The Cost of New Creation (2024 Will Hurt)

Sometimes we speak things out, and they become true. Like we’re wizards spinning magic into this world; our wands as our pens and mouths, created by a Creator with the same capacity to write and speak and do. Create. And then other times we declare bold things for our stories that do not come true. These goals, these new stories, these fuller versions of ourselves – well, they don’t form as we hoped, if even they form at all.

I Can’t Believe I Came From Her

My grandmother died. These words rattle around my heart like pinballs that won’t settle, even a week beyond her funeral. And yet I wonder if the settling of these pinballs would be any better – the finality of their lodging into the belly of that machine, no longer kept alive by another flap of the paddles. Mayme Alice was the last of my grandparents to leave this earth, and undoubtedly the one with whom I grew closest.

The STRUGGLING WELL Mug is Finally Here!

My TMZ store is now LIVE, and it only took me 9 years to launch! You can order my two books there, along with some stickers and the super exciting first edition STRUGGLING WELL coffee mug. I really appreciate the support through my autoimmune disease journey toward remission, and beyond!

I Have an Autoimmune Disease. How You Can Help.

After spending a week in the hospital last month, I got diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease: a form of vasculitis called granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), formerly Wegener’s disease. Now begins the long journey toward remission.

I Am Not in Control

I have control issues. I have known this about myself for a little while now. Counseling has helped me see it more clearly, though I feel I’ve known this for many years prior. I don’t like being at the mercy of my circumstances. Especially the mercy of another human.

“Boy Erased” Response-Response and My New Video Series: “Off the Mark”

After watching “Boy Erased,” I felt compelled to make a one-time video; now, I feel compelled to do this sort of thing more often. Introducing my new video series: “Off the Mark.”Because when we feel so far off the mark, Christ always puts us on it.

Do Not Calm This Storm

Jesus won’t calm the storm with a single word. His way is a way of work. Of picking up crosses daily. Of lugging said crosses up mountains. Of taking the narrower way of all the broader ways available to my wanderlust.

End of Year Emo Blizzard

As 2018 winds down, I find myself in my most emotionally raw, volatile state of the year, probably ever. The North Carolina skies opened with a blizzard this week, and how I wanted this snowy downpour to cleanse it all away.

5 Regrets After 5 Years of Struggle Central

Writing Struggle Central five years ago was absolutely the path God intended for me eons ago. My path as a human, my path as a writer. The gateway to my wildest dreams as an author. Also, a nightmare. A foreign world with implications I’d have never otherwise encountered.

A “Love, Simon” Pseudo-Review

On High School, Deep Dark Secrets, Coming Out, Asexuality, My First Kiss, Longing, Commitment, Separation, and the Eternal What-If? I tracked along with 95% of Love, Simon. The deep dark secrets. The longings for other boys. The conflict between self and persona. The thrill of realizing you’re not alone.

kill the twentysomething

My twenties are gone. Forever. I’ve often been accused of being too dramatic, both on this blog and in “real life.” I’m too emotional. Too heavy and melancholy and not enough amounts of light-hearted and sunny. So, in an effort to balance out my being, I’m going to reminisce on my greatest hits as a […]

29.

A couple housekeeping notes to start. First off, you might have noticed I’m starting to write more regularly with my awesome blogging brotherhood, Your Other Brothers. It’s becoming tedious to continue linking my new posts on that blog back to this one, so if you’d like to continue reading my posts over there, go ahead and subscribe to YOB! […]

The Hardest Video I’ve Ever Made

I don’t consider myself a videographer. I’m an artist first, a writer second, and somewhere within my inner swirl of creativity there’s room for music and painting and photography and even a little film. I have a YouTube channel, and I’ve shot/edited/published several videos over the years. Most of them are carefree and spontaneous and wandering-induced […]

My “Struggle Central” Audiobook is Now Available!

I wrote a book two years ago. It was my first, and I called it Struggle Central — a quarter-life collection of my messy memoirs. It started as an ebook because I had no idea what I was doing as a self-publisher. I figured I’d take this whole book-building process slow and steady. A few months went by, […]

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 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 […]

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, […]

Life as an Enneagram Type 4: What Healthy Tom Looks Like

I’ve been recently blogging about Enneagram — the personality model that splits humanity into nine definitive “types.” What follows is the third post in a brief introspective series about my life as a Type 4: “The Individualist.” Check out my Enneagram intro if you missed it. Last time, I blogged about Unhealthy Tom. Today, I examine the lighter side of being a Type […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

Why I’m Giving Away My Book (Again!)

It was a ludicrous idea: give away my first book. But I THRIVE on ludicrous. I mean, all you have to do is read the final 2 chapters of Struggle Central to realize how ludicrous I really am. Plus, I used to love mayonnaise sandwiches as a child. So, ludicrous was the way to go. This […]

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 […]

“Struggle Central”: The Reviews Are In

I am so incredibly blessed and affirmed by the 27 Amazon reviews (and counting) for Struggle Central. If you’ve read my book and would be willing to leave a thoughtful review, I’d be so grateful. Your words really do go a long way toward furthering my own. Here’s the link to my book on Amazon if […]

“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 […]

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 […]

“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 […]

“Struggle Central” Excerpt #2: Alone at Church

Once again, it’s time for a special Struggle Central edition of Struggle Sunday! I’ve already posted one excerpt from my first book, and posted below is another! It’s the second sneak peak for Struggle Central: Quarter-Life Confessions of a Messed Up Christian, with at least one or two more reveals in the Struggle Sundays to come. Today’s excerpt takes […]

“Struggle Central” – The Bloopers

You’ve asked for it. You’ve craved it. You’ve lain in bed restlessly yearning for it. And now YOU GET IT. It’s April Fool’s Day, and instead of saying I spent last night in the hospital (that “joke” didn’t go over so well a few years ago…), I figured now would be the perfect time to […]

Tag: struggle central