Alright, it’s time for a thought exercise. I want you to play along for a few minutes, if for no other reason than to humor me. If this weren’t in written form, I would ask you to close your eyes and visualize what I’m about to describe. But alas, we’ll give a little grace if you refuse to close your eyes for this one…

Ready?

Here goes:

Imagine you’re standing on an overlook, staring across a vast desert valley. In the distance, rugged mountains cradle the valley with strong and dry arms.

As you look at the valley floor, you see it covered with desert chaparral – dry, brittle brush that thirsts for heaven’s rain. Swaths of the desert floor are bare, showing the evidence of rivers that once flowed many ages ago.

Can you see it?

Can you smell it?

Can you feel the warm breeze press against your face?

When Things Don't Go As Planned

We recently returned from a “one last getaway before school starts” camping trip to the eastern Sierras. If you’ve never been there before, you’re seriously missing out. It’s the sharper side of the Sierras, where jagged mountains topping 14,000 feet plunge dramatically into deep and verdant valleys.

One of our favorite places in the eastern Sierras is the Yosemite high country. It’s visited by only 10% of the crowds that the more famous Yosemite Valley hosts, but it boasts a dramatic landscape of mountain meadows, glacial lakes, and tall peaks.

God Saw You Do That

While driving through town the other day, I came across this sign: “GOD SAW YOU DO THAT”

Ah, Christians can be so interesting sometimes, can’t they?

God saw you do that.

It’s a proclamation of judgement, something that says you better watch your back, isn’t it?

Faith, Fighting for What's GoodNathan WestwickOctober 22, 2019Bettering the World, Feeling small, Love, Truth, QuestionsComment

True North (How to Find Perfect Peace)

“You shall have no other Gods before me.”

When I hear this first commandment, something in me is stirred; a stirring that speaks of something magnificent and weighty in its simplicity.

Something that says that if we could get that first commandment right, we might not need the other nine.

When We Come Alive

The hills in southern California have sprung up in vibrant greens recently – wildflowers of orange, yellow, and purple carpet the green hills, making a tapestry of color and life that I haven’t seen around here in many years.

These colors were highlighted recently on a bike ride I took at sunrise, where the sun’s long shadows cast a contrast on the hills, making them stand out all the more glorious, all the more beautiful than they already were.

Fighting for What's Good, Life Abundant, RelationshipsNathan WestwickMarch 18, 2019Bloom, Blessings, Desert, Love, Offering HopeComment

Are you lonely? Try this…

I came across an interesting quote about Mother Teresa and her observation that loneliness is the leprosy of the Western world.

Wow.

As devastating and alienating as leprosy was in the ancient world, apparently loneliness is what we get to deal with in our culture instead.

Loneliness is an interesting phenomenon. In my experience, I’ve felt lonely when there’s no one in the room, but often times even lonelier when in a room crowded full of people.

Why is that?

How on earth could it be that we can find ourselves lonely in the midst of the company of others?

Because I’m guessing I’m not the only one who has ever felt this way.

My guess is, you can relate.

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.

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.

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.

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