By: Esther Edwards on February 8, 2023
In 2017, my husband began having pain while running. The doctors dismissed it but as it continued to get worse, tests were taken and concluded that Keith had bladder cancer. Within minutes our family was googling bladder cancer and every statistic possible to inform us of what might be our future. We breathed a sigh…
By: Cathy Glei on February 8, 2023
In all honesty, when I first read the title, my heart sank and a bit of math phobia was reactivated. In 1990, Ray Hembree, from Adrian College, conducted a meta-analysis of 151 studies concerning math anxiety. The study determined that math anxiety is related to poor math performance on math achievement tests and to negative…
By: Kally Elliott on February 8, 2023
I got a D in statistics in college. Yep. I tell you that because several of you have admitted your own inadequacies when it comes to math and statistics. To be fair to me, my statistics class was at 8am in winter quarter in Davis, CA where between tule fog and rain it was always…
By: Jenny Dooley on February 7, 2023
When I read the title of the book for this week’s blog post I cringed. I’m not very good with numbers. When I went to my bookshelf to retrieve, How to Read Numbers, by Tom Chivers and David Chivers it was not there. I hadn’t purchased the book! Maybe I was in denial and holding…
By: Jennifer Vernam on February 7, 2023
“He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people…We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel.”[1] In reviewing the dialogue that Jesus’ followers unwittingly had with him after his resurrection, Oswald Chambers writes: “Every fact that…
By: Scott Dickie on February 6, 2023
I know what you are all thinking about my title: “Scott, without giving us your IQ number, we can’t determine how much smarter you have actually become.” Fair point, and one that you might not have identified as deficient quite as quickly if you hadn’t engaged with this intriguing book. Many of us are familiar…
By: Tim Clark on February 6, 2023
When someone quotes a statistic in a conversation with me, I’ve been known to respond: “Did you know that 78% of all statistics are made up on the spot?” What varies is that I make up a different number, every time, on the spot. It’s a slightly sarcastic way to let them know that I’m…
By: John Fehlen on February 6, 2023
I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was about 30 years old, had been a senior pastor for 3 years, and God was doing good things in our ministry. I was asked to preach at what would be the largest gathering of people that I had ever been in front of. It was…
By: Kim Sanford on February 5, 2023
I’ve just turned over the last page of How to Read Numbers; I’m vacillating between writing a cheerful blog post or a doomsday one. On one hand, that was a delightful read. Tom Chivers and David Chivers explain a complicated topic in a very approachable way. The sprinkling of dry humor and clever examples didn’t…
By: Travis Vaughn on February 5, 2023
“Your football team is always playing on primetime!” That’s what my Bears-loving friend and fellow ministry leader from Chicago told me last fall. Being a long-time Kansas City Chiefs fan, my response was: “Really? Well, it’s about time!” Of course, his statement didn’t set well with me. I mean, did he really conduct the necessary…
By: Russell Chun on February 5, 2023
လူဝင်မှုကြီးကြပ်ရေး စာမေးပွဲ (pronounced ) luuwainmhukyeekyautrayy hcarmayypwal (say that 10 times fast) Means – Immigration Quiz in Myanmar (Burmese) ….and with that BEGIN! Immigration Quiz: (answers at the end of my comments). 1) 1 in 3 businesses in _____are owned by immigrants. Although they make up about 24% of the population, 32.2% of all businesses in the…
By: Noel Liemam on February 5, 2023
Self-Reflection Ups, downs and pushing forward is how I felt I should do in this journey. Since being accepted into this program, I was so thankful with this privilege and cannot wait to start. As I started, I kind of realize that this format is so foreign to me, sometimes I contemplate giving in, and…
By: Jana Dluehosh on February 3, 2023
This last Wednesday was Feast of Saint Brigid, both a Celtic pagan festival and a Saints Day for the Irish Catholic Church. “Rites of initiation and installation, then, teach the lesson of the essential oneness of the individual and the group: seasonal festivals open a larger horizon;” [1]. This feast day and festival is for…
By: Dinka Utomo on February 3, 2023
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frighten us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of…
By: Todd E Henley on February 2, 2023
Webster’s dictionary defines a hero as: a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability b: an illustrious warrior c: a person admired for achievements and noble qualities d: one who shows great courage [1] According to Mr. Webster we are all heroes in some type of way.…
By: Esther Edwards on February 2, 2023
Knowing that Campbell grounded himself in the teachings of Jung and Freud, gave me the first clue that this was going to be an interesting read. As I waded through begrudgingly, I honestly was thankful for the gift of inspectional reading since I found Campbell getting lost in the weeds of his own thinking, leaving…
By: Pam Lau on February 2, 2023
When I was a young girl growing up in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, I spent endless hours playing outside in the woods behind our house. Most times I was with the neighborhood children exploring the trails, paths, lakes and forests building forts and, if we were lucky, collecting turtles. If I wasn’t out exploring the…
By: Adam Harris on February 2, 2023
Wow. Where to begin with Joseph Campbell’s, The Hero With A Thousand Faces? This is one of those books that has been on my radar for years after reading The Power of Myth, but I never quite got around to reading this one. It is dense, complex, and pulls together multiple fields of study to…
By: Mathieu Yuill on February 1, 2023
I was excited to tackle the reading this week. I’m a StoryBrand[1] Guide and use the hero’s journey as one of the introductory workshops we take clients through at my marketing and communications company, Leading With Nice., when we onboard them. I was familiar with Joseph Campbell’s[2] work the same way a lifelong Christian might…
By: Scott Dickie on February 1, 2023
I find myself genuinely conflicted as I engage with Joseph Campbell’s concept of a Hero’s Journey. As a result, this blog is a bit of a dog’s breakfast! As an evaluation and summary of global mythological stories and the similar journeys each hero takes, it is clearly a distinguished work. As a sociological concept suggesting…
