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Against Self-Interest (The Greats Play for Love)
Professional athletes study the game. They watch game tapes over and over, noting each nuance of those who excel. Then, they take their observations onto the field or the court or the mat, practicing them again and again, so that they might not only replicate the excellence, but also surpass it. This is the way …[ read more ]
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The Art of Hard Conversations
Do you avoid hard conversations? Do you have an aversion to speaking the truth when it’s unpleasant? That’s not uncommon. Me, I have an aversion to yeast. I think it’s creepy when you add the warm water to a packet of yeast and it bubbles as it begins to activate. Totally creeps me out. Here’s …[ read more ]
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How to Survive a Pharisee Apocalypse
Do you know how to survive a zombie apocalypse? Within the church, we’re at much higher risk for a more dangerous contagion. Let me start with a little story. Once, I worked with a mother who requested help. She’s on her own with no extended family and was struggling to know how best to manage …[ read more ]
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A Rhode Island Story I Hope Will Truly Scare You
This time of year, around these parts, we tell scary stories. One of them is about Mercy Brown. Mercy Brown was buried in Exeter, Rhode Island, January 1892. Two months later, she was exhumed. Her surviving loved ones dug her up, cut out her heart, burned it on a stone, mixed the ashes with water, …[ read more ]
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You Won’t Believe What I Found on the Roof
There’s so much I don’t know. Even more that I can’t control. A lot of days, I gasp across the entrance to home my head throbbing my thoughts spinning, swirling over other people’s problems hoping for a momentary reprieve before I face my own. The troubles of this world are so powerful some days and …[ read more ]