Reflections

Of Caskets and Memories

by Shawn September 7, 2011

Open caskets tend to disarm me. There’s a disconnect in my mind when death takes the person and still leaves the body. There they are. There they are not. What if, when someone died, they just disappeared? What if they vanished, and the only things we had left were pictures or memories? But in this [...]

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Get in Over Your Head

by Shawn September 6, 2011

Anyone else out there love to be in control? Most of the time I’d prefer to be driving any car I’m in – even last weekend, when I was showing a Navy SEAL around the area, it never occurred to me to let him drive (even though he had taken courses on driving backwards and [...]

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The Most Costly Decision You’ll Ever Make

by Shawn September 1, 2011

The empty field grabbed my attention and slowed my jog to a walk. I couldn’t help but stare at the lush grass now watermelon green after the recent hurricane. A few of the girls died outside the schoolhouse, I thought to myself. I wonder where? But there’s no sign a schoolhouse ever existed there – [...]

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When Your Detour is Someone Else’s Destination

by Shawn August 31, 2011

Detour. I’m not a big fan of that word. So when a row of orange cones and a large Detour sign told me that 322 East had succumbed to the turbulent influences of Irene, I wasn’t happy. My friend needed to get to the Philadelphia airport, and that Detour sent us off the familiar path.

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The Most Unlikely Friend

by Shawn August 29, 2011

For the last four days I hung out with an unlikely friend. His skin is the same rich color as the Mexican earth from which his ancestors eked a living. His hair is so black it soaks up the light – all except the thin, crescent-shaped scar, subtle as the small stream that runs past [...]

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When Your Dream Requires Waiting…and a Teeter Totter

by Shawn August 5, 2011

Andi is a good friend of mine from college who, just a few weeks ago, was gracious enough to give my family a tour of the estate of which her father has been the caretaker for many, many years. She is a fabulous writer working on a project that I think has huge potential to [...]

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Theology is No Substitute for Time Spent Waiting Under an Oak Tree

by Shawn August 3, 2011
Thumbnail image for Theology is No Substitute for Time Spent Waiting Under an Oak Tree

I have an eight-year-old son now. He’s skinny, like I was. He’s (mostly) gentle, a rule follower, and he prefers playing with Legos by himself in his bedroom and please stay out unless you are offering food. Check, check and check – just like I used to be. I remember late on Saturday afternoons, when [...]

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