Grit, Daily Work, and a Surpassing Glory
Last week I finished reading Sarah Lewis‘ excellent book on the creative life entitled The Rise: Creativity, The Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery. I highly recommend the entire book, but I’m especially interested in one of the final chapters of the book, entitled “The Grit of theContinue Reading
Why Scruffy Hospitality Creates Space for Friendship
After seven years of marriage, my wife and I have welcomed numerous friends into our home. Once we decide to host friends for an evening, we usually kick into get ready mode, a fast and furious sprint in the days and hours before our friends arrive. We divide and conquerContinue Reading
When Your Heart Doesn’t Connect With Lent…Or Easter…Or Christmas
Joy in Lent. Sadness on Easter. Doubt in Advent. Grief on Christmas Day. If you observe the Christian year, you will eventually experience a contradiction between the seasons of the church year and the seasons of your heart. The law of averages wins out. Life is too uncertain to beContinue Reading
Ave Maria Amid Mean Girl Drama
I’ve discovered the best coffee shop in West Knoxville: Mojoe’s Trailside Coffee. I can’t handle the Starbucks near my house. It’s too small, always crowded, and not an ounce of Knoxville originality. So I was relieved when I recently discovered a locally-owned coffee shop just down the street from WestContinue Reading
Autumn’s Sign of Transfiguration
Last September, my wife, Emily, and I moved into a new home in which we inherited the gift of threetowering maples in our backyard. Still unpacking, we noticed the signs of autumn already coming to the backyard within a the first few weeks in our new home. A cold front andContinue Reading