Do Not Calm This Storm

Jesus won’t calm the storm with a single word. His way is a way of work. Of picking up crosses daily. Of lugging said crosses up mountains. Of taking the narrower way of all the broader ways available to my wanderlust.

Read More Do Not Calm This Storm

And to All a Good Riddance

As the grotesque mass of space garbage we call 2016 hurtles toward oblivion, people everywhere are cheering the prospect of a new year. Myself included. We’ve proclaimed this the worst year ever, what with a most bizarre election cycle, the deaths of numerous beloved celebrities, raging wildfires and natural disasters, and the opening of the […]

Read More And to All a Good Riddance

God is Good, God is Great?

I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll probably say it time and time again: God bless Panera Bread. It’s a microcosm of society. From coast to coast, I’ve seen Christians unite at Panera after church and homeless people sit by the fireplace and little old ladies knitting and playing Scrabble. I’ve also seen students […]

Read More God is Good, God is Great?

I Got Triggered Today

“Weekend Tom” returned to “Weekday Tom” at school today. One kid struggled with recursive sequences. Another kept falling asleep learning about dear sweet Pythagoras and his most beloved theorem. Yet another needed my step-by-step guidance, only to fizzle out of patience by hour’s end. It wasn’t the flashiest of mornings. No inspirational artist studio visits […]

Read More I Got Triggered Today

Staying Through the Hurt

Last week was among my hardest weeks in many weeks. I’d said goodbye to two fantastic Couchsurfing guests, and I endured yet another week of training and work prep as my new organization continues to pass inspections and certifications and acquire total clearance for student admission. Even then, we will acquire students one at a time until we […]

Read More Staying Through the Hurt

Embracing the New “No Collar” in Me

I’ve always been a huge Survivor fan. Though my fanfare has waned in recent years, the grandfatherly reality show remains compelling to me. This current season has pitted a tribe of “white collar” people against a tribe of “blue collars” against a tribe of so-called “no collars.” We can all envision the suited white collar person indoors and the grimy blue […]

Read More Embracing the New “No Collar” in Me

Goodbye, California

California, Growing up on the east coast, I always wanted to visit you. To venture to a foreign exotic land and bask in your palm trees and mountains and a neighboring ocean not named Atlantic. Forget visiting; I could have never imagined one day living within your 2000 zig-zagging miles of gorgeous borders. Upon actually living here, I […]

Read More Goodbye, California

To All My Students I’ve Ever Tutored

Dearest students, For the last four years, you have spurred my heart to race with rage and fury. You have joked with friends at the table, uttered inappropriate words, played with phones, and otherwise misbehaved when your parents have left the room. You have often made me question why I do what I do. You’ve also blessed me in […]

Read More To All My Students I’ve Ever Tutored

Tuesdays Are the Worst

Today is Tuesday — actually, it’s 12:27am as I type this initial draft of a post. So while it is now officially Wednesday here in southern California, it’s still Tuesday night in Hawaii. Wednesday evening in Korea. I don’t get time. I don’t know whether I should have capitalized the “Are” in the title of this […]

Read More Tuesdays Are the Worst

When Words Won’t Come

I haven’t posted in two weeks. An empty blogless stretch unmatched on this site since…never. It’s never happened; I always have something to say. Something to write. I write about my life. My faith. I write about struggle. I write about my favorite music or my latest quirky observation of the world. I write about […]

Read More When Words Won’t Come

One Word 365: My Spring Check-In

My One Word 365 for 2012 is courageous. After five months of this slightly less sparkly new year, I wanted to check in with my spring progress. Not in a puff-myself-up kind of way, but more of a trying-to-stay-accountable sort of way. In short, it’s been a life-changing year. In long… I met with one […]

Read More One Word 365: My Spring Check-In

A Week for the Ages

Remember that Full House episode when our beloved Uncle Joey strikes it big by getting free cable, winning a radio contest, and ultimately landing the heralded “Ranger Joe” TV gig? In his excitement he sent a “hug-o-gram” to the retiring Ranger Roy, only to uncover afterward that the exiting ranger had a physical condition that […]

Read More A Week for the Ages

2300 Miles Later, Part 2 of 2

I wrote this post on Facebook in the fall of 2010 after transplanting my life from northeast Georgia to southern California. This second part expands on the first, shifting from my insights on the road to lessons learned after two months of a new life on the west coast. *** After moving to California, I […]

Read More 2300 Miles Later, Part 2 of 2

Rediscovering Purpose: Field Trip!

I haven’t enjoyed many great days since returning to California in August. Three months removed from the summer, and I’m still very much readjusting to the new emotional weight I’ve either gained or lost. Either way, my waistline sure feels funky as I struggle to locate the right belt-hole. Fortunately, a couple great days have […]

Read More Rediscovering Purpose: Field Trip!

On Tutoring and Mattering

This weekend I’ll be taking an academic test in my first step toward becoming an eligible substitute teacher in California. I’ve been tutoring middle-school students for over a year now, and I’ve determined subbing to be my next educational course of action. I relish the one-on-one aspect of tutoring, and I’m not sure about the […]

Read More On Tutoring and Mattering