Its never enough · Jul 13, 08:38 AM
This morning as I was having coffee with Deb, I found myself thinking about what is really important. I have a number of friends in their 70s who are nearing the final phase of their lives. At my age, I watch them carefully to learn whatever lessons I can for the years that lie ahead of me.
One of the things that seem clear to me is that the most important thing in life is found in my own internal state of mind – my own attitude. I believe it was Gandhi who said, “if you want to change the world, be the change you want to see” or something like that. I have been trying to change the world since I was 18 and involved in starting communes in New England. I have always been a committed idealist, I have always thought that I could make a difference, make the world a better place. I have tried on numerous roles: hippie, communitarian, socialist, pastor, church planter, missionary, itinerate speaker, director of an NGO, agitator, blogger and most recently, student and academic. In all of these roles I have intensely desired to make the world a better place: in all but the first three roles I have tried with everything in me to persuade people to love God more, to trust and to seek his kingdom. Mostly, I feel that I have come up short in every role … there is a sense of incompletion, of not quite hitting the high note. Kinda like the U2 song …
Cultivating Community -PDL19 · Nov 26, 01:13 AM
When I was 19, I became a hippie and started a hippie commune in Providence, Rhode Island, and then again in a small farming town in central MA. I read Walden Two by B.F. Skinner and I was captivated by the idea of developing intentional communities where people could thrive and find fulfillment in relationships.
Fellowship - Experiencing Life Together · Nov 1, 08:39 AM
One of my favorite stories of all time is the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I started reading it in High School, then I read it twice to my kids as they were growing up, then I read through it in Spanish. I have watched the movie based on it repeatedly. Over the summer, I read through “The Hobbit” in Portuguese, and hope to read the rest of the trilogy in Portuguese someday (maybe when I finish my PhD?). And after that? Maybe French?
A Place to Belong - 17 · Oct 21, 11:06 AM
I remember standing on the dock in Newport, Rhode Island at age 22 feeling totally alone and unconnected. It was an awful feeling. My girlfriend had just dumped me, my parents lived a thousand miles away, most of my friends had turned their backs on me when I stopped giving them money, and Debbie had not yet entered my life!
"All you need is love!" · Oct 3, 09:09 AM
One of my favorite movies to watch with Debbie is Moulin Rouge. The movie opens with the poor young writer typing the opening words, “The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love and be loved.”
What Matters Most... PDL16 · Jun 18, 09:50 AM
One of my favorite movies to watch with Debbie is Moulin Rouge (enjoying romantic comedies is a learned skill for me). The movie opens with the poor young writer typing the opening words, “The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love and be loved.”
Formed for God’s Family - 15 · Jun 11, 09:56 AM
I was a pastor and missionary for over 20 years. My active involvement in various aspects of church life often took me away from my family, particularly my two younger children (a painful regret for me).
