NEWSMINER FAITH ARTICLE OCTOBER 2019     Disappointment, we’ve all experienced it.  Disappointment with a spouse, business partner, a grown child; even God.  Years ago, my wife and I started Journey Church in the Regal Cinemas Theater and for twelve long years hauled all of our sound equipment in and out of that facility.  Most of the time it was fine, but there were moments in the extreme Fairban...  Read More

      How would you describe your pace or speed of life?   Socrates once said, “beware the barrenness of a busy life.”  Ghandi concurred with “there is more to life than increasing it’s speed.”  Maybe we should listen.  It appears to me that most of us are running through life.  We are frazzled and stressed.  Even many of us who say that we follow Jesus, the Prince of Peace, don’t seem to walk in ...  Read More

FROM FEAR TO FAITH      FEAR, a powerful word.  A suffocating emotion that has robbed many of joy and opportunities.  One time when my wife and I took our five children blueberry picking I gave the kids a brief warning about the possibility of running into a bear.  In my effort to be a responsible Alaskan parent I said too much because when I finished our youngest Henry would not get out of the va...  Read More

HAPPINESS     Happiness and Joy.  All of us want it.  Seems like few find it.  Even our Declaration of Independence  enshrines “pursuit of Happiness” as an unalienable right.   Everyone has a hunger for happiness.  Google lists over twenty thousand happiness titles.  Haven’t you ever thought “I just want to be happy?”  There is an urgency to it.  To use an earthly example, it’s like when you have ...  Read More

NEWSMINER ARTICLE REAL CHANGE 2020          Just a few days ago you probably called out “Happy New Year!”  It’s a unique time of year.  It feels like a new chapter, in this case even a new decade begins.  Many of us embrace the idea of New Year’s Resolutions, changes we want to make in our lives: get healthier, exercise more, shed toxic relationships, start a new career or change a difficult habit...  Read More

Have you ever felt hopeless? Your marriage seems beyond repair. Bill collectors are calling. Maybe that addiction you’ve been battling has roared back to life with a vengeance. I worked a crisis line for 3 and half years; if I had to sum up almost every person that called with just one word, that word would be hopeless. Countless people called...  Read More

Recently, I attended an amazing local event put on by our Chamber of Commerce. It was the Military Appreciation banquet. One of the poignant moments was what they called a missing man presentation. It involved a table set with dishes, one place setting for each of the branches of the military. It symbolized those who were not with us that night; maybe they had been killed in action, were still mis...  Read More

My wife and I were surprised recently when our 19-year-old daughter was reminded that life is short. Several weeks ago, she received a letter from AARP inviting her to join!If life is short, it is crucial that we are intentional in how we live. Especially if we claim to follow Jesus Christ; we should leave a lasting legacy. Living a life of positive impact is complex, but there are a few keys:1.  ...  Read More

Life is heavy. Just recently in our community we had the scary incident with the West Valley football players, where a couple of the teens almost drowned. In national news, we saw two mass shootings back to back. Death is the ultimate enemy. And, despite our healthy appearance, we are like cut flowers; it’s just a matter of time. I’ve read that someone in the world dies every three seconds. We are...  Read More