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A Rocket Ship to Mars
It sounds silly to even talk about, doesn't it? You might as well say you're building a rocket ship to go to Mars but it won't be ready for a few years." And when it is, it may not fly.-Once a Runner...
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Book Review: Outliers
Outliers concerns people who fall outside the normal bell curve of achievement and performance.Author Malcolm Gladwell challenges our American notion that achievement is largely a factor of ambition...
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Going Out
THE APOSTLES went out of themselves. As my daughter enters her fourth month, it's clear that she's absolutely "got me." A blessing, without question. But it also presents an interesting issue. The...
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Prayer, Action, Advocacy
There is something for everyone in the life of Saint Shenoute the Archmandrite, whose feast day is today. There contemplative types and active types. Saint Shenoute teaches us that praying and doing...
View ArticleReading List
Fr. Athanasius Farag, ThD, Dean the Coptic Orthodox Seminary, has kindly provided the following list of recommended titles:From Darkness to LightThe Bible and LiturgyThe EucharistLiturgy and LifeFor...
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Three Weapons
AS WE GROW UP the obstacles to spiritual fullness seem to move away from the guy/girl stuff to the greed/fear stuff. We start to lose ourselves in careerism and tidy professionalism, as we tumble down...
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Book Review: The Orthodox Study Bible
ONE OF THE FIRST things a reader will notice about the Orthodox Study Bible ("OSB"), relative to its previous incarnation, is that it includes the Hebrew Scriptures. The text is accompanied by ample,...
View ArticleLong Run
WHEN I POUR out my mind, I wish You would find pure adoration and gratitude, like it is with the Saints. But out comes anxiety over what might be, bitterness over what wasn't, lust for what shouldn't...
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Racing and Selective Attention
This year's Ramsey 10k was best race of my life, so far, and not just because of the time on the clock. I lined up near, but not at, the front. By the end of the first mile, two packs had emerged; top...
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The Fruits of Repentance
ONE WORD I REMEMBER from SAT prep is "fruitless," as in a "fruitless effort," which is an attempt which produces no results. When it comes to repentance -- turning to God -- there are objective signs...
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A House Divided
FROM TODAY'S Gospel reading:Jesus...said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand..."Years later, these...
View ArticleThe Half at Philadelphia
The night before was nearly as memorable as the day of. The plan was to responsibly take in a movie and be in bed by 8 or 9; in other words 2-3 hours earlier than normal. Restlessness was exacerbated...
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Integration and Domination
A RABBI once wrote to Albert Einstein, asking for advice. He had lost a daughter and wanted his thoughts on helping his other daughter cope. Einstein wrote,A human being is a part of the whole, called...
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Are You Entertained?
THIS WEEKEND I attended three sermons by a thoughtful and passionate speaker. It seems plain that this person is a participant in life, not merely an observer and that, at an early age, he asked God...
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Confidence and Christianity
Christianity is called the religion of pity. Pity stands opposed to the tonic emotions which heighten our vitality: it has a depressing effect. We are deprived of strength when we feel pity. That loss...
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Doubles
Lately, I've been running what runners call "doubles." When I was a kid, "doubles" meant that fate/Topps had dealt you two of a kind.Okay, what do I do with two Willie McGees?In running, it means you...
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The David Brooks Dilemma
Jacob and Esau, by Watts (1878) The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility!- Oscar Wilde, The...
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Each Good Effort
I wrote the following a few months ago at the kind invitation of Jeff Edmonds, who published it on his blog, The Logic of Long Distance. With his permission, I'm republishing it here....
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Redeeming Moments
If you leave a thing alone, you leave it to a torrent of change. If you leave a white post alone, it will soon be a black post. If you particularly want it to be white, you must be always painting it...
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