About a year ago I had an interaction with my son that help me see more clearly a truth about Jesus Christ.  Those are some of the best moments. As a parent you, at times, feel like you are overwhelmed with trying to pour into your kids as much as possible. You strive to teach them about the realities of the world, about right and wrong, about manners and common decency and about the reality of Jesus Christ. You worry that you have missed something, you have wasted a chance to help them grow or that by how you have handled a situation you have set them back. These are some of the stresses of being a parent.  But there are also enormous benefits. Moments that you wouldn't trade for the world. Glimpses into who they are becoming that fill you with a pride that is nearly impossible if not completely impossible to explain. 

Now, mind you, my oldest son has, at times, blown me away for other reasons. Sometimes less than favorable reasons. This is the same little boy who a few years ago after I had this magical "dad moment" with him, when I shared with him that I believed in him and that he could be anything he wanted to be in this life. That he could, with some hard work become anything he wanted in life. I then listed things like being a doctor, or singer or a football player, anything he put his mind to. It was then that he looks me in the eyes, and with all the sincerity in the world says, "Dad, I want to be a dinosaur!" And with that, the moment was over.

So, as you can see, he isn't always prone to share some reality of who Jesus is. Often, he is incredibly random and goofy. Which I love home for. But he has his moments.  This next story is one of them. 

As a pastor, you have plenty of opportunity to have conversations with people who are in really difficult situations. conversations with people who are hurting, a lot. People dealing with sickness, family brokenness, consequences of poor choices and on and on and on. I have had days where I have had a conversation about late stage cancer, another conversation about overwhelming financial burdens, another about a family that is being destroyed by chemical abuse, all within a three hour span. Its difficult. It weighs on you. At times it can seem like there is just to much hurt for any of this, anything to be worthwhile. 

I had a professor in college who i really enjoyed, he was a really interesting guy who was a psychiatrist and served as a pastor at a church as well as taught at the college level.  I had him for a couple classes over my time in school, the one that stood out was a class called "Counseling for Pastors". The class was primarily people who were going to be entering into full time ministry. He said something in class one time, and I will never forget this, it was one of the most amazing lines I have ever heard, and I went out of my way to use it in any essay response I ever needed to give on an exam. He said "Counseling is an unending chain of human misery parading through your office."   

We all have things in our lives, moments, periods or seasons of life that come to define us.  Shape us and mold us into who we will be from that time forward. Some of these moments are tragic, some are times of celebration, some are built on heartache and pain, while others come out of joy. I think its fair to say that everyone has a story to tell. Some of us don't realize it, some of us go through life thinking our story isn't compelling, our story isn't worth hearing. But I can say with confidence that I have never had someone share a story of their lives, when they were being completely open and honest, being vulnerable, that hasn't been compelling. 

Its in the stories that we connect. Its in those times of honesty and vulnerability that we see how we are all traveling a road, and we are all seeking that place where there is nothing that can hurt us anymore. I have been on a journey over the last several months that I can honestly say has challenged me more than I have ever been challenged. Its been a time where I have spent substantial time really examining what I believe and what all of this, this life, means.

Late in July 2014 my third child was born. His name is Trent. He was a couple weeks early and his arrival caught me a little off guard. I just don't think I was completely ready for him to be here. But than I saw him, and he was, just like my older two kids, he was amazing. We had a fairly uneventful first few days with Trent, which is what you want with a newborn. We had spent a few days settling in at home before we received news from our doctor that there was some things that came up on a newborn screening that had been done. We were told that we needed to take Trent in to have some tests done and take a look at somethings. 

We then began a series of tests over the next several months that we kept being told should show Trent was fine and things were clearing up. Instead, according to a specialist we were working with, things seemed to be heading in the wrong direction. We were informed that it appeared that my son may be facing a condition that would take his life in infancy. An extremely rare, extremely difficult disease that had no cure and really no treatment at all. So often when we go through something difficult we will reassure ourselves by saying things like "well, at least I don't have it as bad as..." and we fill in the blank with some situation that we know about. This was the first time in my life that I honestly didn't have something to fill in that blank with. I was, we as a family, were faced with the reality that we would lose Trent before he was a year old. We had doctors telling us this was a big deal. This was serious. 

Well, I went and did it.  I have organized myself and put together a place for me to share about my journey.  I plan to use this as a place to tell my story, share about my the work I do and hopefully be a place that is encouraging, thought provoking, entertaining, and allows you the reader to grow in your life. 

I will at times have stories about my family. I will share about the path we have been on through some unique circumstances and situations.  I will use this as a place to talk about my ministry, specifically how to help people take that first step and to continue taking that next step as you grow in your understanding of Christ.  I plan to share some of my observations on faith, pop culture, entertainment and really whatever pops into my head.  As many that know me can attest, its a strange and unusual place in there, full of twists and turns.

So, welcome to the journey.  I hope that this all leads to conversation, conversation leads to community, and ultimately, it leads to a better understanding of Jesus.  Thanks for being here.