“Does this kind of thing happen often in Port Orchard?” asked Rosemary, incredulous. “Well, it certainly seems to happen more when I fast and pray,” I responded.
I met a young mom and her daughter in a restaurant in the 3 minutes it took Rosemary to pay the bill. Ten days later a text from her read… […]
You may not believe it but someday, this COVID stuff will be behind us! It will become part of our lore and, predictably, we will bore our grandchildren to death with stories of how we lived through the Great Quarantine. There is a lot about COVID that is, obviously, very irritating. I’ll confess, I had […]
This weekend I will be preaching on the topic of encouragement. Did you know that encouragement is a spiritual gift? It is also called “exhortation.” But “encouragement” is less inscrutable! And even if you don’t have to have the spiritual gift of encouragement, you can hone that skill. All you need do is practice! I […]
Tan Jenkins’ memorial service on January 4 was one of the largest we have ever hosted. We don’t often have to ask folks at a funeral to scoot in; we did with Tan’s. In part, this was because of the remarkable, courageous, radiant person Tan was. Her unconquerable smile and unquenchable joy, regardless of her […]
We raised German Shepherd puppies on our little three-acre alfalfa farm in Yakima. My grandpa was a butcher and he used to bring bones for them. If you’ve ever watched a German Shepherd gnawing on a cow’s knee joint, you understand the saying, “Like a dog with a bone.” They will work and gnaw and […]
I once had an alarm that would sneak up on me. When it first turned on, it was very quiet. Then, it would grow slowly louder and louder. In those wee hours, I would have dreams that included a faint beeping sound in the background until, suddenly, I realized that the beeping was my alarm […]
It wasn’t on our tour itinerary. I don’t recall the first time I even heard it was possible, but when I found out—I jumped at the chance. It’s called the “Wall Walk.” You climb up steep stairs in an ancient tower near Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, and you can walk half […]
My dear Chapel Hill family:‚Ä®‚Ä® I have often been asked by pastoral colleagues how it was possible for me to have remained in one church for more than 30 years. Of course, my first response is always, “They are a Sweetheart Church.” A close second is, “Have you ever BEEN to Gig Harbor?” But here’s […]
Last weekend we launched a sermon series on Nehemiah called For the City. (What a blast it was!) We are spending the next few weeks asking, “What would it look like for the people of Chapel Hill to REALLY be for the city? To not just live here; but to champion the place in which […]
I’ve got to tell you, there are few things more encouraging (or slightly suffocating) than receiving a bear hug from a joyful big guy who has been baptized! We just celebrated Baptism Weekend and I had the privilege of introducing eight new folks into God’s family through baptism. And some of them were “surprises”; only […]