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Stewardship is about honoring God with what he’s blessed us with. One of God’s gifts is time. And, it’s a precious gift, because in the grand scheme of things, our time on earth is extremely brief! Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting … Read more
My One Word for 2015 is TRAIN. It was the focus of my sermon on Super Bowl Sunday. Last year, I challenged people to come up with One Word, and so far this year, we have nearly twice as many people who submitted their one words for the year! (My one word last year was … Read more
On July 1, 2009, the beginning of our second year in Clearfield, I wrote a prayer in my journal for our ministries. Though the prayer has been revised over the years, it has stuck with me ever since (in fact, I posted an earlier version of it in 2011). A few months ago, the Clearfield … Read more
Earlier this year, United Methodist leaders published Finding Our Way: Love and Law in The United Methodist Church, edited by Bishop Rueben P. Job and Neil M. Alexander. Several bishops each contributed a chapter, including … Enforce (Gregory V. Palmer) Emend (Hope Morgan Ward) Disobey (Melvin G. Talbert) Disarm (Kenneth H. Carter, Jr.) Order (J. … Read more
Our favorite leadership development event is the Willow Creek Association’s Global Leadership Summit. This year’s Summit was the 20th event, and our fourth in a row (see my posts on the 2011 and 2013 Summits). Here are some of my favorite quotes/thoughts from this year’s Summit … Bill Hybels Hybels is the leader who challenges … Read more
Two years ago, I started reading Replenish by Lance Witt after a season of experiencing a lot of stress. There’s a lot of helpful content in this fairly short book. The book is divided into 41 short chapters. It’s impossible to cover it all, but here are some of my favorite highlights. Witt cautions about the … Read more
The Centre Grove United Methodist Church in Clearfield will celebrate 200 years in 2015. In the program for the church’s One Hundredth Anniversary celebration in 1915, there was a perspective offered on the advances of the previous century. The piece may have been an ad for the local Clearfield Hardware Company … One hundred years … Read more
I’ve always been a fairly high-energy person. But in the last couple of years, my energy level has suffered, ever since my “wake-up call” (elevated heart rate over the course of several months). I wrote a little about it in 3 Steps I’m Taking to Manage Stress Better. While I’m mostly recovered from that experience, … Read more
With the adoption of Ethan in 2008, Joleen and I went from being a clergy couple to being a clergy couple with a child. In other words, the chaos only increased! Shortly after bringing Ethan home from Korea, we set up online calendars using Google Calendar. The benefit is that either of us can access … Read more
We’ve always tried to mark moments and make memories by taking photos, especially with the kids. Over the last several years, the blog has given us a place to document part of the journey (much of which is in the category of adoption). Another way we’ve tried to mark moments is by creating photo books … Read more