Tony Russell

  • The Cross: Cruel or Comforting?

    I occasionally walk the few blocks through town to go to a noon mass at the Catholic Church. It’s an old stone building sitting right in the middle of high rises, and modern structures. I am not catholic, but I love the sacred time and beautiful rituals. I look forward to arriving and seeing the…

    Tonyrussell

  • The Sweet Narcissist

    As I was running today I thought I invented a new psychological diagnosis! For months I have been thinking about how we always define the narcissist as rude, crude, and arrogant, but I have been seeing something different and even more destructive. I didn’t know how to define it until today, when I came up…

    Tonyrussell

  • Why Does God Seem Absent when We Need Him Most?

    I was lying on my couch with one forearm covering my eyes, and only the flicker of my advent candles to light up the room. My emotional pain was so deep I thought surely God would show up. You know, one of those moments where God parts your personal Red Sea of Hell! And yet,…

    Tonyrussell

  • The Addiction to Dating

    I was sitting across from an attractive lady enjoying a cup of coffee when she admitted she had been dating 3 or 4 times a week for quite sometime. She was using one of the many dating apps that are available, and let me know she had even gone on multiple dates in one day.…

    Tonyrussell

  • My Letter from An Atheist

    I heard a “ding ding” come from my iPad, which meant someone commented on one of my blogs. It was like a bell to a Pavlovian dog as I quickly went to read it! In case you haven’t noticed I have one very big “issue” and that is my desire to make people like me…A…

    Tonyrussell

  • When You Feel that Death is A Better Option

    I had always been highly anxious on airplanes, and especially upon takeoff. However, on this day I was unusually calm. We were taxing down the runaway, and I had zero anxiety. And then there was the pause, I pictured the pilots fist bumping each other before getting one of their dopamine rushes for the day.…

    Tonyrussell

  • Does Your Life Feel Chaotic?

    There I was once again feeling like I was living in chaos. My bills were paid, finances were good, but everything else felt completely out of my control. It was like I was standing in the middle of a tornado as debri flew through the air, and there was no where for me to find…

    Tonyrussell

  • Meet The Love of My Life

    I was merely 5 years old and we were on our way home from church when I announced from the back seat that I wanted to follow Jesus. I had to say it loudly, because my father had just bought a Chrysler that was the size of a bus! So the zipcode was different for…

    Tonyrussell

  • Bongs, Booze, & Jesus

    It was my birthday, January 3rd (put that on your calendar). I was lying in my beanbag chair staring up at the ceiling while drinking whiskey. I figured Jesus first miracle was turning water into wine so I could have a drink, but He was about to show up with another plan. I began praying…

    Tonyrussell

  • What The Hell?

    I was about to go to bed when my phone rang. At first I assumed one of my kids needed money, but then realized it was a friend. As a person surpasses the 50 year mark they stop sending late night calls to voicemail. “Hey man, how are you” he asks every single time with…

    Tonyrussell