PaulStiver.com

One of the biggest differences about living in the social media age is that everything seems so immediate. Every news item we see becomes incredibly urgent, and we simply must comment on it! Having a smartphone in our hands means that whatever we are thinking at the time, we can immediately broadcast to the world. Typically I try to restrain myself from these kinds of reactionary posts, because as Proverbs 29:11 says: A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back. (ESV) However, as I was browsing Twitter today I read some tweets that were the match to the lighter fluid & match that ignited some of my thoughts and led me to my very first ever Twitter rant!  When I was done, I had written 7 tweets in the order below: Some of the ways a normative group suppresses others is to dismiss them as irrelevant, ridicule their points, or flat out make fun of them. How can you learn or understand one's experience in life if you won't even ...

Have you seen the ads for the new Ben & Jerry's product, Pint Slices? Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream In the history of the world, pretty much everything that's happens today has already happened in some way in the past. There isn't much new under the sun. The day is rare that a revolutionary idea comes along, the likes of which we haven't seen before. Ben & Jerry's has broken that mold - the Pint Slices seem like one of the greatest inventions in recent history. These things look like a dessert game-changer. It's all the explosion of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, IN HANDHELD FORM! Tired of not being able to eat a pint of ice cream while driving? PINT SLICES Tired of not being able to hold ice cream directly in your hand? PINT SLICES Tired of not having sliced ice cream chunks to eat? YOU GUESSED IT, PINT SLICES! This is truly a revolutionary dessert idea.  Every once in a while, an idea comes to the forefront of the America...

Birthday! When I was in 7th grade, I won our classroom spelling bee. Then I won the middle school spelling bee at St. Francis. I got a ride over to the Prairie River Middle School and up in a second floor library I won the city spelling bee for middle school kids. Later, I went with my mom to the Regional Spelling Bee - I think it was in Stevens Point, WI. And wouldn't ya know it, I won that spelling bee too. The spelling bee in Stevens Point holds a special memory for me, primarily because I didn't think I had done anything too special. But as the story goes, I got off stage having just won and walked up to my mom and she was in tears. I hadn't understood to that point that I could make my mom proud like that. I was probably 12 years old and it just hadn't dawned on me that an accomplishment like that could make my mom so proud. I was not expecting her to be crying tears of joy and pride that day. But it made my heart glad to know I had made her so proud. If y...

This past weekend, Allison and I traveled to Peninsula State Park in Door County, Wisconsin to run a half marathon. This marks the second time in my illustrious running career that I've run the Door County Half. In all I've done two marathons (Bay Shore - Traverse City, MI), 3 half-marathons, a 10K, and a bevy of 5Ks. One of my favorite things about running a race like this is the assortment of people that you see. In this weekend's race, there were people from all over the country with ages ranging from teenagers to men and women in their 70s. I find one of the most fascinating things about running a marathon is that everyone has a why. Everyone has a why - a reason or reasons why they are running the race. Running 13.1 miles for a half marathon, or 26.2 for a marathon is a big undertaking, so you're likely going to be doing it for a reason that's meaningful to you. This weekend gave me insight into some of the reasons why people might run these distance r...

As we enter into May, we enter into one of the most glorious times of the year: Grilling Season. In this beautiful image of charcoal flaming up for a grill, we can see some of the coals are in the pit but not catching the spark. Other coals are slowly but surely burning, sending low heat up into the air. Still other coals are ablaze, sending luxurious and potent heat into the cool sky above. This pit of charcoal showcases a representative image of all of us who are followers of Jesus Christ. (Have mercy, I know all analogies fall apart.) Often in our pursuit of Jesus and living out God's will, we Christians fall short. So many times we are only the outer coals, not drawing near to the source of the flame which is God the Holy Spirit. At other times, we are dwelling in middling proximity to the LORD, at our lives reflect a relative consistency. Yet still at other times, we find ourselves markedly ablaze, guided by God's hand and blessed by his power to live close to him...