Recently we took our Youth group to a High Ropes Course in the area. One of the four groups had a student that was having some difficulty with her confidence. To put it more accurately, she was freaked out! She made it through the first element and decided that she was sufficiently freaked out enough to […]
Every winter I create a sledding hill of of the stairs of our deck by clearing the deck of snow and slowly creating a mound higher and higher as the winter months progress. Sari and Macie just love climbing and sledding on it. I’m pretty proud of the hills I’ve made! But that pride can […]
I’m currently sitting in a coffee shop in Hayward next to a group of people talking a lot and sharing lots of stories. After the group had been sitting for a bit, another member arrived. Someone in the group asked this late arrival if she was running on “Spanish time” I might not have thought […]
A friend of mine was sharing a story about a time (some 20 years ago) when he was at Lake Hayward Beach area (in Hayward, WI) and a mother was asking her older daughter to get out of the lake because they were heading home. The daughter back-talked her mother (in public) and added a […]
Back in the Spring, our family took a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. We had so much fun on this trip… especially our girls! One day, as we were riding on the Magic Kingdom train, I remembered a story from back in college. Some friends and I climbed on top of a […]
This past week I had been invited to share at Victory Mountain Camp’s 2nd and 3rd grade Kids Camp. I was on deck to share 4 sessions: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. I used these slides to introduce myself that week:
I found myself behind a very slow moving vehicle on my way home from the church the other day. I wasn’t too worried because I thought surely this car doesn’t the EXACT route I take home. Before that sentiment proved faulty, I recognized the vehicle! It belonged to my next door neighbor! They are a […]
How do you tip? Generously or not generously? A while back I was thinking about my policy on tipping. I do not tip on performance, I tip on grace. I don’t use the amount I tip as a rating system on how well the person served me. I just like to tip generously, regardless of good […]
History of Main Street In the summer of 2003, I chose 39 stories in the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy), 39 stories in the Writings (Joshua-Nehemiah), and 39 stories in the Gospels and Acts. These 117 Bible stories comprised the core curriculum for Hayward Wesleyan Church’s Sunday school program that we eventually called Main Street (and […]
Back in February, I wrote this after my men’s small group that meets on Tuesday mornings: “I was convicted this morning of a story my friend shared of a guy who would read through the Bible every month. It was a conviction he felt impressed by God to do. “This story reminded of the man […]
My wife and I had a good series of talks on the way to a retreat back in February. I can’t remember the substance of our talks on the way down, but it was nice to have had the time and space to talk. As a married couple who both work nearly full-time and have kids […]
If you were to come across an individual bashing your car with a baseball bat. What would you do? You would probably call the police! What if, when the police officer arrives, the offender apologizes to the officer, and the patrolman looks at you and says: “He’s sorry. Why don’t you just let it go?” […]
It has been 14 days since I felt in control. 14 days. For the last 14 days I have been recovery from a tonsillectomy. I have not been able to work. I have been quite dependent upon my family for sustenance and space to heal and my partners in ministry to carry on the responsibilities […]
So I guess the story is that a former Yankee player, Robinson Cano, was traded to the Seattle Mariners during the off season for a large 10-year contract (I think it was somewhere around $240 million over the ten years). This was going to be his first game as a Mariner playing in Yankee stadium […]
Friday, Apr 4 – Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 Week #15 Synopsis Relaxing Friday and Saturday Main Street story was on Nehemiah (the follow up to Ezra’s story the preceding week) Monday was a big VBS planning day Realization of a good way to share on social media and reach a wider audience I’ve spent some […]
Friday, Mar 21 – Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 Week #13 Synopsis Benefit for high school girls that got into an accident on Saturday Sermon preparation and delivery: The Squall and the Excorcism Black Light Night event that Sunday night for children’s ministry Had to do some assessment work on our sound, lights and sound control […]
Friday, Mar 14 – Thursday, Mar 20, 2014 Week #12 Synopsis Back into classes @ Wesley Seminary // Spiritual Life and Leadership Followers used the “What’s in the Bible?” curriculum (it worked really well, but didn’t allow for small group interaction time) Met w/ the local Crisis Pregnancy Resource Director regarding abstinence Had my monthly […]
I’m feeling convicted and convinced: 1) to be discipled (a talmadin) myself and believe the Gospel by faith more completely 2) to learn, study, and teach the cultural world of the Bible (its ancient culture and the 1st century world) 3) to learn, study, and teach culturally relevant apologetics based on the questions our current […]
Friday, Mar 7 – Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 Week #11 Synopsis Weekend recovery for throat Sunday afternoon Nerf war with students and families Met w/ a Youth small group leader Wednesday early release, met with 8th grade guys and had a Nerf war with them Thursday was a Leadership summit with all of our leaders […]
About two weeks ago, our area was “blessed” with over a foot of snow overnight (actually more like 16″). This quick accumulation of snow caused a section of our town of Hayward to go black… no electricity. And this blackout lasted from 9pm on Thursday night till around 5pm the next day. Not only did […]