My favorite movie is becoming my life. I find myself transformed into the character of a corn farmer from Iowa–Ray Kinsella. And while I haven’t been called to cut down a cornfield to build a baseball diamond, my version, my calling, is this blog; this book. Here I sit, tears uncontrollably streaming down my face, explaining to my wife why I am a wreck. Thank goodness the kids are napping. When she first walked in, she was startled, assuming by […]
Think about the last time you didn’t get your way. How did you respond? Here’s an honest example from my life. When I launched my book, there was a part of me that wanted paramount success: the New York Times Best-Seller list and an interview on Good Morning America. I wanted the Golden Goose and I felt the tension growing inside of me when it didn’t happen immediately. And the feeling of course isn’t limited to that example alone. Sometimes, it’s as trivial as traffic or my children’s refusal […]
Read: A Letter to Matthew: Part 1 Our struggle to conceive was certainly a reminder that you were a gift from Him. Even before you were born, He knew this would be your name. Matthew means gift of God. “Meme” chose it for her son for a reason, her reason. Your mom and I chose it for our own. Some will call it southern and others may call it traditional. For us, there was no other name: Matthew Derrick Ham, Jr. […]
The mouth of a three, soon-to-be, four-year old is a wondrous thing. As they are exposed to the unfolding world around them, they are constantly processing, digesting new vocabulary. At times, it’s quite scary; you never know what they might say. My son, Matthew, is no different. In this case, however, his words moved me. They pierced through my exterior and touched the very deepest part of my being. I couldn’t believe they came out of his mouth; innocence and […]
Yesterday brought an interesting discovery: a homeless man had pitched a tent in the woods beside our home. My first response was fear, followed by general uneasiness. All of the traditional dangers that accompany homelessness are things that I don’t want near my young sons. But I couldn’t stop staring at this tent. Its blue, slightly weathered exterior was surrounded by trees just yards beyond our perimeter fence. My mind split in two different directions. Do I step in and […]
In the 1980s we fell in love with Marty McFly, time travel, and DeLoreans. Thanks to Stephen Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, and a host of others, Back to the Future was one of the most iconic movies of the decade and one of the best-selling trilogy series of all-time. I was born in the ’80s, but the decade following would be the decade of my generation. Wedged between the end of Generation X and the beginning of Generation Y were, the Nineties. I recently caught […]
I once had coffee with a lady who told me that she struggled to believe that her story mattered. In the busy pace of raising kids and trying to be a good Christian, she had been beaten down by the lie that none of it mattered. And the truth is, I’ve had that conversation way too many times. Not only with countless people over coffee, but with myself. But what I’m learning more than anything else is that someone else’s hope rests […]
We get busy in life. Matt reminds us of why we dedicate ourselves to something other than ourselves.
- Robert Wagnon, CEO, Republic State Mortgage
