Year of Living with Less: Final month and reflections

It is almost 2019 and our Year of Living with Less is a short month away from completion. I wish I could write this post announcing that I'm perfectly content, my family is perfectly content and our year long challenge cured us of any and all greediness! Unfortunately, no challenge alone is going to fulfill …

Year of Living with Less Update: Month 7 and Why I’m Struggling.

If you have been following our blog this year, you know that we are doing an experiment  as a family to only purchase consumable goods. Those are items that can be used up, like groceries and toiletries. The beginning of this year was fairly easy since we were coming off of the holidays and our …

Dr. James Earl Massey on Leadership

He was a pastor, the author of 18 books, speaker for the Christian Brotherhood Hour, dean of the Anderson School of Theology, an editor of Christianity Today, some called him the “prince of preachers” (yes, I know Spurgeon was called that first) and probably the most respected man in the Church of God movement. I …

Choose today who your family will serve

  “Choose this day whom you will serve… As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” Joshua 24:15-16   Have you made the choice for you and your family to serve the Lord?  If you have, have you thought about what that means? I have been a dad for over four years now …

7 Ways to Memorize Scripture as a Family

We all have an internal dialogue, words that play almost constantly in our minds. In certain situations these words encourage us and in others, they shame us. What fills our minds eventually comes out of our mouths and becomes the truths and lies that we repeat to ourselves and others. In my kids I see …

Quiet, Mom is reading. A Book Review: “Love Lives Here”

It is not often that I am able to sit and read. Typically, I am holding someone, wiping up something, or just running around the house doing 20 projects at once. But since we began our Year of Living with Less we have been spending less time in stores and more time at home. We've also …

You’re Blessed If You Do This

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your …

Year of Living with Less: Update

Since we began our “Year of Living with Less” I have had several people ask how it is going so I figured I would give an update. If you haven’t heard about our challenge check it out here. I will note that Josh was surprised that I have been able to go without buying non-consumables, …

5 Reasons to Host a Small Group in your Home

  If I think about it for too long I can come up with probably a hundred reasons NOT to host small group at our house. Seriously. Four years ago, when I was close to having our first baby, Josh suggested that we host a small group at our house. I scoffed (audibly). Having a …

Marriage: A Partnership

I am very competitive.  Emily likes to compete too but I discovered early on that she would not allow our relationship to be a competition.    We were still dating when we drove up from Birmingham, Alabama to Germantown, Ohio to be with my family during the Thanksgiving holiday.  While playing cards with my parents …