In Your Boat

I’m sitting inside Gusto Coffee Shop in Lee’s Summit, MO on a comfortable 70 degree Monday morning.  Across from me is my friend and pastor, Dr. Fel Bagunu – sipping a Raspberry Orange Italian Soda and sharing with me his thoughts on the message he had shared the day before with our friends at Gracepointe…

Seeing is Not Believing

This past Sunday, Dr. Fel continued his series:  7 Miracles in the Gospel of John by sharing a famous story in John chapter 4 – The Woman at the Well. His main emphasis on the story was characterized by this idea: “Seeing is Not Believing” When you think about it, this idea can be immediately confronting. …

An Enduring Experiment

This past week I shared this with the men’s group from our church. Around 2007-08, I came across this devotional during some personal time with God. In a nutshell, it encourages the reader that You are loved by God – that you, (personally) are precious and honored in His sight. Furthermore, knowing this, make your…

Slower

Been thinking a lot lately about the rhythm of our lives, and how it affects us. I used to want to move so fast. Now, I look forward to the chance to slow down. What I’m realizing is that we as humans, especially in America, are conditioned for busyness–yet we actually crave rest. To put…

Toys and Trust

So this week I celebrate my 32nd birthday, and less than one month from now, I will celebrate my second child, Holland’s, first birthday. This last year of going from one to two children has taught me one thing:  I need God. If we choose to receive God’s gift of Jesus–and then follow Him, we’re…

Becoming Less

One of my favorite songwriters, Jason Upton, once said to his audience with a chuckle, “For some reason right after you have children, you cry out a lot more for grace.” This couldn’t be truer for me.  I told someone just the other night that in the immortal words of Tom Hanks’ character Ray Peterson…

Growing and Knowing

Though we haven’t mastered it yet, my wife and I are trying to pray together more often. The other day when we had finished, we just sat for a bit discussing where we were in life -and particularly, where we’d be if we didn’t have children.  At first, we began dwelling on the realization that…

God’s Provision, God’s Rest

Some weeks back, I heard someone say, “It’s possible to experience God’s provision, without knowing His rest.” This became a reality for me over the past few weeks. As many of you know, my wife and I recently had a little girl, our second child, Holland.  Post-pregnancy can be a tough time, physically trying for…