A few years ago Elana and I were going through a season of marriage counselling and at one point, I was asked "Ben, what do you need from Elana?" Need? What do you mean? I don't need anything from Elana. I need food and oxygen. Marriage isn't about meeting my needs, what a silly question. …
Lessons I’m learning in 2023
“The most important thing in your life is not what you do; it's who you become.” - Dallas Willard Every now and then a quote like this sticks with me in a profound way. Maybe not always in the moment, but something of it takes deep root and slowly grows. Life is complicated. It’s hard. There’s …
Who do you want to be in 2020?
While I think resolutions are sometimes helpful, I agree that our lives are made up of 1000's of small decisions rather than a few big ones (https://www.paultripp.com/articles/posts/ringing-in-the-new-year) So how do we live well in the little moments? How do I get out of these frustrating cycles I keep finding myself falling back into? I believe …
Mentoring
Long story short, I’m currently looking for guys who want to be Spiritually Mentored. Starting in 2015, being Mentored has been one of the most transformative things I’ve ever had the blessing to undertake. Since then, I’ve had this growing passion to be able to journey with others, seeking God together, listening, processing, and having …
Noah – 1 week old
I’ve been a bit inspired by the crazy dad who took a photo of his kids every day, and have been trying to think of things it’ll be great to look back on in 20 years. Not sure what this will evolve to look like, but I’ve been thinking of writing letters. I've loved getting …
I do not do what I want to do
I love reading, but I am terrible at making it happen. Books are an incredible way to learn, grow, think deeply, to glean from the heroes of our past. Every time I manage to spend some time reading, it's always amazingly good. I have a huge pile of books next to my bed, I keep …
Imminent Parenthood and Terrified Excitement
On Wednesday Elana ticked over to 38 weeks pregnant, so everyone (justifiably) keeps asking, "How are you feeling?" While there's the quick answer of both terrified and excited, I wanted to take a moment to give a deeper answer. Terrified Deep down it feels difficult to access this side of my emotions. I think I …
Continue reading Imminent Parenthood and Terrified Excitement
Death
Weirdly, lately my job's been taking me to funerals where I didn't know the person being remembered. Honestly, while at times I expected it to be strange or awkward, it's been a surprising blessing. What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? If death is coming, what are you living for? Don't take …
Who is God? Servant-King?!?
This and my last post (Trying Not to Take God for Granted) are kind of part 1 and 2. The last post feels like theoretical vision, and this was the really practical application that inspired the idea. "You don't know what you've got til its gone" Maybe it's just me, but I've probably heard …
Trying Not to Take God for Granted
Well, it's been about 21 months now since I've posted anything here, and I'm really excited to be back. I'm feeling like God's been stirring up a bit of new vision and direction for me in this blog space and I'd love to share it with you. Maybe the best way to explain that is …
Ben Merrick 