Today, I opened the package I’ve waited on for months

November 17, 2019November 17, 2019 Categories: UncategorizedTags: dreams · love · marriage · writing

Today, I was in the car with my wife, Raquel, and the kids when she pulled out a package that had just arrived. “Go ahead and open it,” I said, knowing what it was. Raquel tore off the top of the envelope and pulled out the hardbound copy of Confessions of a Happily Married Man: Finding God in the Messiness of Marriage, the book I’ve been working on for over a year and a half. We came to a stoplight and Raquel handed it to me. I took a deep breath and opened the book, flipping the pages and watching the words…

When Platforms Become Stumbling Blocks

April 26, 2017April 26, 2017 Categories: UncategorizedTags: vulnerability · writing

For the first few years I wrote my blog, it was the number one source of stress in my life — more than moving to a new state, having two kids, starting a new job, or getting diagnosed with an incurable condition.

The Strength of Weeping in Weakness

April 5, 2017April 5, 2017 Categories: PrayerTags: doubt · faith · fear · suffering · vulnerability · waiting · writing

I have a friend who was once known for her strength, and now she’s becoming known for her weakness. Rachel Wilhelm, a popular guest writer here, has felt her body break down over the last year. The only diagnosis doctors can offer is fibromyalgia, a mystery illness known for pain, acute weakness, and frequent sleep disturbance. Yet somehow in the midst of it, God has taken Rachel’s weakness and made something strong out of it. Here’s her story, in her own words:

I Wouldn’t Have Done My Best Without These Folks

April 9, 2016April 9, 2016 Categories: UncategorizedTags: friendship · grace · writing

This past week, I was sitting in a ballroom of a hotel with other members of the Evangelical Press Association as they were giving out awards in various writing and design categories. I knew that “Where Have All the Beautiful Women Gone?“, which I wrote for Boundless, had been nominated in the category of medium feature length article. But I didn’t have high hopes for it, especially after they announced the articles that received fifth through second places. To my great surprise, however, they named it as the top prize winner in the category.

Six Lessons from Six Years of Blogging

January 7, 2016January 7, 2016 Categories: UncategorizedTags: writing2 Comments

I had no idea what I was signing up for when I began blogging. I thought you just sat down, wrote several amazing posts, and then six months and ten thousand followers later, you began negotiating a book deal. Right.

Old Dreams Come Back to Surprise Me

October 28, 2015January 20, 2018 Categories: UncategorizedTags: kids · writing2 Comments

Whenever I visited my Aunt Susan as a kid, I begged her to let me borrow her camcorder so I could produce “TV shows.” A lot of my productions were my best imitation of NBC’s Today Show. And during the show, I did things like interview my brother Caleb about the Sears catalog, interview my cousin about the artwork on the wall, or engage in aimless monologues.

Blogging is Like Running a Lemonade Stand

April 21, 2015September 12, 2015 Categories: UncategorizedTags: writing1 Comment

On Jan. 8, 2010, I sat down and wrote my first post over at my personal blog, wondering if it might go viral. It did not, but I was undeterred. I figured it would just take some time — you know, six months or so — before the world recognized my talent. I would become a blogging rock star and be on my way to a book deal. Or not.

Five Lessons from Five Years of Blogging

January 8, 2015April 21, 2015 Categories: UncategorizedTags: writing1 Comment

Five years ago today, I published my first blog post on a rinky-dink website I called Spiritual Klutz. That post was a little essay called “Fatherhood Hits Me Upside the Head,” which I managed to write in spite of the grogginess and exhaustion of being a new dad. In the 1,825 days that have passed since then, I’ve posted hundreds of blog posts, Facebook status updates on my page, and a few tweets; and I’ve learned some valuable lessons in the process. Here are five of them that I’m happy to share with my fellow bloggers:

Joshua Rogers

Finding God in the Ordinary

Tag: writing