When I was growing up my dad used to take me to my hockey games.  He taught me how to skate, how to shoot the puck, and the rules of the game.  Over the years, he was an assistant coach, a manager, and just a spectator; but the end of every day, he was still my father.  I remember when Kathi and I learned that we were expecting our first child.  We were in the process of remodeling our bathroom and I had gone outside to throw away some trash, I walked back in and Kathi pointed to the wall. It read: “I’m pregnant!”  At first I was kind of in shock, because if she is pregnant, that means that I am going to be a father.  I had never been a father before...

A friend called late at night to inform me his marriage was in trouble and he needed to meet. So we met early the next morning to talk, pray, and come up with a plan. After we met, I arrived at the office to start working through my tight schedule. First was staff meeting followed by individual meetings then a lunch meeting, and three more afternoon meetings. All of them were important because they dealt with urgent challenges. I planned on going home around five to get a couple of projects done at home but that was not to be. A police chaplain call came in and three emotional hours later, I pulled into the driveway exhausted. I got home just in time to put the kids to bed then spent two hours writing my message for the weekend. Finally around midnight I called it a day. Fortunately not every day is like this. Too many busy, cluttered days lead to burnout. Something has to give.