life. faithful.

It's so easy to turn a blind eye to the evil happening in our world. So many of us have been desensitized to it--the news is filled with shocking stories to the point that we turn it off, ignore the terrible things happening. We maybe shake our heads and say a silent prayer, but then we walk away and forget. We forget the ones whose lives have been so callously taken. We forget those who have had their entire futures changed.  We are told that those who perpetrate evil acts are actually just victims of their circumstances. But then, something happens that makes people wake up and take notice.  First, it was a heartless, evil, senseless murder of a young woman on public transportation...and though the murder itself was heinous, what was even worse was seeing the apathy of the people around her. It was heartbreaking to see people sit in silence while a young woman lost her life. Then, it was the cowardly assassination of a young father whose "crime" was speaking up and spea...

There's a song that's been around for a while, but there's a specific line in that song that really sticks with me: "Sometimes I gotta stop remember that You're God and I am not."   It's from "Thy Will" by Hillary Scott, released 9 years ago.   I don't know about you, but I have a tendency to want to control everything in my life. I've told my kids many times that our biggest strengths can also be our greatest weaknesses, and this is one of those things for me--my self-reliance. It's a great thing when I need to convince myself to do hard things, but it's not so great when I fall onto my self-reliance as an excuse for not trusting others...and most importantly, not trusting God.   You see, it's easy for me to say that I believe the promises of God are true. I know He promises never to leave. I know He promises that His love is unconditional and eternal. I know He promises that He made plans for me long before time began. I kno...

 Dear Michael,  This year marks 21 without you. It's such a strange thought...I had just turned 20 when you were killed, so as of this year I've officially lived more of my life without you here than I did with you. Somehow it's not as hard as the birthday that made me older than you, but it's definitely a strange feeling. There's so much I wish you were here for. I wish you had met your 4 nieces and 4 nephews. I wish you could hang out on the front porch. I wish you could teach your nephew how to use his size on the basketball court. I wish you could see your niece catch black snakes. I wish I could give them all more of you than just stories and pictures. I wish they could know the real you, not the version that gets a bit glorified by your absence. I wish they could see your crooked smile in real life. Last year, the kids had a ref during basketball season who had gone to school with you...and I was caught off guard by how old he was. I know I'm getting old (...

 I was listening to a debate the other day between John Lennox and Peter Atkins, two Oxford professors with very different views on the Christian faith. If you're a nerd like me, you might enjoy watching the debate here . At the end of their debate, they were asked a question that boiled down to "Why do you believe the Christian faith is or isn't the right one?" John Lennox is a mathematician trained at Cambridge, Oxford, and Cardiff. He is also a Christian apologist who often speaks on how science and the Christian faith can coexist. If you've spent much time here, you know my views on the so-called conflict between science and faith, so I truly enjoy listening to Dr. Lennox (though I have to admit that I believe we likely disagree about a few things). When I heard the question and then Lennox's answer, it promoted this post. In the United States, the Pew Research study from 2022 said that 81% of people believe in God. I tried to find a number worldwide, but ...

 I was listening to Alistair Begg and he said that so often we say that we believe God is in control and will work everything out--but the problem is, we want and expect Him to work those things out the way we want, when we want. So often, we quote Romans 8:28 almost as some sort of incantation that will take any bad thing in our life and turn it into something good. But I would like to propose an uncomfortable idea--that might be a misreading. " And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (NKJV) What if the main focus of that verse isn't actually the "work together for good to those who love God", but instead is the "according to His purpose"? We talk about the sovereignty of God, but so many times I think we still try to put limits on what that means. When good things happen, we praise God and thank Him for His gifts. When we are faced with hard times, we pray and a...

This upcoming weekend is a strange one. Like everyone else, I view Memorial Day weekend as the start of summer. It's a time for grilling out, spending time with friends and family, swimming (if you don't mind the water still being pretty cool), and sunshine. For the last 20 years, though, it's also been a day of remembrance. It's the day that reminds me of my brother's sacrifice in Najaf, Iraq, when he gave his life to protect freedom. It's the day I'm reminded of so many loved ones who chose honor and sacrifice over ease and peace. So as you enjoy your weekend, I would ask you to take just a minute to honor those who gave their all...and remember those who love them. I've posted this before, but it's been a long time. I can't tell you when I wrote this, and I'm not much of a poet. Despite that, in these words you get a tiny glimpse of the relationship I shared with my brother...and why he is still so missed. ***  You taught me to be strong ...