Solitude and Moving Towards Human Contact
I imagine many of you have seen articles, books, and podcasts on the current trend toward solitude in our culture. Robert Putnam wrote a book in 2000 entitled Bowling Alone and he was more recently interviewed on The Daily (July 13, 2024 – “Robert Putnam Knows Why...
Giving Thanks
Growing up, I had an aunt who was prosperous and generous. My family was not prosperous. When we would visit my aunt, or she would visit us, she would treat us to a meal out, which was always something special for us. Somehow our relationship with her became...
Banishing the Negative From Our Lives
In rapid succession this past weekend I saw two posts on Facebook – one an article from the Atlantic and another a post of a friend – advocating for eliminating the input of negative friends in our lives. The article was by Arthur Brooks from May 2021,...
Finality
In the past months, I have been unsubscribing from lists that are local to New Jersey. Two were community chat lists. One was a newsletter from my gym, where I am no longer a member. Each time I hit the “unsubscribe” button, I have registered tangible feelings of...
Bad Therapy
I have just finished reading Abigail Shrier’s second book Bad Therapy: Why the Kids aren’t Growing Up. One review of the book summarizes its message as “an investigation into how mental health overdiagnosis is harming, not helping, children.” Shrier is a journalist...
Moving Part 5 – Dwelling Place
Back in 1989, when we moved to 36 Jefferson Road, the parsonage that God provided for our family while we worked for Princeton Christian Fellowship, I wondered if I should order stationery. I mused that I had no idea how long we would live in that house and if it...