The Fear of Hell Is Not Enough

“Heaven is a place for those who love God, not for those who only fear hell.” Let me explain.

God has always been after our hearts. Perhaps no one is a better example of this than King David. In spite of his many failures, his heart ultimately longed for God. His …

When I Held an Orphan

N.T. Wright, in his book Surprised by Hope, makes a point about I Corinthians 15 that impacted me greatly while I was in Ethiopia. On Thursday I got to visit an orphanage with most of our group. It's the orphanage where many of the kids, including Shurabe, spent some …

2 Steps Forward...

Things in our home have been getting better. Thursday was a great day. Shurabe played with me & the boys a lot. She's also begun playing with her grandmas too. Friday was a bit of a step-back, but Saturday morning has been great. We have a long ways to go, but we are …

Full-time Dad

I can't remember a week where I've worked harder at parenting. After being gone for 10 days and having a new sister who views them more as rivals than friends, my boys have needed a lot of extra attention from me. So I've spent lots of time with them. When I haven't …

Home

Home. Rest. Thankfulness. Joy.

Packing

Some people have said, "It will all work out fine; you guys are great parents and it will all be fine." We appreciate the encouragement but know that it's not reality. Read 1 adoption book and you'll find that there are plenty of challenges; especially with kids who …

Wednesday in Addis

It’s Wednesday night, I’m worn-out but wanted to post an update before I crash:
That girl can put it away. We’ve had four meals with her and she’s cleaned her plate every time. And they were adult portions. It grossed Beth out tonight when she was pulling a …

With Us

We spent some good time at the Transition Home with her this morning. We got to see her crib and her nannies. She's especially fond of Tuti. She gave her a long hug. When it was time to go, many of the other kids gathered to wave good bye to us. Some of them were …

We Met

We met our little girl yesterday & it couldn't have gone any better. Here are some thoughts/notes:
-She started off looking nervous but then latched on to me. Later she latched on to Beth & wouldn't let her out of her sight.
-She has a great laugh. She giggled a lot …

Good Sunday

After a rough nights sleep (bar music, dogs barking & roosters starting way too early), we had an awesome day. We gathered with brothers and sisters here in Addis. We attended International Evangelical Church and it was a fantastic time. About 2000 attend there, and it …

With Friends

We've met four other couples who are adopting. We have really enjoyed meeting them and visiting tonight. Beth and i were also invited to a little girl's birthday party that was hosted here. we had a great dinner with them and enjoyed it. there must have been 60 of …

With Friends

We've met four other couples who are adopting. We have really enjoyed meeting them and visiting tonight. Beth and i were also invited to a little girl's birthday party that was hosted here. we had a great dinner with them and enjoyed it. there must have been 60 of …

We Are Here

We got to the guest house in Addis about 2 hours ago. We spent the night in Dubbai, which was nice and all of the traveling went well. it was definitely long. the only thing that went wrong was that my laptop quit working after the long flight. i don't know if it got …

You Know Your Church Is Loving Well When...

HPCC has certainly not "arrived." But in the midst of tragedy this week, something happened that reassured us that we are doing a few things well. I think that one way you know that your church is loving well is when people in the neighborhood call for help when there …

Couple of Updates Before We Leave

After looking at the ultrasound today, the nurse, Beth & I concluded that we're gonna have a baby girl. It was a lot of fun. We took the boys in there and we were all nervously excited, as we saw the strange pictures on the TV. It was an awesome memory for us. I guess …

We Cut the Cord & We Liked It

My childhood TV experience consisted of NBC, CBS, ABC & PBS (which was only clear at night). I always envied those who had cable. When I stayed in a hotel, I would overdose on ESPN Sports Center. But then I would return to reality. I was the kid who never understood …

Book Review: "The God I Don't Understand."

I had never heard of Christopher Wright until I saw this book at Barnes & Noble. It looked very interesting, but I didn't buy it quickly. Instead, I researched him online and discovered that he's somewhat of a disciple of John Stott - whom I have a lot of respect for. …