From a mathematical point of view, you could say I’ve been a Christian for thirty years. And it would be natural to think that my spiritual life would thus be mature by now. While we never truly “arrive” in this life, my maturity really didn’t start...

  Nearly two years ago, just after I completed four years of doctoral studies and four years of undergraduate studies back-to-back, I was suddenly thrust into an experience that was completely foreign to me: I was unemployed. Not only was I unemployed, but I found myself in a new corner...

  Seven months ago, after a season of discernment, I packed my bags and moved to a densely populated metropolis in south-central China. I now teach English at one of the main universities here. During the first weeks, I would walk around town and lie awake at night, asking...

  My run began on a crisp, early winter morning. The paved path that led into Almaden Quicksilver Park wound slightly uphill until I hit the dirt and made a sharp left onto a steep, narrow, oak-tree-shaded single-track headed away from the city. It was my Sabbath. A day set aside for...

  In 1999 I was suffering from a deeply wounded and broken heart. The man I thought was the love of my life broke up with me in Jerusalem three days into a two-week vacation together. Little did I know at the time that God was using this experience to prepare me for a new kind of...

  I am a sucker for those do-it-yourself pottery shops. Spending a couple of hours painting knick-knacks is a creative outlet for me and a fun way to spend quality time with my sons. As a side effect, my house is filled with kiddie ceramics: smudgy painted dinosaurs, coffee mugs...

  As I’m running pieces of wood through my table saw, my mind wanders and weaves like the Amazon River. I’m totally unplugged and in my own thought world. Making things is often where I find my meditation. Making for me isn't a uniquely spiritual exercise, but a place...

  A few weeks ago, I took my son to the DMV for his driver’s license test. When I got out of the car and exchanged places with his examiner, a profound sense of anxiety swept over me like a wave. For a moment, I was transported to an earlier phase of life. It felt eerily like...