I’ve spent the last few months (barely) keeping my head above water. (There I am with the water theme again… Hmmmm.) So let’s see if I can get the hang of this blogging business. What’s on the top of my mind right now?

A friend was visiting the office today and we got to discussing (among other things) something he heard on the radio about a former pastor turned atheist. A question was raised, which he relayed to me, about whether humans are truly eternal beings, or merely temporal—unless and until they profess faith in Christ, at which point they are granted eternal life. Presumably the assumption is that if you don’t have eternal life, you are annihilated at death, not sent to eternal punishment. [Read more…]

Some who read this may not be in Minnesota. Whether you are or not, no doubt you recognize the change of seasons: It’s starting to be fall here. The trees are beginning to exhibit LOTS of color (AHHHHHHH!) and there is a chill in the air at night. This is absolutely my FAVORITE season of the year.

This past weekend, Judy and I experienced parents weekend at the University of Minnesota with our younger daughter Anna. We walked all over the campus and enjoyed seeing things, some old, some new, some gone. (The building in which I worked after attending the U, Wesbrook Hall, is simply no longer there.) [Read more…]

Perhaps I should be lowering the bar… My intention to update this blog in three quick spurts EACH WEEK seems to be exceedingly beyond what I can accomplish! It made sense, at some point, that I would provide a personal update, a ministry update, and a prayer/support-raising update. These three areas of my ministry here seem the natural dividing lines but alas, I’ve barely been able to make time for one update in a month! Gasp!!!

Hmmm, only one person has brought this dearth of details to my attention. Is anybody else reading this?

I guess that should be the first prayer request: that I find time more faithfully to communicate what’s going on here. And there is a LOT going on, hence my full days have prevented me from taking time to reflect on, er, my full days. 🙂

[Read more…]

Well, it has been almost a month since I last communicated through this blog. It will be a little bit longer still before I report in significant detail, but here’s the bottom line: I’m still here!
We have moved into our new office space (photos and details to follow). It was/is a LOT of work, and it will be a while yet before I feel fully moved in. The ministry work won’t wait, however, so I’m fitting unpacking among the meetings and production work and phone calls and decisions that must be addressed.
In the mean time, both of our girls have moved to their college communities (one in TX, and one in MN). We’re SO proud of them and eager to see how God uses them.
This is an exciting time for FaithSearch International, and the potential impact for the Kingdom has never been greater. I will resume trying to communicate some of my excitement, er, well, how about tomorrow?
Until then, I remain, your faithful servant, in need of your prayers.

Well, I guess this is our summer to be on the water, because we did it again. All four of us this time, canoed another sixteen miles (according to the rental place; Google maps calculates the route as more like thirteen) down the Bois Brule river in northern Wisconsin. My grandfather has a cabin on the river, and it’s a marvelous (if completely primative) retreat full of the magic of childhood wonder in a fantastically beautiful setting. Cabins always seem to have this wondrous feel to them, so much so that I’m looking into finished cabins myself to see if I could create my own little home from home in which to make my own magical memories. I think that I do need to look into getting myself one of these Portable Cabins, I would use it a lot and it would be of huge benefit to me. A friend of mine was talking about getting a cabin somewhere in the mountains so we could getaway for the summer once in a while. Hearing about her idea, got me thinking about my grandfather’s cabin and how great it was growing up in that kind of environment. Getting a cabin would just be an amazing idea. Escaping from the hustle and bustle of life once in a while, just sounds great to me. I can imagine it now, just have a summer without worries, sitting on the Poly Furniture on the porch, just enjoying the night or evening air while reading a book or looking around nature. It just seems so comforting to me. (Click here for the satellite view of the route we did.)

This time, Anna had a camera along, so I can give you a better idea of what we enjoyed. And enjoy it we did. This is a spring fed, meandering river that flows north from roughly Solon Springs, WI, out of Upper St. Croix Lake. (You can read about the river here.)

Before I recount the revelry on the water, I will point out that there is something a “tradition” in our family: When traveling to or from Duluth and environs, we WILL encounter bad weather. [Read more…]