It Took Twelve Times
Windchimes whisper in our garden as kids next door call “Papa!” and I ask God for words. Silence settles; a hummingbird perches. Then the memory: our first argument, my ache to “love better,” and his answer — I love you. I pushed it away until, the twelfth time, something cracked open. Softened, I finally believed it. He keeps saying it still. Love is home. Love is how he speaks.
Church: The Case for & Against Community
We crave freedom from others — until isolation exposes our need for them. The myth of independence tells us we’ll find truth alone, but our souls were made for relationship.
Overly Careful to Wisely Careless: A Journey Back
When trust is broken, pain can echo through every new relationship. Healing means learning to decode the white noise — those whispers that say everyone will leave. God invites us into something different: to risk love again, to let safe people stay. Healing happens in community, through presence and grace, until we finally believe what’s always been true — we are loved and never alone.
Beaches and Dolphins and True Freedom
A dolphin stranded on the beach isn’t free — it’s dying. Freedom isn’t doing whatever we want; it’s living how we were made to live. We were created to thrive in the presence of God, not apart from him. In Jesus, we’re freed from sin and freed to live fully — to love, to serve and to breathe deep in the ocean of his grace.
Trouble Brings Me Back
Bad news hit like a cannonball: a massive, unexpected tax bill on top of triple tuition and soaring costs. Jenn and I spun scenarios, fear rising — until we realized we hadn’t prayed. Trouble exposed what I was trusting. When God is first, I’m steadied; when outcomes are first, I’m tossed. Trials can grow endurance (James 1:2–4). Today, I’m learning to wear the world loosely and run back to him.
Fences Fall, Grace Rises
When a fence came down between our yard and our neighbor’s, I felt the pull to protect what was mine. But God whispered, ‘You’ve already got everything you need.’ He reminded me that I’m not an orphan fighting for ground — I’m a son, loved and provided for. When fences fall, grace rises. And in that space, God teaches us to trust again.
Empty Pockets Meet an Infinite Provider
God isn’t distant or detached; he’s a good Father who delights in providing for his kids. But his power is released when our priorities align with his. Seek first his kingdom — his values, his ways.
Pulling Up Roots: How Unhealed Hurt Becomes the Offense We Carry
I kept telling myself the meeting didn’t matter, but the dismissal burrowed in. Unhealed hurt does that — it throws vines over the heart until everything feels gray. Offense becomes our armor; it also becomes our cage. Jesus invites another way: name the wound, pull the root, abide in Love. With him, we can trade resentment for release, guardedness for grace and grow green again.
Courage to Be True: Moving From Shame to Wholeness
For years I hid behind a practiced smile. I longed to be loved but feared being known. Rejection felt deadly, so I performed, pleased and pretended. Shame taught me to hide. But God doesn’t heal who we pretend to be. He meets the real us — wounded, afraid, still in process — and calls us his own. Courage begins there: trusting our identity isn’t defined by our past, but secured in Christ alone.
Fruit Wars: Reclaiming Your Spiritual Garden
The sweetest fruit grows slow — and it’s often stolen before it ripens. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness — they’re not gone, just stunted. The enemy can’t steal what God plants, but he can distract us from abiding. Stay close to the Vine. Guard your spiritual garden. What the Spirit grows in you, no thief can truly take.
Sacred Texts and ‘Little Bells’: Arvo Pärt’s Musical Masterpieces
Arvo Pärt’s music feels both ancient and startlingly new. His tintinnabuli style — “little bells” of melody and harmony — distills sound into simplicity, letting sacred texts breathe. Silence is never absence but presence, the space where God speaks. At ninety, Pärt still teaches us that less can carry more, and that even a single note can draw us into eternity.
Baptism: Understanding Death, Burial and Resurrection
Baptism marks the end of one world and the beginning of another. The Cross wipes away everything born of Adam; the resurrection ushers in everything born of Christ. Going under the water, we consent to God’s verdict — that our old life is finished. Rising, we testify to his new life within us. The old creation buried; the new creation born. Christ’s life, now grafted into ours.
When the World Shakes
When the world trembles and my courage hides, I light a candle and ask my heart if it’s ready. I hear: surrender. I remember: idols won’t hold. So I breathe, unclench and let Love lower my center. Do what’s before you, he says. Fill your heart till it spills. Be loved, be loved, be loved. Hope descends like a rope ladder; I climb, eyes up, into his steady light.
Short-Term Missions: Their Value When Done Right
Short-term missions can be a holy gift — or a well-funded vacation with a paintbrush. What makes the difference is whether we actually love people enough to serve them wisely. Done right, we go invited, trained and humble, strengthening the local church instead of starring in our own story. Mercy matters. But so does meaning. We bring help — and we bring Jesus.
‘House Of David’ Season 2: The Bible Epic We All Need
With sweeping battles and heartfelt faith, “House of David” returns with a richer, bolder second season. It’s a rare biblical epic that captures both the grit of war and the grace of God. Saul’s fall and David’s rise unfold with cinematic power, reminding us that heroism under heaven isn’t about dominance — it’s about surrender.
When You’re Afraid of the Future
Worry doesn’t change what’s coming; it only steals peace from today. God’s promise to go with us means we can stop clinging to control and start trusting his presence. The future may feel uncertain, but it’s never unheld. He’s not asking us to predict what’s ahead — only to walk with the One who already knows the way.
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.