The Wood's Secret Garden

A story based on memories of my dad.  (Names and details have been changed to protect both the innocent and the ignorant) Part 1 🍕 The Conversation: Around the Dinner Table "Hey guys, there is something that I have been meaning to talk to you about.  It's been on my mind for sometime now, especially as you’re all getting older and navigating middle school.  Perhaps, I should have brought this up even earlier.  It's hard to know these days. You’ve probably all heard stories or watched movies where people talk about finding their 'other half' or looking for someone to 'complete' them. It sounds romantic, but I am here to tell you that it’s a total myth. Here is the truth: None of you are missing puzzle pieces. And here is the other truth: There is no single, correct blueprint for who you are supposed to be. [Looks at his kids] Look at the three of you. Some of you are naturally loud, intense, and competitive. You want to win every board game, score every go...

Have We Built Our Own Tribunals? Or Just a Louder Mistake By Ernest DeJure Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. “Give us your keys,” they say, at the church door, “We’ll drive the mind that brought you to this floor.” Use your private mind to choose our holy sect, Then crush that very mind to keep our status checked. Use your judgment, seeker, to see that we are right, Then blow out your candle and trust our guided light. They curse the modern age, the lonely "me-and-God," And paint the individual as arrogant and flawed. They say the text belongs to the community's embrace, A corporate guardrail to keep you in your place. But ask them who decided which community is true, And the finger of the logic points right back to you. You must choose between the councils, the synods, and the popes, Weighing fallible tradi...