For the past week I have been trying a little spiritual experiment. I don’t know about you, but I get pretty  overwhelmed with wanting to pray more, wanting to read my Bible more, and wanting to read other spiritual books more. More often than not it seems like I have to choose one, and then I feel a little incomplete without the others. (And, unfortunately, sometimes I don’t even choose one!)

So at the beginning of last week I came up with an idea to try and help manage my daily desire for something more. I decided to take a thirty minute block of time for a specific spiritual focus and divide it into three parts: Bible, Book, and Prayer. I spend ten minutes reading my Bible, ten minutes reading another spiritual book (right now I’m reading C.S. Lewis’ The Weight of Glory), and then ten solid minutes of praying.

Supper is nearly over. It is nearly time for Jesus to head out to the garden where He will be arrested. But before He goes, He has some final words for His disciples including a startling revelation and prophecy concerning His disciples, especially Peter. In Luke 22.31-38, we have the final discourse of Jesus around the supper table.

The Savior’s Prophecy concerning Peter

It’d been quite a while since I’d picked up my camera so I decided to take it with my to the Kids’ Cafe yesterday. The kids are always so funny when I bring out the camera because they always act camera shy when in fact it’s quite the opposite. I decided to shoot black and white within the camera itself, so what you see below is straight out of the camera (except for the logo, of course).

I want to always remember these kids. I want to remember their personalities. I want to remember our struggles and our victories with them. I’m thankful to God to be able to work with these kids and I pray that somehow our two hours a day with them will make an eternal difference in their lives.white space

I saw this kid for the first time yesterday and could not stop laughing. He is adorable, funny, and extremely talented.

Just thought I’d share…

A few weeks ago Brandon mentioned that we needed some ideas of new games and activities to do with the kids at work. We were feeling a little burnt out with doing the same things week after week, and we got some good ideas, so thanks to those who contributed! Brandon himself came up with a great idea as well. He called me while I was at the store two weeks ago and asked me if I would want to bake with the children. If you know me, you know I love to bake, so I was very excited about the idea.

My two favorite (and easiest) recipes are Nestle chocolate fudge brownies and chocolate chip cookies. So while I was at the store I picked up the ingredients to bake those two things.

Matthew is seven-years old and is one of our regulars at the Kids’ Cafe. He asked to share this joke with me today and I thought I would pass it on to you.

Why did the—Why did—Why did the—How—What—Wall?

Why did the—Why did—Why did the wall—Why did the wall eat—eat the roof?

Because it wanted to eat—Because it wanted to eat the, um, bug, that was on the roof.

Well, I’m still laughing.

Ever since Katie and I returned from Ukraine in 2008 I’ve been hearing about this book by William P. Young called The Shack. After hearing so many reviews for the last year and a half like, “It’s amazing!” and from others, “It’s blasphemous!“, I was finally able to start reading it a little over a month ago. The verdict: I think it’s both.

The book is about a man named Mack who has had an extremely difficult life and has just suffered a particularly tragic loss when we meet him. His life is covered by this “Great Sadness” and he feels his anger toward God building and building until he is on the brink of throwing his faith out completely. Then one day he receives a letter that motivates him to go to a shack in the woods where he discovers and spends the weekend with all three parts of the Godhead. This weekend challenges his faith unlike anything else ever has and he begins to see and relate to God in a much different way.

Back in early January we took some fun family pictures together. Processing those has been sitting on the back burner while I got some more priority sessions finished. Thankfully much of the country still has snow, so these pictures won’t seem out of place. I was getting nervous that I would finally get these done during the summer months! Below are some pictures of my parents, my sister, and our three-year-old nephew, Ezekiel.

There is much darkness and gloom brooding over this tiny band. But it will get much darker as Jesus will draw their attention to a betrayer among them. In Luke 22.21-30, Jesus turns his attention to disciples and their future. For one, his future is bleak as he will betray the Son of Man. His name is Judas. Jesus turns His attention to this sad topic.

The Disloyalty of a Disciple

As a missionary, it’s often hard to go back to your mission field. It’s typically a bittersweet experience. You are excited to be back “home” again, but you notice that “home” isn’t what it used to be. You are happy to see the smiling faces of your friends and family, but you quickly realize that there are some faces missing. You rejoice when you see how certain people have flourished in their faith, but you are heartbroken to hear of others who have fallen away. Life has moved on, both for you and for them. Things are different. And different can often be disappointing.