Some very exciting news.

Colette and I have a son. Asia and Rex have a brother. His name is Asher, he's three, and he's from the Philippines. Probably in June we'll go get him, when the process runs its course.

"Ten thousand thousand precious Gifts
My Daily Thanks employ,
Nor is the least a cheerful Heart,
That tastes those Gifts with Joy." (Joseph Addison, 1712)

You could say it's been a bit busy in our home. I was in Asia for two weeks, then a few days upon returning, flew to Las Vegas for a...

(Aug 31, 2016)

Six months ago in a blog post, I signaled that a change was coming. I didn’t know how it would play out, but I sensed there was a journey to take. I wanted to understand more about my life mission, so I wrote:

Some people refer to it as your calling or holy discontent or life mission or the reason you were put here. I like what Frederick Buechner says: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

So...

Intimacy with Jesus hasn’t been a struggle for me. I like to live my life from my heart. You could say I haven’t been “shorthearted” when it comes to Jesus. But I have been shortsighted in my vision of Christ.

For the last year and a half—after 30 years of being a Christian, including some years in Christian leadership—I’ve been in a process of rediscovering who Jesus is, and I’m coming to love him more. I’m seeing how a greater vision of...

You know the phrase, “Stop to pick the daisies?” Well, if you look it up in a phrase book you’ll see my daughter’s picture. No, really. In the description there are big block letters, “ASIA: Stopping to pick the daisies” and there she is, sweet smile with a fistful of daisies. I’m sure in some language her name means “daisy-picker.”

And at the same time, at a clandestine meeting behind a waterfall, I’m sure some hyper-naturalists...

Adoption is an adventure we never intended to take. I suppose most adventures start out this way—unplanned. You’re minding your own business and all of a sudden something catches your attention. There’s movement from under a rock, smoke in the distance, an unrecognizable odor in the air. You’re drawn into the drama even though you never meant to be. That’s how adoption was for us.

I should explain how we came to adopt Rex. Like many adventures, it was not a...

One of the ways God wants to love us is through prayer.

But sometimes we don’t let Him. We’d rather let God love us by delivering our future spouse to our doorstep. Or depositing a million dollars into our bank account. Or giving us a child. There’s nothing wrong with wanting these things, but I’m not sure we’ll end up feeling loved by God if He delivers.

We might feel grateful and happy at first. But soon the feeling will fade at the first argument with Prince...

We’re waiting for Asher. We’ve been waiting for three years.

Asher is a boy in the Philippines. He’s our boy, we’re adopting him. In August Asher turns four. We should hear soon that we can schedule our trip. Then we’ll wait another four or five weeks until we can go.

It’s not easy to wait, would you agree?

Asher’s picture is on my phone and when I look at him, my heart hurts. We haven’t met yet, but we love him already. He’ll share a room...

I’ve said goodbye to my Nana (Grandma) many times before. But last week I said goodbye for the last time. Well, the last time on this earth anyway. It was one of the most powerful moments of my entire life.

Nana was 84 years old and her body was giving out. She – still sweet, soft and beautiful – lay in a hospital bed. I knew when I entered her room that I was saying goodbye, but when she offered me a gift, I didn’t expect it.

Nana had already given me lots of gifts....