Home Archive by category "Life" (Page 19)

Category: Life

Thankful

THANKFUL I remember as a child singing, “Count your blessings name them one by one, count your many blessings see what God has done…” As we head into the week of Thanksgiving, I am especially overcome this week by all that I have to be thankful for this year, and how unworthy I am for all of it. So I thought I’d count my blessings and name them one by one… A beautiful and gracious wife who puts up with me even when I’m grouchy and irritable and expect too much of her and forget she is my wife not an employee… An adorable son who was Given to me out of the blue suddenly one day when I least expected it and has given me more reason to live than I ever had before… True friends who stick with me through thick and thin – who aren’t impressed with any of my accomplishments. They are friends of Karl, not the “Kidologist.” They aren’t fans, they are friends. I need those desperately. (Could use a few more, actually, here in Colorado.) Surviving a near heart attack in April 2009 that could have ended my life. An exciting ministry, that while…

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Adoption

On this Father’s Day, I’d like to give you 12 reasons you should consider adoption: The only thing greater than being a Dad is knowing you are giving a home to a child who otherwise wouldn’t being enjoying the life you are providing. Enjoy this video highlight from my Father’s Day, we had a great day just enjoying each other. Truly every day is Father’s Day for me, after waiting 15 years to be a dad, I am soaking in each moment with my son. But in this case, the soaking, was quite literal, as you shall see! Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there, and a special greeting to my dad, who I did a blog tribute to a few years ago that is as true as ever!

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Seventeen Years Ago Today

Seventeen years ago today I said, “I do!” But that was seven years after seeing her picture during my junior year of high school in a missionary slide show and deciding to write her a letter! Soon we were pen pals and an overseas friendship began from Chicago to Manila long before the Internet would have made it much easier to write back and forth. Each letter took two weeks to be answered so we maintained at times up to ten separate conversations as letters crisscrossed the globe. Eventually, I developed a growing love for the, uh, Filipino people, (yeah, that’s it!) and asked her father if I could come to the Philippines and be, uh, mentored by him during the summer after I graduated high school. Perhaps suspecting my ulterior motive, he requested I get a year of Bible college first before I could come as part of his mission’s summer intern program.I figured that was better than working for him for seven years and being given her ugly sister in marriage, and since she didn’t have a sister, the year of Bible college requirement seemed safe. So off to Moody Bible Institute I went. (I was going anyway,…

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Frustrating My Father

It’s no secret and, of course, no surprise, that I love my son. My love for him is so intense that I sometimes wonder if I could even love another child should God ever give me another. Of course, I know I could – but having only one, it feels as though I have none to share with another. Perhaps other parents can relate to this feeling. It’s also no secret that my little boy loves cars. Which, even as I say it, is automatically, an understatement. (Automatically is a pun, by the way!) His is crazy – nuts – about cars! Instead of a train table like many boys, he has a “car table.” His room is decorated with cars. His favorite movie is Disney’s Cars movie, and any time he gets any present, if it isn’t a car – he is almost disappointed. When I return from a trip, he hopes I will come back with a new car for him. The Man Cave in Estes Park, Colorado! So here is the point of my post – there are times Luke nearly breaks my heart. When we are at a place that sells the most incredible cars –…

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Built in Pitstop

Is life crazy busy for you? Have you tried to get it in balance and failed? Have you strived for margin and seen it fill up over and over with church and other stuff and fought to get it out again? Have you wondered, “Can I ever win this battle to get control of my life?!” Me too. But at least something is different now. I have a built in pit stop in my life, called Yosemite Summit. Every May, me and eight other children’s pastors (or ministry leaders) go to Yosemite National Park for a complete break-away from ministry to just fellowship with each other and focus on our relationship with God and our  relationships with our wives and kids. And nothing else. and… We WALK AWAY FROM IT ALL. I’ve had to accept that while I will always be working on it, I will never master getting my daily life or week under control. There is just too much to do all the time. But at least I can look forward to once a year, every year, when I walk away from it all for four glorious days when I just enjoy God’s incredible creation in THE most…

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