C4USE + AFFECT MINISTR13S

There’s a photo on our fridge. 11 students: 6 girls. 5 boys. 1 student leader. My wife and myself. Anytime I go to that fridge whether to get something to drink or to eat…I see that picture. I do not post the picture in the blog for the privacy of those in the picture.  Some of those 11 are no longer with us. With us meaning, no more part of our youth group. I admit it hurts. I admit at times I have felt like a failure wondering if what I am doing is the right thing. I know they are just “kids”.  Ages 13-19. They have their own minds. Some are already made up. Some want to be there. Some are made to be there. You try to make it fun for them, but at the same time, you know…and hopefully they do too…that it’s not all about fun. Life is serious. The enemy is a real person only looking for those he can devour. John 10:10 says he only comes to steal, kill and destroy. “That’s ministry”: That is a phrase I recently heard and for those who are in the minis...

"I'm sorry Mrs. Robinson. Samuel cannot be brought to your room this morning. You will have to come to nursery to see him." Those may not be the exact words that were said two years ago as we woke up on July 5, 2017 in Sacred Heart Hospital. Three days after giving birth to our second child---our one and only son Samuel, my wife was in a little shock and confusion as those words were told to her over the phone from the nurses in the nursery. Samuel had slept the night in the nursery so us parents could get a little shut eye for the night. Little did we know that through the night Samuel would have some trouble breathing. After all, he was born a month early, but he had checked out fine so far. We had just celebrated Samuel's first 4th of the July on TV as we watched the fireworks being shot off in DC. Now, our son cannot even come to our room. So we gathered our things and freshened up and walked down the hall to see our son. Thats when we were told the n...

I have always heard it said that... IF YOU DON'T FIRST SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN!  Well, I guess that is what I am doing. As you can see, I first tried this blogging thing over 7 1/2 years ago. Better late than never is also another saying I have always heard. After much thought and consideration, and like I said the other day in a "testing the waters" blog on Facebook, people have said things over me and about me concerning my writings. I used to write for the local newspaper covering mainly sports along with some other news every now and then. Those days have since gone away. Writing has always been something I have had an interest in. It just seems to flow more smoothly when you are not on deadline and can just go with the flow on your own. Another post was posted on Facebook and things just started to come together I guess you could say. This "template" I guess you could say and see is one that was started back in 2012 when I was working at the news...