A few summers ago, my wife and I were in California for a family wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony for two people head over heels in love with each other…

To save a few bucks, we recently cut the cord - goodbye cable, hello digital antenna. Unfortunately, even though this decision helps our budget's bottom line, it drastically reduces our viewing options…

Very few people had more of an impact on my childhood than my Great Aunt Dotty. Her kind and compassionate heart were second to none. As soon I'd get off the school bus, I'd head to the living room where Dotty was inevitably sitting in her recliner watching Days of Our Lives…

My freshman year of high school, I got sick. Really sick. I had to leave school and live in the hospital for several months to receive treatment. The hospital I was sent to was located in Baltimore, Maryland—over 400 miles away from home. I was at my lowest. I didn’t want to fight my illness anymore. It felt too difficult, and I was exhausted. I had all but accepted defeat. I was angry with God, angry with my circumstances, and angry with the world. 

When I was in college, I fell in love with paddle boarding. I worked part-time at a local shop that wanted to begin paddleboarding tours at Bald Head. Although I didn't know much about it at the time, I was willing to learn and didn't want to pass up an opportunity to spend the day on the water. So I volunteered to lead as many lessons and tours as possible and quickly discovered where I most felt at peace. It was serene and beautiful. Looking around, I felt incomprehensibly small in the grand view of the world surrounding me. It wasn't a diminishing type of small, but more a comforting kind that reminded me I wasn't in control. The weight of the challenges in this world weren't mine to carry.

If it were up to my dad, you wouldn't be reading this devotional because it wouldn't exist. Before you get the wrong impression, let me reassure you that he isn't anti-religion or faith; he is just that much of a golf fan…

Most Sundays you can find me checking kids into Grow Zone, the children's ministry at our church. I love serving on the Host Team for a host of different reasons (see what I did there?), but if I'm honest, I do it solely for the smiles and high fives. 

We have a sign in our house that says, ‘His law is LOVE’. I don’t know where the idea for the sign originated, but it purposefully hangs by our kitchen table. Over the years, our kids have asked about it, and we have shared that Jesus tells us the greatest command is to love God, and the second is like it, to love our neighbor. We usually talk about the importance of being loving and kind and even helpful when we can, but as they have gotten a little older, we’ve been able to talk more directly about love.

Doing something scary is a little less intimidating when watching someone else do it first. Growing up, my family often visited Slide Rock State Park in Sedona, AZ. There is a tall cliff at the park that (brave) visitors jump off into the raging river below. As a kid, I was terrified of leaping. It was only after I had watched my dad and brothers dive in (and make it out alive) for several years in a row that I felt ready to jump. They assured me that though the freefall was terrifying, it would be oh-so rewarding in the end.

Our verse today is one that leans towards the more-well-known parts of Scripture, and one that people enjoy reading since it is an incredible promise that Christ followers are given. The confession of our sins leads to our forgiveness from those sins.

I came across an interesting statistic recently. Researchers say that 16 to 20% of all students have high test anxiety. I was one of them. The fear of making a mistake always got the better of me. I worried about having enough time, if all my studying would make a difference, and what would happen if I got a bad grade…

As the skies opened up, I resigned myself to the fact that I was more than likely going to die on The Beltway. I was on my way to visit my family in Maryland when a massive storm flooded the roads and provided zero visibility. Did I forget to mention this took place conveniently during…

Here I sit utterly spent. Everything in me wants to mail it in and post a devotional re-run or blame the email service for it "accidentally" not appearing in your inbox this morning…

It amazes me how inserting a simple word into a sentence can drastically alter its impact. Oh, how we wish the author, the Apostle Paul, crafted an out clause regarding our anger. If we were the writer of this passage, we'd change it completely. Our version would read something like this:

We do not need to pray or ask for opportunities to demonstrate love because they are always around us or in front of us. Rather, we just need to be willing to see them and step into them. May we be a people who demonstrate love more than we say it, and by doing so, give people a glimpse of a Savior who made the ultimate demonstration of love for us.

More often than not, we use this scripture to discourage foul language or, more specifically, saying certain four-letter words. But what if its intent goes much deeper?…

I always believe scripture is best understood with context. So, I want to zoom out a bit to better understand what was happening when Jesus spoke this command. John, the author of this book in the Bible, was a disciple of Jesus that fully believed Jesus was God’s son sent to the world as The Savior…

My youngest daughter loves the ocean. It's like something in her soul is drawn to the water. I remember the first time my wife and I took her to Wrightsville Beach when she was a toddler. As soon as her eyes locked on the waves, she ran towards them with reckless abandon. There was no fear, apprehension, or hesitation…

Our response to life's circumstances pushes us off course. We travel down unintended trails through slight missteps, justifications, or ignoring the warning signs of our hearts altogether. We get enticed by particular views, and our feet wander off the path that leads to humility and integrity. When we look up and assess our surroundings, we wonder how we got into this predicament.

Do you ever wish you were better at hosting, better at sitting with people when they are sad, maybe better at loving on kids, or meeting a middle school student where they are?