My oldest is in 8th grade, stuck right in the midst of the awkward middle school years. We all remember those times when we were convinced every single eye was on us every time we walked across a room, scrutinizing our gait, our hair, our clothes? (The irony here, of course, is that in actuality all attention is much more focused on themselves than on anyone else.)

But a core truth is still exposed in middle school; that the heart’s desire of every person is to find community, to fit in, and this is none more apparent than in those teenage years.

The Stuff That Matters, Real Change, Overcoming Fears, BusinessNathan WestwickSeptember 25, 2018Identity, Being RealComment

A Blessed Mess

Take a brief moment out of your day today and look around at the people in your midst, particularly if you’re in a public place.

As you glance around, make an effort to look into each person’s inner being – in a non-creepy way, of course, because people get arrested for being creepy, and we certainly don’t want that.

But take a look. What do you observe?

What I see is complex and conflicted human beings.

Why We Shouldn’t Take Shortcuts for Lent

With today marking not only Valentine’s Day, but also the start of Lent, it seemed like a good time to talk all things chocolate, love, and surrender. (OK, maybe not the cleanest of introductory sentences, but every blog must start somewhere, right?)

Now that the awkward intro is out of the way, let’s talk about Lent for a moment.

It’s a relatively new thing for me, as most evangelical churches don’t do a whole lot about the 40 days prior to Easter, so here’s a quick crash course in case your early experience with people practicing Lent was a bit like mine: Looking with strange glances at the girls in my class who were giving up sweets, like chocolate, carbs or some other silly thing, quite likely for weight loss, all under the guise of piety, or as we call it, Lent.

The Best Gift You Can Give This Christmas

This Christmas season has completely snuck up on me. Maybe it’s the spring-like weather we have here in SoCal, maybe it’s something else, but I’ve been having a “holy crap” moment right about now—hoping, pleading, and praying that Amazon can deliver on their promise to have gifts in hand before Christmas Day.

But this panic I’m feeling is more than just meeting deadlines and having gifts to offer my loved ones in a few days.

The panic I’m feeling runs deeper. At its core is the desire not just to give gifts, but to give good gifts.

You know, those ones that strike a chord in peoples’ hearts, the ones that say I see you; the ones my family will cherish, and remember.

Maybe that’s too much pressure, but the truth is we all want to give good gifts. But I’ve noticed a deeper question surfacing inside of me these past few months...

Faith, Family, Life Abundant, The Stuff That MattersNathan WestwickDecember 20, 2017Christmas, Gifts, WithdrawalComment

Let Love Rule

We had no idea Las Vegas was about to happen.

We recently released our latest coffee t-shirt, and as you can see from the picture, it has nothing to do with coffee.

We wanted to go with something simple; a message we could all rally behind, and so we went with “Love People”.

We figured it was time to get back to the basics—that we all can lean in directions opposite of loving people from time to time, and so we thought a tangible reminder wouldn’t be so bad.

Because loving people is one of the more difficult tasks we have.

Does It Even Matter Anymore?

I was driving down the 210 Freeway the other day stuck in the state of unfettered joy that is Southern California rush hour traffic (don’t tell me you can’t relate). You know, the kind of traffic where texting while driving is probably legal; where you get the privilege of studying the nuances of any and all scratches, dents, or other blemishes in the cars around you; where your desire for listening to yet one more podcast about business, spiritual development, or anything else for that matter has died a slow and painful death; where all you want to do is move out to the prairie, learn a new dialect, and watch cows in the pasture.

And I don’t even like cows, which shows you how much I hate SoCal traffic.

Business, Faith, The Stuff That MattersNathan WestwickSeptember 28, 2017Truth, Questions, Live With Significance Comment

Hell on Earth (Why Playing It Safe Emotionally Doesn't Work)

I’ve found that I’ve been a man of few words lately. Despite my genuine efforts, I’ve quite simply had very little to say, particularly in social settings. This, from an attention-getting extrovert…

No details seem to be available when my wife asks me how my day is.

In a discussion with a friend yesterday, I was unable to answer simple questions about the week, and even the weather.

The funny thing is, I’m not in any kind of emotional distress. Not angry, not agitated. Actually fairly happy, to be honest.

If I could choose one word to articulate how I’ve been feeling lately, it’s detached.

There is No Life Without the Storm

I’ve been reading a book about different personality types, and my particular type, it turns out, tries to avoid pain at all costs.

Now, I get that it’s human nature to avoid pain, but apparently people with my personality type will go to nearly superhuman lengths to avoid it. It seems that pain is something that is particularly difficult for someone with my makeup to deal with.

And since God isn’t really interested in stagnant character development… the past 11 months have been some of the most difficult of my life.

Faith, Life Abundant, Overcoming Fears, The Journey, BusinessNathan WestwickFebruary 14, 2017Dealing with Pain, Storms, Finding HopeComment

Better Than 1000 Words...

If I could pick one image to describe how this past season has been for me, this would be it.

Cloudy, cold, unclear, and filled with an unbelievable number stop signs

Time is Running Out...

So this is what it feels like to have your back against the wall…

I promised in my last post that I would keep you all updated on the progress as we transition into a new location for our roasting facility. So please forgive the tone of what I’m about to say. After all, it’s 2am and I haven’t slept a wink tonight

Faith, BusinessNathan WestwickNovember 16, 2016Desperation, Moving Comments

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