In the early 90’s, the slogan for Burger King was “your way right away.” They have since changed it to “have it your way,” but the older version continues to stick in my mind. The whole idea is intended to convince you of the flexibility and customization of their menu items based on your personal preference and desire. As an organization, they want you to know that they have evolved well beyond...
A Life Well Spent
I really enjoy all of the diverse and unique opportunities for service that come along with my job, but there are seasons when it becomes a little bit overwhelming. Over the past week and a half, I have officiated my sister’s wedding in Syracuse, Indiana, spoken and led worship at a youth work trip in West Frankfort, Illinois, presented a seminar on developing intergenerational connections...
Kids These Days
Over the course of the summer, several thousand kids will make their way to locations all around the country and all around the world. While they may visit a tourist site or two or make their way to an amusement park at some point during their journey, these are simply fun breaks in the middle of something a whole lot bigger. All of these kids, along with their adult leaders, are giving up a week...
Dance Beyond Your Dreams
Before my daughter was born, I swore she wouldn’t be a girly girl. I had always dreamed of becoming a parent, and I had very clear expectations of how things would work and who she would become. I was certain that she would be a daddy’s girl and that as a result she would trend more towards playing in the dirt than playing with dolls. I actually wrote a song about my expectations entitled...
Don’t Be a Troll
Typically, when I think of a troll, my mind goes to a book I purchased at a school book fair, “The Billy Goats Gruff.” In the story, there are three goat siblings. They, of course, come in small, medium, and large sizes. They are doing what goats do, wandering around some hillside out in the country, eating grass. Over time, they eat all the good grass on one hillside and decide to head on across...
A Tool for Every Occasion
I almost always carry a pocket knife. It’s a practice I developed when I was fairly young. You might be wondering, “What inspired you to do such a thing? Did you have a parent or grandparent that passed this on to you? Did you live on a farm or out in the sticks where it was a necessary tool?” The answer is, the knife in my pocket is an example of an instance where media influenced an...
Making Space at the Table
Many might be tempted to say I come from a broken home, but that really is an incomplete thought. While it is true that my biological parents divorced when I was a teenager, by the grace of God, what was once broken was made new. Due to a series of circumstances and events that would take more space than I have available, my mother and a close family friend of ours were married in October of 1997...
Bridging the Generational Divide
The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. once famously lamented that 11:00 AM Sunday morning was one of, if not the most, segregated hours in America. While the argument can, and certainly is being made that this is still the case, I have come to believe the issue extends beyond racial lines. This form of segregation is admittedly much less offensive than racial segregation, but it is present...
The Beauty in the Chaos
It’s 4:45am and, for some reason unbeknownst to me, I am WIDE AWAKE. For many of us, this isn’t exactly worth a second thought. This is just a mundane detail of daily life. For me, this is an issue as my alarm isn’t set to sing me from my slumber until 7:00am. That would be another 2 hours and 15 minutes hence. Being that I have so much time before I actually need to get myself and my children up...
A Guide To Get You Where You’re Going
No one really uses maps anymore. At least, so it would seem. I’m not talking about the application on your phone, either. Most of us use that from time to time. I’m talking about an actual paper, hard copy, chart your course and go, map. They used to be standard equipment in a vehicle for a trip covering any real distance. I still see paper maps occasionally, usually when we stop at rest stops...
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