Discover Your Story

This week, Gina and I began a six-week sabbatical from our ministry at the church. I’m deeply grateful for this gift of time, not simply to rest from ministry, but to learn how to truly rest in God so I can know the rest of God. Before our sabbatical began, we prayed and asked the Lord what He wanted us to read during these weeks. The day before we left, our daughter Mary came over with books and journals for each of us. She had no idea what we had been praying. The book she

A few days ago, my son by marriage, Matt, sent a video to our family chat. It was just him walking through the woods with my granddaughter, Indie Mae, riding on his back. Nothing dramatic. Just a dad taking his little girl for a walk. But I couldn’t stop watching it. What struck me wasn’t where they were going. It was Indie. She wasn’t hanging on because she was scared. She wasn’t looking over Matt’s shoulder trying to figure out where the trail went. She wasn’t worried about

Every Father’s Day, our family gathers together, and one of my favorite traditions is reading a letter I write to everyone in our family. Throughout the year, I write individual letters to my children and grandchildren during significant moments in their lives. But on Father’s Day, I write one letter that includes everyone: my daughters, sons by marriage, and grandchildren. I tell them where I’ve seen God at work in their lives, what I admire about them, and I share a passage

Some books inform you. Others invite you into a conversation with God. For the past fifty days, After and Amen by Tyler Staton has been that kind of companion for me. Rather than simply teaching about prayer, it gently led me into it, slowing me down, helping me listen, and reminding me that God’s presence is more important than my productivity. This morning, I turned the final page, and honestly, I was sad it had come to an end. The final chapter, “Live Beautifully,” stayed

Family vacations aren’t really about the beach. Or the pool. Or the restaurants. Those are simply the backdrop. The real gift is something far more valuable. Presence. This past week at the shore, I found myself watching our family create dozens of moments that had never existed before and never will again. Jonathan eagerly told me everything he had already done that morning and everything he planned to do that afternoon. Somewhere in the conversation, he made sure to include

Last week at the piano recital for my students, I played an original composition I had written and invited the audience to participate in something a little different. I asked them to listen carefully and then provide a title they felt captured the spirit of the piece. An award would be given to the person whose title best reflected what I felt the music was expressing. What happened next fascinated me. Many titles were submitted. Some evoked peace. Others suggested adventure

Recently, I found myself sitting on the couch, surrounded by toys, blocks, and the kind of joyful chaos that only grandchildren seem able to create. Christopher was building. Jonathan and Indie Mae were exploring with him. Augustino was running around creating his own adventure. Avila Mae and Lily Mae were spending time together, "excited" about their new bathing suits. And later, Indie Mae was doing something I almost missed entirely. She was talking to me. Showing me her bl

Most people dream about a family retreat. A place by the lake. A cabin in the mountains. A getaway where the pace slows down for a few days before everyone returns to real life. My daughter Mary, my son-in-law Matt, and his parents chose something different. Instead of purchasing a vacation home or weekend getaway, they purchased a farm by a river. At first glance, that might not seem very restful. There are will be animals to care for. Land to maintain. Projects that never s

There are moments in life that happen so fast you almost can’t process them until afterward. This was one of those moments. A few days after watching our granddaughter, Indie Mae, laughing and splashing in the pool with pure joy, she came over to swim in our pool for the first time this past week. Lizzie and Matt brought her over, and I was finishing vacuuming the pool before everyone got in. The vacuum hose was still connected in the basket, so I was trying to wrap things up

This week, my daughter Daana captured a simple video of our granddaughter Indie Mae dancing and sent it to us in our family chat! No stage. No audience. No performance. Just joy. Indie wasn’t dancing because someone asked her to. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone. She wasn’t wondering if she looked silly or if people approved. She simply moved freely, fully alive in the moment, because she heard music on the TV screen, and without a single thought about recognition, she sta

My daughter Ashley sent this picture to our family group chat along with the story behind it. And honestly, the story somehow makes the smile even more beautiful. She was standing in Target when it happened: a full-blown poopy diaper disaster. Not the manageable kind. The kind every parent instantly recognizes as an emergency situation. Ashley quickly grabbed Lily Mae and headed to the family bathroom. She completely undressed her, ready to clean up the situation… only to dis

This was a picture Matt, his dad, my son-in-law, sent in our family chat recently. No explanation. No commentary. Just a moment captured. My grandson, Christopher, leaned over the pages, elbows resting on the table, his eyes fixed, quietly moving from line to line. The world around him kept going, the hum of the house, the sounds from the kitchen, but for a moment, he wasn’t part of any of it. Just a boy … and the Word of God. A second grader … reading Scripture. I looked at

There’s something sacred about watching a story unfold on a stage, especially when someone you love is living inside it. This past weekend, our grandson Christopher stepped into the world of Into the Woods , playing both the Wolf and the Prince. Two very different roles, yet somehow both revealing something true about the human heart. And then, in a precious moment, our three-month-old granddaughter Avila Mae made her theatrical debut, quietly held at the end as the baker’s c

It happened so quickly. One moment, my grandson, Augustino, was running, laughing, chasing after Christopher and Jonathan, determined to keep up with every step they took. And the next … he fell. The kind of fall that makes your heart pause as you imagine it unfolding. His face met the ground. The kind of impact that leaves a mark. And for a brief moment, everything stood still. I wasn’t there to see it happen … but as I heard about it, I could picture it so clearly. He cried

There are moments you can’t plan. You don’t script them. You don’t stage them. You just find yourself in them, surrounded, smiling, maybe even a little overwhelmed and you realize … this is it. This Easter gave us a collection of those moments. Our children gathered close, little grandchildren's hands reaching, curious eyes looking everywhere at once. Laughter echoing around the table. Conversations that weren’t polished or perfect but real. Honest. Us. We talked about what w

It was still early. The kind of early where grief feels heavier because the world hasn’t quite woken up yet. The air is quiet. The questions are loud. Mary Magdalene stood outside the tomb, weeping. Everything she believed would happen … didn’t. Everything she hoped for… felt buried. And then, He was there. Not in the way she expected. Not in the way she would have recognized. “Woman,” He said gently, “why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” John 20:15 She thought He was

They sat close that night, closer than usual. The room still held the warmth of shared bread and quiet conversation, but something had shifted. You can almost see it in their faces, the confusion, the searching, the unspoken questions. Jesus had spoken of betrayal… of leaving… of something they could not yet understand. And still, they leaned in. What were they thinking? Perhaps Peter still believed he would stand strong, “Even if all fall away, I won’t.” Perhaps John rested

She was doing everything she could to stay awake. Eyes blinking slower. Head bobbing just enough to recover. That determined little fight in her body that said, “I’m not missing this.” My granddaughter Indie Mae wasn’t crying. She wasn’t fussy. She was resisting rest. Not because she didn’t need it…but because she didn’t want to miss out on what might happen next. And I couldn’t help but smile as I watched her. Because if I’m honest, I do the exact same thing. We don’t usuall

There are moments that feel small…until you realize they are shaping something eternal. As I watched my granddaughter, Indie Mae, carefully push her baby doll in a tiny stroller in this video, her steps were slow and deliberate. She wasn’t playing randomly. She was becoming something . Every movement carried intention. Every pause held attention. Every glance reflected what she has already seen. She wasn’t just pushing a toy. She was practicing a life. Because somewhere along

Some moments are too sacred to plan. They simply happen…and someone wise enough pauses long enough to notice. Christopher leaned close to his baby sister Avila Mae, studying her face with the quiet curiosity only a big brother can have. She is only two months old. Her story is barely beginning. Christopher already has a few chapters written. And somehow, God has placed them on the same page. A brother learning tenderness. A baby sister beginning her story. And just a few step