Skip to content ↓

Things You Never Wanted To Know

Just for kicks, here is a list of things you never knew about me and never wanted to.

Since we got married, Aileen and I have lived in four different houses. Our current home is the only one we have owned as the previous ones were all rentals.

The first vehicle I ever owned was a Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck. Since then I’ve owned two Toyota Corollas, one Ford Windstar and one Dodge Grand Caravan.

I was raised on a steady diet of the NIV. In grade school and high school we studied the RSV. The church I attended in college used the NKJV. I now use and prefer the ESV.

I have one older brother and three younger sisters.

I started at a new high school for twelfth grade. On my first day at this new school I met a young lady whose first words to me were “Shut up or I’ll kill you. I’m going to absolutely kill you.” She never did kill me and despite her threats I married her a few years later.

The taste of alcohol makes me feel sick to my stomach.

I have been in a wedding party twice, both times as a groomsman. At this point, with most of my friends being married, I don’t like my chances of being in too many more.

The first real job I ever had was pumping gas.

I drink two cans of Coke per day, one just before lunch and one in mid-afternoon. I used to drink two cans of Diet Coke but Aileen decided that Aspartame is evil and that sugar is better for me. I have the remarkable ability to make these two cans of Coke last for pretty well the entire day.

I am incapable of throwing a Coke can away until it has been thoroughly crushed.

My wife and I got married on August 8 of 1998. It was well over one hundred degrees that day and neither the church nor the reception hall had air conditioning. Bad move.

I have never eaten Chinese food or eaten at a Chinese restaurant. I don’t intend to do so anytime soon.

In high school I was sent to the office only once. My transgression was in secretly solidifying the teacher’s coffee. The principal burst out laughing when he heard what I did.

In the eighth grade I ran a smuggling operation where I would disappear from school property during lunch break and run to a local store. I would buy candy and sell them to other kids at marked up prices.

I don’t drink hot beverages.

The first book I ever remember reading is The Pilgrim’s Progress.

I likely only passed eleventh grade chemistry because during the exam I was sitting immediately behind a very clever girl who happened to be left-handed while I am right. I was able to see and copy her answers. Despite having repented of this, I still feel guilty about it.


  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (May 14)

    Angels / Dimensions / A Christian view of UFOs / Having a baby has slowed me down / What you can’t give your children / Performative busyness / His Father’s Son / Natural theology / Deals / and more.

  • Dumb Ways To Die

    So Many Dumb Ways To Die

    Do you remember the catchy little earworm “Dumb Ways To Die?” In what was undoubtedly one of history’s most successful public awareness campaigns, Metro Trains of Melbourne, Australia, reached millions of people around the world with their message of railroad safety. They did this through an irresistibly snappy song.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (May 13)

    Your phone is hurting you / The awkward, important part of prayer / You’re drowning in busywork / The cost of rushing grief / Habits for Sunday rest and worship / A missing doctrine / ESV Journaling Study Bible / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (May 12)

    God pursued me / It’s okay to love the church / Living in an empty nest / The gratitude shift / Help me let go / The right focus in leadership / New book releases / TGC church map / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (May 11)

    The wife whose husband isn’t a good spiritual leader / 9 hours of screen time / Advice for college graduates / Righteousness like the mountains / The tests of life / Kindle deals / and more.