Watch Your Step

/
Watch Your Step

Today is Tuesday.  On Tuesday mornings, I run.  This morning while I was running with my partner in crime/running buddy on St. Charles, I rolled my foot on a small patch of grass on the streetcar line.  I kept going because I wasn’t in any pain and I felt fine —  well, you know, besides the fact that it is a million degrees in New Orleans, even at 6am — but I was fine.  Or so I thought.  

I did my normal morning routine and went to the office.  I had a two-hour conference call this afternoon and when I stood up from my desk, I was overwhelmed with pain — it hurt to put any pressure on my foot.  (It should be noted that I am a person with a high pain tolerance, but y’all, this pain was next level.)  I limped to my car at the end of the day and was hopeful that the pain would be gone by the time I got to the coffee shop where I was meeting my friend.  Nope.  The pain had actually gotten worse — even while sitting — so there goes that optimism.  Fast forward a few hours to the present and I am sitting on my couch, my foot propped up, and an ice pack and a set of crutches nearby.   

Read More

Woe to You

/
Woe to You

Jesus always had a disdain for the religious. It wasn’t because they believed the wrong things. The religious often believed the right things. However, their beliefs failed to transform the way they lived. Matthew 23 provides a snapshot into one moment in the final week of Jesus’s life. He was nearing the cross, but while in Jerusalem Jesus had a run-in with the religious leaders. In Matthew 23, Jesus vehemently attacks the Pharisees and religious leaders. He tells the people, “practice and observe what they tell you—but do not do what they do” (Matthew 23:3). But why? Jesus clearly explains: “For they preach, but do not practice” (Matthew 23:3). The pharisees were known for treating people poorly. They were also known to practice their piety purposefully in front of people so that other people would see them and honor them for their work. For the rest of Matthew 23, Jesus condemns the pharisees, calling them hypocrites.

Read More