Family Members Are Kind of Like Messy Salad Bar Customers

The other day, I was at this salad bar where they had one of my favorite salad ingredients: chopped, boiled eggs. They had a small teaspoon that made it really difficult to get out as much egg as I wanted, so I decided to pick up the whole container and turn it slightly sideways to make it go faster. Let me tell you something: it worked. About three quarters of the eggs dumped onto the floor, right in the middle of the busiest hour for the little restaurant, which only had two employees working. And when I got the attention of the cashier…

The Glorious Frustration of Being Married

August 5, 2014December 22, 2014 Categories: MarriageTags: conflict · criticism · forgiveness · grace · marriage · suffering · temptation

Before I got married, I drove however fast I wanted and took whatever route I wanted. Granted, on my way to wherever I was going, I also had a knack for running late because of my propensity to get lost. And although I hate to admit it, even now my inner compass doesn’t function like the other people out there who have an unexplainable good sense of direction. One of those other people is my wife, and it wasn’t long into our relationship before she figured out that when it came to finding our way around unfamiliar areas, she and…

Parallel Parking Debacle Reveals My Resistance to the Holy Spirit

July 29, 2014July 31, 2014 Categories: Growing PainsTags: conflict · forgiveness · grace · guilt · sin · suffering · temptation2 Comments

The other day, I asked my wife to bring my daughters to downtown DC for lunch because it was my youngest child’s birthday, and I wanted us to celebrate as a family. It was probably a bad idea.

Seven Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Leave a Church

July 26, 2014December 1, 2014 Categories: ChurchTags: Church · conflict · criticism · religiousness2 Comments

In 2007, my fiancé and I almost left the church I had been a part of for two years. I was happy there, but we had just gotten engaged, and we figured we might be better off if we just started over at a new church. In retrospect, we weren’t very thoughtful about the whole thing at all – actually, we were pretty much just feeling our way through the decision, which is what I think a lot of people do when they leave churches, and naturally so. Emotions are oftentimes the clearest things in our minds when we’re making these decisions.

One Way to Stop an Argument with Your Spouse

July 19, 2014July 22, 2014 Categories: MarriageTags: conflict · forgiveness · grace · Holy Spirit · marriage · prayer · sin · temptation

The other night, I was on my way out the door to go to a church men’s group, and I told my wife I didn’t know how to get there. She gave me directions to the house, which was located in another part of D.C. I repeated the directions back to her, and then I got in the car and drove away. But then one block later, I realized I didn’t have my cell phone with me.

So You Got Robbed at Church – Now What?

July 8, 2014July 12, 2014 Categories: ChurchTags: Church · conflict · fear · forgiveness · grace · healing · religiousness · sin · suffering2 Comments

On Sunday, I was taking my daughters downstairs to their Sunday School class when I passed a couple of women on their way up to the sanctuary. One of the two women was looking down; the other was holding her arm and whispering into her ear. It seemed odd to me, but I was most concerned that the visitors feel comfortable; and I just assumed that the woman looking down had a disability or something. She didn’t.

What Happens to Others When You Go on a Facebook Rant

May 22, 2014May 26, 2014 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: conflict · criticism · Facebook · fear · friendship · grace · technology

The other day, someone posted a rant on Facebook in which they laid down the law about certain people who have a particular lame habit, which I shall not name here. The point is, their rant totally applied to me, and I involuntarily felt defensive.

What You May Not Want to Hear About Marriage

May 20, 2014March 9, 2018 Categories: MarriageTags: conflict · grace · marriage · sacrifice · suffering

After aggressively saving for a while, my wife and I just purchased a home that was totally remodeled. When the inspector was going through the house, he warned us that during the course of the first year, the new structure would settle, leaving cracks in the walls. Then a friend who purchased a similar home warned me that no matter how good the house looked, I would find all kinds of things wrong with it during the first year. Despite getting this advice from an experienced home inspector and a trusted friend, my internal reaction in response was, My house is going to be different.

What Evangelists and Pit Bull Lovers Have in Common

May 13, 2014May 16, 2014 Categories: It's About TrustTags: conflict · evangelism · faith · parenthood1 Comment

The other day, I was riding the city bus with my daughters in Washington, D.C., when I noticed a heavy-set, middle-aged couple sitting next to us wearing shirts that appeared to read “MILLION MAN MARCH FOR BIBLES” in hot pink. But I wasn’t totally sure that’s what it said, because they were leaning forward looking at their phones, and it made it hard to read their shirts.

The Reason Big City Folks are so Rude

April 25, 2014April 28, 2014 Categories: Growing PainsTags: conflict · criticism · religiousness · sin · temptation

I grew up in south Mississippi, where we kind of looked down on city folks – especially if they were from up north (“up north” basically meant anywhere past the northern border of Tennessee, or too far into south Florida, or anywhere in the midwest – or the west coast).

The Reason Christians Can Be Horrible at Forgiving

April 19, 2014April 22, 2014 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: conflict · forgiveness · grace · healing · prayer · religiousness · sin · temptation

I had someone whom I refused to forgive for years. The odd thing was that I was sure I had forgiven them. I had prayed about the hurt they caused, told others I had let it go, and even made a point to build a relationship with them.

Learning What You’re Really Like is Priceless (But Painful)

April 9, 2014November 28, 2014 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: conflict · criticism

I still remember the night my friend Aaron suggested I interview three people to learn what kind of impact I had on them. I was in a men’s accountability group, and no one other than Aaron seemed enthusiastic about our doing it. I was especially uncomfortable when I looked at the interview questions, realized they were designed to elicit mostly-negative responses, and saw one question that was particularly pointed: What do you observe about my life that you find distasteful?

What Angry Driving Teaches Me About Jesus

March 26, 2014March 30, 2014 Categories: Growing PainsTags: conflict · grace · prayer · sin · temptation4 Comments

One of the sure signs I’m not in a good place with Jesus is when I feel myself becoming an angry driver – I’m serious.

What I Learned from the Secretary at WDAM

March 14, 2014March 17, 2014 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: conflict · friendship · grace · temptation

One time when I was in seventh grade, there was a solar eclipse and my friend Wade and I decided to use it as an opportunity to crank call the local TV station (to the millenials: “crank calling” is something you used to be able to easily do before the miraculous advent of “caller ID.”)

Hold Onto Your Spouse Tonight

March 13, 2014March 14, 2014 Categories: MarriageTags: conflict · grace · healing · marriage · parenthood4 Comments

Yesterday, I was leaving for work when I noticed that my two-year-old daughter wouldn’t look at me when I said goodbye. “Is everything okay?” I asked. She just looked at the floor.

Joshua Rogers

Finding God in the Ordinary

Tag: conflict