2 more weeks until Vacation

2 Weeks from today and we will be waking up in Beautiful Honolulu Hawaii. It will be Carver's first time to see his other Grandparents, his Aunt's and Uncles and cousins. I can't wait. It will also be Laura's first time to Hawaii and my first full week off for Vacation in over 3 years. The last time I had a full week off was when I was in between jobs at All for Kidz and Crown Bolt. I a m a bit worried about Sundays and staffing, but in the end that will work out. I just need to think about laying on the beach and doing nothing.

Pee your pants for the Brewers

So I love baseball, but I don't know how far I would go to prove my "Fanness" or dedication to my team. Apparently their are a few fans (7173 to be exact) that say they will go the distance if the Brewers make the playoffs. The Milwaukee Brewers have not made the playoffs in 25 years. This is the longest playoff draught in Baseball history. The fans that published their names at www.peeyourpantsforthebrewers.com have pledged to pee their pants if the Brewers make the playoffs. Right now the Brewers are tied in the Wild Card race to make the playoffs. However there are 12 games left and they are currently on a 4 game losing streak and no Manager. The ownership of the Brewers decided yesterday that their current skipper Ned Yost was not fit to take them to the playoffs. He brought them this far, but appantly is not good enough to continue. I think it kind of stinks to manage a team 150 games and then get fired for the final stretch. But that is the baseball life. How far would you go to prove your "Fanness"?

Volunteer Appreciation Banquet

On Friday night, The Rock Church celebrated our annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet at the Lynnwood Bowl and Skate. We packed in 48 people into small room filled with delicious BBQ from my favorite place the Double Barrel. We ate, celebrated, ate, laughed, ate and then bowled. It turned out really good. We have an awesome dedicated church. We are not a large church, but it takes at least 25 people each Sunday to make our service happen. We set up and tear down each week at the school and its alot of work. Our mission is to Help Others Discover a Growing Relationship with Christ. This takes place throughout the week. But for a few hours we gather together to worship and learn more about Him together. I find this time vital to believers and a great place to bring friends who have questions. Thank you to all the volunteers who give so much to make this happen. You are awesome!

I love hot wings

It's official. It is now football season. Normally it is about now that we are sick of watching the Mariners tank and ready to watch the Seahawks win. Well all is not right in the world. The Mariner's are doing what they do best -lose. But I still enjoy watching the game. And the Hawks should be winning now. Unfortunately - they have started out the year 0 -2. Hopefully they can turn this around once they get a little healthier. Until then, I will turn my attention to something that is also not healthy. Hot Wings!
I have had a craving for the past few weeks for some wings and football is the perfect avenue to enjoy this delectable treat. I am kind of a wuss when it comes to spicy food and this goes for wings as well. I like just a little bit of kick with smooth coat of ranch dressing. Last weekend Laura and I brought some over the Barran's and we had to eat them all by ourselves. No one wanted any. I went after some again this weekend and Brent joined me for the spicy snack.

ineed2change.com

I subscribe to many podcasts and I consistently read a few blogs. This morning Ed Young's blog caught my eye. He is working through a new series at his Church on change. He created a website that caught my eye.
In need of change...

It seems like there is always something that I need to change. Most of the time it seems to be the same thing. I want to be a better person or a better Christian. Too often this looks more like a list than a lifestyle. This is where the battle of legalism steps in and I just don't want to be that guy anymore. When I decided to follow Christ I stepped into a journey of a life to become more like Christ. Becoming more like Christ is going to look a little different in every Christian's life. That is because we are all made unique. God has given each of us wants and desires that make us who we are. This is pretty exciting. I am not just another clone that God made so the world would be how He wanted it to be. God have us options. Well I have taken some of the options that God has made available - and they were not the best. Some of these options have plagued me for a long time. Anytime you establish roots in something, it will not be easy to tear apart. There are some roots in my life that I need to tear out. There are things that I need to change. It will take some self examination as well as some Christ examination. This is my goal of changing. I want to pursue myself and pursue Christ more.

Good times at the Rock

In the past six months at the Rock Church we have gone through many changes. The elementary went from meeting in a hallway foyer area to having this massive Great Hall at our location. I was glowing at meeting in such a big room. We bought a few bounce houses, purchased some great sound and video equipment and it was awesome. Everyone who saw our new environment was very excited. Unfortunately, the school was not content with the new changes that we made. So they kicked us out of the great hall and back into the original arrangement. I have been a little down over the past week or so thinking about it. But this week, some really cool things have altered my opinion.

1. I received this email from a parent that was huge encouragement : " thanks for all you do for the kids, mine and everyone elses. ____ and _____ were having a conversation about how God is their rock and they should use His word as their foundation...so whatever you are doing is workin!!!!"
2. Friday night I invited some of my graduating 5th graders for a baseball game and an all-nighter of Xbox. They had a great time and it was a great reminder that ministry is all about relationships. It is events like that that kids will remember so much more than anything I ever said on Sunday.
3. A local Pastor came to visit with his family. He had two elementary children come and visit our new environment. When the parents came to pick them up, the kids came running saying "We had so much fun"

I am starting my 4th year as the Children's Director and I am so blessed to be at the Rock. The people at the Rock give so much and I am thankful for the great friendships that have formed.