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

I Don’t Know Why. But i Know My King. On Tuesday, September 27th I arrived in Florida in advance of Hurricane Ian.  My full-time job entails hurricane response functions that put Samson and me on a southbound highway, alongside first responders, power trucks, and tree trimmers, driving into a category 4 hurricane instead out of… Read More »I Don’t Know Why. But I Know My King.

The Furthest Two Inches On Tuesday, September 27th I arrived in Florida in advance of Hurricane Ian.  My full-time job entails hurricane response functions that put Samson and me on a southbound highway, alongside first responders, power trucks, and tree trimmers, driving into a category 4 hurricane instead out of it.  It’s a pecking feeling… Read More »The Furthest Two Inches

destination now  A close family friend passed away unexpectedly this week.  When I say, “a close friend of the family”, I mean someone who’s next of kin, is us – our tribe.  The kind of family friend who comes to every family celebration and more – 4th of July, Easter, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Labor Day,… Read More »Destination NOW

KOINONIA Koinonia.  Phonetically, it sounds like coin-on-ee-a.  It’s derived from the Greek language and finds its meaning within the shared roots of participation, partnership, fellowship, community, and association.    When I was ruminating on what to call this blog, I kept coming back to the idea that I wanted it to be a place where we… Read More »Koinonia

spoiler-free character dives: Mae I’m off the road and back in Tennessee after a month of work, seeing great friends in Florida and Indiana, kayaking out of a surprise thunderstorm (@erica), book signings, having a claustrophobic panic attack in the middle of my graduate school commencement, taking Samson on his-first ever boat ride (for result, see… Read More »Spoiler-Free Character Dives: Mae

You’re going to fail: the choice not to use social media This past July I sat in a one-on-one coaching session at a writers’ conference.  This is how the session began: Coach/mentor:  Hello, N. Ford, how can I help? N. Ford: I know how effective social media can be for spreading the word about my… Read More »You’re Going to Fail: The Choice Not to Use Social Media