There is a story on Mount Athos, that center of Orthodox monastic wisdom for centuries, of the circular cloud that forms on a regular basis at the top of the mountain. The science is easy. The warm and humid air from the sea is forced by the curve of the mountain up toward the cooler air at the peak and clouds are formed. But many monks have seen in this cloud formation…
I never will forget the first time I went to the optometrist and he had to dilate my eyes for a procedure. The light in his office hurt my eyes because my eyes were letting in too much light. Amazing. Too much light hurts. But that’s the nature of light. It doesn’t judge whether you are able to see or handle what it is. It simply shines and reveals what truly is.…
As of today, there are over 22 different countries that report at least one person reading “Orthodox On Purpose.” For that, I am grateful to God. Of course the US still has the most readers, but for those of you in China, Bulgaria, Greece, and other nations, welcome and I pray our thoughts help you embrace an Orthodox Christian lifestyle on a daily basis. With that in mind, I may need to…
Hollywood movie critics often speak about this or that movie making it possible for an audience to “suspend disbelief” long enough to enjoy or be entertained by the story in a movie. One of the best examples of this ability to “suspend disbelief” is the recent movie called “The Life of Pi.” This movie is about a boy who is the sole survivor of a shipwreck that costs the boy his family…
There is a story about a young man who wished to become a monk in the deserts of Egypt. He went to a monk’s home in the desert and knocked on the door. The monk inside ignored the young man, so the young man knocked again. After a long time the monk finally came to the door and asked what the young man desired. He replied “I wish to become a monk…
Everyone remembers Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” It was published in 1843 and it captured the imagination of generations since. It made the name “Scrooge” synonymous with stinginess and self-centered bitterness. But what made Scrooge have a change of heart? Do you remember? Exactly, it was the visit by the three spirits – The Past, The Present, and the Future. Scrooge got to see his life from beginning to end and he didn’t…
The young man was very frustrated. His dad had just gotten him a new hunting dog and this was the first time the young man had to train the dog himself. The process was a lot tougher than the boy realized and he was out of answers. You see every time the boy would point to a place the dog was suppose to go, the dog came up and sniffed his finger!…
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” The quote has been described as an Arabic proverb, but more likely it comes from advice given in India by a leader who died under mysterious circumstances. This attitude that my enemy’s enemy is my ally has been used countless times in politics and warfare to justify the “strange bedfellows” that certain alliances have created in the pursuit of political and military goals. But is…
I really like to write and I enjoy public speaking, but I had a hint of my tendency to wordiness when my first stent in seminary produced a comment from one of my favorite professors. I had just finished a fairly intensive philosophy paper for his class and was really sweating the grade he would give me. A few days past and other folks started getting their papers back graded and commented…
“I’m sorry, but you don’t belong here.” With that the usher informed me and my family that we were in the wrong spot. This area was reserved for VIP’s, not for the regular folks! Ouch! It reminds me of an old saying my grandmother taught me: “Sticks and stone can break your bones, but words can break your heart.” Oh, is that different than how you learned it? There is nothing quite…
