Yes, My Friends, This multi-faceted, multi-challenging, multi-year project is finally complete. With 120 poems, 70 prose, and 10 short stories–that will simultaneously stretch and encourage you–From the Ashes We Rise is a literary force to be read and reckoned with. This book seamlessly weaves Arts and Apologetics all throughout its 556 pages. See why From…

The reason EMGs are so destructive, no matter how great the accomplishments, is because the person who is unaware of who she really is, sadly, is merely a shell of a person like an oyster that creates a pearl from an irritation inside itself. No matter how many layers of beautiful minerals that give it its shiny iridescence, it’s still a foreign object to itself at the core of itself. Perhaps Socrates was right: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

We need to hear and heed this NOW more than EVER! Be kind. Be understanding. People are fragile, whether they show it or not. Learn to recognize the frightened child in everyone by listening rather than speaking. Just as you were when you were a child—afraid of failure—you will undoubtedly be tempted as an adult…

We were bought at a high price (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23). And now as Christ followers, we do not belong to ourselves (1 Cor 6:19). Rather, we deny ourselves (Mt 16:24) and we die to ourselves (Jn 3:3-6), making no provision for the flesh (Rom 13:14). We have no rights over ourselves as if we…

I can’t think of anything more offensive to God than the all-too-common slogan “It’s just business.” Someone may respond back: “Well, what about saying ‘I don’t believe in God’?” True, existential atheism is a problem. However, treating people unjustly is an offense to God’s character; it’s practical atheism, in that one could be a believer…

Sin is a form of self-harm, some might even say, self-hatred. For example, when a man is not a good husband, and, say, repeatedly commits adultery, he not only hurts his wife and children, but also his own wellbeing. Put differently, by fulfilling his role as a faithful husband, who models his loving actions to…

Don’t get stuck in the rut of seeing the forest from (the perspective of) the trees. If you get close enough to any tree you will see blemishes, imperfections, and problems. Stand back and see the trees from (the perspective of) the forest and watch your worries decrease and your joy grow. When you see…

What to do when you feel overwhelmed about the blurred lines of morality? What to do when you feel grieved over the cross-pollination of good and evil, right and wrong, in our ever-changing culture? There’s been so much media-attention recently concerning the political views and actions of the Right and the Left. There’s a presidential…

Works of faith, not works and faith, is what pleases God. A sincere faith that produces good works is most beneficial for the preservation of all creation. It’s in our best interest to investigate, refine, and express our faith in order to “redeem our consciousness” (Luther), and preserve our purity for the sake of others….

If we are to be like Christ, we must know something of self-sacrifice. To think that God will not refine us through the fires of pain and suffering, and melt away our imperfections like the dross of silver is to relegate the tao of Christianity. Let us embrace sufferings that serve to embrace our longing…