Photo by Surface on Unsplash| Edited in Canva "Forty-eight point something pounds." I smiled. I had done it. After stuffing socks inside my shoes, strategically arranging packing cubes, and trying every packing trick I knew, my checked bag had finally come in under the 50-pound airline limit. Success. The problem is never whether I can fit everything into the suitcase. The problem is how much it will weigh once I do. As I stood there holding the digital luggage scale, I could

Seven courts. Two teams on each court. Nearly two hundred players, along with coaches, family members, tournament staff, and several dozen basketball officials. Whistles echoed every few seconds. Coaches instructed players. Parents cheered from the sidelines. Shoes squeaked across the hardwood. Missed shots clanged off the rim. This was my fourth summer working a girls' basketball team camp as a referee. As an official, you know people are watching. Coaches question your call

“Any of you guys got any offers?” “Not yet...but he does.” A group of high school football players immediately started talking up their teammate who had committed to a Division 1 program. They couldn’t stop bragging on him. The smiles on their faces told the real story. They were proud of their teammate, excited for his future, and genuinely happy to see him succeed. Their enthusiasm was contagious. I found myself smiling right along with them as if I had known this young man

Photo by Iain Robertson on Unsplash; edited by Kris Hutchinson in Canva A little over a year ago, my wife and I started CrossFit, and it has been a really good thing for me personally. It has had its share of ups and downs, though. One of the biggest challenges for me has been determining the right weight for workouts. Sometimes I look at the prescribed weight and know I can lift it. The issue is not whether I can lift it or not, but whether I can lift that weight, that many

“Hey, do you want to come to the party?” “Did you mean the fellowship at church?” “No, I mean the party at church.” Surrounded by a crowd of adult youth ministry leaders, the camp pastor described a conversation he had with a member of his church. A mix of nervous laughter and a hallelujah chorus echoed through the auditorium. I loved his comment. Isn’t that what a fellowship event at church really is – a party? Why can’t we just call it that? Is it not “spiritual” enough? Do

For the past couple of months we have been trying something different with our Men’s Ministry at our church. We started a Men’s MEATing. It is a “Bring Your Own Meat” event where the attendees bring whatever meat they want, and we grill it or cook it over the campfire. We also sit around talking and playing cornhole. It has been a lot of fun. And momentum is building. This past week, a young man came to the MEATing and was watching us play cornhole. We invited him to play. On

Retirement is an idea we talk about a lot. Some people are trying to figure out how to get there faster. Some are trying to get there well. Others are wondering if they’ll ever get there at all! Recently, my wife and I attended the retirement celebration for her uncle, who was retiring from our county sheriff's office after many decades of service. It was a fun time to be with our extended family, eat good food, and celebrate this milestone with him. The program was simple: d

Photo by MD Duran on Unsplash; Edited in Canva School wrapped up here this week, and I had the opportunity to be part of our Christian School’s first 8th grade graduation by giving the benediction prayer. This first graduation was special not just because it was our first one, but because of the young lady who graduated. I have known her for her entire educational career. I came to this church in May 2018, which happened to coincide with the Christian School’s first year bein

“What’s in a name?” This iconic phrase was made popular by William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Juliet gives voice to the line, implying that a person’s intrinsic qualities matter more than their name or title. The conversation goes on to speak of a rose by any other name would certainly smell as sweet. While I totally get the point and agree in general, I’d like to push back a little bit... Names matter more than you think. First off, in this day and age many kids want to

Photo by Holly Keable on Unsplash; Edited in Canva Last month, our men’s ministry tried something new. Instead of a normal meeting, we had a MEATing. We all brought some sort of meat: steak, hot dogs, venison, barbecue, and one guy even brought some turkey burgers! He is the healthy one. We cooked out over a campfire (or a grill), talked, and played some games: cornhole and horseshoes. It was a great time...until it got dark. We still played anyway. At one point someone joked

A few days ago, a package arrived at our house. My wife normally handles the Amazon orders, so I had no idea what was inside. I didn’t think much more of it until a few random squares showed up on a charger on our kitchen island. Even then, I didn’t ask many questions. One evening, I heard her on the stairs, counting steps. I could not figure out what she was doing. Then I heard a squeal of excitement. Whatever she was working on had clearly turned out well. She called me ove

Have you ever had someone give you directions that left you more confused than when you first asked? I am a landmark guy. I need directions like, “Turn left at the McDonald’s, go until you see the Dollar General, then take a right.” That works for me. But don’t tell me, “Go to the old Johnson place and take a left…” I don’t know where the old Johnson place is. At the same time, don’t give me road names or route numbers. I was listening to someone in our church recently explai

“We had hoped...” This phrase is common in our world and culture. It often describes disappointment in a person, plan, or situation . But when you slow it down, it exposes something deeper: not just disappointment, but misalignment. This is a great season for many people. The weather is warming up and spring is here. We’re coming off the most watched stretch of college basketball all year, March Madness . People come from everywhere to predict who the next national champion w

One of my favorite movies is Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory . I even call one of the kids at church “Charlie Buckets.” One of Willy Wonka’s classic lines is, “Strike that. Reverse it.” He says it while talking about how much time they have in the factory. He tells the Golden Ticket winners, “So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.” Honestly, that line feels a little too real. When There’s Too Much to Do and Not Enough Time Because most d

A little over a year ago, my wife and I started CrossFit . After more than a decade of not doing anything consistently, I plunged into this new fitness journey. There has been a lot to learn, and there still is. Some things feel completely new. But there are also things that have come back surprisingly quickly. Many of the lifts and movements we do now are things I first learned when I was 13 years old. Different form. Different equipment. A very different body that had not

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

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

Image by E1St0rm from Pixabay Last week, I rewatched one of my favorite movie trilogies: The Lord of the Rings . I admit, I’ve never read the books, but I’ve seen the movies several times. Ironically, I was a late adopter. My aunt got me The Fellowship of the Ring on VHS when it first came out in 1999. At the time, I thought it was stupid. I didn’t even watch it. But one day, having “nothing else to do,” I finally popped it in. And I’ve been hooked ever since. I even have

Here in Central Virginia, we’ve had some crazy weather lately: ice, snow, bitter cold, and then rain on top of it all. While that may not be unusual in general, it’s unusual for us. Having to break through snow and ice just to get out of our driveways isn’t something we’re accustomed to in this part of Virginia. All of it got me thinking about a scene from the movie Frozen where Olaf the snowman talks about how much he wants to experience summer. Of course, the joke is that

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,