Exodus 90: A Journey Toward Freedom and Brotherhood

A Look In The Mirror  My 85 Day of Exodus 90: A Journey Toward Freedom and Brotherhood Eighty-five days ago, I stepped into Exodus 90 unsure of what to expect. The idea of committing to intense prayer, asceticism, and fraternity for three months seemed daunting—almost impossible. Now, just five days from the finish line, I see the journey with new eyes. What started as a challenge to remove distractions and embrace self-discipline has become something far greater: a transformation of heart, mind, soul (and body too). Prayer: From Routine to Relationship At the start, I rated my prayer life a 6 out of 10. I thought I had a decent foundation, but looking back, my prayers were often rushed, unfocused, and transactional. Now, after 85 days of daily holy hours, scripture meditation, and silent reflection, prayer has become a genuine relationship rather than an obligation. The noise that once filled my mind has quieted, allowing me to hear God’s voice more clearly. My conversations with ...

Exit Strategy Day 80 of Exodus 90: A Journey Toward Freedom and Brotherhood When life becomes overwhelming—when stress, pain, or sheer exhaustion set in—we naturally seek an exit. We want an emergency escape hatch from discomfort. The world offers plenty of quick fixes: indulgence, distraction, numbing entertainment, or worse—sin. It’s easy to justify a small indulgence here or a minor compromise there. The devil whispers, "This is too much. You deserve a break."  I mean we have all felt this temptation – more so I feel in the last 20 or so days.   Sin offers a short-term solution, but it never truly satisfies. It’s an illusion of relief, a momentary distraction that ultimately deepens the void. The real challenge is resisting the urge to break away and instead pressing deeper into the discomfort (or as we have been saying – embracing the suck), knowing that true transformation is happening within. Every day, even though I sometimes hear “are we there yet,” coming from th...

Embracing Wabi-Sabi: Finding Beauty In The Imperfection Day 75 of Exodus 90: A Journey Toward Freedom and Brotherhood At this point in the journey, the struggles have revealed themselves fully, the finish line is in sight, and we all can’t wait for this journey to be over. It is here, in the raw and unfiltered moments, that we find the perfect place to embrace wabi-sabi.  Besides being fun to say, I bet you are wondering what in the world I am talking about.  Back from Japan, I have been on this kick to continue to immerse myself in all things Japanese.  They are just such an amazing culture.  One thing I learned about there was a phrase called wabi-sabi—the Japanese philosophy of finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and authenticity.  And as I reflected on our discussion this past Sunday, it started coming to mind.     Much like wabi-sabi, Exodus 90 isn’t about achieving perfection; it’s about embracing the process. It’s about learning t...

Continuing to Pick Up The Pieces After Spring Break Day 70 of Exodus 90: A Journey Toward Freedom and Brotherhood As we talked about during our weekly meeting and in last week’s blog, spring break came in like a wrecking ball. Leading up to it, I had my routine locked in—early mornings, structured prayer, colder showers (that still sucked), and a rhythm of discipline that made me feel like I was actually transforming. Then, spring break hit….which led to more than a few slip-ups and more than a few liberties that were taken on how to interpret the disciplines   By the time the break was over, I felt like I had taken five steps back instead of continuing my momentum toward Day 90. Guilt crept in. That small voice in my head kept saying, “Well, you blew it, might as well just ease up for the rest of the program.” But here’s the thing—as we have talked about Exodus 90 was never about perfection. It’s about resilience. It’s about falling and getting back up, and helping your brot...

When Everything Fell Apart: Day 65 of Exodus 90. A Journey Toward Freedom and Brotherhood Sixty-five days. That’s how long I had been committed to Exodus 90—waking up early, praying daily, coldish showers, fasting, discipline, brotherhood. And for 56 of those days, I was locked in. I felt stronger, more present, more disciplined than ever before. And then like for many of us, Spring Break happened. I’m sure I’m not the only one who struggled this past week. Whether it was the travel and 13 hour flights, the shiny new foods, drinks and experiences, or just the routine-breaking nature of spring break where you needed to kick back and relax.  No matter what it was, the reality is that sticking to Exodus 90 when life throws distractions at you is hard, really hard. And being in Japan when you also didn’t know what day of the week it was definitely didn’t help.   The Cracks Begin to Show It started small. The first travel day was exhausting, so I skipped my reading, prayer, ma...

From Egypt to Tokyo Day 55 and 60 of Exodus 90: A Journey Toward Freedom and Brotherhood In the story of Exodus, the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, longing for freedom. When their journey finally began, it was anything but easy—marked by trials, doubts, and a constant pull back toward the comforts of the past. I never imagined how deeply this story would resonate with my own life until I started Exodus 90. Before Exodus 90, I leaned on convenience and control far more than I realized—whether it was the mindless scroll of social media, the daily indulgence of a delicious bourbon or tasty snack, or the habit of filling every quiet moment with entertainment. I wasn’t enslaved in a literal Egypt, but I was definitely tied down by things I had let rule me. The journey of letting go of these comforts has been difficult, just as the Israelites struggled when they left Egypt. There were times I wanted to turn back—to reach for my phone, to complain about fasting, to let exhaustion be an ex...