Happy Birthday to me!

So here I am, the big 32! It doesn't feel any different than 22 to be quite honest with you. I am finding myself with more than enough energy to stay going, especially in my bi-vocational state that I am in right now. I hit the office at 6am each day, 7am today(what, it's my birthday) and then go to football practice afterwards. I get home, work out and then cook myself some dinner. It doesn't seem to at any point drag me down in any way physically(though many,many times mentally), I just keep on plugging along.
I hit another late night movie last night, and the funny thing is a 17 year old fell asleep during it right next to me, it made me feel good! I'm enjoying every second of life because I don't know how many seconds I have left.
I have my fingers and toes crossed that there's no rain tomorrow so that I can go racing. I actually have the money to go this weekend and rain is the only thing that could stop me! Racing is my getaway, I don't take long vacations or disappear for days at a time, I just spend an evening in Gainesville racing, with my family. It's great therapy for those times when the stress level does rise a little bit.
have a great weekend and thanks for reading!

Survival

So I don't know if I mentioned this but my girls are all in Gatlinburg this week. Oh, I did mention it, you're tired of hearing it, my pity party is boring you, my apologies. It's true, I can't stand to even be in that quiet house.
Yesterday I attended almost the entire practice at Menendez football and then went home, worked out and went bowling with the youth group. We had a great time hanging out, bowling and just plain acting goofy. After bowling I took a couple people home and then Jordon, J.T., Casey and Katie took me out to a movie. We grabbed a bite to eat and then hit a late movie. It was great to just hang out and catch a break from the silence(I know, never thought I would say it this way either) and have fun.
We had a good size group at bowling, considing we usually cut our group in half or more when we go somewhere and spend money. The fact that youth is free is our strongest ally sometimes. So we will get things back up and running again next week with youth and hope to really start striving hard toward some outreach. We are also getting ready to get some children's ministry things running so that we can start reaching whole families and not just the older kids. I want to be able to meet the needs of the whole family all at once and that is the direction we are headed in.
So thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day!

Boo Hoo!

So I am in this house, it seems familiar to me, but strange at the same time. Champ, our bassett hound notices it too. It's eery feeling being in that house and finding complete silence. Each morning I find it when reading and praying, each evening I shut the door while the girls are in the bathtub and find it(well almost) but never is it unending silence. It's scary!
Yesterday I got the chance to finally go out to Pedro football practice and hang out with the kids some. It was great to be back out there and see all the work that is going on there. The kids are working really hard in the heat of the day during 2 a days. They practice from 9-11am and then from 12:30 to 2:30 each day. It doesn't get any hotter than that and they are out there running full speed like it's a fall evening. The defense looks better than ever, the offense is running smoothly and there are more running backs there right now than there have been the last 4 years combined. Things are looking up for Coach Keith Cromwell and I am excited about the season which starts officially on September 5th.
Last night I was going to go to a movie but ended up getting called to take care of some matters for someone. It was an example again of someone calling on me to be there for them in a time of need. Nothing seems to get me in gear more than being able to meet someone's needs on a spiritual and emotional level. That, I believe opens more doors to share the Gospel than any other outlet.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

alone again

So I saw the girls off a few minutes ago for Gatlinburg. I got them up, got them packed and on their way about 6:15 this morning. I went back into the house to grab my planner and got into the truck and realized something. I don't know what to do with myself now. No one to fight for Tv control, no one to wrestle with at night and no one to come home to in the afternoon(except Champ, the world's laziest Basset Hound). So I am in my office now wondering what in the world to do. I was fully prepared for this, I've known for quite some time now that they would be gone for a whole week, but now I can't get the plans I made to make any sense.
So football practice is in full swing at all local high schools and I am excited for football season. I love my role as chaplain at Pedro Menendez and the relationship I have been able to cultivate with the athletes there. I have a great relationship with the coaches and the players alike and I am looking forward to an even better season than last year.
Not much excitement on the homefront to report, just an empty house with all the energy zapped out of it. No excuse for me not spending a lot of time studying this week though. I'll probably be about 3-4 sermons ahead by Friday if all goes well.
Have a great day and thanks for reading.

Kidz Kamp

So we closed out Kidz Kamp with a big bang! Instead of your run of the mill Vacation Bible School out of a box, we decided to put together our own program. Our own, personality in tune, camp for kids and teenagers. It was a huge success in every form of the word. We had a lot of kids, a lot of highschool and college students volunteering and a whole lot of fun.
Friday we closed out the camp like no other. We had OMC, which stands for Organized Mass Chaos where the kids were given a list of things to do, all of them involving some type of wacky game, messy game, or just plain silliness. The kids went from station to station getting water shot at them, chocolate syrup put in their hair, shaving cream on their faces with cheese puffs stuck to them, and all other sorts of things. Why did we do this you ask, well for 2 reasons.
#1 so that we could close out the week with something the kids would remember and talk about for a long, long time. We want to leave them with an impression, not just a little program where they sing the songs they learned for their parents to watch from the audience.
#2 So the parents can be involved. The parents were invited ( and a few did) to help with the games and messiness. We want people to understand that children are engaged in our ministries here at Freedom. We want our children to be a part of everythign we do, not just shoved off in some side room and kept quiet, and not just performing for their parents, but involved in the same things that their parents are involved in. We want families to be a part of our ministries together. One of the main reasons we have a children's sermon is to engage the kids along with their parents in our attempt to be intimate with God.
So there you have it, Kidz Kamp was a blast, OMC and even bigger blast! Thanks to everyone who helped from setting up rooms, decorating, to praying each day for the kids and the leaders.
Have a great day!