Road to Closure: A Fond Farewell to Centennial

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I’m strolling this corridor at Tristar Centennial, a place I never thought I’d see or walk again. Yesterday’s arrival of Jori Grace, our Little Bag Fry, our second rainbow, reminding us that the surprises of God, regardless of how we initially interpret them, are nevertheless extensions of His faithfulness. 

Unbeknownst to Lys and I coming into Jori’s birthday was the fact she would arrive the exact place in the same room where Jubilee debuted.

December 17, 2025

August 21, 2021

As you might suspect, this entrance was deeply and multi-emotional. Practically impossible to not think where things were four years ago. So much has changed, so much has progressed, so much new, so much next. 

As I’ve considered the time warp, I’ve latched onto a single word that has a precedence of peace. That word is ‘closure’. 

What does the Bible say about closure, closed loops, closing the gap, etc.? 

When we talk about closure, we’re often discussing what it means to find God’s grace and strength to endure, to discover His power in the context of forgiveness, perseverance, receiving help, ultimately turning and realigning to Jesus. 

It’s a word that merits a Christian worldview, since the world frames peace and good tidings primarily as functions of comfort, self-preservation, even open doors to better opportunities. However, in Scripture, we find similar evidence in God guiding us not only through new doors but closed doors

For example, I know it’s highly likely I will never be a guest patient at Centennial again. A somber thought since Lys and I have experienced so much life here. ‘Tis been a place where we’ve always felt vertically anchored, even if we were compelled into the posture.  Understandably, there’s a bit of melancholia in this birthing episode as redemption arches, past and present, meet a local farewell. 

Still, I’m encouraging by a certain notion. Anytime new life is given, we’re not just obliged into exuberant gratitude but to commit/recommit ourselves to the call we have to nurture that life in the ways of God, in the likeness of Christ. We may not feel like we have what need to navigate the struggle we encounter, as this season reminds us, we still have Jesus, with us and for us. 

So, whether I reference scars with onsite origin or those fresh within Lys who fielded her third c-section in four years, we recognize this renewed race as part of God’s work of restoration. And as this special time of year reminds us, where there’s restoration, there can be anticipation for what is good, given the source and omni-nature of Immanuel, in loss and pain, to life as fresh gain. 

To Centennial, it’s been real to the sweetest effect. I bid you all the fondest adieu and to the rest of you…

Cover photo creds: The Business Journals

Christmas ‘Present’: Why Now is the Perfect Time to ‘Readvent’ Your Life

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Recently, I was chatting with a former colleague, listening to him recount a year that started with high hopes but ultimately slid off the rails. You talk about a ‘bear year’ bingo board; this mini testimony had it all, from unforeseen conflicts and unprecedented struggles to wrong turns at the wrong times despite best intentions. If disappointment had a voice, no question, I was hearing and feeling it.

Perhaps some of you have been in that situation, having to pull wisdom from past pain, looking to make an encouraging connection. If so, you know the posture can be humbling.

Addressing my friend, the immediate challenge wasn’t so much accessing my library of relatable lows but conveying hope in a way that didn’t come across as cliché. For instance, I generally agree with the colloquialism, ‘It’s not about how you start but how you finish’. In the spirit of holy calibration, one has nothing but fear to lose when full surrender meets desperation and repentance. Yet often the trouble in voicing this is the embedded assumption that the other side knows what to do. How does one finish a year strong? Where is Jesus when we need Him to shine light on the way we’re to go? Those are a few of several key questions we should be asking this time of year, and in some instances, be willing to navigate with certain people God puts in our lives.

To me, finishing a year strong is less about the existing year and more about the upcoming year. ‘Tis why I love December as much as I do. While there’s plenty to celebrate, there’s the covering of Advent as a means to bless the Lord and a prompt to realign with Him. Yes, Christmas traditions are worthwhile, but so is the net effect of taking inventory of unhealthy patterns, breaking off agreements with the enemy, and posturing in gratitude to what saves.

Wherever we find ourselves, I encourage us to look this year in the mirror and declare it as one God can use. What has happened, good or bad, doesn’t define us. Even if there have been discouraging developments, we must not exalt them to the point our faith erodes but rather see them as motivation to lay our all at Jesus’ feet. We may not feel we have much to give, we may wrestle with our sense of purpose and future from our current perspectives; however, when we consider Christmas is the celebration of Jesus incarnate – the reason for hope, the beginning of salvation, the reality of reconciliation – we understand how these weeks of anticipation can extend into the new year where fresh starts and clean slates await.

Accordingly, as we delight in God’s sovereignty this Christmas, let’s be mindful of what this Advent season can ignite. Immanuel, God with us in storm and fire, merry and bright, there’s nothing He can’t do to make things right. Still, we must accept our call to make Him room; hence, why we must embrace Him as ‘present’. The same God who understands where and why you are is the same God who gave His only Son to purchase and preserve you at a price. You don’t have to wait until New Year’s to recommit your ways. Start now, start today, and watch what God will do.

Cover graphic creds: Christianity.com

The Beatitude of Gratitude

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What is the state of being grateful?

Gratitude isn’t just whimsical optimism, a warming mindset, pretending, or a forced smile in the rear-view mirror; it’s the ultimate way we align ourselves with God and approach our problems. To be thankful, in a sense, is to transact with the Father where we exchange our grievances and offenses for peace, praise, and declarations of His goodness; hence, why a daily dose of Psalms can be such a powerful unlock for the believer. Life may be hard, but glory hallelujah, God is on the throne! I’m stuck in the muck, I’m down and struggling to get up. But bless the Lord, oh my soul, all things are possible through Him.

This notion ties into one of the great beauties of thanksgiving in that it’s one of the quickest positive decisions you can ever make. All you have to do is align your heart, open your mouth, and give the Spirit access to elevate those points of gratitude within you.

I’m reminded of one of Tony Robbins’ quotes on the subject:

“When you are grateful, fear disappears, and abundance appears.”

Just let that sink in a little. You may feel you’re running on empty with no margin to give or receive. You may be overwhelmed by the voids in your life. Yet, when you choose to give thanks, you’re instantly eroding fear and creating room for the transcendental to fill in the gaps.

For some of us, this time of year begins a brutal five-week stretch as we reacquaint ourselves with what’s missing in life. While we can’t change the past and undo the losses, we can change the way we relate to our losses, the person we’re becoming in Christ. And for this I am infinitely grateful.

In closing, I encourage you to consider Colossians 3:17 (MSG) and Hebrews 12:28 (MSG) and the ways they relate to each other.

“Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.” ~ Colossians 3:17

“Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!” ~ Hebrews 12:28

May the truth of God’s love mark your homes and families as we relish Thanksgiving and embark on a new Advent season.

#Selah

Cover graphic creds: Freepik

Like a Good Neighbor

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Written 11/09/2025

It’s a crisp autumn night as I overlook a neighborhood that, at the moment, resembles a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. I guess that’s what happens when severe weather strikes during peak foliage season. Rivers of color up ahead and flowing on sideroads across the subdivision. A bizarre spectacle as I pen these thoughts.

To be honest, I’m not okay right now. When a neighbor whose dog viciously attacked one of my boys last February cusses out my older two for cleaning up debris 15-20 yards from his property and demands I “move the f***” away”, how can you not be jolted? Dude, your dog almost killed my son. We relocated ours for healing and trauma counseling. The dust has settled. Move on. We have no intention to invade. Let life happen. Don’t curse my kids.

Of course, I keep the struggle internal and swiftly comply. But deep down, I’m livid. Just 15 hours prior, I had pulled over in my in-laws’ subdivision to ride out a storm, hazards flaring, my upper half documenting. For the first 10 minutes, everything is fine, my awe struck at the scene of one of the most impressive, hail-laden downpours I’ve ever seen.

That’s when an older gentleman with an umbrella walks out to my passenger door. Instead of asking if I was okay, he stoops down and yells, “What the hell are you doing?” Without any official storm-chasing designation, I stumble into my explanation, though emphasizing my place on public property. “What is your reason for being here? Is there somewhere else you can go?” Annoyed at the mere existence of this exchange, I conclude with a defiant, “Absolutely!” I turn the key and drive away, a tough shrug-n-go at first, but digestible upon realizing the man lives in literal darkness every night. Lord knows the reason behind such crabby cantankerousness. Honestly, I should feel bad for the man.

Fast-forward to this morning and I’m feeling it in the wake of another brutal interlude. That piece of you that prefers some faith in humanity, it’s fading with the wind knocked out. Discouraged, I return to my pile of downed limbs and trampoline shrapnel. That’s when something remarkable happens. Only 15 minutes later, a stranger in a tan pickup pulls up to my driveway and asks if I need any help. Surprised, yet amused at the poetic symmetry of the moment, I welcome the assistance and process the intel. After recently moving from the upper Midwest, this younger gentleman, who wore the part through his swagger and 220-lb frame, confessed how he had been jonesing for a situation like this in which he could contribute mass relief. For the next 20 minutes, we hauled a healthy load, even swung on some stubborn maple and oak limbs, loosening them before their saw-off. Caeden as my witness, we had a grand time. Such serendipity, you couldn’t have timed it better.

As my new neighbor drove off, I couldn’t help but yearn for a healthy calibration of what I’d just experienced. A few years into our move, Lys and I took a similar approach to our neighbors around the holidays. We were intentional in our giving, made efforts to share goodness, especially in our December dealings; however, post-COVID/post-Juju, we started to slack off a bit, more cynical and protective in light of stranger times. Sometimes, you wish you could just go back before the drama and find a way to bypass it. Just one tweak there, and the whole trajectory changes. Less mess and way less fallout.

But sometimes, all you have to do is consider the script you wish was imminent without the mulligan and pray into the next steps. For me, the truth is, the type of gusto I show during planned storm chases and disaster relief meetings— when I set out not only to track nature’s worst but also to help people in the path — should not be confined to the planned, but even more so, the unplanned. After all, random acts of kindness aren’t just for outreach-friendly entities. They are for every man on call for any situation. ‘Tis the silver lining any time chaos and crisis come knocking at our door and/or the one next door.

So as I bid this day adieu, I’m taking in the daily narrative. Like a heartening State Farm ad, not only is my faith in ‘good neighbor’ restored, but my hope in being the type of person I want to be more consistently.

I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: The Lord knows exactly what we need, when we need it; hence, why we must adhere to the hope of glory we carry within so we can spark it within spontaneous generosity. We got this! Together, we will get there.

Selah.

Graphic cover creds: Dreamstime

Dancing in the Pain: The Secret to Trusting God in the Storm (Intro)

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Quick post today – archiving some thoughts for future reference per a recent conversation at work. My plan will be to build a series off this concept in 2026…

There are times in life when ‘yes’ is and will be the right answer. You may not understand the full ‘why’; the logic may trail the intuition. But obedience as goal, we will ultimately encounter moments when reason must yield to faith. Sometimes, it’s as simple as seasoned patience, waiting for an open door to illuminate the path we’re meant to walk. Other times, it’s like guided flight within cloudy turbulence, watching God correct the trajectory as we cling to Him. Either way, God has a plan, a purpose, and a promise behind the places He takes us (Proverbs 16:9, Psalm 37:23-24, Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10).

As for the effect of these places, we must expect variability. At any point, we always have the capacity to learn and grow from something for something. To breathe is to absorb. To absorb is to process. And how we process, in most cases, inclines critical choices from trusting God in the midst of challenging circumstances to those micro-moments every day when we must decrease.

So, what then when these impacts net negative on paper and in person? What if the only meaningful consequences are confined to scars and sagacities fortified in fire? For most, if they can’t carry a positive tangible forward, then they write off the exiting season as a failure. ‘Tis a mentality of the world and wisdom of the flesh.

Yet, in truth, in the Word, and every place that matters, the reality is you can’t quantify growth in motion or scale the ripple effect a fallen face turned hopeful can produce. When lessons learned become fastened to the soul, when they click, find momentum, and plant themselves as fertile seeds, what you have is a vital, appreciable asset – one of the most important of all! Some might call it ‘addition by subtraction’ character-building or by a ‘one step back, two steps forward’ platitude. But those wouldn’t serve due justice, let alone what is full in the Lord’s eyes.

Again, you can’t measure or compute the long-term influence humility has in the wake of voids and failures. Do you have much to learn, much to apply, but have subdued the urge to stay where you’ve fallen? If so, rejoice! Shake the dust off your feet and rejoice again.

My friends, we must not undermine the virtue of endurance as God intended. Forgive the versions of yourself that didn’t know better, that didn’t have the support you needed, that lacked the safe space. After all, you can’t move on if you don’t love on and you can’t love on if you’re committed to a hardened state. Remember what you crave, God already is. So…

Don’t just get up, look up. Don’t just sing in the rain; dance in the pain. Why? Because Christ in you, you can count it all joy because who you’re becoming is far more significant than where you’ve been.

Together we will get there, one more cry and one less ‘why’ at a time.

Cover graphic creds: Harvest City Church