Wayfarer

I grew up being taught that freedom of speech means that we have the right to speak words that bite, that we sometimes have to hear words that bite (even if we don't want to hear them), and that sometimes we need words that bite. A chapter-a-day podcast from Amos 4. The text version can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Imelda Marcos was famous for her shoe collection, and I can attest to the thousands and thousands of pairs of shoes she had hoarded away in her palace. I saw them with my own eyes. It was something. A chapter-a-day podcast from Amos 3. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

What Amos does in these opening chapters is as shrewd as a street hustler working a literary sting . A chapter-a-day podcast from Amos 2. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

As I read today's chapter in the quiet this morning, I couldn't help but think of the prophet Amos as an Oliver Anthony of his day belting out his own version of Rich Men North of Richmond . A chapter-a-day podcast from Amos 1. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

A modern reader wonders why Paul didn't take on slavery as an issue of social justice. I have a couple thoughts. A chapter-a-day podcast from Colossians 4. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

A phrase I find myself using more and more is this: "If I really believe what I say I believe, then...." A chapter-a-day podcast from Colossians 3. The text version may be found and shared a tomvanderwell.com .

Along my spiritual journey, I've encountered a number of individuals and groups that hold what I consider to be wacky beliefs. A chapter-a-day podcast from Colossians 2. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In the quiet this morning, I'm enjoying some awe and wonder. A chapter-a-day podcast from Colossians 1. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

I learned a prescription for anxiety as a teenager that cost nothing, didn't require insurance, and had no negative side effects. A chapter-a-day podcast from Philippians 4. The text version can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Every day Jesus' followers in Philippi saw military retirees leveraging their Roman citizenship and affluence into a focus on making sure their waning days on earth were filled with an indulgence of earthly sensual appetites. Paul appeals to Jesus' followers that their citizenship was in Heaven, to which they would retire at the end of this earthly journey. A chapter-a-day podcast from Phi...

Attitude is a choice. A chapter-a-day podcast from Philippians 2. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

One of the things I continue to observe in many different pockets of our current culture is the refusal to say what one believes or knows out of fear of being ostracized or canceled. I see it happening in business, entertainment, politics, religion, as well as in science and education at every level. A chapter-a-day podcast from Philippians 1. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderw...

There is physical seeing and there is spiritual seeing. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 42. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Our grandson Milo quickly learned that Ya-Ya (Grandma Wendy) has this thing with sharks. So, of course, Milo always wants to read the creatures book and make Ya-Ya look at sharks. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 41. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

There is a scene in Bruce Almighty that regularly comes up in conversation between Wendy and me. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 40. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Like Jesus with His accusers, God refuses to answer Job's questions unless Job can answer His. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 39. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

There is a protocol for traditional, formal events. For example, the most "important" person on the program always speaks last. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 38. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

As a child, I was taught that holiness was basically synonymous with moral purity. That paltry misconception begs for a "holy shift." A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 37. The text version may be founds and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

I end this week with two lessons resonating in my soul. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 36. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Yesterday's post about a lesson from my divorce seemed to resonate with people. As I meditated on today's chapter of young Eli's continued know-it-all blather, there was another lesson from the days of my divorce that came to mind. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 35. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

It's been almost two decades since my first marriage ended. Back in those days there was quite a public stir around the divorce. I learned many things during that stretch of my life journey. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 34. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

As I sat and meditated on young Eli's self-proclaimed many words of wisdom, I found myself also contemplating Job's silence. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 33. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In the quiet this morning, I find myself contemplating wisdom. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 32. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Job's closing argument in today's chapter is actually a poetically beautiful summation in which Job makes seven "if" statements asserting his blamelessness. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 31. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Sometimes, life doesn't turn out like we envisioned. Wait a minute, scratch that. Life rarely turns out like we envisioned. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 30. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .