The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed. (Genesis 12:1 & 4) We just bought a house in Pennsylvania and put our house on the market in Virginia. That simple 16-word sentence just doesn’t do justice to the stress of the past week. On the PA side, it’s involved house hunting, hours of online research, dozens of phone calls and…
Hello Friends! As is obvious, I haven’t blogged much this summer and fall. Things have been very busy with many ups and downs. For much of the summer I was on personal sabbatical after a very busy season of ministry. In July our family was on mission to England with long-time missionary friends, Eric & Lisa Simpson. And while in England Pam’s mom, Marilyn Shisler passed away after a brief hospitalization and some unexpected complications. Our whole family grew closer through…
Several years ago, pastor and author Mark Batterson wrote a book with the provocative title, Wild Goose Chase: Reclaiming the Adventure of Pursuing God. I remember raising a skeptical and judgmental eyebrow when I saw the title. It seemed a little irreverent to me, He based his title on a phrase that Celtic Christians used to characterize the leading of the Holy Spirit- following the Wild Goose. I think I reacted skeptically because “wild goose” kind of sounds like it…
One of the most ubiquitous symbols of the Appalachian Trail is the white blaze. A blaze is a distinctive stripe that is painted in obvious places along a hiking trail to let you know that you are on the right path. In Shenandoah National Park there tons of marked trails. There are blue blazes, red blazes and yellow blazes, but the white blaze is reserved for the granddaddy trail of them all, the AT which traverses completely through the park. …
…The sky over your head will be brass, and the earth beneath you iron. Deuteronomy 28:23 This past week I had coffee with Scott Heine, a pastor friend who has consistently reached out to me for years and especially since I stepped down from active pastoral ministry at the end of March. We met at Panera in Gainesville and I was about 1/2 way into my first mug of steaming joe when he stopped the chat and said, “So how…
For years people have been telling me that I ought to write a book. I don’t know if I have the patience and discipline for that… but I do like to write devotional material. For the past 10 years, I’ve been consistently writing and using the material for church newsletters, social media and sometimes just for fun. Now, the majority of it is compiled in one place. One day, I hope my kids will sift through all of this and…
On Wednesday, I returned from a 10 day expedition through Shenandoah National Park. God and I walked the Appalachian Trail from the park’s northernmost entrance in Front Royal to its southernmost point at Waynesboro. My 101 mile journey crossed 8 Virginia counties and traversed several dozen peaks with an elevation swing of 530 feet in Front Royal to a high of 4039 feet at Hawkbill mountain. This had been on my “bucket list” for a while, but the suddenness of…
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Ephesians 6:9 On Saturday, Amanda and I planted our garden; tomatoes, onions, zucchini, cucumbers, basil, cilantro, green beans, Jamaican calaloo, and very soon, peppers- green bell peppers, jalapeño, and banana peppers. I also planted a ring of marigolds and other bug-deterring flowers around the perimeter (Thanks Stefanie for giving us some surplus plants!). Looks good, don’t…
Back in 2001, pastor and author John Ortberg wrote a best selling book, If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat. The book is based on Matthew 14:22-33 where Jesus intentionally puts his disciples into a boat knowing that he is sending them into rough waters. Jesus goes off to pray and at about 4 a.m., far out at sea, while the winds and the waves are buffeting the boat, Jesus comes to…
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” Isaiah 5:20 I’ve been doing my morning reading in the Old Testament, specifically the book of Jeremiah and I’ve gotta say, it’s been years since I’ve read through some of these tougher portions of the Bible. It’s slow going at times, but I am learning a lot. The prophet Jeremiah ministered at a time in Israel’s history when the nation was finally coming under God’s judgment for their continuous idolatry….