Punching Monday in the Face...with a Chair
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You know why I like Monday?
Because there’s no pretense about it.
Monday isn’t sexy. It’s not cute or fun.
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Considerations of: A Turd with a Veil on It
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This pastor, he dresses too hipster, so I don’t like him. His priorities are whack.
This other pastor thinks that God will provide for all his needs. Doesn’t he know it’s wrong to ask God for a car? Especially a nice car?
And then there’s this guy who has more than 10,000 people in his church and mega churches, they're just gross.
Read More7 Signs Your Insecure Leader is Showing
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Have you ever met an insecure leader?
Well, have we ever met?
Unfortunately, I fit the bill sometimes.
But I think anyone who's a leader and a human being is going to struggle with insecurity in some shape or form.
Meet LIL.
LIL is short for "Little Insecure Leader."
Read MoreLessons in Leadership: 5 Things We All Need to Know, but Often Forget
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I grew up as the youngest in a family of four.
When it came down to making decisions as a family there was practically no decision more difficult than determining where to go out to eat. In most cases, this conversation would be held on a Sunday, after church.
My dad and my sister (who was the oldest) were the more headstrong in my family, which usually meant the two of them making ample, even argumentative suggestions of what we should all consume.
My mom, who was the culinary genius, was fine with whatever, but would usually default to some form of asian cuisine. We all knew when she ordered there would typically be an amendment to an ingredient(s) in the food itself.
Read MoreThe Simple, Saving, Radical, Real Love of God
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As many of you know I spend most of my days in my house with my little munchkins.
Many of those days I try to leave the house, even if it’s for something small, like to go to the store to grab an ingredient I need for dinner. I sit the girls in the buggy designed like a car and swing by the bakery to get them a free cookie. That cookie and car-shaped buggy have saved my life multiple times, let me tell you. Sometimes, I will take them to the park or the library and then coax them away with the promise of something “special” aka french fries.
Read MoreUsefulness...It's More than You Think
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First and foremost, I bid you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!
It’s Thanksgiving Day, and I’m likely beginning my day with a delicious cup of coffee. Now, there’s something to be thankful for—COFFEE! I am exceedingly thankful for coffee. I believe it to be the most enjoyable drink on the earth. And it’s a drink to be had in any season. You can drink it all year round.
For the cold months, there are a million ways to have it hot. There’s nothing better than sipping your favorite tasty latte to warm you from head to toe. Yet, even when the temperature outside rises too high, a well-made cold brew is absolutely appropriate, and quite refreshing.
Read MoreAll Filled Up: Silencing My Inner Cookie Monster
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A few weeks ago I shared that I was going to begin a Whole30. You can read that post here.
Honestly, there is a part of me that doesn’t want to share this. Is this really important? Aren’t there weightier things we could talk about?
I’ve recently come to terms with the fact that I cannot be who God has called me to be if I’m bound by an addiction of any kind. I am not as effective of a witness. I am not living free. If I can’t move past this then I am limited. My purpose is limited.
Read MoreDear Adults: A Word from Your Local Youth Pastor
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My birthday is just around the corner.
Now, I’m not that old, but the older I get it feels like the faster the world becomes.
I’m a child of the 80’s. I can still remember using my grandmother’s rotary phone (if you don’t know what that is click here. haha.) to call home as a kid.
Read MoreNo Second Chances: 9 Ways to Jumpstart the Call on Your Life
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Let’s say you’ve felt the call to ministry in some form. Or maybe you just know that you’re meant to do more with your life than just survive at a nine to five job.
But there is no obvious path to take. You feel apprehensive about moving forward because the unknown is frightening at times.
On the other hand, you don’t know if you’re wasting the precious time you’ve been given. Let’s face it, our time is a limited resource. After all, when we see Jesus face to face we aren’t going to say, “Wait, Lord. Can I go back? I didn’t do that quite like I wanted to.” We get one life. There are no second chances.
Read MoreConsider the Source
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Have you ever felt like you are supposed to flourish but you’re just stuck?
You tell yourself you don’t have the time or you’re too busy or it’s too hard right now to do the things you know you’re supposed to. Maybe you can start later or next week or on a Monday.
I was once in a relationship that became super dumb. Those are the nicest words I have for it.
At first it was not dumb. It was great and fun. We laughed and frolicked in fields with daisies.
But then it happened. You know those people who get a boyfriend or girlfriend and then they disappear? That was me. I became needy and insecure. That, my friends, is not cute.
Read MoreBattle Born: Fighting the Funk of Depression
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The irrationality of fear first gripped me when I was young.
I was in first grade…and the thought of school terrified me.
But that’s normal, right? Its culturally common for kids to hate school and who, at some point, hasn’t ever seen a young child screaming bloody murder when getting dropped off to their first day of school?
Then came middle school, where at age 12, I was so distraught with anxiety, that I walked in one night to tell my Mom I no longer wanted to live. I told her I had been having thoughts of ending my life with my Dad’s shotgun.
Read MoreBurn Your Stretchy Pants: A Story of Grace
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Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
- Proverbs 3:5-6
I'm standing in my kitchen, mentally exhausted, with children beckoning for my attention.
In this moment, I could acknowledge God, run to Him for help, and find rest in who He is OR I could eat this Oreo and this dark chocolate salted caramel and this cookie I made the other day.
It’s kind of like a smoke break but with sugar and it seems so much easier than asking God for help.
Read MoreDestroying Porn: This One's for the Guys
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**Note: While this post is intended to educate, challenge, and inform, it is of a particular graphic nature. Please read at your own risk.**
Lets take the gloves off; porn is ubiquitous.
As technology progresses, so has the consumption of pornography. As a result, porn usage has ruined families, marriages, businesses, churches, and many, many young lives.
Read MoreMy Greatest Conflict: This One's for the Girls
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There’s a fine balance.
Let’s take it back, all the way to the 6th grade.
Awkward was my middle name; being a tall, gangly, pre-pubescent was my game.
I was quiet. Too quiet. The boys thought I was cute and the girls could smell blood in the water. I wanted so desperately to fit in. But I didn’t know who I was, so I didn’t know where I fit. So, I got owned. Like all the time. People made fun of me. People laughed at all my awkward and I probably helped a little too.
And then it happened. The switch flipped and that summer before going into 7th grade I said, “No more!” Slamming my fist on the table causing my milk to slosh onto my freshly toasted pastry strudel.
Read More6 Ways to Seek Excellence and Grow Through It
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A few years ago my husband and I started attending a very large church that, to some, might seem to have it all together but I think they would be the first to admit they don’t.
We are so thankful for our time there. We learned so much and we got to rest and recover.
But some of the typical things that people encounter with larger churches were things that we found to be challenging, and at times frustrating.
- It was hard sometimes to feel connected.
- At times things felt a little too well rehearsed.
- And we wondered if we were “cool” enough.
Shocking, I know.
I have a tattoo. Matt wears skinny jeans. What more could you want?
Read More5 Social Norms I Learned from My Kids
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**Warning**
Social norms are the rules of behavior that are considered acceptable in a group or society.
People who do not follow these norms may be shunned or suffer some kind of grave consequence.
Read MoreIf We Truly Are Vigilant...
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Here we are. All of us together.
We have come to a point in history where we find that our desire to do good is thwarted by an acute case of self-obsession.
We are in slavery, our taskmaster, comfort. We dare not make way to the promised land knowing full well that between us and that place lies wilderness, lies difficulty, lies hardship.
Who am I to say such things?
Read MoreStop Chasing Your Dreams
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"By the time a basketball or football player gets to Division I or Division II, they’ve already been a star in their own town and community. They have been elevated to celebrity status at such a young age, before their frontal lobe has even fully developed. It creates a high confidence level, but also a delusion around what’s actually possible."
– Dan Lebowitz, Exec. Dir. of NE University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society.
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Meet Brother Arnold
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In 2007, I was asked to preach at a small church in Leavenworth, KS. It was the beginning of an encounter with a collective of people that I now know and love.
Upon my arrival, I was introduced to this jazz drummer who my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) referred to as “Cool Guy.”
“Cool Guy,” was a lighter skinned, elderly, black man. His body was slightly hunched and swayed to one side, bearing most of his weight upon a favored foot. Observing his stance, I noticed that the rest of his weight was held up by a long black cane. Through a quiet voice with a slight rasp, he extended his hand to mine and spoke,
“How ya doin’ there? I’m Brother Arnold.”
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