Most of the ornaments on our Christmas tree have a special story or significance. For instance, there is one ornament featuring a scene from the Dutch countryside. It was given to us by our neighbors, Jasper and Katrijn, in the … Continue reading
I love the way that the window over our backyard gets turned into a stained glass window every autumn. It seems to me like the “peak color” of our fall foliage arrived a bit later than usual this year… But … Continue reading
We celebrated the 10th birthday of H2O Kent this weekend, with a bunch of different activities including a 5K race, a brunch, a tailgating party, a banquet, and a worship gathering (also: let the photographic record show that I wore … Continue reading
We’ve made it to the end of our busiest, sweatiest, most strategic season of the Collegiate ministry year! I’ve been taking some time to reflect and recreate this weekend, and when I saw the above sign in the Cuyahoga Valley … Continue reading
What a week it’s been! Today is the first day of classes for Kent State University students, but for those of us at H2O Kent, things have already been going full-tilt for a few days now. As students started moving … Continue reading
Bridget provided key leadership by keeping us on task with the checklist and a pen. Gina, Taylor, and Max — friends from high school — formed the backbone of our group. But I think Bailey was the one who really … Continue reading
We went back to Richland County for a family reunion this weekend: a low-key, potluck picnic-at-the-pond kind of thing on Sunday afternoon. The reunion itself was fine (though the kids and I couldn’t stay very long because of commitments back … Continue reading
I’m back from a summer of worship. It’s hard to explain, hard to encapsulate. But when I think back on everything I’ve experienced over the past couple of months — both on vacation and on assignment at Estes Park Leadership … Continue reading
Daniel and I started at dawn. Mist curled over the lake at Milner Pass, as we started quickly gaining altitude. Within the first mile, we were already above tree line, and the landscape spread before us: sun and shade in … Continue reading
We often have an “Adjustment Period” when we hike as a family. This usually happens in the early part of a hike, where aggravations mount, tempers flare, and despair can feel overpowering. We’ve observed this on all different sorts of … Continue reading
