Month: August 2008

Yesterday we dropped our daughters off at a friends’ house and Ady and I headed off for a little celebration of our 12th anniversary (which is on Sunday, August 10th). We went to a hotel here on the Island where we had a great room on the top floor. We went to the mall for a bit, went out for dinner, came back and enjoyed just chilling for a while. At 8pm I went down to the fitness center and worked out. We then sat in the hot tub and I swam in the pool for a bit. After cleaning up, we enjoyed a late-night desert, talking in the hotel cafe area, before heading up to our room and going to bed. Today we slept in and then had a nice breakfast together. It was a very relaxing and much needed getaway for us, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

So, for the last two days I have hammered out our ministry calendar for the next 12 months. It seems totally bazaar to be thinking about July 2009 when we just finished July 2008, but it does give me a sense of focus and a good sense of the direction we are heading, God willing. Tonight I am heading to a community youth function with some of my leader and students to give away free hot dogs and sodas as an expression of kindness. I am looking forward to it!

So today we all got up early, got dressed up (I was in a suit … my wife said I looked hot! GRRRR! lol), and headed out at 8am for Adriana’s oath ceremony to finally become a citizen of the U.S. Unfortunately there was a ton of traffic trying to get onto the Northern State Parkway. After a few back roads, I finally got onto the parkway and was racing to get to her appointment. We were within a couple of minutes, but we got lost after getting off the exit. Without much time for machoism, I pulled over to a gas station and Ady went in to get directions. Racing and passing people I should not have, (after almost a three year wait, I was determined that she was going to make it!), we finally got there about 10 minutes late. Adriana jumped out and ran in while I parked the car. Her mother, the girls and I all ran as fast as we could. When we got inside, the security guys told us to relax, it would be a good three hours before everything finally happened. “Are you kidding me?” I thought. OK, at least we made it and she was going to take her oath. When we went in the room, she was sitting in the front section of the court room with about 150 others. She sat next to two girls while she was waiting to go forward. One applied 8 months ago, and another one only a month ago, and they were already called in for their oaths. Ady applied almost three years ago!

After about 30-minutes, her row was called forward to sort through their paperwork. We were very excited! Then she turned around and starting walking toward us with that face that said, “I can’t believe it!” What had she forgotten? This can’t be happening! But it was. Ady received a traffic ticket 1 1/2 years ago. We have a lawyer friend who is taking care of it for her, so he has been pushing her court dates back, etc. Well, they said that she could not take her oath until her ticket is paid. We called our lawyer and he said it was the most ridiculous thing he has ever heard of – wanting her to plead guilty and pay so she can get sworn in. He is going to work on it and hopefully get it resolved before they call her back again, supposedly in two months. So, we had yet another wet blanket thrown on our excitement by our friends at Homeland Security. We so can’t wait for this to be over. The Lord knows why this is happening. The good news is that we don’t have to rush her U.S. passport in order to go to London on vacation. Now she can just use her Mexican passport. I read yesterday that God never wastes a hurt. Well, god never wastes a trial either. He’s doing something through this. We trust Him!

I just finished reading Philip Yancey’s book What’s So Amazing About Grace? It was a beautiful book and another one in the series of books I have read lately that are really challenging me, and which I believe are bringing me into a deeper revelation of the heart of God. As The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne did when I read it, this book really confirmed much of what I have been sensing in my spirit in terms of the need for the Church (of which I am a part, so it has personal application to be sure) to embrace a more Christ-like, authentic, compassionate, loving, grace-full approach to people. This book has contributed greatly to my spiritual formation on a personal level, confirmed the direction I feel God is leading me (and my wife) in terms of our present and future ministry, and shaped and influence my thinking about people and effectively reaching them with Christ’s love.

All of us get hurt. Yesterday my 6-year old cut her toe while we were at a friend’s house swimming. I picked her up, comforted her as I wiped away her tears, and put a band aid on her toe. It wasn’t long before she was back in the pool enjoying herself. Her little boo boo will heal. We all get hurt physically from time to time. But there is another kind of hurt that we all experience – Emotional hurt. How do we deal with this kind of hurt?

Scarred is a new resource from Simply Youth Ministry that will help you walk through the answer to this question with your students. Complete with audio files, PowerPoint’s, outlines, games, motion backgrounds, promotional materials, Scarred is prepared in such a way that it will save you tons of prep time while at the same time deliver a solid series you can count on to help your students. God never allows a hurt to be wasted. Use this resource to help your students discover how God can redeem their wounds and give them true and lasting healing.

To receive 10% off this and other youth ministry resources, use the 10% Off Link at the top left hand corner of my blog.

My sister April called at 2:00 am to inform me that she had given birth to her 3rd daughter, Adriana. for those of you who do not know, my sister married my wife’s brother Lalo. Take a minute to think about it … it’s not incest, I promise! She was named after her aunt 2x’s over, and my wife Adriana. She weighed in at 6 lbs, 11 oz, was 19″, and was born at 1:36 AM on Friday, August 1, 2008 in Florida. She’s the first Florida Mahaffy ever! April and baby are doing fine. Lalo is tending Adriana’s two older sisters, and they are all excited about this new arrival. Congrats to April, Lalo, and their family!