Isn’t it funny how simple observation can open the door to deeper reflection—and, if I’m attentive, to introspection? On my return from an all-too-brief visit with my daughter in Southern California, I was struck by the dense fog blanketing the Central Valley. The contrast between the world swallowed by that […]
Sale, sale, sale! Buy, buy, buy! It’s that time of year when the television seems packed with longer commercial breaks and the inbox fills with more ads than actual mail. Everything shouts the same message: Look! Want! Buy! It was ABBA who sang: Money, money, moneyMust be funnyIn the rich man’s […]
“And When He Had Given Thanks…” That’s how verse 24 of 1 Corinthians 11 opens. With those words, Paul begins correcting a young Christian community in Corinth—a church that had already wandered far from its calling. We don’t need to unpack the entire list of issues here, but it was extensive: divisions, […]
One thing is certain: whether as a parent, a husband, or just a person trying to make it through the day, listening is harder than it sounds—at least for me. Too often, communication is treated as if it’s mostly about talking. Spoiler: it’s not. The older I get, the more I […]
You know that feeling when a trip comes to an end—half joy, half ache? That quiet pause when the adventure is over, and you’re about to leave behind the places and people that touched you? That’s what I call melancholy travel. I love travel. Really, I do. The new sights, the […]
Travel can be tiring—really tiring. The packing. The journey to the airport and train stations. The shuffle through security. Boarding. Upright seatbacks. Cramped legroom. The long line for the (ugh) lavatory. Then you finally arrive—unpack, eat, try to sleep (not enough), get up, see this and that… and repeat. What I […]
When Travel Teaches You More Than You Expected Travel has a funny way of teaching lessons you never planned to learn. Sometimes it happens through a breathtaking view or a quiet museum. Other times, it’s through a single sentence from someone you’ve just met. That’s what happened to my wife […]
“I’m kinda busy.”“I can’t right now.”“I’m sorry, but…” I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve heard—or said—some version of these words. Life has a way of getting in the way of life, doesn’t it? And before the standard defenses are offered, let me be clear: I truly understand that […]
I tend to live in a Post-it Notes kind of world. You know—the small, sticky pieces of paper perfect for jotting down ideas or reminders and sticking them wherever they’ll be noticed: refrigerator doors, desktops, dashboards. These days, though, I mostly use the digital version—an app fittingly called Notes in the Apple […]
Once again, life has taught me something about life—this time, somewhere around 35,000 feet. Anyone who’s traveled with kids knows the challenge. Their frontal lobes—those critical centers for reasoning and impulse control—are still under construction. So we hear the familiar refrains: “Are we there yet?”“I’m tired.”“Why can’t I have that?”And […]
acts17seventeen 