aaron steffen

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Humans, we have a problem

There are not many things in the first world that compare to bailing “dirtied” water out of your sons toilet because he has put an entire roll of toilet paper into it and flushed. I would know. After about an hour of plunging I decided that wasn’t going to work, and so I moved on to the ‘Plumber MAXX.’ When that started bubbling almost to the point of unintentional evacuation, I decided that an ice cream bucket ‘bailing’ system was…

False Start

There’s a penalty in football called a false start. The basic premise is that it is illegal for someone on the team with the ball to start the play before all the others. So after they all line up and get ready, someone moves before the ball is snapped and the whole play has to be stopped and the offensive team is penalized 5 yards. It’s one of the only times in life I can think of that someone gets…

fixer upper

Lately, Em and I have been caught up watching a show on HGTV called ‘Fixer Upper.’  The premise is that a couple from Waco, Texas helps couples purchase homes that are in need of some repair for a cheap cost, and then uses the remainder of their budget to completely remodel the house to their taste. The houses they choose are always cool places that just need someone with a keen eye to help them reach their full potential. It’s…

Come, follow me

Jesus was an interesting dude. He was in fact; God in human form, sent here to show us a walking, talking example of what God is like. And yet, he didn’t do the things that you would expect God to do. Most people would expect a holy, righteous and perfect God to want to hang out with people who had their acts together. Yet Jesus spent the majority of his time hanging out with sinners and outcasts. It would be…

The line

A few months ago our church went through a study on the book of Hebrews entitled "Jesus is greater." It was a pretty convicting look at what it means to really put Jesus above every and anything else in your life. As a Christian, I am often torn between the words I sing on Sundays and speak from my 'platform' and the actions I choose throughout the week. Do I really value my relationship with Jesus above the rest of…

Something new

New things are hard for me. I wish the reason they are was better. I wish it was because I had some sort of intense phobia that had a sweet name and was so debilitating that they could make a movie about. Arachnophobia after all was a colossal box-office success. Maybe it would be better if instead of a phobia, the reason I was averse to new things was because I didn’t have time for them. If I was literally…

Water 2.0

I am frequently amazed by the strangest things. It’s not even that they’re necessarily that cool, rather it may be my inability to understand them – or perhaps my amazement over the fact that they are true. Let me give you an example. We have this plant in the living room of our home – it’s called a peace lily – and this thing apparently has super-plant powers or something. You see, neither my wife nor I will ever be…

Seeing Sand

“How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
 They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!
 And when I wake up, you are still with me!” Psalm 139:17-18 I had no idea how much sand there was. I had imagined in my mind the possible implications of verses like this one – and yet I had no idea. Then I went to a real beach - several of them actually – and…

exhale

When you are young you take certain things for granted. At least I did. Things that some people fight and pray for, most people don’t even think about. Things like breathing. It’s actually a rather complex bodily function when it comes down to it, but most of us can go through an entire day without even thinking about it. Then, in an instant, life can take your breath away. Things that once seemed normal now require almost superhuman effort. Things…