life. faithful.

 I'm finding words to be elusive. An incredible man drew his last breath early Thursday morning, October 21st, his family by his side. Yesterday afternoon, my hometown gathered around his family to say goodbye. It is hard to wrap my mind around it happening so quickly; they hadn't even had time to adjust after hearing that dread ed word: cancer. I suppose on one hand that can be seen as a mercy, but right now I have to admit that I just see it as a tragedy. My heart is broken for everyone who knew and loved Frank. And as far as I can tell, to know him was to love him. I can't speak for anyone else, but I know I am incredibly thankful for the years I've counted him as part of my church family. That phrase doesn't really do it justice--our tiny little group is a lot more of a family than it probably implies. I'm thankful for the countless Sunday mornings spent sipping coffee, eating breakfast, and studying God's Word at a table with Frank. He was always quic

 As I was driving down the dirt road this morning on my way to work, the clouds caught my attention. It was definitely one of those times I wish I had a camera with me, but that's probably the only thing I really miss after getting rid of my cell phone two years ago. Since I couldn't get a picture, here's something similar: Image from free stock It was early morning, the sky up high light blue and full of puffy white clouds. Under that, though, was a layer blowing in--still not really storm clouds, they were gray and wispy, swirling and dancing. They were moving quickly but it looked like a lot faster since the clouds above them weren't moving. What really made me stop, though, wasn't the clouds. Instead it was the flock of birds. Not my picture--from free stock   I'm not sure how many there were, but they were riding the drafts with the storm clouds moving in. They rose and fell with the air, barely flapping their wings. I'm sure they knew the storm was com

 Dear God, I'll be honest--this world my kids are in? It's a hard place. There's so much darkness and it seems to be growing. It's nothing like the world I expected to be raising my kids in and nothing like the world I was used to. Hatred and division is running rampant and somehow it is all around the world all at the same time. Confusion and fear are widespread and it seems like that's all that's being pushed. I can't help but see glimpses of Revelation in the world, and it worries me. Not because I'm worried about the ultimate outcome--You've known the end since the beginning, and You hold everything in Your hand. But somehow while I know that, I have a hard time entrusting my kids to You. It doesn't make sense, I know. Logically I understand that they are Yours and that You love them so much more than I could ever imagine. But You know that control issue thing that I have? It kicks in pretty hard when it comes to my kids, and it's incredi