LEGO building blocks are a wonderful toy. My grandchildren love them. Each kit comes with detailed illustrations to show the builder how to create a particular item. The real fun comes, however, when the builder departs from the instructions to…
More reflections on the rising student debt: A Latina Christian perspective (part II)
Some days ago I published a blog about why student debt has become almost unavoidable. I mentioned that there are at least two sides to this issue. The first one is the increasing cost of education. After exploring reasons for…
10 lessons: looking back on Holy Week
Holy Week invited us to reflect on the deeper matters of faith by revisiting the story of Jesus, especially giving attention to the events that occurred between Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem and his resurrection. The overarching message of God’s love…
Reflections of Easter
I sit in expectation of the horror of good Friday and in hopeful expectation of the work of Easter Sunday. This time of year is always the most contemplative for me, perhaps because it offers the fullest range of emotion…
If you had a million dollars …
What would you do if you had a million dollars? That’s a fun “what if” game most of us like to play, pondering all the good we could do, all the fun we might have, all the contributions we could…
My wife and I are partners
When it comes to changing diapers, I wish my wife and I weren’t egalitarian, but we are. Our marriage is an equal partnership. We listen for God’s guidance together and apart. We communicate our needs and express our desires openly….
wonder
Now that I’ve been at this for well over a year, I’m beginning to realize a few things about publishing my thoughts for people to skim on the internet: 1) It is most definitely as glamorous as you think it is. There…
April Fools: a treatise on the most un-Christian holiday of all times, ever
Now, Now, Children On the way to school this morning, the following conversation was heard from the back seat of my vehicular transportation, upon which were seated three young ones en route to their daily training at the local school…
Learning and unlearning
Recently I read this quote from professor Leonard Sweet: “If ministers are not constantly learning and unlearning, they are becoming less and less qualified to serve.” Sweet is on to something. I am an advocate for lifelong learning because there…
Learning to listen
I am afraid of well-meaning Christians. This is probably because I am one myself, but it is also because I encounter well-intentioned Christians all the time. They have a vision for all the good they could do to other people….
Loving neighbors and reading the Bible: Some reflections upon the death of Phelps
The world recently learned of the death of Fred Phelps, Sr., founder and “pastor” of Westboro “Baptist” “Church,” the group who has become known for their protests of military funerals and signs that say “God hates ____.” They have traveled…
Don’t be a Fred Phelps hater
The enigmatic Fred Phelps has died. The church that he founded, the Westboro Baptist Church, made a name for itself by picketing funerals and public gatherings with signs proclaiming hate for soldiers, gays, and Jews – to name a few. At the…