Back To School!

For most of us school is starting back this week (if it hasn't already started).

I know for me it brings back that excitement I felt as a kid. A fresh year with a fresh teacher and fresh school supplies. There was something special about riding that big yellow bus on the first day with your backpack full of freshly sharpened No. 2's and your brand new Knight Rider lunch box next to you.

(I still almost can't resist buying a Captain America lunchbox for myself while shopping for my own kids!)

And with the excitement of school, I always look forward to the return to routine in our youth ministry. After a long summer of camps and vacations, our students return looking for the stability of our fellowship.

Each year we offer a Back-To-School Kickoff to connect with new students and reconnect with those we haven't seen in awhile. We also always start off the year with a fresh and relevant message series. This year we are going to spend almost three months in the book of Ezekiel under the title of "Abomination and the Magic Bands"! We are also retooling some of the things we are doing with Sunday School and Small Groups to maximize our discipleship opportunities.

We have found that with the excitement of school starting, it is always a great time to recast vision and launch fresh direction. I hope you will join us in that excitement.

So what are you excited about during this back to school season?

A Good Day...

A good day is...

waking up next to your beautiful bride.
taking an early morning bike ride with your son.
picking vegetables from your own garden in the cool of the morning.
laughing with your family.
helping out a neighbor.
investing in the future (our children).
sitting down to a meal together.
trying something new.
seeing someone set free.
giving thanks to God for all the small things He does for us each day.

I pray your day is good.

"And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good..." (Genesis 1:31 ESV)

Leaving for Camp...

The bags are packed. The snacks are bought. The registrations are complete. The bus is fueled. The stage is set.

We are leaving today for Christ in Youth Conference with our High Schoolers. Please pray for us that we would allow God to challenge and change us this week.

God bless.

Guitar Man...

So my oldest son has finally started showing an interest in learning guitar.

As I have played guitar since I was in high school and continue to play almost everyday for my children, I've wondered when it would happen.

I've been careful to not try to push it, as I don't want to be that parent living out their "I-wanted-to-be-a-Rock-Star-but-since-I-didn't-I'm-going-to-push-it-on-my-kids" dream.

But he was recently given a youth sized guitar and it has inspired him.

So the lessons have began...and as the first assignment I created a playlist of "great" guitarists for him to listen to so we can find the type of guitar playing he wants to move towards.

In doing that, I've been reminded of how many truly great guitarists there are out there.

And here is probably one of my all-time favorites, Mark Knopfler, playing with one of his heroes, Chet Atkins:



Hope you enjoy.

And if you are into music and/or guitars, who is your favorite?

Words To Live By...

Last night at Youth Service, we started a study of the book of 2 Timothy.

As Paul's second letter to Timothy and written very near the end of Paul's life, we find it full of reminders. It is rich with words of wisdom for Timothy and the church. And as you read, the words begin to take shape as some sort of creed or motto.

The culmination in prose of a life lived out for Christ.

So as we studied last night, we discussed mottos - words to live by.

Justice for All

In God We Trust

Hakuna Matata

And in my research, I stumbled upon a wonderful thing - the state mottos project. Apparently, each state in the union has a motto (who knew!). And so a designer from New York decided to breathe new life in to these sayings.

Here is the description of the project from their site:

50 AND 50 IS A CURATED PROJECT WHICH ATTEMPTS TO CONSTRUCT A HANDSOME NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT OUR COUNTRY. FIFTY DESIGNERS, ONE PER STATE, HAVE ILLUSTRATED THEIR STATE MOTTO, CREATING SOMETHING STEEPED IN HISTORY BUT COMPLETELY MODERN AND UNIQUE: A KIND OF DESIGNER'S ATLAS.

And as I perused the designs, I was enamored and inspired.

This is the kind of thing I love and strive for each day. To take something antiquated but foundational and communicate it with freshness and creativity.

So take a look at these images. Tell my your favorites.

Constantly...

So I'm a little bit of a nerd.

Cases in point:

-In most crowds, I get asked the computer problem questions.
-I gravitate towards the sci-fi section in movie and book stores. (who am I kidding, I don't go to stores anymore! I stream that stuff from the internet!)
-I like math.

I know there's all sorts of reasons, some that might require counseling, for those things. But I'd like to believe it's because computers and science and math are often logical. They have things in them that are constant. They can be figured out using a consequential path of reason.

Ministry is not often this way.

Sometimes things in ministry don't make sense.
Sometimes things in ministry don't add up.
Sometimes things in ministry are not consistent.

This summer we've been challenging our youth on the concept of being constant. To do this we've used the books of 1st & 2nd Thessalonians and 1st & 2nd Timothy.
Here's just a taste of the things Paul says here to be constant in:

"we give thanks to God always for all of you.."
"...constantly mentioning you in our prayer."
"...always seek to do good to one another and to everyone"
"Rejoice always..."
"...pray without ceasing"
"...remember you constantly in my prayers"
"...always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

A lot of times we go by this model in youth ministry that we want kids to be on fire. But I wonder if we wouldn't be better to teach them to simply be constant.

In their prayer life.
In their study of the Word.
In their relationships.
In their commitments.
In their love of one another.

And that pattern must start with us parents, pastors, teachers, and leaders.

So, how do you maintain consistency in your life? And what are you doing to inspire it in others?

A "Barn-Raising" Experience...

As I type this post, we are patiently waiting for the finalization of our loan process to buy this beautiful old farmhouse and adjoining property.

As a contingency of the loan we had to complete some repairs to the house last week. It was a tiring, overwhelming, beautiful experience.

The sellers came along side us to make the work happen as did so many of our friends and family. It was humbling and bewildering why so many gave up so many hours in the heat of summer to work on a house that was neither theirs nor ours yet.

Last Saturday we had a particularly large and motivated crew who spent most of the day knocking out job after job. One of the crew stated to me that it was a lot like a good old-fashioned "barn-raising".

I know for us and the sellers, the picture of community we saw last week was beyond what we could have imagined, although I know that it is what community is supposed to look like.

What a blessing to be a part of something like that.

God is good.