This is my “Now” page¹ that I’ll update with my latest life news and what has my attention (Last edit: 2/7/22)

Home

Austin, TX. I’ve now lived in ATX for over two years with my wife Ashley. The first year afforded us the opportunity to attend ACL music festival, find some great food, and spend some quality time at the library. The second year, we mostly stayed home. I worked in the yard, learned some songs on the guitar, and polished off our adoption application. We’re now parents of a baby boy. Ash and I celebrated ten years of marriage last summer! Now we enjoy each day we get on the Johnson Holler (our little dead-end street in Zilker). I try to take one walk a day down to Town Lake with my son.

Work

After helping plant a church in Dallas and working at an established church in Austin, I ministered as a hospital chaplain for a year (Some of my experience is under the CPE tag. Now I work as a stay-at-home dad, forming my son as a human being.

Thinking and Reasearching

The philosophy of technology always has my ear. Lately, I follow what Michael Sacasas and Alan Jacobs are up to. I also read theology, including Experimental Theology, the blog of professor Richard Beck.

Email newsletters I enjoy

• Culture Study
• Snakes and Ladders
• The Convivial Society
• Undefended/Undefeated
• Austin Kleon
• Humane Ingenuity
• Image Journal Newletter
• Comment Magazine Newletter
• Field Notes w/ Christopher Brown
• The Red Hand Files
• Lit Hub Weekly
• Front Porch Republic
• Granola
• S/FJ
• Society of The Double Dagger
• Oliver Burkeman
• The Art of Noticing

• The Ruffian

  Spiritual direction

  I participate in the guild of spiritual direction as a directee. As a chaplain, I worked with patients in the hospital as a director of sorts. I plan to gain more training as a director to begin my own practice.

  The theology of humor

  Steve Wilkens:

The Christian faith has a broad array of valid forms of expression. Sermons, heartfelt conversation, devotional thoughts, and a range of other forms all have their place and are useful. Still, I’m also convinced that one of the most potent ways of expressing, understanding, and deepening faith is woefully underutilized. Too often, humor has been sidelined, even discouraged, as a means of exploring, learning about, or growing in faith. However, Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to weep, and a time to laugh” (Eccles 3:4). It seems that many Christians are overdue on finding a time to laugh, and I am convinced that our life in God’s presence warrants a lot more laughter than we’ve imagined. We are resurrection people, and if elated laughter is not part of our faithful repertoire, I’m not sure we really get Easter.