Trying to Follow

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Trying To Follow…Who?
2009-09-22 11:16:00
If I did musical intros to my blog posts, the one for this post would be Bob Dylan’s, Gotta Serve Somebody. I’m not quite sure when I chose this title for my blog or mantra for my life, but as time goes on I find myself more and more comfortable with it. I think the question that it immediately evokes is: who? Who am I trying to follow? Several years ago, that answer would have been staunchly black and white. I am following Jesus, the God of the Bible and no one and nothing else. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…and run with perseverance…” Back then though, I probably wouldn’t have used the word “trying”, it’s too wishy-washy, too uncommitted. The songs sung in church never have the ambiguity of “trying” they are steadfast commitments, battle cries and no compromise allegiances. Most of that’s not bad, positive self-talk certainly has it’s place, but somewhere along the way I found it fairly disingenu...

Revisiting What I Believe
2009-09-16 10:38:00
A series of occurrences recently have caused me to really want to revisit some of my basic beliefs that probably formed sometime in high school and beginning of college. It’s interesting that much of my spiritual growth and understanding of my faith came about over 10 years ago when I was in high school. And it was during that time that I think I formed some of the sort of root theological views that I had and have continued to hold or ascribe to for several years. What’s interesting is that much of it hasn’t been called into question or changed despite many of my changing beliefs on social issues, politics, daily lifestyle choices, etc. So, I’d like to start writing about these things and share them with you here. I’m not sure if these old beliefs I’ll dig up from the back of my brain have simply line dormant and unused or if they silently serve as the very foundation upon which much of my other thoughts are formed. We’ll find out. I might ...

This Is Not A Political Post
2009-09-14 21:38:00
With the hallabaloo last week of Obama speaking to school children and then the Health Care debates and townhall’s and speeches, it was hard not to get a little caught up in the happenings. The reality is I’ve checked out a bit on the national political ruckus, there just seemed to be too much yelling for me to keep my head on straight.  It struck me that next week will mark 8 months in to the Democrat ruled White House, which seems like a relatively short amount of time to form such a strong opinion of folks. It took me a good 3 1/2 years to go from a Bush supporter to a governmental dissenter. I don’t think political maneuvering and government are the way to get things done, though I do think are collective organizing and resources (i.e. government) for all it’s flaws can definitely be a tool to address community needs. I do find it useful when the fire department shows up to put our a fire, and when I check out books from my local library, and when we bik...
More About: Political , Post

A Birthday Banquet?
2009-09-09 11:11:00
My birthday is coming up in less then a month. I don’t often make much of my birthday. I don’t really like getting gifts and have for years (without much success) asked those who wanted to get me something to donate to a cause instead. If I ask anything, it’s been for others to share with me how I’ve had a positive impact on their lives, that’s about it. I’m not sure I’ll change that routine, but I’ve had an idea brewing for about a year and figured I’d just share it here. Thanks to Facebook and other social sites, I’ve had close friends and mere acquaintances use their birthday’s as a chance to fundraise for a cause of their choice. It’s been fun to see that and I’d like to encourage it to continue as an alternative to further consumption. My idea is a bit different, and it’s inspired by this passage: Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you ...
More About: Birthday

YouTubesday: Know Who You Are
2009-09-08 11:27:00
I’m planning on posting just one video on YouTubesday, sometimes writing a brief thought of my own in response to the video, and encouraging others to do the same. I’ve found YouTubesday is one of my most popular series (and only really ongoing one) on the blog, but it’s often the least commented on. Here’s to opening the Conversation. Know Who You Are (2 minutes long) via This is the line that struck me the most: “If I have a missionary who comes to me and says, ‘I have no culture,’ I’m terrified of him because they’re going to think that the way they do things is the Christian way.” This hints at the reason that discussing race (and racism) in the church is so important. If we act like race and culture is a non-issue, then we are most likely maintaining the dominate race and culture as the norm, and there is a great danger in that. What struck you?

A Simple Bike Project
2009-09-03 15:08:00
Last summer, I was walking around the block with my daughter when one of the neighborhood kids came up to me, “do you have a wrench?” I sure did, so I grabbed my wrench and we walked over to see what the fix-it project was. Turns out the kid was swapping some stuff on some bikes so he’d have something to ride. I assessed the situation and said: “Actually, what you need is a chain tool.” I ran inside and grabbed my small handy little device for removing a bike chain. When I came out and showed the kids how to use it, I was instantly transformed from that random neighbor who walks around with his kid all the time to The Bike Guy (I’d like to think of it as on par with super hero status).  Soon, I had neighborhood kids coming over all the time to make adjustments and patch tires. We’d sit on the porch together and I’d show them some of the basics (I honestly don’t know all that much myself). Fast forward to this summer, We have a g...
More About: Project , Simple

You Wouldn’t Believe What I almost Ate
2009-09-02 11:08:00
It was a typical afternoon with the kiddos yesterday. I was scrambling to make dinner and clean the house while catering to their every need. Adyra wanted a piece of bread, which promptly meant Bret wanted one too. He remembered our PB&J from lunch and requested it again, which Adyra in turn requested as well. So, I’m smearing the Peanut Butter (creamy, sorry mom & dad), when Adyra comes over, arm outstretched, a little whiny. Ironically, my children are a bit of clean freaks. Adyra’s never really liked finger painting or anything else that gets your hands icky, like getting peanut butter on them. Occasionally, when they are eating, they’ll stick their grubby hand out and I’ll wipe or grab and sometimes eat the yogurt or kiwi or food in question. So, when she sticks out her fingers yesterday, I naturally lean down to wipe them off, seeing the brown peanut butter substance. I’m getting ready to just lick it off my fingers when in a split second a smell hits my nost...

On My Way to 10,000 Hours
2009-09-01 10:53:00
Monday’s are my blog reading day, I go through all the posts in my reader and tag ones to come back to, skim most and respond to others. One post mentioned Gladwell’s book, Outliers, which I read last year and his premise that “Becoming a superstar takes about 10,000 hours of hard work.” And just like that, I decided I needed to start blogging again. I took a break earlier this summer to focus on a few other projects. Though I did concentrate my energy elsewhere, I still wasted enough time in the day to day that I could have been writing. So, here I am, back with some daily posting. The reality is that I enjoy writing, if only because it helps me process my thoughts. I feel I frequently find myself saying that I’m not a very good writer, but that I tend to say things I don’t see being said. So, until someone comes around and starts saying these things more eluquently then I (which wouldn’t be hard), I’m going to keep saying them. And t...
More About: Hours

John Piper’s Tornado: Exaggerations and Doubts
2009-08-24 10:59:00
If you haven’t heard, John Piper’s god sent a tornado through downtown Minneapolis last week to tell Lutheran’s not to let gay people become pastors. Let me clarify two things before I get to what this incident rose in my mind: 1) I do not agree with Piper at all on this, 2) Piper’s sermons and books were instrumental in my early faith growth and I have a great deal of respect for him. But on to what I want to write about: exaggerations and doubts. Piper’s view of this tornado was, at best, an exaggeration (there’s probably a better term [and a whole lot of much harsher ones], but I’m using this one). There are hundreds of tornados a year and to point out this minor one, which happened to damage the steeple of a church, the hand of God seems like a stretch to me. There are a lot of people who believe in christianity and in God doing miracles and speaking through the natural realm even today. I think you could draw a spectrum from “no m...
More About: Tornado

The Church of Derek Webb
2009-08-17 11:17:00
Over the last few years, one consistent ‘pastoral’ voice in my life has been the music and  lyrics of Derek Webb . Derek used to play with Caedmon’s Call, a band I was introduced to and thoroughly enjoyed during my high school years. Several years back Webb started doing his own solo albums, all of which have been great, but the last three of which have spoken words of encouragement, conviction and compassion into my life. Most of his lyrics these days would be considered too political, too controversial, or too explicit for most churches, he doesn’t seem to be getting invited to many christian concerts or worship services either. But, if he had a church, I’d go to it. I’ve struggled a lot with faith over the last nine years, and amidst that struggle I’ve grown a lot in my awareness of the world, my understanding of the Bible and what Jesus said and did while he walked the earth. I find myself in this mysterious place, trying to reconcile my...
More About: Church , The Church

While You Were Out…
2009-08-11 22:31:00
I’ve only written 4 blog post in the last month and a half, but it doesn’t seem like you missed it too much. The break, which I have every intention of continuing in some form or fashion, has been beneficial. I’ve focused my energy a little more and cut back where I could. At the same time, I didn’t replace blogging with other writing, which is what I had fully intended to do. Honestly, some of my time was just squandered away playing a ridiculous flash game that will remain unnamed. Here’s some of what I’ve been working on lately and what’s been on my mind: InsideNorthside.org is the project I’ve been contributing most of my energy to over the past month. I’ve carved out a few hours a week to meet with people and organizations in the neighborhood to try and spread the word about the effort. It’s basically an encyclopedia (built of the wikipedia model of user contributions) for North Minneapolis. I’ve met with some g...

In Print: Feast of Fools, by Ariah Fine
2009-07-21 21:08:00
I recently received a copy of the summer CONSP!RE Magazine, in which I have an article. It’s a brief article about working with a group called Food Not Bombs. If you want to get a print copy you can find out where to pick them up here (they’re free!). Though I like getting things published (maybe for an ego boost if nothing else), it not nearly as satisfying as writing a blog post or something and getting feedback from others about how it’s impacted them. I rarely if ever hear anything back about things I’ve written in print. But that’s okay. So, just to cover all my bases. Here’s the article: Feast Of Fools Several years ago, I started hanging out with a group of folks called Food Not Bombs, an international revolutionary movement “sharing free vegetarian food with hungry people and protesting war and poverty.” We redeemed food from the excess trash of our consumer culture, and made delicious stews, pastas, and sandwiches. Then, each Sunday, ...
More About: Print , Fine

Slowing Down
2009-07-13 11:33:00
As you might have noticed, I’ve been posting a lot less on this blog in the last month or so. This is partially due to reasons I mentioned last week, and also partially due to my own efforts to slow down a little bit. I’ve said in the past that the main reason I tend to blog as much as I do is that I often have a great many things bouncing around in my head and writing has been therapeutic for me, blogging in turn has allowed me to get feedback on those thoughts as well. This is all still quite true, but I’ve also started questioning the value of letting my mind wander down so many rabbit trails at once. In some ways, I think it’s just part of who I am, and at other times I think I’d be much more productive or just ‘present’ if I could focus my thoughts and energy on one thing or project at a time, rather then several. I’m not sure what that will mean for the dynamics of this blog, nor even myself really, but I’d like to make an ...

So, What Do You Do?
2009-07-06 11:10:00
It’s a question we get asked frequently when we meet new people, I’ve probably been asked it several times in my life and didn’t think much about it, but since becoming the primary at-home* care taker the question, and my answers, seem to have a bigger impact on me then before. It took me a while, but I usually have the confidence to answer with “I take care of my kids”, without immediately following or preceding it with “I’m a freelance writer and web-designer” or some other long winded attempt to prove my productivity or contributions to society.  I don’t think this is unique to at home Dad’s, but I think guys who stay with the kids do experience unique pressures, or at least I feel pressure from certain gender roles and expectations (I might write more on this later). The reason I’m bringing this up now, I think, is that I want to state publicly that I want my primary answer to continue to be centered around my ki...

The Flawed Experiment: A Reflection on the Fourth of July
2009-07-03 11:27:00
I’ve posted this same brief post for the past few years around this time, in hopes of drumming up a bit of discussion regarding this national holiday. About five years ago I was reading the paper in a small town in Minnesota. I read an article by Congressman Mark Kennedy entitled: “The Great Experiment ” which discussed the sacrifices many soldiers had made to make this country what it is today.  I did not disagree with his article, I simply felt that he’d left some other important people and groups out. I felt the need to reply in this letter to the editor that you see below. I’ve left it unedited, but I’ll include further thoughts at the end. Surprisingly, the local paper published my letter the following week: The Failing Experiment I want to first of all thank Congressman Mark Kennedy for his article concerning this country’s “Independence Day.” There is certainly room for celebration and many of the historical facts he pointed out are worth noting and ...
More About: Reflection , July , Fourth of July

YouTubesday: Harvesting Organs, Alzheimer’s and Fresh Water
2009-06-30 11:10:00
Another amazingly interesting piece by GOOD:Let’s Harvest the Organs of Death Row Inmates ALZHEIMER “FORTUNATELY” Introducing the world’s most authentic drinking water.
More About: Water , Fresh

Children are NOT Eco-friendly
2009-06-29 11:44:00
I don’t consider environmental concerns to be one of my ’soapboxes’, but it is something I think is important and tend to watch out for. I recycle, conserve water, buy CFL bulbs and more, both in an effort to conserve my own dollars and the environment. One thing I’ve realized recently that I’ve had to accept is that my children are not very eco-friendly. I don’t mean in the sense that they take up space, breath air, eat things, defecate and are much like a parasite feeding off this planet (aren’t we all). No, I’m perfectly okay with that, it’s the other things that bug me. Things like flushing the toilet three times after going (or not going) on the potty. Using half the roll of toilet paper to wipe with each time, or discovering kleenex and tp can wipe your nose and then using multiple pieces at every sniffle. They drop perfectly good food on the floor, slightly soil the occasional disposable diaper forcing me to use more, and...
More About: Children , Friendly

YouTubesday: Save The Earth, Red Cross and Dance Party
2009-06-24 04:43:00
Great video by GOOD about companies exploiting the “Green” craze. Very cool Red Cross video Dance Party , maybe this is staged, maybe not. But I would love to encourage people to move (figuratively and literally) in the same way.
More About: Earth , Red Cross

Rough Draft: Who’s That Big Yellow Bird?
2009-06-17 21:53:00
I’m working on an article for Geez Magazine, and you loyal readers get a sneak peek. It’s pretty rough. I just wrote it up last night (and stoled a couple paragraphs from a previous blog post), but wanted to get some feedback on it. So, without further ado: Who’s That Big Yellow Bird ? Each week I walk my two toddlers down the hall at the Children’s hospital, past the large statue of an over stuffed yellow bird and up an elevator to our appointment. Sometime’s they’ll point out the “big birdie”, other times they won’t, it’s no more attractive or unique then the moose in the painting ten feet away or the cars in the window of the skyway. What I haven’t told them, and what they don’t know, is that that large stuffed yellow bird is one of the many adorable characters from a television show that I myself have fond memories of; of Big Bird and the whole rest of the gang. And though I’m sure someone will soon po...
More About: Draft

I?ve Still Been Writing
2008-06-09 11:52:00
I took a hiatus from the blog last month, featuring old writings from my college years. It seems to have worked well and so I plan on continuing occasionally. I also stopped posting on Saturday and Sunday, allowing for a nice weekend break (though I tend to write those post during the week anyways) and ...
More About: Writing , Blog

Book Review: Hokey Pokey, by Matthew Turner
2008-06-06 12:22:00
(I’m putting the P.S.’s at the beginning because they’re important) P.S. Final thought. I’m thinking about doing some contest to give away some of the nearly new books I have. Would you be interested in something like that? P.P.S It’s my brother’s birthday. He’s the coolest freaking kid I’ve ever met. Here’s proof. Now wish him happy birthday ...
More About: Book Review , Review , Book , Turner , Matthew

Schools Out For The Summer
2008-06-05 11:57:00
Tomorrow is the last day of school in Minneapolis. This is an important date this year because it means all the neighborhood kids will be out of school and hanging out during the day. I’ve gotten to know a handful of kids and a lot of the neighbors since we moved and the weather has ...
More About: Summer , Schools

Six Sentences: Acceptance and Murder
2008-06-04 12:17:00
I found the idea of writing a six sentence story so enjoyable last time (by the way, it was published at the official six sentence site here), that I’ve tried my hand at a few more. I’ll post them on Wednesday’s till I run out. I’m not sure that I like this one as is, ...
More About: Murder , Story , Acceptance , Sentences

YouTubesday: CarrotMob and Lot?s of Street Art
2008-06-03 11:36:00
A creative way to use your purchasing power when you have clear values (A side thought: The mob spent over $9000, the business promised $1800 toward being more energy efficient, and then to celebrate the mob had a free concert (which cost $1500 for the band and $4000 for the park permit), so does that make ...
More About: Street , Street Art

Jesus Made No Stipulations, Barbara Ehrenreich
2008-06-02 11:04:00
I was browsing the Freakonomics blog the other day and ran across this great quote by Ehrenreich, when asked this question: You are walking down the street in New York City with $10 of disposable income in your pocket. You come to a corner with a hot dog vendor on one side and a beggar on ...
More About: Jesus , Blog , Barbara , Made

Book Review: Reconciliation Blues, by Edward Gilbreath
2008-05-30 11:53:00
Now, I don’t know him personally, but I’d guess Edward Gilbreath is an all around nice guy. Some how he managed to write a book, Reconciliation Blues : A Black Evangelical’s Inside View of White Christianity, about race, racism and the church, and, from what I can tell probably didn’t really upset anyone. Gilbreath some how manages ...
More About: Church , Book Review , Review , Book

My First Job Interviews in Nashville Story
2008-05-29 11:47:00
This is a brief journal entry from my first Job interview in Nashville (I didn’t get that job)… 7/10/05 So, I was sort of ready for the day, except I went to bed a little late. Then about 5am I woke up with a bad stomach ache, not something that usually happens to me. It went away ...
More About: Interviews , Story , Blog

The Christian Life, part VII
2008-05-28 11:34:00
(note: Originally written my sophmore year of college in January 2003) Continued from part VI (part V, part IV, part III, part II and part I) Try and imagine that nothing you have ever taken for granted in your belief system is true. What am I trying to say? We look at scripture through a lens, ...
More About: Christian , Life , Part

YouTubesday: The Internet, Hard Being Me and Water Of Life
2008-05-27 11:57:00
Awesome video about how the internet works It’s Hard being me. I can relate Water Comedy, funny
More About: Internet , Life , The Internet

Maybe the beginnings of another Story?
2008-05-26 11:40:00
Another little piece of scraps of writing from way back when. Who knows, maybe this will turn into a story… Honest stands on the street corner. To the left across the street a beaten down building with a tacky neon sign, “House of Thrills Adult Bookstore.” To the right the base line of a rock ...
More About: Story