A Conversation That Made Me Pause At my life group recently, something was said that stuck with me. Someone mentioned that you can look at a pastor’s children to see their “fruit.” And I’ll be honest—it didn’t sit right with me. Not because I wanted to dismiss it…but because something in my spirit paused. It made me ask: Is that actually what Jesus meant when He said we’d recognize people by their fruit? What I Thought Fruit Meant When I read Matthew 7 , I always understood f

I Thought I Could Recognize Truth… Until I Was Tested I used to think I was pretty good at spotting spiritual truth. I felt confident in what I believed. I thought I could easily recognize what was from God and what wasn’t. But recently, something my pastor said made me pause—and honestly, it unsettled me more than I expected. It made me realize something I hadn’t fully seen before: Even well-meaning words can throw me off if I’m not rooted deeply in God. What Jesus Says Abou

It Sounds Simple… Until You Try to Live It Following Jesus sounds simple at first. Trust Him. Love others. Live a good life. But the more I study His teachings—especially the Sermon on the Mount—the more I realize something: Walking with Jesus is both deeply simple… and incredibly challenging. There is a narrow gate. A hard path. A call to humility, obedience, and love that goes deeper than behavior—it reaches the heart. And yet, somehow, within that challenge…there is also g

When I Thought Truth Was Enough I used to pride myself on being bold. I said what was on my mind and didn’t worry about who it offended. In my mind, it was truth—and truth mattered more than feelings. But looking back, I can see the real problem: It wasn’t just what I said… it was the condition of my heart. My words weren’t rooted in love. I judged quickly. I reacted emotionally. I put myself first... And it showed up in ways I can’t ignore: I missed my son’s baseball games I