Blog
LITTLE LIGHTS
In defiance of darkness' historic claims on me, I chose to install lights in my backyard today instead of letting my joy be stolen by the pressure of preparation for an upcoming mission. My heart's ache and desperation, historically addressed by striving and over-preparation, found true healing today by stringing up little luminescent reminders of what's to come
WE STAND ALONE TOGETHER
It doesn't work for a man to walk alone.
When the idea was first proposed that God designed a man to walk in close fellowship with other men, I quickly dismissed it. Through the use of its masculine caricatures, Hollywood had me convinced early on
THE WOOKIE
On Sunday night, after over a year's worth of digging my heels in, I felt the Father say "Go with it". Meaning... "Get your daughter the dog she's been begging for." So I went with it.
NITROUS JOY BOMB
I snapped this shot of myself right before the doctor began carving the roots out of my #19 molar. I sent it to my wife with a love note to say "Wish you were here." To help patients relax, the nurse offers a few amenities, including a thick blanket, a comfy leather reclining chair, drugs
FEEDER ROAD
"Let's not do today" was my first involuntary thought as the alarm clock made its callous announcement. There are days you hate before they even happen. Today promised only slog, and the need to deal with
STRENGTH FOR SONS
I've recently been medicating myself with the adventures of Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman in "Long Way Round", a 10 episode documentary on an around the world motorcycle adventure I wish I could be on right now. Netflix has been my night time cocktail
A THIN PLACE
I was skeptical when I first learned we'd be getting lessons in Arctic survival from a Lutheran priest. But there we were, with snow all around and the tundra sticking it's face up through the remaining mask of Winter.
A NEW BROADCAST
On Christmas Eve, 1906, at 2100 hours, the first live broadcast of the human voice occurred, crossing miles of ocean to transmit something never before heard into the earphones of a few surprised shipboard radio operators along the Eastern seaboard.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Fast forward a quarter of a century and you will find me coaching soccer to 11 year old boys and 9 year old girls...
BEAVER WOOD LEADS ME TO JESUS
There are moments when beauty hurts. Sitting with my bare feet in the cold running water I watched my kids frolic. We'd been here catching bugs and other critters for a while to stretch our legs after hundreds of miles on the road. We needed to carry on if we wanted to cross the continental divide while it was still light. But this small stream had exactly what I wanted.
USING THE F WORD MORE
I recently read a quote from a book by John Ortberg defining leadership as "... the art of disappointing people at a rate they can stand." In light of the last several years of my own personal journey, this feels like the most vivid and realistic picture of leadership I have heard yet. After a friendship of many years someone very close to me, both personally and professionally, became disappointed with me. Disappointment grew to resentment and on to abandonment. The way he left was both painful and public. I can't recall a time in my life when the voices of failure and disappointment have been so loud or felt more true.
LOOKIN' FOR LOVE
She is thin. She is organized. She fits in my pocket. She can be silenced. She brings balance to the force. She's been my obsession for about two months.
BAIT AND SWITCH
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." -MT 13:44
For the bulk of my life as a believer I thought this scripture was overly dramatic. After years in the church I'd seen hundreds of well-meaning, dutiful Christians teaching others about their need for salvation, but few of them could convince me that the impact on their lives was akin to that of finding "treasure".
ACT OF VALOR
Act of Valor got to the big screen and has been a hit with audiences nationwide, even without applying Hollywood’s standard politically correct formula. It is unapologetically pro-American. The enemy, an Islamic Radical, is clearly depicted as evil. Not simply confused or justly angry with capitalism, but eeeeviilll. How often do we see this? Act of Valor does not ask us to
BEER FOR MY HORSES
I was by myself with the windows down in Big Bend National Park. Mine was the only car on the highway, meandering through painfully beautiful landscapes and listening to a playlist I created for just such quintessential Texas moments. With the red granite cliffs of the Chisos Mountains to the left of me and the desert to the right and in front of me, the imposing landscape begged to be complemented with loud music from the masters of Texas songwriting:
BELOVED SONS AND WARRIORS
"Train a child in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." -Proverbs 22:6
As I have the privilege of playing baseball with these 8 and 9 year old boys I am constantly reminded of the critical and fragile role a man plays in his son’s ever-evolving world. It’s sad but true that, as a culture, we've largely forgotten the art of raising boys into men. It's only been in the last 1-2 generations that father and son have not worked awkwardly close to one another in a field or a workshop. Fathering a young boy skillfully to manhood is an art
Coach Jay's Awesome Baseball Blog
This Blog is dedicated to encouraging and equipping my young warriors on the diamond to run faster, throw truer, hit harder and play smarter. Every sport and challenge God gives us is an opportunity to learn more about life and about ourselves. Every honest victory is reason to celebrate, and every defeat is an opportunity to learn, improve, and show true grit. Baseball is the perfect place to learn some of the great lessons on becoming a man. As a man
KING ME.
“The story of man is the story of God’s desire to make men into kings and men’s inability to handle it.” This is a poor translation from memory of a quote by Dallas Willard (or somebody else). The author’s name didn’t stick with me but the quote did, and for two reasons: 1. I know the statement is absolutely true and 2. I
THE THING WE HAVE TO FEAR
My daughter’s fear is that she isn’t safe in the middle of the night.
She’s also afraid to leave the house with her hair out of place.
Fear makes her shy. It makes her cry.
My wife is the same.
My son’s fear is that another kid will best him...