Several days ago, my wife, Gail, forwarded to me a Franciscan benediction that she had received from a friend. I thought it was so good, I just had to share it.
Warning: this is completely counter-cultural to the feel-good, prosperity spirituality that is so popular today.
In the last 48 hours, we have had 10–15″ of rain in and around Nashville, Tennessee. I have lived here for 26 years and have never seen rain or a flood like this. It was eerie last night to watch National Guard trucks roll by in front of our house with soldiers in full camouflage and helmets.
Last Friday, I watched the Tiger Woods press conference in amazement. I was stunned at his candor. He didn’t sugar-coat his sin. Instead, he repeatedly acknowledged the magnitude of his wrongdoing and the scope of its impact.
Yesterday was hard. A business deal stalled. I didn’t make much progress on several key projects. I was discouraged. And toward the end of the day, I learned that a friend had died. I just wanted to go home, put on my pajamas, and go to bed.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about “Why You Should Sign Up for a Half Marathon”. I provided eight reasons why you should get off the couch and out the door. Today, I want to take that challenge to the next level.
I stumbled across this video in one of my RSS feeds. Honestly, it is difficult to believe that people like this still exist. It is embarrassing. It just goes to show you that religion—in the worst sense of the word—is still alive and well. Frankly, it makes it that much more difficult to communicate the true nature of Jesus to the world.
After I finished reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, I bought a pair of Vibram FiveFingers shoes. I have been running in them now for five weeks. I am loving them. The only negative is that I am continuously having to explain them to curious strangers. In fact, three people stopped me today in the space of three miles.
If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I am runner. I didn’t start until age 50, so I am making up for lost time. I just finished a fascinating book on running by Christopher McDougall. It is called Born to Run. At the end of this post, I will tell you how to get a copy free.
By now, you have no doubt heard about the new Apple iPhone 3G S. It looks pretty cool, but I’m not too excited about the pricing—at least for existing AT&T customers. At any rate, Julian Smith, a very bright, young filmmaker, did a video tribute to the new device last week. You may remember Julian: he’s the one who created the popular 25 Things I Hate About Facebook.
So, how many pair of shoes do you have? Stop what you are doing, go to your closet, and count them. I know this sounds like a random question, but hang with me. It’s important.
When I went through this exercise yesterday, I counted fourteen pair, including two pair of golf shoes. Worse, I had just said to Gail before church, “I need to buy another pair of casual shoes to wear with my jeans.” (Before you judge me too harshly, count the shoes in your own closet.)
I am still trying to process my experience in Ethiopia. It was so profound that I can barely articulate it. It has been a true shift in my worldview. As I have thought about this, I have realized that “I need Africa more than Africa needs me.” This has been beautifully depicted in this video:
I would be grateful if you would consider sponsoring a child from Ethiopia. For $35.00 (U.S.) a month, you can make a huge difference. You may not be able to change the world, but you could completely change the world for one child. In fact, as we witnessed first-hand, child sponsorship has an impact far beyond the life of one child.
