Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

January 24, 2007

A couple of weeks before we got married, my wife began to move in some of her items into my townhouse. As we were pulling out of the driveway that day she interrupted our idle chatter, “Oh and I can’t wait to meet your neighbors!” I sat silent. She gave me her frustrated face. I tried not to look back at her. “You don’t know your neighbors yet?!" “No,” I said with a twinge of guilt. "You’ve lived here almost four years, and you haven’t even said hello to your neighbors?” “I’m Read more [...]

Chasing Fried Chicken

January 19, 2007

I didn’t quite understand what Herbie was saying. What I thought I heard him say was, “Do ya chase fried chicken?” With a befuddled look I responded, “No…” His pause and stern gaze made me feel uneasy. Obviously my answer was not what he was anticipating. It seemed as if he wanted me to say something else. I was becoming more nervous because I was standing in front of the entire congregation of the church. I had been preaching in the rural Nelson County, KY church for a few weeks, and Read more [...]

The Goldilocks Dilemma

January 14, 2007

Lachlan is a hip kinda guy. His name sounds cool. He has tattoos. And his wife digs the tattoos. Lachlan has his ear to the ground when it comes to what’s going on in the world and with his neighbors. He loves people and can relate with most anyone. Lachlan also loves Jesus, and he has a big heart for international missions. His primary joy, whether at his place of employment, in his neighborhood, or on the mission field, is to see others come to know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Read more [...]

Where Sky Meets Sea

January 10, 2007

I'm home! Two weeks ago it was simply my house (or more appropriately my townhouse). With my beautiful bride, my new wife Erin, the place is now a home. And I am finding marriage to be such an incredible blessing from the Lord. It has amazed me how natural and beautiful married life is, how two people can become united under God's great institution. I know my love for Erin will only grow over the next 50 years and beyond. We went on a cruise for our honeymoon. I wanted to go on a ski trip; she Read more [...]

The Bridegroom of the Church

December 29, 2006

This Sunday evening I will marry the love of my life, Erin. And no words will ever suffice in explaining how deep my love is for her. She is one incredible godly woman; I'm one blessed guy. But things are certainly changing around my pad. Her tastes, as well as some of her stuff, have preceded her. The walls of my tiny townhome have been painted light blue and sea green. Most of my stuff has been shipped to goodwill (who knew that you couldn't use a sleeping bag as a bedspread?). I now house a hairdryer Read more [...]

Giving the Gift of the Gospel

December 23, 2006

The voicemail on my cell phone yesterday did not bode well. It was Eric, and he simply stated that I needed to call him back. I had been praying hard for his grandfather, who was not doing well after heart surgery. The abrupt nature of the message left me thinking the worst. I quickly called him back. “Eric, it’s Sam. What’s up?” “Sam, thanks for calling me back. You’re not going to believe this!” His tone lifted my spirits and replaced the knot in my throat with a twinge of hope. “Is Read more [...]

The Church of Champions

December 21, 2006

Last Saturday my two younger brothers, my future brother-in-law, and my two best friends and I engaged in the ‘Tournament of Champions.’ The competition consisted of go-carts, laser tag, air hockey, putt-putt, and pop-a-shot. A scoring matrix was derived for each game. The group had concocted this day-long event for my bachelor party. And it was quite a catharsis to act like I was twelve again, though my fiancé might say that I act in such a way more often than I will admit. The competition Read more [...]