You Know What I Mean?

I am beginning to think I have been a bit of a curmudgeon in my recent posts. So, in the hopes of releasing a bit of positivity into the universe, I have compiled a list of small things that make me feel quite happy.   Watching the people I love, doing the things they love. My dog cocking his head to the side when I talk to him.  Pulling a weed and having the entire root come out of the ground in one shot. Leaves blowing across the road when I'm driving during the fall.  Realizing I no longer have the hiccups. Seeing my granddaughter sitting in the window waiting for us to get to her house. Dozing off unexpectedly while sitting on the couch. Fresh, minty gum wrapped around a piece of nugget ice. (Just try it!) A stowaway onion ring hiding in my fries. A cool musical cue in the background of a song. (Check out the piano run around the 2:20 mark in the video below.) A particularly clever or especially cringe-worthy "dad joke". That feeling right after a satisfying snee...

Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I think I'm a nice guy. I have no sworn enemies, that I know of. I make an effort to be pleasant when I am in public. I wait for my turn at four-way stops and I don't ever take more than 10 items into the Express Checkout Lane. However, beneath this calm and seemingly pleasant veneer, lies a potential for rage that can be triggered by the most seemingly innocent of transgressions. When confronted by a certain behavior, my good nature takes a back seat to a far darker part of my psyche. There may not be any visible signs (possibly a slight narrowing of the eyes) but my mind will become both judge and jury for the culprit, declaring both verdict and sentence on the offending party. Mind you, I am not talking about some heinous crime, but rather, a small thing that most people would probably hardly notice. What is this travesty of which I speak? People who dilly-dally getting themselves a self-serve drink. One of my favorite developments over the...

In Christ alone, my hope is found He is my light, my strength, my song This Cornerstone, this solid ground Firm through the fiercest drought and storm What heights of love, what depths of peace When fears are stilled, when strivings cease My Comforter, my All in All Here in the love of Christ I stand The song above was one of my favorites to sing in church. It has a beautiful melody that is complex, yet easy to sing. If you are not familiar with it, you can listen to it here. Lyrically it is both poignant and succeeds in avoiding the sappiness found in many church songs. It has theological depth but is still accessible. It almost seems like a creed. In my opinion it is the best church song from the last 30 years. I would even argue that it is one of the top 10 hymns of all time. I thought about this song one night a while back while driving down the interstate. It popped into my head out of nowhere and I started humming it to myself. Nearly 20 years ago I stepped away from active invo...