Big Little Vulnerability
The show covers a lot of emotional and psychological ground, but in the midst of watching it through a second time, I’m struck by its representation of physical and emotional vulnerability.
Brad Zwiers (’12) graduated from Calvin College in 2012 and Western Theological Seminary in 2015. He will not be graduating from any more schools. He often stares at books he wishes he could read but knows he will not finish and goes for long walks with his wife, Gwyn. Sometimes he plays basketball and always he follows the greatest sporting club in the world, Liverpool F.C.
No Strings Attached
The concert was that night (THAT NIGHT!), so I ran upstairs to change. I hoped to find something trendy, something that would let everyone at the concert know that this nine-year-old could ball.
The Politics of Lonely
So fall softly as you go into your places, like snow onto empty branches, like a weighted blanket.
In Search Of Our DNA
The rupture between God and humanity is crystal clear in this one, and as the play careened toward its tragic ending, no one in the theatre was surprised.
Perils of a Bargain
The moral of this parable? Never buy a computer. They never should have been invented. Never buy a computer on a bargain because bargains are a lie. Everyone in the sales world is out to rip you off.
Hamilplans: Trying Not to Cry at Hamilton
An hour before Hamilton, we marched circles around the theater, trying to hold off seeing the Hamilton marquee (not Lafayette) till the exact right moment.
Mask Off
In an era of self-exploration, it becomes extremely difficult to identify who or what my self is, since it takes on so many shapes depending on who I’m with or where we are or both.
The Color of a Song
Still, there is not much better than holding a new record in your hands and getting lost in the art.
Wicked or Weakness
I don’t know. Two albums that have ripped my heart open, made me cry, left me at a loss for words. I think that’s transcendent.
Wait for the Lord
We buried my great-grandmother on Saturday, March 25. She was ninety-six years old.
Christian History
We danced on moonlight and settled scores by imagining things differently.
Let the Mystery Be
In an age now marked by both facts and alternative facts, our search for truth intensifies.
Into the Light
Whenever I wake up in the middle of the night, my mind goes to empty and distant places.
A Whole New World
In a way, Arrival occupies a new world, too. Because while the film is interested in its aliens from outer space, it also asks us questions about aliens in the biblical sense. Strangers. Outsiders.
Borrowed Words
I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. These were borrowed words and they were not mine.
The People We Love
Do you realize how difficult it is to look someone you love in the eyes and tell them what they mean to you?
A Metal History
Metalcore, death metal, melodic death metal, black metal, djent, speed metal, thrash metal, hair metal, nu-metal, doom metal, grind, hardcore, post-hardcore, southern metal, sludge metal…
Bread and Circuses
I do feel cynical toward the political system. I am disgusted by people spouting hate at one another. I am sick of all the shouting. I do have a headache.
K-Strass
It’s all part of the character, that character we’ve all met at some point or another: so-called professionals who are no good at what they claim to be at, like a magician who can’t hide a card.
How to Road Trip to Florida, With Detours, Part 2
So often we tell ourselves to live in the moment, or seize the day, or be present, or rest in the now. But what does that all mean?
How to Road Trip to Florida, With Detours, Part 1
Drive south until you reach a Ruby Tuesdays up in flames. At this point, you’ll be approximately seven miles from a beautiful cabin in the Smoky Mountains, but it will take you two hours to get there.
New Normal
The server, now finishing up her closing work, stopped all of a sudden and said to me, “Oh my gosh, you don’t have a phone or anything to look at?” I held up my LG. She literally put her hand to her mouth.
Saying A Sermon
Keep talking. Eventually, you assume, something will make sense. Pieces and parts of pieces will be put together, and the sense-making that has happened in your head will become public knowledge.
Heap of Ruins
Here, somewhere between the house of God, where God’s presence dwells, and a heap of ruins. Call on the name of the Lord.
Aunt Jackie
The litany ends and we sing a few carols. Aunt Jackie sings the loudest and there’s a kind of hope pulling at the corner of her voice that makes you think that everything, all of it, is true.
Ancestry
This year’s paprikash dinner was Shakespearean—brutal in its unintentional comedy and not without its tragedy.
Presence
Moses stares at the bush. It’s burning—blazing, even—but it’s somehow not consumed. He takes his sandals off at that place, not ready to walk onto holy ground, not quite certain that he will not be consumed.
Inevitable! Magical! Genius!
There’s a large chance that right now I’m making something out of that goal and that moment that wasn’t there. It’s just a game, you’ll say, and you’re right.
Where We Are
A friend confessed that she could easily pour all her money into eating at GR restaurants. Another, smiling wryly, said quickly: “I couldn’t. I’m not sure I have the wardrobe for it.”
Ten Minutes
Then the boxes are labeled and slid into the corner, waiting ominously to be lugged onto a trailer. They speak a steady word: change is coming; change is here.
