Radically Happy

  • Partially Excerpted Conversation: Levels of Emergence

    This is an expanded excerpt from the emergence discussion from the Partially Examined Life Citizen Commons.  We studied the classic More is Different: Broken Symmetry and the Hierarchical Nature of Science by P.W. Anderson.  Their discussion software butchered my reply, so I figured I should clean it up by reposting it…

  • The Virtue and Emotion Pride

    One of the most controversial aspects of Knight Club is that it treats pride (“By Myself”) like anger (“Not Fair”): an emotion which is prone to sin, but is not necessarily a sin — and can even be a virtue. While it is true that the vast majority of Bible…

  • Becoming a Whole Christian

    I want to be a Whole Christian. I want to love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength, and be part of a worshipping community with others who do. I want to love my brothers and sisters the way…

  • An Ode to My Personal Trainer

    For Steve Hernandez. One day after the first workout: I hate you. You make me do things I don’t want to do. My muscles ache.  My joints creak.  My steps are slow. I feel ten years older. One month after the first workout: I feel ten years younger. My muscles are stronger.…

  • Superhero Workout

    Here is the SUPERHERO WORKOUT we did for the last few Knight’s Club meetings. THOR- Arm Circles FLASH- Run in place SUPERMAN- Super Jumps SPIDERMAN- Spider Walks WOLVERINE- Scissor Jump Claws HULK- Wall Smash IRON MAN BLASTS- Side Lunge and Punch CAPTAIN AMERICA- Duck, Step, Dodge INVISIBLE TORCH- Side Jumps

  • Meet the Dragons of Knight Club

    The great challenge of manhood is learning to harness our emotions to serve a good purpose. As I mentioned earlier, I believe we need to harness (not slay) these Four Dragons of Manhood: Desire, Fear, Anger & Pride.  Here’s a more comprehensive summary of my current understanding: Dragons Color Green Yellow…

  • “Who is God and What Does He Want?” Preschool Theology, Book I

    My goal for this summer is to turn my 36-week Bible study “Growing Church Leaders” into a three-volume series of picture books for my preschoolers.  Here’s my first cut at text for the first one, “Think Biblically”, written one tweet at a time:

  • Knight Club #1: 4 PM, Sat June 16 at Newhall Park, San Jose

    Calling all Fathers and Sons: Rohan and Davey invite you to join us in a couple weeks for “Knight Club” – a time of physical and spiritual exercise for boys and dads* 4 PM to 5:30 PM Saturday, June 16th Newhall Park, San Jose (the corner of Newhall Street and Campbell Avenue)…

  • The Knight’s Chant: The Promise of Holiness

    I AM A KNIGHT (fist straight up in the air) KNIGHTS DO WHAT’S RIGHT (pound fist in hand) I KNOW WHAT’S RIGHT (salute) I WANT WHAT’S RIGHT (fist over heart) I CAN DO WHAT’S RIGHT (fist forward) WE ARE STRONG (make muscles) WE USE OUR STRENGTH (hands on waist) TO…

  • Knight Club: How to Ride a Dragon

    Yesterday I gave my son Rohan (age 3 and 5/6ths) a set of colored dragons and attempted to explain my four-dimensional system for emotional maturity.  He grasped the basic idea quite quickly, though I had to modify some of the terms (e.g., “Obedience” instead of “Humility”). Dragon Spurs Reins Fear…

  • Knight Club: Moral Authority and the Fourth Dragon

    One of the ways I tackle “wicked problems” is by exploring different possible answers in order to help clarify the essential question. My posts on flying and mastering the dragons of manhood have been useful in helping me recognize that the two main questions Knight Club is trying to answer are:…

  • Knight Club: Flying the Dragons of Anger, Fear, & Desire

    In my previous post, on mastering the three dragons of manhood, I discussed the ideal masculine character as harnessing the: Red Dragon of Anger Green Dragon of Fear Gold Dragon of Desire In this post, I want to explore using anger to go fast, fear to go straight, and desire to…

  • Knight Club: Mastering the Three Dragons of Manhood

    In Sheila Walsh’s Will, God’s Mighty Warrior, there’s a scene where Will and his buddy Josh are pretending to be on a quest against monstrous beasts. They run into Will’s large English sheepdog. Josh is starting to defend himself, but Will assures his friend that “I have tamed this wild creature,…

  • Knight Club: The Vicious Virtues

    I often feel I owe my success more to my “vices” than to my “virtues.” What is a virtue? What is a vice? Impatience Anger Rebelliousness Restlessness Infatuation Daydreaming Desire Goofing Off Subversive Activity Laziness Quitting Boredom Fighting Delusions of Grandeur Society — especially school, but the church is arguably worse…

  • Knight Club: Levels of Love

    The first rule of Knight Club: you must talk about Knight Club. In the comments on my first Knight Club post, my friend Jor Bratko talks about “raising adults”, and points out that: the legitimacy of my authority like all legitimate authority comes from love: the care of the other…

  • Knight Club: The Knight’s Code

    The following is based on 1 – Introduction – The Training of a Knight – Age of Chivalry – Thomas Bulfinch, adapted surprisingly little to match the challenges of a preschool boy in modern America. Knights: Respect their elders Serve the church Help their friends Protect the weak I added the…

  • Knight Club: Where Fathers and Sons Learn to Win Life’s Most Important Battles

    Recently our church has been wrestling with what it means to be “missional” — a family on mission together.  My wife and I have been struggling with the same question, particularly with regards to raising our precocious (and sometimes rebellious) 3-and-5/6ths year-old son Rohan.  I knew he needed to be…

  • Partially Examined Assumptions from PEL #46: Plato on Ethics & Religion

    Dear Partially Examined Life podcasters, Like Skepoet, I was very impressed by your recent episode on Plato’s “Euthyphro.”  And yes, Seth, I deeply appreciated your perspective on Judaism. In particular, it helped me realize that modern Christianity in practice actually functions the way you describe Judaism (with decisions made by a…

  • Partially Examined Questions

    Dear Mark, Seth, and Wes, Thanks for the shout out on the The Partially Examined Life blog. First of all, I want to apologize for my snarky and apparently misleading comments on your Facebook page; let me know when I’ve expended $10 worth of annoyance and I’ll make another donation. 🙂 Now that…

  • Falling Up

    I am falling, falling. It is neither hot not cold, I feel nothing. I see nothing. Just falling, falling. Down, down, down… I wake up. I am lying on my back in a field of wild grass. The smell of earth fills my nostrils. The air is warm, springlike. The…