Dear Son/Daughter,



I know that it seems strange me writing you and you have not even gotten here yet. You're not even conceived yet. I know that you are going to be one special child because we are having to wait a very long time for you to get here. Some people think that we do not want to have you because we have to tell them that you have not made it yet. That is not the case at all. We are very ready and anxious for you to be here. Other's mean well when they say you will come in God's timing, but that does not take away the pain of your absence. I have even questioned my ability to be a good Dad to you and that is why you have not arrived, but I know that is not the case at all. I know that everything rest in God's hands and I just need to trust Him. It gets real tough at times. Days like today are hard, but it will make it all the more special when you get here.

I have all the plans in my head for you and pray for you everyday. I can not wait to see your first steps and hear your first words. I am tired of well-meaning people telling me my world will change when you come.... I know that it will. I am ready for it to change. I know without a shadow of a doubt that God has a special plan for you and I am very excited to watch Him develop that in you over time. I have to warn you, this world can be a scary place. You have to know that I will always protect you and no one will ever harm you.

You have a lot of family waiting on you as well. Lots of Grandparents that are ready to spoil you rotten. Tons of Aunts and Uncles that just want to love on you. Our family is really really big. I will sit down and explain to you one day who everyone is and why they do not all have the same last name and look different from each other. But I promise you that they have all been praying for you to. You are going to change a lot of people's lives and be loved by so many.

Today is one day closer to the day I get to be with you. I really do find comfort in that. Even though time seems to be standing still now, you will come in due time. Then I will not be able to slow time down. Kind of ironic really. Know that I love you so much and I have not even met you yet.



With All My Heart,



Dad

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Sunday, June 20, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

Happy Father's Day to my mentor, hero, and best friend. Dad I love you and so grateful for all your have done in my life.

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Really enjoyed blogging again this week. It is really therapy for me in many ways.

Started the week down at the campgrounds. It was week 1 of camp and I was there helping get everything started. Really love that place and love camp, hated leaving but had a lot to do this week.

One of my favorite parts of Summer so far is our interns. We have 10 students that have chose to be a part of Kaleo. We meet on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I love watching God change their lives and getting to hang out with them.

Weighed in this week and have lost 63 pounds total. Got 50 more to go.

I was not in the gym as much this week as I wanted to be, but I felt like I had some good workouts.

We take Thrive students to camp on Monday. There is 29 of us total going and I believing that God is going to rock our worlds.

Wednesday night was really awesome. Had record summer attendance. Watch God really challenge some students lives. Loved hanging out at Taco Bell after service. We took that place over.

Had lunch with a friend on Thursday. Love that God has brought this dude into my life.

HUGE thank you to Mary Catherine who is editing my blogs for me. I am the worlds worst at grammar.

Spent the last couple of days hanging down in Adel with my family. Really love them and I am grateful for all they have done and do for me. I do not spend enough time down here.

As much as I miss my family I do not miss the gnats.

Heading home this morning. Looking forward to hanging out with Thrive students and leaders tomorrow night for a cookout.

Hope you are having an awesome weekend!

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Saturday, June 19, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

So I have this fear in life. It really is not a fear of failure. I have failed so many times that I have learned how to pick myself up pretty well. I have this fear that I will over promise and under produce. That my words and actions will not line up. I understand that from time to time we all fall short. We all fall victim to this, but I do not want to be known for this. I want to be able to back up what I say.

If I say it I want people to know that I will do it.

I do not want to say something just because I know that it is something they want to hear.

I want to be someone that my friends can count on.

My priorities should come out in my actions; not my words.

There is not a worse feeling in the world than having someone you count on let you down. I know that I have let people down, and that kills me. My prayer is that my words are not meaningless.

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Friday, June 18, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

  • It was the second week of our Blockbust Summer Series. We looked at the movie Blindside last night. I am really digging this series.
  • The Band rocked a new song last night.
  • Our numbers last night was out of sight for Summer. Our June average is strong right now and I am very grateful for students that do not realize that Summer is suppose to be slack.
  • Snow Cones seem to be a huge hit.
  • I love having the Kaleo interns around helping us set up for service. Our prayer time together is my favorite part of the day.
  • We continued with ThriveXL last night as we took over Taco Bell. There was no place left to sit.
  • One of my favorite things to do is sit back and watch Thrive Students hang out with each other.
  • God is up to something. I believe that this Summer is going to be a Summer to remember.
  • Wednesday are my favorite day of the week.
  • I am excited that next week we are going to talk about prayer and use the movie "Meet The Parents" as our backdrop.

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Thursday, June 17, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

Today is Game Day. It is Wednesday and one of my favorite days of the week. Hit the gym this morning and it did not hit back. Today feels like it has a better rhythm to it. I do life better when it is in rhythm. I feel like I love God better when I am in rhythm, I love people better when all is clicking. When life gets out of rhythm, it get's chaotic. You start just trying to get through a day instead of making it the best it can be. You go into survival mode and that means you are just doing the bare minimum to exist.


When you are out of rhythm your life is.....

just making noise

is not enjoyable by you or anyone else

is out of sync with the people that are around you

you work harder and rest less

Matthew 11:28, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

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Wednesday, June 16, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

This morning was a little odd for me. I woke up in my bed. Some of you may be scratching your head and asking why that is odd. It is odd because camp season has started and I am not there all week. I spent the day at our campgrounds yesterday helping them get started and hanging out. Last night we slipped out before service was over. It was a little tough for me to be honest with you. I love being there. I love being in that atmosphere but I love being where God has called me to be. I love hanging out with our students and working on things God has challenged me to work on. There for a moment I was torn between two worlds. The world of camp- what it means and has been in my life, and then my world...my reality. That is a dangerous place to live.


So many people live in two worlds. They keep their lives compartmentalized and separate from other areas of their life. Their greatest fear is seeing their two worlds collide. Too often we live one way in one world and another way in the other world. All of a sudden when we begin to wear these masks we lose who we really are. When you live with one foot in one place and the other in another, it is almost impossible to have real authentic relationships with people.

Today, I challenge you to let your worlds collide. I urge you to let your life, your journey be one world. It will be tough and may be painful but the easy thing and the right thing are not always the same thing.

Today, choose to be real and authentic and strive to be a community of love and grace. There may be some hard decisions that you have to make but it is well worth it in the end.

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Tuesday, June 15, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

Its camp time again. This truly is my favorite time of the year. There is something special about this place. There is something special about these people. This place in hollowed ground to me, a sacred place. It is a place of refuge and a sanctuary from reality. It is a place to collect my thoughts and hear from God no matter what is going on in my life. It is my personal Bethel (Genesis 35). I truly believe that everyone needs a Bethel. A safe place. A place set aside for just you and God.


This morning, hundreds of students will flood this place. It will become loud and some of the sacredness may be missed but memories will be made. Life will happen. Then tonight, there will be a moment where everyone in the room realizes why they are here. An altar has been build and a sacrifice has been made and God will honor us with His presence.

I wish there was truly a way to describe this place to you. Words can only cheapen it. I wish I could bring everyone that reads this here, I wish I could show you what I see, and get you to feel what I feel. In the end, it has less to do about Bethel itself and more to do about the God of Bethel.

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Monday, June 14, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

I have really missed blogging over the last 3-4 months. Blogging is something that I have always enjoyed doing but for a season it became a chorus more than anything.


It was more about impressing my reader than just sharing my journey. It became about who was reading and not about what I was writing. It got away from the reason that I started doing it in the first place and therefore I did not want to do it anymore. That is the way a lot of things are in life. When we remove it from its initial purpose it looses its life. So what are we going to do about it. I am going to start writing again. Not just to write but to express my thoughts. To share my journey. Blogging has always been about therapy for me and not wise articles for anyone else. That is what it has to be about again.

I am not going to lie and say I do not care who reads this, but I will say that I will not allow that to dictate what I write. This blog will go back to the randomness that it was intended to be. It will return to being my therapy session in front of the world. This is not my platform to the world wide web. My platform comes from the relationship that God has given me and what I choose to do with them.

Thanks for taking this journey with me.

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Time is a very unique thing


Time is something that never changes. Never grows and never shrinks.

It is something that we never fully understand or get a grasp on. Time is the one thing that people can not conquer.

Time can be ceased. It can be redeemed. What you and I choose to do with our time is one of the most important choices we can make in a day.

Just when we feel like we have a grip on it, time teaches us that it is out of our control.

What will you do with your time today? How will you spend it? What will you do to redeem it?

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Thursday, June 10, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »