We see it on so many Instagram photos these days. A hashtag that lets people know, “Hey, I got the life I want.” That new car in the driveway of your new home, while your newborn is sleeping in your arms? #blessed. That’s not a bad thing… in fact I like seeing people enjoy life! When it concerns me is when...
In college, I majored in history. There’s just something about exploring events that changed the course of lives, people groups —even entire nations— that intrigues me. I love learning from the past, and using those lessons in my present to make my future better. Even more than I love learning from stories in Texas or American history, I love learning from...
As a young father, most of my days were spent teaching my kids lessons like how to respect people and things, how to budget their money, how to ride a bike, or how to pursue their own relationship with God. Now that they’re all post-college-aged adults, it’s funny to see how these teaching moments have changed just a bit. Sure, I...
When I was young, I was a paper boy. When I was young, I also believed I was invincible. Bad combo. I’ll never forget riding my bike up to a sign one morning that read “Beware of dog.” Of course, I ignored it. I realized that was a big mistake the moment I locked eyes with a Great Dane. I...
I love a good movie. Especially an underdog story— one where a character fights through all kinds of trouble to get to the top. I’m convinced I love them so much because they stir something up in me. Afterwards, I’m ready to go after my goals. I’m ready to fight to no end for the dreams God has given me. Sometimes...
The past few decades, our society has seen a lot of progress in a lot of areas. We’ve made huge technological and medical advances, and we’ve seen many social issues aggressively pursued. But there’s one area in which we’ve gone backward—one toward which I really believe we need to turn our focus. Marriage and family. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that...
My late father-in-law, John Osteen, is still my favorite minister to have ever preached. One of the best phrases he used was one about success. It went something like, "When climbing the ladder of succcess, be careful you don't get to the top, only to find you're leaning against the wrong wall." In other words, live intentional. Invest in the...
There are times in all of our lives that we’d give almost anything for a do-over. Unfortunately, do-overs typically don’t just appear out of thin air, no matter how hard we wish for them. But when you tap into the grace that Jesus gives, you do get a second chance. The thing about Jesus’ do-overs is that they don’t happen...
My senior year in college, my roommate was a premed student. He was a senior and had just been accepted into medical school, where he would have to endure three more intense years. Because he knew about stress all too well, he decided to do his senior research paper on the effect that it can have on our bodies. Here’s how...
Never settle. I’m sure we’ve all had that phrase spoken to us at one time in our life to the other. It’s usually spoke by people who really, truly love us, ones who don’t want us to experience less than God’s best for our lives. The sad truth is that many of us do settle, and we do so for a...