My toddler was dangling on this guy’s neck, reminding me of Jesus

One time, when my second daughter was a toddler, I took her to a playground where we met another dad and his baby girl. The girls played together nicely and I chatted with the other dad, Justin, who seemed like a nice guy. Then things suddenly got awkward, thanks to my daughter. Justin climbed onto the playground equipment to check on his daughter, squatting down to speak to her–but then my daughter intercepted. Crawling over to Justin, she grabbed his shirt, pulled herself up, reached her arms around his neck, and hugged him. “Awwww!” said the other adults standing around…

Fellow believer, here’s how we must deal with shame

February 21, 2021 Categories: Trusting GodTags: forgiveness · grace · love · shame · sin

I used to work at a grocery store meat department when I was in college, and one day, I started chatting with a young woman and her little girl. Her daughter had a rotten tooth and — I don’t know what I was thinking — I smiled and said: “Looks like somebody needs to brush her teeth!” The mom glared at me and said: “Looks like somebody needs to learn their manners.” A few days later, I saw the lady and her daughter at the grocery store and I apologized. Both the woman and her daughter were gracious and forgave…

Two cops pulled me over — and one of them preached the Gospel

February 2, 2020February 2, 2020 Categories: Growing PainsTags: faith · grace · lega

It was early in the morning in Washington, D.C., and I was driving down Montana Avenue about ten minutes from home. But suddenly, the blue lights of a police cruiser zoomed into the reflection of my review mirror. My stomach dropped. When I pulled over, the officer swerved his car off the road and pulled up behind me. Then he got out, swaggered over to my window, and peered in. “Do you know why I pulled you over?” “I have no idea,” I answered flatly as my heart raced.

A girl with a disability danced — and showed me what real love looks like

January 11, 2020January 10, 2020 Categories: Growing PainsTags: adoption · grace · love

I have friends who adopted a little girl from another country, and their child has some significant disabilities that require her to wear a brace on her leg. You would think that fitting braces for a child’s leg wouldn’t be a difficult thing, but it has actually been a long process that has been debilitating and painful for her.

I thought I wanted to marry her — but a catfish dinner left me in shock

October 19, 2019October 19, 2019 Categories: MarriageTags: grace · love · marriage

I grew up in the Deep South and in my family, there was an expectation that women should always be “ladylike.” That meant, in part, that a woman should never burp in front of others (seriously, I’ve never heard my mom do it). Another thing about the South is that the secret ingredient to 93 percent of entrees is grease, so if you’re someone who avoids fried foods, that requires building up a certain intestinal fortitude to digest the lard that permeates the Southern diet.

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

February 17, 2019 Categories: 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.

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.

What happened when I said “thank you” to an unpopular cop

November 3, 2018 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: acceptance · grace · gratitude · judging · judgmentalism · love · rejection

One time, I met a D.C. traffic-directing cop in the line at the mall and I remarked how dangerous her job was. “I mean, people in D.C. drive so crazy,” I said. “You could get killed.” “Oh no,” she said, “don’t feel sorry for me. Feel sorry for the people in parking enforcement. They get screamed at, spat on, cursed out – you name it. It’s horrible.”

If you feel distracted in prayer, don’t worry—it’s a good thing

September 24, 2018 Categories: Growing PainsTags: grace · guilt · judging · prayer

So many times the same frustrating thing happens when I try to pray. “Heavenly Father,“ I say, but almost immediately I get interrupted by my own thoughts.

What happened the sixth time I went to the principal’s office

September 8, 2018 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: grace · gratitude · kids · parenthood

When I was in third grade, I had problems behaving. My heart was in the right place, but my good intentions didn’t make it to the surface a lot of the time. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to follow the rules.

If you think God looks at you and sees ugliness, think again

September 8, 2018October 17, 2018 Categories: Growing PainsTags: faith · grace · love · sin

One day when I was in my 20s, I was struggling with a lot of guilt and shame because I felt like the only thing God ever saw about me was my sin and brokenness. God must’ve told my mother. I came into the dining room where my mom was and she said, “Joshua, look at that angel up there on the shelf,” and then she pointed to a ceramic angel behind me.

With these four words, I knew my wife loved me

March 14, 2018 Categories: Marriage · UncategorizedTags: grace · gratitude · marriage

I sat on a bench in a beautiful cemetery visiting with the woman who would be my wife and tried to ignore my sad, racing heart. Our relationship was about to end — not because I wanted it to — because she was about to learn the awful truth. “There’s something I need to tell you,” I said.

What did Jesus say about natural disasters?

September 10, 2017 Categories: Trusting GodTags: death · faith · grace

Several years ago in my hometown, a man was driving down the highway with his wife when a tree fell down across the highway, landed right on the cab of their pickup truck, and killed them both. Later that week, I was in a church service in which the pastor referenced the freak accident and said, “Do you think that kind of thing happened by accident? There’s no way.”

The One Person We’re Proud to Judge

July 5, 2017July 6, 2017 Categories: Growing PainsTags: grace · guilt · judgmentalism

I pushed the elderly woman in the wheelchair and started our conversation but I knew I had to whisper. For this college sophomore, the workplace had become a tricky arena in which to talk about Jesus.

Joshua Rogers

Finding God in the Ordinary

Tag: grace