TRA.Perspective

The halls outside my office—usually active with the beeping of bedside pumps, televisions blaring, the voices of patients, families, and staff, the passing conversations and the familial banter at the nurse’s station—became eerily quiet as another holiday weekend approached. I used to say that there’s no such thing as weekends or holidays when I worked…

Before I begin, I must remind readers that I am a hospital chaplain and worked as a hospital chaplain through the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. I woke up with a severe emotional hangover. As the warm shower water rained down my body, I knew the results of yesterday’s excess was worth the morning’s fatigue,…

On a gorgeous January afternoon in south Texas – clear blue sky, gentle breeze, and mid-sixties temperature – I lay on the slope at the back of my house, stared up and the sky, and listened to the traffic just on the other side of the greenbelt. A calm blew over me as the sounds…

You Can Only Get So High, a song by Richie Sambora, former guitarist for Bon Jovi, is a melancholic song about redemption. There comes a point in life when we can no longer outrun our demons, and we are left with the truth of who we are and what we are trying to avoid. The…

Sermonette offered at Ordinary Community Church on Sunday, November 23, 2025. This morning, I want to explore the Parable of the Mustard Seed. A while back, I saw a post on Instagram about the parable of a mustard seed. It gave a new perspective on an old story. I tried to find it again but…

I play drums for my church’s worship band. Today our set list featured songs from the 1990s and 2000s. While learning new songs, I play my Amazon playlist on repeat while driving to and from work. Then, on my days off, I practice on my drums. If it proves a more difficult song to learn…