This week at CrossFit , it’s 1-rep max week for back squat, shoulder press, and deadlift. For many athletes at our gym, this is just another set of workouts. Others, like me, have been counting down the days. No matter where someone falls on the spectrum, 1-rep max week is a regular part of what we do. It reveals the progress we’ve made over the past 12 weeks and shows us where we currently stand. Since much of our training is based on percentages of our max lifts, this week

Taken from Reddit , edited in Canva (Image may be subject to copyright) One the most memorable television shows in history, and one of my wife’s and my favorites, is I Love Lucy . The shenanigans, the craziness, the humor, and the relational dynamics are top-notch. I’ll admit, occasionally it’s hard to watch because you just know Lucy is about to do something that will mess everything up. Sometimes it even feels unrealistic. You think, “No one would really do that.” And yet,

I don’t know how people cooked in ovens without timers back in the day. When I watch shows set in earlier eras, I’m amazed that someone could put bread or a roast in the oven and just… know. No digital countdown. No pre-set alert. Just a clock on the wall and a sense of when it was time to pull it out before it burned. Modern cooking relies heavily on built-in timers. It’s rare to see someone sprinting to the oven, waving smoke out of the air because they lost track of time.

One the common shows in my house is the classic I Love Lucy . Over the years, I have become pretty well versed on the show and even many behind the scenes nuggets. Recently, I used an illustration from one episode in a sermon. The story takes place while the main characters are in Hollywood for Ricky to film a movie. When the film is suddenly shelved, Lucy springs into action to make sure Ricky isn’t fired. She devises a plan to hire a random man to pose as a big-time produce

Have you ever been going through life wondering if what you are doing is worth it? Ever wondered if anyone really cared? Is anything...

Back in December 2023, I sprained my left thumb playing pick-up basketball at an Open Gym sponsored by a local church in our area. While defending a fellow Randolph-Macon College (RMC) alum, he rifled a pass across the court, and my left hand got in the way. I immediately felt the pain but figured my thumb was just jammed. Despite the pain, I continued playing, attempting to shake off the pain, literally. Whoever coined the phrase, “It’s all right, just shake it off,” clearl

Years ago, I came across a blog post on studentministry.org titled “ 100 blog topics I hope YOU write. ” Surprisingly, to me, the 100th topic “How to Get Students Involved in the Rest of the Church Body,” remained untouched. In this article, we explore some practical ways to involve students in the broader church community - all of which I have implemented over the past 15 years of youth ministry. NOT AS HARD AS YOU THINK Most people (including youth leaders in various contex

Recently, while listening to a Star Wars podcast, the host explored the original plans for the original trilogy and the iconic...

Recently, one of our high school students mentioned that he wanted to talk to me about being baptized again. He had been baptized at an earlier age, but he really put his faith and trust in Jesus this summer during our mission trip. Now before everyone gets into whether he should “be baptized again” or not, I would like to investigate why baptism is significant in the first place. Baptism has become tricky in modern application. There are questions of infant baptism vs. belie

Many things are caught more than taught. You've probably heard that phrase before. Over the past couple of weeks, this idea has surfaced in shows, podcasts, and even songs. The predominant example describes children catching mannerisms and sayings from their parents. In one show, one of the characters even said, “Oh no, I am beginning to sound like my father!” The question leaps off the page, “Why?” Why does this happen to us? How after all the years of denial and rebellion

NOTE : My intention of this post was to talk about how we need to be careful about how we live out our faith and use Scripture because...

Recently, I have found myself thinking a lot about all the different causes there are to get involved with these days. There are probably millions of causes out there. Causes to help with medical research. Causes that help poor people. Causes that speak to affinities . Causes that advance political and ideological positions. And these causes ask us for our time, our money, and our devotion. They ask us to volunteer our time to knock on doors, talk to our friends, make phone c

There are many different ways to study a passage of Scripture, none being more “correct” than another. However, I recommend the Summary, Meaning, Application method. My mother taught me this model many years ago. I am sure she got it from one of her many Bible Study groups she participated in and led over the years. It is pretty simple to understand, but lengthy to explain in written form. Check out this podcast (starting at 2:30 mark) where I explain it for our high school

One of my favorite parts of being at my new church is seeing the kids in our preschool and Christian School. I have spent a lot of time...

Last week, I completed reading my second book of this early year . In 2019, I have set a personal goal to read a certain a number of books. The one I just finished reading is titled "The Bonsai Theory of Church Growth" by Ken Hemphill. I have known about this book for just about my entire life and have been meaning to read it . So, I finally did. The book takes the theories and practices of caring for bonsai trees and applies them to church growth. Admittedly, I completely mi

This past Sunday, I had a really busy and crazy day. I was coming home from out of town and I was a bit behind schedule. I thought I had a plenty of time but I didn’t. I had to be back for Youth Group at 5:30pm. I literally pulled in the church parking lot at 5:28pm. My adult leaders and several youth were out in the parking lot entertaining themselves. I ran inside, turned on all the lights and unlocked the doors. Once everyone was inside I had to run back home because our t