Category: Miscellany

A View From Anywhere

As I write this, I’m sitting at a terrace table in a jazz bar & restaurant in downtown Houston, Texas enjoying a fabulous meal, great music and the view you see in the picture.

We had an attorney function in the lounge here tonight and when we finished I stayed for dinner and to do some blogging.

I tapped into the restaurant’s wifi, took the pic you see and uploaded it to my blog and before I leave the restaurant I will have posted this blog.

So, what does all this have to do with the kingdom of God? Well, as I was sitting here contemplating the advances in technology that allow me to do what I described in the previous paragraph–something unimaginable 25 years ago–it occurred to me that while the world has changed so much in the last 25 years, people have not changed at all. Continue reading “A View From Anywhere”

Against Christian Goofiness

When I was in college I worked as a waiter at a restaurant.

I was a young Christian, and in the course of praying about my obligations that semester and the number of hours of classes I was taking I felt the Lord was telling me to quit my part-time job.

When I told my manager, who was not a Christian, that I was quitting, he asked why. I said, “because God told me to.”  I still remember the look on his face; it was a cross between quizzical and sarcastic.

There was no good reason to say what I said, which I’ve addressed in a recent blog. Though sincere, it was immature and goofy. Continue reading “Against Christian Goofiness”

How To Pack For A Study Tour

Study Tour MaterialsThis morning we left for a study tour in Israel.

A tour is different than a vacation.

On a tour the focus is on experiencing the geography, culture or history of a place to expand one’s knowledge of the world.

In times past, it was considered the final step of a complete education of the well-to-do to take the Grand Tour of Europe after college and before beginning a career.

Most of our trips these days are tours. My wife and I love history and we pick places to travel to that are consistent with our interest in history and the world.

With that in mind, here’s a primer on how to pack for a study tour.

Continue reading “How To Pack For A Study Tour”

Preview: Israel the Sequel

Two years ago this month, the wife and I traveled to Israel.

Funny thing, neither one of us had ever had an inclination to go, and I was definitely too busy at the time, but our good friend Ji Yun, of Tirosh Expeditions asked us to pray about it.

When my wife and I prayed  about it, we came to same unexpected conclusion: the Lord wanted us to go.

As I’ve blogged here before, the trip was a game-changer. We’ve never read the Bible the same since then. Continue reading “Preview: Israel the Sequel”