I realized something. I’ve never seen my back – in person. I mean I’ve seen some of my back in a mirror, but I haven’t ever seen, with my own eyes, my back. And yet it’s a large part of who I am. I guess that’s where we get the expression, “I’ve got your back!” … Continue reading Who’s Got Your Back?

Our church is about to start a series on stewardship that uses Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University.” While most of the response has been very positive, as expected, some negative comments are beginning to come in. Comments like: “Why does the church always talk about money?” “This is just another way for the church to … Continue reading Perspectives on Faithful Stewardship

If there was a point in my life that I knew I was growing in the Lord, it was when I started to serve. I was 17 years old. I had been a Christian for 9 months and my best friend volunteered me to lead the singing for Vacation Bible School – by myself! In … Continue reading Serving with a Smile

The first stop on our “multi-point” check of our spiritual lives is the Bible, the Word of God. For those of us from evangelical Christian traditions, the Scriptures are central to understanding God, His work in our world, and His ways of life. We see the discipline of getting the Word of God (both the … Continue reading Biblical Growth, Not Just Biblical Knowledge

The other day I took my car in to the dealer to get an oil change. What was cool was that I also got a free multi-point inspection of my car. They checked my tires, my oil, my brakes, all the various fluids, battery charge and so on. I noticed that my front brakes pads … Continue reading Multi-point Inspections of our Spiritual Lives

As promised, I am finishing up the meaning and redeeming of the days of the week today. I covered “Monday” through “Friday” on last week’s blogs (7/29-8/2) and yesterday (8/7) I covered “Saturday.” Today, I’m looking at Sunday. The origin of Sunday predates the modern calendar. From ancient times people of all civilizations worshiped the … Continue reading Sun-day is the Son’s Day

I confess. I’m a Star Wars geek. Although I’m not as die-hard as some of my friends (like Scott Higa, author of thechristiannerd.com) or some of my family members (Tim and Jon, two of my sons), I know enough about Star Wars to be dangerous. One of the famous lines, found in just about every … Continue reading I’ve Got a Bad Feeling About This

(Aiden with Daniel, his Daddy, on the first day of school) Yesterday was a proud moment to watch my youngest grandson (Aiden, I call him “Bug”) go to his first day of school. It reminded me of so many moments of growth for my sons and oldest grandson. They have come so far because they … Continue reading Learning and Growing in the School of Jesus

In our neck of the woods, public schools start today. Some of you in other parts of the country are probably thinking, “I always thought Californians were crazy. This confirms it!” Yeah, I know. Sometimes things get weird here on the “left side” of the country. It all has to do with standardized testing in … Continue reading Back to School/Fall Routine

Back in my “disco” days in the late 70’s (another story for another time), there was a movie that came out called, “Thank God It’s Friday.” It was one of those multiple plot stories that centered around a popular disco palace on its busiest night – Friday. The idea was that, since the work week … Continue reading Thanking God and Loving Well on Frige’s Day