This Awkward Life

“My dad had a pond smaller than half an acre…but somehow the bass in that little pond got huge.Turns out… it wasn't the size of the pond…it was what they were being fed.And I started wondering…what in my life is growing… just because I keep feeding it?”

My first morning pod episode. After the storm.

When my son was 9, I gave him a GPS so he could see exactly how long it would take for us to get home. It finally answered the age-old kid question: “Are we there yet?”Watching that countdown made me realize something about us as adults. We may not be sitting in the backseat anymore, but we still ask the same question in life. When things are difficult, uncertain, or taking longer than we expected, we quietly wonder, “God… are we there yet?”In this short episode, I talk about patience, trust, and how faith means believing that even when we can't see the destination clearly, God already knows the route—and He's getting us there right on time.

Trusting the process of packaging our lives.

Check out this new Podcast For Kids.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-r-k-apostolic-radio-for-kids/id1847978327

Yep. Sometimes you just got to run over a little kids bike. I hope this helps

If it were possible, we'd list them online with a description like:“Used, slightly damaged. Hoping someone else can take this off my hands.”But life doesn't really work that way.You can't auction off the parts of your story you don't like.The truth is, those parts often become the most valuable pieces later.

The streak comes to a end, as I miss Fridays episode by 10 minutes. And I am glad about it.

I don't even have anything but keeping the streak alive.

When I was growing up, my parents had a simple phrase they used when I started getting out of line: “Act right.” They didn't explain it, define it, or give a long speech. But somehow I knew exactly what they meant.In this episode of This Awkward Life, Eric reflects on how two simple words carried a powerful lesson about responsibility, self-control, and character. In a culture that often tells us to follow every feeling, maybe we've lost something valuable that earlier generations understood—learning how to govern ourselves even when we don't feel like it.Sometimes the smallest corrections shape us the most. And sometimes the shortest lessons are the ones that stay with us for life.

Consistency sounds noble.Stubbornness sounds negative.But the line between them? It's razor thin.

We talk a lot about big moments — big blessings, big breakthroughs, big generosity. But what about the small good that's already in your hand?In Proverbs 3:27, we're told not to withhold good when it's in our power to act. That means encouragement when someone needs it. Payment when it's owed. Forgiveness when you could stay bitter. A kind word when silence would be easier.

We've demonized him because his pain makes us uncomfortable. His obedience didn't explode outward like rebellion; it collapsed inward into resentment. And honestly, that hits close to home for a lot of faithful people.Here's the quiet truth:Faithfulness without affirmation can turn into bitterness.

Rock climbers carry a kind of strength you don't notice at first—quiet, disciplined, and tested under pressure. This episode reflects on how real strength is often built in unseen places, formed through patience, endurance, and trust. The kind of strength that doesn't show off, but holds fast when it matters most.

A lot of rambling BUT the streak continues.

We had a very productive jail ministry tonight. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part.

We've all met them—and if we're honest, we've been them. Half-finished conversations. Almost-there relationships. People with so much potential, but nothing ever quite completed. In this episode, I talk about why a full, imperfect rough draft is better than a perfect fragment—and how that idea applies not just to projects, but to people. Life isn't meant to be polished before it's lived. Growth is messy, relationships are unfinished, and showing up flawed is still better than never showing up at all.

Yep one of those nights. I had a idea but it couldn't compare to the sermon Pastor preached tonight.Hunger

A tiny speck in your eye can bring everything to a halt. It steals your focus, blurs your vision, and makes you desperate for relief. In this episode, we use that familiar irritation as a mirror for the spiritual life.How often do small offenses, worries, habits, or distractions hijack our attention and distort how we see God, others, and ourselves? We tend to rub harder—forcing fixes that only make things worse—when what we really need is cleansing, patience, and clarity.

Our last Sunday school class with Drew.

Its been a long day and I just about forgot to do a new episode but the streak continuesDrop me a line Eric@thisawkwardlife.com

We lost a great man today. Mr. Brent Comans died in his sleep. He was always kind to me and was loved by so many. He always closed his shop early on Wednesdays and I always admired that.

The Bible promises that no weapon formed against us shall prosper—but it never says the weapon won't be formed. In this episode, we sit in that uncomfortable middle space: the pressure, the attack, the thing that showed up uninvited and tried to take us out.What if the very weapon meant to destroy you became the thing that strengthened you? What if surviving it sharpened your faith, clarified your purpose, and revealed a resilience you didn't know you had?This is a reflection on gratitude after the fight—on how we're often better on the other side of what didn't work. Stronger. Wiser. More grounded. The weapon failed, but it didn't leave you the same—and maybe that's something worth thanking God for.

“Sometimes spiritual growth isn't about becoming something new—it's about changing what's holding you together.”In this episode, I talk about how a cheap watch bracelet was ruining a perfectly good watch.

That phrase—“the Church is the mother of us all”—is an old Christian way of saying something deeply relational, not institutional. It's less about a building and more about where spiritual life is born, formed, and nurtured.

In the Gospel story, when Jesus Christ calms the storm on the Sea of Galilee, He doesn't create peace in that moment. He reveals it.The storm is loud. Chaotic. Violent. But when Jesus stands and says, “Peace, be still,” He's not negotiating with the weather—He's addressing something that already recognizes His authority.Which suggests this:Peace was there the whole time. It was just buried under the noise.The wind didn't need to be convinced. The waves didn't need time to calm down. They stopped immediately—because peace isn't fragile when truth speaks. Chaos doesn't argue with authority.

At the 2026 Winter Olympics, both Canada's men's and women's teams have been accused by opponents and officials of “double‑touching” the stone, which is against curling rules.“Double‑touching” means a player is judged to have touched the stone again after releasing it during forward motion, or to have touched the granite after the hog line, which by rule can lead to the stone being removed from play.Canada's Marc Kennedy (men's team) was accused by Sweden of doing this, and video shared by Swedish media appears to show a double‑touch.Canada's Rachel Homan (women's team) had a stone removed after an official ruled she double‑touched; she angrily denied it, saying there was “zero‑percent chance” she did.

What I learned from Medieval Combat Leagues

Not much to say tonight except, "Thanks for your support."

What a beauty story. Just unbelievable.YouTube StoryNews Article

I don't even know what to say about this episode. Let me know what you thinkEric@thisawkwardlife.comThis Awkward Life

I'll be honest—I was afraid.At 81, bones are fragile. One wrong move and you could cause real damage. And every warning you've ever heard starts flashing in your mind.But then there's the other side of the equation.You can't just leave an 81-year-old woman lying in a parking lot.

We are on a recorded line!

This halftime show ya'll!

The old proverb says, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”But what if that crown isn't about power at all?

Trying to win a war on two fronts will drain even the strongest army. History shows us that dividing attention, energy, and resources almost always leads to exhaustion, mistakes, and collapse. But this isn't just a military problem—it's a human one.In this episode, we talk about what it's like to fight battles on multiple fronts at the same time: external pressure and internal doubt, responsibilities pulling one way while fear pulls another, faith fighting fatigue. When you're constantly reacting instead of advancing, it feels like there's never a moment to regroup.This conversation is about recognizing when you're stretched too thin, why fighting everything at once rarely leads to victory, and how clarity—knowing which front actually matters—can change the outcome. You may not be able to end every battle today, but you can stop fighting the wrong ones.

There was a time when coming home to an empty house was normal.A key on a string, a quiet kitchen, and a few hours to yourself before anyone else got home.In this episode, we talk about what it meant to be a latchkey kid—how that season shaped independence, resilience, and sometimes loneliness. We reflect on the silence of those afternoons, the small responsibilities we learned early, and the way those moments still echo into adulthood.

Yeah. We are just going to keep the streak alive with this one.

If your life never changed, would you be okay with it?It's a question most of us don't slow down long enough to ask. We spend so much time chasing what's missing, fixing what's broken, or obsessing over the few things that aren't going right—while quietly overlooking everything that already is.This episode is an invitation to pause and take inventory. Not of what you wish was different, but of what's actually good right now. The steady relationships. The routines that work. The blessings we've normalized. If nothing changed tomorrow, would the life you're living today still be enough? And if not—what does that reveal about where your focus has been?Sometimes peace doesn't come from change… it comes from learning to see clearly.

Growing up, one of my favorite baseball players was Steve Avery, a dominant pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. Before injuries changed his career, he was electric—one of the best on the mound. Recently, watching old clips of his playing days stirred a deeper thought in me.All of us, at some point, have been hurt. Wounded. Spiritually injured. And the dangerous story we tell ourselves is this: I used to be good before I got hurt. This episode is a reminder not to live in that sentence. You are not defined by the injury. You are not finished because you fell. Healing is possible. Growth is still ahead. Get back up. Recover. And don't let it be said that the best of you only existed before the pain.

The first episode in February. I am feeling good about the podcast so far in 2026. Please share with someone that may need or enjoy these episodes.

Everyone should have a file on God. A physical files of all the miracles He has preformed for you. It would help us in times of doubting and to always remember all thatn Jesus has done for us.

Found out that collectibles really aren't considered collateral. Kinda hurt my feelings.

I recently read a quote that said " Being rich is based on numbers. Feeling rich is based on how rich your neighbor is."

Because if you don't plan your day, your day will happily plan you—and it's usually terrible at it.Here's the real, human reason planning before the day starts matters:1. You wake up with intention instead of reactionWithout a plan, the first email, text, or problem becomes your boss. Planning ahead lets you decide what matters before the noise shows up.2. Your brain works better when it knows the destinationUnplanned days feel heavy because your mind is constantly asking, “What should I be doing right now?” A simple plan removes that mental friction and frees up energy.3. You protect your best hoursYou only get a few high-focus hours a day. Planning lets you spend them on what moves the needle—not on whatever happens to yell the loudest.4. It reduces stress more than it creates disciplineMost stress comes from forgotten tasks and half-finished thoughts. Writing them down the night before lets your brain rest instead of rehearsing.5. You end the day with progress, not just motionBusy feels productive—but it isn't. Planning helps you measure the day by what mattered, not just how tired you are.6. It gives you margin for the unexpectedIronically, planned days handle interruptions better. When something goes sideways, you know exactly what you're choosing to delay.If you want it super simple, try this tonight:Write 3 things that would make tomorrow a winDecide when you'll do themThat's itYou don't need a perfect plan—just a starting line.

We lost a wonderful Christian man this week from my home church. Just a few thoughts of Bro. Mike Lang

There's a strange relief in knowing you're not the final decision-maker. When you're the middleman, you carry conversations, pass along details, and try not to waste anyone's time—yet somehow, time still slips away. Sales calls turn into relay races. Questions get filtered. Answers get delayed. And you start to wonder if being helpful sometimes means stepping out of the way.In this episode, I talk about the awkward space of being the go-between—the tension of wanting to be respectful of everyone's time while knowing you don't actually hold the “yes” or the “no.” It's a reflection on clarity, responsibility, and the freedom that comes from putting people directly in front of the decision-maker. Sometimes the most honest thing you can do isn't to negotiate or explain… it's to connect and let go.

We all know what it feels like to coast—letting momentum carry us instead of intentionally steering. In this episode, a childhood game of cutting the engine on a straightaway becomes a sobering metaphor for life and faith. Coasting feels safe… until the road curves. A reflection on the hidden danger of drifting spiritually and the quiet power of re-engaging our walk with Christ.

“If you cry over a nickel, you'll die for a dime.”Most of what drains our joy isn't the big tragedies—it's the small, everyday irritations we refuse to let go of. In this episode of This Awkward Life, we talk about perspective, emotional weight, and how allowing little things to live rent-free in our minds can slowly steal our peace. From misunderstood comments to minor frustrations, this episode is a reminder that not everything deserves a reaction—and some things are better dropped than carried.If you've been feeling worn down but can't quite explain why, this conversation might help you lighten the load and save your strength for what truly matters.

A simple sound—the scratch of a pencil on paper—opens a flood of memories. In this episode, we explore how the tools we're given to write with mirror the seasons of our lives, reminding us that mistakes aren't permanent and the story isn't finished yet.