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Category: Devotional

From Foolishness to Final Forgiveness

I don’t often post e-mail forwards, but I enjoyed this so much, I just had to share it. I love alliteration, and this little story takes the cake! The Final Fixing of the Foolish Fugitive “Feeling footloose, fancy-free, and frisky, this feather-brained fellow finagled his fond father into forking over his fortune. Forthwith, he fled for foreign fields and frittered his farthings feasting fabulously with fair-weather friends. Finally, facing famine, and fleeced by his fellows in folly, he found himself a feed flinger in a filthy farmlot. He fain would have filled his frame with foraged food from the fodder fragments. “‘Fooey! My father’s flunkies fare far fancier,’ the frazzled fugitive fumed feverishly, frankly facing fact. “Frustrated from failure and filled with forebodings, he fled for his family. “Falling at his father’s feet, he floundered forlornly. ‘Father, I have flunked and fruitlessly forfeited further family favors. . .’ “But the faithful father, forestalling further flinching, frantically flagged his flunkies to fetch forth the finest fatling and fix a feast. “But the fugitive’s fault-finding frater, faithfully farming his father’s fields for free, frowned at this fickle forgiveness of former falderal. His fury flashed, but fussing was futile. “His foresighted father figured,…

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Dreary Day… until you look closely.

Today was one of the hardest days of my life. For the first time in over 18 years I didn’t kick off a new season of Kid’s Church. To make it worse… of course, it rained. The bleary view out my back patio door. Change is difficult. I suppose I should feel some relief from my former hyperbusy hyperacheiver hyperactive hyperministry hyperspeed pace of life… and in many ways I do. But I still miss painfully the things I loved most… and have deep regrets that are still healing. I prayed for one phone call today from one person who might realize what today was and meant to me… but instead, God must have wanted me to feel the emptiness and loneliness of loss. My head understands and is accepting, but my heart is still catching up and has quite a ways to go. One day at a time. One relationship at a time. One prayer at a time. I’ve not allowed myself much time to focus on what these changes in life have cost me – selfishness got me into the mess I got myself into – so I don’t feel entitled to focus on my own losses, but…

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A week away does a spirit good….

“Be still and know that I am God” is the advice of David in Psalm 46:10 – but how do you find the time to be still when you are in very full time Christian ministry… or more honestly, when you do not know how or when to STOP and listen to God? I am guilty of doing MUCH for God, but much less with God. God tried to get my attention many times over the past several years – through family, friends, and circumstances… but I was too busy doing ministry to hear that still small voice, or simply too exhausted to hear it even when it was yelling at me. So, this past week was a week to finally listen. My wife and I (and Luke) headed to Tennessee for a place with no Internet (yes!), no phone, and barely cell reception. (Yes, I’ll admit holding my phone up at strange angles to see if I could get one bar… I’m not healed yet!) The place was Fairhaven Ministries, and I highly recommend it (and the burgers at the White Way Grill at the base of the mountain) to anyone needing some time away in a place where…

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Morning Feedings

I have a baby son. Since the day he entered our home, one of the biggest changes was that I have never used an alarm clock since. That era can now be refered to as ‘BC’ – Before Cryingbaby. Before Crying baby, I would fight the alarm clock every morning. Snoozing it untold times… exhausted from the day before and often working too late into the night, I would finally get up with just enough time to start my day. But since ‘the boy’ (as we call him) entered my home, I have awakened to his gentle cries for his morning feeding. Since he is adopted and we feed with formula, I volunteered the first day to be the one to do the morning feedings so my wife could sleep a little longer before starting her day. While eager for this time with the baby, I would nevertheless rise lethargicly and pick up ‘the boy’ and move to the couch or rocker in the front room to feed him. This morning I did so yet again. I am always amazed that he rises without an alarm – just an internal reminder that it is time to eat – simple hunger…

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My First Father’s Day – My 13th Anniversary – And Baby Luke’s First….

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY (to me) HAPPY ANNIVESARY (to me) HAPPY FIRST TIME SWIMMING (to Lukie) HAPPY HAPPY WEEKEND (to me and sara) YES! It was my FIRST Father’s Day as a DAD, and it was a wonderful day. Luke headed off to church with me early as usual to ‘help’ me with my morning set up duties and then we caught the first service so we could watch the video I made on the big screen! It was a very nice Sunday… glad to finally be in a part of “Club Dad.” After church it was off to Sara’s parents home for a DELICIOUS steak lunch and visit with my other awesome Dad. Sara’s dad is truly a father to me in every way… except that I don’t have any embarrassing pictures of him from when I was a kid. Luke is so blessed to have the heritage of a Grandpa who loves God and has given his life to serve Him. Who knows, maybe Luke will be a third generation preacher? But even if not, what a blessing to be adopted into a family where both sides know and love God. It can’t help but be a wonderful influence…

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