Throughout the history of the church one of the the approaches to understanding the  Song of Songs has been to view the book as a allegory of Jesus and his relationship to the believer and the church.  In Chapter 2:1 Jesus is called “lily of the valleys.”  As most of you know, Easter Lilies have a…

I am in the rehab portion of my recovering from hip replacement surgery.  I had a pastor tell me years ago, that when you are put in bed it is similar to going into God’s “school house”.  I sure have been experiencing the reality of being taught by God.  It is not what one would…

This monk up in the North Woods has been laid low.  Last Thursday (7th) I had a hip replacement on my left hip.  It was about time.  Now for the recover process.  So my blogs will be much shorter.  It takes me time to think through what I want to say.  I don’t want to…

Men, I just have to write a blog about this story I read this morning (4/4/13), reported by Reuters about the controversy regarding Finnish toilet paper.  My ancestry on both sides is Finnish, so when I read this story about Finnish toilet paper, I know that I would have do a blog. I warn you…

Recently I was reading the Exodus story in my devotions.  I came across this passage in Exodus 13:17, where God said this about his people. “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”  I took those words to heart.  I thought of myself and the many men who want to…

I am not a Luddite.  I have bought into some of the new communication devices.  But I am not as nearly hi-tech as the younger generation.  I don’t have a smart phone, I don’t text, I don’t even have an I-pad ( I do have an I-pod), and I don’t do real well with windows…

“You are not your thoughts and emotion.”  When I first began to deal with that reality, I found that I was very resistant.  After all, my thoughts and emotions seem to be what is most personal about me.  Besides, I needed to be in control and  have some understanding of what is going on inside…

I want to write one more blog regarding Lance Armstrong.  I am tempted to do more.  In this blog I would like to focus on Armstrong’s remarks regarding his oldest son, Luke, who is 13 years old.  I watched the interview.  This is the way that AP described the exchange regarding his son.  “Armstrong didn’t…

I have been thinking of the tragic story of Lance Armstrong  and the lessons his story can teach men.  As many of you know, he granted Oprah Winfrey a two hour interview, in which he talked of his “fall from grace.”  Armstrong, who overcame cancer and won seven Tour de France titles, which make him…

As I write this blog from the north woods of Minnesota, I realize that most of the men who are reading this blog with any kind of consistency, are located in busy urban areas, living a very busy life with family and career obligations.  I lived in that kind of context for many years as…