It was a smoky afternoon in Montana. That was the story of the week, if I'm being honest. But challenging situations caused us to travel, to look, to try something different. Which I'm actually glad for. But on this particular day, we ended up driving all over. I can't recall the original plan, but it fell apart, and we drove northward to one mountain range in particular, if my memory serves me correctly. Montana is full of back roads, dirt roads, and roads that you can't rea

It's really hard to believe today marks twenty-five years since the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. It's also hard to believe that an entire generation has been born and come into adulthood since that time. It's hard for me to believe, as well, how quickly it seems that we as a nation have forgotten those events. My desire with this blog is not to be highly political or unnecessarily controversial—meaning I don't feel the need to make bold accusations about leaders

Cold water rushes through a narrow ravine. On either side of the stream, sections of rock are exposed, revealing ancient breccia, a mixture of sharp-edged rock fragments and finer grains, like a rough, natural concrete, formed by ancient volcanic activity and other dramatic forces. Vibrant green moss covers the landscape as the water rushes over ancient boulders. The stream flows through a canyon surrounded by peaks over nine thousand feet high. The American West and its geol

If you've followed me for any time, you've likely noticed some recurring themes. From nostalgia to getting back on track, showing up when others might not, or just taking the next step because you can't see past it, these are common themes for me as I continue this venture. But they're themes that are important for all of us, quite frankly. I suppose nostalgia can be important in helping us remember our purpose. Sometimes we do have to take a step back, look at the big pictur

Last night, while sitting in the hospital, waiting for the birth of my friend's child, I got thinking. This, of course, is a dangerous proposition. But no matter how you cut it, the birth of a child is an amazing thing. I won't go so far as to say that childbirth is a miracle; it's a normal thing that happens all the time. Conception, on the other hand, is a miracle: life from that which is (basically) non-life. I realize the oversimplification, but I hope you're following wh

Do you remember back in the nineties when TV shows would have recap episodes? A couple of people would talk and remember something. Then the screen would get all fuzzy, chimes or some dreamy music would play, and then there would be a scene from an earlier episode. I suppose I do something like that on this website at times. But hey, I was a nineties kid. It is amazing to me, however, that here we are, around a year in. By God's grace and with His help, I've been able to writ

Four hundred and six miles. That's how far we drove, if memory serves, one day on my recent trip. Montana is a big state, and there is a lot to see. Smoke, however, kept us from some locations. Instead, we searched all around, and on this particular day, we ended up looking for a waterfall. It wasn't one that either of us knew much about; we weren't even really sure where it was. Well, other than which trailhead to go to. We arrived with a couple of hours of sunlight left, an

Recently, I wrote a post on the essentials of eschatology (the study of last things). There is a lot of debate on the topic, but there are core aspects that all orthodox Christians have held to, regardless of their position. With that being the case, Christians shouldn't divide over this branch of doctrine. But there are still different views! And it can be confusing to keep up with them. So, I thought it would be helpful to link to a few articles, mostly from Got Questions,

I can't remember exactly what I saw recently, but it reminded me that people, myself included, find that understanding the Bible is hard. As a result, it's easy for people to put it away, to shy away from reading God's Word. I've also often seen we dumb down the Scriptures for people younger than, say, twenty-five, as if they can't really comprehend it. But I wonder, do we dumb things down for others and ourselves because it truly is hard, or is it something else? Let me expl

I mentioned the other day that I am often asked Bible questions. A lot of those times, if I'm honest, seem to revolve around my views on the end times. Now, this post isn't the time or place for me to talk about my beliefs on the topic, but I had a thought I wanted to share. If you're not familiar with the various views of eschatology (the study of last things), then I may link to a few articles soon to help you understand the differences. Regardless of the view, there are es

I get asked questions at work sometimes. Okay, a lot of times. And often, they have to do with certain stances that I have Biblically. I don't mind the questions, and I run with it. Sometimes it leads to great conversations; other times it's simply an opportunity to mess with my coworkers. But all in all, when disagreement strikes, I think we've done a decent job of not being angry with each other. I am incredibly thankful to God for that, because on our own, it would be easy

A number of years ago, I remember hearing of an idea that, because of Ham's sin and the resulting curse from Noah, that all of Ham's descendants therefore were cursed. In fact, my oft ignorant thinking sometimes would ponder if there was something to the idea that, perhaps, the descendants of Ham were doomed to a life that was not quite as good as Shem or Japheth's offspring. While I am not a biologist and my knowledge of genes and the like is very limited, I have learned eno

Not the typical photograph I would go for, but when conditions are what they are, you have to make do. Is it everyone's cup of tea? Perhaps not. But it actually is one of my favorite shots from my recent trip. It tells a story. And those are my favorite photographs. Mountain vistas, alpine lakes, wildflower meadows, epic sunsets brought on by afternoon thunderstorms. These are all things that come to the mind of a photographer when they think of the American West in summer. B

I just read through the transcript for a podcast from ACBC in which the topic of procrastination (and how to counsel those who struggle with it) is discussed. Suffice it to say, not only was it challenging to read, but also an impetus to get today's blog going! In all seriousness, procrastination is something I, and I'm sure many others, deal with to some degree or another. In the podcast, they discuss a few aspects of the issue. I also appreciated their honesty in the conver

Greatest shot of all time? No. But a stunning scene that points to God's beauty and creative power? I believe so. I'm in Montana with a friend of mine. A big part of why I'm here is because it's a spectacular place to photograph, and lately I've been wanting to be better at photography. But, as you have probably seen in posts I've written on the topic, photography itself can be a challenge. If you've ever played golf, then you know how it is. You may have all the knowledge in

The light was looking pretty good. That's what I was thinking as we cruised along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park the other night looking for a sunset. The weather had been promising a couple of days prior. But I hesitated and opted to wait for another day. So, it would be the last opportunity to venture into the park before my upcoming trip to Montana. I wanted to make it count. A particular location I know of seemed a good option. I had scouted a couple of shots i

Yesterday, as I was cruising up around 32,000 feet at almost five hundred miles an hour, it had me thinking. Now, I am not a science expert, especially on topics like the theory of relativity. But I can't help but wonder: if we’re flying around five hundred miles an hour, and I run down the aisle toward the front of the plane, am I running at five hundred and ten miles an hour? If at the same time someone runs on the ground, maybe even sprinting, am I still not running expone

Well, I had wanted to share about my trip the other evening up to Shenandoah National Park, but between work, being very tired, and packing for a trip tomorrow, I'm going to postpone that until I'm a little more up to it. Instead, I want to link to a post I wrote last year about packing for my whirlwind adventure last Autumn. Packing is an art, and I'm not an artisan when it comes to it. I'm more of a throw-it-in-a-bag-and-hope type of packer. But I hope you'll find the post

Another video for our content share today, this time from Reagan Rose at Redeeming Productivity. I'll tell ya, sometimes these are convicting, and this one certainly was for me. Yet, it's also very helpful. In this video, Reagan confronts the secular idea of "limiting beliefs", beliefs that we think might limit our success. How should Christians think about this idea? Are there things that we believe that help or hurt our progress in life? Do we have the right to toss out a b

"Praise the LORD!" - Psalm 147:1a That is how this Psalm begins, and it is one of the last Psalms in the book. In fact, the last five each begin and end with that declaration of praise. If only each of us began and ended our days in that way. I recently read this Psalm and, while studying some footnotes, realized it can be broken into three sections. Possibly written as the Jews were returning from exile (vss. 2-3), it recounts God's care for His people through a series of ex