Always Reforming

Originally written on 12/09/17. Like yesterday I recall That Christmas day, That thief, That cheat, That day that stole you from me, From us. Yesterday I tried  To imagine how life Would be If you had never been sick, I couldn't do it, Come to think, I never really knew that kind of life, Such a simple life, So uncomplicated by Blood clots and Coumadin and Extended hospital stays, All I know for certain is that I would be different And people would get along differently If you were still here. Yesterday  It struck me What this year means, 28-years-old, 14 before, 14 after, Motherless for exactly Half my life, A milestone  Marked by tears, A journey Marked by tattoos and Turmoil and Bad decisions and Opportunities for growth. What a strange way to end a poem, So confusing and open-ended, But that's just how this works.

Phil, so weak and decrepit that he had to perform (admirably enough) from a chair VS Andrea, his voice still powerful and his posture almost impossibly impeccable. Rock, ranging from pop to progressive VS Opera, classical, jazz, pop, and more, all sung in multiple languages and accompanied by a full orchestra. Die-hard fans, raucous though aging, from all backgrounds VS Impressed Spectators, primarily from the upper crust of society. This has been one of the busiest and most interesting weeks of my life, and it was highlighted by an unlikely juxtaposition. I had the unique (for someone like me anyway) opportunity to attend two concerts at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (a large venue in Cleveland) in the same week.  On Tuesday night it was my all-time favorite band, Genesis, followed on Thursday night by world-renowned tenor, Andrea Bocelli.  A strange confluence of events led to this opportunity.  Seeing Genesis live has long been atop my musical bucket list, so I purchased ...

Within myself I find, Within my soul I discover, This feeling,  Latent, This inclination, Unspoken, yet  Assumed, Constant, Nagging, A way of life, Incessant, Woven into my DNA, This mindset, Suffocating, This worry, Enslaving, The inherent impermanence  Of life (So fragile), Of breath (So brief), Of friendship (So brittle), Of churches (So petulant), Of parents (So mortal). Within my heart I sense, Within my mind I uncover, This haunting, Familiar, This anxiety, Comforting, This white noise, a Whisper, Breathe , Surrender , This impermanence cannot last Forever .

I just wanted to offer a brief PSA. In case you were unaware, the cultural norms with which you (and maybe your parents and your parents' parents) were raised  are not the Bible. The Bible doesn't tell the women to do all the cookin' and the cleanin' or that they can't wear pants.  The Bible doesn't even say that a woman has to take her husband's last name.  The Bible never prescribes a form of government, nor does it tell us to say the Pledge of Allegiance at school every morning.   The Bible doesn't tell you to vote Republican or even that you have to vote at all.   The Bible never mentions wearing your Sunday Best to church on Sunday morning or even worshipping on Sunday morning, at all! Now, perhaps these cultural and familial norms were based on Biblical principles at one point in the distant past, and maybe your family and church actively observe such practices in an intentional effort to apply Biblical principles, but we must never make our cus...

Warning: I'm about to get snarky! The TR (Truly Reformed) boys were out in full force on October 31st.  They wanted to make sure that, whether you were celebrating Halloween or Reformation Day, you knew you were an evil papist, pagan, and/or idolater!  Like their spiritual forefather, The Grinch, they wanted to ensure that no fun was had and no joy was felt, but, I am happy to report, most people casually want about their business with little or no attention paid to these sourpusses.   I am being overly harsh here for comedic effect, I admit, but I do have a point to make.  There are a variety of motivations (genuine piety, pride, tribalism, etc.) that lie behind this conservative cancel culture, but I believe that it is generally destructive and destabilizing. That's a pretty bold statement, so allow me to explain. I was raised within this segment of the Reformed community.  Many things can be said about it, but the simplest is that it is not a healthy pla...

Oh, Fauci, you're in trouble now! Fauci has been, much to his own pleasure, ubiquitous over the last 18 months.  One finds it difficult to turn on the TV or log into social media without seeing his likeness gracing the headlines, memes, etc., and the opinions regarding his character and effectiveness are rarely moderate--he's either a god or the devil incarnate.  Personally, I'm confident he's just another member of America's ruling elite--what I like to call our unofficial aristocracy .   His latest scandal stems from research done in Tunisia that included, how can I summarize this neatly, sacrificing beagles to sandflies.  Previously he faced stiff opposition when it was discovered that the origin of COVID-19 may be tied gain-of-function research in a Wuhan lab that the NIH funded under Fauci's leadership.  Besides his general hypocrisy and vacillation, which should be enough to discredit him, these two scandals have convinced many that Fauci is more ev...

I do not consider myself a Doug Wilson fanboy , nor do I consider it my duty to defend his antics.  I really don't think he needs my assistance, nor would I care to defend everything the man has said or done.  Nevertheless, both Christian ethics and intellectual honesty require us to take a man's words in context and to allow him to say what he has actually said. Wilson's latest kerfuffle stems from a meandering  article aimed primarily at discussing the intolerance of Christianity by modern liberals.  This is the paragraph that is causing the stir among those who would most likely concur with the general drift of his argument: So in this system all is  not  permitted. Christianity is not permitted. Christ is not permitted. Christians are not permitted. To be an orthodox and believing Christian is to be guilty of violating the only real taboo they have. So I would want to encourage you in this. Go right ahead. Be ultimately transgressive. Subvert the domin...