There is a particular kind of heartbreak that does not come from betrayal or cruelty, but from loving someone who truly cares, yet cannot love you in the way your heart needs. This is the love that stays for a while. The love that returns. The love that feels real… but never becomes safe. I … More Why God Allows Us to Love Someone Who Can’t Love Us the Same Way
There are moments when effort feels meaningless. When work goes unnoticed, love goes unreturned, and faithfulness produces no visible reward. Not because it was done poorly, but because it was never wanted. Scripture does not deny this reality. In fact, it names it plainly. Solomon, a man who possessed wisdom, wealth, power, and achievement beyond … More Everything Is Vanity, And Sometimes That’s All There Is
People sometimes ask why I write so often. Why I blog. Why I coach, speak, teach, and keep returning to the same themes of growth, discipline, faith, leadership, and becoming whole. The honest answer is simple: I write because silence would be dishonest. Writing has always been the place where clarity forms. Before ideas are … More Why I Write, and Why I Keep Showing Up
There are three types of men in this world. Most people don’t like this kind of statement. It feels too absolute, too uncomfortable, too revealing. But after decades of watching people under pressure, watching how they react when things go wrong, when fear shows up, when temptation whispers, and when responsibility is required, this distinction … More The Three Types of Men: And Why the Peaceful Man Is Rare
This series has traced the story of Jesus’ birth as Scripture records it, first by presenting the narrative itself, then by gently distinguishing it from the traditions and images that have grown around it. The purpose has not been to diminish the story, but to slow it down, listen more carefully, and allow the biblical … More Part 7: Nazareth and the Long Silence
The story of Jesus’ birth does not move from wonder to peace. It moves from worship to danger. Not long after the wise men depart, the narrative takes a sharp turn. The child who has drawn worship from shepherds and seekers now draws fear from power. A Threat Without a Voice Jesus does not speak. … More Part 6: Out of Egypt I Called My Son
The birth of Jesus was announced first to shepherds, ordinary men watching through the night. But the story does not remain local. Sometime later, the narrative widens. From the east come men who were not part of Israel, not raised on the Law, and not waiting in Bethlehem. They arrive as outsiders, guided not by … More Part 5: The Wise Men and the Gifts
The setting of Jesus’ birth is one of the most familiar images in Christian memory. It appears on greeting cards, church stages, paintings, and films. Yet Scripture describes it with remarkable restraint. There is no grandeur. No spectacle. No attempt to impress. The humility of Jesus’ arrival is not accidental, it is intentional. A Manger, … More Part 4: The Humility of the Arrival
When Jesus was born, heaven did not announce it to kings, scholars, or priests. There was no proclamation in the temple. No delegation from Jerusalem. No notice sent to Rome. Instead, the announcement came to shepherds. This choice was not accidental. Shepherds on the Margins In the first century, shepherds lived on the edges of … More Part 3: The First Witnesses: Why Shepherds?
The story you’ve just read in Part 1 is drawn entirely from Scripture, arranged only to help it be seen as a whole. It is shorter and quieter than many of the versions we’ve come to know, not because anything is missing, but because the Bible itself is remarkably restrained. Over time, art, tradition, and … More Part 2: The Story We Picture vs. the Story We’re Told
Troy P Zehnder 