I grew up in a remarkable home, the middle of seven children. My parents raised us well. They loved us well. We laughed hard growing up. But being the middle child, I couldn't figure out where I fit in the home, whether I was the youngest of the older three or the oldest of the younger three. When you don't know where you fit inside the home and you're young and you're desperate to fit in somewhere, I'd figured where I would fit outside the home. So I made some bad decisions about who I hung out with, I dropped out of high school, got kicked out of the house.

Grace is unconditional acceptance given to an undeserving person by an unobligated giver.

What I'm most deeply grateful for is that God's love for us, approval of us, and commitment to us does not ride on our resolve but on Jesus' resolve for us. The gospel is the good news announcing Jesus' infallible devotion to us despite our inconsistent devotion to Him. The gospel is not a command to hang on to Jesus; it's a promise that no matter how weak and unsuccessful our faith and efforts may be, God is always holding on to us.

Christmas is the beachhead of God’s campaign against sin and sadness, darkness and death, fear and frustration.

Sometimes God has to remind you that you're weak so that you can be set free from your "self-sufficiency."

Our default faith mode is to trust, above all things, our own ability to create a safe, controllable, predictable world.

Whatever we may mean by 'Christian growth,' it is ultimately this: less faith in me, more faith in God.