Facing Joy

Deciding to square off against something bigger than yourself is usually quite a task. For me, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a hefty work project, my cluttered garage, or even my expanding waistline (Thanks, COVID.), I go through the same thought process.  It goes something like this… Awareness: “Oh! How did you get there?” Cost

Fear on Repeat

Woah, what a week! Holiday weeks are short, but they sure put you through the paces, don’t they?  Have you ever had a test or presentation that you know that you shouldn’t be worried about, but you’re anxious anyway? I’ve had two presentations that have had me rattled all week. One was for church, and

SILENCE

This week God‘s been weirdly quiet. I didn’t figure it out till yesterday afternoon when I asked Him “why?”. What I received back was a thought strand that looked a bit like this:  “Lord, Why are you silent?” – ”Silent” – “Silence” – “Moment of silence” – Click.  I get it.  As many celebrate a

Seasoned Advice

My dad is coming over this weekend to help me change the spark plugs and wires in my old 1990 pickup truck. Sounds pretty manly, right? The truth is, the reason he’s coming over is that I have no idea how to do it. I have all the pieces and parts and I’ve even watched

Drop It!

We, along with half the country, got a COVID dog. He is some kind of white lab mix and is now one year old and full of himself. Luke (Star Wars reference fully intended) is a pretty good dog, but he must have some retriever in him because his sniffer is always on high alert,

MAPQUEST

In early 2001 I stepped out of running restaurants full-time and dove headfirst into a new career of selling…stuff. Over the course of five years, I had six different jobs selling everything from cookies to concrete. As you could well imagine, my new bride was totally thrilled to see her new husband go from job

Where Did You Go?

When Saturday morning arrives, and I still don’t have a God-inspired word to share on here, it’s unnerving. I get this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach like you might get when the power suddenly goes out.  Did I pay the bill? Did something trip the breaker? How long will I be in

Playing Catch

Hiking in the woods last weekend was amazing! Fifteen guys going hard after God and fighting for their marriages and families was inspiring. One of the things I hadn’t considered when offering to lead these men on a spiritual journey is how many questions they would ask that I didn’t have an answer to. One

Story

“The story of your life is the story of the long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it.” ― John Eldredge, Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive The first time I heard that quote was around 2005, and it made

Rocks Underwater

On my way to my mother’s house to meet up with the family for Easter, I stopped and bought Anna a hydrangea. It’s the flower that we predominantly had at our wedding, and there’s just something about this beautiful flower that says, McCarthy. It had been a long day, so after we got home and