Life Realignment

Vacations provide an opportunity to catch our breath. Just about every time Joleen and I are on vacation we usually end up talking about adjustments we need to make in our lives to maintain a healthy way of living so that we don’t get so “out of breath” along life’s journey when we’re not on … Read more

Learning the Boundaries

Life is full of boundaries — moral, ethical, and legal boundaries. There are some things you cannot do. There are limits. When you cross a boundary, there are consequences. Knowing the boundaries is important! This lesson was driven home to us this week as we spent time at Joleen’s aunt and uncle’s house in New … Read more

Ethan’s Day at the Beach

Ethan made his first trip to the beach on Wednesday. Ocean City, NJ is just a quick one hour drive from where my aunt and uncle live. We arrived late morning and spent the afternoon there. Ethan really enjoyed playing in the sand. We took a wagon of sand toys we had purchased earlier this … Read more

Vacation in New Jersey

We’re finally taking some much-needed, long-overdo vacation time. Our last vacation time, spent packing in Mooresville, moving, and unpacking in Clearfield, certainly wasn’t restful or renewing! We’re in Woodbury, NJ (east of Philadelphia) visiting Joleen’s aunt and uncle, Jim and Wanda, whom Ethan is meeting for the first time. This morning, Wanda, Joleen, and I … Read more

Sleep Deprived

This kid sleeps at the darnedest times! He occasionally falls asleep in the car, on walks, and during his mother’s sermons on Sunday mornings. Here, Ethan is pictured on our day off. Last Friday, we went to walk at the local Rails to Trails (abandoned railways converted to walking/biking trails.) Almost immediately, he fell asleep … Read more

“Thinking for a Change”

Few people have influenced and equipped me for leadership like John Maxwell — through his books, conferences, and monthly leadership audio lessons in the last 18 years. One of the last Maxwell books I’ve read (it’s been a while since I read it) is Thinking for a Change. In the book, Maxwell discusses 11 thinking … Read more

6 Months

This is an interesting week. Because today, Tuesday, August 12, 2008 marks 6 months since we received Ethan on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 (i.e., “gothcha day”), we’re reliving and experiencing even more memories and flashbacks (of our time in Korea) than normal. Yesterday marked 6 months since we met Ethan for the first time (see … Read more

The Progress News Article

An article about our family appeared on the front page of today’s edition of The Progress News. The article is currently posted online, but it may not be available long-term. Click here to read an archived version. The article focused on our new ministry appointments in Clearfield (at West Side and Centre Grove), as well … Read more

Dunkin Donuts Grand Opening

On Friday (our day off), we went to the grand opening of Dunkin Donuts here in Clearfield (near the new location of The Meadows). Dunkin Donuts was very busy while we were there. After a few bites of our flatbread sandwich, Ethan ate a good bit of a glazed donut (which may explain why his … Read more

Routines

On the surface, this might sound contradictory to what I recently wrote about change. Often, when we think about routine, we think of monotony and things that stay the same. But really, routines are simply habits or systems for getting things done. and to be most effective, the habits/systems/routines must change from time to time. … Read more