The Lion Doesn't Sleep During This Song!!!

Enjoy!

Straight No Chaser - WOW...To Sing like this!!

These guys are incredible! Merry Christmas, Indeed!

Teach a boy to fish...

The year was 1967. The fish was a Northern Pike. The boy was standing in his grandma's kitchen. And standing there in the doorway, just behind the boy...his dad.

Of all the things I learned from my dad, I continue to appreciate the truth that he was always there behind me...maybe not seen by others but there nonetheless.

During this Thanksgiving Season, I need to say to someone how thankful I am for my Dad. And how much I miss him, right there, behind me.

Meet Mike the Plumber!

I did it! I changed the kitchen faucet! It only took about 1.5 hours, and it doesn't leak!!!

Menards and Home Depot were all part of the process, as was Bethany my Home Improvement Assistant Extraordinare'!

I can now be counted in the running for Cutting Water Consumption! It dripped so much we had calls from Amnesty International inquiring about our use of water boarding!!!

The drip is gone! Long live the New Faucet!

A Place to Come Home

This past year, following my father's death and mom's move into the nursing home, my brother and his family cleared out the blue-grey with rust-red trim house on 19th Avenue, and put it up for sale. I grew up there, learned to ride bike amidst the prickly plum trees, made forts back by the crick, hauled firewood to the basement window, learned to drive a 3-on-the-column stick tranny, sat by the heat registers to eat my breakfast before school, ran from the bus stop into the house while smelling Mom's fresh baked bread and cinnamon rolls, sat by the basement laundry tubs as Dad cut my hair, and learned to ride a snowmobile in the back yard (that was long after I ate some of the cold cream from the jar Tim and Jerry and I found out back by the rock).

It was home. But no longer; without Dad there, without Mom in her familiar kitchen chair...home was gone.

For these past few months, I've felt detached, unanchored; like a ship cut loose, drifting at sea, fumbling for my compass.

And then, I saw the announcement in the JSOnline - Auditions for Acacia Theatre's Fall production. Deep inside, something stirred; something that felt almost ancient, something I'd forgotten or misplaced.

Yesterday, the eight-performance run of Acacia's The God Committee came to a close. We packed up the make-up, put away the platforms and flats, and hauled away the impossibly heavy credenza (they have to make lighter ones, don't they?)

It was, for me, more than nightly rehearsals and line memorization and audience appreciation. It was going back to a place I'd spent so much time, growing up, learning, becoming.

This morning, with muscles aching from set strike, and my mind gently packing away the lines, I've realized something - I've felt something - I've rediscovered something I've missed so much.

I've found home again. Like a warm kitchen with incredibly delicious smells, and a table filled with familiar & brand new loved ones.

"Don't be a stranger!" one person said as I left the theatre last night. Before I could answer, another said, "He won't be...we've got him now."

Inside, I knew I'd come home.

Years later, it's Opening Night once more.

After many, many years, I have the privilege of acting again. The show is challenging, intense, and full of meaning. I feel strangely alive, as in some lost memory. My age, however, does factor in, as I find myself in need of more rest, while my brain tries to keep up. Friday is opening night. Nervous would be an understatement. How wonderful to work with such a great director and fellow cast members! You've made me feel so welcome.

Thanks, Acacia Theatre, for the opportunity to wrestle with such a play and such a character. I want to believe that I can still do this, but most of all, that it matters to the One Audience Member Who Matters Most.

Washed By The Water

I love the passion and message of this song! Can't stop listening to it!

CAN

WOW...WOW...nothing short of WOW!!!!!

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'.
The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'.
They went on to complete the marathon together.
Father and son went on to join other marathons,
the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going
through the race together.

One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.'
To which, his father said 'Yes' too.
For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever.
The race encompasses three endurance events of
a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim,
followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and
ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon
along the coast of the Big Island .
Father and son went on to complete the race together.

Now...watch the video!

Now THIS is For Whom the Bell Tolls!!!!

GO PACK!!

Surprised by Hope - Bishop Tom Wright

A brief taste of what Wright's powerful book, Surprised by Hope, contains. Well worth a serious consideration, and definitely a solid and must read for all who are interested in heaven.

Vision...it's not about the eyes or I's

So here she is, in Africa...our daughter who has had a vision and heart for a continent she'd never visited until now.
The temperatures are cold (it's winter there now)
The work is exhausting (up early early...working late into night)
The friendships are growing

The people are nothing short of wonderful!


I miss her, but I'm so proud of her...so happy for her.

My heart is bigger...but will always hurt a little.
I guess that comes with the territory of being a ...
Dad

"Two Ways Out of Hibbing" by Nathan Rogers

I took neither, but Hibbing was home...a place where my dad worked harder than anyone I've ever met...a place that built character or tore it down...a working town...and, frankly, it was good...it was what I knew...and it will always be a part of who I'm becoming.

Cinderella by SCC

Maria Chapman & her Dad

South Africa's Department of Education & Thrive Africa

WOW! The more I learn about the ministry that Johanna is going to intern with this summer, the more I'm praising God! Please click on the title of this entry and go to Thrive's description of what's happening with AIDS Education in the schools in the nearby villages. The admission by the Department of Education of why the program is working, and where they would like it to go is such a powerful testimony of God's power working through a humble ministry.

I see His Kingdom advancing through ministries just like this!

I wish I could serve there! I'm glad our daughter can go!

Please pray for her safety, for God to use her mightily, and for the necessary funds to come in soon.

Jo & Thrive Africa

So, God is leading - (and as parents we're finally releasing...and it appears as though He's opening the door for) - Jo to go...
we'll have word of her confirmation status in about a week. And there's more than one opportunity on the table at this point.

Africa - a passion and heartache for her for years.

God, whatever You should make of all this, may it be to Your Glory Alone.

2000 Frames a Second!

That's some fast shutter speed!

When Failure Stands on Your Heart

It's Friday, April 4th...and all the juggling I've tried to keep going is collapsing around me. I guess I'm not as good at all this as I let myself think...or others think.

What I'm desperate to fix, I cannot.
What I'm longing to say, I have no words.

Sorry to all of you.

When failure stands on your heart, it's hard to breathe.

ReThinking Mission Trips

Here's real "food for thought". I've been on a handful of overseas mission trips, and Claudio has it right I think...have a look, take some time....think about it.

Thanks to Randy for directing me to this rethinking.

Jared's New CD - Available Now!

Name it, Claim it? John Piper names it for what it is!

Thanks to Brandon for this powerful presentation,
Thanks to John Piper for his clarity and conviction.

My Dad, My Hero

Today, March 7th, would have been my Dad's 83rd Birthday.  The photo above was taken at the celebration of his birthday last year.   He smiled that day so big...but then he always did.   Whether it was because Red Skelton had done yet another hilarious act, or if my Dad himself had teased someone with such love...Dad's smile lit up the world.   Within a few short months, he was gone.

I miss my Dad so very much...I wish we could've gone fishing one more time, that he could've seen his grandchildren grow up, that he could've done just a bit more.  And yet, he gave so much in the time he was here.  He will forever be my hero, the one man I've looked up to and longed to be like...his love, his care, his focus on others.  His commitment that was unwavering; his loyalty unfaltering.  In the last years of his life, after I'd moved away from home and had a family of my own, my Dad began to express his love more...with words and hugs, always hugs...big, Dad-sized hugs that I never outgrew.   So many times lately, I've wanted to just call him, hear his voice again, see him open the back door of the house, and step out onto the concrete steps, his big hand on the railing, his shoulders so broad that had in these last years become bent over with years of weight that Dad carried...When I think of my Dad now, it's hard to breathe...tears fill my eyes, and I struggle just to get beyond the moment.   

Last time we were in Hibbing, we went to the cemetery.  The stone marker was there...from the Army, and it was cold...the snow had drifted around the stone, and I just couldn't let it remain...I brushed away what I could...I had to see his name...was it really true?  So cold...so hard.  We drove by the house, but didn't go in...couldn't.  It's not home anymore...my Hero, My Dad is not there, and Mom now lives in the nursing home in Chisholm.  It's so hard...when you come to that point when you realize ... home as you once knew it...is gone.

Dad...thanks, for being my Dad, for being my Hero.  I miss you.

John needs our prayers

John R. suffered a massive stroke this past Sunday evening, leaving his left side without feeling.  He's currently in NICU at a local hospital, much in need of our prayers.  John is one of the most gifted worship leaders and keyboardists I know; a man truly dedicated to his Lord, to his Amy, to his boys Jake and Andrew!  At only 41 years of age, John is so young to be hit with this tragedy.  Please, please join in praying for John.  May God be totally glorified in his healing!  I just know that John and Amy and boys will give all the glory to Jesus!

Monday

This is one of the best!