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

When All Hope Seems Lost

You know the feeling. That one where you’re up to something good, something that benefits others, and no matter which direction you turn, it seems like all of the forces of nature have been set out specifically against you, with the sole aim of thwarting your efforts?

That’s where the past few days have left me.

Battered, beat down, discouraged, and several times on the verge of sheer hopelessness

Faith, The JourneyNathan WestwickOctober 31, 2016Finding Hope, Faith Comments

Let's Stop Being Angry

It seems that everywhere I look these days, I come across people who are angry.

Not like, irritated angry, but deep-down-inside angry.

The kind of anger that surfaces when things aren’t going quite right, when we’re downright sick and tired of how things are—that kind of anger that arises out of discontentment of the soul.

I see it in our presidential election, I see it on social media, in the news, in my friends, and in my own personal relationships.

So I have to ask: Why?

Fighting for What's Good, Life Abundant, RelationshipsNathan WestwickOctober 20, 2016Anger, Being a Light, AnxietyComment

Do I Really Love God?

The question approached me like the subtlety of fall; you don’t really feel it coming, but suddenly it’s upon you.

Do I love God?

Which is a strange question to consider, given my nearly lifelong devotion…

Faith, Real Change, Loving GodNathan WestwickSeptember 20, 2016Loving God, Soul Searching Comments

Why I Chose To Leave My Day Job

I left a very stable 15 year teaching career to roast coffee.

Some might think I was crazy to do it...

In fact, when I first announced the concept behind Wild Goose Coffee Roasters, one of my colleagues bellowed, "My gosh, Nate, THAT has got to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

And that was all the motivation I needed.

Business, The JourneyNathan WestwickAugust 31, 2016Career, Wild Goose CoffeeComment

An Open Letter to My Three Sons

To My Dear Boys,

It’s a different world than the one I grew up in. A very different world.

In some ways, it’s a much better world. But in a lot of ways things are pretty rough. Hatred abounds, whether between the sexes, between nations, between ideologies, between races. It’s everywhere, boys. It plays out on social media, on the news, and in classrooms and playgrounds.

Avoid hatred at all costs, sons. It is everywhere, but it doesn’t have to be inside of you.

I Have to Admit, This Makes Me Angry

I struggle with a lot of things, but I never would have pegged myself as an angry person. Those who know me would describe me as a pretty mellow, easy-going guy.

So all this time I’ve considered anger to be number seven on my personal list of deadly sins.

That is, until I heard someone say that anger is rooted in a dissatisfaction that things aren’t perfect.

Oh

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