01 Dec

Posted at 10:00h in Uncategorized

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:6-7 (NIV) Unexpected relatives. Unexpected company. Unexpected anxiety? ‘tis the season! Each year the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years (with Christmas at its heart) represent one of the best opportunities to open your family to others. Examples include extended family, friends, and even college kids who live too far to make it home. But how? Here are three helpful lessons God taught us over the past few years. Lesson #1: Extended family means extending grace When a buddy of mine “Will” (not his real name) lost his job and then a house to live in, he humbly turned to his friends for shelter. Upon learning of Will’s situation, my bride Suzanne sensed God’s call...

01 Nov

Posted at 10:00h in Uncategorized

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 (NIV) Charles Quinton "C.Q." Smith, center, is shown in a photo that ran in the Chambersburg Public Opinion in 2002. The Boy Scouts of America honored him for 53 years of service. He served as the scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 127 from 1966 to 1991. A longtime scoutmaster stands accused of monstrous crimes. And something like a bomb exploded in my heart. Why? Because this scoutmaster was my childhood scoutmaster, a man and mentor I’ve known for nearly 40 years: Charles Quinton “C.Q.” Smith. C.Q. Smith first taught me the Boy Scout Oath which begins like this: On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God…. As a then 11 year-older learning the Scout Oath in 1981, I had no idea how my duty to God would impact me as an adult. Over those nearly...

01 Oct

Posted at 10:00h in Uncategorized

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Genesis 2:24 (NIV) This month of October 2019, Suzanne and I celebrate 25 years of marriage: what a milestone, what a miracle! Here are five lessons we’ve learned over the past 25 years: Lesson #1: Don’t expect perfection It’s funny how we set out looking for the perfect spouse, but we begin with a flawed premise: that somehow, we’re perfect! To this day, I still have a few friends who are seeking the perfect spouse, just like I did years ago. So, as we search for someone else who’s looking for the perfect spouse, it’s easy to see how frustrating and disappointing this search for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow can be for both parties. So, here’s what I learned: expect perfection from God but don’t expect perfection...

01 Sep

Posted at 12:00h in Uncategorized

Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV) This is big – REALLY big: we’re celebrating 10 years of God’s faithfulness to our ministry! First came a whisper in 2006, “Travis, speak My Word, and I will take care of the rest….” In 2009, God lead us to found Speak My Word Ministries, an IRS 501(c)3 non-profit charity. Later in 2016, we honed our focus and transitioned to A Faithful Dad. Now, in 2019, we’re celebrating 10 years of God’s faithfulness to our ministry! 1,000,000+ video views: subscribe to our YouTube channel HERE: God is faithful! Thousands have heard God’s Word at live events from Maine to Florida and New Jersey to Wisconsin: God is faithful! Hundreds have made a decision to follow Jesus. Indeed, God is faithful! Yet, our mission remains straightforward: we encourage dads and families. The need is great! Here’s what our supporters are saying: What the world needs right now is...

01 Aug

Posted at 10:00h in Uncategorized

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ~ Hebrews 12:2 (NIV) A Family Guide to Joy (in All Circumstances) (Chapter 12) concludes with Destination Joy? Here we celebrate the twelfth station of Jesus’ Journey to Joy (see map below): Jesus knew joy because He conquered death! Through this guide, and through our lives, we’ve walked with Jesus on His journey. That journey included good times, transitions, rejection, and dying to self, to name a few. Jesus, considering the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2), endured the cross, and His journey has reached its final destination. Jesus’ journey is complete. But what about our journey? Will we also reach destination joy here on earth? No! As we’ve seen, joy is not something we get...

01 Jul

Posted at 10:00h in Uncategorized

Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. ~ Luke 23:46 (NIV) (Jesus’ seventh statement from the cross) This month’s focus in A Family Guide to Joy (in All Circumstances) (Chapter 11) is Joy in Dying to Self where we reveal the eleventh station of Jesus’ Journey to Joy (see map below): Jesus knew joy because He died to self. What is dying to self? Leonard Bernstein, the late conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, was once asked to name the most difficult instrument to play. Without hesitation, he replied: “The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm — that’s a problem; and if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony.” Hit close to home? It seems we all want...

01 Jun

Posted at 10:00h in Uncategorized

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. ~ John 19:30 (NIV) (Jesus’ sixth statement from the cross) This month’s vulnerable focus in A Family Guide to Joy (in All Circumstances) (Chapter 10) is Joy in Misery where we uncover the tenth station of Jesus’ Journey to Joy (see map below): Jesus knew joy because He cried out in misery. As defined by Google dictionary, misery is “a state or feeling of great distress or discomfort of mind or body.” We could say Jesus’ crucifixion was a state AND feeling of great distress AND discomfort of mind AND body AND soul. Toward the end of His crucifixion, Jesus was literally almost beyond misery. God’s Word puts misery in personal terms that we can all understand. Here are some of Scripture’s most chilling accounts of misery. “Then [God] will say...

01 May

Posted at 10:00h in Uncategorized

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ~John 19:28 (NIV) (Jesus’ fifth statement from the cross) Can I really experience joy in sickness? Yes! This month’s tender focus in A Family Guide to Joy (in All Circumstances) (Chapter 9) is Joy in Sickness where we uncover the ninth station of Jesus’ Journey to Joy (see map below): Jesus knew joy because He thirsted in sickness. On the cross, the end of His suffering nearly complete, Jesus gasped His fifth cry, “I thirst.” In His cry, we keenly sense Jesus’ humanity. But while His broken body thirsted for water (He twice refused drink), the thirst to do His Father’s will was far greater. Throughout His earthly walk Jesus encountered sick and thirsty people who desired to know the Messiah. And to be blunt, not knowing Jesus is far worse than any sickness:...

01 Apr

Posted at 10:00h in Uncategorized

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) Matthew 27:46 (NIV) (Jesus’ fourth statement from the cross) Joy. Pain. Not two words we often see in the same sentence much less experience together in life: joy in pain. This month’s raw focus in A Family Guide to Joy (in All Circumstances) (Chapter 8) is Joy in Pain where we revisit the eighth station of Jesus’ Journey to Joy (see map below): Jesus knew joy because He anguished in pain. After Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ was released, Jim Caviezel, the actor who portrayed Christ, revealed in an interview on the Today show that “he dislocated his shoulder carrying the cross, caught pneumonia and a lung infection, [and] endured cuts, scrapes, and backaches from the chains he bore.” The interview also shed light on just...