Do It Anyway

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, 2008.  It is the day when the Declaration of Independence was read in public, having been signed on July 2.  Having seen parts of the HBO mini series, John Adams, I saw what he gave up in service to his country: his health and his family just to name two.  He was an incredible orator, statesman and man, though at times I think he did not make the best politician, but I can’t fault him for that.

As I was considering whether or not I would post something about Independence Day, I was listening to Kristy Lee Cook’s version of Anyway that she performed on American Idol this past season.  I remember watching Martina McBride sing the song last year on Idol and was overcome by emotion (though I must say I like Cook’s ending better than McBride.  The background vocals add so much to the song).  I understand the song to challenge us to not let our fear of the future determine whether we live our dream or accomplish who we were created to be.

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Unleashing Your Creativity

The power of creativity. For some reason we think we lack it, but the truth is that is something that anyone can cultivate. It is both teachable and trackable. In a recent article in Scientific American Mind, three experts on creativity speak about powerful ways to unleash the creative self.

Mariette DiChirstina, the executive editor of SAM, brought together psychologist and professor John Houtz, poet and author Julia Cameron, and psychologist Robert Epstein for an article entitled, How to Unleash Your Creativity. During this discussion between the three, they reveal some fascinating aspects of creativity, the competencies involved in cultivating creativity and the impact of it on a person’s every day life.

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De-personfication of God

For quite some time, I’ve wondered why so many people can believe in God (or god) and yet we have such a strange disinterest in a relationship with Him. Experimental philosophy has given us clues.

In a recent article from Scientific American Mind, Joshua Knobe an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, wrote an article entitled, “Can a Robot, an Insect or God Be Aware?: Our intuitions about consciousness in other beings and objects reveal a lot about how we think. In the article, he looks at the new field of Experimental Philosophy and how it sheds light on how we think.

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The De-Personification of God: Metaphors We Use

This is sort of a follow up to my previous post on the de-personification of God.  When we think of God, the metaphors we use to address him most often are metaphors that do not signal relationship.  For instance, we call him Lord, God, master, ruler, creator.  Those are all terms that do not indicate the relational nature of God.  I agree with those metaphors, they are both valid, theologically correct and pertinent.  But are they pertinent to a true Christ-Follower?

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Let the Writing Begin!

Game on, I say!

Today I begin my writing journey known as the doctoral dissertation. I want to be done as soon as possible. I know that I have need to be working on three things in my life right now: finishing a book on success in ministry, writing my dissertation, and continuing to get physically healthy. In the past couple of weeks I’ve gotten a good bit done on the book, and now starts the dissertation.

I’ve already set up an auto-responder to let people know that I may not respond quickly. I have my writing music in place and my office set up as I need it.

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Finding Storytelling Platforms

Jonathan Harris is redefining the idea of what it means to tell a story. Take a ride through an arctic whale hunt and plunge headfirst into the feelings Harris finds running rampant in cyberspace as he describes what he calls “storytelling platforms.”