My youngest son, David, just handed me my Father’s Day present (only a few hours early) and said, “I am the only one in the world that could have done these drawings!” The first one he drew was this one (which he named “Trader”):

The second one he drew was this one (which he aptly named “Triangles of King Traders”):

All I can say is this, David is the only one in the world that I would even care about to ever receive a drawing from.  What a Father’s Day present!

A kid at my son’s school said the following when asked what he would do if he were president.

“I would show a commercial of Trinity Lutheran Church, and then a commercial about cheetos, so everyone would believe in Jesus and eat cheetos.”

If that is not the funniest thing you’ve heard today then I want you to post it so I can laugh even harder than I did when I read that kid’s presidential dreams.

(sent from my iPhone)

I want to thank all the little people who made this project a reality…mainly my wife Amy and I had such a fun time putting this together (and by fun, I mean that I complained and she begged me to put it together). But the end product truly is a cool deal.  I love Apple for making this process ridiculously easy.

I hope you all enjoy this video filled with pictures and movies from 2008.

(just double click on the video image to make it play)

For those of you who want to pray for me and my friend Casey as we travel to Zimbabwe, I thought it might be cool to post my schedule so you could pray about specific things.  The following is an email from Chris, one of my new Zimbabwean friends, and I think you will see why I’m so excited about this opportunity! Continue Reading

This last weekend I was not feeling very well. I had managed to snag the newest flu bug, but couldn’t bear to sit inside while the few remaining bits of seasonal warmth faded under the approaching blanket of fall. I pulled a chair out on the deck, closed my eyes, and tilted my head towards the sun. Just then, a sharp noise pierced the air. I couldn’t see where the cry was coming from so I decided to get up and poke around. It didn’t take long to discover that a baby squirrel had fallen from a tree and lodged himself in between the two panels of my fence. Carefully, I pulled him out and laid him in an old shoe box.
On Monday morning I called the vet down the street and was promptly told to call the “squirrel lady”. Amazed that there was actually someone labeled “the squirrel lady” I chuckled to myself and dialed her number. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect but, a bubbly, courteous and extremely professional woman answered the phone. She gathered some details about my little friend and asked if he had any brothers or sisters. “I don’t think so” I said, and explained that he had simply fallen from the tree.
“Sounds like an orphaned nest.” She said “There are probably a few more little guys up there. They are getting hungry and starting to wander from the nest. You should try to get a ladder up there to get the rest of them before they fall.”
I headed back outside to listen, and it wasn’t long before another cry echoed from high in the tree. I knocked on my neighbor’s door to ask about a ladder, but no one was home. Worried and bewildered, I went back to the tree and peered up. The cry grew more and more intense and time was passing quickly. I knew that if I did not do something fast, it would probably mean tragedy for the little guy. So, I decided to climb the tree myself! I changed clothes, pulled on some “alligator hunter” gloves and grabbed a bag to collect whoever I found.
Carefully I climbed up a chair, hoisted myself onto the fence, and precariously wedged myself into an arm of the tree. I slowly made my way up, hoping beyond hope that I would somehow be able to make it back down again! It soon became clear that I was not going to be able to reach the nest safely by myself. I stopped to plot the next course of action, when suddenly my eye caught a glimpse of a small, fuzzy, creature clinging helplessly to a limb just a few feet from me. He began to cry in panicked outbursts, no doubt, giving away any remaining energy. Gently, I pried him from the branch and began my decent.
Once I got down and set him inside the box with his brother I assessed the damage. My arms and legs were covered in scratches and bruises, and leaves and small sticks had lodged themselves in my hair. Then it dawned on me, I had risked life and limb, not to mention an extremely high deductible on my health insurance for the sake of a squirrel!
So, what made me do it? What made me cast aside work and safety to call, search, and climb? Really, I think anyone with a heart would have done the same, but this really got me thinking.
Why don’t we extend the same urgency and self sacrifice for the hurting, starving souls around us? Literally, there are orphaned, helpless and hungry people all over. They need hope and peace that only God he can offer. They hang dangerously over the edge of uncertainty and death, and try desperately to find a comfort that will last. They have wandered far from the source of safety and are in need of someone to place personal wellbeing, agenda, and safety aside to rescue them.
How risky are you? Would you have climbed the tree or would you have ignored the plea? How much more important is the life of a human being?
I urge you to listen intently to your surroundings. Is there someone who needs your attention? Is there someone who has wondered from safety and is trying desperately to keep from falling? Time is running out and souls are in danger. Today, do something risky for the sake of eternity!

There are psalms for every type of situation, emotion, and need. Here are eight categories of psalms and some beloved psalms that fit in those categories. These psalms form a “School of Prayer,” teaching us the basic types of prayer. You can pray these psalms or use them as guides to write your own similar psalm: Continue Reading

Here is an excerpt from the Rush Limbaugh show when Rush spoke to a caller: Continue Reading

The other day I knelt at the foot of my bed utterly frustrated and confused. I needed answers, and I longed for clarity. With tears rolling down my cheeks, I bowed my head to pray. As I did, a gentle whisper asked me to open my eyes. I looked up to see a beautifully knit blanket now wrapped around my fingers. It had been kicked to the bottom of my bed the night before, and, in my distracted and urgent plea, I had unknowingly entangled my hands within its soft folds. Deep in thought, I ran my finger tips along the carefully threaded details.

“What do you see?” Came the quiet voice.
“Well”, I said, “I see many different colors and patterns. “
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Was the reply.
“Oh yes, it looks like there was a lot of time and effort used to create it.” I reveled.

“There was.” It spoke again…” Look at the individual sections. Each part comes together to create something beautiful. Individually, every square looks different and a little disordered, but once they are sewn together they make sense. There is a specific purpose for each element, and every single stitch was planned long before hand to fill a unique place.

I continued to examine it, and playfully poked my fingers through the small holes in the fabric.
“You see, your life is like this blanket. You may see only sections of chaos and unrelated segments, yet I see necessary pieces of an intricate tapestry. I am taking the good and bad, and knitting them together to form an exquisite pattern of significance. Where you feel holes, I see components of a bigger picture. When you see dead ends, I see opportunity for new and different colors. When those around you are cold, I am giving you a tool to adequately warm them.”

A sense of peace passed over me, and I sat back to ponder a bit longer. How incredible is it that our God loves us as He does! He doesn’t haphazardly look at our lives and simply take the pieces as they fall. No, Instead He lovingly and painstakingly works to mold and craft something beautiful and special from each strand of experience. At times when life doesn’t make sense, we can know that His plans for us are good, and that he does indeed have a purpose behind each part! What a delightful portrait of His grace and mercy!