Dreaming Bigger by Asking Better Questions
Good questions are like keys, flashlights, even shovels. They unlock new doors, shine light on hidden places, and unearth treasures buried just beneath the surface. Unlike questioning, which often carries suspicion, true question-asking is about discovery, curiosity and growth. It’s a posture, not a checklist. And when practiced with wisdom, it doesn’t just improve conversations — it reshapes our relationships, our work and the direction of our lives.
A Profound Forgiveness
Amanda Knox spent years wrongly imprisoned in Italy, vilified by the press, and haunted by the loss of her friend. Yet in 2022, she sat across from the prosecutor she once blamed and said, “I do not think you are an evil person.” Forgiveness didn’t erase her anger or pain, but it reframed her story. Grace became possible where bitterness had every right to stay.
The Speed of Soul
Harried sneaks in quiet — too many commitments, too little peace. It leaves us scattered, brittle, gasping for margin. But calm doesn’t just happen; it must be cultivated. That old man’s words still echo: find your center. Love deeply. Live quietly. Mind your own affairs. Work with your hands. An unhurried soul isn’t stumbled upon; it’s forged — slowly, intentionally, like wisdom cut through stone.
A Different Saint Film: ‘Triumph Of The Heart’
Most faith-based films avoid dwelling too long on real suffering, but “Triumph of the Heart” refuses to look away. The story of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s martyrdom under the Nazis immerses viewers in hunger, brutality and despair — yet also reveals compassion and dignity stronger than oppression. Its beauty lies in showing that a Christian’s hope can outlast the world’s darkest will.
Ignatian Exercises: Keeping Company With Jesus
Five years ago, Jenn and I set out to pray an hour a day for 34 weeks — the Ignatian Exercises. We didn’t know what we were getting into, only that we longed for something real with Jesus. What we found wasn’t religion or ritual, but relationship — keeping company with him. Listening. Speaking. Healing. Becoming the people he always meant us to be.
Communion: The Lord’s Supper Can Change the World
The Lord’s Supper is not just a personal spiritual exercise — it’s a covenant meal that builds community, shapes character and unites us in Christ. In bread and cup, Jesus meets us, linking belief with practice, individual with church, gratitude with obedience. Properly practiced, this sacrament forms us more than culture can, making us people who live the gospel — and through it, change the world.
Quit Trying To Earn It and Receive God’s Love
You don’t have to earn what’s already been given. The voice in your head that says you’re only lovable if you succeed, perform or impress — it’s lying.
Living in Freedom Every Day
Freedom isn’t about doing whatever we want; it’s about living in step with the One who knows what’s best for us. Jesus promised us a Helper — the Holy Spirit — who leads us into truth when lies creep in, when prayers feel hard, when hope feels distant. Real freedom begins when we stop trying to muscle our way out and start asking for help.
How Leo Tolstoy Grappled With God And Meaning
Leo Tolstoy lived like a man at the summit, yet spent decades staring into a bottomless pit. He had everything — wealth, reputation, genius stamped onto novels that reshaped literature. And still, he couldn’t escape the fact that all of it would vanish. Death haunted him. Success mocked him. He tried distraction, denial, even despair. Nothing worked. Until the Gospels. Their words stripped him down and demanded he begin again.
Called To Be Friends, Called To Serve
In a culture obsessed with dividing lines — politics, race, wealth, worldview — it feels nearly impossible to imagine genuine friendships forming across the gaps. And yet, that’s exactly what happened between John Perkins and Howard Ahmanson Jr. Their story isn’t about ignoring differences; it’s about God transforming those differences into the soil where trust and love could take root. That’s what real friendship does. It points us back to Jesus, the friend who holds us together.
Crab Treasures and Learning to Let Go
A hermit crab dragging a pen across the sand reminds me of how tightly we hold things not meant for us. He thought he’d found treasure, but I knew it was dangerous. We’re the same with burdens and misplaced desires — clutching what will only harm us. God invites us to let go, trusting him to carry what we cannot.
A God with Scars
When Sonya lost her dad, grief nearly swallowed her faith. But in the Gospels she noticed something — even after the resurrection, Jesus still carried scars. The marks of pain weren’t erased; they became part of the story. That realization steadied her: you can trust a God with scars. The Incarnation isn’t abstract theology — it’s God stepping into our suffering, and never leaving us alone in it.
‘Light Of The World’ A Giant Leap Forward For Faith-Based Animation
Faith-based animation has rarely gotten the investment or attention that live-action films have. But “Light of the World” changes that. Told through the eyes of a young John, this hand-drawn film about Jesus stumbles at times but ultimately becomes something beautiful — warm, creative and surprisingly moving. It’s a breakthrough, a hopeful sign that Christian animation may finally be stepping into its own.
Envy: My Inner Basilisk
Envy slithers quietly, but it scorches everything it touches. Like a basilisk in medieval lore, its very breath withers the green around it. I’ve felt its sting — not in some dramatic betrayal, but in quiet moments scrolling, wishing another’s success would wilt. Envy steals joy, blinds us to God’s goodness and corrodes our capacity for love. The only antidote is love itself — rejoicing where envy would mourn.
What’s God Up To?
God’s invitations often arrive quietly. A request for prayer. A conversation over coffee. A nudge toward listening more than speaking. Again and again, the question rises: What’s God up to? Spiritual direction isn’t about fixing someone’s life. It’s about holy companionship — making space to notice God’s presence, to pay attention to his gentle nudges and to trust he’s already at work.
Writing in the Dirt
Writing has always been more than marks on paper. It’s a way of listening — to the heart, to God, to the stories we carry inside us. In John 8, Jesus bends down and writes in the dirt while a woman waits, her shame exposed. He doesn’t look up at the crowd. He just writes. And maybe that’s the invitation: to slow down, touch the dirt and let God’s voice write in us too.
A Misunderstood Passage
Ephesians 5 is one of the most misused passages in Scripture. Too often it’s reduced to a slogan about wives submitting to husbands. But Paul’s real message is bigger — and more radical. “Submit to one another,” he writes. Every believer is called to humility, to serve, to give up rights for the sake of love. Husbands, wives, parents, children — all. The gospel advances when we choose servanthood over self.
What Is Prayer?
Prayer is not self-expression but transformation. A way of being reshaped into the likeness of Jesus. Unlike mindfulness, which turns us inward, prayer lifts us upward to God and outward in love. We come with praise, confession and petition. We rely on the Son’s name, trust the Spirit’s groans and receive the Father’s presence. Prayer is communion. It’s dwelling with God until our hearts echo his.
Lament: A Journey from Suffering to Worship
Lament gives us language for suffering. The psalmists show us how to cry out honestly, even in anger or despair, while still turning toward God. It’s not denial, nor is it despair — it’s wrestling that ends in trust. In lament we call out, complain, request, remember and finally praise. And through that rhythm, suffering is transformed into worship, and isolation into intimacy with God.
A Life of Cards
Imagine carrying every sin you’ve ever committed — each one handed to you on a card. The pockets of your heart would overflow. But God doesn’t ask you to carry them. He asks you to confess them. To agree with him. To hand over the whole stack. And when you do, he doesn’t read them aloud or hold them against you. He tears them up. Every single one.