We are currently in the season of the year, known to Christians as Advent. Advent precedes Christmas and in earlier years it was celebrated as the 40 days before Christmas. Now, the season is typically observed beginning the four Sundays before Christmas. But the meaning of Advent has remained the same throughout the years - it is a time of preparation for the coming of the King. Perhaps, the theme phrase of the season can best be summed in the words of John the Baptist as he echoes the ancient prophet Isaiah, I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way - a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

There it sat, at the bottom of the donation bin - one, lonely, size 9 boot. One measly cleat. It had been used by it's professional football owner and probably now tossed out as some new, shinier pair arrived. The studs were still good; the leather, still fairly supple; the laces were still in good condition, but where was its partner? Where was it's other half? It's mirror twin? And what good could just one be without the other? What  good is one shoe? At least, that's what I used to think, until a few years ago. It was a Timothy Project - a donation to Africa, I believe. We only had 5 or 10 pairs of shoes to send down with

 “I will heal their waywardness    and love them freely,    for my anger has turned away from them." - The Lord speaking through Hosea to Israel, Hosea 14:4 The words of the prophet Hosea were poignantly delivered to me in the form of a ministry charge during my ordination service. It is a powerful charge - heal their waywardness and love them freely. The two-pronged charge has become a guardrail in terms of my ministry as pastor and as chaplain. First, to heal their waywardness speaks to one of the most foundational functions of the pastoral office - healing. How does one heal waywardness? Some of the people that I encounter in ministry don't even know that they are sick or in need of healing - sure they

For Ann Nerney and her team headed down to Juarez, Mexico, there were smiles all around as they took donated soccer gear on the latest trip to Juarez as a result of a Timothy Project application this past fall. With the back of her truck packed full of balls and shoes and shinguards and clothes, Ann Nerny drove away excited for the joy that she knew would be felt by the children that the team would be working with. Much of the gear was donated by the local youth soccer club Colorado Storm headed by Dave Dir. Nerny shared this update from the trip: The trip to Juarez was absolutely wonderful, and the children were so blessed by the generous gift of

This past Tuesday, November 11, was Veterans Day, but it also serves as the feast day for the patron Saint Martin of Tours. St. Martin has a special place in the heart for the for me personally and for the ministry of CrossTraining. If you don't know the story, Martin was a soldier in the Roman army, following in the footsteps of his father. One day, outside the city gates of Amiens in France he met a beggar who was naked and out in the cold. As the story goes, Martin cut his cloak in half and clothed the beggar half. Later that night, resting with his garrisoned troops in the city, he had a vision of Jesus Christ appearing