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I know a ghost

There are few things on the planet that can bring me as much joy as what I got to experience last week. My beautiful wife is one of them. Spending time with her is literally my favorite activity in the history of time. My children are a second. Their laugh and smiles are infectious, and just the medicine that this “daddy” needs when he walks through the door each night. Watching a game at Lambeau Field or Miller Park would…

the WHOLE story

When I was growing up, I went to this thing called Sunday School. I was always a little put out about the name, as the content had absolutely nothing to do with the actual day of the week. We didn’t call the school I was attending each day of the week “Weekday school” - and so I thought it was a silly idea to call something Sunday school if we weren’t going to talk about Sundays at all. I’m crazy,…

My people

I’ve been going to church for as long as I can remember. In fact, for the first twenty-some years of my life, I went to the SAME church almost every week. People growing up now might find that strange, but that’s the way it used to be. My parents brought my brother and I, and sure it was true that we basically didn’t have a choice, but I can honestly tell you - I can’t remember a single time I…

I still believe

A few weeks ago I started a new group of messages at our church called centered around the idea of belief. In the “biz” we call this a series. This particular series is called “I still believe.” Other than the incredible opportunity to use the mid 2000’s Jeremy Camp song that plagued Christian radio stations for many years (it’s actually a decent song, just overplayed), I wanted it to represent a feeling of hope I have about the things that…

A quiet riot

There are two kinds of silence in this world - the kind you want, and the kind you don’t. The first is the one that all parents dream about. When your kids are young and sitting in the back seat of a car yelling at each other or asking a thousand questions, you know what it’s like to long for silence. When they fall asleep and there is nothing but the sound of their breathing to let you know they…

A very Good Friday

“The costliest of costs. The deadliest of loss, The wonder of the cross. The breath of life that stops. The hope of heaven bought The wonder of the cross. The wonder of the cross. I don’t want to move.” [playlist ids="258"] Good Friday has long been my favorite day of every year. I hope it doesn’t make me sound strange or morbid, but there is just such powerful emotion that surrounds this day. I remember as an adolescent, probably not…

Bread and wine

Every once and a while someone asks me the question - ‘What would you want for your last meal ever on earth?’ As I have never been on death row or even incarcerated for that matter, I can honestly tell you, it is a question to which I have never given too much thought. Whenever I am asked, my mind immediately goes to some of my favorite foods growing up. My step-dad makes a really mean ribeye, so I think…

The hardest part

Tom Petty famously penned and sang the line ‘the waiting is the hardest part’ - and I think in most cases, I’d have to agree with him. When we were young kids, my parents used to drive us down to my grandparents farm on all the major holidays and at least a few times each summer. Grandma’s house was a magical land filled with the best of all worlds. Grandma loved to cook, and we loved food, so that lined…

Cleaning House

My wife and I are not the housecleaning type. It’s not like we live in a pigsty or anything - we do clean the house. It’s just that, given the choice between hanging out with each other or the kids and scrubbing toilets and washing floors, we will always choose the former. Growing up, my parents kept the house incredibly tidy. Floors were washed and vacuumed every Saturday, bathrooms were cleaned weekly, and beds were made on a daily basis.…

A case of the Mondays

I’ve got this sort of sixth sense when it comes to guessing the end of movies and television shows. My wife and I watch lots of crime dramas, and usually within the first 15 minutes I’m able to tell her who the villain is. It kind of drives her crazy. I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut because, well, it ruins the drama of it all. Knowing what’s about to happen really makes the rest of the story seem kind…