Happy New Year!

Writing has been a hobby of mine for the last three years or so. Last year, I celebrated some of the achievements of my blog and it was really meaningful to me to be able to see how one blog post at a time can make a big difference. This year, I decided to celebrate those achievements again!

In 2025, I wrote 39 blog posts, totally 56,652 words (not including this post). My blog was viewed 10,810 times by 8,615 people across 76 different countries!

In case you weren’t following along on my Facebook page, here were my 10 most-read blog posts published in 2025:

10. 2025 Goal: Become the Richest Man in the World

I started off the year with a blog post based on Ben Rector’s song, “The Richest Man in the World.” In the song, Rector says,
“I am the richest man in the world
Father to a baby girl
And two boys that I know loved me
Was famous to a few good friends
And beside me ’til the end
Was my wife who is so lovely.”

In the post, I ponder: “What if we believed that what makes us truly wealthy are the relationships we cultivate? What if we believed that our greatest assets aren’t stocks and bonds and savings accounts, but our marriage and our children?” My hope this year was to invest in those things that mattered most. I failed often, but looking back on a year when I tried to prioritize family and relationships, I think I was directionally accurate, heading towards my goal of being The Richest Man in the World.

9. The 23 Best Podcasts of 2024

In 2024, I listened to a lot of podcasts (probably more than was best for me to listen to). 717 podcast episodes, to be exact. I whittled all of those down and made a list of my top 23 podcast episodes. If you’re looking for some podcast recommendations—from topics covering the business of music, Biblical womanhood, anxiety, parenting, and financial independence—I think they’re all still quite relevant!

8. Why I Stopped Saying “God Has Been Good to Me Lately”

In this blog post, published in August, I reflected on a phrase that I’ve stopped saying. The phrase goes something like this: “God has been so good to me lately.” The problem with that is that God has always been good to me; there’s not a time when God hasn’t been good. The issue is that there are times when I feel like God is good. But whether I feel like God is good or not doesn’t change God’s character. My own perceptions of God don’t change who God is.

7. Learning to Trust: From Calling to Ordination

I wrote this blog post a few weeks after I was ordained as an elder in the Global Methodist Church, a journey God has been leading me on for the last 15 years of my life. It’s been a long journey (and this was an equally long blog post) as I reflected on all the ways God has brought me “from calling to ordination.” Along that path, I was able to see one key theme through it all: learning to trust the One who called me.

6. Energy Management vs. Time Management

I do a lot of thinking, listening, and reading about productivity, including time management. But after a particularly draining pastoral care appointment earlier this year, I realized that later that day, I had the time to complete the tasks I needed to complete, but not the energy. As I reflected on that, I shared practical tips on how to manage our energy and not just our time.

5. A Mother’s Day Prayer

One thing I enjoy doing with my writing is writing things that can help the Church in it worship. Because of this, I’ve written some reflections on why we ordain in the Methodist church, what Advent is, and worship resources, like a Memorial Day prayer, Father’s Day prayer, and Mother’s Day prayer. This Mother’s Day prayer was well-received by laity and clergy alike as I invited Mother’s Day (and all the complicated emotions it brings) to point us back to our Perfect Parent.

4. Can I Join You, Dad?

I really enjoy writing about parenting. As a first-time father of a now-two-year-old, I enjoy the ways that parenting slows me down, helps me reflect on myself, and point me to God. This blog post was a reflection on one of the sweet moments of every Master’s golf tournament—the par 3 contest—where wives and kids join their professional-dad-golfers on the course. It’s a sweet reminder that we can invite our kids into our work and it makes the work more fun and meaningful.

3. Who Do You Need to Sabbath For?

After my wife and I had the opportunity to speak at a couple pastors gatherings about the topic of Sabbath, I decided to turn our presentation into a blog post in hopes that it would help others—clergy and laity alike—to think differently about Sabbath, specifically, as a gift that we give to others, especially those who need it most.

2. Why Do We Celebrate Advent?

As I mentioned earlier, I like writing for the benefit of the Church. I especially like writing explanations for things we sometimes take for granted because we’ve been doing them for so long. Based on the fact that my top-2 blog posts were explanations of things we’ve done in the church for a long time, it seems like others like those explanations too.

My #2 blog post was about the season of Advent: what it is, why we celebrate it, and some practical tips to celebrate it. I hope it was helpful to you during the Advent season that just ended. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, go ahead and check it out in preparation for next year’s Advent season!

1. Why Do We Ordain?

My most-read blog post was on the topic of why we as Christians (but specifically as Methodists) ordain. It was well-received across the Global Methodist world, even being shared by one of our bishops and the helpful Methodist compendium website, People Need Jesus. This came out of my own reflection on my ordination and helped me have a greater sense of what it means to ordain and be ordained.

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So there it is: my top 10 most-read blog posts of 2025! If you want to take a trip down memory lane and see my top 10 of 2024, you can find those here.

If you’re interested in reading all of my posts from this year, here they are in chronological order. And if you’re interested in getting my 2026 blogs in your inbox when I post them, enter your email to subscribe to my blog below!

2025 Goal: Become the Richest Man in the World
Neither Good nor Bad: The Great Theater of Ephesus, the Pax Romana, and Shin Splints
The 23 Best Podcasts of 2024
Book Review: “The 19” by Carolyn Moore
We’re Not Persecuted
Who Do You Need to Sabbath For?
5 Steps to 24 Hours of Enjoying God’s Rest
Can I Join You, Dad?
How Liturgy Shaped My Lent
Looking for the Living Among the Dead
Why Do We Ordain?
A Mother’s Day Prayer
Learning to Trust: From Calling to Ordination
How to Live Your Life: Living in the Reality of Pentecost
Owning the Faith Handed Down to Me (The 19)
A $1250+ Trip for $22.40
A Father’s Day Prayer
Methodists and Their “Perfection” (The 19)
Practices for Perfection (The 19)
What God Teaches About Freedom and Safety
Wholly Devoted to God and His Work (The 19)
Book Review: “Take Back Your Family” by Jefferson Bethke
Three Simple Rules, One Transformed Life (The 19)
Fake Apologies and Private Moments
Confessions of an Overpacker
Stop Overpacking Your Life for Others’ Sake
Methodist Beliefs Help Us Live Out Scripture (The 19)
Why I Stopped Saying “God Has Been Good to Me Lately”
What the Chinese Government Understands that Families Don’t
The Importance of Discipline and Polity in Methodism (The 19)
Energy Management vs. Time Management
Keeping the Connection: Upholding Polity in the Global Methodist Church (The 19)
Why Acceptance is Key to Spiritual Growth
Methodism and the Ministry of Compassion (The 19)
Why Do We Celebrate Advent?
Empowering Future Generations Through Faith (The 19)
Everything is Spiritual
Noelle: God With Us

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