I was 18 years old, just graduated from high school, and sitting in an outdoor stadium with 4000 other high school students at the C&MA youth conference, LIFE 83.  The president of the Christian and Missionary Alliance was giving the message that night.  I remember that it was HOT… it had been hot all week… Read More »

Someone once asked me: “If you could have a face to face conversation with Jesus, what would you talk about?”  I was sitting in the driver seat of a 15 passenger van late at night on a long drive to NYC, and the question came to me from a 16 year old girl with the… Read More »

This week I want to share a poem with you that was written by gifted poet, Shawna Normali that really impacted me this week.  I will admit, it is shocking, graphic and disturbing, but it speaks to such an important issue in our country and the Christians response.  If something like this was part of… Read More »

Well, it’s October now and I have so much to do!  We began a few projects at our house this summer; adding a lean-to shed to our shop building and putting a porch on the building’s lake side, as well as an outdoor paver patio space.  I will admit, I wish I was a bit… Read More »

Kids are awesome.  I love their energy… their enthusiasm… their innocence… kids bring us great joy.  In Mark 10, some parents brought their children to Jesus and asked him to bless them.  I can so put myself in these folks’ shoes. Can you imagine having the opportunity to have Jesus physically meet and bless your… Read More »

Do you know how to NOT evaluate the success of a church youth group high school retreat?  Just because the fire department, the EMT’s and the police department all visited your venue over the weekend doesn’t necessarily mean the trip was a complete failure.  Yep, I had that happen once on a trip in Tennessee.… Read More »

Something has been eating my tomatoes.  My garden is really starting to produce an excellent crop… yet each night for the past week, I have 2 or 3 tomatoes chewed up on the ground in the morning.  It is quite a puzzling mystery.  I can’t find any tracks and the electric fence is on all… Read More »

I’ve been thinking a bit about the idea of legacy this week.  On Monday my family had a memorial service for my step-grandmother.  Grandma Sue might have only been part of our family because she married my grandfather later in life… but nevertheless she has left a spiritual legacy within our family.  She was a… Read More »

Recently, I have had a string of mechanical issues.  First, we had two cars in our family that required significant repairs. I mean, one is bad enough… but two at the same time?  While on a camping vacation our camper water heater went out, and then on the way home I had to find a… Read More »

At my last church I was working late one evening while preparing for a youth ministry trip.  The only other staff member in the office suites of our building was our gentle and kind administrative pastor, John, who was diligently working the church budget numbers on his computer. I had gathered a few items from… Read More »