ABout

"How do I live well?"

This lifelong question has brought good lessons from which I keep learning. So I enjoy sharing these in helping people develop spiritually life-giving rhythms with Jesus while avoiding (at least some of) the pitfalls in a lifelong journey of following Jesus. 

My desire is to help people in living their faith in fulfilling, everyday ways that go beyond busy, bored, or distracted to doing good with God. 

One of my favorite images for this is from hiking. You can make good time with good miles—but that doesn’t mean it is the right path. To stay on the right path, there are trailmarkers that help you identify the real trail. Along the way, then, it is good to pause and check your direction. While it may feel less productive, it saves time and energy. 

So NWL is here to encourage you to persevere on the path God has called you in this season of your life. And, along the way, discern or correct the wrong paths as soon as possible.   

Failings & Focus:
Why the Name?

Throughout my life I have enjoyed learning about how people live in the day-to-day. Through modern and historical examples, I started getting things done − but not always the right things. 

It resulted in a question: How do I figure out God’s “best” in the midst of so many “goods”?

That’s the journey of this blog, learning, and resources. So the title is inspired from two ideas: 
  1. With God nothing is wasted. Even your greatest trials, interruptions, or challenges are not outside of how He works and brings good.
  2. As you grow in knowing and following Jesus, your desire grows in not wanting to waste your life. You want to live it well with a rich sense of God’s presence and purpose.

An Invite

While still learning and making mistakes, I am actively on the journey. Hiking a trail — going on a journey — is always better with others! Stay connected and let’s learn together!

And a Bit about Me

My name is Brian and I am a husband and father who enjoys life as a pastor in the local church. After Jesus impacted my early adult life in college, my curiosity and faith led to a passion in helping others discern their calls (big or small) and know God’s presence that is with them along the way. This is the theme of my pastoring expressed in teaching, leading, writing, and NWL retreats. One honor is having my writing recognized in peer-reviewed journals. 
 
My pastoral experiences have given me a heart for the confusing times people face. And my career experiences in areas of management and leadership, mental health (youth, family, and adult), and adjunct seminary faculty has taught me how to develop good tools for learning and growing. 
 
I am refreshed especially in time with my family and with God. Personally, I enjoy studying the Bible, movies, working out, playing guitar and trumpet, as well as reading. As a family, we enjoy board games and keeping up with our kids’ activities (church, sports, music). My sons and I are in a long-term project of hiking the 1200-mile Ice Age Trail.

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” -Ephesians 5:15-16

Let's continue the journey together!

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