Not Invincible

I learned the hard way to savor every opportunity for evangelism. Click here to read how God used a high school tragedy to shake me from apathy and show me that although I'm young, I'm not invincible, and neither are the lost friends and classmates around me.

The article is in the January 2009 issue of Focus on the Family's Breakaway magazine for teen guys. I'm a regular contributor and have written many feature articles using stories from my life to teach about subjects like dealing with divorce, taking responsible short-term missions trips, facing fear, trusting God's supremacy and becoming a man.

My first article recounted my adventures sharing the gospel on a backpacking trip in a restricted Asian country. After being detained and released by border police, I got a taste of how adventurous the Christian life could be if I got off the pew and into the real world.

Details of that journey can be found on this blog by clicking here.

Magazine Milestone

It took over a year to get it published, but whoever said perseverance pays off wasn't lying. This month's issue of Breakaway magazine--a Focus on the Family magazine for teen guys--features an article I wrote about one of my many trips to China.

This is my first article published in a national magazine, and I just received the go-ahead to write another one for their November issue. To read the full text, you'll have to check out the magazine, but the link above takes you to a preview of the issue. "Beyond Borders" is the title of the article, and the description is situated just above Relient K. It's pretty amazing to think that my article will be sitting in on coffee tables and nightstands across the country, reaching some 100,000 subscribers. I hope it inspires them to live a life worthy of the Gospel. May I be faithful with the small success God has given me, so he can trust me with more in the future.

More China Travel Articles

I don't know if you checked them out last time, but a few months ago I posted a link to some travel articles I wrote on a website called Travel China Guide. If you're interested in going to China, this site is great for travel tips and reviews. And if you want to know a little bit more about the logistical details from my Beijing, JH and Xinjiang trips, click here and go to the winning entries with ICTHUS17 as the username.

Chasing Bebo Norman

Yesterday I had an article come out in the Red and Black newspaper about the Bebo Norman concert Friday night. I took the article because I thought I'd have a chance to interview Bebo, who has consistently been one of my favorited musicians over the past six or so years. Unfortunately, I procrastinated, and Bebo's management didn't get back to me quick enough, so I was left only with secondary sources to do the article. But I did get to listen to his new album, "Between the Dreaming and the Coming True," and I was pretty impressed. Our C-town boy is doing well for himself. Click here to read what I came up with.

China Travel Articles

I recently entered an article-writing contest on TravelChinaGuide.com. Both of the articles I posted were among the winners for the competition. To read these, go to this website and click on the articles listed with ICTHUS17 as the author. Some of the material in those articles will also be discussed here soon.

New Article

For those of you who are interested, I just had a two-page spread in The Red and Black newspaper in Athens. My article was about hiking trails in Athens, outdoor escapes inside the city limits. If you want to check it out, go to the link below and click on all the articles that say "Urban Hiker." My piece was one article with four parts, so they split it up on the Web site. You'll have to scroll down on the page to learn about the last three trails. Hopefully this will be the starting point for many more adventure pieces. Here goes:

URBAN HIKER