In 1963, three years before I was born and two years after the US sent its first combat troops into Vietnam, CS Lewis would write, “The greatest evils in the world will not be carried out by men with guns, but by men in suits sitting behind desks.” More than sixty years later, his words […]
Category Archives: Weekly Reflections
20
Dec
Dec
I used to love Christmas and the things that surrounded it. The luminous lights, the December decorations, and of course the tasty treats. Remembering a time before the Internet when you couldn’t buy peppermint bark in July and when Santa’s wasn’t competing with scary witches. Our years in America are no longer marked by the […]
13
Dec
Dec
One Sunday afternoon in late winter, I went out drinking with my friend Ted. We had meet several months before, both recent transplants to Minnesota, both of us outsiders. He was from Wisconsin, I was from Illinois, and he became my closest friend while living in Minnesota. We were approached to join a gay softball […]
06
Dec
Dec
A year after my fiftieth birthday, the leadership structure where I worked underwent some significant changes. When change happens at the very top, the rest only rolls one way, demonstrating the laws of gravity. I was right in the middle of that way. After spending my entire adult life working to climb that particular corporate […]
Weekly Reflections
From God to Drugs: How Someone With a Masters in Theology Ended Up in Pharma Marketing
22
Nov
Nov
No longer my source of income, student loans were now my source of debt. I needed to quickly find a job. I signed up with an employment agency despite limited secretarial skills, having opted out of typing class in high school. (I’m still paying for that shortsighted decision. Like a chicken—um, rooster—I hunt and peck […]
15
Nov
Nov
In the fall of 2019, we noticed Mozzer’s health was declining. Prior to this, he had been a very healthy cat. Vet appointments consisted of routine vaccines, routine dental care, and no prescriptions. We knew he had been born with a heart murmur and that as a breed the Sphynx’s lifespan is considerably shorter than […]
08
Nov
Nov
When I was sixteen going on seventeen, our church youth group learned about the Appalachia Service Project (ASP), a Christian nonprofit ministry focused on the “eradication of substandard housing in Central Appalachia.” Growing up, I was aware that there were families who didn’t have the same standard of living we did, but participating in ASP […]
01
Nov
Nov
I spent almost every summer while in college as a camp counselor at Imago Dei, an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) camp in Wisconsin. Youth ministry had become my passion and purpose, one so personally fulfilling that I justified the fact that I was attempting to love God and others without loving myself. A […]
25
Oct
Oct
I loved Scouting as a teenager, and it absolutely made me a better human. I still draw on the skills and knowledge I developed in Scouts, and I look back with fondness on the many friends I made and the experiences I had with them during this time when I was endeavoring to find my […]
18
Oct
Oct
Monday, October 20, begins another work week for millions of people after a weekend of football games and preparation for a Halloween that falls on a Friday this year. Monday is also my father’s birthday and Wednesday marks two years since he left this world. Life truly is both bitter and sweet. Tears and laughter; […]