Send us a text I love my hand brews when it comes to coffee, but there are many people who are not willing to go through the drawn out process for their coffee. They want it fast and they want it easy. Instant gratification is a huge thing for us today. Well...while that's not always a bad thing, it's a very bad thing when it spills over into our spiritual life. Instead of waiting on the Lord (who waits for us), we expect him to act now. We must learn to be like King David, who lived a life full...
Sep 22, 2021•14 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Send us a text My wife visited a tree in South Carolina. That's right, a tree. But it's not just any tree, it's the Angel Oak Tree that covers 17,000 square feet with it's branches. It is absolutely enormous! How do the branches, that extend up to almost 190 feet long, keep from breaking? Well, it has incredibly deep roots for starters. But secondly, each branch has been tethered to another. It literally holds itself up. Well...what is holding you up? Scripture teaches us that it can only be one...
Sep 21, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Send us a text I love watching the big games when comes time, but I have never paid for the big sport packages. I usually watch it at a friend's house who does, or I sign up for one of those "free trial" offers to watch the game and then cancel before I am charged. I'm a cheapskate fan, I want all the benefits of watching the big games without any of the costs. Well...sometimes we can be like that in our faith. Jesus warned about this in the parable of the sower when he addressed the rocky groun...
Sep 18, 2021•12 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Send us a text My wife is off enjoying South Carolina, and they stopped in at a very special coffee shop that employees primarily those with disabilities. Having two children with down syndrome of their own, they are on a wonderful mission to change the way our society and others view people with disabilities, and I applaud them! Because well...God doesn't make junk. Every single person has been fearfully and wonderfully made, and your life has immense worth! Reject the way the world rejects oth...
Sep 16, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Send us a text My wife is off on a girls trip only, so I am hope playing Mr. Mom to my two wonderful children through next Monday. My wife is the sweetest - she was worried about going and leaving me with the kids all by myself, but mostly she felt like she didn't deserve this trip and this break. But nothing could be further from the truth. She works so hard, and I need to show her my gratitude. Well...the Bible teaches that a worthy woman is just that, worthy . Our wives are worthy of our prai...
Sep 16, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Send us a text My daughter has this tiny but functional digital camera she recently received that she loves to take pictures on. Last night I started to scroll through them, all 900 of them. What was most amazing was getting to see what kind of things were important to her, important enough to take pictures. It was like seeing the world through her eyes. Well...that's called empathy, and it's an important part of unity in the church. If we want to put the needs and interests of others first, tha...
Sep 14, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Send us a text People will believe the craziest things. We talked this morning at a Bible study about people who run catfish accounts, and how gullible people are fooled into sending money to people who are manipulating them. I remember a viral episode of Dr. Phil back in 2015 about a woman who was swindled out of 1.4 million dollars. Well...there are catfish preachers too. False teachers that twist truth to manipulate their listeners for dishonest gain. We must test the spirits, and not be spir...
Sep 10, 2021•12 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Send us a text Steve from Blue's Clues is back! Yes, you read that right - for the 25th anniversary of the show, Steve came back to share a message with the world, and it's powerful! I embedded the audio into the podcast so you can listen to yourself, but ultimately he had a lot to say about how none of us would be where we are today without each other then. He's talking about investing in people. Well...that's also called discipleship. We invest our time, energy, and love into others to help th...
Sep 09, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Send us a text I was listening to music this morning when it started playing a suggested track from a band I had never heard before called LANY. The sound was nice, but the words had a terrible message behind them. Essentially, the song was him telling his fiancé or wife, "I'll never say forever, I'll just love you until I don't." You've got to be kidding me. No wonder we have so many failed marriages today. Well...the greatest commandment is to love God & love others, we understand that lov...
Sep 08, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Send us a text I am a heavy sleeper, and really struggle to wake up. Sometimes Kylie literally has to shake me to wake up. So when I was supposed to link up with the guys to go golfing on Labor Day at 5:45, I made sure to set extra alarms. However, I woke up to the sound of someone pounding on my window at 8:30 to check on me. Yikes. Well...so many are walking around today while they are asleep spiritually. No matter how many times Jesus calls to try and wake us up, we continue in our stubborn w...
Sep 07, 2021•14 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Send us a text I was pumped up this year for my favorite team, the Oregon Ducks, to be traveling near us to play Ohio State. I really wanted to go to the game, so I looked into tickets and thought about going - that is until I saw the price. Goodness! That kind of money is not worth dropping on a game, I have a family to think of first. I would do anything for them, but not football. Well...how much do we value Jesus? Is cost not a factor when it comes to following him, or are we only willing to...
Sep 03, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Send us a text Earlier this week, a horrible rumor was going around town in Stanford, KY that one of our elders wives had passed away. After just a few minutes of digging and phone calls, I discovered that was most certainly not true. It's crazy how these kinds of rumors get started through gossip. Well...gossip is warned about repeatedly in Scripture. Just because something is true does not give us the right to share it, but especially when something isn't true. More often than not, we enable d...
Sep 02, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Send us a text This morning our daughter looked at Kylie and myself and said, "Maybe one day when I grow up I will die too." It was the first time Ava has asked about death, so I took the opportunity to talk about where death came from and what happens when we die. The fact of the matter is we're all gonna die. Well...some will even die again, something that Scripture refers to as the second death. The question you must ask is this: when you die, will you live again? If you know Jesus, the answe...
Sep 01, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Send us a text It looks like I am finally on the mend, and in no small part due to the effort of my loving wife who cared for me all weekend. As hard as being so sick this weekend was on me, I know it was hard on her because it tripled her responsibilities. But she did it without complaining, because it was a labor of love. Caretakers due the same for those who cannot care for themselves, they pour themselves out to serve others out of love. Well...God is our caretaker. We think about how diffic...
Aug 31, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Send us a text Guess who has strep again? Goodness, this cycle of someone in our house not being sick just seems to be unending. Ever have that happen? Where no matter what you do, some past injury or some sickness just keeps coming up out of nowhere and you can't figure out why? Well...that happens to all of us spiritually too with sin. We all have that one thing you can't seem to kick, and keeps popping back up as you struggle to kill it. Why? Well, I think sometimes it's because we don't set ...
Aug 27, 2021•9 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Send us a text My daughter got this new coloring set for her birthday that is unique. The coloring surface (a large play mat) activates when it comes into contact with water, which is what the pens hold. One of hers ran out, so I tried to fill it up. However, the caps screw on the wrong way - it's not righty tighty, lefty loosey. It's all backwards. Well...the problem is that so many things are backwards in our world right now because of sin. We call that which is evil good and good evil, and Go...
Aug 26, 2021•9 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Send us a text There was a musty, terrible smell coming from our pantry. We at first thought it was an onion that had sprouted, but it turns out it was a rotten potato. It was hidden among the good potatoes, and we finally located the source when it started secreting liquid. When we went to remove it, it exploded and destroyed everything around it. Yeah, nasty and gross. Well...church discipline is even more messy if not handled appropriately. A rotten heart that is engaged in open sin, when tol...
Aug 25, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Send us a text In the past 12 hours I have become aware of over 30 different people and circumstances that were in need of prayer. I spent the majority of the day in prayer, and ended up in a long conversation with my friend Dr. Kenny Embry of the "Balancing the Christian Life" podcast about prayer also. He asked me a hard question: "Does prayer change us, or God?" Well...what do you think? I loved his answer, and I am convinced that what Scripture teaches us about prayer shows us that when God ...
Aug 24, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Send us a text One of my shepherds sent me a picture today with an incredible message plastered on the back of the tailgate of a dump truck. After some research, I discovered this very successful company started out as a mule train hauling goods overt he mountains of West Virginia, but has grown into a 7 company multimillion dollar corporation. What was the message? This company is owned and operated by the grace of God - give thanks to God. Well...what about us? Do we recognize that all glory m...
Aug 20, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 48
Send us a text A very happy birthday to beautiful daughter Ava, who turns three today! It's hard to believe how much she has changed even just over the past year. We are so proud of her and she brings us so much joy. While we would love to keep her little forever, she needs to grow up. Growth is a natural part of life, and when it doesn't happen we should be concerned. Well...are we growing spiritually as we are in other areas of our life? Do I have a healthy diet in God's word? Do I consider al...
Aug 19, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Send us a text Mowing wet grass is super difficult to do. Yes, it gets cut, but because it all sticks together it will clog up the mower and make your job super difficult. Dry grass is much simpler, because it doesn't have the moisture it separates and is scattered. Well...through this hard year, why have some churches been divided while others have stayed unified? The answer is simple, but hard to do. The answer is love. We might get cut down sometimes, but love keeps us together. #SetYourMindA...
Aug 18, 2021•12 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Send us a text Last night our son started running a high fever again over 102, so Kylie took him to the walk in clinic 30 minutes before they closed. Sadly, they refused to see them because they didn't want to take anymore patients. No matter how much she pleaded, they were turned away. Luckily we got him in this morning and received an apology from the doctor who said she absolutely would have seen him if she had been asked. Well...Jesus is the great physician, and he will turn no one away. It ...
Aug 17, 2021•12 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Send us a text Tonight, a lifelong dream of mine is about to come true - I am going to get to see James Taylor live and in person. I am stunned at the thought of maybe even getting to look him in the eyes and shake his hand - what will I say or do? What can you say to someone who helped shape your entire childhood with his music? Well...how much more anticipation do you think I have for the day I will see Jesus face to face? What can you say or do for the author of life, the very one who saved y...
Aug 13, 2021•14 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Send us a text It's amazing how fast the summer went by, kids had their first day of school yesterday as summer break has come to an end for them. It's funny how as young kids you can't wait for school, but the older you get the more you can't wait to graduate and be done with it all. However, I found myself in a journey that demands lifelong continued education, so I'm always learning. Well...that shouldn't be just for preachers, that should be for all disciples. We don't have to be formally ed...
Aug 12, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Send us a text The aquarium was a big hit with the kids yesterday! We saw a lot of amazing things, but my favorite was the cuttlefish. It has this unique ability to camouflage itself instantly to blend in with it's immediate surroundings. We were able to see this on display right in front of our faces, but it got me thinking about my actions because...Well, aren't we all guilty of trying to blend in with the world around us? Rather than be transformed, we shrink back and allow ourselves to be co...
Aug 11, 2021•12 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Send us a text By the time you listen to this, we will have spent the day at the aquarium in Newport, Kentucky with my folks who are here spoiling their grandkids. While I love marine life, there is one creature I fear above any other, and that is a shark. I'm okay looking at them in a tank because I'm still in control, but if I'm in the water I'm completely vulnerable. That is what makes me so afraid, losing control. Well...pride is just as dangerous in our lives. We refuse to give up our contr...
Aug 10, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Send us a text My absolute favorite day while we were back on the West Coast was when Kylie surprised me with a date, just the two of us. We went hiking at our favorite spot in Silverton, Oregon at Silver Creek Falls. It was so good to spent that time connecting, talking, and growing together without any distractions. Sadly, many couples stop dating each other and so they grow apart over time. Well...have you stopped "dating" Jesus? Has your relationship grown stagnant or plateaued? Or are you s...
Aug 06, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Send us a text Airports try my patience, as they do with so many other travelers. As a result, I have the tendency to become stressed and snappy as a result. I was taught an important lesson by a little girl waiting patiently to board who turned and shared her toy with my daughter. The act of kindness convicted me, and reminded me to take better control of myself. Well...there is a marriage between patience and kindness - you cannot have one without the other. And just as love is a choice, and k...
Aug 05, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Send us a text One of our favorite outings on our trip back west was to the Oregon Coast. We found ourselves in Lincoln City as my Dad showed my daughter how to make footprints in the sand. They were clear and defined until the water would come up and wash them away. I followed suit, and though mine were even bigger, the water stilled washed them away. Well...death will come to all, no matter who you are, it is the great equalizer. Our memory on earth will be forgotten & washed away no matte...
Aug 04, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Send us a text We are finally back home! Traveling was a nightmare both there and back. On my flight to Boise, my 4-5 hour tripped turned into nearly a 24 hour trip. Instead of getting in at 11 am, because of mechanical failure I would not get in until well past midnight. Instead of one connection, I would make 3. The worst part, with how it all fell, I couldn't eat. By the end of the day I was starving, and I would have eaten anything. I needed food. Well...do we hunger and thirst for righteous...
Aug 03, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 37
