Went on a beautiful, rainy hike in the Santa Catalina Mountains today with some folks from Covenant. So refreshing. We even saw a deer.

On top of Mt. Lemmon

New post: Married? Use these 8 ways to cultivate your life together.

Change can be difficult and sometimes it should be avoided. But change is often an inevitable and even a desirable part of life. When change is required or desired, we should help each other through the change, supporting and honoring each other as this happens.

It’s interesting to think about the relationship between relationships. Today I answer: can I have friends and be married?

Honey, where are my paaaaaaaants?

I’m sharing some more thoughts on marriage in the coming days. Next up: some presuppositions for a good marriage.

Currently reading: Design for Preaching by H. Grady Davis 📚 An unusual and good book on preaching from 1958. For the influence Davis’ book had on him, Haddon Robinson said, “ I owe him a great debt.”

I put together a great list of questions for pre-marital counseling, but married people can use them to improve their marriage as well.

Daniel A. Cox: “The percentage of men with at least six close friends fell by half since 1990, from 55 percent to 27 percent. The study also found the percentage of men without any close friends jumped from 3 percent to 15 percent, a fivefold increase.”

Took this on 1 June when the saguaro still had lots of fruit. Can you find the owl?

David Burris is right. We have some unhelpful conceptions about authenticity that need revising.

During a bad part of the pandemic, I did some research on loneliness. Here’s what I learned.

check out this giant list of movies filmed in Tucson.

Currently reading: The Trinity: An Introduction (Short Studies in Systematic Theology) by @scottrswain 📚”…we were baptized into God’s triune name so that we might learn to praise God’s triune name.”

Classics education is a big deal. Without it, there would’ve been no Fourth of July.

One down with a big win. Go Suns! 🏀

Get inspired by Lisa Przystup’s Tucson Road Trip in The Strategist via @VisitTucsonAZ.

Finished reading: Leading God’s People: Wisdom from the Early Church for Today by Christopher A. Beeley. So good. On my top ten list now for pastoral theology books. 📚

“At what schools does Christ, as a prophet, train up his disciples? At the school of the law, the school of the gospel, and the school of affliction.” — James Fisher

Currently reading: How to Tell a Joke: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Humor (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers) by Marcus Tullius Cicero 📚 Heard about this book/series on the great Ad Navseam podcast.

🎙 Listened: Praying in a Time of Pandemic with Christopher Beeley. Very good. What is prayer, why you should pray, how to pray.

I’m starting a new blogchain called Decision Help. Check out the first entry: Discernment (discrimination, sound judgment).