In this episode of the Parenting Pathway podcast, Pastor Dave Carl introduces you to our new Associate Pastor of Junior High Ministries, Gary Steffes. Gary followed a unique path to ministry through professional hockey at the ECHL and AHL level. ...
When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned: Explaining “God’s Plan”
As a species, we humans are an optimistic group. We build for the future with vigor. When something goes terribly wrong, we usually brush ourselves off and rebuild because we tend to believe things will be better going forward. Occasionally, we experience a setback that we cannot brush off, a tragedy that we as...
Discover Your Purpose
Part 6 – The Challenge, Pursuit of a Godly Man Leading up to Father’s Day, we want to have an honest conversation about what it means to be a man in today’s world. Even more than that, we want to talk about what it means to be a godly man. Rather than feeling like...
Don’t Do Life Alone
Part 5 – The Challenge, Pursuit of a Godly Man Leading up to Father’s Day, we want to have an honest conversation about what it means to be a man in today’s world. Even more than that, we want to talk about what it means to be a godly man. Rather than feeling like...
Change Is Inevitable… Direction Is Optional
I attended high school in the late 70’s. There were many things that were uncertain. There were gasoline shortages. On even numbered days, you could only get gas if the last number on your license was an even number. Interest rates were through the roof. I got a car loan for my first used...
Thirteen Ideas for Intentional Time
The start of a school year is a lot like the start of a new year. It is a great time to step back, take stock in your situation, and gather some fresh perspective on your life. I think the drawing factor for most moms is that you finally return to some normalcy and...
The Challenge of Change
Of the hundreds of cartoons I grew up watching as a kid, one of the strangest was Popeye the Sailor Man. It was quite weird, and I never really liked it very much. I did not DIS-like it enough to actually set down my bowl of dry Captain Crunch cereal, get up off the...
Experience Taught me to Cling to the Lord
Journal Excerpt: October 23, 2013 “Tired. Worn. Heavy hearted. It’s a little bit of a roller coaster here. Some days I feel like we’ll be okay, like a year will fly by and it’ll be good. Other days I can hear the clock ticking slowly—and it’s really not a clock; it’s the dripping kitchen...
5 Ideas to Improve Your Family Dinner
Like most Americans, my family has a hard time getting everyone to the table on the same night, at the same time to have dinner together. And when we do get there, it is not uncommon to hear grumbling about the no phone rule, or the big salad instead of spaghetti, or the awkward...
Who’s Rewriting Your Story?
I once had a young father tell me his story of past drug abuse, failure, and disaster. As he told me of the near misses he had with police and car wrecks, etc., all he could see were failures, shame, and total rejection by God because he had been so reckless with his life....
There Is Nowhere Left to Hide
So my story goes something like this… I was a… pastor’s kid… missionary kid… The gold standard of what parents wanted their kids to be at church… A high school graduate at 16… Medical School Student at 19… I… Crashed and burned at 21… Worked hard to fix it all (ministry, career, marriage,...
Be Brave: These Halls Are Full of Messed Up People!
In his recent blog post Exciting News: I’m Not Enough, and You Aren’t, Either!, Family Ministry Pastor Dave Carl said, “You are not okay, and you don’t need to pretend to be anymore!” Dave Carl I wish I could put that line on the marquee sign out in front of our church. It would...