Tough Trials, Honest Faith

Tough Trials, Honest Faith Rugged discipleship tools for tough trials that build an honest faith. toughtrials.com

Sometimes a tent reminds you why men need each other.There’s a special kind of bond that forms when three grown men are ...
06/14/2026

Sometimes a tent reminds you why men need each other.

There’s a special kind of bond that forms when three grown men are wrestling nylon, swearing under their breath, and laughing so hard they can’t stand up straight. It’s the kind of moment where nobody’s trying to impress anyone — you’re just guys being guys, figuring out a ridiculous problem together and having a blast doing it.

This week’s article digs into the deeper side of that truth: God designed men to grow with other men. Shoulder‑to‑shoulder. Side‑by‑side. Learning from each other, sharpening each other, and becoming better men because someone else is willing to step into the mess with you. The right brothers — the ones who share your interests, who drop the mask, who show up when life gets tangled — help shape you into who you were created to be.

Find a few guys who make you laugh, who challenge you, who don’t mind looking foolish while trying to “engineer” a tent that clearly has a personal vendetta. Get outside. Do something that might go sideways. Let the friendship take shape in the middle of the chaos. That’s where real brotherhood is forged.

Read the full piece at Tough Trials, Honest Faith. toughtrials.com

“No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and Mammon.” — Jesus in Matthew 6:24Some days the weight hits before...
06/09/2026

“No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and Mammon.” — Jesus in Matthew 6:24

Some days the weight hits before my feet even touch the floor. Life pulls hard in two directions — the responsibilities that never stop and the people you love who are running on fumes. I’m learning that a man can’t serve both fear and faith at the same time. One will drain him, the other will steady him. Today I’m choosing to show up for my family, even in the mess, even when I don’t feel strong.

We all feel that pull toward “just a little more” — more money, more security, more control. But Jesus was blunt: you can’t serve God and Mammon at the same time. One voice will keep you grinding, anxious, and never enough; the other will lead you toward peace, presence, and the people who actually matter. I’m choosing, one imperfect step at a time, to let God be the one who calls the shots.
See the full article on toughtrials.com

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and des...
06/01/2026

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.--Matthew 6:24

He finally reached the point every man fears and every man needs — the moment he realized he couldn’t serve both God and Mammon anymore.

He tried.
He really did.
He worked himself to the bone chasing the bigger paycheck, the bigger title, the bigger life. But the harder he pushed, the tighter the noose of perfectionism wrapped around his neck. Every morning felt heavier. Every drive to work felt like a sentence. He’d sit in the back of his truck wondering why he kept doing the same thing over and over, waiting for a peace that never came.

So he stuffed his emotions.
He pushed through the exhaustion.
He smoked in secret just to take the edge off — then hid the evidence from his wife, which only made the shame worse.

And one day, he took a proverbial walk around the property of his life and saw it for what it was:
a heap of rubble.
Not because God failed him — but because he tried to live with one foot in the Kingdom and one foot in the rat race.

He. Had. Nothing. Left.

That’s when God stepped in.
Not with judgment.
Not with a lecture.
But with hope — the kind that rebuilds a man from the inside out.

God offered him a changed heart and a changed life.
All he had to do was stop running, step away from the grind that was killing him, and surrender to Christ.

And when he did… it became the best decision he ever made.
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"Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds u...
05/25/2026

"Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves God is known by God."
-1 Corinthians 8:1-3

I've always tried to think deeper about these verses. Lately my thoughts took me in a different direction. I usually think of things as they appear outwardly. It makes sense that outward appearances should match inward conditions of faith.

Lately, I think I've missed an even larger point:
Paul wasn’t worried about meat. He was worried about men.
When he talked about food sacrificed to idols, he wasn’t laying down a new rule — he was showing us what it looks like to limit our freedom if it helps a younger believer breathe a little easier. Not shame them. Not lecture them. Not talk at them. Just love them enough to not make their struggle heavier.

But somewhere along the way, we twisted that.
We started ranking vices. We bless ci**rs while vehemently condemning ci******es. We condemn drinking alcohol while blessing bourbon tastings and beer with a bud. We call one habit “refined” and another “immature.” And in all that noise, we miss the point Paul was actually making.

Because the truth is this:
Most men don’t hide their bad habits because they’re rebellious.
They hide because it’s easier than facing criticism about the weight they’re carrying — easier than admitting they’re trying to keep their outward appearance acceptable while inside they’re falling apart.

My newest article, Why Men Smoke in Secret, digs into the quiet places men go to cope — and how grace, not pressure, is what actually frees a man to choose change. If you’ve ever carried something alone, this one will hit home.
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Psalm 139:23-24New International Version23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.24...
05/18/2026

Psalm 139:23-24
New International Version
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

I’m in the middle of making a very important decision. It will shape my life in the immediate future, and possibly the rest of my life.
The tension is real. On one side is what currently is. On the other side is what could be. Both paths involve serving the Lord — just in very different ways.
If I say no, it frees me to move forward in one direction with God… but it also closes the door to another direction that could honor Him just as much.
If I say yes, it ties me to a pattern that isn’t working right now… but it also holds the potential to become something strong and fruitful.
And here’s the honest part: I don’t know if the discouragement I’m feeling is temporary — a distraction meant to pull me off course — or if God is gently leading me away from something that’s keeping me from wholeheartedly following Him.
I know I’m being vague, and that’s on purpose. This isn’t about details — it’s about the posture of the heart.
So I’m praying the words of Psalm 139:23–24:
“Search me, God, and know my heart… see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
I want to do what’s right. I want to follow Him fully. And I’m trusting Him to make the path clear in His time.

toughtrials.com

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 “Two are better than one… If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.”Ecclesiastes 4:9...
05/12/2026

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10
“Two are better than one… If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 hits different when you’ve lived it: “Two are better than one… if either of them falls, one can help the other up.” God wired men for brotherhood long before we ever strapped on boots or shouldered a pack. We were never meant to carry life alone. Jesus Himself invites us to take His yoke and learn from Him — the weight shifts off our pride and onto His strength. His burden is light because He carries what we can’t.

But Jesus didn’t stop there. He calls us to carry each other’s burdens (Gal. 6:2) and to spur one another on and encourage each other (Heb. 10:24–25). That’s not theory. That’s trail-level reality. Men have a way of doing this that’s uniquely ours — a mix of humor, grit, compassion, and the unspoken understanding that we’re teammates, not competitors. When a brother goes down, we don’t lecture him. We kneel beside him, wrap the wound, crack a joke, and help him stand again.

Without that camaraderie, we drift. We lose our identity and chase temporary highs that leave us emptier than before. But with a team of brothers — real men who show up, speak truth, and walk the same rugged path — we find our identity anchored in Christ and our manhood forged in shared experience. Brotherhood isn’t a bonus. It’s God’s design for survival, strength, and steady faith.

toughtrials.com

Why I’m drawn to the Crown of ThornsWe’ve all seen the movies about Jesus — the brutality, the long walk with the cross,...
05/05/2026

Why I’m drawn to the Crown of Thorns

We’ve all seen the movies about Jesus — the brutality, the long walk with the cross, the empty tomb, the light breaking through the darkness. All of it matters deeply. But sometimes, because it happened so long ago and because we see Jesus as the Son of God, we unintentionally distance ourselves from His suffering. We treat Him as almost untouchable, superhuman.

But the Crown of Thorns doesn’t let us do that.

In that moment, His humanity is unavoidable. The humiliation, the mockery, the degrading of His dignity — all of it concentrated in the act of soldiers pressing that crown into His head. The very symbol of God’s anointing twisted into an instrument of pain.

It reminds me of my own sin — how my rebellion turned His crown of glory into a wreath of thorns. And He accepted it willingly.

When I picture those thorns piercing His skin, I feel the weight of my own brokenness. But in that same moment, I see my Redeemer taking on my burdens, carrying what I could never carry, and walking with me so I never have to walk alone.

And that’s why the Crown of Thorns stops me in my boots — it reminds me who He is, what He carried, and the kind of Savior who steps into the dirt with men like me, like all of us.

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There’s a part of Psalm 23 I’ve always loved: “He leads me beside still waters.”Years ago, I hiked a long canyon trail —...
05/03/2026

There’s a part of Psalm 23 I’ve always loved: “He leads me beside still waters.”

Years ago, I hiked a long canyon trail — beautiful, but unforgiving. Miles of heat, rock, and open sun. By the last stretch, I was out of water and out of gas. Then I heard it — a stream.

I dropped my pack, splashed my face, soaked my shirt in the cold water, and put it back on dripping wet. The relief was unbelievable. It carried me the rest of the way.

That’s what God does for a man.
He doesn’t just protect us or guide us.
He refreshes us.

If the trail has been long and the heat relentless, don’t miss the quiet places where He restores your strength. They’re closer than you think.

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Psalm 18:4–6 4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.5 The cords of the grave c...
05/01/2026

Psalm 18:4–6
4 The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.

David doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He names the darkness for what it was—entangling, overwhelming, suffocating. That’s why these verses hit so hard. They’re not poetry; they’re a man telling the truth about the fight for his life.

I know that place. For years the real enemies weren’t outside me—they were inside. Trauma twisted my view of the world. The enemy whispered defeat until death felt like the only quiet left. I wasn’t being hunted by Saul, but I was being hunted all the same.

And then came surrender. Not the polished kind. The kind where you finally drop to your knees and say, “Lord… this is all I’ve got. It’s not much, but it’s Yours.”

That’s where Jesus met me—down in the mud, not after I cleaned myself up. He lifted me, fed me, steadied me, surrounded me with brothers, and walked me through the long rehab of the soul. Everything changed from that moment on.

So when David says, “In my distress I called to the Lord… and He heard me,” I believe him. I’ve lived it. I’m still living it. And by His grace, I will finish the race. No turning back.

And if you’re reading this today, hear this—your story isn’t over. The same God who pulled me out of the mud is ready to lift you too.

toughtrials.com

Psalm 73:26“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”-that quiet, gri...
04/29/2026

Psalm 73:26
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

-that quiet, grinding heaviness men carry when no one’s looking. The driveway moment is real. That place where a man sits in his truck, keys still in the ignition, trying to summon the strength to walk inside and be the man he wants to be.

You’re not broken. You’re tired. And tired men still matter deeply to God.

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