Surfing the Inner N8

Insights & Outsights from a Guy Trying to Follow Jesus

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  • Don’t Call It a Comeback!

    Last month I was on the roof of a ministry building in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. It was the end of a long, hot day full of ministry, and I stood up there quietly enjoying a view of the city with the mountains in the distance. Then a handful of my students came Continue reading

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  • Words, I Think

    Mandi recently graduated from high school. She’s a lover of Shakespeare and a bright young lady with a promising future as an educator. Yet I remember a time when her verbal abilities far outshone her literary skills. It was her third birthday, and she sat next to her dad as she opened a card from Continue reading

  • Don’t Stand By Me, Tony Danza

    Last month my 10th-graders were given an assignment to write about an experience they still carry with them.  One of my students challenged me to do the assignment, so here it is: Some people possess a mesmerizing ability to sing.  I am not one of them.  When Rosele came onstage at last year’s talent show, Continue reading

  • Charlottesville, part 2

    Yesterday I wrote about how, figuratively speaking, our nation has always had a crack in our liberty bell.  Today I feel the need to discuss something that is rampant in today’s news, a growing tendency that is harmful rather than helpful.  That is the proliferation of the label “hate groups.” If you’re wondering what you Continue reading

  • Charlottesville, part 1

    Today I went to Charlottesville, Virginia.  My trip had nothing to do with recent events—we had planned a visit to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home, which happens to be a few minutes’ drive from where this past weekend’s mob violence occurred.  Our experience there was a vivid reminder that the racial tensions we’re dealing with today Continue reading

  • Trump as Caesar: Another View

    This morning I had an appointment between Annapolis and Baltimore, and everyone over there was all abuzz about the shooting in Alexandria an hour or so earlier.  On the ride back to the Shore, I listened to several radio stations to piece together what had transpired. Interestingly, updates on the shooting were intermingled with debates Continue reading

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  • Life Stuff, Part 2

    Nearly a year and a half ago I wrote this blog post called Life Stuff.  At that time I said I’d write an update once some things that were up in the air fell into place.  Almost 18 months later, I can finally write this update. In March 2015, I was looking for a new Continue reading

  • Marguerite Davis, Age 100

    Marguerite Davis, my grandmother-in-law, turned 100 last Saturday. She was born on March 5, 1916, and spent the first part of her life in Fall River, Massachusetts, before settling in North Attleboro. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how amazing it is that she is a century old! So I decided to share Continue reading

  • The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom

    “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” (Psalm 111:10) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. This means that when we give Him proper respect as the ultimate authority, we can then begin to learn what Continue reading

  • Dropping the Bomb (part 4)

    War is strange, and its aftermath can be just as strange. In the case of those connected with the pivotal events of the war in the Pacific, we see a snapshot of this reality in the lives of four key players. Minoru Genda, one of the planners of the attack on Pearl Harbor, was awarded Continue reading