You deserve to enjoy life. Not the general “you”, but you specifically, reading these words right now. Not only do you deserve to enjoy life, but you deserve to enjoy it TODAY. I believe this, because I believe the Creator of the Universe built every single person to enjoy this life. And if the Creator … Read more Conviction I – You Deserve Joy
Quarantine Week 1
The keyword for you is “grace”. For today – right now – and for the days ahead. You are feeling uncertain – so is everyone around you. No one has experienced anything like this. You are not alone in your anxiety or fear. No one can say what the days ahead will hold. In that, … Read more Quarantine Week 1
iCreateDaily – Daily Art Challenge – Day 4
A blood-curdling scream erupts. But not from me. I had turned my face slightly to the right. It is so dark, yet I can see where my face points, as if I am somehow emitting light. I jerk my head back to the left in frustration. Everything I need in life right now is to … Read more iCreateDaily – Daily Art Challenge – Day 4
iCreateDaily – Daily Art Challenge – Day 1
The little cloud, puffy and heavy laden, rushes across the otherwise still sky. A large group of clouds is gathered as a hard, grazing on the blue of the sky. The little cloud rams into a much larger cloud at the outside of the group. As the larger cloud shifts slightly, the last rays of … Read more iCreateDaily – Daily Art Challenge – Day 1
Dating 101 – Gird Your Loins
[Author’s Note: Originally published on BlogOfManly.com on 6/3/2013] This entry is the hardest for me to write, but also the one about which I feel most passionately – sexual purity in dating. Let me be very very clear before I walk any further – sexual purity in dating was NEVER a goal of mine. I … Read more Dating 101 – Gird Your Loins
Brushing Your Teeth As Self-Care
I struggle with the idea of self-care. Not the concept – people need to take care of themselves, I get that. But the idea of self-care actually applying to me. As if somehow I am actually immune to the need to be cared for. Sounds dumb when you say it out loud, right? In truth, … Read more Brushing Your Teeth As Self-Care
Communication
[Author’s Note: Originally published on BlogOfManly.com on 10/1/2012] Men, listen close and listen well. We are, as a group, terrible listeners. And since listening is at least half of successfully communicating, we men are terrible communicators. I don’t know you, but I’m willing to bet that you believe you do a pretty decent job of … Read more Communication
Submission
[Author’s Note: Originally published on BlogOfManly.com on 11/13/2012] I really struggle with the idea of submission. The Christian language is littered with submission. To Christ. To your spouse. To others. To the government. When I came back to Christ as an adult, I really wrestled with the idea of submission. After all, I am a strong … Read more Submission
Deconstructing the Myth of ‘Ducks in a Row’
I know you’ve heard this phrase before: I’ll do _____ when I get all my ducks in a row… Or maybe in one of these other, less obvious (and more insidious) forms: I’ll buy ____ when I get my finances balanced… I’ll go ____ when I get enough time to spare… I’ll go back to … Read more Deconstructing the Myth of ‘Ducks in a Row’
Temporality
[Author’s Note: This entry originally appeared on the BlogOfManly.com on 11/22/2013] Temporality. As in, having to do with time. I have a strange relationship with time, perhaps you do as well. When I am enjoying myself, time is fleeting. When I am bored or trudging through some task, time can’t possible move fast enough. I … Read more Temporality
I Almost Punched My Wife
[Author’s Note: This entry first appeared on BlogOfManly.com on 10/17/2012] Ok, not really. And even if I had, it would have been an accident. But here is how it went down: I am standing in my home office, which also doubles as our walk-in closet. The house is fairly cool (~70) as the weather outside is … Read more I Almost Punched My Wife