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It’s Complicated
One of my sons had a birthday last week. I had a number of people over the weekend ask if he had a good day. If I’m honest, it’s a difficult question to answer. I think the hope and expectation is, “Yes! He had a great day!” In many ways, he did have a great… Continue reading
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“Because the Lord Hated Us”
There are times I come across a passage in the Bible that sort of surprises me. Times when I wonder if I’ve ever noticed a particular verse before, even though I’ve read through the passage many times previously. I have been reading through the Old Testament this summer and am currently in the book of… Continue reading
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The True Paradox of Faith
I come from a family comprised mostly of adventure seekers. Whether it be parachuting from a plane or hanging from the side of a mountain on a Via Feratta, the search for the next rush of adrenaline is often on their minds. The day God was handing out adventure genes, however, I was given a… Continue reading
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Pressing Forward as Pain Settles
We were traveling on and off over the last couple of weeks and when we got home, one of my sons realized his Airpods could not be located. I opened the “Find My” app on my phone to see where we should start looking and as I scrolled through the app, Ezra’s name popped up… Continue reading
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A Misunderstood Grief
In many ways before losing my son to cancer, I misunderstood grief. I believed that having a right theology of suffering, having a solid understanding of Scripture, and having hope in Jesus would somehow lessen the pain of loss. I believed that the greater the faith meant the greater the hope and because of hope,… Continue reading
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Lessons From Kevin
This past week, we had to put our fuzzy, faithful, canine-companion, Kevin Jeffrey, to sleep. His life of 11 years ended rather suddenly. We knew he had been declining for a bit, but did not realize how near the end was for him. I suppose that is often the reality with death; we know it… Continue reading
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The Quiet Griever and the Comfort of God
I imagine much of it is what is tailor-fed to me thanks to AI, but thinking of Mother’s Day, I had as many notifications and ads for bereaved mothers as I did posts that honored mothers. At church, there is always a prayer thanking God for mothers, but also a prayer for those who grieve… Continue reading
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The Land of the Living
I have spent a lot of time over the last three years wrestling with God and his word, trying to reconcile pieces of God’s word that I know are true but have felt hard to believe. I know that when I question God, it is I who am in the wrong. It is I who… Continue reading
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On Decluttering Hope
I spent the bulk of my morning on Monday decluttering many spaces in my home. I combed through my own closet and got rid of clothing that I had not worn over the winter. I dug out countless “treasures” (translated mostly junky items) from my younger boys’ room. I cleaned out the linen closet. I… Continue reading
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Lessons In the Third Year
As I wrote last week, this past Sunday would have been Ezra’s 21st birthday. I had hoped with it being the third birthday we have endured without him, it would have been a bit easier. In some ways, it was. In other ways, days of significance still have a raw, pain-filled nature to them. I… Continue reading
Faithful Paradox 