A majority of my life has been spent pursuing a professional football career in America. At the time, football had my heart -- and all of my time and energy, too. One of my brother's friends (who was forced into being a big brother to me as well) retired around the age of 28 after making 30 million dollars in his career. So I knew that football was the spaceship that could take me and everyone I knew to a different life. I envisioned my parents and siblings never having to wo

We are rapidly approaching wildfire season in America. This is a time where you will be able to see luxury cars and mansions owned by the upper echelon of society abandoned out of fear of fires that often engulf the spiritually and naturally dry places within the western parts of America. It is always such a breathtaking event, seeing material possessions that most have spent their entire lives acquiring become a complete afterthought at the appearance of a fire. No matter ho

Coming from a family of soldiers, the thought of going into combat has always intrigued me. I don't think many people of substance would argue that risking your life for something greater than yourself is not a bad way to spend your time here on earth. Nelson Mandela even has a quote stating that if a man hasn't found something worth dying for, he is not fit to live. Since I have never had the privilege of serving, I'm forced to rely on what I've seen in army-style movies. On

A few years ago, a friend of ours was in need of a place to stay. After discussing the matter with my wife, we agreed that Jesus would never want us to deny someone a place to stay if we had the space to accommodate them. (Matt. 25:35) So, we began to make preparations to host our guest. We cleared a room and a closet so our friend would have sufficient room to store their belongings. However, what we didn't think to accommodate for were their pets. They brought two dogs that

Up until recently, whenever I read the story of the young rich ruler I never saw myself. Society would say I'm not so young anymore and compared to some of the people that are close to me, I have never been rich. I have discovered through the Scriptures, however, that I in fact have been Biblically diagnosed with having the same taxing ailment as the young rich ruler. We see in the Scriptures that this was a man that had no problem with observing some of the commandments. He

I was born and raised in North Carolina, a southern state in America. Most people would consider me lucky to have been raised within the bible belt of America. The bible belt is a group of states that are known for the semblance of their faith, featuring high church attendance and a basic knowledge of the bible. A quick stroll through almost any street and you will find just as many churches as convenience stores. For every street there seems to be at least 2-3 churches and n

Several years ago, I had a job at a rescue mission. My dad was the CEO and I needed a place where I could hide from the reality that I was no longer in college. And to make matters worse, my hairline was fading faster than my dreams. At first, the job was simply a way to avoid the public while still earning some money, until one day the facilities director was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Slowly, he began to stop coming to work and the position was left vacant. I had nev

A few years ago, I spent some time in Philadelphia in hopes of furthering my career. As I was driving downtown one night, I saw a man get shot in the face right in front of me. His skull opened up, and as he laid lifeless on the ground, his brains leaked out of his head. I thought to myself, " Wow, this is crazy." After taking a moment to comprehend what had happened, I continued my quest for a McDonalds. I didn't think anything of it until a couple of weeks after the even

When I arrived in Germany, to my surprise I was bombarded with many questions: Do I like the President of America? What's my favorite state? And which country is better? These questions became typical from each new person that I met. One day, however, I was asked something that really made me feel like I was at home. My new friend, Simon, asked if I knew how to do American-style Barbecue. Smiling from ear to ear, I said, "Of course!" I am known as the grill-master at home amo

For the majority of my life, I was under the impression that it was possible to give your all to sports and simultaneously give your all to God. If I’m being honest, I used God as the “good luck charm” on my own personal ambitious endeavors. After establishing relationships with multiple NFL teams, coaches, and players, I was sure that this was where God wanted me to thrive -- not taking into account that this was also something that I had personally wanted to do my entire li