One More For JC

Two Decades  - 07/09/2026 Farewell Mike  - 05/26/2026 The Christmas Shoebox  - 12/05/2025 The 25th Wedding Anniversary  - 07/01/2025 Face Down  - 03/30/2025 Farewell Neighbor  - 12/12/2024 Willing Scars  - 05/16/2024 The Christmas Miracle  - 12/15/2023 The Fixer  - 05/24/2023 Jesus Revolution  - 05/10/2023 9 17  - 10/06/2022 Farewell Nancy  - 06/26/2022 The Christmas Slippers  - 12/25/2021 Grain of Sand  - 09/24/2021 50  - 05/24/2021 The Resurrection of Gavin Stone  - 02/01/2021 Still Thankful  - 11/25/2020 Too Short?  - 09/25/2020 The Chosen  - 07/01/2020 Peace  - 03/19/2020 All in One  - 11/13/2019 Legacy  - 10/23/2019 A New Path  - 04/15/2019 Love Your Spouse  - 11/08/2018 A Good Word  - 09/11/2018 Still Your Birthday  - 06/08/2018 Six Hours - 03/29/2018 Small House, Big Home  - 12/15/2017 Break for the Better?  - 10/19/2017 Do ...

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalms 46:1-3) To day marks two decades without my Dad.    I can’t believe it’s been that long already, but here we are.   So much has changed in 20 years – including the rise of AI.  Out of sheer curiosity, I just decided to ask it: ‘You don’t get over losing your Dad’ and it responded with:   “You are completely right. You don't ‘get over’ losing your dad; the intense pain doesn't just disappear with time. Instead, grief evolves. The sharp edges soften, and you slowly learn to carry the loss, weaving his memory and the lessons he taught you into the life you continue to build. Navigating this reality is a deeply personal journey, and it is completely normal to feel a mix of sorrow, longing, and gratitude all at o...

  “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)   Last September, Dee and I made an extremely difficult decision to switch churches. The toughest part was leaving behind our “small group” made up of people that have become like family.  For decades, biweekly between the months of September and May, we’d get together to worship and pray with and for one another.  The prayers offered up there I firmly believe changed the trajectory of many lives for the better.     Back in 2015, an older gentleman, Mike, joined our group and we hit it off right from the start.  Mike was a prayer warrior – if I knew Mike was praying for us, I just had a deeper peace that whatever the situation was, it was going to work out for the best.  Mike also had the best memory I’ve ever been around – he even came to know my schedule...

  “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.     Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:7-8)   Two Saturdays ago, I had one of those non-stop days.  I got up early and had hours of intense office work to do.  After that, I took a break from that to help Dee get the Christmas decorations up.  After that, I switched to get some urgent outdoor items done before the Minnesota frozen tundra took over for the winter.  I capped the day by switching back to the intense office work for a couple hours.   At about 9 pm I was ready to collapse in a heap when Dee said, “we have to get the Christmas shoeboxes put together so we can take them to church tomorrow”.  After thinking about it for a minute, I reluctantly agreed.   Thankfully, Dee had taken the lead on buying everything for 4 boxes (...

“He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.” (Proverbs 18:22)   July 1st marks Dee and my 25 th  wedding anniversary.  How could time have gone so quickly?  It seems like just yesterday Dee was walking down the aisle, and here we are looking back at so many years gone by.     Those years have been filled with not only many mountain-top moments, but also times of hardship and sorrow.  Thankfully, those difficult times have helped bring us only closer.  As time has gone by, we’ve navigated toward doing almost everything together – we’ve found through times of separation, we simply work better together as a team.     The success of that team is not a mystery to us – on day one we put Jesus at the center of our marriage and there He shall always remain.  Oh, the many times He’s been there to right and steady our ship as its sailed thru stormy seas.    I’d be remi...

After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.  Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon.    When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the  Lord ! They took Dagon and put him back in his place.   But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the  Lord ! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.  (1 Samuel 5:1-4)   2025 has been a challenging year right from the start – with a variety of issues and battles thrown our way, one after the other.  From a work perspective, it hasn’t been much better – I’ve been assisting with a project that by the time it’s over will likely be the second worst I’ve ever been on (only to be eclipsed by the project detailed in 2004 in "...

Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22:36-40)   25 years ago, I flew in from New Jersey for an important weekend in Minnesota. Dee and I had 3 house showings lined up with our realtor in the hopes of buying our first home together.  The first one we looked at had a great exterior, but we weren’t fond of the inside.  The second one we desired even less, putting all the pressure on the 3 rd  and final one we were going to look at.     I can’t recall how many prayers I said, but I’m sure they were plentiful.  If that 3 rd  showing didn’t work out, I’d have to schedule future trips to Minnesota and go through the pro...

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,   fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.   (Hebrews 12:1-2)   For over a decade, I’ve been proactively going to a dermatologist for an annual full body scan for skin cancer (the trials of being raised with an in-ground pool).  For years, the check-ups were uneventful, and I would merrily go on my way until the next year.  But a few years ago, things started to change as spots were identified of concern.  The first few identified were also uneventful – spots that the doctor removed on the spot, and they ultimately checked out fine.    Unfortunately, last year and this year, spots were identified that required a call back for a deeper excision (both of which thankfully worked out OK).  Th...

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.     (John 3:16) After 15 years, on December 1 st , my two co-founders and I sold Fantasy Postseason.  It was a bittersweet moment, as so much love, time and effort were poured into it over the years.  However, the time had certainly come to move on.   Unfortunately, the sale has made an already busy time of year that much crazier.  The days around the sale were extremely stressful and at times overwhelming – thankfully, each day I took out time to pray about it and on some nights, I’d get woken up around 2 or 3 am in the morning – with an important tip on things that had to be added to the ever-expanding to-do list (or how they should be handled).   Thankfully things have started to calm down as the weeks have gone by.  Today I even had a chance to smile as we received a follow-up email from a long-time ...

Praise the  Lord , my soul,   and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.  (Psalms 103:2-3)   For the past two years, Dee and I have been battling problems with our air conditioner.  It all started innocently enough in June 2021 with a “Possible Frozen Coil” error message on the first day of a 10-day brutal heatwave (which is completely unheard of in the frozen tundra).  I called our service plan company immediately and to my chagrin they said their first availability was in 10 days.  By the next morning, my panic over the timing and heatwave reached a boiling point (pun intended), so I decided to call another company.  To their credit, that company sent someone out immediately, but unfortunately the guy didn’t know what he was doing.  Instead of fixing the problem, he only made things worse, leaving behind a bit of a mangled mess.   Over the next couple yea...

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;   so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.   After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.   (John 13:3-5)   Dee and I finally got around to watching the ‘Jesus Revolution’ movie last week.  It was quite an emotional two-hour ride, but for different reasons.     On one hand, it was powerful to see the decisions made by men like Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie.  Their decisions would impact men like Lloyd Pulley who would ultimately have a major impact on my life.  For some reason, he accepted a calling to fly all the way across the country from California and start up a new Calvary Chapel in New Jersey.  It would just so happen to be plant...

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)   “Look at the clock!” In my household, that was the universal signal that it was 9:17 PM.  September 17th was my parents’ anniversary and at some point, that became a beautiful tribute to a very special day in the lives of my Dad, Mom, sister, and I.   Unfortunately, after my Dad’s passing in 2006, I haven’t heard those words said again, but I always think about it whenever I happen to catch 9:17 on the clock.  In fact, when I was going back and forth on whether to write this verse app, I came upstairs for a cup of coffee and the clock on the stove just happened to be sitting on 9:17.  I couldn’t help but smile – it was one of those gentle leadings I get from the Lord from time to time, and so I went back downstairs and finally decided to put pen to paper.   Although 9:17 can bring...

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) On June 20, my mother-in-law, Nancy, passed away at the age of 76.  She left this earth as one of the greatest cooks and seamstresses this world has ever known.  Although her food was legendary, I’ll remember her most for the following three stories.   The first was from October 2005.  At the start of that year, Dee and I both felt a strong desire to reunite our parents for what we felt would be the last time.  We prayed and prayed, and ultimately put together an east coast trip for October.  At the tail end of that trip, the six of us were able to spend a couple days together at Hershey Hotel in Pennsylvania and then spent a day in New York City with a Broadway show and visiting some of the main tourist sites.  We made sure we returned to my parents’ home early enough so Nancy could make her incom...

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.     (Ephesians 2:8) My Dad wasn’t the biggest Christmas gift shopper, but one year he received a pair of slippers as a gift.     Although they were better suited for his feet, he was insistent that I take them back to Minnesota as his gift to me.     After I offered some resistance for a bit, “They’re your gift,” “They’re a little too big for me,” – I ultimately thanked him and agreed to take them back to the tundra.   Years later, I’m so glad I did.  Every time I look at those slippers, I get to think of my Dad and that gift time and time again.  Although they are still a little too big for me and now have edges fraying left and right, they will always be perfect in my eyes and will remain with me for the rest of my life.   For years, I never thought of them more than just slippers, but this year I got to thi...

I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.  (Psalm 34:4)   I gladly bid adieu to the summer of 2021 a couple days back.  It started innocently enough with our refrigerator packing it in, then soon followed with our A/C imploding on the first day of the worst heatwave I’ve endured in Minnesota since I’ve lived here.     In the following weeks and months, I nearly lost my Mom to choking, had a friend lose his Dad, battled our busiest time of the year at work, nearly blew out my knee playing basketball with my nephew and niece in the pool, had friends and family suffer massive home and car flood damage to Hurricane Ida, and then for the last few weeks have endured a major health scare with Dee (for which we thankfully received great news on yesterday).   Day by day through it all, it seemed like I was hauling a new overflowing pile of stuff and dumping it at the Lord’s feet.  As I walked out of the room I...

That is why we are not discouraged.  Though outwardly we are wearing out, inwardly we are renewed day by day.  Our suffering is light and temporary and is producing for us an internal glory that is greater than anything we can imagine.  (2 Corinthians 4:16-17) As month by month cranked along this year, I had one best friend after another turn 50.  Last month, Father Time finally found its way to me.  It was a bit surreal as in my heart I’ll always be 25, thinking of myself as the guy swinging a baseball bat and manning center on the softball field. In my 20s, I thought for sure I’d play softball for the rest of my life.  But about 17 years ago, in the first practice of the season I tore my hamstring.  Hamstring injuries were always bad news for me as they took an inordinate amount of time to heal.  But this one was the worst - April, May, and June flew by with me sitting on the sidelines.  In the beginning of July, the coach called to ch...

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)   Dee and I watched ‘The Resurrection of Gavin Stone’ over the weekend.  After an abysmal stretch of movies that we’ve watched of late, it wasn’t a simple thing for us to press ‘Buy’, let me tell you.  The director of the movie, Dallas Jenkins, has talked about that movie being the low point of his career and how in two hours after its release in 2017, he went from being a director with a very bright future in Hollywood to a director with no future.     Even with that dark cloud hanging over its head, we decided that since he is also the director of our favorite new series about Jesus, “The Chosen”, and since the movie includes one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Shawn Michaels (I was a big time ‘80s wrestling fan), the time had finally arrived to give it a go.   As we braced for more movie-viewi...

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)   As the year that has been 2020 marches on to Thanksgiving – it remains a glorious time to give thanks.  As the world around me continues to distance itself more and more from God, a part of me takes great sadness in that.  But another part of me rejoices…    As the pages of His word predicted such a time as this, I can find rest in the Lord, and know that nothing escapes His notice.  He was on the throne yesterday, He is on the throne today, and He will be on the throne tomorrow (and every day after that to boot).  For that, I will always  rejoice   and  always give thanks – Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The LORD answered Moses, "Is the LORD's arm too short?  Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you." (Numbers 11:23) As much as I've cautioned myself against it over recent years, this summer found me back regularly working up to 16-hour days and half the weekends.  We had a major product release yesterday and with Dee working for the same company and COVID keeping us mostly indoors, we both let ourselves get swept away by our computers. Mixed in, for 5 weeks I had to lead weekly webinars to present the coming enhancements to our business partners and customers.  It was a boatload of work to prepare for and the presentations were super-stressful (I had to make sure all the features worked, write the demo scripts, etc.). Right before Week 4's presentation, I had just about had enough - I was overworked, wasn't getting much sleep, and I certainly was in no shape to lead the webinar with a smile for an hour.  About 5 minutes before it start...