HEY, IF YOU'RE LEADING A SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDY

Then this stuff might help you.  We had our student ministries small group leader training last night and because I love you, I'm giving you pretty much everything we pass out in a single booklet PDF for free. We had it color printed and then we spiral bound it and our leaders loved it.  Most of it is original material from my team and I.  

It was a great night of bonding and I'm praying a great start to a year of ministry together.

Here's our agenda:

• 6-9pm.
• Dinner.
• Update people's technical data and take pictures during dinner. 
• Get to know you activity.
• Interactive teaching and response to the data in this PDF.  (it's 22 MB, so be patient.  Might take a while if you're on a slow connection but it'll be worth the wait :)

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MOMMY, TOMORROW WE GO TO SCHOOL AGAIN?

That was the question our newest additions had after their "first day" of first grade today: "Do we go back?" You see, we tried putting them in school once shortly after arriving into the States and it didn't work. Truth be told, we were fools for thinking kids brand new to America could dive into "normal kindergarten" anyway, but we're a quick learn and after a few days of experimenting, we pulled them out and Shannon Home Schooled them this last year.

And she did an ACES job. No surprise there. This teacher credentialed mommy jumped right in and brought 2 little African kids to the kitchen table for a crash course in Kindergarten and got them up to speed with the desired standards by today. So props to her.

But Becky and Billy were still wondering if they get to stay this time. Our answer? Yes!!! Mom might be more like YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!!! But yes, they are staying and their teacher said they are just like all the other 6 year olds in first grade. I know that's not true, but I'll take her word for it.

So Mom changed the front door chalk board (good thing we read by sounding it out in our family :)

We took a family pic.

And then we started our weekly "Walk to school Monday" routine.

And then we dropped of two twins in first grade,

one in second,

one in fourth,

...and hoofed it to Middle School to drop off one in 7th.

and with that, the 2009-2010 school year is off and running.

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FIRST OFFICIAL SOCCER DAY

Saturday launched the first day of soccer for Becky and Billy. They play with Jake in a league that is essentially all about skill development and 2 or 3 basics. Jake keeps asking me when I'm going to coach for him, but I told him not until he shows me he wants to play and actually works. I might be in trouble soon.

They play for an hour in a 3 v 3 pickup game on small fields in one place that they are assigned to each saturday morning and Jake is on the field with the most prepared kids. All 3 kids are on separate fields, so that means no sitting for the berrytribe cheer leaders. We just wander around yelling "go go go go to goal" to the tribe. At one point, Billy had a teammate who decided soccer was too much for him to play, so Becky jumped in and played with the boys. And scored.

Anyway.. it's fun. Here's some pics of the troops:

And here's Becky and Billy fighting for the ball. Sibling rivalry is allowed on the field.

And one of my pretty little girl schooling all the boys... just for show. And yes, she scored :)

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JOIN ME AT THE NYWC 2009 IN L.A.

Hey friends. I'm stoked to be going to the National Youth Workers Conference again this year for a variety of reasons. I have no idea how many I've been to, but it's a ton. But this year the experience will be totally different than anything in the recent past due to lots of changes in the format and structure. It will be more conversational, more relational, more opportunity for all attendees to shape content.... and therefore more impactful I hope and pray.

I've loved what God has bugged and nudged and taught me about through YS... and more recently, over the last 4 years of being in San Diego... my opportunities to work with YS have reached whole new levels. After 15 years of youth ministry, I finally feel like I have some experience perhaps worth gleaning and I've been give a few chances to share some of that over the last few years.

Along those lines, I have been given the opportunity this year to lead 2 labs in L.A. One will be a lab on "The Big Picture: developing a year-long comprehensive calendar and teaching plan" that I got some great feedback and response on from when I lead it 2 years ago. Here's the content description:

Ministry can be all about the tyranny of the urgent. When 
it is, the result is limited creativity, high stress, and usually
 low volunteer involvement due to the immediacy of needs
 and short-term demands. This lab is all about changing that 
by helping you develop a teaching and events calendar that
 lets you get ahead and get others involved. We’ll show you 
how to create a visual calendar you can use to stay ahead, discuss ways to develop group ownership, as well as talk 
about practical ways to make a calendar year that creates
 momentum instead of a constant drain on you, your ministry, 
and families.

Another will be new for me at the NYWC on student leadership and it's called, "Creating a teenage owned ministry". Here's that content description:

Adolescent leadership is one thing. Adolescent ownership 
is something different. This lab will discuss some practical
 ways to move from merely getting teenagers involved to getting them owning a ministry. We’ll talk about the structural,
 philosophical, and practical systems that must be in place
 to move teens to a high level of ownership. Whether you’re
 trying to get a leadership team started or looking to revamp
 the one you already have, this lab will be a great place to do
 some thinking and dreaming of what could and should be.

So jump on in and join me in L.A. It should be some great learnings together. You can sign up here or just click on any of the NYWC banners on this blog and join me in Los Angeles, CA from September 25-28, 2009.

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PHOTOSHOP IS A FERRARI I GET GROCERIES WITH

FIRST A MINOR VEHICLE RANT:

I don't think you should own a really fast car if you don't drive it really fast.  REALLY fast....  Like if you own a ferrari and you just take it to the grocery store nice and slow lookin' for looks... you're are a poser!  At least park it like this kid does:



and for what it's worth.... if you have a stupid fast car and you'd like me to take it somewhere and drive it REALLY fast, I'd be happy to oblige you and have done so with a '65 shelby GT 500, a really fast Jaguar, a BMW 700i, and a Dodge Viper.  The Shelby was the best.

I also don't think you should own a truck if all you do is carpet the bed of it and go get 2 liter bottles of soda with it.  A truck should be used to haul stuff.  Dirty stuff.  Stuff you don't want in your car.  Big Stuff.  Stuff you can't fit in your trunk.

NOW ONTO MY PHOTOSHOP GIG:

Ok...  that said.  I think I have committed a similar sin however with my computer.  I have Photoshop and Illustrator CS3 and I use them weekly, if not daily in ministry.   But I intuitively know that I'm a poser.  It can do amazing things.... and I use it to tweak stuff.  I wish I was done with seminary so I could go take a class on these programs at the community college.  Truth is,  I use them to do wimpy stuff that I could have done in keynote or something.

So, last Sunday we needed a slide for a stressful game of "hot potato".   I searched the web, hoping to cheat and find one someone else made and borrow it.  Well, instead I found this lovely photoshop tutorial website that showed me exactly how, step by step, to set my own choice of words on FIRE.

HAAAA!

5 minutes later I had turned this slide I made with a lovely kid drawing of a potato on fire that I found:

Into this:

I think I might have actually taken my Ferrari for it's first real test drive this weekend!

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CONFESSIONS OF A NEAT FREAK

Dirty, messy spaces really bug me. I find myself not wanting to be in them, uninspired, even drained by them. This is true at work, at home, at places I shop... anywhere really.

The exact opposite happens when I clean something up or when I find a space that is organized and makes sense. I become inspired, I gain energy, I want to enjoy it.

One of the biggest drains in my life is messy spaces I can't find time to fix. One of my most motivating things is solving that problem. The 2009/2010 school year is going to be my year of removing the junk and making my spaces into the ones I want to actually live in.

As a result of this wild crazy cleaning hair I have crawling up my back side, I went on a cleaning/simplifying spree here lately and fixed tons of stuff that's been bugging me.

• Fixed the ceiling in our bedroom from a leak which resulted in an entire sheet of sheet rock being removed and left unfinished in our bedroom for 4 years. For some crazy reason, I decided enough was enough and fixed it with a friend. It is now textured and painted and good to go.
  
• We rearranged our bedroom, ditched the drapes, and lost some stuff and it's cleaner and neater. I might actually get dressed slowly now before leaving. Maybe I'll even read in bed. Maybe.
• I helped clean out and organize all of Jake and Billy's clothes.
• I cleaned out and reorganized our kitchen pantry and cupboards.
• I sold a bunch of stuff in a garage sale.
• I sold a bunch more on craig's list I couldn't sell at the garage sale.
  
• I gave a bunch of stuff I didn't want to bother selling or couldn't sell either way.
• Then last night after church, I cleaned out my office/work out space in the single car portion of our garage. This one has been a long time in progress. First I put up the wall and built the cabinets and added sheetrock about 4 years ago. I then painted and added the desk. Last night I added carpet that I scored for free and now all I have left to do is paint one more wall and perhaps put in a door with a window and I'm done with this room.
  

On my to do list:

• find a way to get rid of the carpet in our house- the whole house.
• shelves for becky's room.
• make a new hall cabinet
  
• make a new cabinet for our play room.
  
• 2 bathrooms
• 1 kitchen
• a few interior doors
  
• shade sails for the backyard.
• paint our house trim
  
• finish the front planter project I started 2 years ago.
  

Wish me luck. Might have to be the 2009/2012 plan... but I'm gonna keep cleaning and pray when I'm done, God doesn't move me again :)

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