In January, we had to unexpectedly say good-bye to my grandpa as he came down with some lung infection and died two days later. As an extended family, this was really the first time we’ve experienced death in the family with someone that we were close to. As hard and shocking as it was, we are so blessed to have a large family that is close to be a source of encouragement. We had a great time celebrating my Grandpa’s homegoing and that his faith became his sight! During the week that we were all together and during his memorial service, we talked a lot about Heaven. Many people came up to us repeating things about Heaven that they had learned through a book my grandpa wrote and through classes that he taught at his church.
One of the greatest blessings that came from this time was the questions from our 4-year-old that have sparked great conversations. Continue Reading →
Opposition isn’t my favorite word. No, I would much rather deal with words like “friendship,” “kindness,” “harmony” or “happiness.” But, as I have known for a while and 
Death. Everybody’s favorite subject. Our book of the month for August is titled The Last Enemy, with the subtitle of “Preparing to Win the Fight of Your Life.” Michael Wittmer is the author, and his purpose in writing the book is to give the Christian a proper outlook on death. The premise is simple: Everyone is going to die. Of course, there is hope for the believer because of what Christ accomplished in His death and resurrection. And that is the message that Wittmer delivers.
As the last few weeks of summer wind down and we get ready to start another school year, it’s crazy to me how quickly this past year has gone by. Last August, we spent a week on a little roadtrip up the coast and had lots of time in the car to talk and evaluate our goals, schedules and areas of service for our family. This led to some interesting conversations and—to make a long story short—after much prayer and counsel by some of our church family, we decided we were saying “yes” far too often. This led us to not being able to do much with excellence.