What is that thing that just bugs you? We all have at least one. If we’re honest, most of us have a few things that can drive us crazy. One of mine? People talking on speakerphone in public. Recently, I was sitting in a restaurant when a grandmother , mother, and little girl came in for breakfast. It was a sweet scene, three generations sharing a meal. Everything was calm and enjoyable… until the grandmother had to leave for work. A few minutes later, the little girl, no olde

As a regular at our local Mexican restaurant , I’ve witnessed plenty of amusing moments. But on a recent visit, one particular scene caught my attention. A little girl, no older than five, burst from the back dining area and hurried toward the bathroom. Judging by her pace, you’d think it was an emergency—but I wasn’t convinced. Her mother followed shortly after to check on her. As she knocked on the door, the entire restaurant overheard the child’s enthusiastic response : “I

While watching one of my favorite television shows recently, I came across an episode where one of the characters learned ( no pun intended ) that he was dyslexic. In the build-up to that revelation, he was studying for an exam in mythology and he knew the content. However, when he received his test back his grade was not stellar. He had not failed but the grade did not reflect his grasp of the material. This led to a candid conversation between the son and his parents about

The school year is rapidly coming to an end with many high school graduations just a few weeks away. As summer approaches, a million things are happening all at once. And this is no different for churches. This past Wednesday night, I decided to do something special with our youth ministry . Instead of our normal Youth Group with games, Bible Study, and small groups, we went to the local Mexican restaurant across the street. As a group. So there we were, 19 of us, taking up t

(Out Loud With Words) Have you ever played the game “Would You Rather...?” The game is very simple. Someone makes a statement with two...

This week I was having a conversation with a couple of classmates in a coaching class I am taking. It was a demo where I was being coached while one of my classmates was the coach. The intention is to help us get more comfortable coaching and to apply what we have learned. When we had finished our trial run, the three of us were debriefing how it went. One big realization was that giving voice to an idea to someone outside your spouse gives it more validity. When it is just s

During this pandemic season , I have watched my share of movies and television shows. Last week, I pulled out a movie I had not watched in a long time, Facing the Giants. The second movie made by Alex and Stephen Kendrick, tells the tale of a young, high school football coach, Grant Taylor, who faces all kinds of adversity at home, at school, and on the football field. One such challenge was when some of the boosters were working to get him fired after six losing seasons. Man

This is part two of my Panama reflection series . A few weeks ago, I was in Panama on a mission trip with a group of pastors from Virginia. This series of articles is my effort to share some of my experiences while also debriefing from my trip. Enjoy. In preparation for my mission trip to Panama last month, my group and I were told we were going to preach revival services in various churches throughout the week. We would each be assigned to work with a particular church for

This past Tuesday was my birthday. It was an interesting one because it was the first one since my mom passed away. We actually shared...