Prodigal Father

The plot twist of the book is Nouwen’s charge that we aren’t merely to identify with the lost younger son or the lost older son. But we are to identify with the founding father. Becoming more like him as we walk this road. We are to be ones who create home for other people. Ones who keep them safe and warm. Ones who always welcome them in. Even – especially – after they leave.

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Anything Mentionable is Manageable

I saw the new Mr. Rogers movie, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” It’s unlike any other movie I’ve seen. A unique story structure, beautiful set design, and phenomenal acting. “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is a movie that will stick with me for a while. I was teary-eyed the entire way – both from the sheer beauty of this story and its haunting connections to my own.

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A “Love, Simon” Pseudo-Review

On High School, Deep Dark Secrets, Coming Out, Asexuality, My First Kiss, Longing, Commitment, Separation, and the Eternal What-If? I tracked along with 95% of Love, Simon. The deep dark secrets. The longings for other boys. The conflict between self and persona. The thrill of realizing you’re not alone.

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My 3 Favorite Christmas Songs

I’m not blogging as much these days; believe me, I’ve noticed. I feel the words escaping me the longer I sit here, and I find myself eager to ditch my computer and let this blinking cursor flash all Christmas Day. Perhaps the new year will bring new inspiration for blogging, like old times. But for now, I can only offer […]

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Jurassic Brothers: A “Jurassic World” Recap that Has Nothing to Do with Dinosaurs

I saw Jurassic World on opening weekend alongside 4.6 billion others. Not quite opening night, because that level of commitment is reserved for more sacred stuff like Star Wars. (175 more days. But who’s counting?) Chris Pratt playing with raptors? Riding alongside them on a motorcycle? Some sort of big bad hybrid dino? Even though the trailers […]

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TMZ Reviews: “Camp”

“For the whole week, I couldn’t wait to go back to my real life, you know? Now I feel like my real life is fake and camp is real.” Last summer, I did not — much to my lingering chagrin — return to Camp Ridgecrest. Ridgecrest was that magical (though often daunting) land from the […]

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Brandon Heath Songs: TMZ’s Top-11 Favorites

Over the last year-and-a-half, I’ve counted down some of my favorite things. It began with countdowns for my favorite Hillsong United and Casting Crowns songs. Then I branched away from music, listing my favorite pumpkin foods and books I’ve never read. But another musical countdown involving Brandon Heath is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while. I’m pretty sure Brandon […]

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TMZ Reviews: Blue Like Jazz

I recently saw Blue Like Jazz. What’s Blue Like Jazz, you ask? Isn’t that a book, you ask? How can one “see” a book, you ask? Why was this a real thing, you ask? Well, I can answer all but one of those. Blue Like Jazz was originally a book, yes, but it is now […]

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