Just a few weeks ago I was running up Bancroft and Telegraph in my cap and gown to claim my masters degree in social work from UC Berkeley’s school of social welfare. I stood in awe of the journey I had been on to find myself in that place. This is a bit of that story… A few months after...

Two weeks ago, I joined the many thousands across the globe who, in these six weeks through May and June, will likewise reach the terminus of their pursuit of an educational degree. For me, it was four years of work, involving full-time work in the financial services industry, while...

“GET ME OUT OF HERE! Seriously, it’s time for the Second Coming. Lord, I want you back. Like, ASAP.” That’s a glimpse into my prayer life over the past few months. Maybe that’s been your prayer, too. I think we’ve all felt the weight of recent events and wondered when Christ will...

A friend of mine recently found out that her husband has been doing drugs behind her back for four years. The drugs have opened the door to all kinds of betrayal and hurt: lying, adultery, personality change, and absence. As she and I talked together on the beach in the perfect California...

In my last post I talked about the reality of sinkholes, the absolutely terrifying natural phenomenon in which what was once stable ground gives way and forms gaping chasms. Reports of sinkholes swallowing people from the face of the earth have been regular fare for news coverage recently. And...

It was Easter Sunday in 1972.  My grandfather was preparing to sing an Easter cantata with his church choir when he suffered a stroke and collapsed.  On the following Sunday, he went to be with the Lord.  I never met my grandfather, but I’ve heard countless stories from my mother about...

On this Holy Monday, I cannot help but to remember this past Lent with joy. These past few weeks have been some of the most peaceful days I’ve had in a very long time. In short, my goal for Lent was a bit secular in nature, as it was to be more mindful. I hung up verses throughout my house...

The concept of unconditional love is among the best-known and most-beloved of all Christian doctrines, and for good reason. God’s love for his children is unmerited; there is nothing that we can do to earn God’s love so there is nothing that we can do to be separated from it...

I want to tell you a story. Five years ago today, I got dropped off on Biola University’s campus to catch a ride with a stranger to the Bay Area for Spring Break. My dear friend Sarah and her parents had graciously invited me to spend the week at their home on a vineyard in wine country...

I can be the sort of person that gets a bit lost in my own thoughts. I work from home, primarily on the computer, while my wife is at work and my kids are at school. Often as I am going through the routine tasks of my work week, I’ll have CNN or NPR playing in the background so that I can...