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Coming Home For Christmas

Celebrating The Birth Of Christ In A New Location

I have moved several times throughout my life, mostly ministry related. It always takes some time to get settled in and acclimated to a new place. But this move has been a little bit different.

Coming Home For Christmas

I don’t really know what it is. It could be that the ages of some of our kids are older. Maybe it is because my wife and I are older. Perhaps it’s the home repair issues we have had to deal with, or the car accident that occurred shortly after we moved. Or, it could be the proximity to the holiday season. Whatever the case, I feel like we just haven’t gained our equilibrium after the move to Sedalia.

I’m not sure what is causing this (actually, I think I do. More on that in a minute). We just seem to be slow in getting settled in. Boxes are still not unpacked. Stuff still hasn’t been put away or hung on the walls. We just feel out of sorts.

During this transition, and in the weeks leading up to it, I felt the leading of God like never before. So I am absolutely certain that he has been right in the midst of this. Which leads me to believe that the unsettled feelings we have been experiencing are an attack by the enemy to discourage us and keep us off balance. The enemy is keeping us from making this house a new home.

As a result, I have been doing some studies through the Bible on people who have moved, such as Abram, who left home for an entirely new country. Or Jesus himself, who moved from Nazareth to establish his home base in Capernaum. What was home like for people such as these? How did they rely upon the Father fully during such times of upheaval? What does the Bible have to say about the concept of home?

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Coffee Break – 12.03.2018

Your Monday Dose Of Inspiration - Christmas 2018 Edition

December is here, and Christmas is right around the corner! For the next few weeks, Monday’s Coffee Break posts will be Christmas themed, with articles, websites, and holiday shopping guides for you to enjoy! Enjoy the season, and Merry Christmas!

Coffee Break

Today Is National Roof Over Your Head Day!
Today is a day to be thankful for what we have, beginning with the roof over our heads.

The Ultimate Roasterie Gift Guide For Coffee Lovers – The Roasterie is a great little place in Kansas City to find great coffee and lot’s of coffee related accouterments. Many of these items are on my own wish list for Christmas this year…

Real Men Real Style – Here is another shopping guide for the man in your life, or a list of things you need to add to your wardrobe. Some are kind of pricey, but others are not so bad.

The Familyman’s Christmas Trivia – This is a fun little trivia game you can play with your family. The Familyman also has one based on the movie Home Alone.

Why Reindeer Eyes Turn Blue In Winter – I had no idea that reindeer eyes changed colors, and the reason behind it is extremely interesting.

On Earth As In Heaven – “Christmas, 1968 and we first saw ‘earthrise’. But our mission to the heavens was a reflection of the first Christmas — God’s mission to earth.” This 13 minute documentary is worth watching

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The Indescribable Peace Of God

How God Meets Us Where We Are With What We Need

The past several weeks have been a whirlwind of busy activity, stress, and feelings of being overwhelmed. But in the midst of it all, there is a simple peace that pervades.

Peace of God

By now, you have probably noticed that things have been pretty quiet around here for the past couple of months. That is because we have moved, and life has been extraordinarily busy.

At the end of October, I concluded my ministry with the Cabool Christian Church in Cabool, Missouri, and began a new ministry with the Parkview Christian Church in Sedalia, Missouri, which is about three hours north of Cabool.

We packed up the house, got it ready to sell (which is an incredible story of its own), and made the transition to Sedalia. All in all, this took about two months, from the announcement of my resignation, to the day of the move. So far, we have been in our new location for almost three weeks, and getting settled in has been quite hectic.

So far, we have dealt with a plumbing issue, a furnace issue, and are in the middle of a roof issue. And we have boxes to unpack, lots of boxes. And the garage is full of all the stuff that we don’t have a place for yet. And we have been regular customers at Lowe’s and Menards as we go pick up the supplies that we need for various projects getting the house in line with our needs. I think I’m on a first name basis with several of the employees there.

We have unpacked the office, got the kids enrolled in school, experienced an early snow, provided a ton of boxes for the recycling truck to pick up, managed to fit all of our furniture into a smaller house, and are working on really getting settled in. I’m not sure this house feels like a home yet, but I think we’re getting there.

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Devotions For Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas

A Book Review for The Randleman Review

Devotions For Sacred Parenting by Gary ThomasAs a parent of a large family, I see the need for spiritual guidance in the life off my family as a key element. Because of this, I am always looking for resources that can help my wife and I lead and train our children to be the best that they can be, and all that God desires them to be.

Over the years, we have gathered quite a collection of great parenting resources, from inspirational books, to DVD based curriculum. But we haven’t really found a devotional that focuses on parenting that really impacted us where we felt like we needed it.

That changed when we found Devotions For Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas. This book is a phenomenal resource that we have found to be very useful. I have been through the book more than once over the past couple of months, and my wife is excited by what I have shared with her. She is looking forward to utilizing it in the coming days and weeks.

Most devotional books seem to be brief and shallow. But Gary Thomas has created a book full of devotions that are more than a brief snippet of inspirational thought. They have meat to them, and leave you with a few questions to consider afterward. The book is not a daily devotional, but a weekly one, with only 52 devotions included. But that doesn’t present a problem, since we have found that it takes more than a few days to fully digest the topic that Thomas sparks in our thoughts and prayers.