Wounded healer? Or truth zinger?
She shared how her dad chastised her for not praying enough, listening to daily sermons, considering her ‘witness’ as she dressed each morning, among others. She was struggling with her self-worth and couldn’t find firm footing in her new faith. My dad has always been perfect and I spent four years drinking and partying and […]
You’re Not Important

Michael and I bought our first house in our favorite part of town. This summer has been a flurry of unpacking boxes, scouring flea markets and dusty antique shops, refinishing old furniture, and sitting on our front porch dreaming—sometimes about our writing, but mostly about tiny footsteps in our house. The other day, my […]
“Big Face” & Following Jesus | A Guest Post from Natalie Han
Today’s post is from my dear friend Natalie. She currently works as a post-doctorate at Stanford University in the radiology department. She happens to be the smartest person I know (and I know a lot of smart people) and I had the privilege of wading through her intellectual arguments against God and introducing her to […]
The Real Message of Christianity {and why it’s different from other religions}
On the afternoon of August 5, 2010 something significant happened. 33 men went to work as usual, but didn’t go home for 69 days. The media deemed the men “The 33″ as they were trapped 700 meters (2,300ft) underground in the San José copper–gold mine. The Chilean mining accident gained the attention of the world, as the mixed […]
What Would You Do If You Knew You Couldn’t Fail?
Name the first thing that comes to mind. GO… “Write” is my answer. Do you know how many years it took me to start this blog? How many excuses I made for why I wasn’t equipped or the right person to blog and write a book [one day]? Far too often thoughts of “what the […]
Why Does God Choose Us?
The last command of Jesus was to “Go”. To take His message to the ends of the earth-that all may know the Savior of the World and the One True God. The Great Commission. When I was living in China as a missionary, I often wondered why God chooses us-sinful, screwed up people-to do His work […]
Questioning God’s Blessings
I have an interview tomorrow for my D-R-E-A-M job. Thomas Nelson-the largest Christian publishing company in the world and the 7th largest trade publishing company-will interview me for a position in the fiction department in 31 hours. Am I nervous? Anxious? Both to the nth degree. In effort to fully equip myself for the interview, I […]