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Meet Stephane Guillaume. This tall, speedy striker hails from the country of Haiti and was part of the Colorado Rapids during the 2005 season. He currently plays for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, but his heart is always thinking back to home and to the children that are growing up with a love of football - much like he did as a child. That is why he started the Stephane Guillaume Academy. Stephane Guillaume Academy Guillaume runs a soccer academy for kids in his home town of St-Marc, Haiti. At any given time, there are as many as 90 children that are involved with training in the Stephane Guillaume Academy every week. As Guillaume continues to play in the United States, he is always

We discover the shepherds of Advent in Luke 2:8-20. You will recall that Advent has to do with waiting; Advent has to do with living in expectancy. And, as the shepherds of Advent journey to the creche at Christmas their hearts are filled with awe and wonder. The shepherd's story has long captured the imagination of many throughout the years - whether in church Christmas plays and dramas with young kids hitting each other with paper staffs or in the professionally-made films and productions with robed and burly-looking men playing the part. Who were these men, these boys (perhaps), who were visited by an angelic messenger, serenaded by a host of angels, and sent on their way to discover a baby in a

Key themes for the Advent season include expectancy and expectations. Mario Albertinelli's The Visitation captures the one and leads us to reflect on the other. As you observe Mary and Elizabeth, in this poignant depiction of the narrative found in Luke 1 - perhaps you can anticipate the senses of expectancy and expectation that both women carry. Reflections on Mary and Elizabeth Consider, that both women are pregnant for the first time - Mary in her young age as a virgin and Elizabeth in her old age as one who has been barren. Both women have been divinely told that they will have sons. Both women have been given a glimpse of their son's future. Both women are alone - Mary

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