Silence
-
The Practice of Resistance: Stress Adaptation and the Life of the Soul
Stress adaptation is more than a performance idea. Drawing on Paul Taylor and the traditional spiritual disciplines, this CTK essay explores how fasting, silence, Sabbath, simplicity, and prayer use manageable resistance to reveal appetite, noise, hurry, and control, training us to become more available to God under pressure. Continue reading
Agency, Appetite, Attention, Brother Lawrence, C.S. Lewis, Chosen Friction, Comfort as Formation, Dallas Willard, Digital Distraction, Discipline, Dr. Paul Taylor, Faith, Fasting, Hardiness, John Mark Comer, Prayer, Recovery, Resistance, Silence, Simplicity, Spiritual Formation, The Good Pressure, The Hardiness Effect, Virtue -
Chosen Friction: The Wise Practice of Voluntary Discomfort
Chosen friction is the wise practice of small, voluntary discomfort before life brings hardship we did not choose. This CTK essay explores how fasting, silence, effort, honesty, and ordinary resistance train freedom from comfort, appetite, and avoidance, offering a seven-day challenge for practicing strength without recklessness. Continue reading
-
How to Practice Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues: A Modern Guide
Benjamin Franklin didn’t just list virtues. He built a system to practice them. This guide explains his thirteen-week method for cultivating character, introduces the original virtue tracker, and invites readers to try the experiment themselves. One virtue per week. Daily self-examination. A quiet discipline that shapes character over time. Continue reading
-
The Practice of the Presence of God: Learning to Pray Without Ceasing in a Distracted World
Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God teaches Christians how to pray without ceasing through steady, disciplined awareness of God in ordinary life. This essay explores distraction, constancy, grace, and the biblical call to abide in Christ in a fragmented modern world. Continue reading
-
A Manly Character
Manly character is not performance or bravado. It is bearing. Formed in restraint, silence, duty, and obscurity. Shaped most at home, under pressure, and without applause. Drawing on Stoic wisdom, this essay explores the quiet cost of choosing formation over reaction and holding one’s line when drift is easier. Continue reading
-
Sunday Evening Collective ~ October 12th Edition
This week’s Sunday Evening Collective, “The Weight of Quiet,” reflects on the stillness that restores attention and presence. With music, readings, and a simple practice, it invites readers to slow down, listen inwardly, and rediscover meaning in silence, where reflection, honesty, and renewal quietly begin. Continue reading
-
The Virtue of Silence: How Franklin’s Second Principle Builds Disciplined Leadership
Silence is more than holding your tongue. It is listening with intent, thinking before speaking, and honoring space in a noisy world. Inspired by Franklin, Scripture, and the Stoics, I spent this week practicing restraint in speech and awareness in presence. The result? More clarity, less noise, deeper listening. Continue reading
-
Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues: A 13-Week Character Challenge for Modern Life
13 weeks. 13 virtues. Inspired by Ben Franklin’s system of moral improvement, I’m tracking and reflecting on one virtue each week—starting with Temperance. This isn’t self-help fluff. It’s a disciplined return to first principles. Continue reading
Advent Adventure Agency Albums Apostle James Apostle John Apostle Paul Aristotle Armor of God Art of Manliness Attention Benjamin Franklin Books Breathing Brother Lawrence C.S. Lewis Challenges Character Christianity Christmas Comfort Culture Courage Creativity Culture Dallas Willard Desert Island Music Discipline Dr. Paul Taylor Emerson Epictetus Faith Focus G.K. Chesterton Goals God Goodreads Grace Gratitude Habit Hardiness Health & Fitness History Honor Hope Humility Industry Interviews J.R.R. Tolkien James Clear Jesus John Eldredge John Mark Comer Justice Leadership Love Manliness Marcus Aurelius Mark Twain Mental Toughness Mindfulness Money Music Music 80’s Music 1980 Music 1981 Non-fiction Order Orison Swett Marden Oswald Chambers Peace Personal Development Prophet Isaiah Quotes Recovery Resilience Resolution Resurrection Band Rick Rubin Routines & Rituals Saint Augustine Saint Thomas Aquinas Self-Reliance Seneca Silence Spiritual Formation spiritual warfare Temperance The Choir The Hardiness Effect Theodore Roosevelt The Police Thomas A Kempis Tim Ferriss Training U2 Virtue Willpower Winston Churchill WODs Writers