Every day is, or should be, Thanksgiving, but for teens it’s sometimes hard to be thankful during tough circumstances. So, what can you do to remind them of why they should be thankful? It starts with getting them out self-pity and getting their minds on others instead of themselves. Here are some ideas/projects/crafts that will…
I can remember when reality broke for me. I was sitting in my kitchen, praying or maybe arguing with God, I can’t remember. It just dawned on me, “My dream is not going to happen, is it?” My dream was linear, being a professional youth pastor for thirty years was supposed translate to making a…
Brandon Staley could not have said it better than this in regards to Raider Coach Jon Gruden’s toxic emails and subsequent resignation . I have been an imperfect leader/pastor most of my life and I have always treasured the trust people have given me. I’d like to think I have lived up to that trust,…
Having a big ego in in church is like having the biggest balloon at the dart throwing booth at the fair, be prepared to get popped. Consider all the ego popping moments Christ endured, Rejection by his closest friends. Criticism from enemies and strangers. Insults from a dying man. Mockery from the religious while he’s…
I’m reading Stephen King’s book on writing and it is inspiring. King, like all good writers who submit their work for publication, received multiple rejection letters for the stories he submitted to magazines. He started to receive so many rejection letters he put a nail in the wall and hung his letters of rejections, like…
I picked up the book On Writing by horror author Stephen King. There is a great couple of paragraphs, at the beginning of the book, where his mother encourages Stephen to write his own stories versus copying the stories from his comic book Combat Casey. Within these two paragraphs lies a few keys to unlocking…
In episode two of Loki, Mobius and Loki have a heart to heart about their existence. They sound like two people of different religions comparing notes, each fully convinced that what they believe is true and what the other is saying is completely crazy. Here’s a snippet of their conversation. Loki: You really believe in…
“I am burdened with glorious purpose!” And with big eyes and an open mouth I answered, “I’m Loki”. My wife and I watched the first episode of Loki starring Tom Hiddleston and playing on Disney + and I had an epiphany. I left full time youth ministry to start a youth worker coaching business, travel,…
If you’re new here, hello. Thanks for stopping by. My name is Paul and I was in youth ministry for 30 years. I currently drive a truck delivering HVAC equipment. Every profession has its rite of passage, things that will happen, eventually. For a company delivery man like me, I have my own rites of…
Sometimes the only way I can adequately express myself, emphatically, is with a swear word. I’ve heard someone recently say “the best strategy for life is to not give a damn” I want to believe that. It certainly would be easier than caring. Caring hurts and is exhausting. Giving a damn means you’re exposed to…
