I have had to learn how to extend grace and possibly the even harder lesson, learning to receive it. I'm not talking about the greeting card version or the cheesy bumper sticker theology of being nice to people who don’t deserve it. The actual, costly, sometimes inconvenient, occasionally infuriating practice of extending grace to people I love; my wife, my kids, friends and family…in the moments when it would be easier and honestly more satisfying to just be right about some

When I was in high school, many moons ago, I had this crush (who I happen to be married to now) and I wanted to learn a song for her. I was the epitome of a cheesy hopeless romantic. I loved this song called “Remember to Breathe” by Dashboard Confessional. I decided that this was the one. Simple 3 chords or so on the guitar, doable. Now, understand I was emo. To the fullest. Like I can’t even look back at my life and say it was a phase…it was who I was. So I learned it. Now,

Our house doesn’t run on a schedule as much as it runs on relational chaos. If our house were a play list, it would be everything from 60s country to some really obscure metal core band (whom if you don’t know their first album, you’re not really a fan) and everything in between. There are rhythms, sure; school stuff in the morning, bedtime prayers, dinner around the table (hopefully). Mostly there is a living, breathing ecosystem of personalities learning how to share space

I’ve been watching Stranger Things…and I love it. The show is full of all the stuff that makes a show great for me. I’m only in season 4, so do me a forgiveness if I misinterpret anything to this point…but it’s got the goods. Suspense, 80s nostalgia, humor, character building, relationships, action, and a great plot. It’s also incredibly theologically rich (intended or not). But it got me thinking about the new year…and how every new year feels like standing at the edge of tw

My kids got a kaleidoscope for Christmas. I’m not going to lie, I was jealous. But then I remembered, I am larger and more agile than they are. So I took one. I didn’t find it, I discovered it! I love them (kids and kaleidoscopes). I’ve had my eye on some antique kaleidoscopes that are way out of my budget, but one day…one day. As I was twisting the tube, the complexity of light hit me. Light is never as simple as it appears. What looks like clarity from a distance is, with c

Dan Scott (blame him) prompted this thought with the reminder of a book I read a while ago called “The Beauty of the Infinite” by David Bentley Hart. This post is long…and I’m sorry for that, but it’s probably one of the most important thoughts I’ve put out there. So thank you for reading, in advance. I asked my wife, Holly Scoggins , to find me a painting. One that is objectively beautiful and one considered to be one of the most beautiful Christian themed paintings. She se