Photo by U.S. Army Albert Einstein once said, “He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.” The thought of losing the wonder and the awe in my life is something […]
Jakarta Send Off Service
Today, we had our send off service for the Jakarta Team. Christina said that I would tear up sometime during my sermon. I challenged her to place a bet on it. Let’s just say that I got on the stage and didn’t even say a word and I lost it. I […]
Greener on the Other Side
Photo by Panoramio I couldn’t help but to overhear a conversation at a cafe the other day. I was working on my paper and even with the music in the background their voices carried over to my ear. I was not eavesdropping… they just had very loud voices 🙂 One guy […]
Midway Point in Life
Photo by Strength For Today Today I celebrated my 40 year birthday. I was trying really hard to allow it to slip under the radar, but to no avail because Christina threw a big 40th B-Day party with some people in church the other day. It was humbling, not only to […]
Setbacks and Obstacles
Photo by Stanley Bronstein Life sometimes gets frustrating when there are unending setbacks. It is like taking a step forward and then realizing that you are two steps back. This can easily produce discouragement, pessimism, despair, and apathy. Recently, I have been experiencing a wide range of emotions. With our departure […]
Exercise and Mood
Christina has always been an advocate about exercise. She has even tried to convince me about the correlation between exercise and mood. She constantly reminds me of the importance of exercise – not only does she want me to live a long time, but she always references my mood and attitude […]
Celebrating 13 Years
Photo by Mississippi Family Law Today I am celebrating 13 years of marriage with Christina. It has been quite an adventure with all its ups and downs. It is hard to believe that after 3 kids and doing ministry together that we are still trying our best to grow in love […]
A Deeper Appreciation for Routine
Photo by Fitness Walking Guide Routine and I have a love-hate relationship. I am an enigma when it comes to routine, structure and order. There is a side of me that desperately cries out for things to be put nicely into “systems.” But there is another side of me that despises […]
Returning to the Grid
It has been about two weeks since I have written in my blog (and Twitter). In the first couple of days, I felt like an addict going through withdrawal symptoms and having a nervous breakdown (half-joking). But it has been good for my soul. The last few months have been one of toughest periods […]
Blog Writing Sabbatical
I have told people that one trait of an effective leader is the ability to communicate. Whether it is through speaking or writing, it really doesn’t matter, just as long as they are communicating. The reason for this is because in the words of the leadership guru, John Maxwell, “Leadership is influence, nothing more […]
Refreshed and Ready to Go
For the last 4 days, I was away with a handful of pastors to challenge and sharpen one another. In fact our group is called, chadad, which is the Hebrew word for “to sharpen.” It can also be translated as, “to be fierce.” This word is used in Proverbs 27:17 where it says, “As […]
Breaking the Routine with CityServe 2009
After being a Christian for some time, it is easy to forget that some of the greatest lessons are the really simple ones. It is easy to take “worship” for granted and just make it about “our songs” and the “preaching” when we gather together on Sundays. It is interesting that the […]
Grad Night 2009
I am getting pumped for the Grad Night tonight. It is always a bitter sweet moment for me. It is exciting that we will be able to commission another class to go and engage the world with the Gospel message. But yet, it will be sad saying bye to many of these […]
Optimism on Good Friday
Photo by “The Passion of the Christ” I have always wondered why they call one of the most gruesome days in history “Good Friday.” How about calling it “Shocking Friday” or “Horrific Friday”? Maybe that will put more of an emphasis on what Christ went through for us on the cross. I […]