Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Living

Life is hard. And full. And awesome. Live it.

  • Loving Joy

    Imagine going to a new doctor and receiving this included in the instructions: “make sure you take time for yourself every day – personal time – to relax/do your favorite activity – even if only for a short period.” One of my favorite writers described this experience of being prescribed “joy”. Of having to rediscover…

  • 1. My body got up hours before my brain. 2. For pastors, leading worship is exhausting. 3. And sometimes, so is coffee hour. 4. Maybe I’m running late because a small child crawled into bed and I had to pretend to be sleeping so that they’d get back to sleep before I get up. 5.…

  • I find that the easiest part of a problem is testing to see if it’s a real problem. The hard part comes in knowing what to do about it. But I know two truths about problem solving: It doesn’t help to pretend that there is no problem. Or to confuse discussion for decision. If you…

  • We have got to cut it out. From the Dad who shot his daughter’s laptop to the Mom who made her son stand on a street corner with a sandwich board sign. May as well be a scarlet letter. These methods don’t work. [bctt tweet=”‘I didn’t know what else to do!’” nofollow=”yes”] And we know…

  • Happy 2016! I’m trying something new. I’m kind of jazzed about it. I’ll pick 3 words for the year. Like a mantra. A vision. A course of action. A way of changing my life and maybe help me change the world. Do you want to give it a try? [bctt tweet=”What are your 3 words?” nofollow=”yes”]…

  • This has been a year of discovery for me. Discovery about myself, my vocation, my family, my character. It has also been a year of great challenge, strain, and growth. Some of what I’ve discovered: This was my first full year at St. Stephen’s. The rest of my family went to school, including my spouse. My…