As I type this and think about the last 10 years of our family’s life, I can hardly believe that Journey is 10 years old, but it is. We have been blessed to do life and follow Christ with some of the greatest people on the planet. We’ve also learned A LOT! I want to invite you to our 10th Anniversary Celebration next Sunday, March 25th for a day to celebrate how far we have come, but also as a refocusing on how far God still has for us to go. You see, as much as I love the last 10 years, it’s the next 10 that I’m most excited about! There is a part of me that would love to reach a point where we can plant the flag and say…done. We did that. But that’s not how God works. In Christ there is ALWAYS a next! For me,…

It’s Christmastime and I have to say, I am fully in the Christmas spirit! Today, I drove through the most dismal and dreary drizzle of rain, fog and dark skies. But I had Christmas music on… and that made everything better. If you were to assume why I love Christmas, you may think it’s because we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Others may assume it’s time with family, shopping and gift-giving. The truth is, I am very divided about my joy at this special time of year. The 2 images that I always associated with Christmas was our Christmas tree that would eventually care for our unopened presents like a mother hen over her eggs, and the manger scene (“nativity” according to my mother, sister, wife and daughter – to me it’s a manger scene) that pointed to the birth of Christ. Because of this, in many ways, I wear…

As a parent, I have many moments where I question myself a lot as a mother. Does he really understand like he says he does?  Why is he talking like he’s two instead of eight?  One meal of candy and soda won’t hurt him, right? With the Christmas season in full swing I have a whole other slew of things to question myself on.  It can make one of the most wonderful times of the year one of the least enjoyable with all of the demands that seems to fall on top of us.  As a mother, I want everything to be perfect for my family.  As a person, I don’t want to let anyone down (teens in Awaken, my kids’ schools, etc.).  As a follower of God, well, where do I stand with that? Just yesterday, as my boys settled in after coming home from school, Brayden was watching…

This week, another prominent and notable celebrity lost their job amidst allegations of sexual misconduct. Apparently, the evidence was so substantial that it only took a couple of days for a storied career to be no more. It’s a story that is being repeated on a weekly (and sometimes daily) basis as men and women who have suffered in the shadows finally speak publicly about traumatic experiences in their past. It is simultaneously terrible and praise-worthy that these horrific abusers are finally being held accountable. Time will tell if these allegations will be proven to be true or are just carefully planned publicity stunts, but regardless, the church has to open it’s eyes to the overly sexualized world that we live (and often participate) in. As a Christian, there are several ways that we can respond. PLEASE DON’T: 1. Be indifferent. It is easy for Christians to simply bow out…

Last weekend, a very sick young man entered First Baptist Church, Sutherland Springs, during their regular Sunday morning service and opened fire killing 26 churchgoers and wounding 20 others making it the 5th largest mass shooting in US history. One family lost 8 members in a few short minutes. To be honest, my first thought was sadness followed by anger. My second thought was that we need more guns protecting our own church. My third thought made me stop and remember why God is so good and why we don’t have to be afraid of anything…even death. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10 (ESV) The scriptures are full of promises for people who know, love, and follow God. They promise hope… joy… love… purpose… fulfillment… peace… …and they promise suffering. 21 “Blessed are you…

Last year, we tried something new. We combined one of our Car Meets with our Trunk or Treat/Fall Block Party… And it was a blast! We had inflatables, free hot dogs, a lot of candy, and some great cars to check out. Every time we host an event like this that involves families from our church with families from the community, everyone wins. Next Saturday evening, we will come together to do it again and I hope that you will be involved. Here are a few ways that you can help make this a successful time with friends, new and old: 1. Set aside Saturday, October 28th from 5:00-7:00pm to be at Journey. If you have a car, truck or bike that you would like to have in the meet, bring it too! The Car Meet may last longer than the block party, but stay as long as you like….

The past few weeks have brought with them a high level of “bad news” concerning hurricanes, earthquakes, threats of nuclear war, and most recently a mass shooting. Everywhere you turn you are faced with chatter concerning what’s going on in the world around us. Social commentators are anxious to announce their opinions while disregarding and sometimes even reveling in the division their comments produce. Social media updates bring waves of controversial tweets and posts from “friends” telling you how you should respond to every crisis and event. If your response doesn’t meet someone else’s expectations you are viewed as a bad Christian, a bad American, or both. You can’t even count on your favorite late night comedian to lighten the mood without first trying to convince you of how important their own social commentary is. Just like eating too much junk food can make you unhealthy, consuming too much media…

No too long ago, my satellite radio was affixed to either CNN or FoxNews to catch up on the news of the day. Every time I settled into my car, I would have a chance to hear what was going on right now in the world, and I had repeated this practice for a couple of years. Like many, I decided to turn the channel around the time of our most recent election as mud slinging from both sides reached a fever pitch. I noticed that I was more agitated, more angry every time I got out of my car. Each side wanted me to believe that their side was right and the other side was the enemy. Democrat vs. Republican. Right vs. Wrong. White vs. Black. (you get the picture) Much of our current news sources and cultural movers want you to believe that all of life is binary….

108 years. That’s how long it has been since the Chicago Cubs won the world series…until last night. WOW! I can’t imagine how they must be feeling. My great grandparents would have been watching the last time Chicago won it all. Question: When was the last time that you won it all? I don’t mean a national championship or the lottery. I mean the really important things? Do you feel like a winner? In sports, it really doesn’t matter how many wins you have at the end of the season, only if you won the BIG game. Sure, Cleveland was just as likely to win last night, but they didn’t. And they are not celebrating this morning. In life, we often believe the same things about our own successes and failures… Sure, I’ve won a few, but I haven’t won THE BIG ONE, whatever that may be for you. Since…