Mulling on... Musing over...

• "Raincoat Theology and Deconstruction"

I want to approach my days... excited about getting wet when getting wet doesn’t seem to make sense and is certainly not comfortable. And even if some days I don’t look forward to the getting wet part, I at least want to be in the place where I can accept the fact that getting rained on might not be as ridiculous as I think it is..."

• "The Fifty States Compared to the World"

...something to think about...

• "Recap: The First Few Days"

Perspectives... on a short - term missions trip to East Africa.

"...after failing quite miserably at teaching a basic John-the-Baptist lesson through an interpreter and stumbling around the playground awkwardly trying to communicate with the kids, I had to finally admit to myself that my strengths at home are not necessarily my same strengths in Africa.

That was tough."

• "The Grace of Confession (Part 1)"

"One of the most tempting fallacies for us—and for every human being in this fallen world—is to believe that our greatest problems exist outside us rather than inside us.  Despite this, the Bible calls us to humbly confess that the greatest, deepest, most abiding problem each of us faces is inside of us, not outside. The Bible names that problem 'sin.' Because sin is self-focused and self-serving, it is antisocial and destructive to our relationships.

You know that you have been gifted with grace when you are able to say, 'My greatest relationship problems are because of what's inside of me not outside of me.' "

• "The Grace of Confession (Part 2)"

"Because we all suffer from some degree of personal spiritual blindness—and because we tend to see the weaknesses and failures of the other person with greater accuracy—we begin thinking of ourselves as more righteous than the other person. When we do this, it becomes difficult for us to think we’re part of the problem, and it makes it difficult to embrace the loving criticism and correction of the other person."