You can hear it can't you? That song. That tinny song that plays as you crank the handle of this toy ... All around the cobbler's benchthe monkey chased the weaselthe monkey thought is was all in fun(pause here - heart racing - eyes quickly blinking - reconsidering all of my life choices up to this point)then POP (cue fear induced tears and screaming)goes the weasel. Who on earth thought that this...  Read More

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to listen to God. This summer we have been racing through the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament. Prophets were known for how they listened to God and became the mouthpiece of God for the people of Israel and Judah. And it has been during this summer that I have been discerning the voice of God in my own life. It was announced a couple weeks ago in church, but...  Read More

I just got back from a week-long youth mission trip to Mountain TOP in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. Twenty-one (15 students and six adults) missionaries spent a week either leading Day Camp or laboring on work teams building, repairing, painting and improving the lives and homes of people as servants of the Lord. It was a great week! Likewise, I’m getting ready to lead a team of six to M...  Read More

“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” Isaiah 1:17It is apparent throughout Scripture that the widow, the orphan, and the oppressed are near to God’s heart. He loves abundantly for the vulnerable and He calls us to stand up for them, seek justice for and defend them. What if we looked up foster care group homes or ...  Read More

Over the last year I have been teaching classes to individuals, organizations, and churches about personal defense and emergency planning. One of the key components we talk about in all these settings is the color code of awareness. This idea will sound familiar to my friends who have served in the military. We talk about four different stages of awareness: Being Unaware, Awareness, Heighten Aware...  Read More

I have tons of apps on my phone. Many of them I don't even remember what they do (my smart phone is smarter than I am). Now that the app for the church has been updated, I find myself using it several times a week. Here are few of my favorite things:The Bible feature - This is a good app for everyday reading and for looking up the scripture text during worship. There are several different translat...  Read More

Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33I have spent half my life seeking after a lot of different things.  Seeking out a godly husband, seeking out ways to lose weight and still eat good tasting food, seeking parenting tips and tricks, seeking out the perfect job.  The list is endless.  We are constantly seeking something. Reading this verse, I am ...  Read More

Why do we have an app for our church? If you are like me this is a question you asked yourself when you learned about our app.The first reason, honestly, is that is comes with our digital communications package which includes our website, giving, media, and more. It is only good stewardship that we try to use all of the resources that we are paying for.The second reason is the app is a quick way t...  Read More

I have spent a little over a month updating the church’s digital presence on our website, social media, and by renovating our app (read more about that below!) Our church has been through a lot over the past few years – a denominational split, a pandemic, a disaffiliation process, and the loss of so many people that we love. It has left me wondering, “Who are we now?”One day after church I was sit...  Read More

We should be working as hard as we can to live into the mission God has given us.  Read More

I really had to wrestle with some parts of our scripture.  Read More

Becky and I recently visited with good friends in Spokane Washington (and I also got to have a coffee with Jen Russell  who lives there). I started each morning with a great hike in the mountains, and on one particular morning I found myself trekking through some pretty dense evergreen forest. I noticed there was a lot of undergrowth, including moss, ferns, Oregon Sunflower, pinecones, etc. But I ...  Read More