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I started my journey of blogging in 2003 — mostly to capture what I called “transitioning life’s journey”.
In 2023 I took a 3 year break from blogging, but have decided to return to it. I hope you enjoy.
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Search 20+ years of blog writing…
Disabilities: “Jesus loves me just as I am”
In the previous few weeks I had the privilege of being interviewed on the topic of anxiety in church ministry by Dr. Grcevich over at his blog Church4EveryChild. He runs a ministry called Key Ministry which aims to help kids with hidden disabilities and their families, connect to a church community. Over the last couple […]
Are You a Self-Differentiated Leader? If Not, You Need to Become One
Leadership is an important topic for me. I spent years in leadership in various ministry positions, and I continue to take on leadership roles within my newer vocation of marriage and family therapy. But leadership has become more and more of an important topic for me these last couple of years because I know I […]
The 9 Letter Dirty Word in the Church
Introvert. Yes, if you don’t know that that has often been/and is a dirty word in the Evangelical and faith communities, then you are probably an extrovert. I didn’t realize it was a dirty word until I read Adam McHugh’s insightful and powerful book, Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture. […]
Today is the Day
The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good?. I thought that writing the book was the long and tough part, and that when I handed my manuscript in…I was sort of done. Wrong. There is so much more work to do, and I’m excited about all the conversations that I’m already having around […]
The Anxious Christian: There Is No Way to Properly Say Thank You to Everyone!
When I originally sat down to write acknowledgements for my book The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good?, I realized about 10 pages into the acknowledgements that that wasn’t going to work. The publisher was looking for 1-2 pages, but I was 10 pages in and only partly done thanking all the […]
Can Depression Offer Us a Gift?
In Thomas Moore’s book, Care of the Soul, he writes eloquently about the gift that depression may offer people. It’s an opportunity to embrace emotions that we often don’t deal with, leading us to a better understanding of ourselves and how we want to direct our life. Though he acknowledges that depression can become debilitating […]
Pressed to the Ground: A Theological Re-Frame of Depression
In my continuation on the topic of depression, especially male depression (here and here), I wanted to share something with you by Parker Palmer. In his wonderful book Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation (a must read), Parker has one of the most insightful, haunting, painful, and beautiful glimpses of someone […]
Communication: What ‘To Say’ And ‘Not To’ Say To A Depressed Man
“What is the most important thing you can do for a depressed husband, father, or son? Without a doubt it is to communicate love and acceptance to them with all the power you can muster, and to avoid blaming them or being judgmental about their depression. Your loved one has not chosen to be depressed. […]
The Angry…I Mean, Depressed Male: Do You Know Him?
Over the last several months when I have gathered for lunch with a few of my friends, we joke about the idea of me writing a follow up book to The Anxious Christian called The Angry Christian. Don’t worry, that is not on my to do list, but our conversation hints at an issue that […]
The Anxious Christian is Coming Soon….Sneak Peek
This has been an exciting month for me as I have been wrapping up some details on the soon to be publication of The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good?. The book will be released by Moody Publishers on March 1. I’m very thankful for the amazing group of people who have […]
Can You Tolerate Your Own Anxiety Long Enough to Grow?
[image by Phil Schatz] The ability to live in the question long enough for genius to emerge is a touchstone of creative success. In fact, a 2008 study published in the Journal of Creative Behavior revealed tolerance for ambiguity to be “significantly and positively related” to creativity. Uncertainty, Innovation, and the Alchemy of Fear These […]
Anxiety is Good…
Philosophers and Poets, from their perch on the cutting edge of reason, have always seen the advantage of anxiety. It is the “dizziness of reason,” argued Soren Kierkegaard; “the handmaiden of creativity,” said T.S. Eliot; “the beginning of conscience,” observed novelist Angela Carter. So have actors backstage, summoning eternal energies and edges for the roles […]
New Directions: 5 Changes in My Life and Career
The last year and a half of my life has been a complete whirlwind. That’s the best word that I can use to describe all the things that have been going on. So today, I’m excited to announce several different events and changes that have happened and that are on the horizon. First: As many […]
Steve Jobs, John Wesley, and How Pursuing Opportunities Often Come at Great Cost to Our Personal and Family Lives
The annals of history are filled with people who have done great things (inventions, writings, art, building, etc.) at great cost to their personal and family life. So it was not a surprise when I read Steve Jobs’ biographer Walter Isaacson say the following: Mr Jobs then explained why, despite his famous reclusiveness, he had […]
Encountering the Other in Sacred Space
“Our relationship lives in the space between us – it doesn’t live in me or in you or even in the dialogue between the two us – it lives in the space we live together and that space is sacred space.” –Martin Buber Such a beautiful quote by the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, who […]
Shane and Shane New Album Winners…
Thanks to everyone who submitted a comment on the blog entry this week to win the new Shane and Shane album. There were so many good comments and I’m hoping to comment on all of them over the next few days. But after the random drawing of commenter’s names we came up with five people […]
Shane and Shane on the Father-Daughter Relationship and God (and win their new album here)
Your daughter needs God. And she wants you to be the one to show her who He is, what He is like, and what He thinks about her. She wants to believe that there is more to life than what she sees with her eyes and hears with her ears. She wants to know that […]
Marriage: The Two Becoming One Is Not What You Think…
[image by The Welsh Poppy] Differentiation is a natural process in committed relationships that involves developing more of a self while growing closer to your partner. Men often sacrifice their relationship to hold onto their sense of self. Women often sacrifice their sense of self to stabilize their relationship. Differentiation is about having it both […]
One Woman’s Journey to Help Others Share Their Stories
A few months ago, a friend of mine pointed me towards the blog and online shop of Katie Clemons. My friend knew that I love to journal and thought I would like her stuff and her story. And he was right. I love the story of how Katie came into journaling and how that passion […]
Openness and Authenticity Are Not Enough
I’m currently reading a really great book, Restoration Therapy: Understanding and Guiding Healing in Marriage and Family Therapy by Terry D. Hargrave and Franz Pfitzer. In fact, I can’t recommend it enough. But as I was reading last night this section of the book jumped off the page at me. It jumped off the page […]