I experienced a beautiful gift recently. John Piper's chapter on suffering from "Desiring God" put me in that place where I was seriously contemplating how socially acceptable it would be to create a new Facebook album with nothing but pictures of each page. I figured most (if not all) curiosities would fizzle out when you … Continue reading Of All People Most to be Pitied →

If you're a Christian, the First Amendment is a more interesting conversation than you might think. In fact, in a weird way, it's kind of a lie. Please try not to have a heart attack as you read this, by the way. I'm an American citizen, too. I understand this freedom is afforded to all … Continue reading Christians Don’t Technically Have Free Speech →

Life in America today is a far cry from what it was from 1941-1945. World War II changed everything about our culture, and with good reason. America was plunged into an expansive war that seemed to reach every corner of the globe. "Our boys" were fighting on the ground, in the open seas, and in … Continue reading Wartime Culture →

Maybe it's time I finally let the cat out of the bag: Mayi and I are no longer residents of the North Fort Worth area. If you're wondering what happened to our plans with the tiny house, I understand your confusion. The purpose of the tiny house was only to allow us to sell our previous … Continue reading Our 1924 Cottage on Gordon Ave →

"We're out of chicken." Those are my wife's words almost every time we enter the grocery store. And so we alter our shopping path ever so slightly over to the meat department after we finish replenishing our stash of fruits and veggies. Our decision comes down to which cellophane-wrapped styrofoam board contains the biggest, juiciest-looking … Continue reading Theological Implications from the Grocery Store Meat Department →

I'm assuming you're at least somewhat of a reader. And this may just be me, but that feeling of being only a few pages away from finishing a book usually keeps me from actually retaining anything the author wrote. Such was the case with the book I just finished, until I was struck by a simple five-word … Continue reading Loving the Process as Much as the Outcome →

For those lucky few who don't know what dizzy bat is, it's an abusive and borderline-torturous game calling for each player to hold their forehead to the end of a bat, spin around it a certain number of times (depending on how cruel the rule-maker is) and then make a drunken dash for a finish line … Continue reading Reoriented →

Bible believers are famous for being all kinds of things--open-minded is typically not one of them. Considering this controversial topic, I thought I'd take a crack at addressing a simple question: does Christianity encourage its followers to be open-minded? This question can't truly be answered until we understand what it means to be open-minded. Like … Continue reading Open-Minded Christians →

We live in a world where a lot of really bad things happen. Sometimes these near-daily atrocities are caused by evil people; other times they reach crisis-levels as a byproduct of inaction and apathy; and still other tragedies seem to be completely random and unavoidable. In each of these cases, we've come to label those who … Continue reading Extraordinary? →

When I came back to the States after a year-long, nation-hopping mission trip in 2011, I had a problem. In a nutshell, I was back in the States. As a disciple of Jesus who was now aware of the rest of the world, home was suddenly a place I didn't feel like I belonged in anymore. I … Continue reading Redefining ‘On Mission’ →