Category: faith
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Through the Eyes of a Child
When you serve for any length of time in children’s ministry, especially in the early elementary school years, you quickly learn to anticipate the answer you will get from the kids for any question asked of them. Their response is always Jesus. The louder they shout their response, the more their faces shine. Seriously, no…
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Choose to Be a Blessing
I am rapidly learning how difficult it is to fully articulate a biblical teaching or even the gospel message in a concise blog. I often feel ill-equipped as I face the blank page. Writer’s block sets in. Insecurities take over. There is so much to learn, and it will be a lifelong pursuit and practice.…
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Let’s Talk About Change
I’ve been thinking a lot about change lately. In general, I like change. I like the adventure of it and exploring the unknown. I love learning new things. I’m not a huge fan of routine, and I get easily bored. During a twenty-year period, I once moved seventeen times between three different states and two…
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Consider Jesus…
The last month or so, my church has been in a teaching series that has been a reflection on some of the older hymns not as commonly sung during Christian worship services anymore. Throughout the series, we have sung contemporary renditions of these same hymns that resonate in the soul with their simplicity and power.…
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The God Who IS There
“Do you see things that aren’t there?” I must admit that when this question was asked of me recently, I felt like a defendant being grilled by the prosecuting attorney. Seriously. It was a direct, very specific question, but there was trickery in the air, especially in this conversation (more on that below). It seemed…
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Lesson Planning
As I was wrapping up preparation for a lesson on prayer for the fifth and sixth graders at my church a few weeks ago, it was suggested that I share a memory of something I wanted really badly when I was their age and to talk to them about how I responded. This was the…
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Inspiration From the Beatitudes
I had planned to write a follow up blog post on the Beatitudes several weeks (ahem…months?) ago, but I am barely keeping my head above water with work, family and ministry responsibilities. While I don’t enjoy missing my personal goals, I rest secure in the knowledge that I am not the one in control, and…
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Always and Forever
Have you ever thought how odd the word heartbreak is? Merriam-Webster defines a heartbreak as “crushing grief, anguish or distress.” When a beloved family member passes, we experience heartbreak. A friend’s girl friend gets engaged to another man, and we might describe him as broken-hearted (or perhaps we see opportunity? More on that later…). Most people will fully understand what…
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A Study in The Beatitudes, Part I
It feels a little trite to write a year in review at the beginning of 2021. As we all look ahead to the new year, many of us are spending some time this week reflecting on what happened last year and how we would like our lives or ourselves to change for the better. Resolutions…
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Christmas During the Year of the Pause
Over the past week, I have been mulling over my next blog post. It’s been some time since I blogged because quite frankly, my life has been on fast forward since early October. But, no more excuses. I made the commitment some time ago to launch this blog, and I now seek to push through…
in heartbreak and in hope 