Honestly?

Straight out of the
"Department of
Redundancy
Department"

Ready for Seattle

Today I was more ready to move to Seattle than ever. I woke up early for church and quickly checked the weather on the internet, only to see that the temperature here in Sioux Falls was -23 degrees wind chill while the temp in Seattle was 37 degrees. For you math majors, that's a difference of 60 degrees. Normally I sort of like the winter weather, but not in this kind of extreme. I can't wait for the milder climate of the Pacific Northwest.

My Latest Fix...Hockey

As you probably know, I am sort of an outdoor sport nut but winters are usually pretty depressing for me. My summers are full of mountain biking, rock climbing, water sports, and camping, but my winters are not usually full of anything but dreaming of summer. My first winter love is skiing, but living in Sioux Falls, SD doesn't provide much opportunity in that area. Lately though, a new sport has caught my fancy and has consumed a little of my money and a lot of my time...Hockey!

I have been playing hockey with the students at the college lately and have really gotten hooked on it. I started out with meager skating abilities but have caught on quick and now love playing. It is a great workout, a chance to be outside and not in my office, and a lot of fun. In fact, I am playing this afternoon and can't hardly wait. Watch out Sidney Crosby...here I come!!

A Need for Patience

As Mandy and my time in Sioux Falls draws to a close, it is increasingly hard to stay patient and not jump the gun in our preparation for our future in Seattle. We have so many doubts and fears about what lies ahead in the area of jobs and housing and it is difficult to not want to solve those problems right now.

Please pray for us that God would be developing us as people during this time of waiting. Pray that we would finish strong here in Sioux Falls and that we would make a difference here in the time remaining.

A Great Final Winter Camp

Over my last four years of youth ministry while I have been working at my current church, one of the annual highlights of our ministry has been an event on the first weekend in January called Winter Camp. This event started as a little weekend getaway for just our church the year before I came, and has quickly turned into a district retreat with nearly 100 kids in attendance. And it is a blast!

We spend a ton of time having fun, but even more time focused on growing in our faith. This year's theme was "Finding Sacred in the Secular", where we used a number of different secular media outlets to teach truth about God. The sessions included a talk about God's redemption as seen in an episode of the Simpsons, a talk about who we are in Christ as seen through the U2 song 'The First Time, a talk about being the image of God through the use of Ben Harper, Kid Rock, and Sheryl Crow songs, and a showing of Hotel Rwanda.

I think the students walked away with a lot to ponder and hopefully God will continue to speak to all of their heart in the coming weeks and months. I am so fortunate to get paid to talk about Jesus Christ to people. What a blessing it is. I can't wait to see what God can do at my church in the next 6 months before I leave.

Life in a Gray World

While parked at a red light a few days ago, I noticed a bumper sticker that read "I am not a Republican." I was initially surprised by the boldness of that claim, but the bigger surprise to me was that someone could be so black and white in a gray world. It was as if there is only one "right" political party and everyone else is inherently wrong.

Life is not about issues, it's about people. That is the problem with political parties. We get so ingrained into one way of thinking that we totally ignore other issues at hand and the people that struggle with them. It is a lot harder to be anti-abortion while resting your hand on your 16 year old daughter's pregnant belly, knowing full well that she may have just ruined all hopes and dreams for her future.

Life is not black and white. Life is confusing. Life is messy. Life requires humble servants of Christ who will live in the trenches and get their hands dirty in the mess of life. May we not be so concerned with the issues of life that we forget about the people we live with.

A Great X-Mas Party

Last night I celebrated Christmas with the students in our youth ministry and it was a great time. We had nearly 40 kids and we chilled at a restaurant and arcade for a couple hours while eating pizza, playing games, and shooting each other in laser tag (in which I totally dominated).

I am aware that in each youth ministry event in the next 6 months, including last night's party, I will experience the full gamut of emotion, from joy and thankfulness to pain and sorrow. Pray for me and my students during this time of transition that we would be able to say goodbye in a healthy way.

It's Official

For the regulars here you know that my wife, Mandy, and I have been praying about when to move to Seattle to attend Mars Hill Grad School. Well...the verdict is in:

We're Going!!

We will be leaving Sioux Falls in July to move out to Seattle and start graduate school. This is an exciting time in our lives and we covet your prayers as we start the transition. I have told our staff at church and a letter is going out today to our youth and their parents, so this weekend could be interesting as I field a million questions about our future. Pray that I might have patience.