The Glorious Frustration of Being Married

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.

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.

What to do With the Things You Hate About Yourself

June 28, 2014July 1, 2014 Categories: Growing PainsTags: criticism · forgiveness · grace · guilt · healing · Holy Spirit · prayer · sexuality · sin · suffering · temptation

Back in 2008, I followed the advice of a dear friend and interviewed a few people about the impact my life had on them. The interview questions were designed to illicit mostly negative responses, and boy, did they ever.

Man Enough to Be Yourself With Other Men

June 17, 2014August 18, 2014 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: Church · friendship · grace · healing · sin · temptation5 Comments

You don’t have to look far in the church to find your fair share of male loners who struggle to have authentic friendships with other men. They know how to be in the same room with other men, and they know how to do things with them — but emotional transparency is off-limits.

The Scary Thing That Makes Us Powerful

May 8, 2014May 10, 2014 Categories: Growing PainsTags: criticism · forgiveness · friendship · marriage · prayer · sin · temptation

One time when I was a kid, I went to this church lock-in, and for whatever reason – I don’t remember – I was being so negative about everything. I was criticizing the building, the food, the people; if it had something to do with the lock-in, it was a target for my put-downs.

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.

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.

How to Know You’re Saved

March 17, 2014July 31, 2014 Categories: This and ThatTags: Church · doubt · faith · fear · forgiveness · grace · heaven · legalism · religiousness · temptation1 Comment

A significantly modified version of this post appeared at the Boundless Blog. You can find that here. (I like them both.) I was sitting in the church service when I heard the preacher say something that made me cringe: “If you can’t remember the day you gave your heart to Jesus, then you probably never were saved in the first place.”

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.”)

Something to Consider Before You Judge

March 10, 2014March 13, 2014 Categories: ParenthoodTags: conflict · forgiveness · grace · guilt · temptation

This weekend, my family and I were at a restaurant when my four-year-old started having a meltdown at the table because she couldn’t cut her sausage. I recognized that it had the potential of becoming a prolonged cry-fest, so I went over, picked her up, and took her over by the bar, where there were fewer people.

How to Turn Things Around with a Few Words

March 5, 2014March 7, 2014 Categories: Loving Your NeighborTags: criticism · sin · temptation2 Comments

When I was a kid, Excedrin pain reliever had this commercial in which the actor would open her hands around her head and say, “I’ve got a headache this big, and it’s got Excedrin written all over it.” I loved that commercial – too much.

You Can’t Afford to Date That Fixer-Upper

March 3, 2014May 28, 2014 Categories: This and ThatTags: dating · fear · marriage · Singleness · temptation1 Comment

My friends Cris and Sam had been planning their home purchase for months, and finally, after looking at several houses, they found a lovely home that seemed like the perfect fit. They negotiated with the seller, signed a contract, and began making settlement plans. But first, they had to do the inspection.

Be Careful What You Promise Yourself

January 14, 2014January 18, 2014 Categories: Growing PainsTags: grace · sin · temptation

For the last five days, I’ve walked past the Cozy Coup sitting in my driveway and gotten a dose of humility. Two years ago, I looked at a neighbor’s house where a Cozy Coup was in the front yard, and I told my wife that we would never allow our children to do that. “It looks trashy,” I said. Oh well, I guess our front yard looks trashy now.

Joshua Rogers

Finding God in the Ordinary

Tag: temptation