http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/ David Kuo, author of "Tempting Faith" and former Special Assistant to the President in George W. Bush's White House, blogs about religion and politics, and his ongoing walk with Jesus. en Copyright 2009 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:38:45 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/imgs/bg_icon.gif http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/ 82 100 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://feeds.feedburner.com/jwalking?format=skinjwalkinghttp://feedburner.google.com <p><br /> I have, I think, just one more round of chemo left. </p> <p>When I go through my pill popping regimen tomorrow morning it will be the last time for this particular round of drugs. Twenty-three rounds, it seems, is enough.</p> <p>What comes next? We'll go back to what we did after the surgery. We'll watch and measure and see if the remaining area grows any once we stop. If it does we'll probably need to zap it with radiation. That we will eventually have to do something else is likely because mine is a chronic condition, not an acute one. </p> <p>But that will be then. This is now. </p> <p>I'm still in a round of chemo and therefore the world is a bit fuzzier than it normally is. As such clarity isn't necessarily found all that easily.</p> <p>On the other hand though, there is a clarity that comes with chemo that is invaluable.</p> <p>It is my monthly reminder of mortality, my monthly reset button that brings me back to the point of remembering what really matters and what really doesn't and the difference between the two. It is kind of stunning that I need this monthly reminder. You'd think, really, that that brain tumor surgery or the regular checkups would do the trick - and they have and do in their own way. But the chemo is different, it is just more regular.</p> <p>Not that Jesus really needs anymore affirmation but the older I get the more awed I am by him and by his wisdom.</p> <p>His parable of the seed and sower couldn't be more accurate - there is seed that falls on ground that is rocky and ground that is full of weeds. It falls on thin soil and rich soil. All of the seeds bloom but only the one in fertile soil takes hold and produces a bumper crop. </p> <p>Jesus explained it this way,</p> <blockquote>The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.</blockquote> <p>God teaches us lessons - sews seeds - constantly. The question is whether we receive it and whether we really live it.</p> <p>I pray that the spiritual seeds that he has sewn through these last two years of chemo have fallen in fertile soil and that in the years ahead they will produce a crop of goodness. </p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/and-just-one-more.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/sK1dNZaN1q1F3JznVPI00Bbps5Q/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/sK1dNZaN1q1F3JznVPI00Bbps5Q/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/sK1dNZaN1q1F3JznVPI00Bbps5Q/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/sK1dNZaN1q1F3JznVPI00Bbps5Q/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=G0WOQ8lZ9wA:9PhdOLagoEs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=G0WOQ8lZ9wA:9PhdOLagoEs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=G0WOQ8lZ9wA:9PhdOLagoEs:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=G0WOQ8lZ9wA:9PhdOLagoEs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/G0WOQ8lZ9wA" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/G0WOQ8lZ9wA/and-just-one-more.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/and-just-one-more.html Faith Family Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:38:45 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/and-just-one-more.html <p><br /> NPR asked me to do a short memo to the president-elect. I chose to do it on the dog he should choose... and why.<a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97017736"> Check it out. </a></p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/a-newfie-for-obama.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/z64z_XY-ZE31U86YOojZnPBqE6Y/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/z64z_XY-ZE31U86YOojZnPBqE6Y/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/z64z_XY-ZE31U86YOojZnPBqE6Y/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/z64z_XY-ZE31U86YOojZnPBqE6Y/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=F6em44aLZAY:CZV4_hJKznU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=F6em44aLZAY:CZV4_hJKznU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=F6em44aLZAY:CZV4_hJKznU:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=F6em44aLZAY:CZV4_hJKznU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/F6em44aLZAY" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/F6em44aLZAY/a-newfie-for-obama.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/a-newfie-for-obama.html Government Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:25:10 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/a-newfie-for-obama.html <p><br /> Livvy is going through an "I'm scared" phase at night. She wants us to sleep in her bed and check on her all the time. As I write, her shades are up, a little nightlight is on, and she's hugging her Raggedy Ann...and a dozen other stuffed animals... simultaneously.</p> <p>A few nights ago as I was tucking her in she said, "Daddy. I want to see the angels."</p> <p>I didn't quite get it.</p> <p>"I want to see the angels that protect me. That way I won't be so scared."</p> <p>I felt like saying, "Yeah, me too." But I don't think that she would have understood me. So I told her that no, she couldn't see them and I couldn't either but that we knew they are there. </p> <p>Were she older I would have told her about the one or two times that I felt angelic presence in an almost palpable way.</p> <p>One of them was 5 1/2 years ago as I recuperated from brain surgery (but not on the sensory part of the brain - just in case you were thinking I was imaging things). Kim and I were so close to God, so dependent on Him for everything. There was no life apart from him. Every night before we went to sleep we spent a good bit of time praying not just for ourselves but for others and also just marveling at God's goodness.</p> <p>In the middle of one of those nights I was turning over when I became aware of a presence - an almost electric presence - in the room. It didn't feel like anything I'd ever come across before. It certainly wasn't malevolent. But neither did it exude any syrupy niceness. It felt weighty, certain, sturdy, good. As I said, it was was unlike anything I'd ever experienced.</p> <p>I didn't make the full turn. Instead I just laid there on my back, fully conscious, feeling like I needed to be fully still. And so I was. I wanted to tap Kim and wake her up and try and explain it all but I had this sense that by the time I did that the experience would have been over, the force gone... the sense that this was for me. </p> <p>But she isn't older and wouldn't get that story. So I hold her close and I am teaching her to pray and telling her about the Good Shepherd and all the while reminding myself that I can't see the angels either but I know that they are there. </p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/i-wish-i-could-see-the-angels.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2d0mWIfV-29VhaLQUYTi5JRCViM/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2d0mWIfV-29VhaLQUYTi5JRCViM/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2d0mWIfV-29VhaLQUYTi5JRCViM/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2d0mWIfV-29VhaLQUYTi5JRCViM/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=pHjjlrYLBfo:YwYvaJXivJw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=pHjjlrYLBfo:YwYvaJXivJw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=pHjjlrYLBfo:YwYvaJXivJw:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=pHjjlrYLBfo:YwYvaJXivJw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/pHjjlrYLBfo" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/pHjjlrYLBfo/i-wish-i-could-see-the-angels.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/i-wish-i-could-see-the-angels.html Faith Family Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:56:43 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/i-wish-i-could-see-the-angels.html <p><br /> Let the world meditate for a moment on this picture:</p> <p><span class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><img alt="_45193336_bushama_getty_466.jpg" src="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/_45193336_bushama_getty_466.jpg" width="466" height="300" class="mt-image-none" style="" /></span></p> <p>What an amazing country we are. </p> <p>We aren't even up to the peaceful transfer of power moment. That is something extraordinary in its own right - something beyond extraordinary really. </p> <p>This was just the, "Hey, you just kicked me up and down the football field but you won. Why don't you drop by for coffee moment." </p> <p>I am struck again by President Bush's decency. He is handling this transition with a dignity and honor that must be recognized. How easy it would be for him to be small and bitter and petty. But by all accounts he is anything but. He is doing honor to the office.</p> <p>But more than anything I am struck by the symbolism of it all. This newly elected president, this newly elected black president being shown his new office. </p> <p>It is amazing stuff, wondrous stuff. </p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/awed-by-the-visit.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/V-V3qXfxGoxQQTtMsvEYTwIyI54/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/V-V3qXfxGoxQQTtMsvEYTwIyI54/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/V-V3qXfxGoxQQTtMsvEYTwIyI54/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/V-V3qXfxGoxQQTtMsvEYTwIyI54/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=pVqF_RGE9mM:8L5bmqdInJM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=pVqF_RGE9mM:8L5bmqdInJM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=pVqF_RGE9mM:8L5bmqdInJM:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=pVqF_RGE9mM:8L5bmqdInJM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/pVqF_RGE9mM" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/pVqF_RGE9mM/awed-by-the-visit.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/awed-by-the-visit.html Politics Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:32:27 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/awed-by-the-visit.html <p><br /> Over the past few years, as I've lived with the brain tumor in my head, I've come across two fellow travelers - people who know, uniquely, the experience of living a life where your brain has already been picked. </p> <p>One woman, <a href="http://acupuncture.com/newsletters/m_sept04/main1.htm">Alicia Sky Kunerth</a>, as diagnosed with the worst of all possible brain tumors in 2002. The other gentleman was diagnosed with a less aggressive tumor in 2004. The latter man, David Welch, started a website called <a href="http://www.38lemon.com">38lemon.com</a> dedicated to spreading information and news about his own journey and about brain tumors in general. </p> <p>This week each of them received news. One that they are tumor-free and the other that they are dying and nothing more can be done for them.</p> <p>Sky is tumor-free. David is dying. </p> <p>My mind doesn't know how to assimilate this news. I am SO happy for Sky. SO happy. She has lived her life so fully these years since diagnosis. Frankly, I want to be more like her - and not just in the medical sense. </p> <p>But I am also so sad about David. Just so very, very sad.</p> <p>Logically, of course, I understand. In understand the differences between us are just as distinct as the differences between everyone reading this and the child who died just now of malnutrition or starvation or preventable disease. I understand the difference between lives spared and lives lost. My mind gets that. </p> <p>I suppose it is my heart... my soul... that doesn't get it. </p> <p>Recently I was told a story about Steven Curtis Chapman, the Christian musician who l<a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20218812,00.html">ost his young daughter in an accident.</a> A friend who went to the viewing at the funeral home brought his teenage daughter. When Steven saw her he bent down and looked into her eyes and said, "God is not surprised by this. God is not surprised." My friend's daughter crumpled in his arms, a bawling girl in a grieving father's arms. </p> <p>I think, however, Steven has it right. God is not surprised. God grieves. God mourns. God shares our grief. But but he is not surprised. And he has been here before... it was God, after all, who grieved over losing his own Son... and he knew the end of the story. </p> <p>This is what faith is ultimately about... not always understanding, but always believing that there is the One who does understand.</p> <p>So I sit typing on my keyboard with a snoring Newfie sprawled out next to me, five-and-a-half-years after being diagnosed feeling a bit blue but generally quite fine - I ran for the first time in ages yesterday... and made a coffee cake too... the former made me feel like I could indulge in the latter... never knew how easy it was to make that crumbly part on top... potentially a bad thing to discover... rejoicing in the God who is greater than this universe no matter what the news might be, laid bare by the certainty of his love. <br /> </p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/living-bare.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/VmdKurwGwz8UiGv_4UfG16bh5-M/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/VmdKurwGwz8UiGv_4UfG16bh5-M/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/VmdKurwGwz8UiGv_4UfG16bh5-M/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/VmdKurwGwz8UiGv_4UfG16bh5-M/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=1yfyjR4_n_E:vglKB9Ex5DM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=1yfyjR4_n_E:vglKB9Ex5DM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=1yfyjR4_n_E:vglKB9Ex5DM:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=1yfyjR4_n_E:vglKB9Ex5DM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/1yfyjR4_n_E" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/1yfyjR4_n_E/living-bare.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/living-bare.html Faith Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:28:54 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/living-bare.html <p><br /> I think I'm battling the blues... and wrestling with God.</p> <p>It is hard to figure out where one ends and the other begins.</p> <p>The blues part is fairly straightforward - nothing feels quite right, decisions are hard to come by, enthusiasm for most things is low... the blues. </p> <p>But so much of that feels like it is coming from this unexplained standoff I am having with God.</p> <p>And that, of all things, seems the silliest of all things. Why on earth am I on a standoff with God? What is there to be standing off about? Yet that is what it feels like... it feels like I'm giving him the stiff arm... which, of course, is absurd. How do you give the Creator of the universe the stiff arm. Kind of like a turtle thinking he could hold back that 41-foot wave a surfer conquered the other day... </p> <p><span class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><img alt="article-1083842-0263795B000005DC-579_468x338.jpg" src="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/article-1083842-0263795B000005DC-579_468x338.jpg" width="468" height="338" class="mt-image-none" style="" /></span></p> <p>Not sure how to break through... </p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/battling-blue.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ofyV_o521Dmfz9wOsWmgcoBiEIo/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ofyV_o521Dmfz9wOsWmgcoBiEIo/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ofyV_o521Dmfz9wOsWmgcoBiEIo/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ofyV_o521Dmfz9wOsWmgcoBiEIo/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=_BBzLzK6zl8:36ggjX-vcgg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=_BBzLzK6zl8:36ggjX-vcgg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=_BBzLzK6zl8:36ggjX-vcgg:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=_BBzLzK6zl8:36ggjX-vcgg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/_BBzLzK6zl8" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/_BBzLzK6zl8/battling-blue.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/battling-blue.html Faith Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:57:54 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/battling-blue.html <p>For the past year I've been working with friends to help them put together a new website. It is called Culture11.com and it is a good place to go. I encourage you to make it part of your browsing. But it is a site that is more clinical than personal - a site of the mind, not of the heart. That is good and needed and necessary. But it doesn't give me a chance to speak to the stuff that matters - the eternal stuff, the stuff of the God. </p> <p>And so, though I am CEO of the other site, I return to writing here because I have missed it and the community it once was. </p> <p>It may well be that I am writing into a reader-less blog at this point. We'll soon see I suppose. If that is the case then I maybe a new community will eventually form. </p> <p>A friend wrote to me today, a very conservative friend, and asked if we were going to be alright after the election. I wrote something last night that is what I still think today. I wrote that all Americans should be proud at this moment. A nation that was conceived without recognizing African-Americans as people has now elected a black president. That should make everyone proud.</p> <p>The thing I didn't write last night but wanted to say today is this - he is just the president. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. He isn't pope. He isn't a priest or a pastor. He is our bureaucrat-in-chief. He is a part of our country, he isn't our country. </p> <p>These are distinctions with significant differences. The state of our country will not be determined by our president. It will be determined by each of us. </p> <p>So are we ok? Let's look in the mirror.</p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/i-miss-jwalking-2.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pH79S8DqHOCGzevitQaUkHxmSRo/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pH79S8DqHOCGzevitQaUkHxmSRo/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pH79S8DqHOCGzevitQaUkHxmSRo/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pH79S8DqHOCGzevitQaUkHxmSRo/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=Sy0E4ih2AEQ:Uz2Z_MZl0To:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=Sy0E4ih2AEQ:Uz2Z_MZl0To:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=Sy0E4ih2AEQ:Uz2Z_MZl0To:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=Sy0E4ih2AEQ:Uz2Z_MZl0To:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/Sy0E4ih2AEQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/Sy0E4ih2AEQ/i-miss-jwalking-2.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/i-miss-jwalking-2.html Faith barack obama christian living jwalking politics Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:19:17 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/11/i-miss-jwalking-2.html <p></p> <p>Two nights ago, in the midst of a grumpy, grouchy late night kitchen cleaning session during which I bemoaning everything from the state of the free world to who ridiculously dirty our dirty dishes get I said the simplest little prayer. "Jesus. Help."</p> <p>I didn't much want to pray. I didn't much feel like it. I just did. </p> <p>I was still grumpy. Just slightly - very slightly - less so. </p> <p>Then, after finishing the dishes I picked up Richard Foster's <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Celebration-Discipline-Path-Spiritual-Growth/dp/0060628391/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220412988&sr=8-1">Celebration of Discipline</em>. </a> </p> <p>I flipped to the chapter on submission. </p> <p>The very short version? Surrender to God, realize my 'rights' aren't really rights at all, give up trying to run or control other people, be free. </p> <p>That was a lousy paraphrase. Buy the book, read the real version. Surrender to the Force. </p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/09/the-best-book-one-of-them.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0aQhqjgVoKoVVWRiWkYDUoi27ds/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0aQhqjgVoKoVVWRiWkYDUoi27ds/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0aQhqjgVoKoVVWRiWkYDUoi27ds/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0aQhqjgVoKoVVWRiWkYDUoi27ds/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=nLPpneQi62w:_PemfwutW-o:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=nLPpneQi62w:_PemfwutW-o:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=nLPpneQi62w:_PemfwutW-o:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=nLPpneQi62w:_PemfwutW-o:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/nLPpneQi62w" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/nLPpneQi62w/the-best-book-one-of-them.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/09/the-best-book-one-of-them.html Faith celebration of discipline richard foster Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:33:18 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/09/the-best-book-one-of-them.html <p><br /> One of the reasons I've not blogged much (understatement) for the past several months is that I've been rather busy and preoccupied on a business project. The project is a new online magazine and community focusing on American culture - everything from pop culture to politics and fashion to family. </p> <p>It is called Culture11 and you can find it at<a href="http://www.culture11.com"> www.culture11.com</a>. </p> <p>There are many stories to tell about its creation, its name, and my participation but I encourage you to take a few minutes and check it out. </p> <p>Our hope is that you will find some irresistibly interesting perspectives on life in America from some of the country's most dynamic voices. We aim to be an online destination that has the editorial excellence of a great magazine, the thrill of a terrific conversation, and the comfort of a supportive community all rolled into one.</p> <p>We're still in the beta stage and working out a few bugs so we could use your input. We're also launching very quietly - no big press releases or press conferences, no claims that we are going to change the world. We just want to build something that can be an everyday part of life. </p> <p>Two more things. I am going to keep JWalking here at Beliefnet. I love this company and this little community. At the same time, I will be blogging at Culture11 with a friend of mine named Joe Carter. He is our managing editor and we will call our blog Kuo & Joe. I know, massively original. I hope you will check that out as well my blog here.</p> <p>Let me know what you think about any and all of this... my new email is david@culture11.com</p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/culture11.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/bJ3IU5b1EeeXHKbJ5poZh_4vkKQ/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/bJ3IU5b1EeeXHKbJ5poZh_4vkKQ/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/bJ3IU5b1EeeXHKbJ5poZh_4vkKQ/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/bJ3IU5b1EeeXHKbJ5poZh_4vkKQ/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=Yk1r0MdaTgg:45WbkvUdj-g:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=Yk1r0MdaTgg:45WbkvUdj-g:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=Yk1r0MdaTgg:45WbkvUdj-g:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=Yk1r0MdaTgg:45WbkvUdj-g:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/Yk1r0MdaTgg" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/Yk1r0MdaTgg/culture11.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/culture11.html Politics Popular Culture beliefnet culture11 culture11.com jwalking Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:21:11 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/culture11.html <p><br /> Note - Most of my blogging now occurs at <a href="http://culture11.com/">Culture11.com</a> a new media company. My blog is <a href="http://culture11.com/blogs/kuoandjoe/?from=blog">here</a>. </p> <p>John McCain had a good night at <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26225126#26243091">Rick Warren's forum on faith and character</a> and so on. Barack Obama had a better night. How much better? We'll find out in a few months.</p> <p>It isn't that Obama out performed McCain. He didn't "out Jesus" him or "out evangelical-ize" him. The crowd seemed to favor McCain a bit.</p> <p>But that's the thing.</p> <p>He didn't need to. For Obama a draw was a massive win. </p> <p>Here was an audience of evangelicals in one of the most conservative counties in the United States. They interrupted him with applause on numerous occasions. They gave him a standing ovation. And HE is the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Think this ever happened to John Kerry in 2004?</p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/obamas-very-big-night-in-the-d.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/BODDnsWyveZipDMhrNS_c0Rc2f4/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/BODDnsWyveZipDMhrNS_c0Rc2f4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/BODDnsWyveZipDMhrNS_c0Rc2f4/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/BODDnsWyveZipDMhrNS_c0Rc2f4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=iNShITlqG-4:uK4YvbGwDPY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=iNShITlqG-4:uK4YvbGwDPY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=iNShITlqG-4:uK4YvbGwDPY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=iNShITlqG-4:uK4YvbGwDPY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/iNShITlqG-4" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/iNShITlqG-4/obamas-very-big-night-in-the-d.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/obamas-very-big-night-in-the-d.html Evangelicalism Faith Family Politics barak obama casting stones john kerry john mccain rick warren Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:31:50 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/obamas-very-big-night-in-the-d.html <p></p> <p>While we spill pixels about John Edwards, how many write about <a href="http://www.flowerdust.net/2008/08/07/international-dining-options/">this</a>?</p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/this-matters.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/zlDn48Um6E_VvFBLHIQbXjTqtsU/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/zlDn48Um6E_VvFBLHIQbXjTqtsU/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/zlDn48Um6E_VvFBLHIQbXjTqtsU/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/zlDn48Um6E_VvFBLHIQbXjTqtsU/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=7PRO5vmvdlI:vvV0OSiQr6s:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=7PRO5vmvdlI:vvV0OSiQr6s:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=7PRO5vmvdlI:vvV0OSiQr6s:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=7PRO5vmvdlI:vvV0OSiQr6s:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/7PRO5vmvdlI" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/7PRO5vmvdlI/this-matters.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/this-matters.html Popular Culture Poverty Social Justice compassion international food haiti Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:59:16 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/this-matters.html <p><br /> I'm trying to find anger or bitterness or shock at all that John Edwards did and didn't do and said he did and said he didn't do. </p> <p>There is, of course, sadness - sadness for all those people who worked so hard for him, sadness for all of those who he let lie to cover his sin, sadness for his self betrayal and more than anything, sadness for his children and for Elizabeth. </p> <p>Beyond that? I've got nothing. </p> <p>Why should I?</p> <p>He was just a man running for office - just a politician running for president. </p> <p>He had an affair. </p> <p>Stop the presses!! </p> <p>He lied. </p> <p>Noooooooo. </p> <p>He's narcissistic... really?</p> <p>One of the dangers of modern politics is the temptation to elevate these frail creatures to super human levels... to put so much hope and faith in them that they become little gods. Look no further than the passion and hope attached to one Obama. </p> <p><span class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><img alt="obamahope.jpg" src="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/obamahope.jpg" width="127" height="127" class="mt-image-center" style="text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 20px;" /></span></p> <p><br /> This is both an expectation too great for frail humans and a hope thoroughly and completely misplaced. </p> <p>Politicians run to be leaders of our government, at most the chief executive of the government. Their power is sublimely and appropriately limited. Hopefully they can deliver on the limited things a government can touch. Beyond that, we are wrong to have 'faith' in them.</p> <p>Faith is a word best applied to our relationship with God. We'd be better served and less angry and shocked at politicians' invariable foibles if we remember that. </p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/edwards.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/i4rsJfPNINbZXQyeAQ9JaLvH3fI/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/i4rsJfPNINbZXQyeAQ9JaLvH3fI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/i4rsJfPNINbZXQyeAQ9JaLvH3fI/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/i4rsJfPNINbZXQyeAQ9JaLvH3fI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=9l5UZSJa12k:E-tj3gSpOCQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=9l5UZSJa12k:E-tj3gSpOCQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=9l5UZSJa12k:E-tj3gSpOCQ:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=9l5UZSJa12k:E-tj3gSpOCQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/9l5UZSJa12k" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/9l5UZSJa12k/edwards.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/edwards.html Faith Family Politics Popular Culture adultery casting stones elizabeth edwards faith john edwards politics Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:51:54 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/edwards.html <p><br /> John McCain's band of white advisers had best take a stroll down the lane of African-American oratorical history before they launch their next anti-Obama missive. [This is not to suggest that there is anything racial about McCain's ad. I'm sure that his color blind associates aren't even aware that Sen. Obama has more melanin than Sen. McCain.]</p> <p>McCain's new web ad, "The One" mocks Obama's grand, seemingly arrogant oratory. </p> <p><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/R-5NLDM26_4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/R-5NLDM26_4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> </p> <p>The problem with it is that it simultaneously mocks generations of African-American oratory. As my friend Patton Dodd pointed out to me, would the fact that Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., filled his speeches with grand rhetorical flourishes make us doubt his ability to lead? I'm wondering what the ad meisters would do with <a href="http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html">this "arrogance"<br /> </a><br /> <blockquote>I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.</p> <p>I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."</p> <p>I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.</p> <p>I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.</p> <p>I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.</p> <p>I have a dream today.</p> <p>I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.</p> <p>I have a dream today.</p> <p>I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.</blockquote></p> <p>Or consider <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Jordan">Barbara Jordan</a>. Should her<a href="http://gos.sbc.edu/j/jordan1.html"> 1976 convention speech</a>, one of the greatest political speeches in American history, have caused people to doubt her leadership ability simply because she said, </p> <blockquote>There is something special about tonight. What is different? What is Special? I, Barbara Jordan, am a keynote speaker. <p>A lot of years passed since 1832, and during that time it would have been most unusual for any national political party to ask that a Barbara Jordan deliver a keynote address...but tonight here I am. And I feel that notwithstanding the past that my presence here is one additional bit of evidence that the American Dream need not forever be deferred.</blockquote></p> <p>By the McCain camp's standards, every great speaker should be disqualified from public office simply because they refer to themselves in the personal pronoun and because they use rhetorical flourishes. Perhaps this gives an insight into who McCain is considering for his VP pick - someone who utterly boring in their public addresses... Al Gore. </p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/mccains-the-one.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/swjngGzUAkZymK7LaBMmjPcjfFc/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/swjngGzUAkZymK7LaBMmjPcjfFc/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/swjngGzUAkZymK7LaBMmjPcjfFc/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/swjngGzUAkZymK7LaBMmjPcjfFc/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=bSgQ80a15cE:CsEzHjs5uLo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=bSgQ80a15cE:CsEzHjs5uLo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=bSgQ80a15cE:CsEzHjs5uLo:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=bSgQ80a15cE:CsEzHjs5uLo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/bSgQ80a15cE" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/bSgQ80a15cE/mccains-the-one.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/mccains-the-one.html Church Government Politics Popular Culture Social Justice Al Gore Barack Obama Barbara Jordan Casting stones John McCain Jr. Martin Luther King The One Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:20:13 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/08/mccains-the-one.html <p><br /> I've long been a fan of J.J. Abrams - Felicity, Alias, Lost, etc. This short lecture by him is wonderful, insightful, funny, and inspirational... </p> <p><br /> <!--cut and paste--><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" width="432" height="285" id="VE_Player" align="middle"><param name="movie" value="http://static.videoegg.com/ted/flash/loader.swf"><PARAM NAME="FlashVars" VALUE="bgColor=FFFFFF&file=http://static.videoegg.com/ted/movies/JJABRAMS-2007_high.flv&autoPlay=false&fullscreenURL=http://static.videoegg.com/ted/flash/fullscreen.html&forcePlay=false&logo=&allowFullscreen=true"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="scale" value="noscale"><param name="wmode" value="window"><embed src="http://static.videoegg.com/ted/flash/loader.swf" FlashVars="bgColor=FFFFFF&file=http://static.videoegg.com/ted/movies/JJABRAMS-2007_high.flv&autoPlay=false&fullscreenURL=http://static.videoegg.com/ted/flash/fullscreen.html&forcePlay=false&logo=&allowFullscreen=true" quality="high" allowScriptAccess="always" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" scale="noscale" wmode="window" width="432" height="285" name="VE_Player" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></object><br /> </p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/07/the-mystery-box.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Gtw6g2RCqpQSQkzlOkhWSKdUhuk/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Gtw6g2RCqpQSQkzlOkhWSKdUhuk/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Gtw6g2RCqpQSQkzlOkhWSKdUhuk/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Gtw6g2RCqpQSQkzlOkhWSKdUhuk/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=h36S8Iy-wzk:66p7IuDsadc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=h36S8Iy-wzk:66p7IuDsadc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=h36S8Iy-wzk:66p7IuDsadc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=h36S8Iy-wzk:66p7IuDsadc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/h36S8Iy-wzk" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/h36S8Iy-wzk/the-mystery-box.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/07/the-mystery-box.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:14:34 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/07/the-mystery-box.html <p><br /> Our young daughter is engaging the world and loving it. Now 3 and aware that only most of the universe revolves around her she is exploring the other creatures she runs across - particularly those her size. This means that she walks up to children and says, in a high, sweet, clear voice that emphasizes each syllable, "Hi! What's your name? My name is...." and off she goes. </p> <p>Kim and I find ourselves nearly doubled over by the sheer joy and innocence of it. There is a complete absence of anything corrupted in the questions, in the voice. It leaks wonder. And we can hardly stand it.</p> <p>Sure we celebrate it. We laugh and we listen and we laugh some more. But in our ironic and cynical age, her innocence is all the more jarring. We already mourn its loss and all that will come before its loss. We long to hold it, protect it, bottle it before it is gone - if only to feed back to her one day.</p> <p>Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is that she will have no particular memory of it. Maybe that is the ripping pain of innocence - not its loss but its slow slide into forgotten memory. </p> <p>But then, one day, hopefully, she will stand on a playground and watch her own daughter teeter confidently over to another child and say, "Hi! What's your name? My name is...." </p> <p>My prayer for her now is that in that moment she will remember her own innocence and celebrate it. </p> <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/07/the-ripping-pain-of-innocence.html">Read this post &raquo;</a> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/tezEFdOwKvppT3a6CNbee3FwCLo/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/tezEFdOwKvppT3a6CNbee3FwCLo/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/tezEFdOwKvppT3a6CNbee3FwCLo/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/tezEFdOwKvppT3a6CNbee3FwCLo/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=YQlWWTGkAyU:u5HbIIkBA-Y:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?i=YQlWWTGkAyU:u5HbIIkBA-Y:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=YQlWWTGkAyU:u5HbIIkBA-Y:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?a=YQlWWTGkAyU:u5HbIIkBA-Y:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/jwalking?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jwalking/~4/YQlWWTGkAyU" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jwalking/~3/YQlWWTGkAyU/the-ripping-pain-of-innocence.html http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/07/the-ripping-pain-of-innocence.html Faith Family Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:48:53 -0500 http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/2008/07/the-ripping-pain-of-innocence.html