Category: Personal

The Prince of Peace: An Advent Reflection

After enduring the anxiety of death and all the chaos of hell, Jesus rose as the King of kings, the crowned Prince of heaven who was victorious over all his enemies. And the first words this champion king spoke to his fearful disciples was “Peace be with you.”  

An Open Letter on Self-Love

Stop trying to prove to yourself whether or not you’re lovable if that’s what you’re doing. If you’re anything like me, you’ll never find a reason within yourself. Instead, search the heart of God and listen to Him say to you “I love you.” 

Scientism, Metanarrative, and the Power of “Elfland”

“My first and last philosophy, that which I believe in with unbroken certainty, I learnt in the nursery. I generally learnt it from a nurse; that is, from the solemn and star-appointed priestess at once of democracy and tradition. The things I believed most then, the things I believe most now, are the things called

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How Do We Talk About Reprobation?

Whether you’re a fellow believer struggling to share your beliefs well or you’re merely interested in seeing how Christians answer this question, hopefully this post can help start the conversation.

God’s Faithfulness and “Random” Encounters

What a busy, joy-filled, tumultuous season of change these last few months have been! Though I only took three classes, my last semester of undergrad was surprisingly challenging. Of the some 130 pages I wrote from January to May, very few were products of my own volition and leisure. Most of my time and energy

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Patrick Preaching — The Christian Life: It’s Okay to be Not Okay

If I’m honest with myself, I’m not okay with being not okay. Don’t get me wrong. In one sense, this is holy…But there’s another way that not being okay with being not okay is evil and wrong. Instead of hating my sin, I tend to hate myself for sinning at all. I expect myself to be perfect—sinless—right now. Whenever I feel I’ve sinned, I’m thrown into despair. That’s wrong. Here’s why.

“Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy” & Addiction Recovery

If you’re curious as to what recovering from an addiction feels like, I recommend playing “Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy,” or at the very least, watching a playthrough of the game. I understand how absurd it might sound to some of my readers when I claim that watching someone else play a computer game

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Concerning Charlottesville: A Word From A Proud Virginian

I am proud to be a Virginian. Virginia is incredibly beautiful. I have visited Ireland, Israel, northern Minnesota, Montana, Mexico, and Arizona. To this day I have yet to find a place more beautiful than the Shenandoah valley. Virginia has a rich history. The first college in America, William and Mary, was established in Williamsburg.

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Existentialism and the Grand Canyon

Existentialism—and philosophy in general—is simultaneously enticing and frustrating to me. I should be more clear. The discussion of philosophy; writing about it; thinking about it; answering questions; asking questions; considering ontology, epistemology, axiology, etc: these things keep me up at night in more ways than one. Sometimes I lie awake mulling over how I would

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