The Expansion Chamber

  I used to think I was the funniest person I know. Not anymore. Pranks are funny, but only in context. Like, hitting someone in the face with a water balloon on their wedding day because they sprayed you with a squirt gun when you were twelve. Not funny. That's easy to see. Careless words are equally harmful, even in jest, but sometimes it's more difficult to understand the harm they may have caused. I once asked a very wise person how to make amends for careless words and they told me that it was hard and they were like a 'thousand little paper cuts'. Ouch.  So here I sit, at 1:30am doing my best because I can't sleep until I get this one out of me. 2 if you have been trapped by the words of your lips,  ensnared by the words of your mouth, 3 then do this, my son, to free yourself,  for you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:  Go, humble yourself, a and press your plea with your neighbor. 4 Allow no sleep to your eyes  or slumber to your eyel...

When our kids were little, we lived in Washington DC. For twelve years, we'd pack all five of us and our two weeks worth of Christmas luggage in anticipation of our trip to Colorado to celebrate Christmas. The first year, we booked travel on Northwest Airlines from DC Regan through Detroit or Minneapolis. It was a staggering $589 for all of us to travel, round trip. For the next 5 years without fail, we'd have a 2-4 hour delay, miss the connection and get vouchers for 5 more round-trip tickets from sympathetic gate agents. No really, they actually existed back in the 1900's. The reoccurring punishment wasn't worth it at the time, but by the very next trip, we'd forgotten all about the screaming, snot and vomit and happily began the terrifying journey all over again.  Except for 1991. That was the one year we stayed in Washington DC. We were living on Benton Street, right off Massachusetts Ave in Georgetown. It was a magical time in our faith journey. We'd found ...