I am a very ordered person. You may not see it. In fact, if you saw my office on some days, or my laptop desktop on all days, you may disagree. They seem to be beacons of chaos in an otherwise ordered environment. I try to keep a calendar, stay on a routine, and be [...]
Bus Stop.
I stood there, at that edge, waiting. The road ahead was long and trailed off into an early morning haze. There didn't seem to be life anywhere. And I looked behind me at all I knew, and sighed. I knew I had everything I would need for the journey ahead of me ready to go. [...]
Trapped in Mediocrity
There are hundreds of thousands of people that have everything they need to be successful. They have all the tools to win, make an impact, and leave an impression on the world. Most of them never will. Most of them - maybe even 99% of them - will find themselves giving up dreams, settling for [...]
Shake Well.
I once was called out by a bottle of juice. I bought it at the store and it was some smoothie-juice blend that looked delicious and green. As I was about to open the top, I noticed a part of the label. It was the "Shake Well" portion. You know it, it's on every juice [...]
Older Brother.
I spend a lot of time thinking about what I deserve and what other people don’t deserve. I deserve money - I work hard. I deserve recognition - I do great things. I deserve affirmation - people should see what I do. So much of what I feel I deserve comes from what I do. [...]
Clickbait.
I’m tired. I’m tired of thumbing through Instagram and Facebook and wanting everyone else’s lives. I’m tired of seeing clickbait ads about “making money,” “getting out of debt,” and “this one simple trick got rid of belly fat for good!” and being tempted to take the bait. I’m tired of thinking of all the ways [...]
In the Wake (Mark 1:15)
I found this in my drafts folder. I wrote it over two years ago but never finished it. Sad - it is still accurate, today. I decided to finish it and publish. The story begins the same way. Violence, confusion, anxiety and anger. Then speculation follows. Words like "terrorism," "ISIS," "gun-violence," "radicalized," and "hate," "lone-wolf [...]
Accepting Mediocrity
I asked my wife a dangerous question one night after both kids were in bed and I braced myself for her answer. "What am I not good at?" I was inspired by a conversation on Andy Stanley's Leadership podcast about "doing only what you can do." The main idea was that no person, especially a [...]
You Are Going to Die…and Other Thoughts from 35,000 Feet in the Sky
I’m on a plane writing this at about 35,000 feet. We are flying through some “weather” which is pilot code for storms. It is pretty bumpy and if you are afraid of flying this is literally the worst. It is funny that I’m actually working this and not curled up in my seat, sweatily reciting [...]
Being There.
I'm in a rocking chair at the Knoxville airport. It's a unique thing - at all of the large windows overlooking jet bridges and runways, there are rocking chairs of all sizes. Most of them are empty, save for the one I'm in. There are people around the airport waiting for their flight, heads down [...]