As a pastor, much of my time is spent trying to get in touch with God. I think often of the concept of “thin places” — the idea that some places are more conducive than others to experiencing God. It’s almost as if heaven is right in front of you in these places: just push aside the veil and there God will be, plain as day. I often wish my study at the church was thinner than it is. I do get to spend a good amount of time in prayer, meditation, worship and (of course) study while I’m there, but often I need to get out of those four walls to better connect with God. I’m glad it’s summer right now because it’s a lot easier to get out and do something when the sidewalks aren’t covered in ice. And so, I find myself from time to time searching for thin places. I could find my thin place on a hike in the woods, or sitting in a park, or being wherever there happens to be a lazy cat in a sunbeam, or just walking along the sidewalks right outside the church. Perhaps the easiest way for me … [Read more...]

As I’ve grown into adulthood, I’ve continued to carry my love of games from my earliest childhood. There’s something about play that is life-giving to me. And games – especially board games – have been one of my most important avenues into play. Growing up, our family had a closet full of games. It was the narrow hallway closet, so opening the door to pick out a game effectively prevented travel between the bedrooms and the rest of the house. It was an important event. We played a variety of games, including standards such as Sorry, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Battleship and, of course, Monopoly. One of our absolute favorites was the Game of Life. We played it so often that our babysitter refused to play it with us, so we came up with a workaround: We asked her if we could play a game called “File,” and then got out Life and told her we switched the letters around. Very clever. Surprisingly, it didn’t work well. The Game of Life is essentially a drawn-out metaphor for, … [Read more...]