Memorial Day – Perspective Is Everything

Memorial day is not veterans day. While both are equally important, memorial day honors the ultimate sacrifice that men and women have offered – giving of one’s life in the betterment of the great experiment called the “United States of America.”

Happy Birthday Makenzie (Button-Nose)

Why do we celebrate birthdays?  For some, it is tradition. For others, it is to honor the person who, on that day, is advancing in years.  And for others, it is to remember a life well-lived.   We are a family that lives forward and not backward.  Yet, our birthday celebration today remembers one who

How Is Your Life Different? A Quick Evaluation (Covid-19)

Social distancing. Self-quarantine. Flatten the curve. These and so many other words and phrases have poked their heads out from the ground in this spring of the Covid-19 pandemic. (There’s another one). Undoubtedly, your world has changed. And as you linger into your first months of this new reality, you have an opportunity. It is

Let Us, Do This: (Covid-19)

“Encouragement During The Pandemic” May we who are merely inconveniencedRemember those whose lives are at stake. May we who have no risk factorsRemember those most vulnerable. May we who have the luxury of working from homeRemember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent. May we who have the flexibility to

Face To Face, Soon Enough – Covid-19

Here we are. A few weeks into the Covid-19 quarantine. We wash more. We watch more. We are creating temporary “new normals,” and some are finding it very life-changing. We’ve taken to the screens and Zoom loves all of us right now. One desire (or maybe hope) that bubbles through the lips of many I

Be Where Your Feet Are

Over the past few days, at the National Youth Gathering 2019, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to interview NBA all-star Sam Dekker. Walking through his amazing story, he talks about his ups and downs personally and professionally and speaks life into student and adults alike. When I asked what was the best piece of advice

National Youth Gathering Is A Picture Of The Authentic Church

I’m sitting in the lobby of the Hyatt on day 2 of the National Youth Gathering, waiting to serve and watching the smattering of students and adults grab their coffee in preparation for another full day. There are 25000 students and adults here. They have converged on Minneapolis to worship, grow, and serve in this

Makenzie Still Impacts Lives Today

So this just happened. Mom and I went to refresh the flowers at the intersection at which Makenzie died. Afterward, a woman came up and said 10 years ago, she and her husband were coming home from church and came upon the accident. It was a Wednesday, June 03, 2009. They pulled into the gas

Vacation Leaves Clues

I’m not the type to “turn off” for long periods. For me, I get energized thinking about life and how to go to the next level. So now, I’m on vacation. As I “peck,” I’m enjoying a steamy morning in Kemah Texas, at the boardwalk, sipping Starbucks and watching people come and go as this

Celebrate New Starts

It’s an odd day for me. I guess “odd” isn’t quite the word I wanted to use, but it was the first one that bubbled up this early in the morning. It is “that word” because it is the celebration (or remembrances) of two new starts for two whom I deeply love. First and now,

When Leaders Gather – #bpmphx2019

Have you ever been to a leadership or work conference that said it would be one thing, but it turned out to be something different? Sometimes that’s not a great outcome. The speakers were average, the workshops were dry, and the environment failed to set a positive tone. On other occasions, the conference, as is

White As Snow

It’s snowing. Again. In the upper midwest, you tend to get used to the white pounding of your house, driveway, and landscape when you enter the mid-months of winter. Mostly, in my opinion, it’s beautiful. Every branch of my leaf-naked trees is outlined in white. Every contour of my lawn is blanketed in white. Every

4 Powerful Words For Church Leaders

Every year, there are a few folks who cycle off of our Board of Directors at church. These servants give of their and their family’s time to help guide the ministry of the congregation. Last night, one of our long-standing members cycled off as president. He wrote a “final words” encouragement to the rest of

When You Vote, You Thrive

Today is mid-term election day. Because of the freedoms our country affords, millions of us will perform one of the most powerful acts a citizen can do — vote. Some say their vote is too small — meaning, “I’m just one in a cacophony of voices, so it really doesn’t matter.” I have a different

Solitude

The song, “Cool Change” by the Little River Band is dancing through my head as I hunt and peck. A favorite of mine, the key lyric for me is, “If there’s one thing in my life that’s missing, it’s the time that I spend alone.” Maybe my soul is rehearsing that line because I’m fulfilling