How can we obey God despite difficult circumstances? Maybe we should ask Mary. But what did she know? She knew she was bearing the Son of God in her womb, she knew ridicule and misunderstanding from almost everyone, and she knew joy. The kind of joy that comes through obedience to God's revealed will. We all have journeys that are difficult. What got Mary through and what can we learn from her story? It's not an easy journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Especially when you're pregnant. I ... View the Post
How to Be A Horrible Leader — Lessons from A Confused Turkey
Sometimes I blow it when I try to lead -- whether it's with my own children or grand-children, the kids in my Awana group, or the staff of volunteers for our VBS program. But one day I learned some valuable leadership lessons from an unusual source -- a hen turkey. "Come on, you lazy chicks! Get out of bed! We have a lot to do today." Mrs. Turkey scolded, prodded, and threatened her chicks, but they remained obdurate, squeaking in the most annoying fashion as they huddled close together in ... View the Post
Seven Stupendous Ways to Improve Your Life Right Now
How can you improve the quality of your life? You can do it. Here's how: 1. Make wise choices. It begins with choices. We make them all the time, yet we often don't connect the choices we make with the quality of the life we lead. Sometimes we make really bad, foolish choices. Sometimes our choices are good and wise. How can we make consistently wise choices that will improve our lives? We met a man once who personified wise choices. Joe Waterman lived in Grangeville, Idaho. We met him when ... View the Post
Nancy and the Gun — A Peek Behind the Pulpit
Ah, the life of a pastor's family! Would you like a little peek behind the pulpit of what goes on in the pastor's family? Well, here's your chance. I am going to relate some stories of the life in the pastor's home, things that have happened to us that are funny, interesting, or downright scary. Whether we handled them well or not I will leave you to decide. Come along with me as I take you on quite a ride. There have been many times in our almost fifty years of full-time ministry that we ... View the Post
Fifteen Minutes to Live — From Paradise Here to Paradise There
Kauai, Hawaii. Say it out-loud. The name sounds like the lyrics of a song – poetic, beautiful. It seemed like a dream to be boarding a flight for Hawaii. For months, Dan and I had planned, saved, and anticipated the day when we would wing our way across the Pacific Ocean to celebrate one another and 48 years of married life. We left early January 9th from a snowy Spokane, shivering our way from the motel to the airport, pulling our luggage. We had over a foot of snow and freezing ... View the Post
Indiana Wendy and Thor Ginger in the Lost Crusade of the Wacky Sister’s Retreat
“This is not right.” Lost. It's a lonely word for someone who has come to a sister's retreat and figures on having lots of conversation. I sat in my car in the deserted parking lot of the city beach in Sandpoint, Idaho. It was past midnight. I was totally alone. I discovered that Sandpoint has no beach nightlife in October, so I was fairly safe. I saw no high life, low life, or life at all. I was lost in a town of 8,000 people, most of whom were all in bed, as I tried to find the train ... View the Post
