Showing Up When the Work Is Quiet

There is a particular kind of weight that comes with leadership in a small rural community. It is not loud or dramatic. It does not announce itself. It settles in quietly and stays. You carry it when you unlock buildings early in the morning, when you answer questions no one else has time to answer, when you make decisions knowing there is no backup team waiting behind you. This year has been full of that kind of weight.

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In rural East Texas, leadership is less about titles and more about presence. People know where you live. They know your family. They see whether you show up consistently or disappear when things get hard. Stewardship here is personal. You are not managing abstractions; you are caring for places and people with names, histories, and long memories. That responsibility can be humbling, and it can be heavy, especially when the year brings grief alongside progress.

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As an engineer, I spend much of my time working with systems, infrastructure, and technology. Fiber routes, wireless links, power systems, networks that must stay up even when conditions are less than ideal. This year reinforced something I already knew but needed to relearn: technology is never the purpose. It is a tool. It exists to serve people, not to replace presence, wisdom, or care. Infrastructure matters deeply, but only because of what it enables—connection, opportunity, safety, and dignity. When the work becomes only about equipment or metrics, something essential is lost.

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There were many days this year when exhaustion and calling pulled in opposite directions. Fatigue does not always come from doing too much; sometimes it comes from caring deeply over a long period of time. There were moments when it would have been easier to step back, to delay decisions, to wait for someone else to take responsibility. But calling is persistent. It does not shout. It simply asks, again and again, whether you will show up today.

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Patience has been one of the quiet lessons of this year. Progress in rural places is slow by nature, and that slowness can feel frustrating in a world accustomed to rapid change. Trust grows the same way. It is built through small, repeated acts of reliability. Showing up on time. Following through. Listening more than speaking. These habits rarely make headlines, but they form the foundation of healthy communities.

Faith has been less about answers and more about posture. There were seasons of waiting when clarity did not come quickly. In those moments, faith looked like staying present, doing the next right thing, and trusting that light does not always arrive all at once. Often it comes like morning—gradually, almost unnoticed at first, until suddenly you realize you can see farther than you could before.

Grief has been part of the landscape this year as well. Loss changes how time feels. It reshapes priorities. It has a way of stripping away what is unnecessary and leaving what truly matters. In that sense, grief has also clarified calling. It has reminded me that people are not projects, and that leadership is ultimately an act of care.

As 2026 approaches, there is plenty that could invite fear: uncertainty, resource constraints, the complexity of rural challenges. But fear is not a useful guide. Hope, grounded in faith, is steadier. It does not deny difficulty; it simply refuses to let difficulty have the final word. Looking forward, the goal is not perfection or speed, but faithfulness—continuing to build, serve, and lead with integrity, even when the work remains unfinished.

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So the choice at the end of this year is a simple one. To keep walking forward. To trust that God is at work in the quiet, steady moments more than in the loud ones. To believe that showing up, again and again, is itself an act of faith. And to rest in the confidence that light, even when it comes slowly, is still light.

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#FaithAndWork #RuralLeadership #Stewardship #QuietFaith #HopeForward #EastTexas

The Long Road Between Pain and Peace

Life moves like that song from Bosch—slow, deliberate, a little haunted, and honest enough not to pretend things are fine when they aren’t.

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You wake up carrying yesterday with you. Some memories refuse to loosen their grip. Loss. Regret. Questions that never quite resolve. You learn early that life does not hand out clean endings, only long roads and unfinished conversations. Still, you get up. Not because it’s easy, but because something inside you says you must.

You do your work quietly. You try to do it right. You learn that integrity costs more than compromise, but you pay it anyway. You discover that justice, truth, and love are rarely loud. Most of the time, they show up as persistence—showing up again when walking away would be simpler.

There are nights when the weight presses down hard. You replay moments you wish you could change. You hear echoes of people you loved and lost. You wonder whether holding on is strength or stubbornness. And yet, letting go feels like erasing part of who you are.

So you keep walking. Not because you have all the answers, but because you believe life has meaning even when it’s cracked. Somewhere along the way, you realize you are not carrying everything alone. There is a quiet presence beside you—steady, patient, faithful—bearing the heavier part of the load. The kind of presence that doesn’t rush you, doesn’t condemn you, and doesn’t leave when things get dark.

You learn that redemption is not sudden. It’s slow. It’s daily. It’s choosing truth over comfort, mercy over bitterness, and hope over despair. It’s discovering that love can meet you in broken places and still call you forward.

In the end, life is not about forgetting what shaped you. It’s about letting it refine you. You don’t let go of what matters. You carry it—transformed—into something truer.

And you keep going.

#LifeStory
#StillStanding
#RedemptionRoad
#FaithInTheQuiet
#HopeThatEndures

Note on the spiritual undertones in “Can’t Let Go”

Beneath its noir tone, the song carries quiet traces of spirituality. The repeated tension between holding on and releasing mirrors a deeply human struggle found throughout Scripture—the desire to control the past versus the invitation to trust something greater than ourselves. “Can’t let go” is not just emotional attachment; it sounds like the soul wrestling with surrender.

There is an unspoken confession in the lyrics: acknowledgment of brokenness without denial, longing without easy resolution. That honesty echoes the psalms of lament, where faith is not polished but real. The song never preaches, yet it gestures toward the idea that healing does not come from erasing pain, but from being carried through it.

What makes the spirituality subtle—but powerful—is that the answer is not self-mastery. The weight feels too heavy to bear alone. That quiet recognition opens the door to grace. In Christian language, it resembles the moment before surrender, when the heart realizes it cannot save itself and must be held.

In that sense, Can’t Let Go becomes a prayer without religious language—a reminder that even in shadowed places, the struggle itself can be sacred, and that letting go is often less about loss and more about learning who is truly strong enough to hold us.

#SpiritualUndertones
#CantLetGo
#QuietFaith
#GraceInTheStruggle
#HopeInTheDark

Carrying Weight, Seeking Light

Carrying Weight, Seeking Light

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Over the past several weeks, I’ve noticed a pattern rising in my heart—a mix of heaviness and hope, grief and gratitude, pressure and purpose. The holiday season always magnifies what is present in the soul, and this year is no different. I find myself remembering the people who shaped me, the stories that anchor me, and the losses that still echo in quiet moments.

At the same time, my days are full of responsibilities—engineering projects, community work, pastoral care, business decisions, family needs. I feel the pull from every direction, not because any of it is unworthy, but because all of it matters. Leadership in any form carries an invisible weight. And sometimes that weight presses harder in November and December.

Yet beneath all of this, something steady keeps tugging me forward: hope.

Not the thin kind that ignores reality or paints over pain. But the kind that believes God is present even in the unanswered questions. The kind that remembers that Jesus steps into weary places, not polished ones. The kind that says, “You don’t have to carry this alone.”

As I look back at conversations, projects, and prayers from the last week, I see the same thread weaving through everything: healing. Healing for myself. Healing for others. Healing for the places in our community that feel stretched or wounded. Healing for the dreams that feel fragile but not extinguished.

And the truth is, hope and healing aren’t found by escaping life—they grow right in the middle of it.

Every memory that stings reminds me there was love.
Every responsibility that feels heavy reminds me there is purpose.
Every moment of fatigue reminds me I need grace beyond myself.

And grace keeps showing up.

So I’m choosing to keep walking—one step at a time, one day at a time—trusting that the God who has carried me this far will carry me further still. My prayer is simple:

“Lord, meet me here. Make something good out of the weight I’m carrying. Let Your light break through.”

Because even in the heaviness, hope is rising.
#HopeInTheJourney
#JesusHeals
#GraceInRealLife

What I Would Tell You Now


For Joshua Blake Hargrove from John Hagrove his dad June 2025
1984–2002

My son,

If I could sit across from you today—twenty-three years after you left this world—I would begin with the words that still rise unbidden in my heart: I miss you. Every day. Not with the same sharp ache as before, but with a quiet, steady presence that stays with me like breath. You are never far from my thoughts, never absent from my soul.

I would tell you honestly: a piece of me went quiet the day you died—and another part went angry. I wasn’t just broken. I was furious. Angry at the unfairness, the helplessness, the fact that the world kept spinning without you in it. I didn’t know how to carry the weight of that kind of grief, so I buried it. I buried the part of me that laughed freely, dreamed boldly, and felt things too deeply.

And in its place, I went to work. I built things. I solved problems. I became dependable and productive. But underneath it all, I was still just a father who had lost his son. The music stopped. The prayers faded. I kept going because I didn’t know how to stop—but I also didn’t know how to live fully anymore.

If I could tell you anything now, it would be this: Your death didn’t end me—but it did remake me. And over time, with grace and patience, something inside me began to stir again.

I would tell you that God didn’t abandon me. He held me through it all, though I didn’t always recognize His presence. And in the years that followed, a few key people—some family, some unexpected friends—entered my life and helped awaken parts of me I thought were gone forever. None of them replaced you. They couldn’t. But somehow, through their kindness, gentleness, and love, I began to feel again. I began to believe that I could be fully alive, even while still carrying your absence. I hold those relationships with reverence. They brought back to life the part of me that knows how to love without fear.

I would tell you about your mama. She’s still the strongest woman I’ve ever known. Her grief was quiet, but it ran deep. We’ve grown older together, and we still speak your name. Sometimes in words, sometimes in silence. You are still part of our home, our hearts, our story.

I’d tell you about the little ones in our family—your cousins’ children, great-nieces and nephews you never got to meet. I watch them play, laugh, stumble and grow, and I see glimpses of you. Their lives are full of light, and I imagine the kind of uncle you would have been—funny, kind, full of mischief and wisdom. Your absence in those moments is a presence all its own.

I’d tell you that I’ve come to believe in resurrection—not just of bodies, but of broken hearts, of joy, of purpose. I’ve come to believe that the deepest love isn’t erased by death. It changes form, but it remains. And I carry you as part of that resurrection. You are part of what brought me back to life.

Most of all, I would tell you that you are still my son. Nothing—not time, not distance, not death—can ever take that from us. You made me a father. You taught me the kind of love that doesn’t fade. And though I never got to watch you grow old, you’ve shaped the man I’ve become more than anyone else ever could.

If I could hold your face in my hands one more time, I would say what I still say in the silence of prayer:

You are my boy. I love you. And I will carry you until the day I see you again.

With all I am,
Dad

And I would tell you—humbly—that someone came into my life many years later who helped awaken something that had gone dormant inside me. That I could still feel. Maybe I was allowed to be fully alive again. I hold that chapter of my life with reverence. As strange and sacred as it was, it brought something back to me I thought was lost forever: the part of me that knows how to love without fear.

Protecting Our Young People from Modern Extremism

764: A Critical Briefing for Ministry Leaders

Protecting Our Young People from Modern Extremism

Information for Pastors, Parents, and Youth Leaders

Executive Summary

The 764 network represents a critical threat to young people and has recently been classified by federal law enforcement as ‘modern-day terrorism.’ This briefing provides essential information for protecting the vulnerable youth in our communities, with particular sensitivity to the experiences of those in recovery or rebuilding their lives.

What Is the 764 Network?

The 764 network is a decentralized, international extremist organization that operates primarily online. Founded in 2021 by a teenager in Texas, 764 has expanded to become a coordinated network of predators that targets vulnerable youth globally. Federal law enforcement officials, including the FBI Director, now refer to 764 activities as modern-day terrorism.

Core Characteristics:

  • Nihilistic worldview rejecting moral norms and valuing chaos over society
  • Targets vulnerable youth, particularly those struggling with mental health, isolation, or trauma
  • Uses sexual exploitation, coercion, and psychological manipulation as primary tools
  • Members gain status by producing increasingly violent content and coercing victims

The Scale of the Problem

Current Law Enforcement Activity:

  • The FBI is conducting over 350 active investigations tied to 764 and similar networks
  • At least 28 people have been charged federally; some face terrorism charges
  • The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is tracking nearly 2,000 abuse reports annually
  • Experts estimate 10,000 people worldwide are actively engaged in the 764 ecosystem

Where 764 Operates

The 764 network primarily uses mainstream gaming and social media platforms to find and target victims. These platforms are not inherently dangerous, but predators exploit them:

  • Discord – Gaming chat platform where 764 originally formed
  • Roblox – Youth-oriented gaming platform
  • Telegram – Encrypted messaging application
  • Instagram and other social media

How 764 Operates: The Grooming Process

Understanding the operational method is crucial for recognition and intervention. Predators follow a deliberate progression:

  1. Initial Contact – Members identify vulnerable youth in gaming servers or social platforms, often targeting those who appear lonely, isolated, or struggling
  2. Relationship Building – They establish trust by showing interest in the youth’s hobbies, struggles, and vulnerabilities
  3. Information Extraction – Personal information is gathered: family details, mental health struggles, insecurities
  4. Exploitation Escalation – Victims are coerced into producing sexual content or self-harm imagery
  5. Blackmail and Control – Material is used to extort further compliance and deeper harm
  6. Live Streaming – The most severe cases involve livestreaming self-harm or violence while the network watches and encourages escalation

Critical Warning Signs

Parents, pastors, and youth leaders should be alert to behavioral changes that may indicate a young person is being targeted or is already being exploited:

Behavioral Changes

Online Indicators

  • Sudden withdrawal from family and friends
  • Unusual secrecy about online activities
  • Unexplained injuries, especially self-harm marks
  • Significant mood swings or depression
  • Resistance to parental oversight
  • Excessive time online, especially late at night
  • Use of encrypted or private chat applications
  • Interest in disturbing, violent, or gore content
  • References to 764 or glorification of past violence
  • Requesting privacy on devices or hiding screens

Practical Guidance for Different Audiences

For Parents

Establish Open Communication

  • Have regular, non-judgmental conversations about online safety and the risks of predatory networks
  • Ask your teen to show you their games, online spaces, and social media—frame it as interest, not surveillance
  • Discuss current events and news stories about online predators in age-appropriate ways

Use Reasonable Monitoring and Limits

  • Implement parental controls on devices; balance privacy with safety
  • Consider device-free times or keeping devices out of bedrooms, especially at night
  • Know which platforms your teen uses and familiarize yourself with their features
  • Follow their social media accounts if possible; watch for sudden changes in friend groups

Strengthen Mental Health and Resilience

  • Predators target vulnerable youth—isolation, loneliness, and low self-esteem are risk factors
  • Encourage in-person friendships, activities, and involvement in faith communities
  • Seek professional counseling for teens struggling with mental health, trauma, or identity issues
  • Help your teen develop a strong sense of worth that isn’t dependent on online validation

Know What to Do If You’re Concerned

  • Report suspected exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (CyberTipline.org) or the FBI
  • Contact local law enforcement immediately if your child has been harmed or is in danger
  • Seek trauma-informed counseling for your teen; recovery will require professional support

For Pastors and Youth Leaders

Create a Trauma-Informed Ministry Culture

  • Establish a culture where teens feel safe disclosing struggles, concerns, and fears without judgment
  • Remember that young people targeted by 764 are often those carrying shame, struggling with identity, or rebuilding after hardship
  • Use trauma-sensitive language that recognizes vulnerability as a sign of courage, not weakness
  • Emphasize that God meets people in their current darkness, not after they’ve “fixed themselves”

Host Educational Discussions

  • Organize group conversations about online safety and the dangers of networks like 764
  • Use real-life (anonymized) examples to illustrate how predators operate and how quickly manipulation escalates
  • Discuss how isolation makes youth vulnerable and why faith community provides protection
  • Help young people develop spiritual discernment about truth, deception, and their own worth

Partner With Parents and Provide Resources

  • Provide parents with fact sheets and resources about 764 and online predator tactics
  • Host parent education events on digital safety and mental health support for teens
  • Create clear protocols for how to respond if a teen discloses exploitation or abuse
  • Know local counseling resources and have trusted professional referrals available

Understand Your Mandatory Reporting Obligations

  • Familiarize yourself with your state’s mandatory reporting laws regarding child abuse and exploitation
  • Know that in most states, clergy members are mandated reporters
  • If a teen discloses exploitation, do not promise confidentiality—explain that you are legally required to report
  • Report to child protective services or law enforcement immediately

Essential Resources

Reporting Suspected Exploitation

  • National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC): CyberTipline.org – Submit suspected CSAM or exploitation
  • FBI: tips.fbi.gov – Report suspected extremism or violent threats
  • Local Law Enforcement: 911 or your local police non-emergency line
  • Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453)

Mental Health and Counseling Support

  • SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357 – Free, confidential, 24/7 referrals to mental health services
  • Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 – Text-based crisis support
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 – Call or text for immediate support

Educational and Advocacy Organizations

  • Institute for Countering Digital Extremism – Research and resources on online extremism
  • Anti-Defamation League (ADL) – Resources on extremism and hate groups
  • Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) – Federal legislation to require platform safety tools for minors

Conclusion

The 764 network represents a modern threat to young people that requires vigilance, partnership, and compassion. The most vulnerable among us—those struggling with isolation, shame, mental health challenges, or past trauma—are precisely those whom Jesus called us to protect and heal.

As pastors, parents, and youth leaders, we have both a responsibility and an opportunity. By staying informed, maintaining open communication, creating safe communities, and responding swiftly when concerns arise, we can protect our young people and offer hope to those who have been harmed.

Let us be vigilant, compassionate, and proactive in safeguarding the next generation.

Keeping Going When No One’s Listening?

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to do work that matters when it feels like no one cares.

For the past few years, I’ve been advocating for rural East Texas communities—places like Buna, Newton, San Augustine. I’ve built communication frameworks, written strategic plans, installed digital kiosks, organized meetings, drafted policy briefs. I’ve tried to give voice to communities that have been systematically left out of planning conversations, to help people shape their own futures instead of having decisions made for them from far away.

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Most days, it feels like pushing a boulder uphill alone.

The Generational Game

I’m starting to realize this work isn’t measured in months or even years—it’s generational. The infrastructure I’m building, these communication frameworks and pilot models and community briefs, they’re seeds that may not fully mature in my lifetime. And I think I’ve been measuring success wrong.

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Maybe success isn’t getting county commissioners to read every brief I send. Maybe it’s that one local leader who picks up this work five years from now and has a template to start from. Maybe it’s just that these documents exist at all—proof that someone saw what was happening, cared enough to name it, and offered solutions.

That’s not failure. That’s foundation-building.

Celebrating What’s Actually There

When the big wins feel impossible, I’m learning to notice the small ones:

  • A county commissioner who actually responded to a community brief
  • A kiosk that’s been running for six months without breaking down
  • One new business owner who showed up to learn about the community
  • The fact that I’ve created templates other rural organizers can use

These aren’t nothing. They’re evidence of progress, even if they’re not transformation yet.

Finding My People

The San Augustine meeting this year reminded me of something important. Sitting around that table with Eddie, Nancy, Tania, and Marianne—people doing similar work in their own communities—I didn’t feel alone. We shared frustrations, traded contacts, problem-solved together.

I’ve been spending too much energy seeking alignment “up”—with county officials, state agencies, foundations—and not enough building lateral relationships with peers. Those relationships aren’t just strategic. They’re sanity-preserving. They remind me I’m not crazy for thinking this work matters.

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The Documentation Matters

Even when nothing changes immediately, these reports I’m writing serve a purpose:

  • They validate what communities are experiencing
  • They create a record for future organizers
  • They protect against institutional amnesia (“we didn’t know there was a problem”)

I need to remember that documentation is activism. Recording what’s happening, naming the gaps, proposing solutions—that’s meaningful work even when it doesn’t produce immediate results.

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Letting Go of Universal Buy-In

Not everyone is going to get it. Some officials will remain indifferent. Some developers will keep ignoring community input. Some residents will stay skeptical of any change.

That’s okay. The goal isn’t to convince everyone—it’s to build enough of a coalition to create momentum. I don’t need universal support for this work to matter.

Taking Real Breaks

I’m bad at this one. I need to take actual breaks—not performative self-care, but real disengagement. Days where I don’t mention rural development. Weeks where the kiosks can wait.

This work will always be there. It’s generational, remember? Burning out doesn’t serve anyone.

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What Does “Enough” Look Like?

I’m trying to get more specific about what meaningful progress would look like in the next year. Not transformation—just progress:

  • Three communities actually using the communication framework I built
  • One successful regional roundtable where rural leaders are at the table
  • Maybe a single rural navigator position gets funded somewhere

When I make it concrete like that, I can tell the difference between “not enough impact yet” and “actually making progress.” They’re not the same thing.

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Why I Keep Going

Buna, Newton, San Augustine—these aren’t abstractions to me. They’re people who deserve to shape their own futures. The work I’m doing affirms their dignity and their right to be heard.

That has value independent of whether it produces immediate systemic change.

The fact that I keep showing up, keep documenting, keep building frameworks when no one asked me to—I don’t think that’s naivete anymore. I think it’s moral courage. Or stubbornness. Maybe both.

The question isn’t whether to keep going. It’s how to keep going sustainably, strategically, with enough support to avoid burning out completely.


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I don’t have all the answers yet. But writing this helps. Naming what’s hard helps. Remembering I’m building foundations, not finished structures—that helps too.

If you’re doing similar work somewhere else—advocating for a place everyone else overlooks, building infrastructure no one asked for, showing up when it feels pointless—you’re not alone. And you’re not crazy.

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Keep going. The work matters.

What I’ve Learned so Far About Life

Life ain’t a straight line. It’s not fair, it’s not simple, and it sure doesn’t wait on you to get your act together.

I’ve learned life will knock you flat more times than you think is reasonable, and just when you think you’re done, it hands you something beautiful.

People come and go. Some stay. Some wreck you. Some save you without ever knowing it. And sometimes, it’s the same person doing all three.

What matters is showing up—being real, and not pretending you’ve got it figured out.

About God

God’s not the preacher in the pulpit telling you to try harder.

God’s been in the silence. In the tears. In the porch swing moments. In the second chances.

I used to think God just wanted me to serve and obey. Now I know He wants me whole, free, and home.

I’ve learned God doesn’t waste anything—not even the pain, not even the years I thought were lost.

About Me

I’m not bulletproof, but I’ve taken a lot of hits and I’m still standing.

I’ve carried too much for too long. I’ve hid behind work and projects because it was easier than feeling what was real.

But I’ve also learned I’ve got more heart than I gave myself credit for. I’ve learned I can sit in the hard stuff. I can love people who are hard to love. I can still believe in better days.

About Grief

Grief is a ghost with a key to the front door.

You can’t outrun it, and you can’t outwork it. It waits. It teaches.

I buried my grief so deep I didn’t even realize it was shaping me.

But now I see—grief isn’t weakness. It’s proof that I loved someone more than life itself.

And now, I carry that love forward. Not as a wound—but as a fire.

About Living

Living isn’t just getting through the day.

It’s paying attention. It’s listening to the quiet voice that says, “Don’t miss this.”

It’s letting someone in, even when you’re scared they’ll leave.

Living is remembering that I still have breath—and that means I still have purpose.

About Hope

Hope isn’t loud. It doesn’t kick the door down.

It whispers. It sits with you. It says, “Try again.”

I’ve had every reason to quit—and yet, I don’t.

That’s hope. That’s grace.

I’ve learned hope comes in strange forms—a text, a glance, a moment when the world slows down and something just feels right.

Hope is still choosing to build. Still choosing to believe.

And if I’m honest, sometimes the person who changed me didn’t preach, didn’t fix, didn’t even try.

Just listened. Just stayed. Just saw me.

And something in me started to shift.

Maybe that’s what God does, too. Just shows up—and stays.

And for the first time in a long time…

That’s enough.

I’ve been asking myself lately why I’ve done all of this.

I’ve been asking myself lately why I’ve done all of this.
Why, in 1989, I sat in the yard with a notebook computer, working while my son played nearby — but not really paying attention to him. Why I’ve poured 65 to 80 hours a week into work, every week, from college right up to now at age 67 — through Evergreen, ministry, and community service.

I can see the pattern stretching back decades.
In college, I juggled studying and part-time jobs because I thought that’s what it took to make something of myself. In 1993, I turned down a safe regional manager’s job because I wanted the freedom to build my own thing. I consulted for 26 years, worked in co-ops for 5, then left under a cloud. I started consulting again, built a WISP to $55K a month and 730 customers in two years, only to be dismissed by the majority owner for lack of fealty. Ninety days later, I started Evergreen — and I’ve been slogging ever since.

Somewhere along the way, I built my life around the belief that it was my job to build, to fix, to carry. That I should never settle for “good enough.” That if something needed to be done, I should be the one to do it — even if it meant giving up comfort, time, or relationships.

I’ve lost everything more than once, in cycles of 8 to 10 years. I’ve rebuilt more than once. And in between, I’ve driven myself with an intensity most people don’t understand — and maybe I don’t fully understand either.

If I’m honest, I think I’ve been chasing significance more than success. Trying to prove that what I build matters. That I matter. That I’m the kind of man who doesn’t walk away when things get hard, no matter how long it takes.

But lately I find myself wondering…
Can grace win over the cynicism I’ve picked up along the way?
Can purpose rise again from all the pain and loss?
Can light reframe what I’ve lost — and maybe even redeem it?

I don’t have those answers yet. But I know I’m still here, still building, still hoping. And maybe that’s where the next chapter starts.