Life is kind of like playing in the sand at the ocean. You pile it up in some places, smooth it down in others, and dig trenches, focusing all of your attention on building the vision in your mind. You pat the sides of your castle firm, then cup your hand and draw it down […]
Thoughts
A Prayer for Homeless Christians
There are many of us out there right now. No, I’m not talking about Christians who live on the streets- though I’m sure there are any number of them as well. I’m speaking of a different kind of homelessness – a kind of homelessness I find myself humbled by, never having expected that I could […]
Karate and the Kingdom Part Five: Take Your Stand
Sometimes, when I stand at the edge of the mat at karate and watch the higher ranks perform a kata, I can’t escape the humor in it all. Here we are, a bunch of people with bare feet, glaring down invisible bad guys as we kick and punch and make weird yells and whistling noises […]
Karate and the Kingdom Part Four: Badge of Honor
Thwack, thwack, thwack. Thwack, thwack, thwack. The dull sound of flesh hitting flesh as forearms collide in waltz time pulses through the karate dojo, accompanied by low conversation. Nearby I hear a faster tempo as two of the guys with muscular arms go at it twice as fast as everyone else. Next we go to […]
Karate and the Kingdom Part 3: Respect Authority
I stood at the edge of the mat at my first karate class, observing the flurry of action before me. There were about twelve people out on the mat, all performing the same movements of a kata (a choreographed series of blocks, strikes, and kicks), all at the same time, yet at different speeds and […]
Karate and the Kingdom Part Two: Accept the Terms
Read Part One: Girl in Black here. I couldn’t quite believe I was there, sitting across the desk from the owner of the dojo, signing up for karate lessons. I had no great, specific reason why I was doing this; I only knew I had enjoyed my free month of classes, I could use some […]