Sometimes marriage sounds like a symphony. Every note working together, the dynamics, the ebb and flow of rest and movement, everything working in complete harmony. And sometimes marriages sound like a piano thrown down the stairs of a 30-story building.  Regardless of effort and time, there is no harmony. I have been a musician since […]

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At the end of 2018 Scott and I will have been married 27 years. This is longer than some of the young men and women in the couples we mentor have even been alive. It’s longer than either of our parents’ marriages lasted. There have been seasons when 27 years is longer than we would […]

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Our son’s senior year has begun.  A year I have jokingly referred to as a year of meeting deadlines and writing checks. There’s always a deadline looming and every deadline requires a check!  But in all seriousness, it’s already turning out to be a year of great reflection for me.  These years of schooling haven’t just […]

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As Summer winds down and the anticipation and excitement of going back to school begins, it can be nerve racking as well. There is a vulnerability in your kids, no matter how tough they may seem on the outside, that gets exposed when put into a new environment with new teachers, new classmates, new routines, […]

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    It’s cliché to say, but clichés are often born out of a certain level of truth – the days are long (and the summer days are longer!), but the years are short.  And the years once they enter school speed up exponentially. My youngest is about to become a senior in high school.  A […]

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Now that school is out, Summer can also be known for the time of year families move. While long distance moves can be full of logistical details, all of that can pale in comparison to shepherding your kids through the emotional challenges of pulling up (and laying down) roots. Whether you’re moving across town or […]

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I always thought that foster care and adoption were things that only really saintly people did. You know the people I’m talking about – the really “together” and “with it” ones. But all that changed when two of my best friends began fostering. These were women just like me, with husbands just like mine. Their […]

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I was flying to Canada one autumn to speak at a college. I was on a British carrier that had a lot of Europeans on board. The computer that selected my seat had placed me next to a husband and wife in their mid-fifties. They were a Jewish couple from England who had been vacationing […]

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I remember the first year of being a dad. The late nights, the diaper changing, the shift in habits and time management, the sheer cost of children—it was both exciting and overwhelming. I heard about all of this stuff and been warned, so although it was craziness, it was not particularly surprising. Something did surprise […]

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We’re already busy, but being busy doesn’t exempt any of us from serving beyond our own family and comfort level. We’re not trying to send anyone on a guilt trip, but when others see that we can serve when we have so many limitations already caring for one (or more) with needs, they see what […]

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