CURRENT MISSION

I want to see as many places as possible before I die and do so while respecting and learning from the people who live in those places.

ABOUT ME

A work-in-progress :: I'm having a good time. I like obscure yet juicy words like â

PHILOSOPHY

My life is one long surrender to God's love for me, and my response is learning how to offer it to others in a way that leads to peace, joy, and wholeness.

I believe words have changed the world and still contain that power. My pen is the only sword I ever want to carry.

If we want to change the world, we must first change ourselves. I don't believe that we have the power to change ourselves—to be good on our own for any length of time. The question is, Who or what has the power to transform the human heart? Let's walk together in that direction.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

One of my gifts is practicing hospitality.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'd much rather stay with people than in hotels or even hostels. I'd rather make new friends and have that to show for my travels than a bunch of checkcard receipts and trinkets.

Interests

writing; laughing; blogging; running; bike riding; traveling; social media; marketing, branding & advertising; flyfishing; reading; porch sitting; conversating; worshipping; singing; praying & cooking; sushi; buffalo chicken fingers; pizza; photography; coffee; tea; walks; good nutrition; films; museums; friends; strangers; ideas; live music; entrepreneurship; local businesses; my family; candy cigarettes; backpacking & camping; fires; grilling out; orchids; water out of real glasses; hats; white t-shirts; sugar & trees

• writing
• singing
• photography
• dancing
• cooking
• coffee
• running
• clothing
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• live music
• cycling
• backpacking
• camping
• skydiving
• communications
• entrepreneurship

Music, Movies, and Books

Music :: Neutral Milk Hotel, Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, Guster, M. Ward, MGMT, Andrew Bird, Wilco, Josh Ritter, Sufjan Stevens, The Dirty Guvnahs, Aron Wright, TV on the Radio, Bon Iver, The Arcade Fire, Handsome Furs, Broken Social Scene, Cold War Kids, oldies, The Decembrists, Grant Lee Phillips, Sara Groves, Matt Redman, Okkervil River & Neil Diamond

Movies :: City of God, Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fifth Element, Life is Beautiful, Amelie, Millions, Babette's Feast, Pride & Prejudice, A River Runs Through It, The Big Lebowski, Rabbit Proof Fence, Dead Poets Society, anything by Wes Anderson or Christopher Guest, Chocolat, Fight Club, Last of the Mohicans & No Country for Old Men

Books :: Tuesdays with Morrie, Celebration of Discipline, Dubliners, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Mr. Ives' Christmas, Seven Storey Mountain, The Return of the Prodigal, The Divine Conspiracy, Danny the Champion of the World, The Brothers Karamazov, War and Peace, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, The Elements of Style, On Writing, Writing without Teachers, the Holy Bible, Four Quartets, The Tipping Point, Blink, White Noise, 100 Years of Solitude, Nine Stories, Harry Potter series & whatever I read last

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I stepped out of a plane 13,000 feet above the Swiss Alps.

I saw one homeless man pushing in a wheelchair another homeless man who had a package of adult diapers in his lap. That amazed me.

Teach, Learn, Share

My best teachers were the ones who possessed humility, compassion, wisdom, and boldness. They were good listeners. They asked questions more often than they gave directions.

What they taught me and what I'd like to share with others is that I have something to learn from everyone. Offering an open mind and open heart can be scary. It takes practice, especially after one has suffered for this kind of hospitality.

If you travel with people to their places of pain, you will be irrevocably changed, and you will lose all your easy answers to the big questions of human existence.

But enough of the heavy stuff. Here is some practical advice:

· Get to the airport with plenty of time before your plane leaves. The anxiety of trying to make a flight gets your trip started all wrong.
· Travel lightly. Pack as little as you can. Wearing dirty clothes won't kill you. Dragging around heavy bags just might.
· Try to speak the language. At worst, you'll make the locals laugh, and laughter is a shortcut to friendship.
· Spend more time in small towns and villages than in big cities.
· Talk softly. Don't attract attention with the volume of your voice.
· Try foods you've never eaten.
· Dance, even if you're self-conscious. Nobody's watching anyway.
· Take risks. Risktaking—boldness and courage—are the fountain of youth. Go skydiving. Rent a motorcycle. Ride a camel. Do something that you'll never forget on every trip.
· Keep a travel journal. Reading those journals will make you smile and cry if you live long enough to have white hair.
· Don't be so busy taking pictures that you miss living in the experience itself. Live in the Now.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Austria, United Kingdom, United States

• 

•