February 2012
2 posts
BFF
I think “BFF” means “Best Friends Forever”. When it comes to my marriage to the former Terri Alexander, she is for sure my best friend…forever.
How great is that?! My wife is my best friend. Like, I can’t get enough of hanging out with her. I’m pretty sure she feels the same way about me…atleast I hope so.
When we’re together, which is a lot,...
"Stuck/Hopelessness"
So, I’ve been working with youth pretty much my whole “adult life”, assuming you place me in the “adult” classification.
My understanding of the deadly power of “hopelessness”, feeling stuck, began to become clear when the Lord exposed my heart to the hearts of kids living in the inner city. They seemed stuck with nowhere to turn, no outlets, no options,...
January 2012
5 posts
Amaz-King Man and Friend
There aren’t many Pastor Edward King’s in the world. Which probably why our world isn’t doing so well. The phrase, “one in a million” fits my friend and fellow Hope Center staff member of about 13 years. Our world needs more “Kings”, the title many youth at Hope use when needing his attention.
Ed loves. He loves his wife of over 25 years, Juanita, as if...
Lump in my throat
My son Turner claims he has two moms due to the frequency of my tears. I am not ashamed of how much I cry. I’ll never forget when an elder at my church approached me after a talk I gave. This happened about 29 years ago. It was a talk filled with a ton of tears, my tears. The elder’s name was Rollie, about 65 years old at the time. He looked me and said, “Son, never despise your...
The Most Important Thing...
It was probably the first or second year in Hope’s existence that I felt the Lord spoke to my heart regarding how He sees the Hope Center. It was during those early days of seeing Hope birthed and finding our way. This encounter with Him occurred as I was reading the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John. Jesus said in verse 18,
“I will not leave you as orphans…”
It was at that...
Deep Sadness
I got a phone call yesterday from one the Hope Staff. It was about Josh Drummond. 22 years old. Hope Center member for I don’t know how long. But I do know he’s been a part of Hope for a long time.
I was told Josh had been shot a little bit ago, in his neighborhood, just a few feet from the front door of his house. I don’t know all the details. We may never know. What I do know...
Heavenly Table
I think we’re on to something. I experienced something supernatural for the first time about 26 years ago when I visited my wife’s, then girlfriend (Terri’s still my girlfriend by the way), family in wild and wonderful West Virginia. It, “the experience” was when it was time for dinner. Time to eat!
Terri’s parents, her 4 sibling and spouses and I took our...
December 2011
6 posts
My Dad is Like Wine
My dear ole dad, Don, turns 80 in March of 2012. His body might be 80, but his heart, mind and soul is…about 50,if that. He’s the youngest almost-80year old person I’ve ever met. And, it’s not like he’s going through a mid-life crisis, or a end-of-life crisis. It’s how he views life. It’s who he is.
He loves people. He loves to Ballroom dance with his...
21 Years At My Daughter's Wedding
My oldest child is my daughter, Emily. She is 24 years old. Married to an amazing man named Paul. They are expecting my first grandson in February of 2012. They were married on June 21st of 2008. But for me, that wasn’t the first time I attended my daughter’s wedding.
As a matter of fact, I walked down the isle with her every year of her first 21 years of her life….in my heart,...
Carry Out Christmas Tree
My youngest offspring/son Turner, currently resides in Redding, California- just west of Omaha, Nebraska. He’s attending a ministry-type school until May of 2012. I’m really proud of him stepping out in faith to grow his faith. He won’t regret it. He does a pretty good job of keeping me informed about his various experiences at school. There have been some amazing stories of God...
Impatient Son. Impatient Dad.
In some ways, I’m less busy today than 12 years ago. It’s a crazy thought and reality. Today I’m responsible for so much more than back then. 12 years ago, my children were 12, 10, 8 and 6 years old. Those are great ages. As a matter of fact, I’m realizing that no matter how old your kids are, each season has it’s “greatness”.
My son Tyler, the one...
My Daughter, Dance and the Divine
I have four children, a son-in-law and a grandson “on deck”, due to go public in mid-February. Each of my four children cause my heart to sing. Each of my four children no longer live at home. My wife and I are “empty nesters”. Call the “prayer chain”.
So in this blog, I want to brag/tell you about one of my kids…Annie/Ani/Boo Boo. She lives in Austin,...
Their hands...
One of our family traditions is to “say grace” before we eat one of my Italian/Lebanese/American/Wallflower wife’s amazing meals. When we bow our heads to tell the Lord how thankful we are for His provision of a bunch of food, we reach to the left and to the right to take the hands of the one’s we’re sitting next to. About 10 years ago, the hand of one of our 4...
November 2011
5 posts
If I Were a Rich Man....
So what movie was that song from? I really don’t know. My wife is the movie-knower. So, am I a “rich man”? Depends on one’s perspective. If you ask Warren, I’m not. If you ask someone from Haiti, I am. Rich in terms of cash-money? I feel blessed beyond belief.
But when defining “rich” in “relational capital”, I’ve might have the upper...
"When I was your age"
When I was a teenager or even younger, I used to not enjoy the above phrase. So, what’s the point? Therefore what? Is that supposed to encourage the listener or shame them into sucking it up and get on with life? Because being 16 or 17 today isn’t the same as being 16 or 17 30 years ago. In my situation, I was 16 or 17 in 1977 and 1978. So when my parents said “the...
Those Guys Over There
This past Thursday night, we, the Hope Center for Kids, celebrated Thanksgiving a week early. It easier that way for Hope Staff and volunteers. Many aren’t going to be around next week to help pull off feeding about 200 youth, children and family members.
It was an amazing event. Looked like there were about 50+ volunteers from throughout Omaha serving in various ways. The kids and their...
Passion at 50
I’m 50 in people years. 18 in my heart. My wife says that I’m a passionate man. I’ll take that as a good thing coming from my wife. I love living a life of passion. I’m passionate about being married to Terri. I love being my four kids’ dad…even though they’ve all graduated and moved out our house and onto the next stage of thier lives. Hurts as a dad, but...
