Chronic Maladies Get Brushed Off as Just Aging

I have a condition called peripheral neuropathy – in both legs and some in my right arm. I have to wear braces to walk. This condition ‘came on’ in my late sixties. I am not diabetic. I was an outpatient at St. Luke’s Neurology in KC all summer (2019). After extensive testing from everything from […]

When We Are Filled With Hate And Fear

What are the common denominators with people who are filled with hate and fear?  What are the symptoms? What are their political views? What is wrong with them??? They were abused as children.  That is the one common feature of the hateful and fearful.  Their parents tried to beat them into respectful adults.  Or the […]

A 1964 Christmas Story

It was 1964. Life hadn’t been great. This particular year had been mostly a nightmare. My Mother and Stepfather had separated. Finances were next to non-existent. Me being able to attend school became a burden for my Mother. At only fifteen, I was resigned to possibly, never finishing high school. I was the oldest of, […]

Terrorism – Let Go and Let God?

The world walks a fine line between revenge and justice, discrimination and acceptance, fear and love. There will be no justice until we all stop acting out of fear.  Promoting Islamophobia is an act of fear – not faith. These are serious times for serious people. Clearly religious wackiness on both sides only serves to […]

“Let It Begin With Me”

Occasionally we hear quotes, slogans, sayings, something that seems innocuous on the surface, but resonates with wisdom upon further inspection.  Al-Anon, a program for the families and friends of Alcoholics, has official slogans which are raised to the level of proverb, of wisdom, of scripture in the program.  One such saying is “Let It Begin […]

The Gun Control Debate is no Longer About Guns

The vitriolic language from the far right over Second Amendment rights tells a story beyond the fear of losing the right to a thirty round clip in the favorite 9mm semi-automatic hand gun.  This debate is not about guns – this debate is about fear of government.  That is one way to say it – […]

Confusing Borders, Boundaries, and the American Comfort Level

From Ohg Rea Tone: People sometimes drift into my personal space.  I generally enjoy people so my personal space does not extend as far as the reach of my arm.  When I shake hands I am likely to pull the other person close, look them in the eye, and measure their sincerity.  The enigma of […]

The Paddle: Using Fear and Force in Public Schools

In an article for the Associated Press yesterday, contributed to by the Washington Post and published on the website chron.com (a Houston area online resource) Temple, Texas is reported to have reinstated corporal punishment.

Angry Electorate Kicks the Family Dog

Many are ready to condemn the President. People are hurt – and are responding with anger. Any good anger management program teaches how to best focus or direct the anger. The classic story concerns the frustrated employee who comes home at night and kicks the family dog.

Of Fear, Faith, and Foreign Affairs

Fear and faith do not live in the same home.  The word ‘faith’ conjures images of peace of mind, hope for the future, for the fellowship of man.  Faith speaks to the lion lying with the lamb – and the lamb can sleep with both eyes closed.  Fear exists in a troubled mind, a troubled […]

Bush and Cheney are WMD’s

George W. Bush, mixed with equal amounts of Dick Cheney, produces Weapons of Mass Destruction. These two men, more than Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden, have themselves destroyed mass numbers of humans. And about 5,000 of the dead are American service men. We can not even begin to count the number of innocent Iraqi’s killed in a war of vengeance.

The lethal combination of Bush and Cheney needed only a spark of inflamation. The entire Republican Party has bought into this mixture of vengeance and lusts after another opportunity to mix their potions of destruction.

Testing John McCain and Barack Obama

John McCain is beginning his campaign rallies with: “Do we want a President who will be tested? My friends, I have been tested many times and I have the scars to prove it.”  Not so fast big shooter.  Your scars are not very flattering. Much like a sporting event, where people are tested on the […]

Election Anxiety

Only the fools are not nervous about this election.  Too much is at stake.  By every measurement this country is worse off than it was eight years ago – and the decline continues.  Every news cycle brings new anxiety – new fears for our future.  And there remains uncertainty in the election outcome. The Bush […]

Fear and Faith, Vote Obama – Go To Hell

Polar opposites.  Fear and Faith.  These concepts do not live together, they are never under the same roof.  When the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons and the Catholics and the Baptists come knocking at my door I am not afraid.  But they are.  Fear is always obvious in their message. The tactics employed by the […]

Nuclear Energy – a Video Debate

No one really knows. Or if they do they don’t agree with others equally confident of their knowledge. There are some things we can know – for instance, people are generally afraid of anything they do not understand. We step on harmless spiders and kill friendly snakes because we do not understand. Many of us […]

911 – The Shadow of Death

What does the 23rd Psalm mean to you? The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the […]

5 traits of a healthy faith

Dad, We have conversations about faith, religions, ad Jesus a lot in this magazine. I thought it might be helpful to look at some of the factors that define healthy faith journeys and get some feedback on what that might look like. In short, here are 5 things that I think represent a healthy faith: […]

Resolutions 2008 – WWJD

Son, Faith is expounded by all candidates.  Hey – the evangelicals have done a good job in politics.  They have swayed elections.  They have gained power.  They influence the national debate. I just wrote a post on Mike Huckabee.  He is that one guy who is a Christian Minister who is running for President.  I […]

The Year of Fear – 2008

Son, Irony abounds. An Election for President of the U. S. is upon us. We are talking about the leader of the free world. Some candidates for this heralded office use fear to jerk the chains of voters. Freedom and fear are not compatible concepts. Further irony reeks from the pores of candidate supporters – […]

Fear and Faith

Son, I hear people say things like, “Faith is the opposite of fear.” If one has faith, one will have no fear. To this I say, “Fear Faith!’ Question your faith! Challenge your faith! If your faith is true and just it will withstand any challenge – if it does not withstand challenge then it […]