Not feeling pain may seem like a blessing, but it does serve a purpose. There are people who can't feel pain. Not emotional pain, but physical pain. Those who have been diagnosed with the extremely rare genetic disorder (there are only 17 people diagnosed in the U.S.), congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA), have lost their use of ... [Read More…]

Not feeling pain may seem like a blessing, but it does serve a purpose. There are people who can't feel pain. Not emotional pain, but physical pain. Those who have been diagnosed with the extremely rare genetic disorder (there are only 17 people diagnosed in the U.S.), congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA), have lost their use of ... [Read More…]

Coffee. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I buy it and sometimes I find it for free - the best mornings are when I find it for free. However, this particular morning I paid $2 for a cup of vanilla hazelnut from Einstein Bros. Bagels. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, but it was still $2. And 33.9 oz. of Folgers is still going to run you about ... [Read More…]

For the Republican Party, an ominous case of déjà  vu could be a threat to the party's White House aspirations in 2012. A Gallup poll released Friday shows former candidate and current talk show host Mike Huckabee is the top presidential choice among potential GOP voters for 2012. However, the Gallup poll, along with a poll from Politico, reveals ... [Read More…]

In the past two weeks I have had photographers come to three of my classes to take pictures of me. OK, maybe not me specifically, but they were there and they were taking pictures for marketing purposes and the university's website. I found that many people have an adverse reaction to the thought of their picture being taken, while others sit up ... [Read More…]

As soon as kids are old enough to talk, we start asking them what they want to be when they grow up. It's just one of those questions that comes up. But I've met many 20-year-olds who don't know what they want to do for a living, so I don't know why we expect five-year-olds to articulate their life's calling. The following is a list, in ... [Read More…]

This spring break, I went to Chicago on a spring break campaign. I originally had gone as a favor to a friend who needed somebody older than 21 to drive a van, but at the end of the trip, I was so glad I went - not because of the generic tourist stuff, but because of how I felt God's presence in the work we did. Granted, I did go to the Sears ... [Read More…]

On a shelf in the corner of my living room rests a picture frame with an old photograph: A gaggle of gangly girls posed cheerfully alongside a creek. Several squint through wire-framed glasses, a couple of smiles glitter through the wiry confines of braces and ankle socks set the scene. And everyone in the picture sports a matching tie-dyed ... [Read More…]