RUDY

Shannon and I had been married for about 3 months when we decided to get a dog. I went to the pound and found a puppy. I had to put my name in a hat and 3 people wanted him. My name was drawn and we brought Rudy home. That was 12 years ago and we have countless memories with our dog. Camping. Playing. Chasing him. Taking him to the vet when he got deathly ill. Nursing him back to recovery. Catching kids toilet papering our house... and so much more. Today I had to take him to the vet and say goodbye. Rudy was an amazing friend and a great dog for our family. Today we both mourn the loss and celebrate the gift of a loving pet. Here's to Rudy.

Read more...

A FEW WEEKS IN PICTURES

Well, for a while now, Shannon and I have been praying for July. Cuz we knew it was going to be crazy. Here's why... in pictures and a few words:

A group of 30 of us spent a week at Point Loma here in he San Diego area learning about why we believe what we believe and how we can be a part of helping others get connected with God. It was a lot of fun, a lot of work, and a great team experience for our ministry. Here's the peeps.



I came home from OGN and the next day spoke on the weekend in our church services. Once Friday. Twice Sunday. It was on mentoring and our high school program ran the entire show. Our students played the music. We had a volunteer from our middle school share a testimony, I spoke, and several students did a drama you see below. They were on campus at lunch and just talking about normal life. In the process, we hoped that it would be clear to the audience that everyone, and especially those navigating their teen years, need a mentor.



After I taught, we went to a birthday party for our neighbor and then we dropped TJ off for his first week away at camp for the week. He loved it and then he came home and dove in our pool and cracked his noggin and got 3 stitches.



The next day, while TJ was away at camp, Shannon and I took Tyler and Jake to Belmont Park in Mission Beach. They rode the rides and then we ate lunch and then rode the waves. It was good times. Bummer we have to live in San Diego :)



The next day I left for Saddleback to take a group of our students to their student ministries conference. They were all incoming juniors or seniors and are part of our weekend planning team. A guy at our church lent us a sick RV for the week- complete with DVD surround sound system and two pop out sides.. we used it as our group meeting place all week and planned our entire school year of teaching topics, student leader meetings, and youth group activiities. It was amazing. We got to swim in the nicest back yard pool I've ever seen- designed by a guy at Disney overlooking the whole valley on a clear night. What a privelege that was. Anyway- it was both great fun and very productive. Here's the peeps that went.



While I was gone, the birds in our orange tree hatched.


I've been home for a day packing and now we're off to go camping as a family for two weeks. I'll blog again in August.

Read more...

OGN AND "IT'S ALL GOOD"

I'm sitting in my rented van outside of some random house that evidently is spewing the internet into the street.. I thought I'd just blog and post later while I wait the 15 minutes before I'm supposed to pick up my students, but then alas- I found the grand internet world right here in my van.

Anyway- I just got done with another afternoon of chatting with people on the beach in PB about faith and God and stuff. Here's a small slice of a 30 minute convo from day 2
_____________________
MIKE- A FIRE FIGHTER WHO WAS A GREEN BERET FOR 8 YEARS, TRAVELED AND LIVED THE WHOLE WORLD OVER, BAR TENDED FOR SEVERAL YEARS, GREW UP IN CATHOLIC HOME AND WAS FORCED TO GO TO CHURCH UNTIL 18, SINGLE (DIVORCED), LOVES TO BIKE, ENJOYS HIS LIFE AT 38. READING ON A PARK BENCH WHERE HE RODE HIS BIKE TO OVERLOOKING THE BEACH WHEN I ARRIVE AND HE'S ON WHAT APPEARS TO BE THE LAST PAGE OF A BIG BOOK.

ME: "Did you just finish the book or are you starting from the back?"
MIKE: "Just finished." (shows me the cover- it was the Da Vinci Code.)

Did you like it?
Yeah great book.

Do you believe any of it?
No, not a bit... but I do think it was some Kings that made Jesus go from some mortal guy who talked to people to some immortal son of God guy. I don't buy that.

So, you don't think Jesus was or is immortal.
I don't know if Jesus ever existed. I'm not a religous guy. I think everyone can believe what they want. I'm good so long as I don't hurt anyone or myself.

Do you think that maybe there's more to life than that? Do you think that maybe you could be missing out on the best life and settling for the good life?
Maybe. I don't know. No one knows.

So, that's all there is to life. Just making sure you get through it not hurting people.
Yeah, man I help people every day as paramedic. I think if you're good, life will be good to you. I more believe in reincarnation.

So, you think there's a soul that returns?
Yeah, I think so. Maybe. I don't know. No one knows. No one alive today has ever died, so they're all just speculating. I like my life and I don't need God or organized religion.
----------------------

A very sincere 30 minute conversation with a very content man who enjoys his life, is amiable, healthy, and happy. He's afraid that if he joins a faith system. They'll screw that up. Sadly, he's probably right. More sadly, that's not waht Jesus designed us for or strived to start in the church. We really did have a great conversation. I enjoyed my time with Mike a lot. He admits that he lives a selfish life because he does whatever he wants, when he wants, and he doesn't want to give that up. Truth is, he's holding on to the familiar but losing the eternal- which he's not sure of either. Jesus said that in losing our life we gain it. That's a risk that Mike isn't willing to take. Based on the track record of the church, part of me understands. Based on my knowledge of Jesus, part of me mourns.

I was challenged today to continue to raise up around me and personally embody a community of faith that is real with life, real with doubt, real with hope, and selflessly loving others before my own needs. I don't want to bury my head into the sand so I can life in a peace I manufactured. I want the peace that I believe only God can truly give.

Read more...

OGN AND "NORMAL"

Well, this week I'm staying in dorms 20 minutes from my front door at PT Loma with our high school group and several others from around the country for a program called OGN or operation good news. It's basically training in prayer, fasting, evangelism, and apologetics for a week each morning and then the students go out onto the local beaches and talk with people about Jesus. There will be 1.4 million people on the beach in the next 4 days, 750,000 alone on the 4th of July. It's quite an experience. If I saw one case of beer yesterday, I think I saw 150- usually being pushed by someone on a skateboard, in tow on a wagon, or in the arm of a bike rider- all headed to the beach to sit in the sun, drink, play bocce ball, swim, and get a mad game of horse shoes going. Part of me really wanted to just be there to enjoy it. Part of me was really praying God would give me some good conversations with people there.

Here's one conversation I had yesterday that reminded me that I'm not "normal" or that was is "normal for hundreds of thousands of people" is pretty foreign to me. Made me feel a little irrelevant too. Something I'm stewing on today. But here's a recap of a conversation that is typical of ones I'll have over the next few days:

----------------------
TWO TWENTY SOMETHING GUYS WHO GO TO SDSU. (they were working part time that day, driving mini's that had been modified to look like Margarita's on the rocks complete with straw and lime and sugar and stuff. Their bikini clad counter parts are walking around bars in downtown PB passing out free samples. They get paid $25 an hour to drive around and advertise.

ME: "are you going to be here on the 4th?"
THEM: "_______ (insert your own explitive) yeah."

"what will you do?
"get laid"

"How do you intend to do this? Does it usually work for you?"
"Every year. There's gonna be 750,000 people on the beach. 300,000+ will be women. 100,000 of those will be my age and hot. If you can't get laid on the 4th you should probably just jump off a cliff."

"So, you just take them back to your place?"
"Yeah, or their hotel. I usually come up with a pick up line the night before and use it over and over again until it works".

"Really, like what's your line?"
"I don't know, it will come to me in a dream man. I think it will probably be something like, 'Hey baby, can I pour beer all over you and drink it up?"

"Really, and that works."
"Yep, like 2 or 3 times every year".

"You ever talk to them again?"
"_______ No. You just get their cell phone number and type it into your phone one digit wrong. Then if you run into them again, you just tell them they gave you the wrong number."


----------------------------
Like I said, made me realize that my "normal" walking shoes are pretty far from a "normal" life or motivations for hundreds of thousands of people in our world- even when I was 23. Made me feel like I've got some work to do to better understand the motivations of the culture I live in and the people I'm trying to be used by God to reach. It was stretching. Today I'm going back to pray God shows me people to who need an encouraging word and people who God can use to shape me and my heart to be more like his. I'm praying for increased understanding of the human condition and how to be used to mold it more and more into his image. That's a big task... starting with my own reflection.

Read more...