Category Archives: Wonderstuffs

A miscellaneous collection of articles celebrating the little things…

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Top Five Posts of 2011

In lieu of taking the time to actually write a new post (something I’ve determined to refrain from in the interest of staying focused on my current job search), I thought I would at least offer a slight update in the form of a retrospective on the gone-but-never-to-be-forgotten 2011. So, here are the five most viewed posts from last year.

#5 – Four Things You Don’t Want to Hear When Looking for a Ministry Job

Click HERE to read this entry. I wrote this piece back in April, prior to the horrible month of May that found me laid up in a German hospital for two and a half weeks only to come home and be rejected from two different church positions that same day. I’m thankful it was written before that day, though, because otherwise this piece would have reeked of cynicism. Instead, I really tried to shed some light on what it feels like for a minister without a church to face rejection, and the unintentional faux pas a pastor or search committee should avoid when turning away a candidate. I’m particularly fond of my cheeky picture captions – I guess I was reading a lot of Cracked.com back then.

#4 – God Willing, You’ll Read This Post

Click HERE to read this entry. This one was another piece born out of frustration (a common method of conception for writers). October was another rough month for the job search – a lot of confusion and assumptions that did not pan out and left me feeling ridiculous and wondering if I was cursed. A lot of those days seemed like a wrestling match with God, asking for His provision to secure me a job, but then feeling like it wasn’t right to just sit back and let God solve all my problems for me, especially considering He blesses us with minds of our own and problem-solving abilities. This piece was one of those lofty attempts to examine that wonderful, but often nebulous, thing we refer to as God’s will.

#3 – Thoughts from My Hospital Bed

Click HERE to read this entry. I’m really not sure why this one found so many readers, unless a lot of those were my students and colleagues in Germany who were simply wondering whether or not I had died. Long story short, I broke my foot in November 2010, underwent two long, non-surgical treatments that did not heal it, and then an awkward surgery that repaired the bone but resulted in a severe infection that, as I mentioned above, further resulted in a second, emergency surgery and landed me in the hospital for two and a half weeks with a wound vacuum affixed to the gaping hole leftover in my foot. I was never able to return to my teaching job and missed out on the chance to bid most of my students farewell before they graduated or left for the summer. It took until the beginning of September for my foot to completely heal. I wrote this piece on one of those May afternoons lying in my hospital bed.

#2 – Should Christians Celebrate Bin Laden’s Death?

Click HERE to read this entry. This short piece was written in reaction to how so many Americans seemed to lose their minds in the throes of elated vindication at the news that Navy SEALS had stormed Osama Bin Laden’s compound and killed him. While there was obviously a profound sense of relief that such a wicked individual would no longer be able to inflict his wickedness on the world, I found the number of Christians who seemed to be reveling in the terrorist leader’s death appalling. “Love your enemies,” Jesus said, “and pray for those who persecute you.” At no point in his famous Sermon on the Mount did the Savior add, “But when a commando makes him eat lead, you have my permission to dance in the streets.” This was a somewhat controversial piece, but I stand by my position on how Christians are supposed to respond to the death of our enemies.

And the most-viewed post of 2011 was…

#1 – What’s the Deal with Atheism?

Click HERE to read this entry. Was there any doubt this would be the winner? This post incited multiple comment-section conversations, both on this blog, several commenters’ blogs, and even my Facebook page. It was to be expected, of course – more than any issue, it seems the theism/anti-theism debate compels us to offer our opinions. A few people found this piece incendiary (against atheists), but that was never my intention at all. I am always eager to talk with people who claim to be atheists – I want to hear their stories; I want to know why the very thing that has transformed my entire life has been spurned by them. More than anything, I want them to no that just because they don’t believe what I believe doesn’t mean I don’t respect them or their viewpoint. I am devoted to the Great Conversation, and this post was simply an attempt to examine a few of the motivations for non-belief from a Christian’s perspective. It certainly wasn’t meant to be an end-all treatise on my views of atheism or how Christians and atheists can still – and should still – interact.

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Thanks, beloved readers, for making 2011 such an enjoyable blogging year. I hope to return to regular posting again soon … just as soon as I find gainful employment.

Peace in the new year.

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Thankfulology

One of the most potent criticisms Christians in America often face is how out-of-touch they can be when it comes to living in the here and now. Being fully aware and alive in the present moment can elude a lot of religious folks who cling to mere eschatological hope – that is, trust in an eternal life after our physical death. As a Christian, I uphold the belief that at the end of all things physical, I will be ushered into the limitless presence of Almighty God. However, unlike some, I do not focus on this to the exclusion of my life in this world.

Again and again, the Scriptures encourage followers of God to be thankful – to recognize and take account of our blessings. These are not simply the things we have gained or acquired for ourselves, but also the very things that compose the environments in which we find ourselves, the knits and ties in the fabric of our lives.

I'm aware I just came dangerously close to sounding like a commerical.

“Finally, brothers and sisters,” writes the Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Philippi, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—take account of such things.”

Lately, I’ve been taking account of the things I don’t have (job, house, money, insurance, security, stability, a Red Rider BB gun, etc.). For my soul’s sake, and in keeping with the tradition of our present holiday, I’m going to attempt the opposite. Before I sat down to write this, I settled on the number 25. I believe it is a reasonable number, as long as I commit to specifics and not hide behind vagueness and generalizations. So, here goes:

I am thankful for…

1. … Leigh’s astonishing amount of perseverance. In spite of so many stress-inducing unknowns, my wife continues to show her mettle as a mommy and as a mommy-to-be.

2. … Katy Jo’s voice. I’ve never heard such a sweet sound in all my life (except when she’s screeching in her car seat).

3. … H.E.B. grocery stores and my parents’ gracious willingness to buy most of our food.

4. … Daniel Tebbe’s smoked turkey recipe (if I can get it right).

5. … a turkey (kinda goes along with #3).

6. … milder weather. It took a long time, but central Texas finally cooled off.

7. … my laptop. Every morning, I wake up early, pour a cup of coffee, pull out my computer and set to work on a piece of writing. Strange how soothing the digital bong of a MacBook can be.

8. … Whataburger. I’ll be honest, it’s not my favorite place in the world, but it does provide a little part-time money.

9. … Chick Fil A. It’s the place I most enjoy spending the money I earn at Whataburger.

10. … a healthy foot. Aside from an ugly scar, I’m all healed up after almost ten months of problems, two surgeries and a 17-day stint in a German hospital.

11. … Community, Parks and Recreation, and South Park. I don’t have much cause for laughing these days, but these three still get me going. (If NBC cancels Community, I may finally lose what is left of my mind.)

12. … how warm Leigh is. Personality, sure, but I’m actually talking about her physical warmth – she’s like a little Amish fireplace.

13. … that Katy Jo also adores #9.

14. … coffee and Bailey’s creamer to go with #7.

15. … my friends Stevie and Jenny, who continue to take care of us even in our no-job funk. So what if J. Edgar was kind of depressing? I still had a blast the other night.

16. … Goodwill stores that sell books other than the Twilight series and Stieg Larsson’s Girl trilogy. I’ve found some great deals since returning home from the land where English books were hard to come by.

17. … Robert Griffin III, Kendall Wright and Terrance Ganaway.

18. … The Walking Dead. Hands down, the best show currently on TV. On a broader note, and at the risk of sounding like a television junkie, I’m thankful for every original series on the AMC network.

19. … competitive cooking shows. I don’t know why these are so engrossing given their absurdity, but they are.

20. … white-tail deer. They are all over the place out where my parents live, and despite being well acquainted with their presence throughout my childhood and adolescence, they never cease to amaze me with their graceful speed and lightness.

21. … Leigh’s head-rubs. No massage parlor in the world can hold a candle to her skill.

22. … my mother’s servant heart. She is forever attempting to care for us and keep our spirits up.

23. … the way Katy Jo eats spaghetti. Comedy gold.

24. … Leigh’s indomitable beauty, inside and out.

25. … Dr Pepper Ten.

How’s that for randomness?

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Life in Ten Minutes

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning, before my first period American Literature class, I am allotted ten minutes for what administration calls “devotionals.” At 8:50, the electronic bell warbles, the students take a seat, and the morning announcements click on over the PA. Depending on how many talking points the principal has for the student body, I get the remainder of the 8:50 to 9:00 slot, and I am meant to spend these fleeting minutes offering my students some form of wisdom or insight in regard to our life in a God-centered reality, perhaps reading something from the Bible, and then wrapping up with some meaningful prayer. No problem…

The lightning round begins... right... NOW!

As a teacher, I am plagued by the curse of honesty. One of my biggest problems is teaching something (especially something out of history or ancient Scriptures) without giving a lot of background to make sure the information being received makes sense in the grand spectrum of life. I know the reason for this stems partly from some of the teachers I had growing up who skipped over contextualization in favor of barrelling right into application. Unfortunately, it is not as easy for me to leave out “where this concept comes from” or “how this belief arose” – I find such information vital. After all, if I’m going to base my life on something, I want to know the details!

Needless to say, ten minutes is not quite enough time for me to impart all the wisdom (ha!) that roils within, no matter how strong a communicator I may be (or that I also teach Public Speaking). I am able only to point to the tip of the iceberg, and hope the students catch on that there is much that lies beneath. Perhaps I’m being too dramatic, or trying to bite off more than I can chew, but, seriously, ten minutes?! It’s hard to offer anything worthwhile in that amount of time. I feel like I’m in those old Al Franken skits on SNL – Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley (“Because you’re good enough, and you’re smart enough, and doggone it…”)

Don’t get me wrong, I manage. However, like prisoner from shackles, I can’t help but want to break free from the time restraints. We’ve become a soundbite-obsessed culture, drunk on talking points and eager for more ways to water down the wine of truth. Life cannot be summed up in ten-minute increments each day, nor can our devotion be encapsulated so easily. This may be making the proverbial mountain out of a molehill, but I worry that such brevity perpetuates the system.

So, down falls the gauntlet. Life in ten minutes. Can it be done?

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Back to the Present

It is a difficult thing to live in the present. I’m reading a book that encourages the cultivation of a deep awareness of the present moment, of a recognition of the soul over the ego. But I am also living in a period of transition right now. As our time in Germany draws to an end, Leigh and I must look to what is next, which means looking forward and, for better or for worse, fashioning plans, no matter how tentative. I must look for job opportunities (and, when turned down, do my best to dust myself off and maintain this deep awareness of the present moment and this recognition of the soul). We must consider how it will be possible, in light of a struggling economy, to even make ends meet or how bread will find its way to the table. We must concern ourselves with Katy’s Jo’s needs – what will she eat, what will she wear, how will she learn? And soon, that will be replaced by where she will learn among other questions that come with age.

Having faith that things will turn out all right is a very difficult thing. In this life, we have to rely on others to help us navigate the system, whether it is networking with others in order to find a good job, establishing relationships with counselors and teachers so we can have help us in rearing and teaching our children, or even simply sitting down with friends over a bottle of wine and some conversation to share our opinions on how we go on surviving each and every day.

As for me, I do my best to maintain trust in God. I am thankful that the opposite of faith is not doubt. If so, none of us could claim faith. The opposite of faith is despair, and even at times when I feel myself slipping into this miry pit, I remember that God has blessed me with two things: people who, in their wisdom, can help me through, and breath in my lungs that keeps me waking up each morning to make the impossible future the possible present.