Raising a toddler is an interesting experience. One of my favorite things about Zeke in this stage is his absolute honesty when you ask him how his day was. It is usually one of the first things I ask him when I get home from work. His answer usually starts with “good” and finishes with how many “argues” he had. Argues is what he calls when he talks back and throws a fit. If there is a day that he doesn’t do that (which are very rare) he will be excited to tell me he had no argues that day. [Read more…] about The Honesty of a Toddler
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I Hate Heights
I am terrified of heights. I don’t know if that sentence does justice for how I feel about heights. I absolutely hate heights. The worst is when you are standing at the top of hill or mountain and you can’t see the ground over the top. A few years ago when I was in Nicaragua, I decided I was going to hike up a dormant volcano and sand board back down. As we were driving up to the volcano I immediately regretted my decision. When we go to the top and had to walk around the rim of the volcano, I just stared at the ground in front of my feet. The path was about 8 feet wide and both sides had drops that would result in death. [Read more…] about I Hate Heights
Pour Out To Receive
This past week my church had a commissioning service for our mission team going to Guatemala. It is one of my favorite services we have every year. It is a service in which I have seen God move in miraculous ways over and over. I was in the worship band that night and was going to the service with intentions to minister to others. I knew there would be a time to pray for the people going on the trip, so I wasn’t really going with the expectation to be ministered to. Not that I didn’t think I could be, but my expectation was to minister to others. [Read more…] about Pour Out To Receive
Go Home Instead Of Going Hard
Our society tells us that we have to do everything we can to get ahead. People live and die by the phrase, “Go hard or go home.” I’ll admit that I have been guilty of saying that and doing it. The truth is that isn’t always the best advice. Actually, it is hardly ever good advice. Even God rested on the 7th day. I’ve learned that sometimes it’s better to go home, literally.
A few years ago, I was working three jobs to provide for our family. I felt like it was what I needed to do in order for us to continue to have Angela stay at home with Zeke and still be able to pay the bills. [Read more…] about Go Home Instead Of Going Hard
Childlike Faith
A few weeks ago, Zeke took a nasty spill and landed on his elbow. Within minutes, he had a golf ball sized knot on his arm. He was crying and clearly in a lot of pain. He was holding his arm and crying out in pain anytime it moved. Since we were heading on vacation the next day our doctor wanted us to come get in checked out. While Angela was driving him to the doctor’s office, she heard him mumbling something in the back seat. Thinking he was trying to talk to her, Angela asked him what he said. His response? ”I am praying to God because my arm hurts and He will heal it.” He said it in a matter of fact, “what do you think I’m doing” way. [Read more…] about Childlike Faith
The Inconvenient Truth
Leading up to this Father’s Day, I’ve been thinking a lot about what does a loving father look like. This past week someone asked me, what does it mean to die to yourself? It was through an email, so I had time to think about my answer. I wanted to spit out the cookie cutter answer that it means to be unselfish, but since I had time, I decided to meditate on that question.