One of my least favorite things about myself is that I’m a “fainter.” Specifically, I tend to pass out when I have to get my blood drawn (or an IV placed). Getting a shot isn’t nearly as bad, though I still always look away. I hate the feeling of cold, sweaty dread that comes over me when I get my blood drawn. It feels like there’s nothing I can do to fight it, and the harder I try, the worse it gets. ...
(UPDATE 2026-07-21: After I pushed-back on their warranty process, AlorAir offered to send me a replacement unit for free, with no need to return the old one. I accepted, and the new unit arrived a few days later. It seems to be working fine so far! Good on them for listening to customer feedback and making things right.) Basement dehumidifiers seem to be treated as disposable appliances. You buy one, run it for a year or two, and then replace it when it stops pulling water out of the air. ...
I’ve spent thousands of dollars on my Logos Bible Software library over the years, and I pay for a subscription partly to use its built-in AI features. They’re fine. They’ll find a passage, summarize a resource, answer a simple question. But they don’t come close to what Claude Opus does when I’m actually trying to think hard about a text, chasing an idea across a dozen commentaries or weighing how different authors handle the same passage. ...
The Ecclesiastical Pickle If you’ve been following along, you know that my resignation from ordained ministry in the ACNA back in November 2023 turned into something of an ecclesiastical pickle earlier this year. The short version: I had resigned from the ACNA while explicitly stating that I was not renouncing my Holy Orders. My bishop at the time, Todd Hunter, gave me a letter confirming my good standing and my request “to resign from ministerial duties while remaining in Holy Orders.” But when Bishop Todd began preparing for retirement, he reached out to clarify whether that framing was canonically correct. His successor, Bishop Jeff Bailey, had questions. ...
I come from a family of many cousins. As a kid, I even remember thinking there were too many cousins! Not even recognizing everyone at a family reunion. That kind of thing. However, I never thought I’d lose 4 of my cousins—1 on my mom’s side and now 3 on my dad’s side—before I hit 35. This past week, my cousin Robin Steele left for work at 6am and didn’t even make it a mile down the road before he was killed by a drunk driver (who later died in the hospital). ...
It’s been brought to my attention that the description of how I resigned from ordained ministry in the Anglican Church in North America in November 2023 might not be canonically accurate. ❗ Important UDPATE: As of 2026-01-09, I’ve asked that we clarify my November 2023 resignation from ministry in the ACNA by just sticking to the exact wording of the ACNA Canons. No extra “this is/isn’t different from renouncing Holy Orders” qualifications needed. The Problem: Resigning is Renouncing? In November 2023, here’s how I put it (emphasis added to highlight the parts now in question): ...
I’ve been playing some co-ed rec soccer recently. It’s been a lot of fun, and also a reminder that I’ve gotten out of shape and I’m getting older (I’m now 34, and everyone else on my team is in their 20s). But I’m enjoying it nonetheless. Anyways, I thought I’d share my current soccer kit — the gear I use when I play soccer. My Cardio Workout First, I have to call out the “John Terry Treadmill Workout”, because it’s what’s been most helpful in (slowly) getting me back into soccer shape. It’s brutal, but effective. As this Reddit post clarifies: ...
A lament, for a violent world in need of peace. “Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer) ...
I recently came across a Daniel Pink video that helped clarify and summarize some key insights about finding life’s purpose in a really actionable way. The framework was so helpful that I wanted to share it. Stop asking “What’s my passion?” Start asking better questions. Pink suggests that the classic advice to “follow your passion” often leads us nowhere. Instead, he offers seven more practical questions that can actually help you discover your life’s purpose. ...
I’m putting this out there because I’m genuinely stuck, and I’m hoping some of you have been where I am and can offer some wisdom. Here’s my situation: I’m in my 30s, married with three young kids, and I work from home in northwest Ohio. On paper, my life is full—and in many ways it is. But I’m also dealing with some significant loneliness and isolation that I can’t seem to shake. ...
Here are 14 YouTube channels that I really enjoy. Do you have any other YouTube channels you think I might enjoy? Budget Mechanic ChrisFix Essential Craftsman First Class Amateur Grand Roofing Home RenoVision DIY The Honest Carpenter Practical Engineering Project Farm Silver Cymbal Smarter Every Day Stumpy Nubs This Old House Veritasium P.S. For more lists, visit my Lists page!
In his “Letters and Papers from Prison,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer made some remarkably insightful observations about the nature of stupidity and its dangers to society. These reflections, perhaps more relevant today than ever, deserve our careful attention. Here they are in full. On Stupidity (DBWE 8:43-44) Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed—in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical—and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous. ...
Until the past few days, our 4-year-old son, Andrew, has mainly prayed something like the following before dinner: “Dear Jesus, help us to have a good day tomorrow, and help this food to be good.” However, in the past few days, he has started to pray more spontaneously and creatively before dinner. Here are some highlights: “Give us this day our holy bread” “Help us worship you even when we are in heaven” ...
UPDATE: This now seems to work! The post made it to Micro.blog, BlueSky, and Mastodon, at least. Just not to Threads. I’m trying to troubleshoot what’s going on with my current crossposting configuration between my Hugo website, my Micro.blog account, and my accounts on BlueSky, Mastodon, and Threads. What’s supposed to happen is that this blog post, after I merge it to my GitHub repository, will end up on the JSONfeed at https://joshuapsteele.com/blog/feed.json. ...
I’d love to blog more regularly, and I love answering questions. So the “WeblogPoMo AMA” challenge caught my eye (old, broken link)! For this challenge I want to foster writer interaction: write a blog post starting with a question—the AMA—and then answer the question yourself in the blog post. Others will likewise write AMA/question posts, but also answer the AMA/questions from other bloggers, linking to their initial post. I brainstormed a bit on this idea when I first thought about creating WeblogPoMo Challenges. ...