Today I woke up to a sunny morning, birds singing, and a cool breeze, and I welcomed it all, yet was saddened as I remembered the events on this date four years ago and recalled memories I’d rather forget. Today we remember Jesse. Jesse was a teen in our church youth group who on this day took his own life. Witnessing his family in grief and sorrow and also in healing and God’s grace has been overwhelming. I never knew Jesse, but his life and his family have taught me more th

I love to take long drives in the country. The endless open skies, vast forests and open fields in their seasons of change, abandoned houses or farm yards… I’ve often wondered about those abandoned houses and towns – Who lived there and who were they? Was it a large community of people, or a quaint group of families? What caused them to leave? I looked back on my own life – where I started, who I became and why, who I knew, who I chose to keep close or otherwise, where I stay