a door is shut, it doesn’t mean it’s locked. Word Count: 139

One man had recently been diagnosed with cancer, the other had just been elected President.  One was speaking to a handful of football players, the other addressed a nation  As they spoke, both men faced daunting challenges.  One, the fear of death.  The other, a nation bitterly divided by ideology and burdened by debt.  The circumstances they both faced were bleak but their message was hopeful. “And my vision that I’m living is to see two more daughters getting married, dance at their wedding” Chuck Pagano said. “We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America...That’s the vision we share.” Barack Obama declared. They envision a better future and choose to live like it’s true. I believe Hebrews 11 refers to this as living by “faith”; not being defined by circumstances but by our response to them Word Count: 140

A beautiful thing happened on New Girl the other week.  If you don't regularly watch the show, these clips should give you a good idea of what went down.   In the words of Winston, I "let it rain" every time I watch that last scene.  It's an emotional moment but my reaction is also due to  conviction for my own selfishness.  I am surrounded by some of the most beautiful, loving, generous people in the world.  People who wash my clothes, watch my kids, give me a job, pray for me, send me notes of encouragement and support.  Yet, like Nick, I'm obsessively self-absorbed so I rarely tell these people who "love me too much" how I feel.  So if you're in my life and I keep forgetting to bring you a cookie, please know that "you're the turtle".  Word Count : 140

The wires snake out of the house and onto the street where people surround the pile of adapters like Eskimos around a campfire in February.  I don’t know if these people know the home owner but in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, it really doesn’t matter. Even in an independent minded city like New York, people are banding together. The Fright Factory, a “house of horrors” in Niagara Falls, has created a sensation with its Flickr account featuring “reaction shots” of people encountering the most frightening portion of their journey.  The results are both hilarious and telling. What struck me about these photos is that no one stands this close in public.  Ever.  We may act like we don’t need anyone but when the lights go out and things get messy, instinctively we reach for each other. Word Count :137

Peyton Manning is facing a 3rd and 4.  It's typical Manning, pointing, waving, shouting, flapping his arms, doing that little leg kick of his. He's surveying the defence, identifying the coverage, figuring out where the pressure will come from.  A gifted athlete, what truly sets Manning apart is the combination of a brilliant mind and a legendary dedication to film study that allows him to consistently identify defenses in advance and counteract them. Peyton Manning has made a career of being so prepared that nothing ever comes as a surprise.  Tonight, Manning sees the defence playing back, guarding against the pass.  He audibles into a running play, hands the ball off to his runninng back who, instead of running for the easy first down, fumbles the ball.  For a moment, even Peyton Manning looks like he didn't see that coming. Word Count : 140

I’ve been wrestling with my faith for a while.  Things that were once black and white are now less so.  Worship services have been hard for me during this journey because their relentless positivity stands in contrast to the internal struggle I’ve been experiencing. Apparently I’m not the only person who has noticed this. Approximately 70 percent of the Psalms are laments. Approximately 0 percent of the top 150 CCLI songs are laments (songs sung in churches) — Gungor (@gungormusic) June 28, 2012 I have found little in church worship that reflects the Psalmists cry of "How long will you hide your face from me?" (Psalm 13), “My eyes grow weak with sorrow” (Psalm 6) or “You have put me in the lowest pit” (Psalm 88). Instead I hear this: I believe the Bible teaches us that worship must include declarations of the greatness, love and incredible goodness of God.  I also believe it teaches that God's OK if sometimes our worship sounds like this (fair warn...

I haven't posted a blog in about 10 months because I've felt like I’ve had nothing to say.  I go to write and feel like none of my ideas are original or interesting enough to serve as the building blocks of a decent post (also, I’m lazy).   However, I was recently reminded that there are only 26 letters in the alphabet, yet people have used those letters to create this: And this: And this: There are only 12 different musical notes, yet people have used those notes to create this: and this:  and yes, this:  There are only 3 primary colors yet people have used those colors to create this  and this:  and this:    There was nothing and God created this:  And this:  And this: Sometimes you don’t have to start with a lot, you just have to start.   Word Count: 139