The Back of the Drawer by Phil The next time you see an antique desk, open the drawer and admire the fine handcrafted dovetail joinery attaching the face to the sides. Pull the drawer out all the way, and you might be surprised. (If you do this in a historic house or museum, the surprise might come from the alarms sounding and mean-looking security guards bustling into the room. Don't ask...) If you aren't escorted from the premises, you might discover the back of the drawer doesn't share the...
9 days ago • 1 min read
It's In The (Tea) Bag by Phil On our month-long launch into the new year, we've looked at our approach(focus), attitude(joy) and assurance(eternal security). Let's wrap up with the grease that keeps the wheels turning - adaptability. For that, let's look at the humble tea bag. If you've been following me for a while, you already know my feelings toward this most divine of all drinks. Real tea should be brewed (it's in the Bible, just read HeBrews), instant tea is a cruel joke of the evil one,...
16 days ago • 2 min read
Adopted Assurance by Phil On our journey into the new year we've talked about our approach and attitude. Today let's take a look at our assurance. (Are you seeing "A" trend here??) Adoption is a wonderful concept. There are about 4.5 million adopted children in the United States, with over 100,000 kids added each year. The practice of adoption is not new (even Jesus was adopted by earthly father, Joseph), but adoption in New Testament times looked quite a bit different. First, adoption in...
23 days ago • 3 min read
Are You Having Fun? by Phil Last time we started out the new year talking about our approach - refining our focus. This time I'd like to talk about our attitude for the new year. (Disclaimer here: this one is a reminder for me, but you are welcome to listen in!) As most of you already know, I ventured into the world of wood turning last year. (My wood working journey seems to find it's way into my devotions on a regular basis, but that's because I see so many parallels between it and my faith...
30 days ago • 2 min read
Welcome to 2026! We pray this year is filled with good times, exciting opportunities and God's abundant blessings. It's hard to believe, but 30 years ago about this time we were working on our first album that launched our ministry. What an adventure it has been! Pam and I are working on some special events to mark this milestone year that we'll be sharing with you a little later. In the meantime, if you'd like to bring us to your church for the first time or a repeat visit, drop us an email...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
ADVENT IN THE WOODSHOP - Part four, JOY We've come to the end of our exploration of the themes of Advent - presented in wood! So far in our wood turning journey we've selected the wood, smoothed off the rough edges and shaped it into it's final form. Now it’s time to take our creation off the lathe and put it to use. We may have created a bowl for a yummy salad, a snack platter for holiday entertaining, a vase to hold a bouquet of flowers or a dish to keep rings and jewelry safe at night. Or...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
ADVENT IN THE WOODSHOP - Part three, LOVE Welcome back to the woodshop for another look at the themes of Advent. We've selected our log and smoothed off the rough places. Now it's time to get down to the real work of discovering just what is hiding inside this piece of wood. We'll use a variety of tools, some very aggressive to take off lots of material and others very delicate to create fine details. Along the way there will probably be unforeseen places where a deformity or crack in the...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
ADVENT IN THE WOODSHOP - Part two, PEACE We continue our look at Advent through eyes of a wood turner. Last time we selected a chunk of wood in hope of a masterpiece hiding inside. Now it's time to chuck it onto the lathe. We start by trying to find the approximate center of the piece. No matter how close we get, the odd shape of the rough wood will cause the lathe to shake a bit as it turns. We ease the roughing gouge slowly toward the spinning wood and it jumps and jerks in our hands as the...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Welcome to December! It snowed here in KC on the first, so that must mean the holiday season is officially here. In this busy time of year, we pray you take time to savor each moment and remember the great gift from God we celebrate with Jesus' birth. This marks the 25th year of our weekly devotions. Phil wrote the first one on December 28, 1999. (We'll include it below.) We've lost count, but over these 25 years, the number of devotions has climbed into the thousands. Our intention was to...
2 months ago • 3 min read