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Jason Lief

Essay

Wide Left

Fifty some seconds left in the game, down by one point. The ball is on the eight or nine yard line, it's fourth down, and we have a kicker that's great from 55 yards, erratic everywhere else. My first inclination was to go into the…
Jason Lief
January 15, 2016
Essay

Light a Candle for Doubt

A student asked to talk to me after class recently. "I'm not sure I buy it." "Buy what?" I asked. "Christianity. I'm not sure I believe the stories. They don't make much sense. I don't  go to church; I just can't believe this stuff it…
Jason Lief
December 4, 2015
Essay

First Snow

There's nothing like the feeling of waking up in the morning and looking outside to find the world blanketed in white. There's an excitement in the air: kids, parents, even the pets, are buzzing, everyone listening to the radio for school to be canceled. The…
Jason Lief
November 20, 2015
Biblical StudiesEssayTheology

Fargo: The Call to Abide

On the recommendation of a colleague, my wife and I started watching the TV series Fargo. Loosely based on the film of the same name, the show is a hodgepodge of Coen brothers films. Set in Bemidji, MN, the show follows Lester Nygaard, an insurance…
Jason Lief
November 6, 2015
Essay

The Beauty of Baseball Part II

For today's post I simply ask that you click on this link and read a wonderful story about failure and grace. More specifically, it's a story about a blown call during the 1985 World Series that some (Cardinals fans) say gave the World Series title to the Kansas City Royals. Fitting,…
Jason Lief
October 23, 2015
Essay

Ordinary Dust

Tuesday morning I entered the classroom with a strange, nagging, feeling.  I couldn't shake it... the feeling that things weren't going to go well. I asked the students to read the first chapter of Christopher Hitchens' book God is Not Great so we could talk about Descartes, modernity,…
Jason Lief
October 9, 2015
Essay

Sophie and Francis

Two students, two separate occasions, both brought to tears with just a simple question: “How are you doing?” I really don’t seek out people’s problems… they just break in. It’s what happens when life overwhelms, especially for new students trying to figure out college life.…
Jason Lief
September 25, 2015
Essay

Bob’s Bar

A couple of Fridays ago some friends and I took the hour long trip to an off the beaten path "dive bar" in Nebraska—Bob's Bar in Martinsburg, Nebraska. As you can see in the photo above it's not much to look at from the outside. Even when…
Jason Lief
September 11, 2015
Essay

I Want to Ride My Bicycle (Not Really)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncQsBzI-JHc Two days ago I bought a bike. Not just any bike... a road bike. I already have a nice tool around town, stuff in a basket, professorish bike. But I have a bad leg, I'm getting older, and I had to move the wrong way with…
Jason Lief
August 14, 2015