Repost: Asking Questions

Roughly every other week this blog will feature a reposted work. I had been a contributor on two different sites that have since closed or no longer include blogs. I will be reposting pieces that had originally been featured on one of these two sites.  

This was originally posted October 17, 2011

Many little wisps of ideas have passed through my mind since I posted my last blog but none have settled.  I tend to notice things and make connections and then write as I reflect on that.  Frankly, I’ve been bewildered lately.  There are so many “things” to notice.

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Looking for ISAIAH in the Bible

My son is always very excited to get his hands on my Bible.

It’s not that we’ve instilled in him a thirst for the word of God. He’s not seeking truth or relationship with God. We haven’t yet explained to him that the ESV is THE hippest Bible to read. He’s not looking at the colorful maps in the back or the red letters in the gospels or my notes and scribbles throughout. 

He’s looking for page 683, where it says, in big letters “ISAIAH”.

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Repost: Warmth

Every other week my blog will feature a reposted work. I had been a contributor on two different sites that have since closed or no longer include blogs. I will be reposting pieces that had originally been featured on one of these two sites.  

This was originally posted August 8, 2011

Sometimes God speaks to us.  Sometimes we don’t fully understand what he says. 

I have a story about that.

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Bearing the Lonely

On Sunday morning at 4:22am, my wife and sons left for a month vacation. I’ll join her after three weeks and take a week of my vacation, but for three weeks, I’m alone.

After she left, my Sunday looked like this:

Watched YouTube and Netflix and Facebook.

Slept a little

Went to church

Moved some bricks (patio work).

Watched YouTube

Facebook

Played Hearthstone

Ate lunch [Pizza, followed by rum & coke]

Slept

Organized our storage room

Read some articles online

Cleaned up around the house

Worked in the patio

Played Hearthstone

Ate dinner

Watched Netflix

Facebook...

Watched Hulu

More Facebook

Went to bed

Sometime, late in the night, I realized that all my actions of the day (including going to church) were motivated by a desire to distract myself from loneliness and I thought, “Maybe it’s time to write that blog.”

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Encountering Bronze Jesus

I was in Indiana recently for the closing of Bowman House as a freshman men’s Residence Hall at Indiana Wesleyan University. Arriving a day early for the closing events, I was able to participate and assist with the end-of-year Banquet and Awards Ceremony for this past year’s residents. I watched my friend’s son, Uriah, during the Banquet; when he got a little too antsy I took him out of the room and we walked around the Student Center and the campus grounds.

While we were walking around outside I observed this young boy have an encounter with Jesus. To be precise, he encountered the statue of Jesus outside the IWU Chapel Auditorium.  His encounter with the bronze Jesus statue is a picture of too many of my own encounters with Jesus.

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Preparing for Easter

This semester I have a personal trainer as part of BoxerBoot Camp, a program that matches exercise science majors with employees at the university where I work. On Monday my trainer contacted me to see if we could postpone my workout until at least Wednesday because she had schoolwork to deal with.

I happily agreed to put off the workout she had planned.

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Repost: The Dark Bus Ride of the Soul

Every other week my blog will feature a reposted work. I had been a contributor on two different sites that have since closed or no longer include blogs. I will be reposting pieces that had originally been featured on one of these two sites.  

This was originally posted May 17, 2011

Today was the second day that our son rode the bus to school.  He walked Candice and me outside to wait really early.  He yelled and laughed at a squirrel in a tree.  He pointed happily to where the bus would be arriving.  Then he screamed in terror when it was time to get on and leave.  Mama and Papa discussed whether or not he’s ready for this as we walked back in the apartment. 

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Repost: Identity Graduation

Every other week my blog will feature a reposted work. I had been a contributor on two different sites that have since closed or no longer include blogs. I will be reposting pieces that had originally been featured on one of these two sites.  

This was originally posted April 30, 2011

Today was graduation.  I didn’t graduate, though.

I have now worked at Indiana Wesleyan University for four school years.  This was the fourth time that I have walked through the crowds of robes and cameras and given hugs and congratulations. However, this time was different.  I work in a hall for male first-year students so this was the graduation for students who came in when I did.  It was their senior year and mine as well. 

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Bible Binging

My wife and sons were gone this past week.

As I was preparing for my upcoming week up bachelorhood, I remember thinking, “I can binge on my bible reading.”

I’m trying to read through the bible in a year again and it’s not going well.  I started in October and was way ahead when November rolled around. Then the inevitable happened: I hit Leviticus. Needless to say, I’m way behind now.

So I thought, maybe without any of the other wonderful, but time consuming, aspects of family (like kids to feed and put to bed) I would have ample time to sit and power through several chapters of divinely inspired holy text. 

Almost immediately I realized how foolish this sort of thinking was.  We’ve turned into a “binging” culture, and that’s not a good thing. Typically we’ll binge on TV shows or movies, watching a season or two of our favorite show in a weekend.  This approach to consuming media isn’t necessarily good; it’s just what we do.

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Repost: The Face of Terror

Every other week my blog will feature a reposted work. I had been a contributor on two different sites that have since closed or changed to no longer include blogs. I will be reposting pieces that had originally been featured on one of these two sites.  

This was originally posted April 19, 2011

Last night I saw something that I hope to never see again.  Part of me wants to cling to the memory for prayerful contemplation, but part of me doesn’t want to bring the picture up to consciousness because of the emotions associated with it.  Last night I saw a look of terror on my son’s face. 

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You, Pretend

Sometimes I sing to my sons when we put them to sleep. If they are upset or restless I’ll try to soothe them with a children's church song. Over the years, Isaiah has picked up “Jesus Loves Me” and a few other songs and sometimes asks for me to sing them. I think it’s good for his developing theology to know of these types of arguably trite, but true lyrics.

The Story

A few months ago, we were still in the Midwest and my office was still connected with our kitchen. Having one’s office in the same space as one’s home was a blessing and a curse. As any Student Affairs professional will attest, the layout makes boundaries difficult. On this particular day, I had stepped into my office to accomplish minor task. I don’t remember what it was and it may not have even been directly work-related. More than likely I was responding to a short email or checking Facebook. Maybe I had remembered an interesting or clever observation I’d made earlier that day and I was taking a moment to post it on Facebook so all my friends could tell me I was funny. To set the stage here, the bottom line is:

I was busy, but I wasn’t doing anything important.

…In walks Isaiah.

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Repost: Little

I am attempting to post a weekly. Every other week these posts will be reposts. I had been a contributor on two different sites that have since closed or changed to no longer include blogs. I will be reposting pieces that had originally been featured on one of these two sites.  

This was originally posted April 14, 2011

I like Wes Anderson movies.  I like how he uses quirky, extreme characters to get at the psychological issues in all of us.  I like the outlandish stories and interesting sets; I like how a line of dialogue will take me unawares in the midst of a seemingly chaotic story and I’ll be staggered by its depth and layers of meaning. 

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What Does the Fox Soothe?

Enoch

Recently I put up a Facebook status about my youngest son’s coping mechanism for when he misses his mama. When my wife leaves to run an errand or exercise, or just have some quiet time, our son can’t handle it. He loves his Papa, but he needs his Mama. The wailing and the waterworks start as soon as he realizes she’s about to leave. Then it’s nonstop until he tires himself out and settles for whimpering and whining until he falls asleep or she returns. However, I’ve figured out one thing that will help him to deal with his sense of loss.

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Parenting And Theology

Parenting

Correcting behavior is an ongoing aspect of parenting. I want my children to be safe and well behaved, able to function in civil society. This involves frequent restrictions and verbal reminders of certain important guidelines.

“Don’t touch the stove”

“Stop hitting your brother”

“Don’t run into the street”

I want my sons to know that I always love them, even when I am disciplining or correcting them. Not long after we first brought Isaiah home I changed how I worded my corrections. I wanted to make sure Isaiah knew that I loved him first, so I said that first followed by the correction.

“Isaiah, I love you, but listen to your mama.”

“Isaiah, I love you, but it’s time for bed.”

“Isaiah, I love you, but eat your dinner.”

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