Portage County Trail Quest
I’m coming to the end of another quest: to hike every trail in Portage County in 2021. If COVID-19 was going to “shorten my leash,” I figured I’d make the most of it! At first, I estimated that it would … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ohio
H2O Kent Racquet Club
We’re coming out of COVID. It’s a process, for sure. Nothing easy or instantaneous about it. But we’re relearning how to lean into community dynamics again. We’re relearning how to have fun. And last night’s establishment of the H2O Kent … Continue reading
Posted in Church, COVID-19, Culture, H2O Kent, Kent, Recreation, Sports, Transition
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Negen Jaar Geleden
Negen jaar geleden, woonde we nog in Amsterdam. Onze huis stond wel leeg met een boordje in het raam: “Te Koop.” Maar onze vrienden… onze kerk… onze gezinsgeschiedenis… Die waren allemaal nog steeds daar, in Nederland. Tot de ochtend van … Continue reading
Posted in Amsterdam, Europe, Family, Home, Kent, Nostalgia, Ohio, The Netherlands, The United States of America, Transition
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Building the Buckeye Trail
I’ve been a big fan of the Buckeye Trail for a few years now. But today I gained a new level of love for the Buckeye Trail when I became one of its builders. I happened across Bill Jindra a … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Hiking, Ohio, Recreation
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Post-COVID Family Reunion
In June of 2019, my parents, my brothers, my sisters, and our families all got to participate in a broader family reunion for my Mom’s side of the family. There were official T-shirts and waterpark outings and catered dinners. It … Continue reading
We Get to Live Here (in Ohio)
I’ve done a little bit of hiking since our family’s return to Ohio. And I have to say that I am freshly impressed with the beauty of this region. It’s so green and bushy and wild! The forest floors around … Continue reading
Farm Hands
One might say we stepped out of the frying pan and into the fire. A lively week in the Great Smoky Mountains with our church family concluded with a 5AM departure on Friday. We headed back north, in order to … Continue reading
Posted in Family, Home, Introspection, Richland County, Transition
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Not the Weird New Kid Any More
I felt like the “weird new kid” when our family moved to Kent in 2012. I wasn’t a part of the church-planting team who moved from Bowling Green in 2008. But I wasn’t the traditional 18- or 19-year-old freshman on … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Church, Family, H2O Kent, Home, Introspection, Kent, Marriage, Nostalgia, Transition
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Empathy for the Hesitant
I’ve been thinking, praying, and processing some pandemic recovery stuff lately. And I feel like I had an epiphany this morning while walking in the woods. I started by praying for a nurse who’s recently been hospitalized for COVID-19. She … Continue reading
Posted in COVID-19, Culture, Culture Shock, God, H2O Kent, Health, Introspection, Kent, Ohio, Prayer, Social Issues, The United States of America, Transition
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Good Stories with Good People
We finished the year by telling stories. We said the stories could feature heroes. But the heroes must be others (not ourselves). We said the stories could feature fools. But the fools must be ourselves (not others). And with those … Continue reading
Posted in Church, COVID-19, God, H2O Kent, Home, Kent, Small Groups, Transition
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