Sacrifices That Are No Sacrifice
I have always been extremely sensitive to those less fortunate than me. I think this started when my family took me to see our relatives in India when I was ten. On this trip, my eyes were painfully opened to so many living in abject poverty in that low-income country. I remember seeing homeless children wearing torn, dirty rags as their clothing coming up to our car asking for money ...
Sacrifices That Are No Sacrifice
I have always been extremely sensitive to those less fortunate than me. I think this started when my family took me to see our relatives in India when I was ten. On this trip, my eyes were painfully opened to so many living in abject poverty in that low-income country. I remember seeing homeless children wearing torn, dirty rags as their clothing coming up to our car asking for money ...
Sacrifices That Are No Sacrifice
I have always been extremely sensitive to those less fortunate than me. I think this started when my family took me to see our relatives in India when I was ten. On this trip, my eyes were painfully opened to so many living in abject poverty in that low-income country. I remember seeing homeless children wearing torn, dirty rags as their clothing coming up to our car asking for money ...
I Will Never Be Satisfied
Do you know that song “Satisfied” in the musical Hamilton that occurs about halfway through the first act? It’s sung by Angelica Schuyler, who is ...
Comparing Myself to Other Men
I am not going to lie – I definitely do it. I compare myself to other men. I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently ...
When You Need Help To Get Over the Hump
To this day, baseball is my favorite sport. And I’m thankful for the opportunity to play organized baseball when I was young – even though I wasn’t very good at all. For 4-7 year-old kids, ...
When You’re Being Tempted
Probably like every other kid in the entire world, my girl and boy love sweets. Maya is known to say “I don’t WANT food, I want treats and snacks and sweets!!” I just shake my ...
When Life is Moving Too Fast
Everyone who hears that we have a three-year-old and a one-year-old tells us that “they grow up so quickly” and to “take time to enjoy these moments” because they will be gone before we know ...
When Your Partner is in “Work Mode”
I met Rachel in 2013 while volunteering at a summer camp in Banner Elk, North Carolina. According to her, she started falling in love with me after seeing how I was with kids: playful, carefree, ...
What is the Point?
Do you find yourself asking this question? Maybe just to yourself, in your head? Or maybe, if you’re feeling vulnerable enough, to someone you know ...
The Three Keys to Intimacy
You want your romantic relationship to thrive, right? We all do. I’ve only been married for five years, but I feel like I’ve learned the ...
My Favorite Story of Childlike Faith
I try to live my life with the “faith of a child” that Jesus talks about – a faith that is innocent, full, expectant, and without suspicion or distrust in God’s goodness. Of course, this ...
When Your Heart is Being Tested
Tests are not fun. Really, they are the opposite of fun. Many nights in high school, I remember staying on the phone into the early morning hours with various friends trying to cram for an ...
When You Can’t Sleep at Night
A few of my friends recently are having trouble sleeping these days, and I’m praying for them hard because I have absolutely been there during extended times in my life. I've often felt the same ...
When the Door Opens and Lets the Future In
The other day, I stumbled upon a quote by British novelist Graham Greene which stated: "There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in." When reading a book, ...
But Do You Still Love Me?
Earlier this summer, I was putting my two-year-old Maya into her car seat when she hastily and forcefully pushed open the car door and scraped the door of our other car in the garage. This ...
Ignoring My Kid and Ignoring God
“Look, Daddy!!!!” “Are you watching?” “Pay attention, this is important!” “DAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” My just-turned-three-year-old Maya is the best. She’s always up to something: dancing and twirling around, climbing on furniture and banisters and countertops to test ...
Choker Necklaces, Beauty, and Relationships
Rachel recently ordered some choker necklaces. Why, you might ask? Because I absolutely love that look. It reminds me of my punk rock days, where all the emo girls would wear chokers with their heavy ...
Deathbeds, Regrets, and Lessons to Learn
Rachel’s granddad passed away recently. His name was Cliff Davis, and he almost made it to the ripe old age of 91. He lived with Grandma on the second level of Rachel’s parents’ home, and ...
What I’ve Learned in Five Years of Marriage
I didn’t know if it would ever happen – me meeting someone who was everything I ever wanted. And then I did, completely out of the blue, while I was serving at a summer camp ...
What Are You Fighting For?
In every great story, someone is fighting for what they believe in. Something dear to their heart. Something that is much bigger than their own life. When we think about our favorite movies, we recognize ...
Nobody cares. Work harder.
I recently saw this slogan on a t-shirt. It feels right, and is super inspiring. But is it a healthy mentality? Will it actually lead to the life I really want?
Do You Keep Your Word?
In my classes at the university, I sometimes give my students extra credit. Most of the time, it is specific to the subject matter I’m teaching, but occasionally I mix it up and ask them ...
When You Realize You’re Emotionally Unstable
I have been thinking a lot recently about being unstable. What seems to cause me to be unstable? Well, it’s going back and forth on things in my mind. So I’m not single-minded, I’m double-minded. ...
When You Want To Live a Great Story
Alright. What did I learn from the Storyline conference, if I consider how I've been living my life thus far, and how I want to make sure it is a great story? Well, the first ...
Viewing Your Life as a Story You Are Writing
Last weekend I attended Donald Miller's Storyline conference in San Diego. It was really, really good. All of the sessions were inspiring, and appropriately fit together to champion the theme of the weekend, and to ...
When You’re Sick of Doing Things Out of Obligation
I was thinking recently about the reasons why I do what I do. I mean, my daily, weekly, monthly activities. A few years ago, I made a commitment to myself to stop doing things out ...
When You’re Always Caring What Others Think
I've been thinking a lot recently how people have dreams, and they even feel those dreams are from God...and they let other people know about their dreams, and have full faith for them, and wait ...
Can We Connect?
Hey there! Can I update you via email when I write and post a new blog? I won’t spam you – I’m just trying to purposefully connect with those who share my heartbeat about believing for the best, living life with childlike faith, and viewing the world around us with awe and wonder.
Can We Connect?
Hey there! Can I update you via email when I write and post a new blog? I won’t spam you – I’m just trying to purposefully connect with those who share my heartbeat about believing for the best, living life with childlike faith, and viewing the world around us with awe and wonder.
Can We Connect?
Hey there! Can I update you via email when I write and post a new blog? I won’t spam you – I’m just trying to purposefully connect with those who share my heartbeat about believing for the best, living life with childlike faith, and viewing the world around us with awe and wonder.
