Jaime Hlavin joins the blog once again today as we celebrate Christmas with you. Enjoy ~ John During my freshman year in college, I took a humanities class that covered various pieces of art and music. My favorite part of…
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day! I’ve heard business and psychology gurus pitch the idea that we can think our way to a better life. Their premise? Our brain is soft-wired, and can be re-wired by thinking positively, and in doing so,…
I’ve heard business and psychology gurus pitch the idea that we can think our way to a better life. Their premise? Our brain is soft-wired, and can be re-wired by thinking positively, and in doing so, we can have a…
This past Sunday we celebrated Family Christmas at our church. It’s an annual event where we honor people who lived out the Christmas story during the past year. We had a big crowd. So much energy in the room. Everything…
A tradition around many tables this Thanksgiving includes each person sharing a thing or two they’re thankful for during the past year. It’s been fun to watch the development of this tradition around the Opalewski Thanksgiving table. When the boys…
Sunday September 18 was a milestone day for the Opalewski family. The campus we’re giving oversight to launched to the public. It marks the first time in more than 20 years that we’ve officially served as “pastor.” (It’s a part-time…
Hello my name is John… and I’m a plan-aholic. I’m addicted to routine. The weekly checklist is my friend. Each day of the week, my tasks are laid out. It feels great to draw a line through an item when…
Christmas was magical to me as a young boy. The fresh-cut pine tree loaded with lights and ornaments; piles of snow outside; the Charlie Brown Christmas special; holiday kielbasa and raspberry cream pies; family gatherings; opening gifts; no school for…
We live in a crazy world. If you watch the news, you’re bombarded with disturbing images and stories. Most news programs don’t lead with stories about the positive things in life. Human nature defaults to focusing on what’s wrong in life….
