What do Dori from Finding Nemo, Abraham Lincoln, and Jesus all have in common? Their words have become guiding principles in my life. “Just keep swimming” – Dori Finding Nemo is my daughter's favorite movie, and this is her favorite part of the movie. Life is very hard for an epileptic, autistic, …
When Encouragement Saved a Marriage
As my wife and I walked in Dairy Queen, we smelled trouble. Not from the food, but from the couple we were meeting to mentor in their marriage. Let’s call them Suzie and Tim. Suzie was scowling at her husband, and Tim was texting on his phone, clearly irritated. Our fears were soon realized. Three …
Epilepsy and Guilt
Everyone in my family feels guilty because of my epilepsy. Often the first thing I hear from someone once I begin to recover from a seizure is, “I’m sorry.” They apologize for not catching me in time when I fall. For not noticing more quickly I was seizing. For the embarrassment I must feel over the …
Not Always Hope, Not Never Hope, But Sometimes Hope
I have had a few people ask me why the name of this blog is Sometimes Hope. “If we are called to trust God all the time,” the question starts, “why isn’t your title Always Hope or maybe Keeping the Hope?” I even struggled with this a bit myself. After some thought, here are three reasons I can only …
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The Reason I Write
Why do I write? I get up at 5 am most days and spend an hour pecking away at my keyboard, so that maybe 100 people will read it. Why not sleep in, enjoying the body warmth from my beautiful wife? I have to start with why I DON’T write. I don’t write to be famous Fame is a fickle mistress – adored …
Not Safe But Good
If you read my post yesterday, you saw that I was struggling with some things that occurred in a writing group I am involved with. I am a better writer because of the teaching and community in this group, but I felt constricted over certain events. So I did what any writer does – I wrote about it. …
How Safe Begins to Feel Unsafe
I belong to a writers’ group. This group is filled with people from a variety of places, backgrounds, faiths, family structures, and ages. We all focus our writing around different themes, but we have one thing in common. We share the burning desire to write and to improve each day. We give and …
Four Keys to Creative Momentum
Pursuing a passion can be daunting. Not everyone appreciates our art. We don’t get the attention we want. Or worse yet – people DO start noticing, and fear creeps in, whispering doubts into our ear. It seems like either way, there are triggers that can easily lead to failure. How do we get around …
What About That Dead Dream?
What do you do when your dream changes? When it just withers and dies unexpectedly upon the vine of life? For twenty years, I 'knew' I was called to full time pastoral ministry. I went to school to gain the training to support this dream. I got an internship in my senior year as a first step. I was …
When God Sucker Punches You
I couldn’t even believe what I was hearing. The medical diagnosis was shocking. Something I was not prepared for emotionally. I’d just been sucker punched. I could look back on the last few years and see how the symptoms fit what had been happening in my life. That didn’t mean it made sense for me …
Why I’m Proud to Wear My Superman Shirt
Photo Credit: Klobetime (Creative Commons) It was a hot summer Arizona day. The smell of barbecue burgers was making everyone wish it was lunchtime already. The joyful screams of children playing in the swimming pool filled the air as the adults lounged twenty feet away, enjoying the respite and the …
Graffiti & Family Fun Time For the Win?
I declared 2013 the year to overcome, but what does it mean to overcome? The truth is, I don’t really know, but I will share as I learn, and I hope you will do the same. Yesterday I learned that overcoming means facing multiple fears at the same time: fear of extreme dirtiness, fear of 5K …