• Random Reflections

    Blackberries

    I’m a slacker.  Sue me. I’ve literally been on the road six of the last eight weeks. It is officially crazy summer time. Don’t get me wrong.  I love what I do and the opportunities I get to experience.  It just makes for an incredibly busy life where I long ago dropped all the balls or the plates or my marbles. The trips to Kenya and the Dominican were amazing.  God has such amazing people at work there and it is so humbling to go serve with them and learn from them.  They teach me so much about faith, servanthood,…

  • Random Reflections

    Amsterdam

    We are in Amsterdam.  And tired! 🙂  It is 1:40 am Missouri time but morning here in Amsterdam.  We didn’t sleep much but hope that will happen in the next eight hour flight.  We depart at 10:15 am for Nairobi.  We will arrive at 7 pm Nairobi time.  Pray for us to catch our sleep. While I’m blogging via wireless here at the Amsterdam airport, Emily is catching some zzzs.   The flight was very smooth and uneventful – just the way we like it.   There is a large group of Baptists folks from Missouri and Tennessee on our…

  • Random Reflections

    Detroit

    ** Sorry about the earlier posting trouble.  Apparently when you blog via text, you are limited in how much you can send.  No more novel-length texts. We are in Detroit now and preparing to board for Amsterdam in about 30 minutes. Our flight leaves at 5:40 pm (EST) and we will arrive at Amsterdam in about 30 minutes.  Our flight leaves at 5:40 pm (EST) and we will arrive at Amsterdam at 7:40 am.  Things are going very well so far.  We are all very excited about finally arriving in Kenya after months of preparation. The tons of stuff church…

  • Random Reflections

    On the Road

    I leave for Kenya Monday morning at 9:30 am. The team covets your prayers for safe travels and for God to bless every aspect of our trip. I am traveling with four others for a 11 day trip to our partner country, Kenya. Although we will not be working directly with our partner school on this trip, we will be working with some missionaries there that we have connected with on our previous trip. Our Itinerary: Depart Monday, June 1st Arrive in Nairobi on Tuesday night and travel to the town of Naivasha Work at the House of Hope orphanage…

  • Random Reflections

    iTraitor

    Perhaps you will think me a traitor or sell-out.  Perhaps merely a trend-follower or wanna-be.  Perhaps I don’t care. 🙂 As of today, I am a Mac user.  After 20-some years of faithful PC use, I own my first MacBook Pro. And so far, I love it. I did a lot of investigation before I made the leap.  I talked to several folks – especially those who switched from PCs to Macs and I didn’t find one that regretted the switch. The Mac was more user-friendly, app loaded, and great for the creative side of my work.  I’m looking forward…

  • Random Reflections

    Night Crawlers

    I’ve had some late nights recently. That happens during seasons of my life when I have a lot on my mind. Why the brain doesn’t choose to work in the daytime, I have no clue. Perhaps there is just too much noise and only in the silence of the night can my mind get my attention. The silence grabs my face in its hands and forces me to look. Part of it is the incessant “to-do” list – a barrage of reminders of tasks that have to get done in the fleeting days I have remaining until the summer hits…

  • Random Reflections

    Name My Jeep

    For those that know me really well, you know I drive a red jeep. My jeep was the first car I ever bought and in June, she will be 13 years old.  I’m very attached to her, people know me by my red jeep, and despite a few scares, she is still running.  Her speakers are blown, her radio has died, her driver’s door lock freezes up in the winter, and she makes funny noises but she is still faithful. I’ve been asked many times if I have a name for her and suprisingly, I don’t.  Even though I always refer…

  • Random Reflections

    What the Heck is Twitter

    I get this question a lot: “What the heck is Twitter?” Sometimes it is difficult to explain. If people are active Facebook users, they understand the idea of just getting status updates which helps a lot. But even active Facebook users, like many of my youth, have tried Twitter only to quickly give up with an exasperated, “I DON’T GET IT!”. So here is a short educational video to help those who want to know more. HT to Existential Punk for pointing me to it.

  • Random Reflections

    Twitter this and Twitter That

    Came across a neat twitter today called @Tweetvo.  Every day you get a devo in 140 characters or less that you can text or tweeter to others.  It’s a great tool for youth ministry.  Here is just one sample from Feb. 27th.  Love what it says: Christian convictions vary & thatz OK*B Tru 2 wut God convix U about & let God convict others*Your job is 2 luv & let th Spirit convict Wish more people would follow this – including myself.  So easy to take your own convictions and impose them on others but that is not what God…