Are You Where You Are Supposed To Be? 8/16/2026

 A good cup of Door County Peanut Butter Crunch Coffee is keeping me company on this fine Sunday morning and it is time to write.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you future and a hope. 

Yesterday found me getting some assistance with a project I am working on for our church. Once again I found myself at my dear friend's house borrowing his time and the use of his drill press. Us two have partnered in church work (ministry) for many many years, through thick and thin. We took some time as always just to chat and discuss world events and our church. 

We both easily admitted that our best ministry years are now behind us. 

Every year in September I take time to review my year ( September is the new fiscal year for our church.) So I start with the help of others to plan for the following year. September is just around the corner and the start of the new year for one of the ministries I provide "elder oversight," to will be diving into the study of the Holy Spirit. The weekly operations of that ministry are now in the hands of a younger and very capable guy. 

Back to September.I ask God to show me the paths in which I should follow regarding ministry work and by January I have a general idea as to what God wants me to do. If and when I don't receive a definitive answer as to where God is leading me, I continue in the direction I have been going in until He leads me in a different direction. 

It is important for us to stay where and what God has called us to until He moves you. 

My point for the day is this. It's your life, but God has the plan. There is no doubt that we are all to serve Him. Be sensitive to His call and directions. The right path is the only path.

Have a great day!

Marty

Mining For Golden Nuggets 8/15/2026

 Good Morning,

I just sat down at my desk with a hot cup of Door County Peanut Butter Crunch Coffee and now I am ready to write.

Psalm 19:9-10 NKJV The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever,

The judgments are true and righteous altogether 

10. More to be desired than gold. Yes then much fine gold.

Sweeter also  than honey and the honeycomb

who wouldn't want to find some gold on your property? If you did find gold on your property, I would place a bet that says you would find a shovel or buy one so you could dig deeper and find more gold.You would mine deep and wide on that piece of land for more golden nuggets. 

Now let's apply this to life. Many people enjoy a good Christian daily devotional book. I am all for that, but doesn't the devotional leave you wanting more? 

Most devotionals contain a passage or two of Scripture. Do you mine for more? Do you read the passages before and after the given passage in the devotional? Do you dig deeper into the Word, so as to better understand and apply what you have read.? Do you share your gold, or do you hoard for yourself what you have learned or pass on the comfort the passages supplied?

The Bible is filled with pages breathed by God and is there 24/7 for you to open the mine and extract what you need, for emotional comfort, direction, peace and correction.

Food for thought. When was the last time you opened the mine and dug into an hour or so of Scripture?

God bless? Marty

The Job Is Under Rated , Or Is It Overrated? 8/14/2026

Good Morning,

My Door County Breakfast Blend Coffee just splashed into my cup and it is time to write.

Today I would like to talk about one of the unsung heros and most churches have one. It is the person they call the "Youth Pastor". Typically they are fresh out of school or still in school when they answer the call. Then they are quite often underpaid and many times have to work a secular job as well to make ends meet. They exist on too much pizza and candy. 

1 Timothy 4:12 ESV Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 

As a youth pastor they spend a lot of time away from home where very often they have a wife with some babies to take care of. They are often last to be considered during the annual budget talks. 

I have said this and haven't even mentioned the teens just yet. They might range in numbers of 6-60 or even more. The youth pastor must develop his own volunteer leaders within and then be responsible for them as they work with the teens. 

I know a lot about being the youth pastor , youth director. I did that job for twenty some years. within three churches. I was blessed to have a secular job that paid well so my wife and I did not need or draw any pay from the churches we served. For the longest time we did not even have a departmental budget. We organized fund raisers that the teens supported with their labor. Car washes, rummage sales etc were the source of income needed as it is with many churches. My wife worked side by side with me for all those years. In youth pastor school they never tell you that your spouse is also part of the package. Your spouse is a new wave of indentured servant because they married the youth pastor. 

Then you give the you pastor a mixture of kids, from the church brats that often think they are God's gift to you, different races, checkered pasts, sweet kids, distressed kids and then you make sure to tell them "We Are Praying For you" All different ages, raging hormones, mood swings. Every teen is welcomed in. You then attend sporting events or musicals to show your teens support. And you are happy and proud to do so. You come to meetings at church and fall asleep. You often look like the teens kept you up all night long. Your spouse wonders if the couch snores all the time? Your spouse and you attend the God forbid,  funerals of teens that for some reason or another pass away often from tragedy that befalls a teen. You visit hospitals where the run aaway resides while getting mental health help. You comfort parents who have a runaway teen.

My point is this. Don't forget to truly pray for that youth pastor, their spouse, the leaders that serve with them and last but not least, pray for the teens that attend  "Youth Group". Give words of encouragement and be thankful that you have a youth pastor doing the job that most people could never do.  

Food for thought.

Marty 

Where The Decision Ends 8/13/2026

 Good Morning,

I just tasted my cup of Hot Door County Breakfast Blend Coffee and it definitely put a smile on my face. It is time to write. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof . for correction, instruction in righteousness, 17. That  the man of God may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The world debates a lot of things and even goes to war over ideals, customs, and outright lies. A lot of battles and arguments could be over i a hot minute if we just used God's Word (Bible) as the ultimate authority over right and wrong. It is the moral compass to those who believe. 

It is the judge and jury of right and wrong. But yet we people use judges to make our decisions as to what is right and wrong. Judges with their own opinions and ideas and temptations decide who is right and who is wrong. What is good and what is bad! 

The last time I checked judges are only human, and not infallible. Yet we accept answers from the less than godly to impact our lives and families. 

My point for today is this. Before rendering a decision in your life, your families  and to the public, the decision should be weighed against the Truth of the Bible. 

Food for thought!

Marty

The Time It Takes Is Really Nothing 8/12/2026

 Good Morning,

I am sitting at me desk with a hot cup of Door County Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffeea nd it is time to write. 

My wife Rene came through again for me yesterday. I want to publicly acknowledge her for what she did for me. 

Proverbs 16:24 ESV Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Yesterday I was working as a poll voting worker in my city. Our work team all contributed to bringing something to eat for a pot luck lunch and dinner. I volunteered to bring smoked pork and some toppings. We had so much food with sweet treats besides, that we could have stayed a week if push came to shove. We all knew that we were going to work into the night and probably close to midnight. I assessed the fact that hauling all the stuff I needed to keep the food hot and served up just right was doable for sure, but it would be nice if I could get it home earlier. 

I gave Rene a call and within minutes she responded and loaded all the stuff that needed to go home and was gone in a flash. I introduced her to all of the folks that I worked with and then she was gone as fast as she had arrived. While there she received many words of sympathy from my working friends for being married to yours truly. She thought that was hilarious. Funny funny!

When I made it home after that 16 hour day Rene was still up and wanted to share with me some things that she did while I was gone and what appointments that had been made, 

I made sure to say thank you for bailing me out, which allowed me to get to sleep sooner. 

It only takes a moment to make eye contact and deliver a sincere thank you. Some flowers might just land on the dining room table today.  

Please and thank you go a long long way in being genuine. So mind your manners today and always. A kind request and a kind thank you doesn't take but a moment. 

Food for thought. 

Marty

Keeping Your Heart Refrigerated 8/11/2026

 Good Morning,

I have a hot cup of Door County Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee at my side and it is time to write.

Many a person has extended their heart to someone and in return has had that heart broken by betrayal, death, or just a bad connection and love was just one sided. 

People who have been stung by relationships will handle it by backing up and putting a chill on their heart. They resist putting that heart out there to love again and be loved. They are social, only to a point, and then they turn down the thermostat of their heart. 

It's a shame that a heart that once beat for others is now frozen. The first step in getting your heart to beat right and experience love is to realize just how loved you are. Now some people who have lost their mate to death may never experience that love relationship with someone again. That is easy to understand their view point. But I am hear to challenge them. There is a whole lot of love to experience just by being friends with others. 

That first step to unlocking a heart is to accept that God has made us to be relational. And it His God himself that desires a relationship with us. He went so far as to prove His love for us that He sent His Son to die for our sins. Next, within His word are invitations to experience Him.

Revelation 3:20. NKJV Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Reopen those closed cold hearts and experience traveling with God and experiencing fellowship with people again. Be the first to be there when the door opens on an event of fellowship. Let God lead you to serve others and experience Him through His work.

Food for thought!

Marty

A Bad Experience Makes A Long Lasting Impression 8/10/2026

Good Morning.

My mug was just filled with Door County Breakfast Blend Coffee and it is time to write. 

Matthew 7:12 ESV So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them for this is the law and the prophets.

A few years ago, my wife Rene and I purchased tickets for a music concert being performed at our State Fair. 

Much to our surprise when we tried entering the venue we were turned away because the tickets had already been used that night. 

Basically our tickets had been sold twice and the best the ticket people could do was to seat us a couple rows away from each other. We chose to sit apart and we did hear the concert but really could not see the concert or enjoy it together. The seats given to us were not the same quality and area we wanted or paid for. 

After that incident we have not attended the State Fair or purchased ant tickets from that same vendor. 

We both understand that things happen and what was disappointing is that the solution was minimal at best. "We can offer you a credit for these other two concerts." The offers were for music genres that we would never attend. 

Rene was very disappointed and we just went home afterwards. All future attempts to get her to the State Fair  have been unsuccessful. It wasn't the fault of the Fair management. But the sting of the mishap will always be equated with a trip to the fair.

Now I preach a message that we should all be forgiving and kind.  But!

And again I know that things happen now and then and the best of plans fail. But when that happens it is your response to your failure that is measured more than the failure itself. You can't leave the impression that "Business is good" so we aren't really going to work to keep your business. 

Things happen. But if it was your responsibility to provide a service and it failed you  own the response to the failures.

Food for thought. 

Marty