Meet the face
behind the posts

I'll get some of the important basics out of the way. I'm married to my high school sweetheart, father to 3 amazing kids (McKenzie, Carter and Avery), and dog owner (hounds are the best). I'm interested in too many sports and find peace and energy from being in the great outdoors. I love living in Minnesota. We have the best summers and the winters aren't that bad. You learn to see the beauty and dscover the enjoyment of the snow and cold.

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I want to oriented my life around stuff that actually matters. I want to live with congruence between my belief and behavior. Too often it seems as if this is an abnormal phenomenon. As Bill Watterson put it, "creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement". We get swept up in what culture, cable news talking heads, social media influencers and dynamic leaders say we ought to value and how we ought to live. Of course I want to integrate plenty of thoughtful voices into my life, but at the end of the day, what are my convictions? What do I actually believe? Am I operating within an inherited worldview or am I courageously living a life in alignment with what I actually believe to be true, compelling and beautiful. I strive for the latter. Here's a list (certainly not comprehensive) of key thoughts/convictions that shape my day-to-day:

• Jesus is the best explanation I have encountered for life's most foundational questions: Who is God? Who am I? What is the good life? 

• Faith in not intellectual certainty. Doubt and skepticism are compatible with robust and authentic faith. Instead of certainty, my faith in Jesus looks like this: trusting enough to follow. See the difference?

• Animals are the best. If a day goes by without snuggling with my dog, taking a nature walk with the family or talking about some cool creature like a leapard geckos with my kids I've missed some joy.

• Black & white dogmatic thinking destroys the critical need for nuance, grace and thoughtful listening. To navigate our changing pluralistic world we need much more of the latter and much less of the former. Plus, it's the only honest way to live.

• My calling to love God and love neighbor transcends what I do for a paycheck. If I crank a home run at work while being mentally or physically absent from my wife, children and neighbors, then I'm swinging and missing at life. 

• The best food for the money is always from Chipotle. My monthly eating out budget ought to reflect this reality.

• Our broken world desperately needs justice. The most compelling ideology of justice I've encountered is one rooted in Jesus. Too often the church has ignored and minimized social justice. I want to be someone who has compassion towards hurting and vulnerable people. I want to leverage what I have on their behalf and call others into the hard but beautiful lifestyle of justice.

• The American dream isn't what it's cracked up to be. Money and possessions will never satisfy, often add stress and clutter and distract us from stuff that's more important. When we do have stuff, we should be animated by trust and generosity, not fear and greed. 

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I don't have life figured out. My beliefs and behaviors are constantly being refined and shaped by new ideas, relationships and experiences. Pursuing an authentic and meaningful life isn't easy. Retreating into echo-chambers of ignorant certitude may offer a pacifier in the midst of a chaotic universe but I believe stumbling forward with authenticity, grace and humble conviction is the best way to live.