Until NFL owners and the NFL Players Association are willing to put less money in their pockets, don’t expect their influence to go much farther than celebrity players recording public service announcements. In the meantime, use the awkward courage the NFL refuses to show. Intervene when you see a friend or family member on the verge of abusing alcohol. You might just be saving another precious someone from a different kind of abuse.
Since compiling my 2016 reviews, I might have absorbed more nonfiction books than I had cumulatively read in my entire adult life (including 2016). To make that happen, I listened to fewer podcasts and took more nature hikes with headphones. … Continued
He had stopped my shot but started my destiny.
Though Death took her there, it didn’t win because it had to come to her. It had to play by her rules. It had to waste multiple arrows. It had to face the “rage against the dying of the night.” She wore Death out a little bit, enough to give the rest of us more time. I can’t speak for the rest of my family, but I’m going to use that time to make sure I’ll be missed as much as she will be.
While Crystal will never jump out of an airplane or off a bungee platform with me, she will jump into messes. Though she may never run off a mountain in a paraglider, she will run to someone’s aide. While I’m chasing adrenaline, she’s chasing social justice. So, the next time you think I’m the brave one of the two of us, think again.
Over my past decade in the church, I’ve sat in literally hundreds of circles with other men. As we talk about our doubts, personal battles, and spiritual journeys, inevitably someone says that they “struggle with lust.” In terms of the … Continued
I’ve been diving into the books, articles, and even YouTube videos that have made significant blips on my cultural radar. I’m learning a lot about how to reduce stress, avoid a midlife crisis, and build a legacy—how not to waste my life.
Maher was describing the blessing I try not to take for granted and the responsibility my friendships often require. If you don’t have this reality in your life, you can. If you do have this luxury in your life, don’t keep it to yourself. There’s a world out there literally dying for what you have.
Crystal’s also in the process of proving the Apostle Peter’s hypothetical scenario true: “Even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.”
As of right now, I’m keeping 40% more of my New Year’s resolutions than when I first got serious about my goals a decade ago. That might not sound like a lot, but my friends and family have told me that they can see real change happening in my life. I’ve gotten to this mile marker, in part, by following these five principles.
What I don’t know is whether or not I fell in love with the exception to the rule. I’ve been to seasides on four continents and to beaches in at least eight countries. This is the first time I’ve felt this comfortable with my feet in the sand and nothing to do. I guess I’ll have to give another beach a try to know for sure.
The twenty or so books I have finished so far in 2016, though, have each left an impression on me. Several have created meaningful conversations in my life and even some personal growth. I’ve listed the books below and commented on each for two reasons: (1) to remind me of my takeaways and (2) to pique your interest in the better ones.
Theologians have studied God’s expressions in similar ways as the linguists and scientists of Arrival evaluated the transcriptions of the heptapods. Like the linguists, it can be easy for us to focus on parsing and expounding—on asking, “What is your plan here!?”
I don’t know if I’ve ever said this about a kid, but it seemed like the cheerful abandon of our date was cathartic for JJ. It definitely was for me. I hadn’t expected that, and I didn’t plan to walk away with a “moral to the story”—even though all kids’ flicks are didactic.
Across the last four decades, that was the first time that word was applied to me (in person, anyway). That’s probably why I cocked my head a little when I heard the designation. It might explain why I’ve walked around with that moment and that sound for months now, trying to figure out what to do with it.
I don’t need a midlife crisis, because I have a decent handle on who I am, who I want to be, and how much the distance between those two points is shrinking. I just want a big journey to celebrate a big milestone.
I don’t know if I’ll ever make it back to the Conrad,
But that’s not for lack of longing.
I already miss a place I didn’t even know existed for my first 38 years.
If I do return, I’ll see more rock and less ice.
There will be less of the glacier.
But the Conrad will see more of me—a better me.
With more and more faith-based movies making money on the big screen, maybe we’re not too far from Christian themes coming to the small screen. Reality TV is just the venue for that cable revival. Church people have some prime licensing tie-ins that could get us to a critical mass that network executives won’t be able to ignore.
Regardless of who wins, I guarantee you will see more than a few of these posts the day after the election.
As bloggers, podcasters, comedians, academics, and others confront stereotypes, may we as a culture also not assume that “boys will be boys.” Please don’t equate that boy-ness to misogyny, objectification, and sexual assault. Please don’t think Drumpf represents maleness, masculinity, or manhood any more than Kim Kardashian, Rosanne Barr, or Hillary Clinton represent all women.
So, why am I mentioning it again? Why even blog about the foremost embarrassment in my memory? To disarm it. To take away some of its power. To help me laugh at it for the first time and chalk it up to fate. To remind myself that I don’t have it all together.
The irony of the situation was that I was asked to speak about what I’ve seen God do in odd or uncomfortable ways over the past few years of my life. Using Bob Goff’s book, Love Does, as a filter, I told my story of life change and the stories of sovereignty that affirmed my spiritual journey. I challenged the circle to respond to God’s promptings, even when they don’t understand the reason or efficacy of that obedience.
We summited one peak in cold, blowing rain; and I said to one of my teammates, “I don’t know if there’s something broken in me, but I love this!”
Kendall embraced this intentional lifestyle instead of the American dream. He bought into the concept of eternity and brought the weight of it into daily practice. He jumped into a lasting legacy with both feet. He walked a path so many regret not taking. He showed us how to do this life thing, even though he was given less time to do it.
The story I’ll remember most won’t be the one on the screen. It’ll be the one God wrote and directed behind the scenes. A story of rescue, a tale of sovereignty.