I live in Atlanta, a city that has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the entire country. I’m sure you’ve heard the stereotypes about homeless people as much as I have. Rhetoric that says that homeless people are lazy, unmotivated, wasteful. Rhetoric that cautions you to avoid giving them money because they’ll spend… Read More A reminder that hope is worth it

Last week I wrote about hygge, a Danish concept that relates to the importance of having relaxed, easygoing time with friends. Of course it’s easy to just say that we should spend more time with friends. Putting it into practice, however, is a different matter entirely. How does one begin to create such relationships if they… Read More 9 ways to create hygge

The concept of hygge reminded me of a conversation I had with some French friends of mine. A married couple, they had found us through AirBnB, and ended up staying with us for about a week and a half. We had such a great time with them. Almost every night for a solid week, we ate… Read More Are you spending your life on the right things

Every now and then I come across a word in another language for which there is no English equivalent, but there should be. Once such word is hygge. Hygge (pronounced hoo-gah) is a way of living that the Danish people swear by. It focuses on friends, family, and appreciating the little things in life. Denmark is… Read More Hygge

On Tuesday I talked about how I recently had a friend come over unexpectedly. What I didn’t mention was how that came about.

I recently had a friend come over unexpectedly. It had been a while since we’d seen each other, but we quickly found ourselves in pretty deep waters. We sat on my back porch, nursing our glasses of ice water, and discussed things like deep familial wounds, crises of faith, struggles with identity, and more.

Mother’s day is coming up! This is supposed to be a special occasion, a date to recognize and celebrate the woman who gave us life. Many people, however, have less than ideal relationships with their mothers. Perhaps there was abuse or neglect, or some other sort of trauma. Maybe your experience is nothing so drastic, but… Read More How to celebrate mother’s day – even if you’re not on good terms

All of life is a rhythm. Seasons come and go; the sun rises every morning and sets every evening; children are born, grow old, and die. Like the grand scheme of life, our individuals lives also have rhythms. We wake up every morning, go to bed every night. In between we’ll go to work, or… Read More Establishing healthy rhythms

I recently sent a text to my mother-in-law, thanking her for how well and unreservedly she has loved me since I joined her family. Her response was simple: “I’m so grateful that you accepted our love!” As I reflected on her words, I realized that this simple sentence has profound implications for our day-to-day lives… Read More 3 ways you might be blocking love in your life