God's Pattern in Life's Pieces

A week from Saturday I will walk up to a virtual podium and deliver what will likely be my last official sermon to the broadest YFC USA family as the President of the organization. Like a weighted blanket, the topic and reality have rested on me… not in a suffocating way, but as a righteous […]

Some non-Zoom focused days over Christmas afforded me a unique opportunity. I’ll call them “dough-times”. I grew up in a house where the smell of fresh bread often wafted about. My mother was a master. She mixed hymn singing with her bread making, and the results were heavenly, and worth every carbohydrate ingested. So over […]

Saturday was a night of celebration. Malia, our oldest granddaughter turned 13. A teenager. A beautiful young woman. Her own voice. Her own gifts. Malia. So it wasn’t surprising that on a subsequent night, in the middle of my sleep, I awoke with Malia on my mind. But what hovered over my restless night were […]

Before the miracles, gossip. Before the cross, whispers. Before an empty tomb, rumors. Before the swaddling clothes, a pregnant, unmarried teenager. Before glorious praise, scandal. Before Magi worship, neighborhood humiliation. Before confidence, doubt. “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” Gabriel“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit […]