Faith is not a competition. But we love to make it one. In our competitive society, we find ways to compare our faith with that of others, ways to make sure we are better at faith than they are. We go to church more often than they do; we tithe, and they give less than […]
I know how to do something halfway. It’s so easy just to phone it in, to do as little as I can get away with, especially when I’m facing competing requests from my job, my family, my scout troop, my church, and my doctor. Especially when I’m feeling overwhelmed and thinking it will take longer […]
I’m not a psychologist. I’m not a doctor at all, or a minister, or a counselor. People don’t often come to me with their problems, unless their problems are related to my work. No, I’m just a guy who’s been around for a while and seen a few things. Most of the stuff I write […]
The title of this post is objectively not true. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve been through, you can point to something that happened to someone else at some other time and tell yourself that was worse. But don’t tell your heart that. It won’t listen. I know a young man who’s […]
This post by Dr. Kelly Flanagan on his excellent blog Untangled got me thinking. He does a fantastic job describing where our online outrage comes from, and goes on to describe how we might be able to get over it and start having productive conversations. It’s a topic that’s been on my mind recently. Online […]
A Facebook friend posted something last week I feel compelled to comment on. I don’t remember the exact words, but the gist of it was that this person is sick and tired of the selfishness, self-centered attitudes, and sense of entitlement of people today, and they are waiting for a return of old-fashioned values like […]
We all have circumstances in our lives that we didn’t cause. It’s not your fault the economy crashed. It’s not your fault you can’t get the war out of your head. It’s not your fault you got cancer. It’s not your fault your dad hit you, or that thug robbed you, or some guy decided […]
This weekend, I had the honor of accompanying eight Boy Scouts on a backpacking trip to Oklahoma. Some of the Scouts are older and more experienced than the others; in fact, three of them hiked the very same trails a little more than a year ago. But for several of them, it was a weekend […]
I’m worse about this than most. This one is mostly a reminder to myself. Most of us are hard-wired to blow off victory. That’s a pretty drastic statement, I know. But how often have you waved off a compliment with something like it was nothing? How often have you lost sight of everything you’ve accomplished […]
This post scares me. That’s how I know I need to write it. We talk a lot about giving our troubles to God, about trusting God, about how having faith in God can change our lives. Many of us pray to God for favors as small as letting our team win, or as big as […]