The Best Gift You Can Give This Christmas

This Christmas season has completely snuck up on me. Maybe it’s the spring-like weather we have here in SoCal, maybe it’s something else, but I’ve been having a “holy crap” moment right about now—hoping, pleading, and praying that Amazon can deliver on their promise to have gifts in hand before Christmas Day.

But this panic I’m feeling is more than just meeting deadlines and having gifts to offer my loved ones in a few days.

The panic I’m feeling runs deeper. At its core is the desire not just to give gifts, but to give good gifts.

You know, those ones that strike a chord in peoples’ hearts, the ones that say I see you; the ones my family will cherish, and remember.

Maybe that’s too much pressure, but the truth is we all want to give good gifts. But I’ve noticed a deeper question surfacing inside of me these past few months...

Faith, Family, Life Abundant, The Stuff That MattersNathan WestwickDecember 20, 2017Christmas, Gifts, WithdrawalComment

There is No Life Without the Storm

I’ve been reading a book about different personality types, and my particular type, it turns out, tries to avoid pain at all costs.

Now, I get that it’s human nature to avoid pain, but apparently people with my personality type will go to nearly superhuman lengths to avoid it. It seems that pain is something that is particularly difficult for someone with my makeup to deal with.

And since God isn’t really interested in stagnant character development… the past 11 months have been some of the most difficult of my life.

Faith, Life Abundant, Overcoming Fears, The Journey, BusinessNathan WestwickFebruary 14, 2017Dealing with Pain, Storms, Finding HopeComment

Better Than 1000 Words...

If I could pick one image to describe how this past season has been for me, this would be it.

Cloudy, cold, unclear, and filled with an unbelievable number stop signs

Let's Stop Being Angry

It seems that everywhere I look these days, I come across people who are angry.

Not like, irritated angry, but deep-down-inside angry.

The kind of anger that surfaces when things aren’t going quite right, when we’re downright sick and tired of how things are—that kind of anger that arises out of discontentment of the soul.

I see it in our presidential election, I see it on social media, in the news, in my friends, and in my own personal relationships.

So I have to ask: Why?

Fighting for What's Good, Life Abundant, RelationshipsNathan WestwickOctober 20, 2016Anger, Being a Light, AnxietyComment

I Have to Admit, This Makes Me Angry

I struggle with a lot of things, but I never would have pegged myself as an angry person. Those who know me would describe me as a pretty mellow, easy-going guy.

So all this time I’ve considered anger to be number seven on my personal list of deadly sins.

That is, until I heard someone say that anger is rooted in a dissatisfaction that things aren’t perfect.

Oh

Lessons in Being Content

As a parent, I find that I learn so much from my children…

My oldest son, Garrett, has been asking for new soccer cleats for a while now. He is an avid fan and dedicated player, and the cleats he’s been using have had their fair share of punishment.

He had some extra birthday money, so I decided to take him and his brothers to Sport Chalet; the store is closing shop after many decades in Southern California, so everything in stock is massively discounted.

We negotiated the chaos of the parking lot, making our way to the back of the store where the cleats were. To our delight, there was a sign marking all cleats at 60% off.

3 Qualities of Greatness We Can All Copy

Last night was simply… special.

To watch Kobe Bryant’s last game in a Lakers uniform was a transcendent experience that left me with tears trickling down my face as the final buzzer sounded.

For those of you who missed it, Kobe, in his final game of a distinguished 20-year career, scored 60 points, leading his team to victory after coming back from a 14-point deficit in the final 10 minutes. The crowd was electric, Kobe was exhausted; it was the perfect end to a brilliant career.

3 Things to Build More Margin in Your Life

Do you feel like you’re constantly on the go, rushing from one place to the next? Rushing out the door to make it to work on time; packing up from work so you can take the kids to soccer practice; running home to make a quick dinner so the kids can get to bed at a reasonable hour? Then you collapse on the couch and throw on a show so you can unwind a bit?

My life feels this way far too often.

Bloom in Your Desert

The desert bloom

Stands alone

Beauty and color

In sharp contrast to its surroundings

Inviting life

Defying circumstances

Standing tall against opposition

Noticeable for miles

Drawing attention

Not because it cries for it

But because it is true to its calling.

Life AbundantNathan WestwickMarch 24, 2016Bloom, DesertComment

How To Experience Real Change

I was listening to sports talk radio the other day when one of my favorite sports leaders quickly became the topic of discussion: The ever-quirky, highly intelligent Phil Jackson was quoted as saying something about “transformational leadership vs. transactional leadership”. The sportscasters were discussing the merits of his approach to leading an NBA franchise, and were somewhat lost in articulating the differences between the two styles of leadership.

You don’t coach your teams to 11 NBA titles without knowing a thing or two about leadership, so I was naturally intrigued by what Phil Jackson meant by that comment.

Life Abundant, The JourneyNathan WestwickMarch 17, 2016TransformationComment

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