#RunningTo Week 29 in Review: Cleveland & All Over Pennsylvania

It’s time for my last #RunningTo Week in Review of 2014! I’ll be settling into eastern Pennsylvania for a two-week holiday hiatus. Knowing my family, I’m sure there will be a motley of photographic moments to post in the new year to come. IN ANY CASE, this past week of #RunningTo took me from Cleveland to all over Pennsylvania. […]

#RunningTo Week 28 in Review: Pittsburgh, Berne, Detroit

Hello my wanderers! The journey continues . . . westward? I’m taking these couple weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas to work my way westward — though not that far west before returning east for Christmas. From Pittsburgh to Berne (Indiana, not Switzerland) to Detroit, it’s been a fun little loop seeing new cities and, more gratefully, meeting genuine people. Check out these […]

I’m Afraid to Stop Running

I recently launched my first Kickstarter. It’s geared toward funding the completion of my #RunningTo road trip and the book that will follow. I’m currently 44% funded, and I’m so grateful. We’ve come a long way, but there’s still 56% more to go in just 16 days. Everyone who gives (and already has given) will get something […]

#RunningTo Week 27 in Review: Baltimore & Washington DC

On the heels of Thanksgiving with my family in eastern Pennsylvania, I hit the road once more. I ventured southward into Maryland and the District of Columbia, and it was a nice dose of the charming and historical. Check out some of my favorite moments from the wandering week that was! I’m currently in the […]

#RunningTo Weeks 25 & 26 in Review: Niagara Falls, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Acadia National Park, Boston

So. I apologize. In racing across eastern Canada and New England to make it back to Eden in time for Thanksgiving, I missed blogging last week. THERE WAS NO TIME. To rectify the situation, I’ve combined this week’s usual “week in review” into a double-dose of weekly review goodness. It all started with my first […]

#RunningTo FAQ: Part 2

Five long months ago, I posted one of my favorite #RunningTo posts. It was a collection of frequently asked questions, and even though I thoroughly answered the seven most frequently asked of them all, everyone still asked them again anyway. WHATEVER. I don’t mind repeating myself. But after all these months and thousands of accumulated miles, some more […]

#RunningTo Week 24 in Review: Langhorne, PA (EDEN) & Rochester, NY

I’m currently in Canada where it’s cold and snowy and I have to catch up on a million things, including this photographic recap of the past week. Let’s get it going! I returned to Langhorne, Pennsylvania — Eden, as I like to call it. My cousin got married, and much fun and photographic opportunities were had by all. […]

Tipping Point

It’s November. My notoriously worst month. But I’ve already blogged enough about that. Once again, November presents another tipping point for my life. Not a “bad” one, not a “good” one, just a … a regular old tipping point. From January 1 to May 31, I was a resident of the state of California. I paid rent […]

#RunningTo Week 23 in Review: Kentucky, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Gettysburg, Amish Country

Week 23 of #RunningTo took me through some gorgeous country just west of the Appalachians. I reunited with a long lost friend in Kentucky, and I also got to meet a fellow blogger and friend for the very first time! From the Bluegrass State I ventured north and east to West Virginia’s capital city — the […]

Road to Ridgecrest

Before hitting the road, I knew I’d be adding some vibrant new colors to my traveling palette. The Grand Canyon. Mount Rushmore. Vancouver. Before hitting the road, I knew I’d also be reuniting with some old familiar colors. Sweet Seattle. Old Milwaukee. A Pennsylvanian Eden. Among all the colorful locales on my #RunningTo itinerary, however, there probably wasn’t one as […]

#RunningTo Week 22 in Review: Chattanooga & Camp Ridgecrest

Week 22 will forever stand as one of my trip’s more special weeks. I mean, each week of #RunningTo has been special in its own right. But when you combine reunions with siblings and a camp that changed your life, it’s hard to lump such a week with all the others. First, Chattanooga. I got to stay with my awesome brother, […]

#RunningTo Week 21 in Review: Birmingham, Huntsville, Franklin, Nashville

Hello friends! This week’s pictures are coming a little later than usual, but that’s only because I’ve been too busy seeing all kinds of awesome stuff on the road. And meeting awesome people, too. Some “normal” people…and some semi-famous folk, too. From the Alabaman cities of Birmingham and Huntsville to the Tennessean towns of Franklin and […]

#RunningTo Week 20 in Review: Houston, New Orleans, Jackson

It’s hard to believe this edition of my #RunningTo Week in Review marks my 20th. Twenty weeks on the road, stretching from the Southwest to the Southeast. What a wild, crazy, long trip it’s been, and continues to be. This week featured a definitive shift from Midwest to South. I started in Houston and meandered eastward to New […]

#RunningTo Week 19 in Review: All Over Texas

Hello friends! This week of #RunningTo has been a distinct one, indeed. Lots of cowboy hats and flannel shirts and snakeskin boots. I’m in New York, naturally. JUST KIDDING. I’m in Texas. From Fort Worth to Waco to Houston, it’s been a YEEHAW time filled with longhorns, giant rocking chairs, and some pretty sweet reunions, too. Check out […]

When We Go to Uruguay

DAY 122: Couchsurfing is a beautiful thing. I’ve relied on the website for about a quarter of my #RunningTo stops across North America, and I’ve yet to have a negative or even remotely unpleasant experience. Most of my surfing stops have featured myself with a single host or married hosts or hosting roommates, but sometimes I’m not the […]

#RunningTo Week 18 in Review: St. Louis, Memphis, Little Rock, Oklahoma City

What a week! I’ve recently been zig-zagging down (and left and right) through the Midwest, and there’s been something exciting and picturesque at every turn. Last week’s photographic recap ended with St. Louis, and this week’s recap starts with my final days there. St. Louis is such a stellar city, and I’m glad a last-minute detour took […]

I Visited Westboro Baptist Church

DAY 114: For years they have intrigued me. I’ve watched their interviews and demonstrations on TV and YouTube. They travel the world, hailing from the innocuous center of Kansas and America. They call themselves Baptists — supposed believers of the same Jesus I follow. As I park my car in a Topekan residential area, I approach 12th Street with a distinct shudder. NO […]

#RunningTo Week 17 in Review: Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis

Hello friends! I’ve been wandering around the Midwest the last couple weeks, and somehow I’ve escaped the endless corn fields and found a place with WiFi. Phew. While it can take a little longer to appreciate the beauty of Iowa’s open road compared to, say, rugged Utah’s, it’s all part of the lovely process. I’m still enjoying my […]

WHEATON

DAY 110: It was just another day. I woke up in Chicago and figured I’d take a slight detour en route to Iowa. It’s something I told myself I’d do before #RunningTo started: take the detours. Wander the winding ways around Points A to B. Don’t rush. Explore. And so I drove an hour west to Wheaton, […]

#RunningTo Week 16 in Review: Milwaukee, Chicago, Davenport

Oh man. The good times just keep rolling. From Minneapolis to Milwaukee to Chicago, I’m pretty sure it was the most epic 1-2-3 punch of this #RunningTo road trip. Three absolutely gorgeous Midwest cities in a row. I’m not sure what those cities are like during wintertime, but gosh this late summer looksie was phenomenal. […]

Why Am I Still Wandering?

When you wander the continent for three months, you start to wonder some things. Why is the sky blue? Why do we insist on block intersections when roundabouts are so much cooler and more efficient? What’s the deal with Scotland? Aren’t they already a country? Among myriad other questions, I’m pondering one in particular after […]

#RunningTo Week 15 in Review: Minneapolis, MN & Milwaukee, WI

HEY Y’ALL. I’m really excited, in case the CAPS startled you. Week 15 of my cross-continent road trip has been such a memorable one. I mean, all of them are quite memorable. But this one in particular stands out among the rest. Great cities, amazing people, and some spectacular photos. I can’t wait to share some of […]

MILWAUKEE, Take 3

Three years ago, I first ventured to this Midwestern city. Called it home for an entire summer as I learned what it meant to receive love in community while simultaneously ministering to one. Two years ago, I returned to this city with a gut lined with lonely dread only to rediscover the Paradise it once was. On […]

#RunningTo Week 14 in Review: Watertown, South Dakota

Sometimes I visit five or six cities in a single week. My eager, restless heart likes to keep moving and exploring on this trip. But other times, other weeks, I like to stay still. Week 14 of #RunningTo was one of those stationary weeks. I still had a blast. This week I trekked to the […]

I Might Have Joined a Cult for 24 Hours

[A]s we pushed off the dock and the other guys got into their boats and pressed off, we back-paddled into the dark of the inlet, waving at the Goffs as they waved back at us. And then to our amazement, we saw all of them, fully dressed with shoes and jackets, take three steps together […]

#RunningTo Week 13 in Review: Brandon & Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hello my wanderers! This past week was Lucky 13 as I returned to the Frozen Tundra, the Great White North. My first trek through Canada was nothing short of amazing, and the second was just as memorable. Check out my favorite moments from the wandering week that was, including stops in Brandon and Winnipeg. As you’ll […]

Basking in the Badlands for Billions of Years

The Lakota Indians called it mako sica. French trappers labeled the landscape les mauvaises terres à traverse. Deemed and doomed a literal “bad land,” this devastating terrain made farming and traversing — even existing — a difficult if not impossible feat. And so the Badlands were born; millenia later, the Badlands remain. Driving through the endless prairies of southwestern South Dakota, you wouldn’t see […]

#RunningTo: Week 12 in Review: West Palm Beach, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, The Badlands

So, this last week of wandering was one of the most random and diverse yet. I flew to south Florida for my uncle’s wedding, then returned to my poor lonely car in Denver and resumed my road trip eastward. I saw Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, the astounding Native American rock sculpture that’s been in progress since 1948 (and […]

On Weddings and Wanderings for 80 Days

I just returned from a week-long trek to south Florida. No, I didn’t drive there from Denver; I flew. Last week, #RunningTo morphed into #FlyingTo as I reunited with family for a wedding. This on the heels of my friend’s Denver wedding the weekend before. Two weddings in a seven-day stretch: one in the shadow of the […]

#RunningTo Week 11 in Review: Colorado Springs & Denver

Hello my wanderers! I’ve lost track of which time zone I’m in with all my gallivanting of late, but I’ll get to that in a moment. First, it’s time to recap the wandering week that was — Week 11 of #RunningTo, featuring stops in Colorado Springs and Denver. Colorado is such a gorgeous state. I mean, […]

#RunningTo Week 10 in Review: La Jolla, Phoenix

I’ve officially hit the double-digits! It’s the end of Week 10 of #RunningTo, and gosh it doesn’t get old. From the cliff-laden shores of La Jolla (just outside San Diego) to the desert mystique of Phoenix, Week 10 was just gorgeous. Check out some of my favorite moments from the wandering week that was! What’s […]

Fullerton to Fullerton: Back to the Beginning Again

#RunningTo DAY 65: It’s amazing how something that was once so commonplace, so routine, so otherwise ordinary can become quite the opposite. Tonight, I’m sitting at an old familiar window seat. Tonight, I’m writing at The Night Owl. After sixty-five long days and nights on the road, I’m temporarily returning to a familiar though quite opposite life. […]

#RunningTo Week 9 in Review: Return to California!

Last week’s #RunningTo Week in Review was an Oregonian Extravaganza. This week, it’s my long awaited return to the Sunshine State. Wait, is California the Sunshine State or is that Florida? If California isn’t officially the Sunshine State, it needs to be. I’m certainly not in the mild/cloudy Pacific Northwest anymore! I’ve already experienced multiple 100-degree days in this last week […]

#RunningTo Week 8 in Review: OREGONIAN EXTRAVAGANZA!

It’s an OREGONIAN EXTRAVAGANZA this week! Week 8 of #RunningTo took me to all corners of the Beaver State, from Donald Miller infused Portland to capital city Salem to University of Oregon headquarters Eugene to One of the Best Small Towns in America Bend to the OH MY GOSH BREATHTAKING Crater Lake. Let’s just get right to […]

Seattle Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be

DAY 38: I’d just reentered America after two weeks in the Great White North. I cruised southward down the 5 with a sizzling anticipation unlike any other #RunningTo stop to this point. In many ways, my first month on the road had been leading up to this. The Space Needle emerged, Seattle’s distinct skyline unfurling like a blanket in […]

#RunningTo Week 7 in Review: Seattle, Olympia, Portland

Okay. Deep breath. I will try to refrain from posting another gopher picture this time. But no promises. Week 7 of #RunningTo rocked with a triad of phenomenal Pacific Northwest cities: Seattle, Olympia, and Portland. That last one is still a city-in-progress, so be looking forward to more Portlandia next time! It figures to be an amazing weekend […]

I’m Not at Camp this Summer

It didn’t fully hit me until two nights ago: I’m not at camp this summer. I remember feeling the weight of this strange reality early into last summer’s decision not to return to Camp Ridgecrest. Later in the summer, however, I remedied the restlessness of the situation by working and volunteering at not one, but two local camps. This summer is […]

#RunningTo Week 6 in Review: Storybrooke, Seattle, Mount Rainier

There’s no time. NO TIME. I just have to show you guys this: Oh, sorry, I’m past the Gopher Hole Museum now. It’s such a pity, but I’m glad y’all enjoyed my recounting of that adventure! Last week’s pictographical recap was my most viewed #RunningTo Week in Review to date, so I’ll be sure to visit […]

#RunningTo FAQ

Throughout my crazy #RunningTo road trip, I’ve been connecting with so many incredible people. The reaction and reception, both online and off, have been fueling me forward. I’m honestly thrilled that so many of y’all are thrilled. After living on the road for over a month now, a few commonly asked questions have arisen. So, I thought I’d take this opportunity to […]

#RunningTo Week 5 in Review: Gopher Hole Museum, Canadian Rockies, Vancouver

There’s no time. NO TIME. I just have to show you guys this: And this: And this and this and this: The Gopher Hole Museum basically altered the very course of my life. I might ditch every dream I’ve ever dreamt just to volunteer in the same vicinity of a couple dozen dead/dressed gophers. I […]

#RunningTo Week 4 in Review: Billings, Yellowstone, Saskatchewan

Hello my wanderers! It’s that time again. A chance to reflect on the wandering week that was via the magical wonders of photography. For #RunningTo Week 4, I ventured to Big Sky Country in Montana, including a good old Montanan hike and a day trip to Yellowstone National Park. Ugh, this world is beautiful. Then, […]

Utahn Glory: The Point of Everything

There’s something about Utah, I thought two years ago while driving through its southeastern corner. The canyons, the chasms, the reds and oranges and browns all colliding into some of the most magnificent painting-esque scenes. While planning #RunningTo, I made it a point to spend as much time in Utah as possible. I got my money’s worth. […]

#RunningTo Week 3 in Review: Provo, Salt Lake City, Idaho

It’s time once again for my #RunningTo Week in Review! For Week 3, I ventured northward from southern Utah to Provo, Salt Lake City, and Rexburg in Idaho. Check out some of my favorite Utahn/Idahoan moments from this week of #RunningTo! And for a little bonus moment, I was actually interviewed just before taking my hike […]

Las Vegas Bums Me Out

Two years ago, I first ventured to Las Vegas. I’m not big into gambling or … everything else Vegas is notoriously known for, but I was stoked nonetheless to add another notch to my traveling belt. I mean, it’s Vegas. A magical city where you can walk the streets of Paris, New York, and Venice within a […]

#RunningTo Week 2 in Review: Las Vegas, Southern Utah, Zion National Park

It’s time for my new weekend tradition: my #RunningTo Week in Review! Week 2 was a special one, venturing from the desert of Las Vegas to…well, the desert of southern Utah. So hot, but oh so beautiful. The longer I venture throughout Utah, the more convinced I become that it’s in my top-5 favorite US states. Check out some […]

The Grand Canyon is Upside Down

#RunningTo DAY ONE: Seeing the Grand Canyon It didn’t seem like I was approaching the world’s most illustrious crater. I suppose I was expecting many mini-craters leading up to it. You would think that a gigantic hole in the ground would be preceded by lots of littler ones, right? Instead, what I saw for sixty […]

#RunningTo Week 1 in Review: Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Hoover Dam

Now that I’m week-deep into a massive trip across North America, I’m going to temporarily retire my compilation tradition of The Weekend WOW. It’s time for a new weekend tradition. It’s called my #RunningTo Week in Review. Each weekend, I’ll be posting my favorite pictures from the wandering week that was. Since I can’t upload every single snapped picture to my […]

Goodbye, California

California, Growing up on the east coast, I always wanted to visit you. To venture to a foreign exotic land and bask in your palm trees and mountains and a neighboring ocean not named Atlantic. Forget visiting; I could have never imagined one day living within your 2000 zig-zagging miles of gorgeous borders. Upon actually living here, I […]

To All My Students I’ve Ever Tutored

Dearest students, For the last four years, you have spurred my heart to race with rage and fury. You have joked with friends at the table, uttered inappropriate words, played with phones, and otherwise misbehaved when your parents have left the room. You have often made me question why I do what I do. You’ve also blessed me in […]

My Life is Strange: On Being Between

My life is nuts right now. Some bountiful blessings, some awful rot. I’ve spoken with many others about it, and they all agree: my life be straight-up strange. And that’s not even considering my #RunningTo trek in three short weeks. I’m in a funky phase of “being between.” Between credit card debt and financial overflow. Between broken relationships and revitalized ones. Between my 4-year life in California and my multi-month […]

I’ve Never Been a Groomsman

I’ve always hated weddings. I think my childhood proves this claim quite clearly. Comical childish outbursts aside, I was never one to get on board with this whole wedding business. Truthfully, weddings just weren’t enjoyable. How does one enjoy watching two people do something one assumes he’ll never do? Engaged and married couples have always felt so foreign and “advanced” to me. I’ve rarely […]

Running To: Leaving California and Hitting the Road

Last week, my beloved wanderers were let into a secret. They were among the first to learn of my dramatic future-to-be. Today, I thought I’d clue the rest of humanity into my momentous decision. I’ve been hinting at the news for a while. It’s been a hard decision six long months in the making. A decision I finally […]

What Makes You an Incredible Friend

You’re an incredible friend. You’ve loved me when I’ve often struggled to love myself. You’re an incredible friend. You’ve texted me and called me and otherwise checked on me when I’ve never asked you to do so. Especially when I’ve secretly needed your love but felt too ashamed or needy to ask for it. You’re […]

What Makes Me a Horrible Friend

I’m a horrible friend. I only want your friendship for your kind words so that I can feel affirmed. I only want your friendship for your favors so that I can do less work or spend less money. I only want your friendship for those one-sided conversations that make me feel less lonely as I completely […]

I’m Not Growing Anymore

Tonight, I sit alone. It is a night not quite unlike many prior Tuesday nights, secure within my favorite coffee shop on Earth. I am sitting by the window, the only such seat in this confined space, and the view downtown is lovely tonight. Just like every other Tuesday night. Coming to this coffee shop […]

On Homosexuality: Let Us Only Handle Love

Today, I’m honored to be guest posting over at my friend Adam’s blog. I’m writing about homosexuality and how we can respond with love, not anger. Check out this post’s excerpt, and be sure to click over for the continuation! When my blogging friend, Adam (or as I’ve long regarded him, “That Monkey Guy”), asked […]

I Have a Son

I don’t usually remember my dreams. I awake often remembering general emotions, but details are either fuzzy or completely forgotten. When I do remember my dreams, I tend to analyze them. Perhaps too much. As an unabashed “story guy,” I love reading significant things into the seemingly insignificant. I went to bed the night of […]

Why I Used the F-Word in My First Book

I’ve been wanting to write this pestersome post for almost a year now. But I’ve also really wanted to avoid it. I’ve wanted to pretend like “the issue” didn’t exist or matter and, like, whatever. Avoid, avoid, avoid. Avoidance works for a while. Sometimes, avoidance works for a long while. After a long while, though, […]

Look Up and Let Go

It’s time for another round of Wandering Wednesday: Guest Post Edition! Up today is a guy named Jason Clark, singer/songwriter/author extraordinaire. His new book, Prone to Love is now available, and it’s fantastic. I am so stoked to feature him today with his humorous wandering tale to New York City. Grand Central Terminal. Spring of 1993 […]

The Real Reason Why I’ve Never Dated

I’m 26, soon to be 27, and I have never dated. This fact used to elicit great shame; at times, it still does. Looking back, however, I don’t believe I’ve ever been “ready.” Somebody in an online group recently posed a question that awakened me as to why: “How do you know you want to […]

Why I’m Joyful and Why I Might Not Run Away

Last week, I hit the publish button on a messy post I’d written two days prior. Truthfully, I didn’t know whether to post it. This feels a bit too vulnerable, I thought — even for me. Alas, I needed to vomit those long pent emotions from my system. My poor gut couldn’t take it anymore. Upon dispelling […]

Why I’m Sad and Why I Might Run Away

I don’t often “vent” on this blog. I usually reserve such emotional outpourings for my journal. Or if I’m feeling courageous enough, with a trusted individual or two. To all who have personally suffered amid the snotty sniffling presence of a Tom-meltdown, I vigorously apologize. In these two-plus years of blogging, I’ve often considered the […]

Fiction vs. Nonfiction: Finding My Writer’s Calling

Today I’m thrilled to be guest posting at Sandra Carey Cody’s Birth of a Novel blog. My writing career actually started with a novel upon my college graduation in 2009. Nearly five years later, that novel remains unpublished, but another (nonfictional) book took over my life in the meantime. Here’s a snippet of my guest […]

Onething 2013: How I Viewed the Christian Body Changed

For the last dwindling months of 2013, I kept a secret that only me, myself, and I knew: after Christmas spent with family, I’d fly to Kansas City for the International House of Prayer’s Onething 2013 conference. I received a lot of flack for my ongoing travel secret, inside my family and out, but can […]

My OneWord365 for 2014: Hunger

If you go on The Twitter, you’ll find the nifty hashtag #OneWord365 that many twitterers across the globe have embraced in lieu of traditional, bulleted, often impossible-to-keep New Year’s resolutions. OneWord365 trains you to view your upcoming year through the lens of a single word and to simply live out each of your 365 days […]

Where I’m Wandering These Days

Quick post today! I just wanted to update y’all on my many winter wanderings. A couple days ago I flew from Los Angeles to Philadelphia by way of Houston and NOT Belize. That will be a fun travel tale to tell in the new year (you might have caught some of the drama on my […]

Why I Want an Older Brother

I’ve been blessed by a fantastic family. I love my parents, and I adore my two siblings. One has flown overseas multiple times for missions work, and the other has found a natural niche in youth ministry. They are my younger siblings, and they are my heroes. I am the oldest Zuniga kid (adult?), and […]

10 Struggles I’m Thankful For

In this warm season of friends and family and frozen foul that take days to thaw, it’s difficult, often harrowing, to acknowledge life’s less-than-stellar moments and espouse even a somewhat thankful spirit. And yet impossible though the task may seem, finding the song amid the chaos has produced such release and redemption in my life. […]

STRUGGLE CENTRAL Paperback!

I promised y’all December. The perfect Christmas gift. Or stocking-stuffer. Or paperweight. But I lied. I lied, because the long awaited STRUGGLE CENTRAL paperback is finally available TODAY! Last I checked, Daylight Savings Time notwithstanding, it’s still November. IT’S A THANKSGIVING MIRACLE. Here’s the miraculous link to my STRUGGLE CENTRAL paperback on Amazon! I’m so […]

Urban Wandering: A Guest Post by Laura Coulter

For the second straight Wednesday, it’s WANDERING Wednesday. Only instead of my usual vagabond self, I’m honored to host another lovely wanderer to my blog. Laura Coulter has become one of my best blogging buds, and she even cameo’d toward the end of Struggle Central (of which she also wrote a humbling review). Check out […]

I Still Miss You, Annie

Friday, October 19, 2013: It is the final night of my first return to Georgia in a whole year. And for the first time since abandoning the South three years ago, I am actually sad to be flying back “home” to California tomorrow. Normally, I am not sad; normally, I am beyond ready to return […]

Wandering Wednesday #15: Fullerton, CA

Today is a great day. I don’t care if I get stuck in Los Angeles traffic for hours or lose my favorite watch. (Oh wait, that second thing already happened.) Today is WANDERING WEDNESDAY. At long last. But it’s not just “another” Wandering Wednesday. It’s quite possibly my most pivotal Wandering Wednesday adventure yet. First […]

My Storyline Conference Lessons: Suffering is Good

Last week, I blogged about my impressions from my recent trek to Nashville for the Storyline conference. Storyline is an organization run by Donald Miller and friends; its sole purpose, to help people of all shapes and sizes and ages find their subplots in God’s story. Moving beyond those first impressions, I learned a thing or […]

My Storyline Conference Impressions: People Are Beautiful

A couple weeks ago, I attended my first Storyline conference — a three-day escapade in Nashville, Tennessee. Storyline is an organization run by Donald Miller and friends; its sole purpose is to help people find their subplots in God’s story. From Day 1, Moment 1, I was just so jazzed to be there. Here’s part […]

Introvert Issues: Why I Weary

I’m weary. Good-weary, but weary nonetheless. Two days ago, I returned from a ten-day pilgrimage to Nashville with subsequent Tennessean stops in Franklin and Chattanooga. The journey continued onward with Georgian escapades in Watkinsville, Athens, Milledgeville, and Helen. It wasn’t so much the constant moving around that wore me out. It was the people. Good […]

When Life Gives You Pissy Mattresses…

Since flocking my East Coast nest three years ago, I’ve felt like something of a wanderer. A vagabond. Beyond my lack of a stable home or a “big boy job,” one particular element of my westward move has lent to such a wandering feeling. It’s been my consistent lack of a bed. Think about it: […]

SEEK WEEK in Review: God Isn’t Enough

Two weeks ago, my church commenced its annual autumn tradition. It’s called “Seek Week,” a week-long “festival” of fasting and, well, seeking God. Seeing ROCKHARBOR’s five Orange County campuses unite at one location for five consecutive nights was such fantastic foreshadowing for the future: people of all churches, all nations, all cultures, all ages and eras uniting […]

Hope That Fades

Sometimes, somewhere along the way, you unknowingly develop nonsensical habits. You pop a mint every time you enter your vehicle, you tie and re-tie your shoes before walking out the door, you floss after every meal and snack and bowl of pudding. For me, among myriad other bizarre ways to operate in this life, I […]

IDENTITY: My “One Word 365” Summer/Autumn Check-In

Seek Week is over — a phenomenal five days of fasting, prayer, solitude, community, worship, and sincere soul-searching. A week of identity. If I could sum up my first Seek Week in a single word, it would be just that: identity. It was clearly my theme for the week, and lest I forget, it’s also […]

The Exodus Altar

This past weekend, I went hiking with two friends. We hit the dust at 7am, venturing to the coast of Laguna Beach, the Pacific Ocean bashfully greeting us beneath swirling molasses of white fog. It actually wasn’t my first time hitting those hilly coastal trails. Two months prior, I hiked at this very location with […]

I recently received my first sales numbers for Struggle Central: book quantities and dollar figures for the month of May. I wasn’t surprised; wasn’t too shocked one way or the other. I sold right about as many copies as I expected or “deserved.” While I’m grateful for the new influx of funds after what I put […]

Camp Gilligan: Another Camp Ends, Another Heart Breaks

These last two weeks, I’ve been existing as a camp counselor by day and, well, an exhausted twenty-something by night. Despite my sad farewell to Camp Ridgecrest, I was fortunate to work at not one camp this summer, but two. First, it was a weekend camp for foster youth; most recently, it was a local day […]

Foster Youth Camp: Where Struggle Finds Joy

July 14, 2013 — Costa Mesa, California I close the door behind me, desperate for the quiet that only four beige walls and a toilet-throne can provide. My foster youth camp is over, over already, and I’m being forced to attend an hour-long debriefing with all the other counselors. I’m exhausted. Staying here in this […]

Camp Calls: Revisiting the Desire of My Heart

This weekend I’m going back to camp. No, not Camp Ridgecrest. Sadly. But another camp nonetheless. When I made the difficult decision not to return to Camp Ridgecrest this summer, my heart longed to work with youth again this June-July-August. After all, that’s been my story these past two summers: venturing across the country to impact youth […]

Exodus International Shuts Down and We All Move Onward

This is the third in a three-part blogging series on my four-year return to the Exodus International Freedom Conference. For the first part, “Impressions,” click here. For the second part, “Lessons Learned,” click here. For a video of a ninja cat, click here — and then wander back here for the conclusion to this Exodus International […]

My Last Exodus Conference: Lessons Learned

This is the second in an epiK three-part blogging series on my four-year return to the Exodus Conference. For the first part of this series, “Impressions,” click here. For the third part, “Onward,” transport yourself to the future. And then tell me how you did that cuz I wanna go too. When you attend an Exodus […]

My Last Exodus Freedom Conference: Impressions

14 July 2009. After driving 15 hours through the night, I wearily parked my car at Wheaton College just outside Chicago. Groggy and petrified, I stepped into the bizarre new universe that was the Exodus Freedom Conference – an alien reality of unmasked interiors around every bend. The theme of that 2009 conference was “Make […]

5 Years Behind the Rest of Humanity

I’m 26 years old. Well, the beard helps me look 26; without it, my delicate mug is hardly pushing 19. Patchy facial hair notwithstanding, I don’t feel 26. Not at all. I don’t feel like I’m in the second half of my twenties, and most of the time I really don’t know what age I […]

Opening the Door: New Challenges, One Year Later

A month ago, I posted an excerpt from Struggle Central. It was one of my more insecurity-inducing posts, as the memoir penetrated the surface of my struggles from camp last summer — struggles I only vaguely referenced on this blog before diving into them headfirst with my book. That particular Struggle Central excerpt featured the heart-racing, chill-inducing, gaze-gathering […]

Storyline: Why I’m Flying to Nashville and Why You Should Come Too!

Last week, I did something I’m not usually prone to doing. I made an impulse decision. Although, to be fair, it was an impulse decision preceded by a few weeks of legitimate pontificating: Should I eventually or should I immediately register for Donald Miller’s Storyline conference in Nashville? After dwelling for years on “eventually,” I […]

Homeless Hope in an Alleyway

“Hey, were you guys just praying?” I turn from my four church friends to a man – a young man – with blonde hair. He’s a couple years younger than me — a veritable kid with studded earrings. He dons a red sweatshirt emblazoned with the acronym of a local university. “Yes,” we confirm to […]

“Struggle Central” is Almost Born. Again.

GOOD NEWS, Y’ALL. Remember that book I wrote? Struggle Central? I technically released it on my birthday a few weeks ago, and the response has been affirming. So very affirming. And now, guess what? I get to release my book again! Only this time it’s, like, more of an official release. After some up-and-down painstaking […]

A New May Story: Staying in California

It’s May. These last two years, May has brought about a shift. A change. A drastic tide to the normal flow and current of my life. Leaving. I tutor in September. I tutor in October. I tutor in November. I tutor in December. I enjoy the holidays. I tutor in January. I tutor in February. […]

On Releasing My First Book: Lusting for Love

Twelve days ago, I hit the “send” button on a newsletter that would transport my first book to 114 people scattered about this planet. In the ensuing 12 days, 40 others would join my fold and also see my first book born in their inbox — born bloody, naked, and afraid. So very afraid. Within […]

“Struggle Central” Around the Web

So. It’s been a good week. Last Wednesday on my 26th birthday, I released my first book, Struggle Central: Quarter-Life Confessions of a Messed Up Christian. Sent it to every single one of my newsletter subscribers for free while it endures self-publishing processing en route to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers soon. […]

“Struggle Central” Excerpt #4: Camp Ridgecrest Reignites the Struggle

Once again, it’s time for a sneak peak at my soon-to-be-published book, Struggle Central: Quarter-Life Confessions of a Messed Up Christian. If you’ve missed any of my other excerpts, check out my struggles on shame in high school, loneliness at church, and my first harrowing steps into my current church community in California. Today’s Struggle Sunday excerpt takes […]

One Year Ago

One year ago, I turned 25. A quarter-century. The halfway mark between 20 and…30. One year ago today, I was baptized. It was one of those ethereal moments that fully convinced my belief in a God. Those kinds of moments just don’t happen. Nobody gets baptized on a Tuesday night in a water park surrounded by […]

“Struggle Central” Excerpt #3: Church Search Complete

Once again, it’s time for a sneak peak at my soon-to-be-published book, Struggle Central: Quarter-Life Confessions of a Messed Up Christian. If you’ve missed either of my other excerpts, check out my posts on shame in high school and feeling alone at church. Today’s excerpt takes me back to 2011 in southern California as I struggled […]