Grace is a tricky thing. It’s something we all need but are loathe to accept. Although we perhaps aren’t as generous with it as we could be, we’d still much rather give it than receive it. My son Ben is seven. He has been writing books, typing pages on the computer and printing them out, leaving plenty of space for illustrations. (As I have taught him. ;) His most recent version was about Ninjago, a weighty tome that was a full eight pages in length. Ben’s big sister Lucy served as editor, helping correct some misspellings and punctuation errors. Before her involvement, the sentences were choppy, missing some words, and as most of the copy was generated by sound-spelling, it was tainted by the common accent of childhood. For example: “Liybawey.” Can you figure it out? It’s one of our family’s favorite haunts. Also known as the “library." Now, do I look down on him for the missteps, for the obvious spelling errors, and the shallow, predictable plot? Of course not. Do …

[Read more...] about A Message for When You Feel Like a Failure

Why do we build sancastles on the beach? I mean, what’s the point? Eventually, the surf will swallow it whole and all the hard work will be for nothing. That’s what I was thinking as my kids were enthusiastically erecting a stronghold of sand on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. They worked fast. Built it high. And even added a moat for protection. That led to questions about life. If you’re lucky, you have eight or nine decades to work with, although most of us have much less than that. We busily build families, careers, and accomplishments to be proud of. It’s easy to wonder: What’s the point? Why bother? You know it won’t last. The surf will eventually win. It always does. So I started compiling a list of reasons: Maybe it’s exciting to see what you can accomplish before the clock runs out. Maybe it's to experience a feeling of pride in the little wins, no matter how fleeting, like when your makeshift moat holds off a surge of water. Maybe the enjoyment comes …

[Read more...] about Building Sandcastles and the Meaning of Life

I think it’s safe to assume that physically, the first drop on a roller coaster feels a lot like riding a runaway train hurtling off a cliff. (Admittedly, I’ve never actually experienced the latter.) Even though our brains know the ultimate outcome of each, both experiences will cause us to scream like that thief in Home Alone who got the tarantula placed on his face. I’m an eternal optimist (I am a Cubs fan, after all) but also a bit of a worrier. When an unexpected expense comes up, or the bank account looks smaller than it should, or an abnormality on a medical test pops up, I’m only a hop, skip, and a jump away from pushing the panic button. It’s in those moments that my life feels like a runaway train, and I'm racing toward certain doom. My fear is something terrible and my faith is tested. And yet, so far, disaster is always avoided. The car rights itself, the path levels out, God provides. It’s not that bad things never happen, but they somehow give way to something …

[Read more...] about Your Life: Roller Coaster or Runaway Train?

This is a guest post by our friend, Ryan McRae. Ryan has a wicked sense of humor and a neat way of looking at things. You can find him at ryanmcrae.net, where you must check out his Man Card. Right now, the internet is blazing with how social media actually disconnects us; we spend too much time on it and we are always looking at our phones, etc. And trust me, I get it and I'm the most guilty person on the planet. But there is a way to use social media for the good of our souls instead of cluttering our lives. …

[Read more...] about Using Social Media for the Good of Your Soul

After a speaking gig in Houston a few weeks ago, we drove down to Galveston to spend a little time near the Gulf. As Lucy waded in the water, immersed in a game she likes to call “tricking the waves,” Kim commented on how much deeper she was willing to go compared to a few months ago when we were in Florida. Now, Lucy didn’t go diving headfirst into the surf or anything, but she didn’t need to. She was being, as I like to say, “just brave enough.” …

[Read more...] about Just Brave Enough