“I’m playing dead, daddy.” The words of my three-year old still bring a smile to my face. I shot him good—with a toy cap gun—of course. Recently, on a family vacation, I bought four toy cap guns. The kind that make a loud shooting sound when the hammer strikes a firing cap. They’re the “real” toy guns I remember playing with as a child. I’ll […]

Spring always reintroduces two important things back into my life—hot dogs and campfires. I love sitting outside on a cool night, listening to a crackling fire while, roasting hot dogs. Living in the Midwest, there’s nothing more exciting than the return of spring after a long cold winter. As a parent, I cherish spring. It brings ample opportunities to get the kids out of the […]

I used an American Girl doll to extract my six-year-old daughters tooth. I removed it the old-fashioned way, by tying one end of the dental floss to her tooth and the other end to Lucy, the American Girl doll. I convinced my daughter to let Lucy assist with the delicate operation. I’ll be honest this genius idea only came after thirty minutes of negotiations during […]

My arms ached as I hefted around 30 pounds of a muddy grimy two-year old boy.  Even though my muscles burned, I relished every moment down the mountain. My son Carrick was worn out. Tired of stepping over roots, trudging through muddy trails, and slipping on slick wet stones, my boy succumbed to his tiredness. He was a champ. His little legs had carried him […]

Who doesn’t love the lyrics from the movie Frozen? I’ll admit, I know every word of every song. But before you judge me, know that I have three children under the age of eight. As a dad, it is my job to be engaged with their world and their culture. Plus who doesn’t love Disney? I like living in Ohio. We get snow all winter […]

I recently moved with my family to a new house. My children love it because we have neighbors. Neighbors who are there age, children they can play with. Like any good pastor’s kids, my children quickly asked their new friends to come to church. We were proud of their initiative, but we shared in their frustration as the neighbors reported that they are not allowed […]

A cacophony of nighttime jungle sounds serenaded my son and I in our cabana. Surrounded by darkness in the lush Belizean jungle, Carver and I had time to talk about life and ministry. My seven-year-old son and I led a family mission trip to Belize. We were stationed in the city of Armenia. We spent the days hosting a soccer camp and read more here… […]