Coen-Ology

If you are taking the time to read this, it is my hope that you will come along on this journey from this point forward. I would love nothing more than for you to read something that is shared here and be encouraged in your own life and as a result you will continue to encourage someone else. Life is more than just trying to get through the next hour or the next day but it is about discovering the reason that you were born in the first place. Life is about stepping into the plan and purpose that belongs to you and only you.

Coen-ology does not sound like an ordinary title, so what does it mean? My wife and I stepped out of our comfort zone about 2 years ago and launched a podcast together. We wanted something that was timeless, meaningful, and unique to who we are. The purpose of our podcast was to share and minister to those who wanted to take the time to listen to our story and all that we have walked through in life. I knew that a lot of what I would be doing on the podcast involved teaching and sharing our faith so I thought about putting the term “-ology” at the end of our last name which turned it into the study of something. We decided that since we made up the word we could also decide what it meant and so out of that came “Coenology – The study of everyday life with Tyler & Jessica Coen.”

Our podcast has proven to be exactly what we intended it to be and we continue to utilize that platform for ministry as well. If you are interested in taking a listen, you can find it on your podcast app of choice by searching “Coenology Podcast.” We would love for you to like and follow us on there as well.

You might be wondering why would a blog be relevant if we utilize a podcast? The honest answer is that writing is a way for us to continue to share our journey with you along the way when it might not be possible for us to sit down and record a podcast together. I truly enjoy writing and being able to share my thoughts through words with those who enjoy reading. I understand that it might not be the method that many would consider using in order to be the next viral sensation on the internet and I also realize that it might not be everyones desire to click on a long blog post and read through every single word, but I also realize that all of that is perfectly okay. It may just be for me and a few others to journey along together.

My desire is simply to have another outlet to be able to share my story across the world. I want to invite you into our journey and share some of our adventures with you and hopefully be able to relate with you along the way. I have realized that I enjoy reading what I am able to relate to. I will take a moment to introduce who we are and provide you with a few disclosures for the journey ahead.

My name is Tyler and I am married to my beautiful wife of 8 years Jessica. My marriage has blessed me with two beautiful bonus kids who I love and adore. Ministry is a big part of who we are and what we do but it is not all that we are and all that we do. We are blessed to currently serve as the Creative Arts & Worship pastors for our church and we could not be more thankful that God has given us this opportunity.

We both have the opportunity to work from our home. Jessica is a full time travel advisor (if you are interested in booking a trip, we would love to help you with that) and I work for Liberty University. This season of our life comes after many challenges throughout the first several years of our marriage. We have experienced loss on so many different levels but we have also experienced such gain. During the first two years of our marriage we stepped into what would be known as the turning point of everything for us, as well as rock bottom. We spent 4 of the 8 years of our marriage fighting legal battles against me being falsely accused as an educator and ultimately losing my job as a teacher. It was during this season that we truly discovered what it meant to have a relationship with the only one who can truly sustain us when we have come to the end of ourselves.

The journey that we have taken together has ultimately stepped into a new season of life giving purpose and pure joy. One of the things that I want you to take away from our journey is that you do not have to stay where you are and life does not have to remain the way that it is in your dark season. We were not created to be defeated by the enemy. We were not destined to be overtaken by depression, anxiety and fear! We were created to share the pure glory of the one who created us.

Coenology is more than just sharing our life, it is our life being shared with the hope that God receives all of the glory and honor. I hope that through sharing the distaste that I have for religion and the passion I have found for authentic relationship that you are able to be encouraged to grab ahold of the only one who has been pursuing you from the beginning of time, God Himself!

I want to provide a few disclosures in hopes that you will gain a little more perspective on what I hope to share with you but also to save you from becoming easily offended before you even begin. I want to inform you that offense is a choice from the beginning so I hope that you will make the right one.

• I am not going to write with a mask. The purpose in this blog is to give you the truth from someone who has walked out what it means to live a fake life in front of everyone and pretend to be something that I was not. I refuse to go back to those days of pretending. I refuse to use church as a mask for anything in my life. I believe that for far too long it has been used to paint a false image of perfection and never emphasizing the importance of relationship with God.
• I will not give the enemy any credit in this blog. I am not fighting battles every single day with the devil. If you expect me to share all of my struggles and troubles every single day, you are not going to get that here. I do face challenges, but I am not overtaken by them. I do face battles, but I do not fight them. I have lived out the truth that God Himself fights my battles, and the truth is that He wants to fight yours as well if you will just allow Him. My hope is to share with you where the real battle takes place, and that is within yourself.
• Coenology will not just be based on sharing one area of our life. I want to share encouragement, travel, faith, business, and everything else I can think of that is relevant for everyday life. Life should not be one dimensional.
• I am not writing from a place of perfection. I will try to be as grammatically correct as I can be but I do not plan to spend all of my time proof reading and editing everything that I post. If you find a mistake, I apologize in advance! I am certain that there will be more to follow. I hope that you will read more into what I am trying to say and less on the grammatical way in which I am saying it.
• I do not have everything figured out and I do not claim to. I hope that throughout this journey you will be able to see that I am quick to give you what I know to be sure but I am also quick to mention that which I am not sure of.
• If you do not agree with my perspective, I am not easily offended. This might not be the blog for you. I believe that while my perspective may be the one that is being given, it is not the only perspective. I try to always consider both sides and hope that each one that reads along will do the same.

If you are looking to be encouraged, and to grow in your own faith then I want to take a moment to invite you on this journey with me. I hope that you will take the time to read each word carefully and meditate on the meaning in order to apply it to your own life. I hope that Coenology will encourage you to step into a new season of life that is full of pure joy. I hope that you will be able to see the fullness of God’s Grace and Mercy each and every day of your life and that you will come to realize that all things truly do work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose!

Let the journey begin, welcome to Coenology!