This Beautifully Messy Life – Todd Stocker.com

I’ve seen a lot.  Some of what I’ve seen you wouldn’t want to see.  Some of what I’ve experienced in other people’s lives, you’ve experienced as well. Working in a ministry setting affords you a backstage pass to other people’s stories in a way that is deep and ugly and rich.  Most recently, a miscarriage

The Great Measure Of A Man – Todd Stocker.com

I went to a funeral this week of a wonderful man who fell asleep at 90 years old.  This man was a pillar, literally.  Towering over most of us for most of his life, his stature was second only to his towering love for people.  Kent was all about relationships and would lay down his

017: How To Be Successful Parents At Every Level – Todd Stocker.com

Your parents and my parents did some things great in raising us. Other things may have scarred us for life. How do you become successful parents as your children mature through the four stages of childhood? Show Notes: One of the struggles of parenting — especially if you have more than one child — is

Addressing Your ‘What if’ Fear – Todd Stocker.com

Every neighborhood has ‘that house’. You know the one.  The dwellers seem to be a bit strange and the property is unkempt.  There may be obvious maintenance needs with city citations piling up inside their ‘overstuffed with junk-mail’ mailbox.  The rest of the neighbors talk and shake their heads and the kids make up ghost

How I Found God At Disneyland – Todd Stocker.com

My kids skipped in a circle on the neatly packed bricks of the square at the entrance of Disneyland.  Kellie was fussing with the stroller and I was checking our wristbands as the hundreds of other families readied themselves for a fantastic day.  It’s a magical place, truly it is. We bounced from one ride

What Is Your Battle, Today? – Todd Stocker.com

I didn’t want to get out of bed.  The one meeting with that one person glowed from the screen of my digital calendar and I wished it would self-delete. It was one of those needed conversations spurred by a miscommunication and resulting confrontation that turned my gut just visualizing it — and I didn’t want

014: How To Live Life Large – Todd Stocker.com

The world doesn’t need more people playing small. It’s time to stop hiding out and start stepping out. It’s time to stop needing and start leading. It’s time to start sharing your gifts instead of hoarding them or pretending they don’t exist. It’s time you started playing the game of life in a “big” way. 

5 Feelings Your Pastor Feels Every Week – Todd Stocker.com

I’ve been a pastor for many years.  I’ve been able to serve wonderful congregations and ministries and have had the privilege of being part of a team to plant a fantastic church in a Phoenix suburb. Every year of my shepherding journey, this awkward month rolls around called ‘October’ which has been deemed “Pastor Appreciation

When Attempted Suicide Meets Hope – Todd Stocker.com

The police vehicles blew past us and into the neighborhood that we were driving.  Pulled to the curb, we were behind another car and another was parked in the exit lane of a parking lot.  Our three cars formed an ‘L’ shape.  This was yesterday. Immediately, I noticed a body lying at the crux of

When Evil Goes On Live TV – Todd Stocker.com

Just a normal live broadcast for reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward.  They loved what they did and this past week, they died doing it.  A former employee and co-worker raised slinked onto the shot and murdered the two of them and injured a third. I couldn’t believe the evil.  It was meticulous and

Abortion That Pays – Todd Stocker.com

I’ve not commented on the video’s that have come out recently about Planned Parenthood and their abortion goals.  Mostly because there are plenty who already have and I’d be echoing the same voice.  Yet the most recent video released by the Center for Medical Progress is so horrifying that I can’t let it go.  The

How To Know Your Future – Todd Stocker.com

I’ve always been a future thinker.  Some would say too much so.  Now, I don’t dwell on the past and I enjoying living the experiences of the present.   The future, however, fascinates me.  It is ‘coming up’ which in and of itself tempts me with mysteries yet to be experienced.   Some have said you

I Crossed A Line – Handling Change – Todd Stocker.com

Kellie and I crossed a line. It’s one that eventually, every parent crosses in one form or another.  We happened to breach it this week.   With an overpacked car stuffed of DIY Ikea knickknacks, we found ourselves driving across the great plains of the midwest to drop off my baby girl at college.  She’s our

Guess What ‘Mending Fences’ Means? – Todd Stocker.com

Just 3 blocks from my home are fields — acres of them.  They stretch the expanse of my vision.  Corn, beans, hay — they are all there.  As I biked through the road that bordered them, I noticed one old farmer re-twisting wire on a fence that, for sure, pre-dates the turn of the century,

How To Break Worry – Todd Stocker.com

She left again last night, heading far into Minneapolis with a group of friends.  It was late — on the edge of my wife and me heading to bed.  That’s when her teenaged group life begins — later in the evening than earlier.  That is also when my worry begins, especially last night when the rain began, announcing