Building Christian Character on Faith and Discipline
With a mindset of building Christian character, I sought to deeply study Jonathan Edwards’ 70 resolutions in 2017. When I set that course, I categorized them according to the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). I admittedly did that before truly grasping...
Give Real Grace… Even When its Fake as Sh*t
How do you spot a fake? More importantly, how do you realize you’re being a fake? Or more challenging, how do you be true to who you are even when you must behave a certain way to be sensitive to others? I grapple with these questions more than most will ever...
Must We Lament? How Can We Not Lament?
It’s good to lament. Or maybe not. Who knows? Maybe we better back up and first ask “what does it mean to lament?” To answer that, let’s consult Got Questions, where they say: To lament is to express deep regret, grief, or sorrow. We can lament through words or...
When Developing Character, Seek to Be a “Faithful Man to be Found”
At its core, the Year of Listening Up is about developing character. It’s an annual project that’s an outgrowth of a book I wrote for my daughters, largely centered on the same ambition. Since Edwards made developing character a primary goal of his life, it made great...
Review of Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges
Misunderstanding or mis-placing the importance of God’s grace in our lives. We see and understand it as our eternal salvation, but leave it out of everyday life. The recently re-released, Transforming Grace, by the late Jerry Bridges helps us see it in its fullness....
Why Small Stuff Should be in Focus – Faith of a Mustard Seed
You’ve heard it: “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.” Or, maybe you’ve heard a different take on it. It suggests that spending time on little things and details is a waste. I am a person who has always considered himself to be exceptionally average. It’s been distressing at...
7 Posts About Trusting God in Every Season of Life
Trusting God is a concept that runs the gamut from trusting his work in your life to the work in the lives of others. That means in our homes, our cities, our countries and our world. It means trusting God to bring non-believers to know him – and on his time....
How to Find God When Your Tunnel Suddenly Darkens
The ways we find God is a common theme or trope throughout book, film, television and story in general. Ever notice it’s almost always through tragedy or struggle? You know, some sort of hardship? Though I bet it does happen, I am doubting many people find God...
Unlearning the Blame Game and Learning to Reframe
The concept of organizational unlearning came into my purview while studying for my master’s degree. It refers to “the discarding of old routines to make way for new ones.” When I applied that to my career experiences, I realized I was seeing it play out in some way...
Most Christians Are Wrong About Halloween
I’ve been in the “Christians verses Halloween” debate many times. It compelled me to write this post last year, and I am sharing it again – edited a bit – because it continues to contribute to the active conversation going. Not all will agree with me, but...