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Our Leadership
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One of the things that we highly value is listening to one another's stories. In particular, we love to hear about how people are encountering Jesus in their day-to-day lives. This might be in big ways...but it also happens most often in smaller ways (sometimes in ways that are really easy to miss.)
On this page you will find a treasure trove of such stories! May your own walk with Jesus be deeply encouraged and nourished by what you read here.
If you are interested in sharing some of your story here, please email us to let us know!
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Coming Home 3
In earlier posts (Coming Home Parts One and Two), I told about coming home after wintering in Palm Springs to lots of little and large repair projects, including a leaky hot water tank, in-floor water heating that didn’t work, a heat pump that wouldn’t shut off, a damaged boat-lift cover, a sunken water trampoline and a myriad of smaller issues. In time, I addressed or repaired these, and was feeling good that the worst was behind me. Then one night, I awoke about 3:00 in th
Bob Witty
3 hours ago3 min read
Graduation Day
I spent Thursday morning at a graduation and Summer Send-Off at the Lake and Park School in Seattle. Neither of my grands graduated this year but the younger one played 2 piano pieces, sang in the choir and spoke twice. Was it worth it to hear 8 graduation speeches, so that I could hear all that? Of course! But actually, I enjoyed the graduation speeches very much. These graduates are finishing fifth grade and moving on to middle school. Here are some snippets from the spe
Jani James
7 days ago2 min read
One Word Prayer
Thirty-five years ago I found myself in the basement of despair. I was battling clinical depression. If you’ve ever been on the frontlines of that dreaded internal conflict, you can identify. It took every resource I could muster to find the energy to get out of bed. I lacked focus. I lacked feeling. I lacked a reason to live. There I was - a husband, the father of three young girls and the pastor of a dynamic church. Looking back, I can identify factors that resulted in my e
Greg Asimakoupoulos
May 273 min read
Coming Home 2
After a few days home from Palm Springs (and fixing everything imaginable), we left for Cabo for a week. A week later, coming home, I expected everything to be as we left it. Wrong! The water heater continued to leak. The 5-gallon bucket was full to overflowing, there was standing water at the base of the water heater and on the garage floor, and the pilot light was out. Oh, my goodness. Here we go again. I thought this was behind us. I guess not. And so, I go into Bo
Bob Witty
May 213 min read
Meg
A couple weeks ago, I visited Laura Jones at her home in Bellevue. Laura is a fairly new addition to a Thursday morning Bible study group at Creekside. We walked Laura's pair of English Cream Retrievers, Hank and Hazel, around Lake Boren and then sat down for a cup of tea at her kitchen table. My intention was to record Laura’s story of God restoring her eyesight for the Creekside blog. Instead, I got to meet Laura’s son Luke and his wife, Meg. Luke made me a very delicio
Jani James
May 153 min read
The Hands of a Mother
Like you, I’m thinking about my mom this weekend. Although she passed away six years ago, deposits in my memory bank over the years continue to compound with interest. One of my final memories of my mother is watching her play the piano a couple weeks before she died. In spite of her dementia, she could still make those eighty-eight keys sing beautifully. As I listened to her play hymns she taught me as a boy, I looked at those familiar hands. Those gnarled age-spotted finger
Greg Asimakoupoulos
May 63 min read
Coming Home
Palm Springs is nice if you like hot, dry weather with periodic dust storms, and lots of golf. I love it there. But there is no place like home (cloudy, wet, cold). After three months, we came back to Seattle. But I came back with a sense of foreboding. I learned that the water trampoline sunk in a windstorm; the boat canopy was damaged in another storm and dangling precariously over the water; the front door wouldn’t unlock; the garage door wouldn’t open; the bulkhead w
Bob Witty
May 13 min read
Good Shepherd
On May 23, 2002, Pope John Paul II held a mass in Baku, Azerbaijan. It is the only time a pope has ever visited Azerbaijan. Kent and I were there to hear him.
Jani James
Apr 243 min read
The Face of War
The day after Israel and the United States dropped bombs on Iran, I was watching coverage of the conflict on my television. A most disturbing image caught my attention. In the smoke rising above the smoldering debris, I saw the image of a face. I grabbed my iPhone and snapped a photo. I wondered if anyone else viewing this coverage of the war saw what I saw. In the days that followed the initial invasion, that eerie countenance on my iPhone continued to haunt me. Ironically,
Greg Asimakoupoulos
Apr 93 min read
Ask the Question
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them…Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.” (Matt. 28:19, 20) This command weighs heavily on my heart because I am not a natural evangelist. I treasure my faith and my walk with Jesus, and I’m not afraid to share it with others. If someone confronts me about it, I willingly and unapologetically defend my beliefs. But I’m not good about taking the initiative and sharing my belief
Bob Witty
Apr 83 min read
An Unforgettable Parade
The Seahawks victory parade following this year’s Super Bowl Championship was one for the history books. The crowd that gathered in the downtown streets of Seattle was estimated to be anywhere from 750,000 to a million strong. Children were hoisted on parents’ shoulders. Adolescents shimmied up street signs to get a better view. Workers stood at open windows in office buildings. And even rooftops served as parade-watching venues. As I walked up 4 th Avenue to capture video of
Greg Asimakoupoulos
Mar 253 min read
Spreading My Wings . . Under God's Wings
A year and a half ago, I set out on my first solo RV trip. I’ve camped/RV’d before. I wasn’t worried about that part of it. It was the open road, safety, aloneness. I prepared myself as best I could through research and the right supplies. I had a “loosy-goosy” plan -Thanksgiving in Texas with my oldest, and Christmas with my youngest’s new little family and his in-laws in North Dakota. People to see along the way, and National Parks to visit. But how would these experiences
Colette Aguirre
Mar 243 min read
Life-Transforming Walk
I have the distinct privilege of being a part of the Pastoral Search Team. I get a front row seat to what God has in store for Creekside in a new lead pastor! This is a privilege I don’t take lightly, and I’m constantly praying that God will keep me SO tuned into His voice and guidance - please pray for this for me (and for us as a team)! One of the things that the Pastoral Search Team has been doing, that I love, is to start our meetings with a short devotional based on o
April Petersen
Mar 193 min read
Count the Cost
Many years ago, I had an encounter with a mop. I was part of a coalition to restore parole to Washington State’s criminal justice code. One of our projects was an awareness-raising event for the broader community. I booked the Rainier Arts Center for a Saturday afternoon. The large hall was filled to overflowing. Roger Goodman, Washington Representative for the 45th district was our keynote speaker. We heard from formerly incarcerated men and women, and family members of in
Jani James
Mar 133 min read
Reflection on Psalm 51
I think of David as a superhero in the Old Testament. He took down a giant with a single stone. He showed tremendous restraint in honoring God’s appointment of Saul as king by not killing him even though Saul tried to kill him. He was a great and mighty warrior. While David sought God in the big battles, he took his eyes off God in the quiet of his palace. Instead of leading his soldiers to battle, David decided to relax and stay at home, leading to adultery and then murder
Ron Stevens
Mar 42 min read
I Have a Church That Loveth Me
This year marks the fifty-fifth anniversary of my connection with the Evangelical Covenant Church. I had never heard of the denomination until I took part in an ecumenical Lay Witness Mission that was hosted at Newport Covenant Church in Bellevue, Washington in 1971. I was in my first year at Seattle Pacific University as a Biblical Literature major. Fast-forward five years when I entered Fuller Seminary. Unlike my roommates who were financially supported by their local Presb
Greg Asimakoupoulos
Feb 273 min read
Pre-Christian Me
One day, a very long time ago, I decided to go to Sunday school. I really didn’t care about Sunday school, or even church. I went because of a girl. But she wasn’t there! There was, however, a teacher who told us the gospel. That was the first and last time I ever saw that teacher. Even though my parents would take me to church, this was the first time I really heard the gospel. My family moved to Louisiana, in the New Orleans area, for my high school years. It was a weird
Steve Pettijohn
Feb 203 min read
On Being a 12
Last Sunday’s rematch between the New England Patriots and the Seahawks found us Seattle fans recalling the nightmare conclusion to Super Bowl XLIX in 2014. Along with 12s throughout Seahawk Nation, I relived that disastrous game-ending interception for months. Speculation of deflategate that had preceded the big game eleven years ago gave way to admission of communal depression. Then on Sunday our team redeemed that heartbreaking loss on the one-yard line back in 2015. And
Greg Asimakoupoulos
Feb 123 min read
Following the Holy Spirit
I am a work-in-progress on following the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is talked about in the Bible, as the third person of our One God along with the Father and Jesus. But, how do we relate to the Holy Spirit? There’s not much description in the Bible about how it works. Often I wonder, is this my voice in my head coming up with a thought, or is this God through the Holy Spirit telling me? Most of the time when it seemed like God was telling me something, it made sense lat
Erik Godo
Feb 33 min read
My Guiding Star
Who are the stars in your life, who have pointed you to Jesus? In a recent sermon Pastor Julie posed that very question. "Who are the guiding stars in your life who have made an impact on your faith?" For me, my remarkable parents are the ones who made the deepest and most lasting influence on my life. But I’ll wait for another time to tell you about them. Apart from my parents, the person who always floats to the top as someone who made a deep, spiritual impact on my life wa
Wendy Asimakoupoulos
Jan 224 min read
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