Beyond the Watershed The first time I met him, I was nineteen; he was fifteen. I remember thinking he was grown for his age, or at least more developed than most boys are at fifteen. He seemed larger too; more human; more… whole, somehow. Now I can only conclude it wasn’t he who was over-developed… Read More »Beyond the Watershed, A Short Story

Miles to Mop Floors Last week Samson and I took off on a country-wide road tour. We’re doing book signings and dropping by bookstores along the way, but our first intention is to share the theme of the Refuge trilogy. We want to encourage people to have the wisdom to listen and the courage to… Read More »Miles to Mop Floors

Ten Days from Twenty Years Ten days from twenty years ago I sent an email to a friend. A dear friend. Maybe one of the only friends who was willing to really see me at the time. You know what it feels like, I’m sure, to have a friend who can really see you. The… Read More »Ten Days from Twenty Years

Get Thee to the River There’s something in the human spirit, especially that of a child not yet tainted by the evils of the world, that moves us toward belief. Evidenced in the coins at the bottom of a fountain; the squeezed eyes wish made right before blowing out the candles; the expectant face of… Read More »Get Thee to the River

Enough Lowly  A couple of weeks ago, Winter Storm Fern made its way through the middle of the country and wreaked a highway of havoc behind it.   The hum of chain saws and generators filled the air for days. Every now and again dark smoke filled the sky over a home that had caught… Read More »Enough Lowly

A Heart at Ease with Itself I think Elisabeth Elliott is the one who coined the phrase, but someone more learned than me can confirm. “A heart at ease with itself.” It’s one that has done the great work of self-forgetfulness to the point of freedom. Joy. Ease. In this world, it feels somedays, impossible.… Read More »A Heart at Ease with Itself

Nothing but Ashes The older I get, the more I believe a few things to be extraordinarily true. One of those things is that pain always has the potential to be productive, but we must choose it. In the course of life I’ve come across so many people who believe that God cannot possibly exist… Read More »Nothing but Ashes

Impossible/Inevitable I attended the Global Leadership Summit with my dad last week. It was our seventh year going together, and honestly, they are two of my favorite days of the year, every year. There’s so much to be learned about how to lead well – especially in this day and age – and the only… Read More »Impossible/Inevitable

That TBD Life I hit the one-year mark of living in Nashville last week.  Though I’ve had an official residence here for that long, up until this month, I hadn’t actually slept in Tennessee for more than 20 days in a row.  I started to call it my ‘TBD Life’, because every day seemed to… Read More »That TBD Life