It was a pretty overwhelming day. When challenges or difficult situations happen all at once, then it is easy to lose perspective and even start to lose hope. During these times, it is helpful to remind myself of my calling and the vision that God has placed before me. Sometimes, I wonder if I am […]
Courage to Get Involved
I don’t know if you have heard the string of news reports about people doing nothing in a time when immediate action was required. One situation involved a 78 year old man who was hit by a car and as he was lying there, no one did anything. Another incident happened recently where a woman […]
Blogosphere Check-Out 06.16.08
I am spending some time with my family and some of my close friends and their families for several days. Then I will be heading out to Chicago for a little bit to spend time with our extended families. I have made a promise to Christina that I will not be working on my blog […]
Jesus and His Wife?
As many of you know, I was not brought up in the church; therefore when I would hear about some of the crazy stories about elders and deacons fighting with each other with knives on the church lawn, it was unfathomable and made me more cynical about the Church. When I heard about people criticizing […]
Church Pirates
When I came across this video, it was refreshing to hear a well respected church leader share his thoughts so frankly. I think in the church we have also become so PC (politically correct) that we are afraid of offending anybody. But the reality is that truth sometimes is hard to hear and even harder […]
Training New Leaders?
Not too long ago, someone forwarded me a video interview with Bill Taylor, who did some research on the internet shoe company, Zappos.com. I was pretty fascinated by this interview because of the title. Now you have to admit that a video titled, “Why Zappos Pays New Employees to Quit?” should draw anyone’s attention. They […]
Stay-at-Home Mom Makes Thousands
I learned very quickly in my marriage never to ask the question, “So what did you do ALL day?” Inherent in that statement, I was somehow communicating to Christina, who is a domestic engineer (translation = stay-at-home mom), that she does nothing. I still remember the first time I watched all the kids for a […]
Love is Spelled T-I-M-E
One of the hardest things about traveling is the time that I miss with my children and Christina. Thank God for technology and the ability to connect with my children via e-mail and webcam. But often times in my longer travels, I miss playing sports with them and yes, even tea party with KiKi. I […]
Reviewing Our Yearly Goals
Christina and I had a great time hanging out together for our anniversary yesterday. We had a awesome dinner at Pacific Rim by Kana in downtown Ann Arbor. We were pleasantly surprised at the elegance and the quality of the food. We also spent some time reviewing our yearly goals. One thing good about having […]
12th Year Wedding Anniversary
Today is our wedding anniversary. Wow… twelve years of marriage to the woman I love! There are times when Christina and I feel like we have been married for only a few years and there are other times when it seems like forever. But either way, I am constantly reminded of how God brought us […]
Till Death Did They Part
It is hard to imagine being married for 50 years, let alone 75 years, but J.C. and Josie Cox from Texas have hit that milestone of 75 years. It is longer than what most people will live in their lifetime. I wonder how their lives changed over the years. When I think about the last […]
A Vision of the Lost
The above oil painting was commissioned in 1993 by Last Days Ministries, which was founded by Keith Green. It was a depiction of a vision that William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army had one day. Vision is a powerful thing. The Bible says that, “where there is no vision, […]
Following Our Calling
Today I was reading something about leadership and I came across this thought by Kirsten Strand. In her article, “Following A Tough Call” she writes: “I have learned that ignoring a calling can lead to depression, anger, frustration, and a deep dissatisfaction with life. And I have learned that following a calling can also lead […]
Business and the Church
It is exciting to be in the discussion of how business and church (viewed mostly as trying to mix oil and water) can co-exist to benefit various communities. This is something we at HMCC have believed in for some years now. I have told many people that if there is a business principle that works […]