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You’d be hard pressed to find a guy who thinks he’s a bad person. When I ask others how they would define a good person, the qualifications normally range from not being a murderer to never doing anything that hurts another person. Most often, I hear a good person defined as someone who does more good things than bad things. I understand. That makes complete sense if good and bad held in equal tension. Simple acts that have one-level of ramifications, here on earth. A bad thing is a withdrawal from our moral bank account and a good thing is a deposit. If I steal a candy bar, then if I give some money to charity, help an old lady cross the street, or give up my seat on a bus, than I can make up for that stolen candy bar, according to the karmic view of the world–good negates bad. If I just make sure I’ve got enough in my account to pay for the bad withdrawals, I’ll be good to go. However, according to the Bible, our bad isn’t just a withdrawal from an account. As I talk with students each day about the reality of our human condition, I’ve found one analogy in explaining the true cost of sin to be especially helpful. ...

I love knowing how people get things done. Seeing other people’s arsenal of productivity weaponry gets me pumped up than a nerd at Comic-Con. Here’s the list of tools I use, in no particular order and how they help my workflow. Click the name of each tool for a link to download or purchase it. My Toolbox...

Doing things you don’t want to do (especially if they are good spiritual disciplines) can cause you (or others) to be labeled pharisee. Going to church when you’ve had a long weekend and just need to relax. Reading your Bible when you don’t want to. Stopping halfway through your meal when you realized you didn’t pray to ask the Lord to bless your meal. Here’s an internal (and sometimes external) dialogue I often have. “Oh, I completely forgot to pray for my food. I should stop and pray for it. But, I don’t want to be a pharisee and do it just to be religious. That’s true. Should I just keep eating? Should I pray anyway?” Legalism is dangerous. It’s faux-spirituality focused on doing the right things with the wrong motivation. Faith and legalism are at odds with one another, because legalism is faith in yourself and your own abilities to earn God’s favor. Jesus called out the Pharisees often throughout the Gospels. They are normally found doing things to the extreme (like tithing on their nutmeg and cinnamon) but they are then found condemning those who don’t do as they do (even if it isn’t required by God). So, how do we keep from being a pharisee while still striving to please God? The difference lies in our motivation. ...

The idea of creating a budget turns people into TSA Agents because they are not letting that get through the gates into their life, even with a thorough pat down. Budgeting carries negative connotations because it is restricting and difficult (like eating healthy food and exercising regularly, another awful thing smart people suggest). We don’t like doing hard things. So of course budgeting is something we are absolutely not interested in. I know a lot of very smart people who seemingly handle their finances well that don’t use a written budget. They say things like, “If I had a budget, I’d spend more money than I do now.” “We’re very frugal and we definitely don’t need a budget to manage our money.” “A budget is constricting, like an anaconda wrapped around an armadillo.” I can see where they are coming from. But I disagree for a number of reasons, listed below. As promised, the budgeting myths are body slammed with enough force to put the Kardashian’s on a cash-flow plan. I feel especially adept at answering these objections because I’ve reasoned with the false logic behind them myself in the past. 8 Budgeting Objections and the Real Truth to Answer Them...

I’m a bit of an anomaly. I’m rarely shaken by big life changes or weighty expectations. Things like moving overseas, learning a new language, adapting to a new culture, or leading a team rarely stress me out (not even when they are combined into a life-change cocktail). But if I spill some milk, break a glass and see a spam email slip through the filter and into my inbox, I’m probably going to lose it. I’m not sure why that is. I’m still working on figuring out why I’m fine with major shifts and obstacles but I can’t overcome certain mental blocks a four year old wouldn’t struggle with. Recently, I came up with a process for identifying the tiny frustrations that lead mental meltdowns for me. It helps me work through why I’m feeling the way I am and how to set things straight. ...

“We struggle with insecurity because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” – Steven Furtick Social media has given us a window to compare ourselves to everyone we know (and so many we don’t) like never before. Someone has a cuter baby than us. A bigger house. A nicer car. A better job. A more exciting life. And we aren’t only aware of it when we interact with them, it’s in our face every time we login to Facebook or see someone’s filet mignon on Instagram. We are prone to compare because we have constant access to people to compare ourselves to.  Comparison robs us of all joy. It says, “What I have isn’t enough.” It’s a lie, a snare, a trap. It’s one I fall into incredibly often, and I’m a comparer by nature. It’s a nasty sin I’m trying (by the grace of God) to root out. It creates an awful cycle of pride and despair as we say, “At least I’m not like him,” and “If only I could be like her.” It’s a destructive rhythm that will never fulfill us and can only eat away at our hearts like battery acid. The only two people we should compare ourselves to are Jesus and our past selves. Jesus humbles us and our past selves serve to encourage us....

The only people who get hurt on a roller coaster are the ones who jump off. This quote by Dave Ramsey was exactly what I needed to hear (mostly in the context of blogging, a roller coaster I’m constantly trying to decide if it’s time to jump off or one to ride out. Riding out is winning so far). Dave (yep, we’re on a first-name basis) was discussing the stock market crash in 2009. It took four years for the market to recover. He was shouting on news stations, his radio show and to anyone who would listen: ride this out. Don’t sell your stocks. Don’t believe the sky is falling. Hold on. You’re in the middle of the ride. Don’t jump now. It’s comforting to have sound financial advice like this in the midst of an economic crisis, but the quote carries applications beyond dollars and cents. Wherever we are in life, we must realize we’re on a roller coaster. ...

Sometimes I do stupid things that waste time out of habit. Most of the time I do that because it’s more convenient to keep doing things the way I know how instead of investing the time into figuring out the best way to do them.  Here’s a recent example. This is my normal workflow for creating a blog post. ...

Long lists attract people. 100 ways to lose weight overnight without trying 97 things Jesus never said but you wish he did 223 ways to make a rocket ship out of a broken paper clip I think lengthy lists can be valuable, especially when they contain helpful resources in niche areas. I’m pro-list, as I’ve crafted my fair share of them. I made a list of 14 lessons I learned from living and leading abroad, the 28 things you need to know to teach yourself design, and 30 questions to evaluate your work performance. However, Matt Ragland’s post at Life, Prioritized on the problem with long lists challenged me. Here’s what Matt says, ...

Mike Mobley at Before the Cross invited me to guest post, and I describe how my lack of understanding of the Grand Canyon and its beauty relates to my lack of understanding about Jesus and who he is. Here’s a little taste to whet your appetite: I think, for most of us, we treat Jesus a lot like the Grand Canyon. We’ve heard a fair amount of stories. We know he’s a pretty impressive guy. ...