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The Courage to Begin While Fear Is Still Standing Beside You

 Chapter 1: The First Step Outside the Car The church parking lot was almost full when a woman turned off her engine and looked at the paper bag on the passenger seat. Inside were two loaves of bread she had offered to bring to a community supper. She had not attended a gathering like this since her husband died. She wanted to be around people again, but now that she was here, her stomach tightened. What if everyone already knew one another? What if somebody asked a question she could not answer without crying? She reached for the key, then wondered whether to start the car and go home. Fear often shows up at the exact moment we are trying to do something good. It tells us to wait until we feel stronger, more certain, or better prepared. In my YouTube message about how to face fear through faith in Jesus Christ, I want people to understand that courage does not require a calm stomach or a perfect plan. Sometimes it begins with opening a car door while your hands are still shaking. ...
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The Courage to Be Decent on a Difficult Day

  Chapter 1: The Call You Make When Dinner Goes Wrong The receipt is still warm from the printer when you realize the takeout order is wrong. You have already driven home, everyone is hungry, and going back means losing another half hour. When you call the restaurant, a tired employee answers. You can hear dishes clattering behind her. She did not cause every frustration of your day, but she is the person who will hear what you say next. In my companion video about the Christian lesson behind Jimmy Stewart’s words about being a good man, I reflect on a line spoken by the character portraying Stewart in a film about his life. When someone compares fame to being a god, his answer is that he would rather look in the mirror and see a good man. I hear a challenge in those words: our character is not proved by what we say we value. It shows up when life interrupts us and we have to decide how to treat another person. This connects with finding your worth in Christ rather than in other pe...
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The Jacket Still Hanging by the Door

The alarm went off at 4:45 on Monday morning, just as it had for thirty-four years. Robert reached across the nightstand and turned it off before remembering that he no longer needed to get out of bed. His last day driving the city bus had been Friday. There was no route waiting for him, no dispatcher expecting him, and no line of passengers standing along the familiar streets. He lay quietly for a moment, listening to the refrigerator humming in the kitchen. Then he got up anyway, made coffee, and sat at the table while the rest of the neighborhood slept. His blue work jacket was still hanging beside the back door. He had worn it through winter mornings, summer storms, and thousands of ordinary conversations. Its pockets held an old pen, a folded receipt, and a pair of work gloves. He had planned to wash it and put it away, but something made him leave it where it was. For years, Robert had known exactly where he belonged at six o'clock in the morning. Now he was sitting in his ow...
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The Life You Build With the Choices No One Applauds

  Chapter 1: The Sentence That Could Have Stayed Unsaid The break room is nearly empty when somebody mentions the coworker who went home early. A paper plate with half a sandwich sits beside the microwave, and the coffee has been sitting on the burner long enough to taste bitter. Someone makes a joke about the absent person's work, and a few people laugh. You recognize the moment because you have been part of conversations like this before. The easiest thing is to add another comment, something sharp enough to get a laugh and small enough that you can later claim you meant no harm. Your mouth is almost ready with the words. Then you remember how it feels to discover that people have been discussing you when you were not there to answer. For once, you let the joke pass. Nothing in the room changes dramatically, but something important has changed in the choice you just made. If you have ever wondered whether real change is possible after years of living a certain way, I want you to ...
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The First Ordinary Evening After Hearing Jesus Speak

  Chapter 1: The Question Waiting at the Door Your child is standing in the kitchen with a broken glass beside their feet. You have barely taken off your coat. Traffic was awful, a problem at work is still unresolved, and the first thing you see when you get home is another mess. You feel the familiar response rising before anyone speaks. Then your child looks at you and says, “I was trying to help.” In that moment, what you believe about patience is about to become something more than a belief. The next few words out of your mouth will tell the people in that kitchen what kind of person has come home. That is the part of the Sermon on the Mount I keep returning to. We can imagine the hillside and the extraordinary experience of hearing Jesus with our own ears. We can wonder whether we would have recognized who was speaking. But imagining what it was like to hear Jesus deliver the Sermon on the Mount also leads to a more practical question: what would happen when we went back to th...
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When the Familiar World Falls Apart: Finding Your Next Faithful Step Through John's Revelation

  Chapter 1: The Morning You Realize Life Is Not Going Back to Normal The coffee has been sitting on the kitchen counter long enough to turn cold. Your phone is beside it, and there is a message on the screen that you have already read several times. Nothing about the message changes when you read it again, but you keep looking because part of you is still hoping you misunderstood something. Maybe it concerns your health. Maybe someone you love has decided they need distance from you. Perhaps the company you have worked for over many years has announced changes that could leave you without a job. Whatever happened, you can feel the difference between yesterday and today. Yesterday, you had a reasonable idea of what your life was going to look like. Today, you are standing in the same kitchen, looking at the same familiar things, but your future no longer seems familiar. You know you need to get dressed, answer messages, and take care of the responsibilities waiting for you. What yo...
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