Today I’m going to be telling you the story about how God changed my life. How he has always been pursuing me and leading me towards His grace and mercy…

Well, it depends on who you ask.

If you ask friends from school or your soccer team, you may get a variety of answers. Some will say people are born that way and have no control over it. Others may answer that everyone deserves to love whoever they choose.

Do you ever find yourself judging those whose appearance/job/background/etc. may be different than yours? Who would you say are the “despised ones” of our generation?

I want to share a few thoughts about friendship (and a few hot takes) to encourage you and hopefully challenge you on your journey of finding friends and being a good one. I’ll be honest - I’m going to say somethings that might not sit well with you at first, but stick with me!

Change is hard. It is also inevitable. So how can we find comfort during seasons of life where things are uncertain, hopeless, or unpredictable? How do we find rest when we feel like life is spinning outside of our control?

All throughout the school year, I fought God. I didn’t pray to him, I didn’t thank him for everything I had, and I still resented him for what had happened. I still went to church with my family on Sundays, but…

What we know for sure is that words are not intrinsically evil. There are no combinations of sounds that are automatically sinful. Words are vehicles for information and attitudes, and you and I both know those can be sinful! The point is that there are a lot of gray areas when it comes to swearing, and you’re going to have to use discernment…

For five years, I worked as a waiter at a country club restaurant in Seattle. Slacks and ties, fine silver, crystal glasses…it was kind of snooty, really. But the best part of the job was that once per shift, every waiter was allowed to eat an “employee meal.” Basically, this meant we got to eat free food off the menu of the restaurant– and pretty incredible food, at that…

Based on my experiences working and living in secular environments over the past decade or so, here is a framework that I have found helpful!