Our church just finished its Vacation Bible School and it was a great time. We had lots of kids turn out every night, great messages and lots of faithful VBS workers. Everyone had fun. Before the start of day two, while pastor and I were headed to the Dollar General to get pool noodles and … Continue reading Stoking your own flame
Yesterday my wife and I opened a checking and savings account at a local bank. To mark those accounts as ours, we both had to show proof of ID, proof of residence and we both had to sign and date several stacks of paper that basically declared who we were and that we were staking … Continue reading Walking in Daddy’s shoes
Years ago, I worked at a thrift shop. My job was to process all the donated items that were electrical in nature. I was to plug the thing in, see if it worked, repair it if I could and then clean it up to be put out on the floor. Anything that didn’t work went … Continue reading How do you eat an elephant?
Yesterday at around 8:30 PM our power went out. So, we went through the usual routine. Step one, check the breakers. Everything was good. Step two, use the phone to check for outages in the area. We checked and there were 187 customers without power. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but for this area … Continue reading Christians unplugged
Not everything went according to plan yesterday. Moving was hard on all of us because it was hot, there was a bunch of stuff to move, the refrigerator did not want to leave the house without a fight and there was only the four of us: Me, my wife Jane, our oldest Nick and our … Continue reading Yup, even in bad ones
I have always wanted to be a novelist. The only problem with that is that you have to be good at writing.
Perhaps the hardest part of any project is the halfway point. When a new ministry is started there’s a lot of enthusiasm. People are attracted by the “new project smell.” There’s the excitement, the novelty, the belief that this is going to break new ground. Then you get to the halfway point. The novelty has … Continue reading Advancing the Kingdom by being faithful in the mundane
I have friends who are Marines. None that I know of are currently active. Once, I made the mistake of referring to one of them as a “former” Marine and was quickly corrected. “There are no former Marines,” she said, “only active and retired ones.” When God reiterated the promise of His abiding presence to … Continue reading Breaking Down to Build Back Up
We all have elements in our lives that, for us, make life work. Let’s call them “molecules of control.” The elements that make up those molecules might be friends, family, work, hobbies; it’s different for everyone yet the same too because, like I said, our molecules of control are what we use to make life … Continue reading Splitting atoms when our problems aren’t even vinegar on baking soda.
Samson lived during a time in Israel’s history known as “the judges.” Judges in Israel were not like the court room judges of today. They were defenders of Israel against its enemies. In Samson’s day that enemy was a people known as the Philistines, and Samson made a point of being a thorn in the … Continue reading A Bad Example of God’s Grace
Grace in Waves 