Stick horse races and tomahwak relays

Yesterday I went to my daughter, Julia's kindergarten Pow Wow. It's an hour-long even where the kindergarteners dress up as indians, gather in the school's gym, and all chaos breakes out. Yet through it all the teachers manage to maintain some kind of organization. It was great. I watched my daugher's "tribe" win relay races on home-made stick horses. I watched her run from one end of the gym to the other carrying a tomahawk over her head giving out a war cry, and doing other things. It was great. As I was watching her, it made me realize how thankful I am to have a job that allows me to do things like that. Although I'm gone a lot from home, I do have the opoprtunity to drop by from time to time and eat lunch with my daughter, attend family reding night at her school, take her to dance lessons at 4:30 on Friday afternoons, and watch her run across a gym screaming like a Banchee monkey. I'll always have these memories etched in my heart.

Today I learned...

We have some friends who are choosing to become foster parents to a 15-year-old girl. This couple has never had children, but they love kids. I'm inspired by this because of what it takes to become a foster parent. It's easier to adopt than to become a foster parent. They have been persistent in this for the past 9 months never giving up. Even more amazingly to some is the girl they are taking in. She has had a history of one struggle after another. This is not the poster child one would choose to take in. But they are. They love this child and some thing they're crazy for choosing to take her in. What an amazing act of love. They want this girl to have the opportunity to experience a stable loving family and they're prayer is that she'll give her life to Christ. Many of us are praying to that end.

What this couple does reminds me so powerfully of what God has done for me. I'm no different than this girl. Yet God has chosen to bring me into his family and give me every blessing that comes from being his child. What an amazing thought! Our God is just way too awesome! Thanks Harold and Lisa for teaching me what it means to truly love someone else.

A week of firsts

This has been a week of first for me. Today, while teaching my seniors our secretary opens the door to my room, calls me out into the hall disrupting an all-important lecture, to ever-so-softly instruct me that I'm to take my class into the hallway in case a tornado comes. I'm supposed to return and teach my class as if nothing ever happened. As I re-enter my room, one of my students so astutely remarked, "She sounded so serious." And she was. This wouldn't be so funny if not for the fact that the tornado was 15 miles away on the other side of the ship channel.

But even more exciting than that first, is what happened in our worship on Sunday. I consider it a miracle any time someone gives their life to Christ because only God can draw people to himself. Well, on Sunday an entire family of four gave their lives to Christ and I had the privilege of being a part of that. God is so awesome. He never ceases to amaze me.

Philosophical musings

Tonight on the way home from our youth group time my daughter was sharing with us her favorite knock-knock joke that goes something like this - Knock. Knock. Who's there? Panther. Panther who? Panther no panth I'm going swimming. We enlightened her that swimming without clothes on is known as skinny dipping. That in turn, led to a deeper question. What if the person isn't skinny? Is it still called skinny dipping?

In my most mundane moments, I have spent time pondering such philosophical thoughts. As a kid I debated the age-old question "Can God make a rock so big he can't move it? Or "If God has always existed, how did he come to be?" As I minister to students these questions are asked occasionally, but more often I get different questions. Questions like, "If God says that if we seek the truth then we will find it. So why do so many people who seem to genuinely seek truth find a truth in another religion.?" Recently, I've been talking to a student about how the Holy Spirit works. It's in moments like these that sometimes I long for the other questions. But I'm thankful that students are searching for God and their identity. As I talk with them I learn more about my relationship to God and I grow in my love for him.

Shocking revelation

Have you ever had one of those experiences when you asked someone what they thought of you and they actually answered honestly? I know, that's only for the bravest or dumbest of us. That's a question we know better than to ask. On the one hand, we are filled with hopeful anticipation, but on the other we dread the response that the question might evoke.
Well, if you're one of the lucky few like me you never have to ask. My wife always lets me know exactly what she thinks of me. In the recent past I've been sexy, courageous, hot, manly or any other great things all of us guys want to be called by our spouses, but tonight I discover, to my utterly indescribable shock is that I'm a dimpled piece of paper. The readers of our Baytown Sun are going to discover in Wednesday's paper where her weekly column appears that in here eyes, I'm a dimpled piece of paper. I love my wife more than I can express for it though.

Polar opposites

My wife voted democrat! Or should I say demon-crat. You see, we are polar opposites. From looks(I'm a big brawny guy and she a petite, cute blonde) , to politics (I tend to vote replublican). I love sports; she...well she'd only be caught running if something were chasing her. I grew up in the mountains in Alaska and she grew up a city girl in Beaumont. I'm convinced that what is true on the atomic level is true in relationships -- opposites attract. You see, it's our differences that make us strong because she brings out the best in me. Her strengths are my weaknesses. She brings out the laughter in me like no one else. She inspires me to be more like Christ. She is truly my helpmate, companion, best friend, and lover (close your eyes, youth group). So, as I begin this blog I'm inspired by her and look forward to sharing the rest of my life with her.