At least once a year my extended family would take a vacation on the Outerbanks of North Carolina. Those trips rank among some of my favorite childhood memories. We would hang out, fish, ride bikes all over the island, learn about Black Beard the Pirate, and visit old lighthouses.The Outerbanks are home to The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in the United States, and the second-ta...  Read More

My three youngest boys are terrified of the dark. Our house has a long narrow hallway with their bedroom at the end. Plus, Allie and I are obsessive about turning out lights in rooms we're not in. So, almost every night they must inevitably traverse a pitch-black hallway to reach their bedroom. This is something they will not do. If I tell Olan, my seven-year-old, to head off to bed he will peek into the hallway, tentatively look back at me, then the hallway, then me, then the hallway, and say, "It's... it's dark dad." He will not traverse the dark hallway on his own, and this is a hill he will die on. But there is a solution! If his mother or I walk with him, he finds the courage to walk with us to the light switch located about halfway down the corridor.  Read More

Most of us probably think of Valentine's as the season of love. I mean, we exchange cards, heart candies, and roses. So, I get it. Yet, I would argue that Christmas is the real season of love.  Read More

There are only a handful of movies where the sequel is better than the original. The Empire Strikes Back, End Game, The Dark Knight, and Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (Now that I'm looking at it, that is a pretty nerdy list of films). While those movies may be a nerd's dream, the next better-than-the-original sequel is something completely different, yet also one of my all-time favorites: Sister Act 2.  Read More

Have you ever wondered what has been the most peaceful time in history? This is an ongoing debate, but according to How Stuff Works there are some stand-out contenders.  Read More

As unlikely as it is, let's just say that the sun randomly disappeared, what would happen to us? Not that I'm worried about it, but this week's sermon study had this question that was bouncing around in my head. Thankfully Michael from Vsauce covered this almost a decade ago.  Read More

Thanksgiving is this week! That means Friday kicks off the Christmas festivities. Let's be real though, the holidays have began the day after Halloween. We know this because every Christmas Mariah Carey comes out of her cave feeling just fine to launch the Christmas season with her holiday classic "All I Want for Christmas is You." Early on I enjoyed this song as much as anyone, but after almost t...  Read More

It almost seems like every time I preach on a topic the Lord tests me about that thing. It's a little weird. This week we're still in the Sermon on the Mount and we're talking about how to fight anxiety. This week the Lord is testing how much I trust in him through the running of the B.A.A. Half Marathon.  Read More

In big and small ways, we humans can be a judgy bunch. One of the weirdest ways we judge each other is by the color of a person's text bubbles. Apple users know the annoyance of having green text bubbles, and Android users know the pain of being judged for it.  Read More

I remember the first time I ate fajitas. I was already over two decades into my life when they arrived. We were at Senior Tequila's enjoying a Sunday lunch, and someone told me the fajitas for one was big enough to feed two. Even though I had never had them before, I could not pass up a twofer like that. I had no idea the meal that would change my life was coming.  Read More

I'm not too ashamed to admit that I do not do most of the cleaning in the house. I'm more of the maintenance guy. Listen, I try to do my part, and I'm never above helping when asked. Now that I've apologized for being a stereotypical male, I need to explain the real reason I do so little cleaning. Allie cleans better than me. And not just me. She probably cleans better than you.  Read More

Growing up we took at least one trip to our local theme park every year. We didn't have Disney, Universal, or Six Flags. We had Carowinds. It was called Carowinds because the winds of North and South Carolina blew through the park. You see, the park straddles the state lines of both North and South Carolina. This meant that half the rides were in South Carolina and half were in North Carolina. Being from South Carolina, we always swore that "our side" was better. Our side had Top Gun and Dale Earnhardt's Intimidator coasters (Could it get more South Carolinian than that?).  Read More