I have spent the last few months reading some fantasy fiction books by two great authors: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Reflecting, 2 things came to my mind: C.S. Lewis makes complex issues understandable and simple in his fiction. Tolkien is almost the opposite in taking simple stories and making them enjoyably complex and deep. It certainly isn’t because Lewis isn’t deep. Just the opposite. … Read more
It took me a solid month to get my goal setting, planning, vision, and dreams set for the year. Now I’m ready. This blog post is more for my own sake than it is for anyone else. I believe in writing out my goals, sharing them, making them public, and always before me. So, let’s get started… and not in any particular order because they … Read more
Twenty years ago I disembarked from a British Airways DC10 and stepped into the international terminal at Chicago O’Hare with my wife and two small girls. Twenty-four hours of flying and layovers is typically enough to make anyone’s brain feel like jello and their thoughts foggy – but the compounding of events that led to this moment would forever change me. I was dazed, deadpan, and … Read more
In September 2013, I went somewhat reluctantly to Gateway Church, at their new Grand Prairie campus. We had been over 13 years at one church, and 3+ years at another, but we believed God was moving us to a new church. We just didn’t know where. On this particular September Sunday, it was just my wife and I planning to attend the service as our kids were gone … Read more
“Are we there yet?” When you’re on a long road trip, that is the question that is circling through everyone’s mind. 1,100 miles from Dallas to Disney World 750 miles from Dallas to family in Illinois 950 miles from Lincoln, IL to Ontario to go fishing 8,200 miles to fly from Chicago to Nairobi These are all trips I have been on multiple times. When … Read more
Five months ago today I said goodbye to my mother at Memorial Hospital in Springfield, IL. She passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus. It had been a moment that I had prayed about for several years as I watched my mother’s health decline, and then exponentially degrade over the last 2-3 years. I prayed for her healing, but I also knew that this moment … Read more
I’m sitting at the Gateway Cafe in Southlake, TX, wondering what it would take to walk away from everything… …I don’t know. Maybe it’s the Earl Grey Latte I’m drinking and the gloomy weather outside, but my mind is restless and it has wandered. Now, when I say “everything,” let me qualify that to mean my career, my business, my job. Not “every”thing… just everything … Read more
It has taken me awhile to process this… a dream I had not long ago. It was near the end of my sleep, that is all I know. When I awoke, it was time to get out of bed. How long it lasted up till that point, I do not know. I know they say dreams can feel like hours, but only be minutes. But, … Read more
Like 2013, I began this year on a journey to read through the Bible, one book per day (plus 3 Psalms per day). As of today, February 7th, I completed the Old Testament, and have made it through Psalm 114. This year was different than last year. I’m not sure if it was my circumstances that changed how I heard things, or being the 2nd … Read more
It’s been well over a month since I wrote something on my blog. It’s been a month of extreme highs and lows. I left on December 8th for Orlando, Florida. With Traci, my wife and best friend in the world, where we spent 5 days at Disney World (sans kids) celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. We had the time of our life. We had been planning … Read more
I’m not sure if “blankly” is a real word or even if it is proper grammar, but it is what I have been doing for the last 3 years. That’s kind of a sad testimony when you stop and think about it. Three years slipping by doing things with that blank look on your face. You know what I’m talking about. That passion-less existence That … Read more
Today I watched two brothers, ages 12 & 15, serve as pallbearers, carrying the small, ivory-white casket of their little sister to her grave site. No photos for this post. None are necessary. It is a sobering reminder of the junk that I feel is important and the meaningless stuff I worry about fade into nothing. I listened to her father and mother tell stories … Read more