Sunday, July 24, 2011

my friend, eric jones

my friend eric died this week. it was too soon. he'd been fighting cancer for a long time. he lost that fight, but he won many others.

he fought to demonstrate courage to his children. he won that fight.

he fought to show his wife he loved her with every breath.

he won that one, too. he fought to keep his faith, his hope, and his dignity alive. he won that triple crown, uncontested.

he fought to prove that, though cancer may have claimed his health, it has no defeated his spirit.

he fought to prove that life is worth living, that the people around us matter, and that the way we conduct ourselves while suffering counts for a great deal.

i'm going to miss you, hell-fighter. but i know you're in better place. "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" paul says in 2 corinthians 5, and i know you're there and even now your being transformed from this fragile form into something far superior. again, paul says that our perishable bodies will be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die' (1 Corinthians 15).

death has come and done its worst, but you endure.

we'll see you soon.

Friday, July 22, 2011

the problem of evil (teaser for this week's installment of "funny you should ask")

The Problem of Evil from Brandon McCarrell on Vimeo.

feeling much like my old self again...thanks for asking

wow. i'm a little surprised that so many of you read this. i'm doubly surprised at all the texts and phone calls and emails making sure i'm alright.

i'm alright. i promise. no craziness detected :)

after a couple more days at home, some late nights, some minor work urgency, and some time devoted to a passion project, i feel much more myself again.

albeit, myself at 100 degrees.

Monday, July 18, 2011

feeling a little weird...

i've been feeling a little off my game since leaving for vacation. i didn't quite feel right the whole time i was away, and that feeling has intensified since returning home.

sorry if any of you have been casualties of that.

i'm doing what i always try and do when i feel a little off kilter: shut up and not do anything stupid. it's good advice. i often give it to others. i mostly give it to myself.

in the midst of feeling like a C- version of dave mcdonald, i still want to exercise A+ discipline. even if i don't feel amazing, i want to protect those around me from any moodiness, melancholy, or malaise.

i'm writing all this (which is information i typically consider "too private" for places like blogger and twitter and facebook) because of a comment someone made to me today at church. they were talking about how *perfect* i am (their words, not mine!) and about how i must never struggle with anything in life - especially not anything emotional.

we all struggle. sometimes we lose. but we should never stop fightingt.

this too shall pass. it always does. don't sweat it in the meantime.