bierkergaard

Back when I was 18, life was pretty rough. Sometimes I wanted to go up to the nearest tree, get a rope, and hang myself. Two convictions kept me from it....1) first, boy that would really hurt, (2) I had a philosophical conviction that suicide was intrinsically wrong. One of the few things I would look forward to after another depressing day at school was a quart of chocolate milk and reading the newspaper. Despite all of the misery I was wallowing in, chocolate milk lifted my spirits. Maybe the Theobromine functioned as a natural mood-elevating Prozac. I don't know. My quart of daily chocolate milk drinking ceased when my mom complained about the amount of milk I was drinking. To be fair, I didn't explain to her the therapeutic benefits of the chocolate milk. But, she knew that I liked it so it wasn't entirely a mystery that it was something I appreciated. I felt kind of like, "Man, can't a kid even drink milk a little extra milk around here?" Seriously...

Yesterday I wrote about why we should not jettison the past, for there is much wisdom that has come before us and our preoccupation with the new can obscure the fact that new does not necessarily mean better. However, there is a backward gaze that is profoundly unhealthy and modern Psychology has made a mint off of it: Looking back as a defense for current behavior that is unwise. For instance, because I was _____ when a kid, this is why I do this _______ now (fill in the words). When Jesus told the man in the Bible that the "dead should bury their own dead" it is hard to entirely figure out what he was speaking about. Yet, it is clear that there was something or someone that held him back from following Christ in the present. For many, it is the past. The past is dug up and the bones of prior experiences are examined forensically in great detail. Some introspection about the past is not bad but dedicating a good deal of the present to the past is really not productive. R...

On New Years Eve, I found a comfy place on the couch and tried to stay put, except to make forays to the food and drink. For music, a buddy--who has a retro vibe in his musical tastes--spun the vinyl on the turntable. It was old school, with some of the pops and hisses. He searches for collections of old records like a cat might search for a mouse. In our age, with the rapid advancement of technology, we start to discard the past like a bad habit. We assume that newer is better on all fronts and that idol deserves to be hacked down like an Asherah Pole . Even our language tends to suggest a negative view on the past, as in "He has a past."  The music on New Years Eve reminded me that there are buried gems in the hills of the past and we need to search and uncover them. We shall understand ourselves better by knowing those who have come before us and recognize that there is really nothing new under the sun regarding the things that matter most. Our toys and tools get mo...

About 40 years ago, I recall sitting in my elementary school music class on the first day back from Christmas vacation. The teacher asked if there were any songs we wanted to sing. One girl said, "Silent Night." The teacher commented something to the effect that such a song in the beginning of January was not really in appropriate. I always wondered what made the girl want to sing that song. Was it because she had a sad Christmas and decided some peppy singing in the school after the fact with her classmates would cheer her sad heart? I remember kind of being offended by her request. I was like, "What?" If it had been a boy, we might have given him a wedgie at recess. I had O.D.'d on the holiday and needed some detox... There is a lot of hysterical cries to keep "Christ in Christmas." But is not the message of the Gospel to keep Christ central 24-7 365 days a year? Don't we act like secularists when we identify only certain times and places ...

Yesterday morning, Lina and I went for a hike down at Kelly's Run.  It is a fairly rigorous 4 mile hike taking experienced hikers about two hours. The creek was high, the rocks slippery, and the trail had a hint of danger at points. Before leaving, we had considered skipping the hike and going down to a local trail that circles Lake Grubb. A fine little hike but one that has minimal challenge or scenery that is new. The day had started late and our buddy Rob called off due to a cold, so the conditions for cancellation of Kelly were set. We decided against it. I am embarrassed to confess that I missed several turn offs along the way down to Kelly's Run. I thought I knew the directions better than I did. I really have no excuse. I pondered then how it would have just been much easier for us to go to Grubb. Safe, simple, no reminders of how poor a sense of direction I have. I typically map out everything ahead of time if I have a doubt. Where I erred was thinking that I knew ...

I am skeptical about resolutions. Seems to me that resolutions dissolve like Alka-Seltzer. Some fizz and maybe we feel better for a bit with changes in attitude and behavior. But then the acid test of the everyday kicks back in. Same problems, same issues, same me. However, I have great hope in God changing us. If the Gospel were to be reduced to a series of maxims, one would be: God can change people. It is Good News. If the Gospel only kept us where we are, that would hardly be something to call good. It would be the Bad News.  Often when we clamor for God to change something, it is is either a circumstance or someone else. I know I pray this way, when I bother to pray that is. Yet, God has only made me responsible for myself. Even though I am responsible for me, I can't change me, for I am the problem. So, here is how it works: I confess that I need to change but can't. God concurs with that assessment and then changes me through His grace. A gift given and ...