If you’ve got a calling, there’s one thing you should keep in mind

On January 1, 2018, things were not looking good for the new year. My dad died on December 30. I was also in the middle of a months’ long treatment for a chronic illness, and the treatment had left me with ongoing physical symptoms and mood changes. With all of this swirling around me, my demanding job felt 10 times harder. It was too much. If you had asked me to list my top 25 goals for the year, “writing a book” wouldn’t have been one of them — not by a long shot. I didn’t have the time, the will,…

Have enough self-respect to ask others to give it

April 5, 2019April 8, 2019 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: conflict · criticism · fear · shame

This is a story about a law student, a partner at a firm, and gross towel usage. Brace yourself. Here we go. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with being a law student who’s hired to work as a “summer associate” at a law firm. You try to do everything you can to impress the partners. After all, those partners are the ones paying you wads of cash to come audition for them.

25 of the best Christian quotes of all time

March 18, 2019March 19, 2019 Categories: UncategorizedTags: C.S. Lewis

When it comes to my favorite Christian quotes, most of mine are from C.S. Lewis. No other writer has had a greater impact on my imagination and view of God’s greatness.

I never wanted my daughter to be called this name — then she heard it in kindergarten

March 10, 2019 Categories: ParenthoodTags: acceptance · criticism · judging · kids · parenthood

One night when my daughter was in kindergarten I was putting her down to sleep, and as I was leaving the room, she said, “Daddy, a girl at school called me a mean name.” “What was it?” I asked. She covered her face with her hands and said, “I don’t want to say.”

God bless the rude DMV clerk who taught me this wonderful lesson

February 26, 2019February 26, 2019 Categories: ParenthoodTags: family · kids · parenthood · sanctification

I arrived at the DMV late on a Friday afternoon, hoping to get my driver’s license without suffering through a long wait. I never imagined the monumentally awful experience that was about to unfold.

I told a huge lie — and I’ll never forget how God handled it

February 17, 2019 Categories: Spiritual Growing PainsTags: forgiveness · grace · shame · sin

When I was 18, I told the most elaborate lie of my life and I did it because I was lazy. I worked at the meat department of a grocery store where the assistant manager, Harold Johnson (a pseudonym), was known for recruiting meat department employees to stock shelves. That wasn’t my job and I was determined to avoid it.

An unexpected answer when I asked God to end suffering in my life

February 3, 2019August 3, 2019 Categories: Trusting GodTags: faith · grace · suffering · waiting

I know someone who’s trapped in a dead-end job right now. He’s been there for years and he’s trying to make the best of it, but realistically, his resume is probably far too stale for him to get a different job for which he’s qualified. I know a woman who has an ongoing chronic condition that doctors can’t fix. You’d never know it if you met her — the embarrassing symptoms, the limitations. She longs for some medical breakthrough that will fix the problem, but there’s little hope for that and for whatever reason, God hasn’t healed her.

Somebody left an anonymous gift for me – I hope I never find out who did it

January 20, 2019February 3, 2019 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: friendship · gratitude

A few years ago, I moved to a window office at work and sent an email around letting everyone know I had relocated. In the email, I jokingly invited everyone to come by for a “tour” of the new space and apologized that I didn’t have any hors d’oeuvres for my guests. Well, I didn’t have hors d’oeuvres yet.

Feeling drained by a relationship? Try this.

January 12, 2019May 26, 2019 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: conflict · friendship · judging · rejection

Several years ago, I made friends with a guy who volunteered at the same organization as me. He seemed like he wanted to be good friends, but he didn’t act like much of one. Sometimes he passive aggressively insulted me; other times he flattered me. He could be aloof, and then he could be clingy. But I stuck around because we had known each other for a while, and I felt like I owed it to him.

The unforgettable reason a dog named Spooky was saved

January 12, 2019 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: acceptance · grace · healing · love · sacrifice

My friend Ann was driving through the cemetery in the blazing heat one summer afternoon and her heart was heavy with grief. Her father had died four months before and nothing could shake her of the sense of loss – until suddenly, there was an interruption.

Seven ways to improve your marriage in 2019

December 29, 2018 Categories: Being MarriedTags: marriage

This year marked a decade of marriage for my wife and me, and after our handful of years together, we still have a long way to go. Even so, we’ve made progress in some important ways and I would encourage any couple to try growing in these areas:

Lessons learned from running through the airport with a Christmas ham

December 22, 2018December 22, 2018 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: Christmas · friendship · gratitude · love

It was Christmas Day of 2002 and I boarded a flight to Milwaukee with a ham as a carry-on. The ham was a gift from my mom to my ham-loving brother. The ham was in a box, which I put in the overhead compartment next to my bag, and then waited to take off. Unfortunately, though, we sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes, raising the risk of me missing my connecting flight in Detroit.

The one good thing that happened during my worst Christmas ever

December 15, 2018 Categories: Being MarriedTags: Christmas · faith · gratitude · suffering

“Honey, I’m not feeling well,” I said as my stomach began churning after Christmas Eve dinner at my sister’s house. Three hours later, I was slumped over a toilet, feeling the full effect of a merciless virus.

Dear President Bush, thank you for your tears

December 8, 2018 Categories: ParenthoodTags: death · dying · family · parenthood

To President George W. Bush: Mr. President, I’m writing to tell you that I watched the eulogy you gave your dad this week, and it hit me hard. I thought you were going to get through it without giving into emotion, but right at the end, grief snuck up on you and did a sucker punch to your gut. The tears came.

Mom didn’t enjoy her last Christmas with all of her kids (and that’s OK)

December 1, 2018 Categories: ParenthoodTags: Christmas · conflict · gratitude · love · parenthood · sanctification

It was Christmas of 1984, and my mother crammed my three older siblings and me into a compact car and took us to Arkansas to celebrate the holiday. I vaguely remember it — my mother, on the other hand, remembers it quite clearly. Apparently, it was pretty rough. No doubt, putting one adult, two older teenagers and two small boys into a small car for six hours was a recipe for disaster. One of us — I shall not say who — was behaving horribly and Mom couldn’t seem to get control of the situation. She was exasperated nearly the entire time.

Joshua Rogers

Finding God in the Ordinary