The road was busy, and I had been tailgated for seven miles.  I know this because I had been counting.  There was a line of cars in front of me.  We weren’t in a hurry; it was Saturday and the to-do list was mostly done.  That’s when it all began.  Tailgator crossed the double yellow into oncoming traffic in order to get one car ahead of me in the line up.  I slammed on the brakes and moved as far as I could to the right so that the poor fellow in the opposite lane could live to see Sunday.

this is not a photo from actual events described in this blog post.

What an idiot.  Then she does it again.  Double yellow, motor cycle in the oncoming lane and she pulls out right in front of him and passes one car in order to be next in line. 

Last night I attended my eldest son’s band camp concert.  The night before that both of my boys had baseball games.  In an hour I’ll be leaving to go to yet another baseball game.  Next weekend the daughter has a ballet recital.  Being a dad (or a mom) takes a lot of time.

I am told that in a year or two, my eldest son will resent me for no good reason.  In 5 years, he’ll put up with me in an effort to get to the car keys. 

If you hang around in Christian circles for about 5 minutes, inevitably someone will say something about “iron sharpening iron.”  Hey, it’s a great Proverb.  But what does it mean?  I don’t have chunks of iron lying around my study that I can brush up against one another as a visual example.  This is generally applied to matters like lust and swearing and heinous business practices.  Presumably it is my job to help you stop your evils, while you help me give up mine.  While these aren’t bad applications, I think it has a deeper theological connotation.

Ever wondered how monks make a buck?  No?  I did.  Read the story about these  Monks in the N.Y. Times.  Or visit their website.  Hey if there are websites for Amish furniture, I got no problem with techy monks.

Incoming TXT from God.  It’s a doosey.

Disappointed by yesterday’s post: you could try Hookers for Jesus.  Don’t worry, it’s clean!  It’s a ministry that is generating international attention.  Check ‘em out!

See you all on Friday.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be writing about baseball, but that could change.

Language and Epistemology of Grace

There is this woman in the Bible, if I were talking about her behind her back I might be inclined to call her “that filthy whore!”  This woman was caught in the act!  “We have laws for this kind of behavior,” cried the behaviorists.  So the behaviorists, doing what moral theorists should do, appealed to Jesus.  To whom else would you turn?  Certainly Jesus, filled with the Spirit and moral clarity with settle this one.  The moral lawyers cited Moses vs. the People of Israel

This will probably land me a seat on Oprah, I think to myself.  No, I don’t just think it; I look into the mirror to see how my cheeks will look when I answer her questions.  If my eyes will shine or if I’ll cry.  Oprah will ask, “Ryan how did you get to be so great at, well, everything?  What was your routine for writing the greatest American novel since The Catcher in the Rye?”  After Oprah, it is on to David Letterman, where he’ll needle me without having read my book or enjoyed it’s brilliance.  Dave will ask, “The New York Times bestseller list is pretty impressive; how do you like our subway system?”

Most search engine traffic that come to www.reamofpaper.com is inquiring as to how many sheets are in a ream of paper.  Deceptive, huh?  Today I got an email from a wiki-site, acknowledging me as a an expert on matters regarding paper stating,

“We think you are the domain expert who can provide a great answer!”

Wow, way to visit a website when choosing experts!  Yes, I am obviously a paper mogul.  A ream of paper is determined by weight.  Your average 20# copy paper contains 500 sheets.  Stop asking.  That’s about all I know about paper.

I do know:

My friend Hollywood Pastor has posted a chapter of his forthcoming book on his blog.  I think you might like it.  Emphasis on the “MIGHT,” for those of you who are easily offended by language and real-life stuff.

I wrote a great story this week with the intention of posting it today.  The problem is: it just kept getting better during the first rewrite.  Rather than posting it today, next week I will share how you can read a copy of Familiar Sufferings.  (Hint: it will be exclusive!)

For those of you who run businesses or just generally want to be remarkable, I recommend checking out Thinking About Compromise by Seth Godin.