I haven’t checked on my friend Kevin Garcia in at least two weeks. His prediction was right. We’ve moved on. We had never done anything to reach the gay community before the Pulse shooting, but suddenly we seemed to care. We wept and wailed and mourned on social media. And now? We’re done. It’s no longer in the news cycle. Last week was Dallas and in a few days, the vigils will be over and we’ll be writing about the next tragedy that sweeps our broken-as-f*ck nation. Read more
We've been married 9 years, together for a decade. 2 kids, a dog, and piles of student loans. Here's our honest look at how to have a great marriage. Read more
The stories throughout the book are absolutely wonderful. This is a father/son duo who obviously adore one another, even if they completely disagree on the issue of homosexuality. They prove Drew’s point that you can disagree without being homophobic. Read more
The Grace is Messy Spiritual and Religious Recovery Group last four weeks. It includes a weekly online meeting via private Google hangout. Membership to the group also includes a secret Facebook group where we can collaborate daily. In this four-week recovery group, we’ll walk through portions of my brand-new 21 Day Recovery Journal. I created this journal along with my friend Kate Pieper, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a professional trauma therapist. This recovery group is going to be a game-changer! I’ll ask thought-provoking questions, provide digestible information, give you great resources, and leave you with encouraging and practical steps to recover. Read more
I don’t think there’s anything anyone can truly say to make any of this better. I certainly have no power to stop senseless killings or to change hardened hearts. Here’s the truth: I am angry with you. I am discouraged, too. Like many of you, I want to bury my head in the sand or stick my fingers in my ears and close my eyes and just scream. I want all of this to go away. I don’t want it to be true. But friends, it is true. And it isn’t going away. Read more
WARNING: CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE. That warning label is not uncommon. Do you have a gas grill? A can of hair spray? Ever seen that warning on a huge truck going down the interstate? That label means don’t mess with me too much, or in the wrong way, or I just might explode. On you. In flames. But pressure isn’t always a dangerous thing... Read more
Anyone who says church hurts are no big deal has no idea what they're talking about. I was deeply wounded by the church and threw stones at her for a decade. These days, I am blessed to belong to a church I love. But learning to engage the church again has been a long journey. Here's why I stopped hating the church... Read more
I was fourteen when my Aunt Missy killed herself. It was the last day of June in Alabama when a police car pulled up to our new house, which was still under construction. I remember how hot those 2x4’s were, as they baked in the sun. Per the officer’s instructions, we loaded up in the minivan and drove down the hill to the fire station where my dad worked, so Mom could call her parents. Very few people had cell phones yet, and my Momma wasn’t one of them. I’ll never forget the way she screamed, “My sister!” as she dropped the grey receiver and it swung out and slammed back against the concrete wall, there in the lobby of Fire Station #1. Read more
In stopping my ridiculous search for fulfillment in the local church, I have found my greatest calling. My house has become a sanctuary for my often-weary soul. We break bread at the altar of our own kitchen table. Morning and evening, we laugh and sometimes cry, but we do it together. We sometimes get our butts kicked, but we do it together. And often, we celebrate small victories, together. I’m in religious recovery now, but I’m still seeking out genuine faith. Read more
In 2010, I started blogging, speaking, hosting a radio show, and getting in front of anyone who would listen to me talk about this crazy thing called grace is messy. Little did I know, I would need a truckload of messy grace near the end of 2012 after a failed suicide attempt. In the four years of recovery since that suicide attempt, I have found grace, hope and compassion outside of only altar calls and prayer benches. And I have discovered that God's love is greater than I could have ever imagined. Maybe you're in spiritual recovery too, or you have the feeling that there must be something more than what you're getting in a weekly sermon. I get it. And I've created an entire platform to tell people THERE IS MORE! Read more
Grace is Messy
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