Over the last several years, I have made a habit of reading through Charles Dickens’ Christmas stories. There are five: A Christmas Carol, of course, and four others that are largely unknown, except perhaps for The Cricket on the Hearth. This year I finished the last of these, The Haunted…
I’m turning 40.
It’s been a busy couple weeks. I’ve spent most of a week at a youth conference, being on, and when I returned, I had a week of meetings and catch-up and generally busy family life. I needed some extra sleep, some space, some downtime. But there is something more I needed….
Soon after we were married, Natasha and I took a road trip out west. We had no particular plan besides, “Head west, young man!” and stopping at as many cool places as we could find before we hitting the Pacific. Eventually, we were driving into Wyoming, toward Devil’s Tower. The…
Okay, I confess, the blog title is a lie. We do exist. (I do, at least.) It is, however, quite in style to wonder if maybe, really, we don’t. All sorts of super-smart tech people, like that eccentric inventor Elon Musk, wonder if we aren’t just simulations in a giant…
The Saturday after Thanksgiving we made the six-hour trip from Peoria, IL, back home. By the last hour, all the kids (and the adults) were tired and bored and ready to be done. I put on the Muppets Most Wanted soundtrack and we bounced to the ridiculous songs. (The “Interrogation Song” is…
G. K. Chesterton is possibly the most quotable human being of the last 200 years. He writes in surprising, paradoxical, enlightening nuggets. Here are some example: The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people. Art, like…
In writing class, I was taught there were nine basic plots that describe all stories, plots like Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, and Man vs. God. Add the other six in, and these conflicts cover most of known literature. There is, however, one basic plot I have never seen on any…
Went for a walk today. It wasn’t an ordinary walk. My car’s in the shop and Natasha was in the middle of making dinner and couldn’t pick me up, so I decided to walk home from work. It’s something like two miles. Today was cool and cloudy. I’d been restless…
I finally had a chance to watch The Wind Rises, the last film by famed animation director Hayao Miyazaki, His films are always filled with beauty, wonder, and a desire for simplicity, and they are considered masterpieces of animation for good reason. What I didn’t expect going into this final film was…
Look, I’m no fan of turkey. I mean, sure, it’s tasty enough, but give me mashed potatoes, and I’m set. Always mashed potatoes, in a great big heap, with some gravy. And maybe some of that green bean casserole, officially the best use of green beans on the planet and…
Last Sunday, Natasha and I biked around the lake near our house, kids in tow. One section of path went beneath tall trees, with little foliage below. The sun shone through the leaves above. In an instant I missed my old walks through my parents’ woods. So later that day,…