personal faith

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daddy’s little girl

I still don't really believe it happened. One minute I was sitting at home watching nighttime television with my wife - the next I was holding my daughter. My daughter. The words don’t even make sense as I type them. Her name is Esther. People keep telling me she’s beautiful, and she is. People keep saying she’s perfect, and she might be. People keep saying she has so much more hair than I do, and they’re right. I see all…

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…

what trinkle taught me

My brother once referred to pop as “trinkle” for almost an entire year of his life just because he thought it would be funny. That alone should tell you all you need to know about him, but I’ll continue. He once drank an entire container of boysenberry syrup at a Perkins at midnight for five dollars, which he then spent on one of those claw games in the entryway to gain possession of a stuffed duck, which he then almost…

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…

lemons and lemonade

Kids say the darndest things. But so do adults. There are phrases or sayings in life that many people mindlessly repeat and/or use without fully considering their implications. At times, things like this can drive me nuts. One such phrase goes as follows: “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” It should be noted before I begin my dissertation here, that my loving and incredibly supportive professional editor uncle, will no doubt do some research on the origin and intended…

from football to faith

Let’s be clear about something – I love football. No if, ands or buts about it (for that matter no butts either.) A few years back I was deprived of my favorite game because of a player strike. Sunday afternoons from September to January just weren't the same without grown men throwing a piece of inflated pigskin back and forth while they clobber each other senselessly. I love football. It seems that sometimes you don’t fully understand how much you…

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…