Today I’m guest posting over at Elizabeth’s Letters from a Small State. So you’ll need to go to see what I wrote about striving for balance… and see how this photo relates.
Striving for balance
How to ride a bicycle (video)
So here is how to ride a bicycle:
If you do this (and you don’t already), you will be amazed at what a difference it makes!
Notes: a) If you have a single-speed bike, this may not work very well. b) If you have multiple gears, use a lower (easier) gear to get the optimum spinning speed.
The Jesus sandals
When I was a kid, I saw a lot of Sunday school materials that had illustrations with Jesus wearing sandals like these. As the summer that’s just ending was starting, I decided to get a pair of summer cool footwear that was more comfortable than these sandals. (I had worn these for maybe five or six years.) You see, they never fit me very well – I have very skinny feet, and few shoes adequately fit.
I kept the sandals until a few days ago. I decided that since I hadn’t worn them all summer, they must be off to the Goodwill. (In UK English, that’s “charity shop”.)
So my feet are a little less like Jesus.
Let’s be real
I’ve been reading a book: The Unlikely Disciple, by Kevin Roose. It’s the account of a non-evangelical who spent a semester at Liberty University, to attempt to understand the Christian sub-culture. Since I am part of that sub-culture in many ways – and am an “evangelical” Christian, I thought it would be valuable to hear an outsider’s perspective.
It’s fascinating.
Anyhow, that is not the point of my post.
Jerry Falwell, the man who started the university, had a lot of good intentions. I like some of what he did, in spite of all the bad press he received. (And I also admit he did a fair amount of harm, prior to his death in May 2007.)
But the thing that offended me most about him from the book is that he insisted on being called “Dr. Falwell” – even though the highest degree he earned through studying was a bachelor’s degree. He had three honorary doctorates. Those can be cool – but if you insist on being called “Dr.” – make sure you earned it the real way.
Disclaimer: if you pick up the book and are an evangelical, there may be parts that will offend you. And I’d rate it R; some parts are just not appropriate for the under-18 set (with a few possible exceptions). Mostly there’s just a lot of stuff that teenagers shouldn’t have to think about yet. But it could prepare them for life in college. I guess I’m not prepared to have those discussions yet. Maybe next year.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia and used under Wikimedia Commons.
Amazing capacity
Heather is amazing.
She and a couple of other American ladies are involved with some refugee women from Nepal. They usually get together on Tuesday nights to study the Bible. She had wanted to show their teenage daughters a slice of Americana – and what our lives are like. So after the meeting one week, she piled them into our minivan and brought them out to spend the night at our suburban home. (One of the ladies’ young son happened to tag along.)
I, of course, was overwhelmed – but Heather took it all in stride. She went for a walk in our neighborhood, our sons played ping pong with them, and a good time was had by (almost) all.
I’m glad that people are different. It’s great to be married to Heather.
Amazing kindness
Over the weekend a package arrived. A friend sent me a Kindle e-Book reader. He gave it to me as a gift.
Amazing. I was and am totally blown away by his kindness!
This was completely undeserved.
Takeaway: What ways can you show kindness to someone this week?
300 words for today
I wrote today’s post over at Jon’s 300 words a day blog. I hope you enjoy reading about how God loves fast and slow.
Helping her fight
Rachel has the collector gene. I know it. Heather knows it.
These reading glasses broke recently. To avoid her keeping them for an unknown art project to come, I skipped the step that might come a few years down the line and quietly put them in my nearby waste basket.
Yes, you can call me mean, but since she doesn’t read this blog (yet), she won’t hear you. I’m just helping her fight our dreaded collector gene.
Update: check out the comments. Value added – and changed thinking – are reflected there.
21
Today marks 21 years together. We do not take this for granted. We count it as a blessing that is beyond what we deserve.
Thank you Heather!
And an update – just a link to a post talking about how to show love – no matter what kind of a relationship you’re in.
Rachel did it!
During a short family vacation, Rachel and I climbed Mt. Cameron – her first “14er” – that’s a peak 14,000′ above sea level. To be exact, it’s 14,239 ft. or 4,340 m. At age 9, Rachel beat her brother Jay, who has climbed seven of them – because he got his first one at age 15.
The rest of the family? They had already gone to climb a few more adjacent peaks.