Happy New Year, everybody!

Today is January 6th…how is your new year going so far? Have you established new goals for your new year? Goals sound a lot more sophisticated than “resolutions,” don’t they?

It’s been said that resolutions are promises we make to ourselves that we don’t intend to keep. Lots of people half-heartedly make resolutions to “be healthier” or “exercise more” or “read the Bible in a year.” But most resolutions lack clarity, actionability, and maybe even worse, they lack a plan to get there. Read More

Hey Everybody,

If you watch the news at all, you will hear the word “crisis” a lot! Everywhere you look it seems there is a looming crisis. There are economic crises, health crises, a crisis at the border, with our democracy, etc., etc.

With so much happening all around me, it seems that I’ve personally ducked a lot of the consequences of these various crises. I’m not suggesting that we don’t have national challenges with all of the things, but if we were having an actual crisis, it would seem that I wouldn’t have to watch the news to find out…I would know because my life or my way of living would be endangered.

Words mean things. The definition of a crisis is “a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.” Based on that definition, I haven’t faced many actual crises in my life. I’ve had some problems. I’ve had some difficulties. But not many of the situations that I have faced or do face on the regular rise to the level of an actual crisis.

Read More

Hey everybody,

Americans are more generous in December than any other month of the year…by far! Charitable donations in December are double what they are in any other month of the year. Pretty incredible. My guess is that many of you, like me, have been inundated with requests for donations from all the groups that are scrambling to get a piece of that generous December pie! I’ve lost track of the number of requests I’ve received, so far. It’s hard to keep up because they come at me from every direction; email, social media, letters in the mail, not to mention commercials!

Read More

Hey everybody,

Last week we introduced The Gift to Believers and there was a lot of excitement as we reflected on past years’ initiatives and looked forward with anticipation for what we will accomplish through this year’s initiative. If you missed last week, be sure to watch the message here.
Read More

I really like Christmas. I mean, really really really. If you know me, you probably realize that I start the slow build to Christmas as early as July when Hallmark brilliantly shows its Holiday films smack dab in the middle of summer. I figure, why stop there, let’s keep this thing rolling.
Read More

Hey everybody,

Ever try to drive a car with the emergency brake on? I’ve done it before, unintentionally. It makes driving and moving the car WAY harder!

Sometimes life feels that way, doesn’t it? You push forward and you do the best you can, but there seems to be some drag making things more difficult than they need to be. You push past one obstacle thinking that you will be home-free only to discover that there is another obstacle waiting…and sometimes the obstacles seem to be internal ones, not external ones.

What gives with all this?

Read More

Hey everybody,

Back in October, I had the opportunity to take a solo ride on the motorcycle to north Georgia and back. It was a beautiful ride in every way. As I was on the final stretch home, on Route 58, I had to take a double take. A house on the left side of the road was in full-on Christmas décor! There were wreaths, candy canes, lights, and the whole Christmas treatment. What made it stand out so much to me was that all day I had been passing houses with Halloween decorations. Apparently, the owner of this house decided to skip right over Halloween AND Thanksgiving and just go all-in on Christmas! Read More

Last week’s Fall Fest was absolutely incredible! More than 800 people attended and TONS of people from our community were among them. We handed out 400 invite cards to Believers along with hundreds of pounds of candy! I was so proud of all of you that participated in some way; whether you donated candy, decorated your trunk (you guys were super creative), or helped with logistics, setting up, or cleaning up! Thanks to ALL of you for such a great event.

Read More

I will never forget when my youngest was a newborn. I was running late for worship run-through on an early Sunday morning and the straps on his car seat were presenting to be a hot mess. When an “angel unaware” appeared in the form of a church member saw my frustration and said, “here, let me take care of that for you,” and proceeded to take the next 10 minutes to serve my family. That one act of kindness and support as a parent 16 years ago, at our church, still impacts me to this day. Not only because the car seat got fixed, but I knew that person saw me as a parent and wanted to partner with me.

Read More

Hey everybody,

I didn’t go to church a lot as a kid, but when I did, I remember one thing. Any guesses?

BORING!

I remember sitting next to my mom and doodling on the church program. I remember asking for a lifesaver or gum or anything that would occupy my time for however much longer there was to go. You know what I never remember from my times at church?

Fun. Laughter. Good times. Read More