“Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice” Happy Fathers Day. It’s days like today where I remember the wonderful examples and lessons that have been placed in my life through the memory of my father, Willem Lucas Plaat (5/31/57-7/29/07). Dad, thanks for everything you taught […]
“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” In doing quite a bit of thinking, I’ve decided to elaborate on some thoughts that have been sliced, diced, and pureed between myself and my brother, Mark. Mark and I have had many discussions about the battle of life we […]
When the fight begins within himself, a man’s worth something.” – Robert Browning, 1855 – I must be worth quite a bit, these days. See, there has been a large fight and inner-struggling going on within me; my mind has been facing reality and beginning to sum up just what is required to embark on […]
Psalm 1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like […]
“Then I remembered. I remembered watching life from the outside. I remembered wanting to live, but being afraid. It was as if there was a person inside me waiting to be born. He looked like me, but I knew he was very different. He would not be invisible. He would be more than just a […]
“People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that’s crap. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they’re afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us […]
“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him.” Sacrifice is a concept that has been wildly romanticized in our culture; Leo’s dying, blue body floating in the Atlantic as he gives up his life for the woman he […]
Off in the distance Bloodied but wise As you squint with the light of the truth in your eyes And I saw you Both hands were raised And I saw your lips move in praise And I saw you steady your gaze For the finish line Every idol like dust A word scattered them all […]
“Why do people persist in a dissatisfying relationship, unwilling either to work toward solutions or end it and move on? It’s because they know changing will lead to the unknown, and most people believe that the unknown will be much more painful than what they’re already experiencing.” I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about […]
“Hell begins on the day when God grants us a clear vision of all that we might have achieved, of all the gifts which we have wasted, of all that we might have done which we did not do” One of my largest gripes with the modern day church is that we have inadvertently separated […]