Everything abandoned to God will be returned to us, either in this lifetime or in eternity. One of the devotions in Soul Weathered is called Abandoned to God. In it, I make a statement that someone recently asked me about. I wrote: "Everything abandoned to God will be returned to us, either in this lifetime or in eternity." Do I really believe that? Absolutely. Recently I had lunch with a friend I've known for several years. Twenty-six months ago, he made a decision that most

“Sometimes faith is walking away from the throne without an answer, knowing the question is safe with God” Why some questions must be carried with God before they can be answered Soul Weathered contains fifty-two devotions. One for every week of the year. There's a reason for that. It isn't simply because men don't like to read. It isn't because I thought people couldn't handle more. It's because I've learned something over the years about walking with God. Sometimes it take

There is a place where the life of Christ begins to flow effortlessly through you. One of the recurring themes throughout Soul Weathered is becoming the man God created you to be. Not the man the world tells you to become. Not the man your fears have shaped. Not even the man you think you ought to be. The man God imagined when He created you. For years, I wondered what that really looked like. How do you become that man? How do you move beyond simply believing in Christ to ac

One of the themes throughout Soul Weathered is what I call our inner weather. Not the weather outside us. The weather within us. The emotions no one else sees. The conversations no one else hears. One of those conversations has followed me for most of my adult life. It's the way I speak to myself. I've always been impatient. Not just with traffic. Not just with delays. Not even primarily with other people. I've been impatient with me. For years, every little mistake became an

One of the things I wrestle with in Soul Weathered is mystery. Not because I enjoy unanswered questions. But because there are questions that simply don't have easy answers. Sometimes I wonder about the person who might pick up Soul Weathered—the agnostic, the atheist, or simply the person who has been deeply wounded—and think, This doesn't answer my questions. Honestly, I understand. Because I've asked many of those same questions myself. In my early thirties, I went through

"Jesus died for you. God calls you. And eventually, there are steps of obedience only you can take." Jesus told a story about a shepherd who left ninety-nine sheep to go after one that was lost. I've heard that story most of my life. Usually, I heard it from the perspective of evangelism. The lost person. The person far from God. The one who needs rescuing. And that's true. But recently I've been wondering something else. What if the one is you? Not you as part of a crowd. No

There’s a section in Soul Weathered devoted entirely to grace. Not grace as a theological idea. But grace as something lived. Patsy Folk, my mom. Something seen. Something experienced in ordinary moments that quietly change the way you see people forever. One of those moments happened when I was a teenager. My mother worked at a Bible bookstore in Hickory, NC , and one day I was in the store looking through music when I started hearing raised voices. I looked over and saw an

There’s a word I never really liked growing up as a Christian: Wretched. Maybe because most of my early understanding of the Christian life revolved around one thing: Sin management. Trying harder. Doing better. Getting control of myself. Read the Bible more. Pray more. Try harder next time. And I did all of it sincerely. But the cycle usually looked the same: I would fail.I would sin again. I would feel ashamed.I would question myself. Then I would start over determined to “

As I’ve been rereading parts of Soul Weathered, I’ve found myself unexpectedly convicted by my own words. That may sound strange coming from the author of the book, but the truth is, those devotions came out of decades of journals, reflections, failures, prayers, and moments where God met me in real life. When I started putting the book together, I had hundreds of pages I could have included. Narrowing it down to 52 devotionals honestly came down to trust. Trusting the Holy S

There’s a lot written about habits. Morning routines. Disciplines. The things successful men do to start their day. I understand the value in that. But what has shaped my life the most… isn’t a routine. It’s a posture. I wish I could tell you I practice it perfectly every day. I don’t. But it’s something I return to again and again. It starts with a picture. I see myself walking into a vast hall. High ceilings. Columns that seem to disappear into the distance. A space that fe