"...They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us." 2 Corinthians 8:5Paul highlights the Macedonian believers who gave generously, despite facing hardship. What made them extraordinary wasn’t the size of their offering but the order of their devotion: "...they gave themselves first of all to the Lord..."That order is the heartbeat of real worship. Before the...  Read More

My children have the remarkable ability to sleep through almost anything: alarms, storms, power outages, and more. Every morning, as I enter their room to wake them, they are sleeping soundly through their blaring alarms. But I simply call their names and tell them it’s time to get up, and their eyes instantly pop open.With that, I am reminded of John 10:27, where Jesus states, “My sheep listen to...  Read More

When we were young, we were so rough on our clothes. We were 1980’s kids and we played HARD outside! When we wore holes in our clothes, my mom had some pretty creative ways to patch them up. One of my favorites was the pair of bright red sweatpants my little bro loved to wear. When he shredded the knees, my mom trimmed the red sweatpants to get ready for patches. Then she took another pair of teal...  Read More

We've been reflecting on marriage, both as marriage group leaders and because this week marks our 41st anniversary.“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she mi...  Read More

“Words! Words! Words! I’m so sick of words! I get words all day through; First from him, now from you! Is that all you blighters can do?” - Eliza Doolittle in My Fair LadyThis quote was stuck in my head this morning for some reason, so I’m going with it. I know it's a little different quoting a musical and I may have lost about half of the readers at this point…but if you’ve made it this far, plea...  Read More

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." - John 14:6Most of us are familiar with this verse. Many have even memorized it. Recently, I was challenged by something I was reading concerning this verse. Some thoughts spoke to my own heart so deeply that I want to share them with you today.First, let’s look at Jesus being the way. Jesus i...  Read More