My daily gratitude for:

1. Serving Bering Drive and being a part of Gods body in that specific place.
2. The gift of a couple days of rain here in the Houston region.
3. Dave Fullers ongoing friendship.
4. Justin Pardee, a good man who reflects Gods light in his relationships, loyalty, commitment to others, and love for Jesus. I want to be like him! Happy birthday Justin!
5. Jason McMullen, a VAD coordinator and good nurse who wears compassion and principle and work ethic. Happy birthday Jason!
6. Christin Orr, a wonderful RN in the PICU who is super kind and energetic and highly accurate and detailed. Loved seeing her back after maternity leave!
7. Learning to be more affirming in my relationships and advocacy for those who are LGBTQ+.
8. Laughter in the office.
9. My back feeling better.
10. Green salsa.
11. Making tortillas with a press and on a comal.

My daily gratitude for:

1. Gods peace!
2. The liturgy of waking from Every Moment Holy that I got to read this morning.
3. Jessica Evey, a phenomenal nurse practitioner and one of the most well rounded nurses I have ever met. Happy birthday Jessica!
4. Pam Krinock’s long term friendship with me as a chaplain colleague, mentor, and listener.
5. The CPE journey I took that allowed me to get to know myself, grow in my identity, grow in my ability to discern my own experience and feelings with others, and learn to adjust and adapt even better.
6. Our new contract chaplains, Laurie Taylor and Troy Williams, both of whom are solid chaplains and very good reflecting Gods love in their ministry.
7. The Enneagram Journey podcast and the learning and growing I get to do through it.
8. The feeling of relief of stretches with my legs.
9. My Payflex account, and the relief and assistance it has provided me during these past two years.

My daily gratitude for:

1. Rain in our area. We haven’t had it but it is so welcomed and nourishing and renewing for the area.
2. Chris Moore, my awesome cousin who really has grown into a life that he loves and Carrie’s well- love for knick knacks and bowling and Buffalo Bills and restoring his mustang and his job and mostly, his family. Happy birthday Chris!
3. Vicki Rupe and Joanne Feild, a mother and daughter whose hospitality and kindness were spectacular and abounding and still continue in many ways.
4. The chaplains that served the families I know in the Heart Center while I have been away.
5. A day off after vacation to get my mind straight and catch up.
6. Liz doing so much to help our family get caught up after the vacation and sharing in wine with me to celebrate/mourn the end of our vacation together.
7. Playing Sorry and Candyland with Ryan this morning.
8. The book “Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol” that I have been enjoying these last weeks.
9. Mexican breakfasts- tacos, huevos Mexicanos, huevos con frijoles, chilaquiles, migas…so good!

My daily gratitude for:

1. Our return home today.
2. Dinner last night with a friend a water view and this mornings breakfast over shimmering calm shallow pools.
3. Having great pediatric chaplains in town along with those at TCH- like Courtney, Lindsay, Joel, Jessica, and others.
4. Allen Heida, a fantastic friend at Pepperdine who was so skilled with his guitar, but more importantly, just a good principled and open guy. Happy birthday Allen!
5. The ability for my family to lay our heads down safely when in some places in the world now safety is not guaranteed and they may not be able to sleep soundly.
6. The beautiful Mayan architecture and rock carvings and storytelling we saw at Chichén Itza.
7. Cochinita pibil tacos.
8. Waterfalls.

My daily gratitude for:

1. The ability to travel. It is not lost on me that we are stunningly lucky to travel.
2. Every staff member at the resort that makes our trip And family memories possible.
3. Pedro, Romy, Elvira, and some of the wonderful staff we have met here and learned a bit of their family.
4. Ryan being willing to try new foods this week, like shrimp and grilled beef and dragon fruit and a virgin pina colada and tres leches.
5. Guill Reyes, a CICU RN who has been really kind and generous and gentle and a very good transition RN from the OR. Happy birthday Guill!
6. Travis Hill-Weber, a fellow chaplain and friend whose invite to be a part of Lifeline changed my life. I love his gentleness as his defining characteristic and an ability to make all feel welcomed in his presence. Happy birthday Travis!
7. ***
8. Water slides at water parks. Super fun and Ryan loves them, especially those at our resort.
9. The Mayan pyramid that immensely greets us at the front of our resort. It is magnificent.
10. Palm trees.
11. The wonderful birds and wildlife that we see around this area of Mexico.

My daily gratitude for:

1. The gift of travel, and our fortune to do so.
2. The wonderfully spectacular Iberostar Paraíso Maya resort we are staying at. The facility is just gorgeous, environmentally sustainable, and incredibly Mayan. The mangroves, flowers, jungle, and beautiful wood and carvings are super awesome!
3. Teaching Ryan to appreciate other people, other cultures, and other beauty in the world.
4. Family time.
5. Mexican and Mayan culture and peoples.
6. The great seafood we have had so far this week.
7. Having a relaxing lazy River to enjoy here.
8. A great first night here with fun pools, laughter, and our lovely patio to the jungle.
9. Ryan trying and loving dragonfruit!
10. Sustainable food practices.

My daily gratitude for:

1. Vacation and adventuring, which bring a sense of newness and renewal.
2. Seeing my parents last night and having a fun, relaxing, encouraging time with them.
3. My chaplain colleagues caring for my heart center staff and families this week.
4. The salsa roja rostizado that i made a couple days ago- super good and good spice.
5. Our ability to see and walk.
6. The devotional and liturgy book, Every Moment Holy.
7. The gift of flight.

My daily gratitude for:

1. Seeing everything in all of creation and around me as carrying the essence and grace of God.
2. Good nourishing sleep.
3. Michael Jeffries, a friend in my soul group who is a thoughtful, kind, incredibly gentle soul and man of contemplation who loves to sit with God. Happy birthday Michael!
4. Marian Welty, a good friend in SoCal whose love for her son is quite moving.
5. Anything peaches. Peach cake from Liz too!
6. A calm overnight at work, thankfully.
7. My camping gear.
8. Playing Bingo.
9. Writing crossword puzzles for Ryan.

My daily gratitude for:

1. All the cool connections with fathers that I know around the world, fathers who honor their families and partner with their spouses and pursue God with all their hearts and love Gods creation, like Cambry, Sean, Steve, Caleb, Tim, Michael, Dave, Adam, Tim, Jim, Rick, Mike, Fred, Phil, Jeremy, Jaime, and many others…
2. My dad, John, and my father in law, Paul. They are good good dads whose work and efforts reflect tons in our family.
3. Juneteenth, as a reminder of the meaning of freedom and the joy of good news for enslaved people. Their good news and freedom is worth celebrating in light of our history in this country.
4. Liz being able to make good headway on schoolwork today.
5. Playing backyard soccer with Ryan.
6. Great grilled burgers to honor Paul for Father’s Day!
7. Kelika Ragragola, a fraternity brother from Psi U who owns his Hawaiian heritage and knows calm and joy in life. Happy birthday Kelika!
8. Making salsa from my garden serranos and jalapeños and herbs!

My daily gratitude for:

1. Liz and I’s awesome date night at Bombetta, with great pasta and a stunningly good super Tuscan and a delightful dessert…but most of all with my wife!
2. Suzi Byrd’s deeply sacred compassion and big heart as our weekend chaplain and as a colleague.
3. Participating and collaborating with DEI efforts for spiritual care at TCH.
4. Michelle Lawsons leadership of Patient Family Services and the opportunity to have worked for her after she hired me on!
5. Monica Tijerina, a CICU RN who is bubbly and funny and consistently excellent in the care of the children there.
6. Henrietta Lacks, whose cells have blessed millions and millions in medical breakthroughs. Her legacy, though she never knew it, is astounding.
7. The ability to give another human being the opportunity to be seen and heard deeply.
8. The coffee beans from Java Pura I just started, called Inmaculada Farmers blend. Really really delish!