27 years ago when I was, a couple of weeks before my 14th birthday, I started making these time capsules. I was always intrigued with the passage of time. Several times I would gaze at the time capsule in the small town where I grew up. I thought it would be cool to save some [...]

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Late tonight Pastor Rick Warren sent out a note on Twitter recommending this blog to youth ministry volunteers. As you’ll see in the chart below it had quite an impact on the amount of traffic I got in the last hour and a half of the day. Today’s been pretty amazing, too. While it’s fun [...]

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Temptation… … Reminds me of God’s grace and my free choice to follow God’s way or my own way – I don’t always choose right, but God’s grace is always there for me. I’m so much happier when I make the right choice from the start … Gives me an opportunity to reaffirm my commitment [...]

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The other day I felt God telling me to call a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time. It was an unusually specific message that this person was having marital problems and I should call him to encourage him. This was strange and I passed it off as something I should do, but let [...]

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One of my students studied abroad last semester. That, however, didn’t stop him from spending quality time with his family. They are on a video chat in this picture having a great time playing poker together. He would tell them how to play his hand. It’s pretty odd, but it’s funny and a great memory [...]

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In a panel discussion I participated in with youth workers, the question came up from a student, “Why does life suck?”. While I’m sure we all wonder this some time, I had a little bit of unique perspective. I’ve recently worked my way through a particularly frustrating journey through life “sucking”. Nothing in my circumstances [...]

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The other day I was at Wally’s funeral. I never got to meet him before he got debilitated because of a brain tumor 6 years ago. I did, however, have the joy of having the younger of his 2 sons in my small group Bible study. It was at Wally’s funeral that I got a [...]

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I’ve been striving for an elusive goal for 10 years. I can never seem to nail this down. I’ve got the skill set needed, tons of experience, the drive to accomplish it and the passion to back it up. I just can’t seem to make it happen. Tonight I had a few thoughts about this [...]

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This weekend I’m in Dallas visiting my sister and her family so this morning I got to visit their church. It was great being in a different church and being exposed to fresh ideas. It’s a great reminder of how easy it is to be stuck in a bubble in my own church. It’s healthy [...]

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My mom travels a lot this time of year. When she’s gone, I water her plants for her. Because we’re having the hottest weather of the year right now, I got to thinking I better put a lot of water on her flower beds. By being generous with the water, it can absorb deeper into [...]

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