The tempests of life don’t always surprise us. Some we’ve faced before, and we often see them coming. When that’s the case, it helps to remember the experience. There’s an episode in Patrick O’Brian’s The Wine-Dark Sea that features four common stages of a storm. Though no two trials are identical, these stages rang true for me. […]
Tag: discipleship
“Greatness Rather Than Promise”
“His third symphony revealed greatness rather than promise.” This was how the concert program introduced Carl August Nielsen, the Danish composer whose symphony we were enjoying. Rigorous aspirations are crucial to growth, but they also take time and repetition to master. It’s why cellists practice, pilots up their skills on simulators, writers rewrite, doctors pursue […]
What it’s like to walk in the Spirit.
When you walk Chicago’s lakefront trail you’re always dodging things. Bikers, beachgoers, volleyballs, dog-walkers, neighborhood picnics — it’s an obstacle course. There’s no danger to it, but you keep your eyes open. That’s why, late last summer, two runners caught our attention. They were tied together at the wrists. The path was packed. There were […]
In or of?
We live in the city, up on the 20th floor of an apartment building. We come and go via fobs and elevators and a parking garage where you stand in line for someone to fetch your car. If you go for a walk, it takes five minutes to get outside, and your stroll is in company […]
Discipleship: Five Guiding Themes
If you cut me off in traffic, it will irk me — unless I know you’re rushing to the hospital. And, if you live next door, we’ll keep quiet at night so we don’t wake you — unless your apartment is on fire. Then we’ll be shouting and pounding on your door. What we understand […]
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