Category: Personal Essays
-
NORM! (And Why Churches Need More of This Energy)
Picture this: You push through those church doors and suddenly—”NORM!”—except it’s YOUR name being called with pure joy. I’ve been thinking about Cheers and Jesus lately… What I discovered might surprise you. Because belonging isn’t earned. It’s extended.
-
Seventeen Minutes
It started with a bank envelope. Fat with cash. Eight hundred and fifty dollars. Carl’s and my paychecks—cashed and crisp, now bulging in my pocket. Not what I expected to carry that morning. I thought I was grabbing wipers and running errands, not stuffing Carl’s dad’s rental envelope into my jacket and slipping behind the…
-
Three States, One Car, Zero Plan
By Joe Class III Picture this: It’s past midnight in Dublin, California. I’m eighteen years old, driving in circles like a lost tourist. Except I’m not—I’m basically homeless, living out of my four-door brown Datsun with a souped-up 280Z four-speed manual transmission. Terrible life choices, I know. Less than two weeks earlier, I’d blown up…
-
“You Are a Symbol of Resilience and Strength”
A man loses his son, mother-in-law, dog, job, and marriage in 2022. A fortune cookie’s message about resilience initially stings but eventually guides his transformation through storytelling.
-
Rule One: Know What You’re Walking Into
Evening at Gemini’s, the hanging filament bulbs give an amber glow to the inside of the bar. Low-level laughter and conversation echoed through the establishment. A platinum-blonde strolled in. Not a care in the world, she popped her gum, sounding like the poppers adolescent boys threw at each other on the 4th of July. Tossing…
-
The Post
One post. One friend. A lifetime of trust—shaken. When Gwen sees Rob’s inflammatory social media post, it’s not just political—it’s personal. The Post explores how a single moment online can fracture years of friendship, and asks: can we still reach across the divide before silence becomes permanent?
-
Truth Is Always Stranger than Fiction
A late-night traffic stop becomes a reminder: storytelling connects us, grounds us, and makes us known. In a world of strangers, our stories are how we find our way home.
-
German Chocolate Cake – A Perfect Way to Celebrate Your Birth
Today, my thoughts turn to birthdays. Dad is 77 today, living through the Vietnam War, the Challenger Explosion, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. I don’t know about you, but birthdays are a big deal. Being forgotten about on a milestone birthday, like 16 or 21? That’s not something you forget. Nor is it…
-
A.I. Music, Storytelling, and Poetry? Um, no thanks!
Magic. It’s inside a story. Your story. Within you is the potential to create or destroy, heal or hurt. Your gift is your story. Your ability to share with others what you’ve learned, how you’ve been helped, or what’s hurt you so that they will pass that along to others. There is nothing magnificent about…
-
Healthcare Priorities and Distractions
Human beings are dying every day in our country. Focusing on real issues instead of highlighting the opioid crisis, fentanyl, and substance abuse disorder, is what is your life worth? The correct answer is saving lives, right? So, what costs more lives in the United States? Is it Cancer? Heart disease? Or is it fentanyl?…
-
What’s It Worth?
In 2023, the opioid crisis claimed over 100,000 lives. That’s one family without a mom or dad, a brother or sister, a niece or nephew, or a close friend, fiancé, husband, or wife. One hundred thousand people dead. What’s the cost of leaving countless families in mourning, dealing with the aftermath of trauma and grief?…
-
Soap Bubbles with Strings
Kids love bubbles. Big or small. Doesn’t matter. All kiddos love delicate, intricately-shaped, thin soap bubbles. As simple as it is to create bubbles, some of us are much more adept at getting the soap-to-water ratio just right, creating the perfect formula for long-lasting bubbles. Picture this: kids of all ages playing with soap bubbles…
-
Built Ford Tough
Forty years ago, Ford Motor Company developed a slogan, ‘Built Ford Tough,’ highlighting their quality, durability, and strength. GenXers like me were bombarded by the message. We didn’t have a way to stop its assault. Either you pressed the magical mute button, or you turned it off. But one thing was clear. Ford trucks were…
-
Darth Vader is Dead
From age six, I watched the Star Wars films, anticipating every climax, all the plot twists, and the fantastic visual effects through my six-year-old eyes. Star Wars holds a special place in my heart, even as a teenager and adult. With many more years behind me and more characters and spin-off series created from the…
-
Balancing Good Deeds with True Love
So, here’s the thing. My relationship with God is being renewed and reinvigorated as of late, thanks to discipline, running, and consistency in silence and stillness. That’s the reason for this blog post. It’s no surprise to anyone who knows me that I struggle with people’s inattentiveness and inconsiderate behavior. From the grocery store to…
-
American Culture and Entitled Behavior – Speeding
Entitlement and the sense of entitlement is the belief your rights are above other people’s, that it is your ‘right’ to get something that no one else deserves. Based on that definition, can we consider speeding entitlement behavior? Watching people act out of this sense of entitlement, believing that their destination is much more important…
-
Leaders Own Their Mistakes
Yesterday, I wrote a blog post that upset people. I got a community guideline violation on Nextdoor for my post, ‘Stop Being So Judgey.’ The violation? “No racism, hateful language, or discrimination of any kind is tolerated on Nextdoor.” I would like to apologize to those who found the post hateful or discriminatory. That post…
-
Some Sports Analogies Just Don’t Work
This question was posed to a group of college athletes who follow Jesus: If your church was a professional team and the senior pastor was the coach, would you be a starter? Would you be on the second string? Or would you be a benchwarmer? As an ultrarunner, I am familiar with sports analogies in…
