Last Saturday I ran my first half-marathon: 13.1 miles through downtown Louisville with 12,234 other sweaty and soaked participants of all ages, genders, shapes, and speeds, some running the full 26.2-mile course and others, like me, taking the easy route. The gun fired at 7:30am, and the sneakered masses flooding the lettered corrals on Main Street … More The Long Run: Reflections from a Half-Marathon
Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback for the defending World Champion Green Bay Packers. After playing at Cal and surprisingly slipping to the 24th pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Rodgers sat behind legend Brett Favre for three years from 2005-2007 until Favre’s legendary annual retirements led to his trade from the Packers to the New York Jets. … More Perfecting Your Craft: Wisdom from Aaron Rodgers
On Saturday morning our newly adopted daughter Ember Noella and I were diagnosed with mumps. The source of infection is pure speculation, of course, but an incubation period of two weeks places us right back at our sleepless five-city flight from Addis Ababa to Louisville and all the airborn pathogens that accompany international travel. Prior to … More Mumps, Mirrors, and Knowing Myself
Have you ever noticed that the classic children’s story The Little Engine That Could bears a remarkable resemblance to The Good Samaritan? There are many recensions in its long history and several layers of morals involved, but the version I read to Judah on Tuesday night speaks volumes to a fundamental matter of the human psyche and the human condition. The little … More The Little Engine That Could, the Good Samaritan, and the Inborn Law of Love
From time to time I find it personally helpful to type out a variety of thoughts that seem worth recording at least for my own personal benefit. Usually they are fairly disconnected except for the fact that every element of life is intertwined when related to God and His purposes. I record them together because there’s … More Some Recent Thoughts on Life, Eternity, Sacrifice, and Giving
The following are loose quotes from John Hannah as he lectured on Edwards’ writings on the Trinity. Edwards never actually wrote a treatise on the Trinity that was meant for publication, so we don’t know what such a treatment would’ve been like or what it would’ve included or what shape it would’ve taken. But Edwards did write enough … More Wit and Wisdom from John Hannah (11)
There are some people who do certain things so well and with such passion and excellence that they serve (at least to me) as a picture of how I want to live in all areas of life. You may not personally know some of the examples I’m about to give, but I’ll at least try to paint enough … More I Think That Everyone Should Live… (1)
Today was RD Day Away, a day when the Deans’ Staff gets off campus and relaxes together. We went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley in the morning and early afternoon, Malibu Beach for the late afternoon and sunset, and a local fish restaurant called Froggy’s for dinner. It was a refreshing day … More Signing Your Life Away
The guy RD’s decided to hike Half-Dome in Yosemite this weekend (Jeff Lewis, Dave Hulet, Siona Savini, and I). The only other time I was in Yosemite is long enough ago for me not to remember anything about it. I’ll certainly remember this time, though. The hike was 15.2 miles roundtrip. We gained around 4,800 feet … More Climbing Half Dome in Yosemite National Park
A few years ago, my dentist discovered my first two cavities. They’re very small, and they’re symmetrical — they’re located in the exact same tooth in opposite sides of my mouth. I tend towards perfectionism (in things of my choosing — that’s how perfectionism works), so I had been faithful to brush my teeth throughout my … More Towards Good Habits: A Meditation on Learning to Floss
As I mentioned a few days ago, I took a week-long class called “Hospital Chaplaincy” this summer. We spent five unforgettable days at a major hospital complex in Los Angeles. During this time, I wrestled a lot with the issue of sharing the hard parts of the Gospel with those who are already hurting. Since … More “Hospital Gospel: Preaching a Wounding Message to Wounded People”
My five-month-old nephew Jackson is here visiting us (with his mother, of course). As you might expect, he is amazingly cute. I am not often around children his age. I wish I were more. A natural sense of compassion grips your heart when you’re around children of Jackson’s age. Usually this compassion takes the form of goofy faces, unintelligible and … More Good to be an Uncle: Lessons from My Nephew
It’s been a full week since my last posting, but… ah, forget the “but.” How long it’s been since my last post is no worthy subject upon which to dwell (or write). Sorry for the wasted two sentences (make that three). Upon the death of Ronald Reagan, I read one of his speeches today from … More Thoughts on Freedom
The importance of metaphors and analogies in matters of truth is grievously underestimated, I think. Spiritual lessons, conversational and counseling clarity, the communication of biblical realities, and the quest to mentally grasp indescribable spiritual concepts – all of these and more are benefited immensely by the use of metaphors and analogies. A few examples: (1) Faith-driven confidence in the … More Metaphors, Analogies, and Truth
davidagundersen.com 