an expectant heart

last week as soon as we had one "nice" day, the girls wanted their bikinis on and were ready to hit the beach with shovel and frisbee in hand. I had to explain to them that even though they were super excited, we needed to wait.

God really spoke to me as I reflected on how cute the girls were about what I am expecting from God in my life. I think our tendencies are to get caught up in the day to day moment and not put a "demand" on growth in our lives. In Matthew 17 peter james and john were with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. Because it was so incredible, peter wanted to build 3 tents for them so they could stay there forever.

God has done some amazing things in my life and ministry, but I don't want to camp out in what God did. I want more of God right now!! I need my heart to continually be enlarged to believe God for more!! More in my marriage, more in my ministry and more in my understanding of Him.

"ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock, and doors will be opened for you--matt.7:7

FUTURE MOMMIES!!

yesterday we went over to some friends of ours house and got all the littlins together!! They have 3 boys all 3 and under, and of course Kendra and I have yet to accomplish the feat of brining a little boy baby into the world.

My children would not touch the lasagna, but Mandy wasn't offended that they only ate bread and dessert.
Michael is a youth pastor of the church right up the street from us so it was fun to talk shop and learn a little more about each other and our families.

The last time we got together at their house, Ava walked for the very first time so Kendra and I were wondering if anything monumental might take place with our children this time.

For me there were three highlights,

1. Addy's obsession with their three month old baby Isaac. He was a beautiful baby and sooo content. She constantly asked where he was and was really only happy when she got to hold and "pet" him. She was sooooooo sweet, she even had her little arm supporting his neck.

2. Their two year old Noah filled his diaper up to the brim and of course both of my children were gathering around him in order to see the carnage as he got his diaper changed. I don't know why but Ava is obsessed with seeing Addy's poop when she does the deed and this time both of them were crowded around watching like it was a magic trick.

3. Just before we were ready to leave, the two older boys were wrestling and jumping on each other. Suddenly Noah (the two year old) walks up behind Ava ( a rather large almost 4 year old) and drags her to the ground and lands on her!!! Ava's look of complete shock and awe was priceless!! This sort of "playing" is obviously a far cry from her and Addy's doll and pony obsession!! I had to assure her in the car that Noah just wanted wrestle her because that is what boys do when they like someone and that there was no reason to be concerned:) Maybe I need to be a little rougher, she pretty much got the beat down=)

Thanks Michael and Mandy for a great time and for letting Addy play Mom:)

the evolution of an afro!

For the second time in her 3.75 years on this planet, Ava went under the scissors!! We have been telling her for a while that she needed a haircut (you know its bad when your 3 year old refers to her own hair as a rats nest!) and today Kendra took her to our friend Jessica's house and did the deed! I stayed home with Addy and Ava came home smiling from ear to ear and couldn't wait to show daddy how beautiful she was.
Her hair is so insanely curly that it took about 45 minutes to comb out and Ava never moved a muscle!! Kendra said her eyes were even watering at a few points and still she took it like a man! (maybe they should change the phrase to took it like a 3 year old girl:)

Addy's little golden locks are equally curly and next on the chopping block so stay tuned:)

I thought I would include one more Ava-ism moment I had while kendra was working yesterday. Ava was playing with one of her dolls while i watched golf and she says to me...this doll is not being very nice. I said why not? Because she thinks she is a cooler chick then everybody! No idea where she heard that one! I asked her what a cool chick was, and she responded by saying that her (the dolls) mom and dad weren't going to buy her no toys and she doesn't even care because she's mean!
I tried not to laugh and told her that dolls need to be nice. what else could I say?

television on my mind?

i must say i am pretty stoked about a new episode of the office tonight!! It might be a bit obsessive since one of my thoughts was the possibility of a thunderstorm tonite messing up our stupid dish and ruining everything. i swear I don't usually allow television to consume that much of my thoughts/concerns, it just sort of popped in my head. If it does happen however (and i've already had dish network come to my house because I used to lose signal if there was even dew on the ground) I will call my dish provider and demand that retribution be made!!
To all you office fans, hopefully there will be some funny stuff to share at the water cooler tomorrow:)

I also wanted to include this video someone sent me. I just had a conversation with my boy Ben about how I was going to "fast" news because everything is so depressing. I am a bit of a news junkie, but I found my soul being vexed by story after story of parents killing their kids, third graders wanting to murder teachers and 5th graders having sex!!!!!! (when I was in fifth grade i think I still thought if you kissed a girl they could get pregnant!)
Anyway, this is an uplifting story of a sweet old southern christian lady who God used to turn a terrible situation into a holy moment!!

">Hooray for happy news! (it may take a minute to load, but it is worth it.)

Ava's accident:) and God's love

Ava has been potty trained for a while now, but for the last few weeks she hasn't worn a pull- up at night. Well this morning she came in our room and let us know that she had peed the bed. Amidst the changing of sheets and necessary baths, I thought about how my life has changed since having children. There are times when you are so sick of the whining, bickering between sisters, and constantly having to endure kids programming (i find myself sometimes singing dora in the shower) that you are tempted to think.......I deserve a break, I want more time for me! There is nothing I love more than being a dad, but I think we've all had those moments. Then I was immediately reminded of my Father's unreasonable love for me. What if God decided He needed a "break" from being my Daddy. Even though He deserves it all, He gave up EVERYTHING! I feel God calling me to die to myself more everyday.

I find myself learning more and more of God's character since becoming a dad. Loving my girls sooooo much and wanting the best for them is always a reminder of God's love for me.
Matt. 7:11--If you as sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those He loves"--
Thank you Father for always thinking of me first, Jesus make me more like you.

ps. In case I sound like I am complaining, let me just say that my wife Kendra does infinitely more on a day to day basis then I do. Not only is she the most incredible mother all week, but because I am at church early on Sunday, she gets the girls ready herself and comes back at night to sing for our youth service!!!

You can learn more about Kendra at www.mywifeisthebomb.com (kidding, not responsible for what that website contains, didn't check)

boldness and nascar

I am starting a new series in our youth ministry on spiritual boldness and sharing your faith. I remember seeing on a website at a church some classes offered for "evangelism" I began to wonder what that looked like.......
I was reminded of a recent trip to the new super-walmart here in kzoo. The lines were insanely long and 2 guys in front of me started to talk about nascar (i guess there was a race that took place that day?) Thankfully I don't know much about the "sport" (and I use that term loosely) of nascar but I was amazed at how these two began discussing tire changes, pit stops, hazard laps, who cut who off etc, etc.
Sitting in my office it dawned on me that they didn't need to take a class about how to share their love of nascar. These guys were talking about ford vs chevy and putting stickers of dead guys numbers on their cars just because they were passionate!!
There is no "how to talk nascar" seminar or classes these guys took, they talk about what matters to them! Seminars aren't a bad thing, but I don't think boldness in sharing your faith is an educational problem that a class will solve, it is a passion problem that falling more in love with Jesus will solve!!

I am asking God for a renewed heart for the lost. I am asking God for opportunities to share my faith, tell people where I go to church, and invite them to our awesome church!! Whether that is when i'm out to eat, getting my haircut, or in line at the supermarket, I like Paul, want to "never be ashamed of the gospel, for it is the very power of God unto salvation!!" romans 1:16

I pray that all my students at Pulse and Surge will come with me on the journey!!!

more about another crazy thing that happened to me at walmart in a later post.

fight night was a success!

wow!! its been a while since I blogged but I have been CRAZY busy!! Coordinating a trip with 39 people to another country is a bit insane but I know it will be worth the work!!
Saturday was our big sumo event and it went off without a hitch(mostly). We pre- sold 159 tickets to the event but then sold another 120 at the door!! We weren't exactly prepared for that, so the line for food got a little long but we survived. We also had to ration portions a little more carefully at the end (one pasta noodle per family):) but at least we had plenty of desserts.

As you can see from the photos, Kristin had a huge weight and height advantage so it was no mystery why she won the match:)

The best part for me was at the end. the students worked so hard learning the dramas that we will perform while we are in the dominican and they were so powerful!!! People were in tears and everyone was amazed at how compelling they were!!

thanks to everyone who supported us (we raised 3,000 dollars) and for my incredible team. I know God is going to honor your hard work and faith by brining many people into His Kingdom on our trip. It is a huge blessing to lead these young people and I am continually humbled by the support of this great Church. thanks also to my incredible leaders, all of you stepped up and made the event a home run!!! No way it could have happened without you!

Thanks again,

ps. Ava asked me why I was wearing red underwear like that!! I swear I told her it wasn't my underwear. I stopped wearing those when I switched to boxers:)
pss. Ava told me she wants another sister. I quote-- little babies are so cute, can't we buy one from mommy's tummy?:)