Well, the bracket is finally set. And it wouldn’t be Advent Caroling Madness without the bane of my existence, The Muppets. Get your votes in by Saturday at noon! Make sure to listen to the top four seeds, as they have had a bye until …
Read MoreHope—Second Round
Thanks for voting in round 1! Now it’s time to fill out the bracket of sixteen. Vote on the following matchups by Tuesday night at 7 pm PST! #10 seed “Mary’s Lullaby” by The Porter’s Gate (submitted by Sammie Eilert) tries to hold its spot …
Read MoreAdvent Caroling Madness XI
It was ten years ago that I first had the idea for what is now a favorite part of the holiday season: Advent Caroling Madness! You all send me versions of Advent/Christmas songs, I put it in a March Madness-like bracket, and we vote our …
Read MoreHoly Spirit as Fueling Fire
(Message given at Wayside Friends Church on October 8, 2023) Oh our Redeemer and Resurrection, Oh eternal Trinity! Oh Fire ever burning, Fire that never goes out, never dims, never can be diminished— even if the whole world takes fire from you! Catherine of Siena …
Read MoreHoly Spirit as Freeing Fire
(Message given at Wayside Friends Church on October 1, 2023) Let’s look at a couple of verses from the book of Hebrews, chapter 12 verses 28 and 29: Since we are receiving [an inheritance] that is unshakeable, let us be thankful and please God by …
Read MoreBallparks and a Life Well-Lived
“Baseball,“ my dad often says, “is the perfect game.“ Since Abner Doubleday designed the game in 1839, said my dad, the precise measurements between pitcher and catcher, as well as the distance between the bases, have never been tinkered with. There was no need. Perhaps …
Read MoreBaseball Day 4—2023
I hate the Yankees. Let’s just get that disclaimer out of the way right off the bat. The passion is fueled by the recognition of excellence in a team other than your fan favorite, who has just achieved way more than any other team. So …
Read MoreBaseball Day 3—2023
I love trains. And subways. More than you would think for someone who has lived in west coast suburbs his whole life. Amtrak brought me from Philadelphia to Penn Station (well, the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Train Hall, to be precise,) and then a short C …
Read MoreBaseball Day 2—2023
So when day 1’s ballpark slides itself into first place all time out of the stadiums I’ve visited, is day 2 simply doomed to disappointment? Oh no, faithful readers, oh no. The total experience of today far exceeded the joy I received from the physical …
Read MoreBaseball Day 1—2023
Growing up, baseball surrounded and inhabited much of our lives. In 2007, my brother and dad and I did a barnstorming tour of the Midwest, seeing four games in four baseball stadiums in four days. It was just days before my dad’s 69th birthday, and …
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