Welcome To My Blog

When novelists sit down to write a narrative, there is a question they ask themselves in order to create exciting and meaningful stories, and that same question can also create a more exciting and meaningful life. That question is: What if? J.R.R. Tolkien once asked the question What if there existed a place called Middle Earth, and What if Middle Earth were under threat? Every good story begins with some form of this question, and so does every life. Whenever a novel starts to drag, the writer simply has to ask this question, and suddenly life gets exciting again. What if there were a car accident, what if my protagonist won the lottery, what if my protagonist came home and his wife had left with all the furniture? A series of these questions will dislodge whatever fascinating thing is going to happen next in the story. Now to be sure, you don’t have the power to win the lottery and I don’t recommend getting in a car wreck, but within limits, the question What if? can radically change our story and our lives. Several years ago, I asked the question What if the 360,000 churches in America could each have a mentoring [...]

If I’ve a primal sin, it’s cynicism. I don’t normally make fun of people (I got too much of that in elementary school and am sensitive to it) but man do I roll my eyes a lot. I roll my eyes when things get mushy. Every girlfriend I’ve ever had has, at one time or another, become frustrated when I started making jokes as the conversation became too intimate. I’m only thankful the jokes were actually funny (if you laugh, you can’t also be angry, right?) Ultimately, this sort of thing is childish (which is sometimes fun, though) and I have to learn when certain moments require me to grow up. And lately I’ve realized cynicism stunts your growth. There aren’t many great leaders who are cynics, at least not publicly. Leaders have to believe in something, and cynics are too cool to believe. Leaders have to create community, they have to work with their enemies, they have to love and be committed to people, they have to convince people of their ideas, and cynicism doesn’t contribute well to any of this. I’ve started a little list of the true reasons I am cynical, but I could use some help. [...]

Since Million Miles came out about six months ago, It’s been an honor to hear the many stories of what people have done with their lives after reading the book. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard. But there is another kind of story I find equally as inspiring, and it’s the story of people who’ve encountered hardships and yet have found beauty in the midst of their pain. I first read Kelle and Brett Hampton’s story when my assistant forwarded me a link to her blog. The subject line in her e-mail simply said “You are going to need tissues for this one.” Sure enough, I did. I read the story and cried over the incredible honesty and beauty Kelle shared as she told the story of the birth of her daughter, Nella. She and Brett are heroes, and Nella is an angel. Thousands have now read Nella’s story, and thousands have left comments on Kelle’s blog. I asked Kelle if I could repost the blog, pictures and all, on my site, and she kindly and graciously agreed. I just wanted to bring the story to more readers. May you be blessed like I was. May you [...]