David Given Schwarm

Married, Father, United

St. John Climacus

Let us charge into the good fight with joy and love without being afraid of our enemies. Though unseen themselves, they can look at the face of our soul, and if they see it altered by fear, they take up arms against us all the more fiercely. For the cunning creatures have observed that we…
Aum

1. Aum2. Peace3. Patience4. Observe5. Reflect6. Comprehend7. Share8. Rehearsal9. Grow10. Love
30 Rungs to Spiritual Growth

1. On renunciation of the world 2. On detachment 3. On exile or pilgrimage; concerning dreams that beginners have 4. On blessed and ever-memorable obedience (in addition to episodes involving many individuals) 5. On painstaking and true repentance which constitutes the life of the holy convicts; and about the Prison 6. On remembrance of death…
Saint Germanos, Patriarch of Constantinople, 715-730

When we look on an icon of a saint–and this is true for every icon of a saint–we venerate not the panel or the paint but the pious and visible figure.
Colossians 2, 8

See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world 3 and not according to Christ.
St. Justin Popovich

In Christianity truth is not a philosophical concept nor is it a theory, a teaching, or a system, but rather, it is the living theanthropic hypostasis – the historical Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Before Christ men could only conjecture about the Truth since they did not possess it. With Christ as the incarnate divine Logos…
Panda Express, Cypress

YOU WILL DO BETTER IN REAL ESTATE THAN IN STOCKS
Curse of the Golden Flower

Dave and I saw this at the University Art theater yesterday. I thought it was going to be Crouching Tiger 2.0–instead it was a much more arty exploration of vengeance. There was some good kung-fu & ninjas and stuff, but it was more about the inner workings and intrigues of this extremely psychedelic Chinese castle.…
Pirates of the High Seas

Lisa, Jack, Kate, my Mom, and I went to see this kids classical concert at the New Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. It is not that new, but the have added a new sculputure since I was last there in November. The sculputure is horrible and actually detracts from the awesome architecture. Additionally, they…
Flushed Away

Saw this with Lisa, Jack, & Kate. Lindsay & Scott were in the theater–which was completely filthy with trash (it had not been cleaned all day). The movie was good–the soundtrack was better–the Dandy Warhols were actually used! The character Sid was fantastic, a rude gutter rat who moves in–very comical and meaningful to the…