#life

The Upside Down World ~ The Blog

May 23, 2014
6 min

Why the White Dude Crossed the Tracks

Back when I did prison ministry, we used to have this crazy old white dude who would come in to talk with the boys. He had a ministry working with gangs on the streets of Chicago. He had occasionally even managed to bring high up people representing large, dangerous gangs together to reach agreements which would reduce the levels of conflict, and therefore the levels of violence between them. Youth for Christ, a national organization which includes Campus Life, City Life, and

May 21, 2014
1 min

This is So True

“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” — James Baldwin Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #hate #life #thoughts

May 21, 2014
7 min

I See Rich People. They Talk to Me. . .

The mouse on my computer broke. So now I’m back to writing on my kindle. Which is a marvelous bit of technology, but it has all sorts of quirks which can easily double the time it takes for me to do a post. And the spacebar for the keyboard is gimpy. But since I don’t even have money to replace the mouse, I’ll just have to limp along the best I can. I’ve been thinking a lot lately that when I finally break free of all these obstacles, I’ll astound everyone. It’s like I’ve bee

May 20, 2014
5 min

When Bible Study Steals Your Voice

It seems like such a simple thing, just saying what you think. Yet we are indoctrinated practically from the first time we dare to say “no” that saying what we think is wrong. I have heard parents come right out and say to their kids, “you are not allowed to disagree with me.” When you tell someone that simply having an opinion which does not agree with your own is forbidden and subject to punishment, that’s a pretty powerful way to stop them from owning their own voice. When

May 19, 2014
1 min

Your Daily Cud

A random thought to ponder: We too often think that our wildest notions about God represent the outer limits rather than the jumping off point. “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered into mind of man what God has planned.” Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #God #life #thoughts

May 19, 2014
4 min

The Seed Planters

I need a gardener. I have joked for years that I’m not a very good gardener, but in 10 years I will be. I have now come to the conclusion that I need someone else to keep my garden for me. Or at least be faithful enough to keep up with it when I don’t. I am not meant to be a lone gardener. Plants’ lives are at stake, for pity’s sake. I really like gardening. I like watching plants grow from seed. I like watering them when I remember to. I even like weeding. I fully expect tha

May 16, 2014
2 min

Consistently Inconsistent Part Deux

You would not believe the problems I have had getting online the last two day. Seriously. If anyone would like to send me $400 to upgrade my internet, that would be so awesome. It took me about 4 hours to get ours working today. Yesterday, it just randomly fritzed out about 20 times. So, yeah. That kind of makes it hard to be consistent. We just paid $900 for car repairs on our only vehicle, so unless some of our hard work finally pays off soon, that’s not going to change. An

May 14, 2014
2 min

When Praise is a Sacrifice

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. ~ Hebrews 13:15 Do you know that sometimes praise is a sacrifice? When there’s nothing left to praise but the air you are breathing and you praise God for air. When you’d just as soon not wake up for another day and you praise God for the bed you’re lying on. When there’s no comfort or relief so you praise God for revealing himself so you have s

May 14, 2014
3 min

Churches Don’t Like You When You’re Suffering

Now, I’m not sure if I agree with what this person thinks that the church should be doing for people. I’m actually kind of a fan of doctors, safety nets and mental health services. But this really does capture the way the church deals with the suffering. I haven’t been involved in a church for a few years for a number of reasons. But probably the biggest obstacle for me was that I dread what happens once I can’t hide just how screwed up my life is. Just the thought of having

May 13, 2014
4 min

New Age Stuff Drives Me Nuts

Since the 80s at least, brave Christians have been noticing that there is some syncronicity between the mystical practices and teachings of Christianity and New Age theories. Being a fairly adventurous sort of mystically inclined Christian, I understand the allure. But in the end, I would strongly warn people against delving in too deep. Many Christians warn against New Age teaching primarily because getting involved with New Age teachings is so frequently associated with lea

May 13, 2014
2 min

Consistently Inconsistent

Do you know what my husband is? He’s a systems expert. He regularly creates systems at work that have fewer than 1 error per million actions. When he showed me the “right” way to do laundry, I was astounded at the 30 step process he used for getting clothes clean, soft and fragrant to his standards. (You think I’m kidding. Fluffing the clothes is an actual step in the process.) I told him that he had surely descended from a long line of highly skilled house negroes. (Getting

May 8, 2014
1 min

Hope For the Human Race?

Back in 1973, the author EB White received a letter from a man who had written to him saying that he had lost hope in humanity. I’m not entirely sure why he’d chosen EB White to seek counsel from. But yesterday I read White’s response to him and I’m glad he did and I wanted to pass on a portion of his response to y’all. Because losing hope in humanity is a very easy thing to do and sometimes it’s good to get a bit of reassurance: Sailors have an expression about the weather:

May 1, 2014
1 min

Your Daily Cud

A random thought to contemplate over your lunch break: Treat your children the way you want them to treat and be treated by others. Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #life #parenting

May 1, 2014
1 min

Enough!

True dat . . . Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #life #memes

Apr 30, 2014
2 min

Some Afternoon Encouragement

If you are feeling poor, worn out, full of grief, weak, despairing at the state of the world, hungry for change, wishing you could make things better, and you are misunderstood and rejected today, Jesus says that you’re doing it right. He says that the people who are sitting pretty, enjoying the rewards of a comfortable life now are already enjoying their passing rewards. But you will hold heaven in your hands. You will be comforted. You will rule over the earth. You will be

Apr 30, 2014
1 min

You Daily Cud

A random thought to contemplate over your lunch break: Nearly everyone likes talking about themselves. One of the simple ways we can be loving towards others is to give them the chance to do that for an interested audience. (That being you.) Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #life #love

Apr 29, 2014
4 min

When the Cost is Too High

I knew a Christian man who had an employee who did something dumb and illegal without his knowledge. She was caught and arrested at his place of business. The woman had small children at home, a drug addicted ex and her kids would end up in foster care if she went to jail. He had seen what can happen to kids in foster care up close and was sick at the thought of them going through that because of something foolish their mother did. So he prayed over it and decided to take the

Apr 25, 2014
4 min

When Muscles Get Damaged

So, yesterday, I started writing about pain. In particular I wrote about the pain fallacy – that is the idea that the more pain you have in your life, the more pain you are capable of dealing with. As I said, in this view, our tolerance for pain is like a muscle which gets strengthened with use. However, we know for a fact that often just the opposite is true. People who have already dealt with a lot of pain are often less able to cope with additional challenges than others.

Apr 25, 2014
1 min

Your Daily Cud

A random thought to ponder during your lunch break: In life, you can do anything you want. You just have to be willing to live with all the consequences. Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #life #thoughts

Apr 25, 2014
1 min

I Need Music, Please

Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #life #memes