Coffee!! Coffee!!

Since becoming a dad my caffeine intake has skyrocketed. I used to pride myself on only needing one cup in the morning to keep me burning all day. However, my kids have changed a lot of that. The other day while driving through town we passed a Starbucks and my son started yelling, “Coffee! Coffee!” My wife and I looked at each other in amazement and started laughing at how pathetic this observation was. We were surprised that he would pick up on that because we honestly don’t go there that often. Once in a while we’ll swing through on …

Love Needs No Because

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. Romans 5:7 (NIV)   *** *** *** ***   Today’s guest devotional is provided by Jon Walker –   The love of God needs no because. He does not give his love because of something that you’ve done. He does not give his love because of something he will gain. He does not give his love because it’s something you have earned.   He gives his love with no because.   We come at love with conditions: you can take …

True: God’s Love Fills Me

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV)   *** *** *** ***   Today’s guest devotional is provided by Jon Walker –   In faith, I know these things to be true:   God is full of love and grace, and he fills me with his love and grace.   God’s work within me is to clear a channel for his love and grace to flow through me into the lives of anyone and everyone I meet.   I …

Until We’re Fully Known

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)   *** *** *** ***   Today’s guest devotional is provided by Jon Walker –   In relationships the failure to communicate can be extremely frustrating. But, the failure to commune leads us to despair.   Communication is usually about sharing information – at its most basic level, the transmitting and receiving of meanings.   Communion, however, is about sharing life. It’s …

The Hunt For the Ninja Turtle…

I had searched everywhere for a Ninja Turtle! Everytime I would be in a store I would look to see if they had one. However, with the resurgence of Batman, Indiana Jones, and the Incredible Hulk there were no mutant turtles trained in the art of ninja by their rat master who mimmicked their owners movements to be found anywhere. Finally, while on vacation we went to Toys ‘R Us and found not only a Ninja Turtle, but, Michelangelo who just happens to be my Judah’s favorite one.

Lost on the Sin Trail

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Romans 6:18 (NIV) *** *** *** ***   Today’s guest devotional is provided by Jon Walker –   For years I wandered away from God and my image of that time is that of a traveler on a trail through the wilderness.   I left the trail and got lost.   Wandering in the wilderness, I lost even the memory that I was there because of my own sinful choices. Eventually, I lost the truth that I had any choice at all. It felt like I was …

Never Say Amen

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. Matthew 26:40 (NIV)   *** *** *** ***   Today’s guest devotional is provided by Jon Walker –   Read this devotional as a prayer:   Help me, Lord, to develop a strong prayer life. I know you desire intimacy with me, and you want me to watch with you and pray (Matthew 26:40).   Yet, I never seem to find the time to pray in a deep, fervent, consistent, persistent way. What draws me to …

Do Your Best to Rest

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest. Hebrews 4:9–11 (NIV)   *** *** *** ***   Today’s guest devotional is provided by Jon Walker –   Most of us think of the Sabbath as a day of rest, originating from the day of rest God took after he created the universe, as recorded in Genesis. That view is correct; it’s the reason we should take a Sabbath, a day …

Jesus-Love Is Personal

We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. 1 John 4:6 (NIV)   *** *** *** ***   Today’s guest devotional is provided by Jon Walker –   My mother gave me a great gift and that is sensitivity about giving gifts. She taught me giving a gift is an opportunity to show you’ve thought about the person, taking time to discover likes and needs.   What this translates into is you …

Shift Happens

         After visiting Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, after reading The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman and after watching the video below titled “Shift Happens”, I was trying to digest a paradigm shift that was happening in me.          One afternoon, I was driving down the road with my family in my Suburban and while stopped at a traffic light, I turned to my three oldest children (Kai, Avery and Noah) who were sitting behind me and I said:        “Guys, school is important. There are kids in India and China right now that are studying …