The Dilemma of Distracted Parenting
It is nonstop when I am with them. “Look at me, Daddy!” “Watch me, Daddy!” “Daddy come over here!” “Daddy, are you listening?” “Daddy, will you play with me?” “Hey…. Hey…. Hey… Hey DAD!!!!!”. I get it. It makes sense. They want my attention. But even more, they want me to delight in them – no matter what it is they are doing. Sometimes it’s bellyflopping from the love seat ...
The Dilemma of Distracted Parenting
It is nonstop when I am with them. “Look at me, Daddy!” “Watch me, Daddy!” “Daddy come over here!” “Daddy, are you listening?” “Daddy, will you play with me?” “Hey…. Hey…. Hey… Hey DAD!!!!!”. I get it. It makes sense. They want my attention. But even more, they want me to delight in them – no matter what it is they are doing. Sometimes it’s bellyflopping from the love seat ...
The Dilemma of Distracted Parenting
It is nonstop when I am with them. “Look at me, Daddy!” “Watch me, Daddy!” “Daddy come over here!” “Daddy, are you listening?” “Daddy, will you play with me?” “Hey…. Hey…. Hey… Hey DAD!!!!!”. I get it. It makes sense. They want my attention. But even more, they want me to delight in them – no matter what it is they are doing. Sometimes it’s bellyflopping from the love seat ...
What I’ve Learned in Seven Years of Marriage
Rachel told me a while back that the seventh year of marriage is supposedly the hardest, with statistics showing that half of married couples who ...
What I’ve Learned in Six Years of Marriage
Hooray! Happy Anniversary to me! To Rachel! To us! That also means it’s time to share what I have been learning in marriage! Yep, the ...
Keeping First Things First
With the new year upon us, I've been thinking a lot about keeping first things first. It's so hard when the tyranny of the urgent pulls us in all sorts of directions, and we go ...
If You Can’t Measure It, It Doesn’t Matter
I am re-reading a book I love by Sara Hagerty, and the author brought up a point that I wanted to try to think through. She said that many of us hold a belief that ...
Obsessing Over the Stock Market
I am not sure if you’ve followed the stock market this year, but it has been a wild ride. In January and early February, we were approaching record highs in the major indexes. Then COVID-19 ...
The Desire To Be Loved
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is…weird. Everything builds up to a zenith on December 25th – which is a great day – but then it ends. And we find ourselves suspended in mid-air ...
Working Yourself To Death
I was reading a paper recently entitled “Spending in Retirement: Determining the Consumption Gap” that talked about how retirees are dying with more money than ...
The Most Beautiful Sight You’ve Seen
We’re up in Southwest Virginia for the holidays, and God gave us snow on the night of Christmas Eve! The miraculous part of it was ...
Why I Love Christmas
Merry Christmas everyone! This special day allows me to reflect on Jesus, his celebrated birth, and all that He means to me and my family. And the day itself has become even more fun since ...
Childhood Moments I Miss the Most
When I was in elementary school, I used to entertain myself in the oddest of ways. I remember taking a a ruler and a fine sharpie marker and drawing a compass (like, the kind you ...
Want a Mentor? Be a Mentor
You may know that I’ve been hoping and praying for a older, wiser mentor in my life for decades. Someone who has walked the road I am on, who sees something unique in me and ...
Wishing My Life Away
As you know, I have been thinking about how I’ll never be satisfied. And that all of the beautiful things I've gone after – romantic love, success, pleasure, adventure, money, clout – won’t ever fully ...
Do I Fully Trust My Partner?
With Christmas fast approaching, I was thinking about the relationship between the parents of Jesus. We don’t know much at all about Joseph from historical texts, but English translations convey that he was a carpenter ...
Are You Preparing for the Future?
Every fall, it’s hurricane season down here in Southeast Florida - which serves as an annual reminder that disaster could be headed my way. I’ve had to deal with four major hurricanes while I’ve lived ...
The Bad Stuff I Model To My Kid
You might not know this about me, but I get frustrated frequently. Not with my job, or marriage, or even other people, but with small stuff. Like when one-year-old Ravi throws his food on the ...
Never Trust a Leader Without a Limp
Have you heard this quote, or one of its variations? Originally made by John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard church movement which has spread across 95 countries and involves over 2,000 congregations, it is ...
The Best Days of Our Lives
I have been doing a lot of walking down memory lane recently. Every night while trying to fall asleep, I take these voyages in my mind back to various stages of my life. And I ...
When God Honors Our Time Spent
Last night, Rachel and I were discussing the notion that how a person spends their time really says a lot about that person. Take me for instance: for over a decade, I have spent my ...
Fresh Eyes and Little Things
Before my little girl Maya was born, I remember praying so very hard for her to have perfect health. Not just every time we went to the OB/GYN for another sonogram, and not just on ...
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 ...
Do I Fully Trust My Partner?
With Christmas fast approaching, I was thinking about the relationship between the parents of Jesus. We don’t know much at all about Joseph from historical texts, but English translations convey that he was a carpenter ...
Are You Preparing for the Future?
Every fall, it’s hurricane season down here in Southeast Florida - which serves as an annual reminder that disaster could be headed my way. I’ve had to deal with four major hurricanes while I’ve lived ...
The Bad Stuff I Model To My Kid
You might not know this about me, but I get frustrated frequently. Not with my job, or marriage, or even other people, but with small stuff. Like when one-year-old Ravi throws his food on the ...
Never Trust a Leader Without a Limp
Have you heard this quote, or one of its variations? Originally made by John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard church movement which has spread across 95 countries and involves over 2,000 congregations, it is ...
The Best Days of Our Lives
I have been doing a lot of walking down memory lane recently. Every night while trying to fall asleep, I take these voyages in my mind back to various stages of my life. And I ...
When You Don’t Pray Anymore
Shepherds. I’ve been thinking about them a lot recently, mostly because of a verse that stood out to me: The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper ...
When You No Longer Have Time For Simple Pleasures
Recently someone told me during a conversation about the seasons of life that “the days are long but the years are short.” I’m sure that quote has been around forever, but it struck me as ...
When Fear Keeps Us From Trying
My little girl Maya just turned three months old. And we've had a lot of fun together even during these early days of life as I try to make her smile in every conceivable way. ...
When Your Goals Matter More Than Your Family
“Society treats kids and senior citizens the same,” Rachel remarked to me the other day, and it got me thinking a lot about the truth of that statement on many levels. In the main, there ...
When You’re Waiting for Your Miracle
On Tuesday , we were due to have our first baby. People say that with your first child, it’ll probably come late and so don’t get your hopes up for an early or even on-time ...
When You’re Trying to Protect Yourself from Pain
Driving on the backroads of Ireland is very stressful and downright scary sometimes. This is no exaggeration. Americans like me are already at a bit of a disadvantage because the steering wheel is on the ...
What I’ve Learned in Two Years of Marriage
Somehow, some way, a bit over twenty-four months have passed while I’ve been doing this marriage thing. What the pez!? You’ll recall I shared some of the lessons learned after one year of being hitched, ...
Does God Randomly Surprise Us With His Love?
I’ve been thinking recently about the ways that God endeavors to show us that He loves us, that we are the apple of His eye. Many times, we are just moving so fast as we ...
When you’re having a baby, and you’re freaking out
My life is about to be turned upside down, because we’re about to have a baby. This is a wonderful, incredible thing, and I don’t take it for granted. It’s actually a complete miracle to ...
When People Judge You Based On How You Look
While living in a dorm room this summer at a university in Ireland, I was reminded about one aspect of human nature I really dislike. I had to get to another campus to give a ...
How a Superhero Cape Helps Me Be Awesome
Rachel made me a cape! A full-sized, heavy, satiny, superhero cape! I am totally shocked and bowled over by how freaking awesome it is! This is the best gift I have ever received in my ...
What My Pregnant Wife Needs From Me
My wife Rachel is six months pregnant with our first child, and we’d both tell you that we’re enjoying this uniquely special time in our lives. Part of me wishes Baby were here already so ...
When you trust yourself more than God for career success
By now, I’m going to assume you’ve seen the viral video of a political expert being interviewed via Skype by the BBC, and the comedy that ensues when his two daughters boldly and innocently enter ...
When Your Ministry is Taken Away From You
Have you ever been humming along in one direction, and then all of a sudden life takes a sharp, quick turn? And while the effect may not be disabling or deadly, it does throw you ...
When Nothing You Do Is Working
I am in a deep, dark valley. I know that sounds really dramatic, but that is my reality. The current season of my life has been marked by incredible futility. Pretty much everything I am ...
When You’re Playing Hide and Seek with God
I have a three-year old nephew named Blake, and he is the cutest thing alive. I bet that all uncles say that about their nephews and nieces, but I personally think Blake would out-cute all ...
When God is Close to the Brokenhearted
There was this one time where I really loved this girl, and she loved me back, but things got jacked up because life is broken and people are broken and mistakes are made. In this ...
How Faith Helps You Climb Mountains and Get Home Safe
Rachel adores The Sound of Music. Personally, I knew all of the songs from as far back as I can remember (I am pretty sure my parents had me watch it when I was seven), ...
When You Struggle With Never Being Good Enough
One of the very generous gifts Sameer and I received for our marriage last year was a week-long trip to St. Thomas. Sameer had to continue work remotely so it turned into a kind of ...
When Fear Keeps You From Miraculous Moments
Living only a few miles from the ocean in Southeast Florida, I have the opportunity to enjoy it all the time. I appreciate it for many of the same qualities that others do: its power, ...
When You Can’t Help Others Help Themselves
In my last blog, I talked about my “savior complex” and how my compulsion to rescue others from their perceived or actual problems actually made me miserable. Perhaps you could relate to that. Today, I ...
When You Always Feel Compelled to Rescue Others
I was talking with my friend Brittany recently about the way we spend our time, and one of the things that came up has to do with our involvement in the lives of others. Now, ...
When I Foolishly Choose Me over Us
Recently, Rachel and I took a train from London to the East coast of England so that we could walk the White Cliffs of Dover. It was probably my most favorite experience during our entire ...
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.
