Wayfarer

I have a past orientation. I'm a lover of history and I've always had a freakish kind of memory. To this I can pull up a photo of my first grade class and tell you the name of pretty much every classmate. I could probably point out the house of where half of them lived. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 29. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

I can't find a single "it" influencer in popular culture on the cover of a book hawking the virtues of wisdom or the hidden traps of foolishness. No Oprah. Not even a Kardashian. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 28. The text version can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Job has the distinct flavor of an ancient Morality Play, but with the twist of a protagonist who finds himself having experienced the consequences of the fall without ever having chosen to succumb to any tempting vice. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 27. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Job’s suffering was perpetrated by the evil one. My suffering has largely been perpetrated by my own poor choices. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 26. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

It's easy to take the concept of sinfulness to an extreme and end up with "Worm Theology." A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 25. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

This life is filled with injustice. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 24. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

The Great Story also reveals that trials and sufferings are part of the process of spiritual formation and maturation. Job's acute spiritual myopia is simply a symptom of this process. Struggle is a natural part of the growth process. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 23. The text version can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

You know the old saying about when we assume: "It makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me.'" A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 22. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

One of the greatest things the book of Job has to teach me is how not to be when I find myself sitting with others in the midst of their suffering. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 21. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

I can't control every circumstance of this earthly life. Sometimes the wicked prosper and escape earthly justice. Sometimes the righteous and innocent unjustly suffer. It is what it is. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 20. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

On August 18th my family gathered at Glendale Cemetery in Des Moines to bury my mother's ashes.... A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 19. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

The demonization and scapegoating of others, especially those who are different or with whom we disagree, has long been a very human enterprise. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 18. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Along my life journey, I've known multiple individuals who have been given a terminal diagnosis. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 17. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Along life's journey, I've observed that it's in life's darkest moments that you learn who your true friends really are. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 16. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In the quiet this morning, I find myself pondering the two core questions that the story of Job has presented to humans for thousands of years. Why is it that sometimes the innocent suffer unjustly? Why is it that sometimes the wicked prosper unjustly? A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 15. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In his black-and-white thinking, Job is blinded to the spiritual gradient of growth that lies between. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 14. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In my head and heart are a number of things I would like to write about in greater length than a blog post. Perhaps a book, an essay, or an article. Let me tell you about one of them. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 13. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In today's chapter, Job continues to struggle with the "why" of his suffering. He wants to know why he is going through this painful stretch of his life journey. Job wants to pin the blame on something or someone. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 12. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

https://tomvanderwell.com/2023/08/08/relationship-communication/ By its very nature, relationship is built on the quality of communication between two parties. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 11. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I pondered Job's prosecution of God this morning as if I was a juror in his improvisational courtroom play. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 10. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Job sees the relationship between he and God as a chasm of irreconcilable differences. Job mourns that there is no mediator to bring the two sides together. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 9. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

All due respect to Job's friend, Bill, but in telling Job to take a backward glance to the past he has chosen to be carefully selective in his stated evidence so as to justify his simplistic conclusion. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 8. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Along my life journey, I have learned that I can brood with the best of brooders. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 7. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

There is always more to the story.... A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 6. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In reading the last half of Job's friend, Eli's, first discourse about Job's suffering, it felt kind of slimy from a relational human perspective. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 5. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .