I’m so encouraged this week. Joining on Wednesday with hundreds of you for our Day of Prayer and Fasting really touched my heart. There’s something powerful about coming together as children of God crying out to our Father together. I noticed three things happening in my heart this past week.   I felt my heart … [Read More…] October 18, 2020

I suppose if I had to pick, Autumn would be my favorite season of the year. While I enjoy the fresh energy of Spring, the warmth and vibrancy of Summer, and the festivities of a cool dusky Winter, it is the crisp blaze of Autumn that most pulls at my heart. I love the crunch … [Read More…] October 11, 2020

“Enjoy these days, they go by so fast!”   When we first had children, Krista and I heard those words more often than we could count. Wise folks, grandparents in particular, would remind us to hold our babies tight and savor the little days because they would quickly be behind us. I think we knew … [Read More…] October 4, 2020

In 1803, Lewis and Clark began their famous expedition into the West. Their aim was to find a trans-continental riverway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and change the fortunes of the nation. Loaded with their paddles and canoes, they traveled to the Continental Divide. They expected to find the headwaters of the Columbia. What … [Read More…] September 27, 2020

Today and next Sunday many of us will “Gather Live” and see each other face-to-face for the first time in many months. We’ll be outside, socially-distanced and wearing masks, but we’ll be together. For many of us it will be a precious reunion. For me it will be the first time I’ve actually seen some … [Read More…] September 20, 2020

For this Sunday, I’m going to use this space in a different way. Toward the end of my sermon I’ll reference these diagnostic questions and ask each of us to spend some time reflecting on them.   For each of these questions, I want us to identify two things:   1. Where am I in … [Read More…] September 13, 2020

God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them. (John Piper)   Here at the end of the book of Ruth we discover that God is doing far more in this little family from Bethlehem than they could ever have imagined. From the dark days of tragedy, to … [Read More…] September 6, 2020

Our family is excited to be moving at long last into our temporary apartment near Oz Park this week! Our kids are beyond excited. We want to thank you for your faithful prayers and look forward to settling into life here with you in Chicago.   Some of you have asked me what we’ll be … [Read More…] August 30, 2020

A month ago we closed on our house in Olympia and, as my children explained it to our friends, we became “homeless.” We quickly taught them a better way to describe our time “between homes,” but in many ways that’s how we’ve felt these last weeks. We’ve stayed in several rental homes, a couple hotels, … [Read More…] August 23, 2020

You are loved, more than you know.   I often close my letters with these words. They remind us of what we are prone to forget: in Jesus we are loved to the skies.   The Bible tells us that though we are far more sinful than we ever dared realize, in Jesus we are … [Read More…] August 16, 2020