I can see you

I have known about Skype for a while. I have seen it used on TV and by some friends, but not until this past week have I actually used it for myself. Although I imagined it would be cool and helpful, I honestly never really needed it. I just viewed it as a luxury that I may or may not get around to having some day (kind of like an iPhone or a Blu Ray player).

However, this past week it became a necessity. We kept our two nieces while their mom and dad were traveling in the Bahamas, and they wanted to be able to talk to them while they were gone. Additionally, we used Skype with our good friends John and Tina as they are in Peru finalizing their adoption.

So, just in the past five days, we have had six Skype conversations. We are able to have essentially face to face communication with people that are across an ocean on a different continent! Now that is pretty amazing. But what is more amazing is that it didn't cost us a dime!

If you have not taken advantage of this technological nugget I would recommend that you do so really soon! Oh...gotta go....getting a Skype invitation from Peru!!!

7 Miles

Last week my good friend Laura Babcock Baxley (or Babs as I call her) turned me on to the way cool website called sermon jams (www.1031sermonjams.com). They take snippits of sermons and put them to music and catchy video. As I watched video after video I found myself wanting more as I continued to play the next one in line. I'm not sure what it is but there is something addictive in them for me. Ironically enough, most of the sermons they highlight I have already heard. However, this format is very compelling and very powerful. There is a creative genius to mixing clear, biblical, gospel-centered preaching with contemporary tunes and simple graphics. The perfect fit for our entertainment saturated culture. Check out this one. I hope you enjoy. But warning: you may be watching for the next few hours.

And oh by the way, Matt Chandler is one of my favorite preachers and communicators. Amazing how compelling he is!

Dos Mas

For the past few days we have had 2 little additions to our family. Mary Addison (3) and Raylie (1) are staying with us while mom and dad are on a trip. Having already ushered 2 kids through the toddler life stage, I didn't think it would be much of an ordeal to have them hanging around for a week. Little did I know, or should I say how quickly I have forgotten, what and emotional and physical task it is to provide and care for children at such a young age. Mealtime is more like a war zone than a relaxing dining experience. Food collects in booster seats and on the floor instead of in bellies. Tumbling sippy cups, clanging silverware and messy bibs all add to the ambiance that makes everyone long for a fastfoward version of family dinner.

One bonus of this age is that kids are an instant workout. You can get olympic style training for a variety of events. Preparation for track and field is common as you chase them around the house trying to keep up with their unending energy and to protect them from 95% of the household items that are not age appropriate. Interested in hurdles? Baby gates can be found at every door way and stairway. Somehow they are strategically placed where you have to go. Anyone for power lifts? Kids can get heavy fast! Especially when you are doing repetition after repetition of baby dead lifts, clean and press and upward rows. I mean I don't know how every mom doesn't look like Jillian Michaels.

As I sit on the couch, hoping they will stay engaged with Curious George for a few minutes, I am reminded of what a blessing from the Lord children are. However, for the past few days I am also clearly reminded that it is a tall task to parent well and one that requires a lot of emotional and relational energy.

And I have only had them for a few hours in the evenings!

1/2 way

I just realized today that I am on post 18 of my personal 30 for 30 challenge. And although I am a little off pace (don't worry, I will make it up), I am quite surprised that I am approaching the finish line. So, here are a few thoughts and discoveries from my first 18:

- I still enjoying writing and posting
- I have discovered that I get stuck in "doing" the same kind of blog
- I definitely like to have deadlines, even if they are self imposed
- This is the worst possible time for me to do this. May is ridiculously busy for me with retreats, graduation festivities, preparing for 5 interns, a new middle school pastor and prep for the entire summer
- Blog entries can be anything from a thought or question to a YouTube video or song lyrics
-Posting daily has caused me to visit many other blogs which I learn from and enjoy reading
- All of life is now filtered through the lens of blogworthy or not
- I actually get excited when I figure out a topic to blog about
- And last but not least: I am ready for #30

Cle

If you care anything about NBA basketball or you just casually watch ESPN, you have probably heard all the recent talk about Lebron James potentially leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for a larger television market such as New York or Chicago this summer. Everyone seems to have an opinion and many of them think he should leave Cleveland ASAP. Although I have never visited Cleveland, I really haven't understood the argument......until I found this Youtube video......I hope you laugh as much as I did.

99

I spent this past weekend with 99 5th and 6th graders. No, I am not insane (not yet anyway). Yes, I chose to do so. I was a little apprehensive to say the least. I am use to doing big events with students but never with a group this big and this young. I mean, at 11 and 12 these kids are just as likely to be home sick for mom and dad or a stuffed animal as they are to swim in a freezing cold lake. You never know what you are going to get. So the thought of being responsible for 99 of them for the entire weekend was a bit daunting.

But to my surprise, the entire retreat was amazing. For the past 6 years I have been on at least 15 retreats within our student ministry and I cannot remember having as much fun as I did with this group. The students were respectful and obedient, attentive and engaged, excited and involved, appreciative and responsive.

Throughout the weekend we had a variety of games that were all based on Japanese games show events. The students rose to the occasion and gave all the effort they had to win for their team. On Saturday night the Fusion band led us in a variety of different musical songs and challenged the students to worship God with their voices. It was quite a blessing to see them disregard what others may think, the awkwardness of singing, and various distractions to fully engage.

Additionally, they were pumped about free time which included a giant swing, a zip line, basketball, ultimate frisbee, and a canteen full of sugar. I honestly can't think of one moment where they were bored or lacking.

Most satisfying for me this weekend was our large group discussions about the book of James. As young students, it is often easy for them to be overwhelmed by the Bible. Language, times and cultural differences can make the scriptures hard for the average adult to digest, much less a grade schooler who is still primarily a concrete thinker. It was good to give them small chunks of scripture and help them understand what it means both to the original audience and for us today. We spent the majority of our time talking about biblical wisdom and how it is necessary for all of us.

On the ride home, a car load of students told one of our leaders that the teaching was their favorite part of the entire weekend. Wow! Really? Maybe they were just trying to "say the right thing." But maybe they were really understanding in part how amazing God's love is for them as revealed in the Bible, and they were pumped to experience God in a fresh way. My prayer is that the weekend was just a taste of what is to come for them in the future: that their passion for the scriptures would grow and grow and that they would cry out to God for wisdom.

Sleep

I found this prayer to very appropriate for all who have every longed to get some much needed rest.

Blessed Creator,
Thou hast promised thy beloved sleep;
Give me restoring rest needful for tomorrow's toil.
If dreams be mine, let them not be tingled with evil.
Let thy Spirit make my time of repose a blessed temple of his holy presence.

May my frequent lying down make me familiar with death,
the bed I approach remind me of the grave,
the eyes I now close picture to me their final closing.
Keep me always ready, waiting for admittance to the presence.
Weaken my attachment to earthly things.
May I hold life loosely in my hand,
knowing that I receive it on condition of its surrender;
As pain and suffering betoken transitory health,
may I not shrink from death
that introduces me to the freshness of eternal youth.
I retire this night in full assurance of one day awaking with thee.