When we moved to Oklahoma, finding a home church was a bit of a struggle until we were invited to attend Bartlesville First Church of the Nazarene.

Having grown up in “the church” I was pretty picky about what I wanted in a church and was also quite jaded, to say the least.

My first encounter with Randy Schuneman, or “pastor” as we know him, was watching this man walk into the sanctuary yakking on his phone. ‘Really?’ I thought. Isn’t it funny how we can pass judgment on people for their actions and then never give it another thought when we are doing the same thing? Yep, that was me… passing judgment on non-other than my new pastor.

Truth be told, he was making a point for his sermon and had I come down off my high horse long enough to read the bulletin, I would have noticed that the sermon was starting early.

Now to the point of this blog…. Pastor is an amazing human being. He has remained one of my most favorite people on the planet and if I had to mention one person who has inspired me to do better, it is him. Yes, I love my mom and dad; yes, I admire my grandparents and think well of them too; but, Randy has somehow shown me things that nobody could ever make “click” in my hard head.

His teaching and preaching style has kept me riveted on the edge of my seat like no other preacher (sorry, dad!) and he makes the Bible come alive in your mind.

On a personal note, I have watched Randy go through some pretty scary times as both a parent and pastor. I admire the way he handled things and how he stood in the face of those tough times and remained strong – at least on the outside. This can be a good thing and it can also mislead people into thinking that you are “fine” when in fact, you are dying on the inside and need a lifeline.

Randy has written a book – well, is still writing a book. It will hopefully be out in a few months but he is taking pre-orders. So that must mean that it will be here soon! I am so excited to read his writing. AND I can officially say “I knew Randy when he was my pastor… and I have his autograph!”

To my favorite pastor: I am so proud of you. I am excited to see where your writing career takes you and last but not least, I am so glad that God chose you to be on the planet to teach us all how to be strong, how to constantly seek Him and to remember that “on the third day” He arose.

Yet another chapter in the story that is still being written….

The Gingham Cottage