C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

This may be a bit of an odd post.  It's basically whatever is simply swirling around in my head at the moment.  I will try my best to make sense of it.  Not for me.  It makes sense for me, however abstract it might be.  But for you. I've often felt that what makes us good, makes us bad, as well.  Let me explain... A Saint Who Wasn't When I was accepted into the Orthodox Church (or, as the Orthodox refer to it, the One Holy, Catholic, and Orthodox Church), baptized, and then chrismated, I took Saint Christopher as my patron Saint.  It made sense to me, since my parents had given me the name Christopher (after the very same saint, Christopher the Christ-Bearer).  (They also gave me two other middle names, one of them being Stuart, for those of you who actually give a damn.  Hence, the name C.S.)  But Christopher is not the saint I would have originally chosen.  No, that honor would have gone to Saint David, or the Prophet David, to be precise.  (Unlike the Roman Catho

Happy July 4 th Weekend Ramblings      Yesterday was July 4 th , so my wife Tara and I traveled to my parents’ house to meet some of our family, eat a lot of BBQ—I smoked a butt, several slabs of ribs, and some sausage yesterday; all excellent mass-building, strength-inducing foods—and play a tournament of “washers [1] .”      On the way to my parents, Tara and I listened to XM radio, as we usually do.   My listening preferences are heavy metal and/or alternative music [2] .   Hers are stuff a little more mainstream—pop and country.   She tolerates, even likes, some alternative music, but doesn’t care one whit for metal, and so we decided on a compromise by listening to “the Pulse”, a station that plays some pop music and some radio-friendly alternative.   I immediately changed stations, however, once Maroon 5 started singing one of their recent releases, and one of their more popular hits.      “I thought you liked Maroon 5,” Tara said.   She was slightly anno

Life Lessons Learned from Lifting      In my life, I have learned much from people and from paths.   My life is not my own.   It belongs to God, and to those that have molded me.   My life is fleeting and temporal—as are all of our lives.   All men die, but many do not live as they were meant to.   I can only thank those that taught me well, that my life will not have been a complete waste.      From my father, I learned of decency, a mild temperament, kindness to others, and the value for a man to attain a scholarly mind.      From my mother: piety, morality, and the ways in which a woman should behave.      From my uncle Kirk: that austerity, toughness, and raw strength in a man can be balanced with tenderness and love—that a man can be a man and still cry as much as he needs.      From my friends Chad, Josh, and Puddin’: that it is okay—even necessary—to tell another man how much you love him.      From my children, Matthew and Garrett: how to love another as uncondi