Matt Gordon's Blog, page 2

Now

Remember that song “Fly Like an Eagle” (tolerable by Steve Miller, and tragic by Seal)? Well, sadly it just popped into my head. Namely the line:Time keeps on slippin’ (slippin’ slippin’) into the future.

I thought of this because today has been a day in which there just seems to be no time. Yesterday was like this, too. There are things I really want to get done–wedged between meetings and commitments–but that ever-slippery time is just sliding away, on into the future.

And that is often where...

Your Pink Hair Doesn’t Honor Your Mom, You Do

I tend to shy away from writing controversially for a number of reasons. First, I’m ill-informed. Shouting about any hot-button issue requires a decent knowledge-base. At least, it should. Too many people shout about too many things, without knowing much about said things; I don’t want to become that despite the temptation for page views. Because that is another thing–writing, posting, and tweeting in an adamant way (about nearly anything) can help you form a tribe. You will gain a lot of lik...

What You Think When You Think Your Plane is Going to Crash

I recall the first time I thought I was going to die. I was probably seven or eight and my family was driving in a big blue Astro van down a snowy interstate. My sisters and I were bundled in the back when the van hit a patch of ice and began sliding one way, then violently another, as my father jerked the wheel and let loose a torrent of fragmented obscenities. I threw my Ghostbusters sleeping bag over my head and wailed like a tormented banshee—I’m not sure why that was my chosen way of ent...

Diving In Deep, Deep, Deeper

I was emailing back and forth with a friend from childhood today, and a few things came to light. Here they are:

-His children are turning 7 and 4

-We are officially men

-Time went fast, and will continue to do so

-We’ll soon be officially old men

-My imminent death is speeding toward me

Okay, so yeah, I turned a joyous birthday announcement into the end of my existence here on earth, but there is truth in it, right? It may be considered morbid, but I don’t see it as such. I see it as true, but bey...

As Iron Sharpens Iron

“Iron sharpening iron” is a biblical concept (Proverbs 27:17) that mainstream society has seized hold of. In fact, the lead-in promo for the NBA All-Star game used this very quote in hyping up the game pitting league superstars against one another in the annual event. It is a verse that is known and used in businesses, leagues, retreats, military endeavors, and beyond.

But the thing about iron sharpening iron is that it is easier to say than to do. We like the sound of it–sure we do! We end up...

Always Gracious Speech

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you ought to answer each person. –Colossians 4:6

The Bible has some scary words—Hell, suffering, persecution are a few such words. But the word “always” in the above verse might take the cake. I mean, I’m pretty good at letting my speech be gracious on certain occasions—like at funerals or something. Yep, at a funeral I seldom let ungracious words, coarse joking, or empty talk escape my mouth—I hold it in the way my w...

Forgive Me

Despite the weather, I’m going to assume Spring is in the air. At my household this will mean several bouts of spring cleaning. This, for me, is a dreaded, dreaded time. In part, I loathe these elbow-grease scrubbing sessions because our home is utterly spotless. My wife is the cute female version (and one that doesn’t lose it later on with a mid-life crisis) ofDanny Tanner. All throughout the year we weekly engage—and by “we” I mean she—in spring cleaning, so sometimes it is hard for me to k...

Social Media, Part 2: Why Facebook is Awesome!

Yesterday, I posted a piece about the dangers of garnering my identity (my worth, value, stability, etc.) through social media. Promptly after posting, I received a message—via social media—from a dear friend, agreeing with some aspects of my thinking but reminding that 1) a lot of good comes from social media and 2) the things I described (such as envy, a ‘grass is greener’ mentality, etc.) are existent within the human psyche and always have been, regardless of social media.

On his points I...

My Facebook Flaws and Determination to Live (not Tweet, Post, or Link) My Life

I did a spin around a prominent social media site this morning. These trips are becoming less and less frequent. Briefer too. On talk radio yesterday, the host decried Facebook as a waste of time, and while I don’t completely agree with that—I’ve seen some pretty awesome pictures of my nephews via Facebook—he is moving toward something many of us have experienced. The problem with his position, though, is that, in many cases, it isn’t severe enough. Aside from staying in touch and sharing inf...

Loving My Wife Better

This weekend gave me the chance to be about as perfect a husband as I can be, simply through putting into practice some basic principles written in a letter nearly 2,000 years ago. In that letter, mailed to a place called Ephesus, Paul writes:

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word . . .

There is a lot in there, but a tidy way of breaking it down into practical piece...