I put a hole in the wall once at my parent’s house when I was 16. Our house had been up for sale and when the news came from my sister that it had sold before my parents had a chance to tell me, well, I guess I was angry. I remember leaving the house and…
Gathering Mustard Seeds
There are moments of struggle all around us. Adversity with family members, disappointment in work, pain and discouragement in unexpected sickness, loss of hope. These lows of life are something none of us are immune to. It’s in these moments of struggle that I start to gather mustard seeds. Even if I can only manage…
I Am with You
I feel humbled around Christmas time, because I remember when God was faithful to my family in 2010 during one of the harder years of our lives. We would not have Christmas that year. In fact, we would not even have Christmas dinner. We had come to grips with that, it was what it was….
The Puzzle of Love
I applied to the CIA once. Then I interviewed. Then I got the job. Part of the process involved listing references of people I went to high school with, worked with, lived near, and anyone I had spoken to in the last 10 years. OK, the last part isn’t true, but I wouldn’t have been…
Clay and the Boston Park Plaza
Grace’s Search Party I have a friend named Clay. He’s a little unpredictable. Alright, he’s completely unpredictable. Clay is the kinda’ guy you call if you’re going on a crazy adventure. He’s down for anything – jumps in first, asks questions later. My kinda’ guy. I moved to Boston this year after graduating from school…
Who Will We Be?
When this day comes each year, I think about the people that ran back inside those buildings. I think about how none of them got out of bed that morning planning to live their last day. I think about how the heroes of that day, each of them with their own lives and families, chose…
Climbing the Crane
Renovations of the Heart Sam and I went to the University of Tennessee – and just recently graduated about a year ago now. Tennessee and the University of Tennessee are known for a lot of things. Some big things like being in the South, having people that talk with a little twang and say “ya’ll”…
Catching Fireflies
As a kid, nothing matters more than the moment you’re in. Catching fireflies is one of my favorite memories with my Dad. They are memories that I was always fully in. And he was fully in. We were fully present together, something you only appreciate more as you grow older. The cool green blades of…
A Man with Scars in His Hands
“I love that He chose to keep his scars when He came back”, my Dad’s voice hardly carried as it hit the brisk air filled with frigid ocean mist. We were trekking all along the rugged Maine coastline, etching it with our footsteps. Thunderous waves slapped the rocky fortresses again and again, the jagged coast…
The Fearless Phantom
the phantom walks the hallsand they are silent as can behis foot steps make no noisesand his eyes you cannot see the fearless phantom sleeps well at nightthere’s nothing in his nightmaresthat could happen in real lifehe outlives all his friends and generations of peoplehe lives the longest daybut his life will have no sequel…