It’s my 23rd birthday today, so I thought I’d do a fun post featuring 23 of my favorite things! 1. Cool Summer nights on my front porch/in our hot tub with my fam. 2. Rainy Autumn days spent at home with my whole family binge-watching Psych 3. Church services where the presence of Jesus fills … Continue reading 23 of my favorite things
So, I had an interesting Monday. After a long weekend spent remodeling my kitchen, then a long Monday at work that was so busy I had to stay late, I was less than thrilled about receiving some disrespectful comments and messages from one of my readers and followers on IG. This person, who had been … Continue reading taking ownership + an #ownvoices story
First, let me just say that I love the Church. Like, ALL CAPS love. My heart is for the Church. I’m passionate about the Church. I believe in the Church. But as a third-generation pastor’s kid, there’s a discrepancy that I’ve noticed in the way many (not all!) churches treat their pastors. My great-grandparents were … Continue reading 10 things your pastor wishes you knew
I debated off and on about whether or not I was going to share on this topic. When it comes to judgment, most people automatically jump to the conclusion that it's bad, evil, wrong, unmerciful, etc... But I can't escape the pressing reality - especially as I study Scripture - that judgment is, in fact, … Continue reading judgment is good
Looking at the culture of the Modern American Church today, I’m always amazed at how Seeker Sensitive it’s become. If you don’t know what “Seeker Sensitive” means, a loose definition would be “messages that don’t meddle with people, worship that doesn’t cost anything, prayer that only points inward and not outward, doctrines that make people … Continue reading no one said it would be easy
I love the Bible. I love how you can open it up to any passage and, if you study it deeply enough, you can find something new. It’s so exciting when you read a passage you’ve read a million times, but then it suddenly becomes fresh to you. It’s that feeling of uncovering one of … Continue reading to the exiles…
Last Wednesday at my church’s midweek service, I got to lead the song “So Will I” by Hillsong UNITED for the first time. (Somehow I managed to do it without having the words right in front of me. If you’re familiar with this song, you know what an accomplishment that is. Haha!) Two of my favorite lines … Continue reading bye-bye, failure
My YA Contemporary novel, Love and the Sea and Everything in Between, has been out for about two months now. The reviews and feedback are rolling in, which is simultaneously the most exciting thing and the most t e r r i f y i n g thing. Most of the reviews have been positive. The love and … Continue reading the heart behind the story
I recently finished the move Safely Home by Randy Alcorn, an incredible novel that chronicles the stories of two former Harvard University roommates and best friends. One a successful American businessman, the other a former professor no Christian in China, this novel follows them as Ben (the American) makes a trip to visit Quran (his … Continue reading done wasting time
Language creates culture. At church, something we’ve often talked about as leaders is how the way we talk and the things we talk about frame the culture and environment of our church. In fact, early one when we were relaunching our church we established a lexicon of sorts. It’s a list of words and their … Continue reading the language of our lives
