david

 
Memory, imagination & the Kingdom

One of the more interesting speakers at the Southwest Psychological Association annual conference is Daniel Schacter, PhD, a Harvard University professor whose expertise is in memory research. As I listened to him speak, a number of biblical references came to mind. Dr. Schacter’s findings have led him to think of memory not so much as keep reading

 
Discipleship & pietism

As a young man, I was won over by the call to discipleship, as a wind of renewal seemed to blow through the church.  Discipleship, understood as a radical commitment to following Christ and making him not only Savior but also Lord of our lives, IS a compelling idea.  It still resonates with me today.  keep reading

 
The psychology of Bruce Springsteen

In his latest Rolling Stone interview, the Boss talks about the pervasive impact his early life, in a New Jersey blue-collar family, has had on his songwriting.  He offers a metaphor: “Look, you’re in a car, your new selves can get in, but your old selves can’t get out. You can bring new vision and keep reading

 
Celluloid parables

My close friends, and pretty much anyone who’s ever heard me preach, know I’m a weeper. When I’m deeply moved, it shows. Sometimes, a story touches me so deeply that I become a sobber. Two movies that I watched in the past week brought me to sobs, because they told stories of human suffering and keep reading

 
Lessons from Japan (3)

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” One of the things I noticed during my trip to Japan was the beauty of… … the sewer covers! I noticed it because while there are aspects of nature that we can all appreciate as beautiful: new babies, beautiful athletes, breathtaking sunsets, majestic keep reading

 
Only love can break your heart

Why? My last post was about Suzuki’s story of tragedy & resilience.  Ever since I met some of the people who survived the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan (and of course many, many times before that) I’ve been thinking about the human condition as it relates to suffering.  My friend Richard Beck feels keep reading

 
Lessons from Japan (2)

My second post from my trip to Japan is about tragedy, resilience and community. I want to introduce you to my new hero: Takako Suzuki. She is a 67 year old widow from Ishonomaki, one of the cities that was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami, last March. Suzuki-san welcomed us into her house and keep reading

 
Lessons from Japan (1)

I just returned from a trip to Japan, along with 3 fellow professional counselors.  The purpose was to encourage relief workers and educate ministers, relief workers and volunteers on the emotional sequelae of trauma and loss, in light of the earthquake and tsunami earlier this year.  No less of a purpose was to observe, learn keep reading

 
New music for the soul

Here is a video with an acoustic version of a song off of Ryan Adams’ just released “Ashes & Fire”.  I love Ryan Adams and had pre-ordered the CD which just arrived.  The song is entitled “Dirty Rain” and it reminds me of vintage Bob Dylan.  It’s a true poet’s account of a failed relationship: keep reading

 
Of prisms and theology (3)

This is the last of a 3 part series exploring the idea that, just as light is refracted by a prism, our hermeneutic (interpretative strategy) as we approach the Bible is subject to our own personal and collective “prisms”.  In the first article, we looked at prisms drawn directly from the biblical text.  In the keep reading

© 2011 Every Grain of Sand Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha