Joseph F. Radosevich

Mid-February is late winter around here. We can still have cold weather and snow for at least two more months, but the worst of the sustained winter weather is now behind us. We will probably have up and down weather in March and April. It was really pretty today, though. Someone asked me this morning if I was ready for gardening, so I thought I'd write about gardening topics. I finally got around to cleaning out my tomato plants from last year. I was really busy with church and family things from early November on. Since we had such a warm fall all the way until the temperature dropped like a rock Thanksgiving weekend, I never got a chance to clean that part of the garden out. It was an ugly sight every time I looked at it. I'm happy to have that cleared out now. The rest of the garden had layers of mulch with oats planted as a cover crop. It is good to be caught up now. Right now, we have taps in our maple trees for gathering syrup. We had two good days of collecting, before ...

In January, I sorted through my pile (piles, really) of books to find books that I wanted to read but hadn't found the time. I organized them from shortest to longest, and then I started a book sprint so that I could make a dent in that pile before moving on to books that I wanted to read more slowly because they are important. Some of the books in my book sprint were there for 3 years. Life is too short to read everything. Most of the time I prioritize important authors and subjects to me like J.C. Ryle, biblical studies, Robert Caro, John Piper, history, Newbury Award winners, D.A. Carson, etc. There are other books and topics that I like to dip into from time to time or books that people give me that I want to give a chance. My January book sprint helped me read 9 books from my list that were getting buried beneath other books. I spent about 3 days per book. It was well-worth doing, but I was ready by the end of January to slow down. I like to read several books at a time and di...

I started giving blood in 2025. I thought I would reflect on that and write why I think more people should donate blood. I considered donating blood for a while. I'm a healthy 41 year-old and saw the ads about why it was needed for a long time. I thought about the need and how I could help with it for a while before I finally did it. I wasn't scared of needles, because I gave plasma years ago (don't tell my mom). My main obstacle was that didn't know how long it would take or if I could fit it into my schedule. I haven't been deferred or had any slow downs since I started (I have seen people deferred). It takes me less than 30 minutes from the time I walk in the door to walking out. You can only donate blood once every 2 months or so, but you can donate platelets more often. I didn't know anyone who talked about donating blood. I have been surprised by the number of people I know that I see when I donate.  I found it really meaningful after I donated blood the f...

I use kanban-type systems to organize my work in my office and thought I'd share about that here.  As I understand it, Kanban is a system developed by someone at Toyota for managing projects. I learned a version of it at a church planting training. The basic format allows you to see the parts of a project and what needs to be done for each part of every project. I use a type of kanban system, but I don't know the official method. I use two boards: one for sermon prep and one for church organization. They help me see at a glance what needs doing. Here are my two boards: This is my sermon prep board. Each week, I finish the main sermon for the current week and study the passage for the sermon 4 weeks out. I'm planning to write a post on this method someday. This is my projects board. I try to spend a little time each week preparing for events or projects 3 months out, 2 months out, and 1 month out. I learned the 3/2/1 method from Karl Vaters in his book Small Church Essential...

Every year I build several playlists. I thought I would link to some of them here and talk about some music highlights. Each of my playlists is done in reverse order so that newer songs show up at the top. I make a new playlist on YouTube Music each year for when I cook. I listen to it at other times, too.  https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn_jAxBP__YK3Ce4H4rIQ_uU4ZtKaYbVr Our vacation playlists are intended to introduce my kids to pop music history. Our spring staycation playlist: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn_jAxBP__YLQAbgI0F6MgwnOsSjo_P7a Our fall vacation playlist: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn_jAxBP__YITg0i5Cu2OP1OdZfuOPypx I also update a worship playlist that I use when I get away for a day or an afternoon to pray and fast. https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn_jAxBP__YKISjoVo-whqCQMcSL0gfPI A few of my musical highlights: I discovered Jon Guerra at the end of the year. I love his music. His music is both artistic, deep, and catchy a...

We have filled out "goal sheets" with our kids on New Year's Eve for the last 10 years. Our older kids read through them in the lead up to the New Year. There are four categories on the sheets along with frames and pictures to color. The four categories are: What I want to read, what food I want to try, what I want to learn, and what I want to do. We personalize them in different ways. Some people write down multiple goals in each category. Some write down a food like lobster, tomatoes, or buffalo. Others write down dishes or international cuisines. Some write down a book to read. Other write down a number of books to read.  What I love about these New Year goal sheets is that they focus on this we want to learn and do. Goals work better if they are about skills to learn. I've learned from 10 years of these sheets that I can learn new things and these sheets are best if I focus on skills not outcomes. Last year, I relearned to write in cursive. I learned all the notes...

My father-in-law makes amazing pour-over coffee. I can't find a coffee shop that makes drip or pour-over coffee that good. It took me years to figure out his secret even though he told and showed me everything. I married his daughter 17 years ago. It was right in front of me the whole time.  He gives me bags of coffee to take home from time to time. I couldn't replicate the flavor at home with the exact pour-over cone that he had, so I started asking questions.  First, I thought it was the water. Nope Then, we thought it was the amounts, or the temperature, or the speed. Still no. The entire time, I thought it couldn't be the grind. I use whole bean coffee and grind it fresh. All the guides and gurus say to grind pour-over coffee medium-medium fine. I found it always brewed too quickly and came out thin and acidic or it channeled in the cone. The taste was never right. It wasn't the rich, flavorful cup that he got. I gave up on using the cone at home and marveled at eve...

 What I learned last year. I turned 41. I learned that my body can get stronger and do more exercise than ever before, but I will pay a price if I don't rest enough. I enjoy my workouts. I enjoy training 5 days a week, and I love kettlebells. I often did 5 days of kettlebells per week if I was feeling good. I learned that if I train hard 5 days a week, my body won't recover ,and I'll gain weight from it. I'm stronger and fitter than I've probably ever been, but I gained 10 lbs this year and my waist is bigger. Geoff Neupert helped me understand what was going on because he focuses on helping 40-50 year old men. He said that this is normal, so you have to cut down on the workouts.  I thought it was the food that I ate, so I cut out cheese and peanut butter and limited portions. None of that worked. I enjoyed the workouts from Pat Flynn's book Strong On! , but those workouts don't work for my body anymore. The reps and stress were just too high for my 41 year-...

These are the entries in my reading journal from the last year. As I finish a book, I write down a few thoughts. I've found that I read a lot of four star books because I choose carefully and because I put down books that I'm not enjoying.

Here are my favorite books that I read this year. Some of them, I've read before. I went through my reading log and found all of the books I rated a five on a one to five scale. I'm planning on posting my whole reading log for the year later this week. One thing you may notice is that none of the books on this list are new to 2025. I've written before on my guideline to read books 5 years old or older. I think if a book can't last and be worth reading for 5 years, then it's probably not worth my time. I've only got time to read around 65 books a year, so I have to be careful with what I choose to read. I don't know how many books I read this year that were published this year, but it is very few. 1057. Holiness , J.C. Ryle. 1/8/25 * * * * * (This book is dynamite. The last chapter alone is one of the best sermons I’ve ever read--I think most chapters are sermons. The book title sounds like code for “legalism.” It is not, and it is well-worth your reading.) 1...

If you want to read story Bibles to your kids or grandkids, here is my list of the best story Bibles. If you want to give one as a gift to a child or family, this is also the list for you. The Beginner's Gospel Story Bible by Jared Kennedy. This is most likely to help your kids get saved. This is the best all-around story Bible. It tells the stories correctly while still being fun. It is clear about the gospel and how to be saved, and it has an engaging question with each story. Kennedy presents the gospel explicitly many times in his book. The other story Bibles below do not present it so clearly or call for a response in the same way. The gospel is more implicit in those than explicit. Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. This is most likely to make you cry for joy. This is the story Bible that kicked off the modern story Bible movement. The story is so beautifully told. It's strength is how Lloyd-Jones explains how every story in the Bible points to Jesus (Luke 24)....

 Here are seven quotes that help me think about preaching as a pastor. Most of them are uncommon (two are from novels), but they help me and may help you. "It's not me, really," she replied., smiling wide. "It's a feast I just showed up to. I showed up to serve. I didn't make the feast." (245) Jack Zulu and the Girl with the Golden Wings S.D. Smith and J.C. Smith I love this one from a children's novel because it reminds me that I'm serving the people and the text. I didn't make either one. Whatever else you count yourself in the ministry, never lose this fundamental idea of yourself as a messenger. (32) It is good to be a Herschel who describes the sun; but it is better to be a Prometheus who brings the sun's fire to the earth. (35) "The true way to get rid of the boniness of your sermon is not by leaving out the skeleton, but by clothing it with flesh. (134) The Joy of Preaching Phillips Brooks Chauntecleer's crowing had become...

I preach 100+ times per year, so I've been listening to one sermon a week to learn from other preachers (I missed last week though). Here are 3 preaching lessons I've learned recently: Warren Wiersbe--He used a keyword to organize the sermon. I listened to a sermon that he preached on the Day of Atonement in Lev. 16. He structured the sermon around God's 6 appointments regarding the Day of Atonement. Appointment was his keyword. It didn't feel gimmicky. It was clear. Charles Stanley--He focused on outsiders and skeptics and included them in what he was preaching. When he shared the gospel and invited people to be saved, Stanley explained what a prayer for salvation might sound like. This was unlike a manipulative preacher asking people to pray a prayer after him. He was explaining what a person might pray if they are ready to repent and trust Christ. I liked that a lot. I share the gospel in every sermon, but I realized that someone might not know what to say to God. I...

We put the kids to bed and got take out. We've done that our whole marriage. 

Church revitalization sounds like legalism on a church-wide scale. Legalism says, "Do this, and God will love you. If you don't do this, God won't love you." Most church revitalization training that I've heard sounds like this:  Your church will die.  Your church should die. You are not healthy. You must change. Your church can be good, healthy, thriving, etc. if you follow the list of rules. Be a good church, and you will be valuable. None of that sounds like New Testament prescriptions for the church. Even Jesus' harsh words in Revelation 3 have an invitation for people to come to him in v. 20: " If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,  I will come in  and eat with that person, and they with me." The Biblical pattern is Law-Gospel-Change. Much or most church revitalization has the pattern Law-Effort-Change. I wonder what church revitalization with gospel motivations might produce. J.C. Ryle said,  All want to see among Christians more good wor...