Helping Our Children Feel

Helping Our Children Feel

I sat listening to two men talk about raising white tail deer. One of these men was very passionate about this endeavor and you could tell it by what he said and especially how he was saying it. I listened to another person talk about how excited she gets at...
A Different Kind of Counselor

A Different Kind of Counselor

A pump shotgun has a distinctive sound when it loads a shell into the chamber. There is one chatter or rattling sound that clears the chamber, followed by another similar sound that pushes the next shell ready to fire. When you are a hunter, that sound is...
To Give or Receive

To Give or Receive

The conversation around the Christmas celebration dinner table seemed easy enough. The first question was, “What was your favorite gift you remember receiving as a child?” Fond memories flooded everyone, who included five people ranging in ages 25 to 93. Bicycles,...
My Amish Adventure: My Last Thoughts

My Amish Adventure: My Last Thoughts

We laughed again at how I had to translate “inadequate” for them. It is now known as “not enough dosage.” We also shook our heads in dismay at our culture that spends so much time staying “connected.” The Amish have no FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) in their culture. They...
Discovering Your Strengths

Discovering Your Strengths

It took me 25 years in the full-time, paid ministry before I discovered this truth. It changed my life and the direction of my career. It helped explain why my ministry had progress the way it had. Many questions I had about me were answered. In 2004, I read a book...
Kindness

Kindness

The smell of my grandpap’s Marsh Wheeling Stogies wafted throughout the cab of his company truck. I sat holding a glass gallon jug, off on an adventure with him which included a stop at the local Tastee Freeze to get their special brew of root beer. My 6 year old...
It’s Time for Some Rules

It’s Time for Some Rules

It is Time for Some Rules Summer is coming to an end and the sigh heard around the country is the relief that the children are headed back to school. Often, with the return to school comes a return to some structure in the home. This usually means RULES. One of the...
Wherever He Leads

Wherever He Leads

I had a tear in my eye this morning during church service. I looked over to my wife and she also was wiping tears from her eyes. It wasn’t about anything the preacher said or even a passage that pricked our hearts. It was the singing behind us. We are visiting a...
Holding Grudges

Holding Grudges

My wife and I were preparing to attend my 40th high school reunion when she commented she had not had time to trim her long hair. I thought to myself, “How hard is it to trim hair?” I confidently volunteered for the task. She only wanted an inch trimmed off the very...
Deciding to Enjoy

Deciding to Enjoy

I found myself doing something very surprising the other day. I was admiring the scenery in Amarillo, Texas. For those who have never been in west Texas, especially Amarillo, let me see if I can paint a picture for you. Let me use my home state of West Virginia to...