a mile in their shoes

I've heard the saying"you can't really understand someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes" Yesterday was Martin Luther King day and i have to admit that if I hadn't tried to go to the bank, I wouldn't have even probably acknowledged the holiday. I have no idea what it is like to be mocked and ridiculed for the color of my skin, but i think sometimes we as christians (especially white christians) drop the ball on this holiday. All of us should celebrate the life of Martin Luther King and realize that God never intended for their to be black or white churches and as a pastor I don't want to only reach people just like me. I am going to do a better job celebrating diversity.
Here is a quote from this great preacher....."we've got some difficult days ahead but that doesn't matter to me now. I've been to the mountain top and I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place, but I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. He has allowed me to climb the mountain and I've looked over and seen the promised land. I may not get there with you, but i want you to know that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. Tonight, I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man because mine eyes have seen the coming of the glory of the Lord."

I remember Ava asking me once why mommy was brown and I wasn't. I told her that the color of skin doesn't matter and God made all of us a little different. She said "yea daddy, I color with pink and Addy likes purple, but their both pretty".........exactly

"I tell you the truth, unless you become as little children, you can't enter the kingdom of God"

pastoral advice

As a youth Pastor, i receive many questions that pertain to young peoples lives. one that is more common that I get from students and parents is the question of tattoo's and piercings. Are they sinful, am i destroying my temple, wwjd, etc etc.

one scripture that is often quoted is leviticus 19:28 "you shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am the Lord"
I am not the Lord, but i will say that if you want to go around toting this verse as your ammo against it, you also might want to read the verses prior which say you can't trim your beard or sideburns. You also have to get rid of any polyester shirts because there was to be no blending of fabrics in O.T times.
I personally have never gotten a tattoo, and most likely will not, ( i thought about a pixie fairy on my lower back but Kendra wouldn't let me) however I do not consider them necessarily sinful. I tell people to examine the reason why they want one. God is much more concerned with our hearts than ink on skin, and if your motives are pure and the tattoo isn't of the grim reaper making a sacrifice to a demon god, I don't have a real problem with it. I do always recommend proceeding with caution in this arena, because once it is on, its on.
I've also heard that they are a lot like plastic surgery and it can be hard to stop. Here's a picture of a kid who came to me and just wondered about getting his ear pierced. I warned him not to let it get carried away:) You make the call..........

career choice

I love these pics of Adalyn. I can't decide if I want her to grow up to be a plumber or a nascar driver:) sometimes when I look at my children, I find myself dreaming about what they will decide to do with their lives. I wonder what paths they will choose and even who they will marry (thanks Grandma Linda for the wedding dress that Ava is now obsessed with)
It blows my mind that the God of the universe dreams for me. That I have a Daddy who sings over me, and loves me unconditionally despite all my faults. My prayer is that no matter what my children decide to DO, they will always know that apart from anything they become, their daddy loves them for who they are. My heavenly daddy feels the same way about me:)

zeph. 3:17--"The Lord you God is in your midst, the mighty one will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love. He rejoices over you with singing"

"the unreasonable love of the Father, longing to be with His children"

unreasonable--not governed by reason--irrational or absurd

The After Party

Last night at our Pulse high school youth service, we embarked on a new journey toward the heart of God. After worship and a message about growing our spirits, 18 of our students shut themselves in a room with a cd player and went in passionate pursuit of the heart of Jesus. Its called the "after party" and it is open to anyone who wants to go deeper in prayer and pursuit of God. You could hear them from the hallway, worshipping Jesus and calling on God to move in their generation. As a pastor, I thanked God for this movement, and continue to pray that it will be an opportunity for many to move beyond religion, and truly experience the love of God. God bless all of you students who are committed to launching out into the deep, and determined to "be the change."

Jeremiah 33:3 "call upon me, and I will show you great and mighty things to come that you do not now know"----Show us your heart Lord, so that we may experience the unreasonable love of the Father.

Kendra's birthday and new years eve

Well I wrapped up 07 in Grand Rapids with my beautiful wife who turned 28! Oh to be young again I tell myself everytime she has a b-day:) We drove up to GR about four and spent 2 glorious hours spending our christmas gift cards at the mall. then we headed to the Bistro downtown for an amazing dinner. (thanks to the manager Brad for always making it incredible). We even ran into some friends at the restaurant that we haven't seen in 4ever!! (Hi brad and Bradi, hope your sitter didn't walk out at 9:30:) I'm sure i'll have to be the one to call you Bradi about getting our families together, but i'm not bitter. We wrapped the night up at my good friend marc's house bringing in the new year (kind of, we left at 11ish because the roads were horrible and had a new year kiss in the car).

anyways, i forgot my camera so all i have for the blog is this one pic of Kendra and I at the same place for an anniversary dinner in september. I am grateful to God for all His blessings, and thanks to kendra for being the most amazingly beautiful wife and mother ever. I can't wait for 08! (kind of cheesy i know, but i never claimed to be a rapper)

Christmas 07

The big day is now behind us and we basically have no room in our basement to breathe! Thanks to Grandma linda for the cool horse and talking parrot (well at least for the horse, right now I'm not all that thankful for the parrot). The girls had so much fun Christmas morning, and I have to confess that this is the first year Kendra and I ever put up a tree! (I know that is terrible, hopefully it still won;t be up in may).
We got to spend some quality time with Uncle steve from Arizona, and even got to run around in a wedding dress that Grandma Linda purchased (can't they stay young past three anymore?) When I asked her who she was going to marry she told me mommy. I informed her we may have to move to San Francisco for that, but she didn't get the joke.
Lastly, in my attempt to keep the baby Jesus in the forefront, I asked Ava if Santa was real, and she said no. I then asked where all the presents came from and she said Santa. Maybe we watched one too many dora Christmas specials this year! Oh well, she did sing happy Birthday to Jesus and that was too cute:)

OVEN ON FIRE!!!!!

Its never a great day when your babysitter calls and through tears and panic informs you that your oven is shooting out flames!!! My wonderful niece was attempting to make cookies with Ava and Addy while Kendra and I were working at church. She came upstairs because of a weird smell and flames were shooting out of the bottom of the oven and smoke was everywhere!! She wisely grabbed the girls and took them outside and called me at work. I rushed home and the whole house and garage were filled with smoke and my two girls and Ashley were huddled on the back porch under a blanket!
Turns out that Addy (I am picking on her because she can't defend herself and Ava of course is telling me it was her) had decided to use the broiler under the oven to hide a few books, dolls, and stuffed animals. By the time i got there there were only hot embers were there once were stories of green eggs and ham. I cleaned everything up and managed to get the girls to go near the oven again without Addy crying and thanked God for keeping them safe.
Great job to Ashley for the quick response and sorry for the drama, you are certainly earning your 2 dollar and hour family rate:)
for all you parents of toddlers, make sure you check the oven for a possible toy stash!

I forgot to mention that when they were outside, Ava was praying to Jesus to save her toys and informing Him that when her daddy got there he was going to put that fire out!!! Its always great to be the hero:)