My Field Notes
“If I don’t write it down, it disappears. These Field Notes are where I slow down, pay attention, and let the moments God is using to shape me simmer long enough to matter. It’s not polished. It’s not finished. But it’s movement.”
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Featured Field Note
When Desire Tries to Outvote Truth
One of the hardest things a person can do is honestly examine the thing they want most. Desire can bend vision. What we want can start to feel true simply because we want it badly. Many people do not investigate to discover the truth. They investigate, hoping to be reassured.
That creates a dangerous moment. Sometimes the evidence begins to show that the direction we want is not the right one. The facts push back. Better options appear. Yet even then, the heart often keeps negotiating. We look for loopholes, exceptions, or one last argument that allows us to keep chasing what we already chose.
This happens in spiritual life as much as anywhere else.
As a younger Christian, I did not want to hear what science had to say on certain subjects. Looking back, I see that it was not science I feared. It was scientists. I saw arrogance, hostility, and people who seemed to use knowledge like a weapon. So I rejected the messenger and assumed the message must also be false.
That was a mistake.
The flaws of some scientists do not erase real evidence, just as the hypocrisy of some Christians does not erase the truth of Christ. We must learn to separate personalities from facts. Pride can distort truth, but it does not create it.
If our real goal is to know what is true, then we must be willing to examine evidence even when it challenges what we prefer. Truth does not become false because an unpleasant person speaks it. An error does not become true because a likable person repeats it.
Jesus said, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” — John 8:32, ESV.
Notice the order. First truth, then freedom. We often reverse it. We want comfort first and truth later. But comfort built on illusion becomes another kind of prison.
Reality has a stubborn habit of winning. We can delay, deny, rationalize, or get angry, but what is real eventually pushes through. That is true in science, relationships, finances, health, and theology.
As disciples, we must ask a better question than, “What do I want to be true?” We must ask, “What is true, even if it costs me something?”
That question requires humility. It may require changing direction. It may require admitting we defended the wrong thing for too long. But God does not shame honest repentance. He guides it.
“Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” — Psalm 86:11, ESV.
A divided heart wants truth and self-protection at the same time. A united heart chooses truth and trusts God with the consequences.
So ask yourself today: What do I want so badly that I resist honest examination? What evidence have I dismissed because I disliked the messenger?
Truth is not your enemy. It may wound pride for a moment, but it can heal your life for years.
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Watching the Flow of Life
There are moments when you step back and see it. Not just your own life, but everyone’s at once. You are in a store, or walking through a crowd, or driving on the freeway, and suddenly it all feels different. People are moving everywhere, each one with somewhere to go, something to do, something to
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Whose Footsteps Are You Following?
There comes a moment in any journey when you stop looking at the horizon and start looking at the ground, not out of fear, but out of honesty. Because the direction of your life is not revealed by what you say you believe, but by the path your feet are actually taking. “Ponder the path
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Why I Say “Biblical Worldview” Instead of “Christian Worldview”
Sometimes language gets crowded. When someone says “Christian worldview,” it is not always clear what they mean. It could refer to historic orthodoxy, a particular denomination, a political posture, or even cultural habits passed down over generations. The term carries weight, but it has also accumulated layers that can blur its meaning. So when I
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Why You Keep Seeing the Word “Agapē”
Why You Keep Seeing the Word “Agapē” If you have been reading DiscipleLife for a while, you have probably noticed a word that keeps appearing. Agapē. It shows up in essays, transitions, and sometimes quietly at the end of a discussion about something that seemed, at first glance, unrelated. You might reasonably ask: Why does
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Why We Must Seek Understanding Instead of Inventing It
I have been thinking about the Voynich Manuscript again. The strange fifteenth-century book at Yale University filled with odd plants, zodiac drawings, and writing no one can read. For over a century, experts have tried to decode it. Lost language. Secret science. Hidden knowledge. When I look at it, I see something simpler. I grew
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Realizing Revisions, Restarts, and a Reality Check
If you have been reading DiscipleLife for the last few months, you have seen the revisions. More than a few. Sections moved. Essays rewritten. Structures adjusted. Sometimes it probably felt like we were hiking in circles. For that, I owe you an apology. There are several reasons for the restarts. First, I tend to be
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Why Does the Trail Keep Moving?
I owe us an apology. If we have been reading from the beginning, we have seen the structure shift. Headings changed. Stages rearranged. Earlier versions replaced. More than once. That was not the plan. I assumed I could start at the trailhead and write straight ahead, laying each step in order. I thought the path
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Life Asks Five Questions
Most nights the same questions still settle over me like they did decades ago.Why does life press heavier than it ought to?Why do we keep reaching for meaning when the culture around us shrugs and says it’s optional?Why does love cut so deeply if it’s only brain chemistry and survival wiring? These aren’t clever puzzles
