One of my favorite things in ministry is seeing students stand up and make a public declaration of faith through the act of baptism. Yesterday we had the privilege of baptizing 6 more students!
Do Unto Others …
Last night I was totally exhausted. At 10 in the morning I was at the church setting up for our big event Wild Wednesday. At 5pm the church secretary had seen me go up and down the stairs so many times she said I was too tuckered out for the event. Well, you know the deal. The event came, and now it was time to actually turn it on. So, we ran the event (Which went great, by the way!). At 8pm the kids started to disperse, and now it was cleanup time. For over an hour we worked hard tearing down and putting everything away. By 9:15pm everyone was gone and I was about to fall over. I asked Ariana to drive home because I wasn’t sure I would stay awake. I just wanted to shower and jump in bed. And to think I was actually hoping to go for a run. Yeah right!
As we were pulling into our community, we saw a car broken down. They had tried everything, but the car was dead and they had been standing there for two hours. Our security would not allow them to park the car in a parking space just 20 yards away because they did not live in the community. We stopped and offered our help, but there wasn’t much we could do, so we went home. I decided that if nothing else, I could run and get them something to drink and eat, so I headed back out to see if they wanted something. When I arrived the lady said they had decided to push the car down the road to a side street, so I offered to help. We ended up pushing the car a mile down the road and walking back. I ended up getting my workout in anyways, and now I was thoroughly whooped!
As I sweatily got back in my car and drove to our security gate, the guard commented on how nice it was that I helped the folks out. I responded that I just try to do unto others as I would have them do unto me. Beyond that, the occasion gave me the opportunity to meet some nice folks, chat with them a bit, invite them to church, and the gentleman give me his business card which I have passed along to our Spanish pastor for follow-up. Pray that God will use this random act in his conspiracy of kindness to reach people with His love.
Wild Wednesday!
Last night we had a great event called Wild Wednesday. It was an outreach event, and I was most excited that our students reached out and invited their friends to come. We had 15 new kids here and a fun time was had by all. In addition to random games and raffle prizes, we had pumpkin bowling, an inflatable obstacle course, apple bobbing, swinging donuts, and the best – shoot a high schooler paintball! I was so proud of our students for inviting their friends, and grateful to our tremendous team of adult volunteers who made the night possible.
Sunrise in the Desert
Picture of sunrise from our home on October 5, 2011.
My Little Girl Has Hit Double-Digits!
Wednesday was my youngest daughter’s 10th birthday! How time flies. We’re super proud of our girl! For her birthday we went out for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory as a family. She received Just Dance 2 as her present and absolutely loves it! Last night she had a party with some of her friends. We took a boat ride around our lake, had some pizza, watched Rio, had awesome cake that Adriana made, and went swimming. Great time!
Tribute to Steve Jobs by Joe Castillo
I’ve seen Joe Castillo live. What an incredible artist! Enjoy this tribute to Steve Jobs.
Great Way for Dads to Connect With Kids At Their Schools!
I was super excited when, upon relocating to California, I found out about an opportunity for me to get on my daughter’s school campus and provide support and encouragement to students and administration. The school has embraced a fantastic program called WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) which is the father involvement initiative of the National Center for Fathering that organizes fathers and father figures in order to provide positive male role models for the students and to enhance school security. Today, more than 2,127 active programs in 40 states and New Zealand participate in the WATCH D.O.G.S. Program!
Last week I went to the orientation for the program. There were about 60 dads there. The greatest things that stood out to me were the principal’s recognition of the importance of positive male-role models for students, his genuine gratitude for our willingness to help, his goal of having 100 dads participate this school year, and most of all, the flexibility of the program.
If you have a day to volunteer, great.
If you have an hour a week, great.
If you can come every week at the same time or different times, great.
If you can only come once a month, great.
If you can only help for 15 minutes, great.
This program just recognizes the power of presence! Any guy with any kind of schedule can do this program! (Of course, there are safety precautions such as background checks, etc.)
Today was my first day on campus, and it was so great to be able to connect with my daughter and her fellow-students. Obviously, since I work with middle school students, this was a great way for us to see one another in a context other than church. It was so great recognizing some of my students and having them recognize me and run up to say “Hi”. Check out this piece on WATCH D.O.G.S. done by ABC and consider presenting the program to schools in your area.
Passion for Adventure
“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” – Chris McCandless in Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Related post: Into the Wild
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