I set out to write an angry song. The idea was a defiance anthem. When hard weather comes for you, you've got two options — you can be a candle the wind puts out, or you can be the thing the wind feeds until it's a firestorm nobody can stop. That was the whole concept, … Continue reading The Song Came Out Wrong
Tag: thankful
Ten Cents
In my mid-twenties I was the office manager at an insurance adjustment firm, which is a title that meant almost nothing. What I actually did was accounts receivable and accounts payable, and errands, and whatever anyone needed, and on some days taking care of the dog. Ten dollars an hour. The owner smoked cigars at … Continue reading Ten Cents
On The Second Floor
My second ministry job came with an office on the second floor, at the end of a hall, away from where the other offices were. The reasoning was practical — they didn't want teenagers wandering through the suite where the grown-ups worked. So they put me and the teenagers up where we wouldn't be in … Continue reading On The Second Floor
I Only Rearrange
God spoke into a void and something was there. That’s the first thing the Bible tells you about Him. Before the law, before the judgment, before any of the Renaissance paintings that shaped how most of us picture Him — the first fact on the record is that He made things. I never noticed that … Continue reading I Only Rearrange
The Room That Knew What I Knew
I found an old Toastmasters competition video of myself the other night. Watching old video of myself is its own small torture — you're looking at a former version, and you can see everything he doesn't know yet. It's like watching a younger sibling do the thing. But I'll say it plainly: it was a … Continue reading The Room That Knew What I Knew
