Through the course of my life's work, there have been many moments in which I have been confronted with death. Perhaps this has made me more melancholy as I age; however, there is for me a realization that many of these places - difficult as they may be, are sacred spaces or "thin places" as the Celtic people use to call them. Thin places were those places where heaven and earth seemed to touch - there is a solemnity to many of these moments and sometimes there is a strange sense of relief, even joy for those that are present when someone they love dies. In more recent years, there have been several babies and young children whom I have

If you are part of the CrossTraining or Colorado Rapids community, we have been praying for a former player and his wife and their three children that were recently born. Today, one of the babies, a girl, died from complications. The other two are clinging to life in the neonatal unit and there are many prayers that are being said on their behalf and for this husband and wife. For my own family, we have wept tears in knowing that this couple have lost a child. In these times, as people of faith, we are confronted with the question of, What do we do with the enigma of unanswered prayers? For some, unanswered prayers can become a breaking point of one's

The other day at the stadium, one of the Colorado Rapids staff members said, "Thanks for the luck!" The team had just scored a couple of goals against an important rival and looked to win it's first game of the season. The comment reminded me of the superstition that surrounds much of professional sport - from the player wearing the same socks game after game or makes the sign of the cross before entering the field of play to the coach or executive that hires certain staff or makes certain business decisions in order to keep "luck" on their side. A few years ago, after the Colorado Rapids had won the Major League Soccer Cup (2010) a member of the

I had the privilege of attending portions of the recent ID camp held for Colorado high school student athletes at Valor Christian High School this past week. The camp was put on to give students and college coaches an opportunity to be observed in hopes of receiving scholarships or invitations for possible openings on college teams. Of the 100-some students and 25- some college coaches participating in the event, there was an air of  anticipation and hope  - perhaps this might be an opportunity to receive an offer from a college to study and play the sport that they had come to love. As I reflected further, I was reminded of the life of Jesus and his own ID'ing that

On the last day of 2013, there is occasion to pause for reflection. There is much debate around looking backward in order to move forward in our culture. Some criticism - that the only reason we look back is so that we can make more efficient our practice or modernize our mechanistic attitude. Some wisdom - that we ought to learn from mistakes and strive to not repeat them, to teach our children how to overcome them. Some practical application - goal-setting, resolutions, and the like. Some fantastical dreaming - see above. In looking back and contemplating 2013, there are several poignant moments (notice I didn't use the word highlights) for 2013 that have shaped and framed 2013 as its