Generally, I think of myself as a grateful person. If you asked me, are you grateful? I would most likely respond, “How could I not be? I have a devoted, attentive husband of 35 years and four adult children who live close by and still seem to enjoy spending time with us. I live in a comfortable house surrounded by books and more books. Out my door is the beautiful Inland Northwest. I can walk to the river or hike through Ponderosa pines. I have good friends, a meaningful job. Who wouldn’t be grateful?”

By Barbara Comito, UGM Marketing Director

Who would ever read a blog post on Total Accountability? My staff said they wouldn’t. (So I changed the title. Tricky me.)

 Being held accountable is like lima beans or dental floss or stomach crunches…You know it’s good for you, but you hate it. At least I do. I don’t want to be called out on my stuff. I really don’t. Even more, though, at some really deep gut level, I don’t want to wander off the map into a deadly mire of selfishness, jealousy and rebellion – accountable only to myself. Deep down, I know I need help to be who I really want to be.

By Brad Crockett, UGM board member

The value of Pursuing Excellence is an essential recognition that while we cannot attain perfection on this side of eternity, we must be constantly striving to improve.

By Sonny Westbrook, UGM Director of Ministries

One of the core values we hold dear here within UGM is Christ-likeness.  Christ-likeness is the standard for our attitudes and actions within our ministry community.  We measure our words and deeds by whether or not they express the heart and the character of our Lord.

By Gayle Havercroft, UGM Facilities Manager

There are many terms and words that give aspects to the idea of “team.”

While other terms are useful, I really like the agrarian aspects of the word team.

By JoAnn Zajicek, Director at the Center for Women and Children

During monthly staff meetings at UGM's Center for Women and Children, team members each take a turn leading a devotion inspired by one of the Mission's ten core values.  Our values range from God-dependence to being good stewards of the Lord's resources.

By Wil Wilhelm, UGM Director of Development

How many times have you heard a Sunday message at church about stewardship and the main point was about how to manage your personal finances? Well, this blog about stewardship is not like that. 

Editor's Note: The Union Gospel Mission holds 10 core values as foundational to the culture of our organization. One of those, based on Matthew 22:35-40, is Loving Relationships.

“Share.” As a parent, how many times do you suppose you’ve said that word?  We want our children to be generous, selfless, compassionate, but sometimes it can seem like an uphill battle, to say the least. How exactly do you inspire those virtues? How do you give them eyes to see those who are hurting or homeless or suffering?

This blog post is a little different for UGM. It’s not really about the homeless. Not directly anyway. It’s not about meals or shelter or recovery. It’s not about anything we did. Actually, UGM is a bit player in this story.

This blog post is here because it’s about hope and dreams and how one person can make a difference.