Are you ever confused when you read “give thanks in all circumstances“ (1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV) in the Bible? We often wonder how we can possibly do that. Let’s face it, some circumstances just stink. We just want God to deliver us from the situation altogether. Scripture does not say …

One Simple Tip to be Thankful In Times Of Uncertainty Read more »

SUMMARY:  The Leper A man enters a pawn shop to sell some wares. When the shopkeeper discovers the man has leprosy, he freaks out (according to custom at the time). The downtrodden man leaves and heads to the countryside, seeking Jesus. The man’s sister was a server at the wedding …

Indescribable Compassion – The Chosen: Season 1: Episode 6 Read more »

Book summary In Aftermath by Terri Blackstock, a young woman is plagued by an explosion that happened during a concert she attended. She escaped with her life, but her friends were not so lucky. The media immediately identifies the person they believe a local man, Dustin, is responsible. While the …

Aftermath by Terri Blackstock (Fiction Book Review) Read more »

Storms Storms…you know… We’ve all been through them. Sometimes they are storms of loss – job loss, marital loss, dream loss, child loss Sometimes they are storms of disease – COVID, cancer, diabetes, dementia We expect these kinds of storms. We would never ask God to send them, but we …

Lessons i learned from the storms of life Read more »

Importance of Nonverbal Communication Most nonverbal communication happens without us even realizing it. Recently I was on a zoom Bible study. I was multitasking: my phone was propped on the spoon rest; headset in my ears – while I cooked dinner, monitored my son’s time in the shower, fed the …

3 Proven Ways to Improve Nonverbal Communication in your marriage Read more »

Weekends On Saturday you can often find me rushing around. If I’m not at a BJJ competition with my son, I’m wrapping up work, cleaning house, baking/cooking, and tying up a million loose ends from the week before. A few Saturdays each month I’m also getting ready for a date …

how to start a family rest day This Weekend Read more »

The After School Slump When my son gets in the car, he’s generally pretty quiet. He’s 14 and he’s never been super chatty as soon as he leaves school. I always ask a general, throw-away question like, “How was your day?” He always says something along the lines of, “it …

How to ask the right questions with kids Read more »

Let’s start the discussion by ensuring we are all on the same page about encouragement. We’ve talked some already about how to encourage our children’s self concept, encouraging their decision making, and encouraging our spouse. Encouragement is also called social support in the communication world. We are letting someone know …

Two Types of General Encouragement & how to use them Read more »

Back in the day As a kid I was always been able to focus on one task for a long time. I could work for hours and while it was exhausting, I could get mounds of work done. Enter kids. Having kids leads one to become a multi-tasking queen. Dinner, …

Make the most of single tasking day: February 22 Read more »