Some people are gifted with knowing themselves thoroughly and confidently. I, on the other hand, love the color gray for a reason. I often don’t know what I want to do or eat, and I look to others to help me decide. Over the years I have struggled with understanding who I am, why I...
My earliest memory of hearing the question was during first grade. I don’t remember the context exactly, but it might have been while I was walking to lunch or playing foursquare. Or maybe I was asked while I was waiting for the school bus or while running in the large grassy...
I am tired of living scared, a life I have been living since infancy. As a youngster, I adopted the role of the “good boy” in an attempt to gain approval and reduce tension in my family. I wanted to please rather than cause problems in response to my mom’s...
I am a big fan of drive-thrus. They are easy to access and have a good selection of fast food. Sure, I wish there were healthier or more diverse drive-thru options like good sushi or an authentic taqueria, but I do love that dollar menu at McDonald’s. And when a new...
The River Church Community has been my one and only church home. I started attending back when we met in the gymnasium of the Sunnyvale Community Center. I didn’t know anyone, so I appreciated how the dim lighting enabled me to slink out unnoticed as soon as service was over. My...
At the beginning of the summer, I felt the Holy Spirit convicting me to temporarily delete Instagram and Facebook from my phone and to focus more on God. I was initially caught off guard by this random tug in my heart. I didn’t think I was addicted to social media. It wasn’t...
I’ve been off of Facebook for almost two years. And it’s been fantastic. I consider myself an infrequent user of social media. When I share this fact with friends and colleagues, I get mixed responses. Some applaud my courage to pursue a low-information diet (which seems to...
I don’t know what your internal monologue sounds like, but mine often includes a lot of the word should. I should have already finished that project. I should have prayed more before making a decision. I should have said what I really felt instead of what...
Almost a year ago I wrote a post about my journey of burnout. After writing that post, I attended Sunday service only a handful more times. And then I essentially stopped going. Naturally, people ask a few questions in response to this information: Are you looking for a new church? Are...
We live in a time when it is difficult to keep up with all the information available to us to read, listen to, or watch. I often ask my friends, “What are you doing with all that information?” Most of them reply, “Nothing.” Our heads are stuffed with information...