Tag: joy

  • Here’s to the curious

    Here’s to the curious

    Have you ever woken up with the thought, “I wonder why sardines do that?” and then spent four hours on a Saturday watching videos on YouTube, tracking down the latest on sardine research, or wondering about the first people who decided sardines needed to be paired with mustard? 

  • Dip your toe in the river

    Create in me a pure heart, O God,     and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence     or take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation     and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:10-12 The river of God’s activity is real.…

  • Consider it Joy!

    Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 Twisted Life James knew what was up.  He knew that if you’d take walking with Jesus seriously, truly lead people, got past the fluff, and entered into the Christian…

  • Behold, unexpected joy

    There is a baby boy on the floor next to me, crawling around the living room, exploring. Everything in this babies life is defined by one emotion: Joy. We hold him but his joy is something you behold. It sneaks up on you and slaps you when you least expect it. Bam! Joy, joy, joy,…

  • It’s time to deliver

    Yesterday was gut check time.  I woke up anxious. At 5:00 am I got up to start re-working my WordCamp talk– scheduled for 4:00 pm. I added all new slides, completely reworked the content, and I seriously considered calling the organizer and telling him I was sick. Like all fears it was completely illogical. Why…

  • Helping our kids love church, again

    “The reason I hate church is that you pay attention to everyone else there but us.” ~ Megan, age 7 Those words rattled my soul. I’d rather have gotten cold-cocked by Mike Tyson in a bar fight than heard those words. That’s when I knew that things had to drastically change in how both how I…

  • The Joy Machine

    It’s been five weeks since Jackson was born. It’s hard to remember what our family was like without him. The fun part about Jackson, to us, is how much of an unexpected miracle he is to our family. With both Megan and Paul we carefully planned their arrival. I remember sitting down with Kristen and…

  • Time Lapse Video: Backyard Hummingbirds

    A few weeks ago we hung this little hummingbird feeder. We were amazed to discover that the hummingbirds (who nest in a tree in our backyard) discovered it within hours. Maybe it makes me sound old or stupid? But I don’t care. I love watching these amazing creatures in my backyard. And I love watching…

  • Weekend Review

    I’m still amazed at how much fun we can have in a weekend. It’s been since high school that I’ve had weekends off so consistently. Love it! Friday night, we stayed home and rested. With temperatures in the 100s most of last week, the kids had been stuck in the house a lot. I’d even…

  • Defining quotes

    “I’m rubber, you’re glue. Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you.” That’s a bunch of crap, isn’t it? The truth is that sometimes words said to you hurt way more than any of us would like to admit. There’s something in my personality that remembers these words, embeds them as self-talk,…