Julia's birthday

This morning was a huge day in my family's life. Quoting my daughter - "I'm nearly 10 because I'm 6 and that rounds to 10." She's so cute. Yesterday she pulled her fifth tooth at school. After waking up she jumped in bed with us and moments later realized she didn't check her pillow. So, she rushed to her room and discovered $2 from the tooth fairy (she does know the truth about the tooth fairy). Then, she sat down for breakfast and noticed a card and bag. She opened the card first, and (with a little help from daddy) read the card. I was surpised that she picked the card first. When I was six you might as well have saved the money on the card because I would have cared less. But even more amazingly after reaading the card she hugged both mommy and me before even opening her gift. In Deana's shock she asked why and Julia replied "because I love the card." She then opened her present.

My 6-year-old taught this 33-year-old a valuable life lesson. She appreciated the people behind the gift more than the gift. Sometimes, I tend to appreciate the gift more than the people behind the gift. Forgive me for that.

The Fortress

I just returned from a weekend mission trip to The Fortress, an inner-city ministry in Ft Worth. It was an amazing weekend. My eyes were opened in so many ways and God showed me a lot. Here are just a couple of things I learned this past weekend.

1) I was reminded once again how God uses anyone he chooses. From Pharaoh to king David, God uses us to carry out his purposes whether he realizes it or not. I learned this from a plaque posted in one corner of the building which reads "In Memory of Corley Alexander McKelroy... Without his knowledge Alex was preparing this building for the service of God."
2) That there is a dialect of sign language that uses the same hand motions for both the word rat and phone. I learned this from Jerica and Uno's one night.
3) There are some amazing people who work around the clock and tirelessly for the sake of the kingdom. Michael, Jerica, Darren, Felicia, Jason and others of you who have given your lives to this work...you're an inspiration.

If you want to spend a weekend wondering what Jesus might do among the children of our urban cities, spend time at the Fortress. These people have given their lives to offering hope to hundreds of children in a place where there seems to be little hope. God bless you. I love you all.

I had a few strange stares tonight. As the sun went down and temperatures began to plummet I was out in a T-shirt and shorts in rain that soon could turn to freezing run. Why? All for the sake of pounding my body into shape. I've developed this running habit over the past couple of years. Tonight, two friends and I put in 5 miles. Sounds like a a lot... it is for me. Why would I be some dumb? Good question. Why would I rush back home from Starbucks with one of the kids in my youth group to get out in the freezing cold and run? The only explanation is that I'm a youth minister and sometimes we do things that defy reason. I can be sitting in Srarbucks with my feet propped up hanging with a kid sipping a grande white mocha cappacino and thirty minutes later be in the middle of my first of 5 miles with icicles dangling from the back of what's left on my hair and think this is a reasonable thing. There's method to this madness however. And no, it doesn't involve wacked out new year's resolutions. My last 16 months of running almost parallels my spiritual journey. My commitment to running goes up and down, but it never goes away. I have run at least twice a week at least 45 out of 52 weeks during the past year. In my spiritual joureny, I never fully let go of God, but I tend to let other things crowd him out at times -- including my own ministry. At times I'm more passionate about running, especially as a marathon or other race draws near and I approach the goal. Same is true of my spiritual journey. I tend to be most excited about God when I see some goal or something that I look forward to. It might be something exciting that happened in a kid's life or some retreat, or even something personal. I guess what I'm sayingis that running has taught me some lessons about my spiritual life.