Frederica has an essay in this month’s “Sacred History” in which she was asked to write about Orthodox church history in America. I think this is an excellent overview of the state of things right now with regard to ethnic churches and convert churches and the slow process of establishing an American Orthodox church.
Deep […]

Probably everyone has heard that Abdul Rahman, the Christian convert in Afghanistan who was facing a death sentence if he wouldn’t recant his faith, has been extradited to Italy. Anyway, you can read about it here.
But apparently, there are other Christians in Afghanistan that are still in trouble.

And, annoyingly enough, TIME magazine has chosen to […]

I almost forgot. This is the ceramic tile I did on the cruise. I’ve taken to trying to figure out my own logo for the cruises, and I decided to go with the basics for this one. I figured I was bound to see parrots and monkeys and lizards and rum, and bingo! I got […]

Here’s the link to the Yahoo slideshow of the pictures. The weather really cooperated with us — it only started to rain when we were leaving. Very convenient!

Home again after what I guess they call the “south Caribbean” cruise — from Puerto Rico to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, Sint Maarten and St. Thomas. These are the kinds of places made for amateur photographers, because every snapshot looks like a postcard.
And these are the kind of people that the brochures all say “They’re […]

Thought I’d mention that this cruise ship fire wasn’t on our boat. And I’m darn happy about that.

Having given all sorts of caveat emptor disclaimers to the idea of going on the vacation cruises, I thought I should present something of the other side of the story. So, on the plus side

You get to visit a lot of places that would be more expensive to go see individually. Yes, it’s true that […]

Steven’s comment made me think that there might be some benefit to passing along a couple quick thoughts for those who are thinking about taking a cruise but don’t know if it’s a good idea. (It’ll have to be quick because I’m paying 35 cents a minute for this. Eek!)

Things to think about:

What is your […]

Greg and I are off again, and so I’ll either blog more or less for the next week and a half. It sort of depends if I can find the time and don’t mind paying what the cruise ships charge for the internet access. This one ought to be kind of fun, so I hope […]

Spiritual obedience is necessary in daily life. Prefer the will of another to your own. Accept with a positive attitude everything your spiritual father, or your brother or sister, asks of you. In this way, little by little an atmosphere will be created iwthin you and around you in which your heart will become very […]