bierkergaard

I know yesterday's post was on the heavy side (Mark Driscoll). Before that, I talked about shoveling snow. Although the snow was heavy, the topic was light but hopefully purposeful. The post before, the shooting in AZ. I try not to stay one way in this blog; instead sometimes silly, sometimes serious. Sometimes both. And, maybe, neither serious or silly. And that is not good, according to my self-editor. Not sure how to classify the post below. Yesterday, I received a text right after school. When I get a text on my iPhone, it dings like that contraption one presses when walking into a store where you want attention and service. That bell thing...what comes to mind is a public library? I am not a serial texter. I have fewer than five people who I text on a regular basis or who text me. Yesterday's text was from my buddy John, who now lives in North Carolina, but who was back in his former town of York taking care of business, inquiring if I wanted to get together for breakfast....

Boy, I just spent an hour walking and listening to Mark Driscoll yelling at me through my earbuds. Well, he was not yelling at me specifically but he pretty much loudly chastised and characterized almost all men, Christian or not, as either slacker babies or abusive bullies. Not much of a spectrum, just black and while, like coal on fresh snow. Harsher than raw garlic. The sermon is available on iTunes. The title of the sermon is "Marriage and Men" and the date is 12/13/10. It is as hour long...listen to it if you dare. I am surprised that my eardrums are not bleeding, not from the volume, but the vehemence. There is a lot to be angry about in regards to men in our society. Much of what Driscoll said is at least somewhat true about some men, if not most men. Yet, there is a fine line between godly anger and the sin of anger and I think Driscoll pretty much obliterated it. I think he is an angry dude...not sure what his past is all about, but something is ticking back t...

In a battle reminiscent of John Henry man versus machine, I beat my neighbor who was using a snow blower to clear his driveway versus me with only a shovel in hand--on comparably-sized driveways. I finished first by a minute or so. Of course, I started 40 minutes before he did. And, I didn't drop over dead like John Henry...demonstrating aptly the futility in fighting against technological advances. I like shoveling snow. It is a good work-out. I need to make sure that I do sit-ups within ten minutes of finishing though so my back does not go into spasm. Matter of fact, I am going to do this right now. I'll be back... Ah, that is better. 40 sit-ups and then twisting right and left, basically self-chiropracting. Cracking starting and the top of the spine downward like falling dominoes. Little concerned that my lower back did not crack. That could be trouble. May have to do another 40 sit-ups. A sit-up in time saves nine plus spasms that can last for days like aftershocks fro...

With the assassination attempt on the Congresswoman and the killing of numerous citizens, this tragedy is rightfully reigniting debate on the 2nd amendment and gun rights. First thing, it is for certain that the Founding Fathers, fresh off defeating the British Army in the Revolutionary War with weapons , believed guns to be an essential component for freedom. Yet, little did they imagine the deadly effectiveness of modern firepower. The right is enamored by the seductions of violence to accomplish its goals, both nationally and internationally. There has been much debate about the tenor of discourse in our land that demonizes political opponents. The Left and Right are both guilty of the rancorous tone, yet I think it fair, as a Conservative, to concede that right-wing media is more guilty of awful rhetoric. We must treat all people as made in God's image even if we disagree vehemently with them. The Left has other issues to answer to in events like these. Here are a few of them...

My mom emailed me these pencil sketches today. No, she did not draw them. I know these drawing are hard to see b/c they are small. I really didn't feel like going to Photoshop and fiddling with it. And, then it struck me, there is a metaphor here. We often miss the joy, and yes laughter, of Jesus. True, He was the "man of sorrows." Yet, he had joy and happiness, too. He was like us. The divine personality of Jesus can feel many paradoxical emotions at once; we get all jumbled up, we laugh at tragedy, cry over spilled milk, and more often don't feel at all. We need to magnify the "good" side of the Good News. Too many Christians are negative and cynical. I don't think we can even call that attitude Christian...it is sub-Christian. When I was about 14, my mom was dating some guy who rented a shore house down in New Jersey. We kids got folded into the invite and spent a couple of days down there. The guy had a daughter probably in her early 20's who was...