#ObservationalMinistry

Ya know… I’ll bet there’s a mornin’ routine folks around the world share. Timezone, zip code, language, hair color — doesn’t matter. I’ll bet it’s one of the first things they do each and every mornin’. Yup. You guessed it. Open their eyes. If you’re in that demographic, stick with me. Let’s call ourselves the… Read more

Have you heard the line? “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Practice, practice, practice. Christ said as much when He taught us to pray — that Earth would look a little more like Heaven each day. And ya know what? On the weekly trek for grub, diapers, and doo-dads, I spotted a little bit… Read more

Warning: earworm alert. (You may already be singin’ it just from the title.) Havin’ said that, I won’t say it again. Well — not more than once more. Colors matter. For a lot of things. For different people, different things. Take our door. When Toni and I went from two “me’s” to “we,” this house… Read more

Dontcha love observational ministry? I sure do. God is good — all the time. All the time — God is good. #Blessed. How many times do you see that hashtag? (For us older folks that’s tic-tac-toe. For the not-so-older folks, a pound sign.) When #Blessed gets slapped on something, it’s usually ’cause somethin’ good showed… Read more

I went to grab an earbud this morning before the required first work check-in (espresso machine, engage!) when the Spirit hit me with this one, so I took the picture. Don’t judge. (Ok, you can judge a little.) I’ve got too many devices that need the tooth of blue talkin’ through my cranium. But hey… Read more

We were blessed to grow up in some very loving families where traditions were strong, and skippin’ certain meals… well, you just didn’t do it. (One notable exception in one household: Thanksgiving. More on that later.) Norman Rockwell would be proud. Gastrointestinally speakin’, that dude from the old Alka-Seltzer commercial was closer. Again — except… Read more

Y’know… way back in the stone age, when we played football alongside the dinosaurs — long before this thing called electrolytes was invented in a foreign land called Florida — we had the height of hydration technology. An old farm watering gadget hung on the chain-link and hooked to the hose. Coach turned it on,… Read more

The Spirit hit me today whilst makin’ my bean juice at our counter. (I think the correct terminology now is Café Americano at the Coffee Station.) But what do I know? I’m just lucky enough to get the hot black stuff in a container that doesn’t burn my hands. I kid. Different strokes for different… Read more

“I know a guy.” That’s a phrase that can get ya into trouble or get you out of it — dependin’ on the situation and the guy. When I first started doin’ things around Westminster other than puttin’ my fanny in the pew (spoiler: there’s a lot of work that goes into makin’ a church… Read more

As the oldest grandson on both sides, a few things came with that. One was gettin’ to figure out what to call my parents’ parents. The running joke with Pappeye was that since I couldn’t say my “f’s” and always liked my “pinch pies,” he was just lucky he wasn’t named Faffeye. Speakin’ of names… Read more

As many of y’all know, I love and respect my Pappeye. Heck, when it came time for what I was to be called by Lil’Bit, Pappeye was the answer — so that should tell ya all you need to know. Please keep that in mind when you read or hear the rest of this. One… Read more

Gettin’ ready to put on my robe this mornin’ — and that’s a phrase 30-year-old me woulda swore would never come out of this pie-hole. The Spirit hit me with this one, so here we go. Toni’d surprised me with a cruise for my 35th. It was a huge deal. The surprise, I mean. That… Read more

Yesterday somethin’ happened. The OG Lil’Bit and I were puttin’ the new meecrowave in and — somewhere along the line — I went from the foreman on the jobsite to the co-foreman. I wasn’t the guy doin’ everything with a helper beside me. I was half of a team puttin’ something in. Hmmm. When did… Read more

What did we ever do before folks had 27 ways to contact us before the rooster crowed? Really. I remember when my mom would give us a buck at 8 o’clock in the mornin’ and have us walk the mile or so off the hill to the city pool—and threaten to rip off an arm… Read more

Don’t know if y’all have a cat like this, but we’ve got one that’ll love on ya like you’re made of catnip, then two seconds later bite ya like you said somethin’ bout his momma. Soon as he’s drawn blood, he gives you the sweetest eyes and wants you to pick him back up. Really.… Read more