Eight Year Old Birthday Parties Rock!

I love what I do and I can't imagine doing anything else. I love middle school and high school students and their complete randomness of life and willingness to be open and honest about where they are at. I enjoy, truly enjoy being around middle and high school students.

After saying that, I got to say the craziest, most chaotic event that I have ever been a part of is the birthday party for Hannah, our 8 year old this past weekend. WOW! 10 8 year olds running and I mean running around the house, up the stairs, down the stairs, screaming, crying, laughing, constantly moving and making loud noises, all in the spirit of fun. That was true chaos. Give me 200 middle schoolers or 400 high schoolers over 10 8 year olds. Man was it crazy, but awesome in the same time. In those moments of chaos Kris and I got to connect with Hannah's friends in some really great ways. One girl is rude, kind of bossy, very crude, but she shared some time with Kris where she climbed up on her lap and watched the movie with her. That moment gave us insight into her life, that even in her rough outside exterior, she was a kid who just needed someone to care for her, to be held. Honestly, it broke our hearts and it breaks my heart to see kids old and young hurting, broken, bitter, and they have put up these huge fences around themselves.

Sometimes in the midst of chaos there are the important parts of life. Instead of adding to the chaos of life, I am looking for the important nuggets of time, of relationships, of what is really important. And sometimes the most important thing is doing something excellent, well, in an orderly way, but it is in a hug, an email, a conversation, a shared moment.

LOST and Confused -- I think that many of us live that way most of our lives -- so caught up in stuff that we skate by life in a LOST and confused type of way. Great night in 180 last night -- good time, great discussions, and a God sighting in allowing us to make a point in that any step that you make holds risk and risk can sometimes result in unfavorable results -- Heather we love ya, thanks for taking a risk.

Life has been full lately -- more on that later, but I got to tell you I had the most peaceful moment this past weekend that I have had in MANY months. I took Kris out for the night, we went to a praise service, had a good (and interesting) meal, sat in a hot tub for awhile and spent hours just talking. We talked about life, what we want out of our future, priorities, etc... Just an awesome time and the next morning on the way to church, I was at peace and joy came out of me -- I know you may not believe it, but I was bouncing on Sunday AM -- Life was good, hanging out with people, making connections, affirming people, that is what it was about for me, showing people Jesus loves them, everything was clear to me. I treasure the feelings of peace and joy. I know this has become a meaningless statement but man WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN and listen to God's whisper, renew ourselves and let God take the rest!

I am living for joy and peace -- It's a good ride and a lot less confusing.

I DON'T LIKE SNOW!

Three reasons I don't like snow
1) It knocks the electricity out in the middle of the night and all of the kids end up in our bed because they are scared
2) When the electricity went out, there was a surge or something weird that happened and our computer died -- BIG thanks to Gary for bringing it back to life
3) It is only October -- man January and February are going to be LONG months. I wouldn't mind if this was December, but it is October.

The snow did give me a chance to have perspective though -- what happens when things don't go like you had planned. I used to get really uptight when things didn't go the way I wanted them to or something surprising happened. I think I reacted like this because I want to control all the variables in my life and snow can really mess with my control. Over the last year I have been able to let go of some of my control issues, but I still have to watch how I deal with the unexpected. I have learned that they may be those divine appointments that God has planned for me or it may be an opportunity to just sit back and enjoy the moment.

PS Fantasy Football week record was 4-2

I'm a recovering addict:
iRest -- Tonight we get the chance to end our What's In Your iPod series with the topic of iRest. Rest is something that many of us do not know how to define in our lives. I know in the past I have been a person that would run 100 miles an hour, trying to get everything done, because I attributed things done equals success which equals contentment with equals God's Will. I have wasted more of my life getting caught up in the rat race of life than actually spending it productively. Sometimes it feels that I am in a car that is spinning in circles on ice. I have no control where I am going and what is going to happen to me and I am just a passenger in my own life.
WOW is that a distorted view of reality and God's plan for me. It is a bad trip heading nowhere. God has allowed me to see and experience the REST IS A CHOICE! No more I am too busy because of what other people tell me I need to do, no more seeing busy as a status symbol (As we all know, if you aren't busy then you are a slacker, right?), no more settling for a life of running around in circles so that I don't have to sit, be still and realize who I am and who I am becoming. Life is too precious to waste on doing a bunch of good things, life is meant to be lived doing the MOST important things. Saying NO is tough, especially when I don't want to or someone needs me, but I can't help people unless I am healthy. I am a recovering addict. My drug is busyness, the pursuit of doing everything even if it means I do nothing well or feel peace or contentment about anything. I fight from getting caught in the drug almost everyday, but I am recovering because now I am seeing the IMPORTANT things and separating them from the good things. If God needed a Sabbath -- a day of rest, then I can not be arrogant enough to believe that I don't need one. CHOOSE REST and the rest of the stuff will sort itself out.

Life is Short -- That simple statement holds a lot of weight. The weight is a ton heavier when we are faced with dealing with death. In the last couple of days, we lost Jake, a guy who was a senior last year at Central. Jake wasn't perfect, but he was a someone who God created and whom God loved. Jake was in our ministry for one year and was willing to do whatever we asked him to do, -- be in dramas, move stuff around -- but I have to say I never had a direct conversation with him about his relationships with God. Man that stinks, I missed an opportunity and fell short.

Life is SHORT -- the importance of Jesus and our relationship with Him is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE! And yet we constantly sell that short. We don't give Jesus the time or the value that we should.

Life is SHORT!!!! Let's take the time to make sure we are ready for our eternal future. I am recommitted to having eternal conversations with the people around me. Jesus rocks my life -- Does he rock yours?

iMove -- Great night last night at 180 -- We had a ton of people and had more participation in making the program work than we ever have before. Tunac Tunac with black lights was really good. Continued to have some consistency with students and some new students. Had a couple of guys that were really struggling with life and had some major things going on that were with us. I spent some time thinking about the point of the message last night -- where your feet are pointed is where you are going to go. Sometimes I do wander how I ended up where I am and then I look down and realize that is exactly where my feet were pointed. That is where my decisions led me. So many times in life I can get in coast mode or in the mode where I think I can handle life and I start making my decisions based on what I want or think is best and then I realize oops I am heading in the wrong direction. Hit me hard again with my kids -- When they wake up at 5:30 AM bouncing, it is really easy to yell at them and tell them to go back to bed or else ... not that I have any idea what - else means, I just hope the fear of the unknown intimidates them, but if I do that I miss out on an opportunity to bond with them, talk to them, influence them in a good way. Sometimes it is easier to hear God when it is quiet -- more on this as we get closer to Sunday (rest). Kids are awesome that operate off of where they are being led that moment not by schedule or calendar, they simply respond to the moment and I need to get out of my rigidness of schedule and what I think is best for me ( I mean them) and simply mold them where they are at. I love my kids, my wife, God, 180, 180 Volunteers, and life -- I just need to learn to enjoy it more and take advantage of more "moments" that God puts in my life.

The world is really small. Kris and I took Hannah, Hailey, and Zach out for Hannah and Zach's birthday at Red Robin (Free burgers and ice cream sundaes). The waitress had some issues -- nothing her fault, but our order was lost, then wrong, etc... Fortunately for us there wasn't a whole lot of people in the place so Zach was OK in walking around, jumping like a frog, playing with balloons, etc... The manager came out to check on us and he did a double take and so did we. He was a student in Kris and I's first youth group 11 years ago. Man, do I feel old -- he is 25, just got married, and is going to be the assistant GM at the new Red Robin in Holland -- if you are ever there ask for Matt and say Hi! Just proves that the world is amazingly small and also reminded Kris and I that you never know how much impact you really have on people. Even though we only spent 2 years in an active relationship with him, it seemed like we were getting together with a great old friend. It was very good for God to give us the opportunity to see and be reminded that God will use you in some awesome ways, and ways that our much bigger than you and I can imagine! I know I will continue to value the relationships that God has me in right now. Those are the ones that I can impact for the present and the future.

I went to a girl's basketball game last night. By the way, great job Mindy! As I sat in the stands and started to watch the game I was able to see 2 very different ways to coach a girl's basketball team. Now I remind you they were not playing for the state championship or even the conference championship. Within 15 seconds after the game started, one coach was jumping up and screaming at his team. In my perspective yelling at them for everything that they were doing wrong. Every time one of the girls did something wrong he was screaming at them so that everyone heard what he was saying and knew exactly who he was saying it to. By half time, you could see the posture of the girls on the team had changed. Their shoulders were kind of hunched over, they were starting to yell at each other, by the end of the 3rd quarter they had given up. Now on the other side, the coach spent most of the time encouraging the players and congratulating the players in the job they were doing, even when the basket wasn't made or the pass was intercepted. These girls were smiling, laughing, encouraging each other.
For me a little reminder about life. Most people respond better to people who encourage them, who lift them up, who advise them when things don't go their way. Than to people who motivate by criticism, and pointing fingers. I think we can have the tendency to tear people down without meaning to and the tearing down of people I believe is the opposite of what God wants in our lives. I believe that God wants us to encourage people to see their potential, how they are created in God's eyes, their beauty, rather than the public announcement of their faults.
When I look at the people I love I realize that I can be most critical of them -- not good, man if God was the most critical of me and was quick to point out all of my faults and how I constantly don't measure up and even after He tells me 1000 times how to live I don't live that way and because of that I am a loser, I would not have much reason to live. Fortunately my God loves me, forgives me, encourages me to continue to discover who I am and who I am becoming through a relationship with Him. Love is so much better.

I hate Satan! I really do. I really hate how he blinds people and tricks people and puts Christians on the sidelines of life. I have had the privilege -- and I do mean a privilege even though it isn't easy and it stinks at times -- to walk beside some people that have been attacked by Satan and are dealing with the fall out of his attacks on them or their family. As over the last 4 weeks I have constantly dealt with attack after attack from Satan, I have felt my anger increase towards him and I started to realize even with this righteous anger I have to be careful not to allow it to consume me. Instead of constantly focusing on anger towards Satan I need to focus on the love of God, because that love conquers all. That love can soften any heart, can heal any wound, can forgive any wrong. That love is what changes the world forever. I am trying to be consumed by God's love, His love for wrongs to be made right, His love for the hurt to be healed, the hopeless to have hope. This is what I want to be consumed with. I can still be ticked at Satan and what he does to mess with people, but I will spend more time on having God's love flow in, through, and out of me.

180 -- iBelong
Last night we had a great night with some new people, a lot of people that haven't been too regular and of course some fabulous adults. It is tough to to figure out how to belong and to find where we are supposed to belong. The three points that I think are important are
1) Love yourself -- know yourself, know who you are so that you can fit in with a group of people that have similar interested that you have. Sometimes we get trapped being around people we don't even like or have anything in common or we find ourselves doing things that aren't us just so we can fit in.
2) Love Others -- Really care about them, encourage them, support them, live life through their perspective not yours.
3) Love God -- Trust Him, Rely on Him -- Remember sometimes doing the right thing, following God doesn't seem like the fun thing to do -- Caleb spent 40 years wandering the desert watching his friends die because he made the right choice.
I keep reminding myself that I need to spend time belonging to the place where I need to belong first -- Jesus -- man, he rocks and is worth every second that I invest into Him. He is faithful, He loves me, and He continues to show that to me, though I wish I could see the plan for my life sometime. It would make my life (in my perspective) a little more easy to live ;)

Being a part of a solid team is a great thing. Last night most of our 180 adult team was over at the house talking about the 180 ministry. Even though we come from different backgrounds and perspectives we can come together for a common purpose. It was encouraging to me to listen as we went around the room hearing how each of us had gotten to know a student better this past month. God works in a lot of different ways and through different people in crazy ways. I put a high value on this team. They are more than people that help make the 180 ministry happen at Southridge, they are my friends, my encouragers, and people I value the most. Good teams are tough to find and difficult to create and maybe even more frustrating to maintain. I believe teams need to have a common value, a purpose that we can unite around, and maybe most importantly a desire to encourage and serve one another.

Adult team: keep praying for the students, some of us who have some health issues, and that we can continue to encourage you.

Fantasy Football Update -- I went 4 -2 last week.

Creative Hairball -- About 10 students and adults got together last night under the title of a creative hairball event which is a random term for getting together with people to help brainstorm and think about the 180 ministry. It is amazing to see how God works through so many people in different ways to communicate his message. Big sentence to say the evening was pretty cool. We talked about thinking out of the box, connecting with high school students, and figuring out where God wants us to go.
Our next series is going to be LOST: Lost and Lonely, Lost and Angry, Lost and Confused.

I am excited to see what we can do to have fun, communicate a message, and to allow people to be used for a greater purpose. There are some great ideas in communicating messages. I love to think about how things that Satan uses can also be used by God to communicate what I believe are themes, longings everyone has. What I mean is for some people certain types of music draw people away from God, but God can use a message in one of those songs to show people that He does love them, that there is hope, that they do matter, that they don't have to settle. I am at a place right now where I want to be used by God no matter where that might be. I'm looking forward to the journey.

"At our worst, good is only one decision away" I came across this quote this morning as I was reading a great book CHASING DAYLIGHT by Erwin McManus. For me this is a great quote about the potential of every moment and the concept that the past doesn't have to control my future. Even when I totally blow it, my next decision can be a good one. Over the last three weeks I have had numerous people who have shared with me some bad choices that they have made or that people close to them have made and instead of feeling hopeless, the idea that good is only one decision away is tremendously freeing. I love living in freedom, instead of feeling like I am in prision. On Sunday we talked about Nickelback's song Savin' Me -- man there is a guy who is hurting, feeling like there is no hope, pleading for someone to say he is worth saving, that he has some value. Praying that someone will share with him that there is hope, that he has value and that God loves him.

I am looking forward to moments in life, those everyday moments that help me realize that good is only one choice away and I can make that good choice now and I am sure that choice will impact the people around me.

I am a fantasy football junky. I am hooked on it. If you don't know what fantasy football is, man you need to play some time. This year I have 6 teams and I am going for a 5-1 weekend this weekend if Greg Jennings, the Kalamazoo native, tears it up tonight in Philadelphia. I enjoy playing fantasy football with friends and my family. My 2 brothers, nephew, Kris and I have a league -- right now I am in the middle of the pack. Fantasy Football is an avenue that I use to enjoy life. It is a great way for me to stay connected with my family and some of my friends, it is a fabulous way to vent my competiveness without being destructive, and it is fun for me. Sometimes I can take life too seriously and I get all depressed over little things like going 1-5 in my fantasy football teams. When I do that I really mess up, because I can get irritated with my kids, with people around me, and I can give less than 100% to the life I am living. I am learning to enjoy life in the good times and not letting the bad times take me down. Here is to putting life in perspective and enjoying the fantasy football events in life. GO JENNINGS!