FirstBlog

  Faith is hard. I don’t know why it is, but it is. But when you stop and think about, each of us uses faith every day in almost every aspect of our lives. I have faith that when I step on the sidewalk, it’s going to be solid. We have faith that when I go to sleep, I’m going to wake up. We have faith in gravity and faith that our body is going to work the way it’s supposed to. I’ve always admired Doubting Thomas. I don’t know why he gets a bad wrap. He is like so many of us—he has trouble believing without seeing. Despite the fact that we exercise faith everyday, faith in God seems to be very difficult, and it’s not hard to see why, especially in light of the state of the world today. So, when Thomas demanded to see the nail holes in order to believe, he is really speaking the way many of us do. The beauty is, he didn’t actually need the nail holes to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. He only needed Jesus to offer to show him the nail holes. I am like Thomas. I suspect mos...

Because I am discussing a full chapter here, I decided to post it below before proceeding with my lesson.   2 Kings 5: "Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the  Lord  had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor,  but  a leper.  2  And the Syrians had gone out on [ a ]  raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She  [ b ] waited on Naaman’s wife.  3  Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master  were  with the prophet who  is  in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.”  4  And  Naaman  went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who  is  from the land of Israel.” 5  Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and took with h...

This is not a political blog and I don't want turn it into one. However, I am a registered Libertarian and a very devout one and one of the reasons for my political ideology is because I believe that we have absolute freedom to live our lives however we choose too, so long as we don't cause injury to other people. However, with freedom comes responsibility. With freedom comes consequences and so I'm reminded of the 1 Corinthians 6: 12: "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." The Bible is seen by many as a book of dos and donts. A book of rules and regulations. But, I prefer to look at it as a book of practicality. You don't sleep around because sleeping around can cause harm to your body and emotions and could cause harm to another individual. You don't do heroin because it could kill you. It could cause you to commit crimes to commit crimes to feed your...

I'm forty now and I want to take my life, and this blog, in a new direction. I want to be more outwardly and otherly focused. So, I'm going to be using this blog now to pontificate on spiritual matters-- matters of eternal importance. I'm not a pastor. I don't have any formal training in the world of theology. The information here will be based on my own experiences and research. Feel free to chime in if you think something is wrong, but please understand my perspective in writing this.  I wanted to open with a verse that spoke to me today, Ephesians 4:32: "Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." I'm coming out today as a n angry person. I don't know where it comes from, but I just have this seething rage constantly below the surface. There are external forces and incidents that I can point to that have made me feel angry, but, this internalized anger, I feel like it's alway...

Welcome to 2015! I trust that you all had a safe and happy new year and a wonderful holiday season. I know I did. One of the best ever in fact. I was honored to host my siblings (my brother and sister-in-law visiting from Chicago, my sister visiting from Seattle and my other brother whom just moved back from California.), my mother, my maternal grandparents and my aunt. It was my first time hosting my favorite holiday and, while we did have some Griswoldian moments (Our Christmas tree fell down), overall, it went off without too many hitches. But, with the conclusion of Christmas comes the new year, and all of its promises of fresh starts. I make resolutions each year and, like most of us, I have abandoned them by February 1st. Will this year be any different? I have no idea, but I'll resolve to keep my resolutions this year. I have personal and vocational goals which will stay with my spouse and employer respectively but, with you, my friends and readers, my writing goals ar...

Writers—both professional and devoted hobbyists—have a knack for finding inspiration everywhere. Writers block is a myth, but this does not mean that there are not those times when we need to find a little something for inspiration.   My dad is a professional musician. Growing up, I spent many summers away from home—on the road, exploring different parts of the country and eccentric small towns. I was always enamored with small town life, especially in the deserts. I grew up (and still live) in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, so, desert dwellers and desert towns always held a special fascination for me.   Elizabeth Bishop captured this curiosity with her spectacular poem, “ Filling Station .”   This poem, which describes a small town gas station with serves also as the home for a family. This poem inspired my own poem, “ Getting Gas in Barstow, California ” which was later published in my debut poetry collection. I decide, “What would happen ...

Goodbye Golden Tate (Candle in the Wind Parody copyright by Justin W. Price) Goodbye Golden Tate Though I never threw you the ball You had to the rip the ball away And got the wrongful TD called. They picked you in the second And you had some growing pains Then they set you up with Russell And you finally lived your name. chorus: And it seems to me you signed your life Away to a mediocre team But Stafford will surely fling to you When Megatron ain’t free And I would have liked to see you Return to the Link But your contract ran out long before You got that second ring 2010 was tough Many called you a flop But you soon became a sorta star Bevel’s patience paid off And then when you taunted Oh the NFL punished you All the players had to say Was That Golden’s running wave was rude. (repeat chorus) Goodbye Golden Tate Though you won the Super Bowl You said you’d take less pay to stay But Detroit proved it wasn’t so. Goodbye G...