Tag Archives | Hope

Momming (is) So Hard

I debated whether or not to specifically address moms in this article, but I have for two reasons. One, I am a mom of four (soon-to-be-five) kids, so it’s what I know. Two, there is something unique and special about a mother’s love for her children. So, moms, this is for us. I believe that a mother’s nurturing, strong, protective spirit enables children to feel loved. It is this love that helps our children flourish, even from an early age. […]

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A Heart of Anticipation | A Mid-Winter Update Along the Journey of Faith

It has been a tough winter. My heart is ready for longer days and warmer temperatures. But for now, I wait. In the chilled stillness of waiting, God reminds me that spring is coming. My wife has been suffering from nausea which is common for her pregnancies, but this time it has been debilitating. We’re extremely grateful for help from grandparents, in-laws and loved ones who have helped us navigate the struggle. I had a hard time processing the news […]

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The “Heart Change” Challenge

Have you seen the “How Hard Did Aging Hit You” Challenge? This is the latest internet craze where willing participants place their first profile picture alongside their current profile picture to see how they’ve changed in recent years. But rather than compare profile pictures, my wife and I want to propose an interesting idea. What if, in addition to how we’ve changed on the outside, we share how we’ve changed on the inside? External appearance is the quick eye test […]

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Bear Hunting | Your Field Guide to a Successful 2019

In our heyday of real estate sales we had a saying, “I’m going bear hunting.” This was analogous to chasing something really big. Wether it was a big client or a new business idea, “bear hunting” was our catch phrase. Unfortunately, we learned the hard way that sometimes the bear eats the hunter. After the market crashed, I traded in my bear hunting attire for a suit and tie. It was time to grow up and stop living with such […]

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Lessons From Hurricane Florence | The Storm Drain That Saved Our Home

Our home backs up to College Acres Baptist Church, a largish church with quite a bit of paved parking that drains to a retention pond just behind our home. Although the frontside of Hurricane Florence only produced five inches of rain, the retention pond was full and it appeared that their drainage system was not removing any of the standing water. As the water began to backup, it flooded an undeveloped lot beside our home and subsequently poured into our […]

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Beauty in Disaster | Life Lessons From Hurricane Florence

As I sit here on my front porch overlooking countless piles of debris and water receding from my yard, I have mixed emotions. I can’t help but be overwhelmed with gratitude because our family and our home is safe. But there’s a sense of grief as well because I know so many who can’t say the same. There are hundreds of thousands of people with significant structural damage and millions more who have undergone significant emotional stress. And as I […]

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You Can’t Spell Relationship without R-E-S-T

Over the past few weeks, I have found myself navigating a tension. Since leaving my career to step into full-time ministry with our organization, YouPrint, my schedule has been busy. Between meetings, our radio show expansion and corporate engagements, my time has been filled. But beneath the full schedule is a lurking emptiness. This weekend, as I was spending some time alone at the beach preparing for my sermon, I felt God say, “Don’t become so busy with this stuff […]

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