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Living a Better Story by Losing
I think in stories now. I could blame Donald Miller for that but mostly I would just thank him. I would thank him because I’m living better stories now than I was four years ago. In some ways, I had no where to go but up. Four years ago I was thawing out from a long season of depression and burnout which had immobilized me in a lot of ways. The “Great Thaw of 2009” coincided with the release of Miller’s book “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years“. It just so happened that it was released the week of my annual Introvert…
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Been "Gon" A Lot
If I needed motivation to quit some things, I found some today via a letter that my 7-year-old nephew wrote as part of a class assignment in first grade. Dear ant moe I miss you so much becuse you have been gon a lot You’r been on misson trips and going to the zoo. I want you to stay and play with me and morgan outside! and I want you to stay for aver and …. aver! Ugghhh. Do you hear that sound? That is the sound of heartwrench, a distant cousin to heartburn but much more painful. One of…
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Quitting Things
On Sunday, I preached a sermon that I struggle to practice. Nothing new there. The gist was that you cannot help everyone so do for one what you wish you could do for everyone – something I’ve been challenged by for 9 months since hearing Andy Stanley say that to a bunch of us at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. Go deep with a handful of relationships and responsibilities so you can be engaged with those select people and situations in the way that truly creates an environment of discipleship and transformation – for both parties. Have faith that this…
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Gutting Fish and Talking to Weeds: A Better Story
A few months ago, I made the decision to write a better story. Not a literal story (yet). Instead, I decided to live a better story with my life. If you are familiar with author Donald Miller than you are probably familiar with the language of “living a better story”. It is the central theme of his book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. I read that book annually since it was published in 2009 and I’ve taken a couple of sporadic steps to live a better story – like booking a trip to Uganda or getting out of…