PUSHING UP the KINGDOM

When it comes to sheer will, and confidence on achieving goals, no one can argue that Miranda Stacy Burcham has what it takes. Miranda was accomplishing miracles long before her connection to Orchid, but adding our vision to her heart was a match made in heaven. Miranda has been serving the forgotten for a long […]

New Youth Center Planned at Shepherd Hood Ministries

  It is still a dream but now there are Angels in the architecture for this Youth Center in Mwingi Kenya. Pastor Simon Muvengei and Orchid are committed to get the funding necessary to build a facility like the one pictured and deliver a much needed brick and mortar sanctuary for the youth of this […]

Where do the children play?

I have fond memories of soaring high on a swing and building towering castles of sand in my local neighborhood playground. For so many, these playful pictures remained engraved in our hearts and minds and were truly formation in our childhood development. Do you remember laughing and jumping in a playground? Have you seen the […]

What’s in a Name?

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” is a commonly quoted part of a dialogue in William Shakespeare‘s play Romeo and Juliet, in which Juliet argues that the names of things do not matter, only what things “are”. This Christmas much to my surprise Orchid received a donation from the Eck family. […]

The Gift that keeps on giving….

One of my favorite movies is called Christmas Vacation, starring Chevy Chase.   In this holiday hit, a very dysfuncational family attempts to host the “perfect” Christmas, only to have all of the plans fall part and mayhem almost ruin this joyous celebration.  Near the end of the movie, the main character, Clark Griswold is […]

Giving Tuesday

  If you are an American you certainly are aware of “Black Friday” and perhaps now “Cyber Monday”. Both of these days focus around one thing in particular….spending money on material purchases.  The masses will literally line up for hours before store openings on the Friday after Thanksgiving, while online companies offer massive discounts to […]

Can a Robbery be a Blessing in Disguise? That depends on You…

That’s a question I asked myself after getting an email from John King Orio; the director of our mission in Uganda Friends of the Heart, (FOTHU) sharing with me how his restaurant in Kampala had been broken into and  many of it’s valuable contents removed. This is the same tiny establishment that funds John and […]

It’s About Control…….and an Invitation

  Let’s face it we are living in a desert that can claim us at any moment. We just don’t have any real control over the outcomes of our lives. I have also come to the conclusion that desire and control are at the root of all human sorrow. When we can not have or […]

Is there Love in your Heart? Ask your Soul.

I wonder if we humans decided to make the physical organ of the heart the center of where our love emanates because we to afraid to consider the alternative. In our non-denominational discourse was it more appropriate not to consider the divine as the source of our most important experience or were we also a […]

To Endorse or Not Endorse; that is the question

When we endorse something we take a stand and say “I do”, ‘I agree”, “I concur”, “I’m with you”. It’s a serious statement. It carries with it risk of association and in certain cases holds us up to be judged, criticized and sometimes far worse: The apostles endorsed Christ: They were persecuted and murdered. The […]