Below is Pastor Don’s blog, where Pastor Don shares his thoughts on Scripture, current events, and more. Make sure to check back here frequently to read more about topics we may even discuss when we meet!
I’m not an animal lover. I like the idea of a dog, I guess––having a trusty companion who always accepts you, waiting for you at the door when you get home with wagging tail. Car commercials with a man and his best friend packing up the camping gear on a mountain top at sunset looks…
Every season brings a certain amount of joy to me. I enjoy all four and that makes Michigan a great home for me. I talk with many people who complain about winter and I wonder to myself why anyone would live in Michigan that hates the winter. But I also have identified a selfish streak…
A few of the counseling relationships I’m privileged to be a part of here at ReCAST have come about due to the challenges of sin. Typically, a crisis drives these individuals to seek pastoral counsel and part of working with them involves confronting the dysfunctional or devious behavior that caused or helped cause the crisis.…
I like the light. I associate walking in the darkness with stepping on Legos with my bare feet and ramming my shin into the end table. The disciple John writes in 1 John 1 about walking in the darkness and walking in the light. And, in context, walking in the light is not merely doing…
I’m blogging from my iPhone, in the dark, in my Big Agnes Wolf Mountain 6 person tent with sleeping wife and three half snoring kiddos by my side. Our tent is expertly pitched on site 224 in Brimley State Park campground with Lake Superior waves quietly falling to shore 40 yards north of where I…
Have you ever been anonymous in a crowd? Have you had the chance to be the mascot or wear a full costume at a party? There is something that makes us more socially bold when nobody knows our identity. Anonymity is a powerful thing that can be used for good or evil in the human…
Several weeks ago, a young man named Matt introduced himself to me at church. He had the look of someone who was trying to hold himself together, and he asked if we could set up a time to meet. Later in the week when we sat down to talk, he shared with me that his…
In the amount of time I would’ve spent on Facebook two weeks ago I memorized a verse. I downloaded an excellent app called “Fighter Verses”. It is put out by Desiring God ministries and makes it super easy to memorize Scripture! It is a bargain at $2.99 on the App Store. Each week has a…
I am going on a week and a half without Facebook. I deactivated my account last week after a run in with some very prurient content and that was the straw that pushed me over the edge. It is a decision that has been building up as I observed Facebook consuming more of my time,…
I came across the following quote from Timothy Keller in the book “Center Church.” He says, “Moralism eats away at real joy and humor because the system of legalism forces us to take our self (our image, our appearance, our reputation) very seriously.” [parentheses and italics in original]. That has indeed been my personal experience.…
“Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.” Genesis 20:6 I will leave it up to you to read and fill in…
I confess that I’m just not very politically minded, even with a Master’s Degree in political science. I glance at headlines from time to time, and I find the theories that attempt to explain human society and virtues like justice and fairness very interesting, but the ins and outs of Washington or Lansing just seem…
