Goals

Pastor Mike and i just returned home from a 3 day conference on prayer, church and goals. I have gone to the conference twice and while the material is fairly similar, the importance and "freshness" of the experience is great. I was stoked to go with Pastor Mike, as we have spent a lot of time together in prayer, but we had never gone to a conference together. When i went 3 years ago, i was excited to implement what i had learned, praying that it would impact my life more, making me a better teacher and man. This time, I'm pleased to say, that both Pastor Mike and I have come back with a renewed sense of what God is pushing us towards, as well as setting up some goals for church and personal growth. Folks, it is impossible to separate this list from the fact that our Awana leaders have been praying for "Revival" in Glide for the past 2 years. While i can't put Pastor Mike's goals up, I am pleased to give my goals for 2015. The rules: You have to have one B-HAG ("Big Hairy Audacious Goal") that pushes you, along with 2-5 spiritual goals...and one CANNOT be "pray with my wife" OR "I'm going to read my Bible more." Goals must be written down and yet remain flexible to life circumstances that could come up. Since we are expecting our first child in September, we have plenty of goals for our child, therefore, i'm slightly excluding those until the baby is born (BTW, we will not be discovering the sex). With that said, here they are...


1 Half marathon each month= 12 for the year (Have already done 2 in Jan.)
Run North Bank Road before baby (My marathon this year--17 miles)
Preach 1 Sunday a month
Read 2 Verses before each meal with Tonya
Read 6 parenting books, 3 with Tonya
Blog 1 per week (25 movie reviews in the year)
15 minutes of prayer a day
52 sermon illustrations
40 pushups and 5 minute "plank" by end of year
Read 2 Theology Books
Learn Baby "lingo" (sleeper, receiving blanket, etc.)
1 journal entry by Tonya and I per month
52 thank you letters
1 new recipe a month

Heading towards the "Big Goal": Don't have to act like i feel


There is an "end point" to my goals. It is an inside joke, but everyone knows i married way above and beyond my league by being blessed with Tonya. What most folks don't know is that she has quite litearlly never gotten angry. Despite a job that works with people and being married to me, she has
never once been angry. So, my goals this year, both physical and spiritual, are aimed at being more Christ like in example as seen by my wife--to not act like a i feel. While i have gotten angry and said things i haven't, i have never seen such a godly example of self control with one's emotions. Therefore, i am dedicating 10 minutes every morning to simple prayer of this goal, to "not act like i feel." I would like to go one year without getting angry. To be clear, this is different than frustrated or annoyed. Those are different.

There they are...i hope they inspire you, dear reader, to put your own goals down...When you have goals and they are written down, they inform you as to where you want to go, a dart board that you can actually hit. Without them, you can easily forget what you did last year, and can be unsure of what you wish to accomplish this year.

-to god be the glory for great things he has done!

To Our Child

We began praying for you last night. Of course we prayed to be good parents and godly people you would be proud of, but most importantly, we prayed for you and your salvation.  You will be born into an amazing and powerful world, one that has reshaped many things and advanced the world because of technology.  And that is part of the problem.  We prayed for you, as Jesus did, that you would lead and live in a world that is directly opposed to the things of Christ.  We rationalize and scheme in our hearts, denying that we are, in fact, sinful, fallen beings.  When the prophet Jeremiah wrote that "the heart is decietful and desperately wicked, who can understand it?" there is a sense that even this verse cannot adequetly describe how bad a human being can truly be or become.  So, we began praying for you, and for the salvation that is so freely available to you; for the salvation that can change your life and eternal destination.  We prayed that you would be so amazed by the love God has for you, that HE, seeing your broken and evil intent in your heart (as well as ours),  sent His son, Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for that sin. We prayed that you would be filled with that love, and in faith, turn your life completely over to Christ.  That you would worship, fear and serve His mighty hand and power.

As your parents, we began praying for revival.  We prayed that the Lord would change and "bring to life" our passion for His word, for His direction and His priorities.  Without His revival in our lives, "we labor in vain" in raising you.  It pains me to say this, but i will fail many times in raising you, and i need help, plain and simple.  I need God.  I need His word.  I need His revivial if i am to lead you to the things of God.

To our child, we did not pray for your education, your friends or even what sport you would play.   No my precious one.  We began to pray that you would KNOW "it is not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the atoning sacrafice for our sins.  If God so loved us, we ought to love one another."

God working, movie review and prediction!

Most folks send out Christmas greetings and a card for the end of the year festivities.  Since I am currently unsure of what to tell folks in a generic letter, I thought I would do so via a typical blog.

2014 has been a solid, up and down year, as most typically are.  My wife and I have grown and learned a lot.  The biggest highlights would fall under the category of “God working--get out of His way.”  In February, as Tonya and I were helping YMI train students that were headed to the mission field, we found ourselves with the opportunity to go on our first mission trip as a married couple.  We were originally headed to Ukraine, but obviously, with bombings and plane issues, we were rescheduled to South Korea.  While many will say, “the mission trip changed my life,” I will merely say with a ton of enthusiasm, the trip left a huge impact on my life.  I want students to go on these trips, to be prepared—thoroughly—by training, bible study and fundraising.  I want to feel the physical exhaustion of helping another culture learn the most about God and His word as possible.  I want to take as many students from Glide on a mission trip as possible.  And I want to learn more about my wife that I am unable to do so when in the states.  There is something unique about being on foreign soil that is hard to quantify or grasp unless you go.  I am now one of those privileged few that has seen God working in another country and am blown away by our great Creator.

When it comes to ministry, again, an up and down year.  But, with the UP, it has been WAY UP!  In Awana, as leaders, we simply began the year with prayer and one word on every leaders lips:  Revival!  When looking at the Bible, almost every use of revival comes through God’s word, as well as the literal power of God coming down upon an area or people.  When reading Psalm 119, we can see that only God’s Word will revive—bring to life—someone.  Not programs, not cool furniture or a hip youth pastor.  Only the power of God’s word!  So, as Awana leaders, Tonya and I simply served food once a month for the 6 months of Awana with the express purpose of leaders praying for Revival.  That the Spirit of God would come down upon us as we worked with each child, that the WORD would complete revive that dead soul and make it alive for Christ.  What happened?  (Preface—I’m the first to say that “numbers” for any church program can be manipulated or tweaked to mean whatever or stay very ambiguous.  However, this was clearly God...)  We had over 80% book completion, which our Awana missionary Ed Gossien will say, is nearly unheard of.  We had a physical increase in attendance, as well as an increase in leader and parent participation.  My personal favorite: we had 9 kids go to Awana camp in June, our highest margin by far.  Out of that, we have 3 students that have signed up to go on a mission trip through YMI.  To quote Henry Blackaby, “there is never a shortage of resources when the presence of God comes upon a people.”  We literally experienced that this past Awana year.  Obviously, we are praying that the Lord would bless us this year, which so far, He has.  As I reflect on this “event,” to think of a home filled with people praying for children, parents and their salvation, I’m humbled and blessed to know and feel what the early church felt like.  They ate, prayed and then got back out there for Jesus.

On a personal level (not like the other events are not “personal," but I digress…), I was able to complete 2 more marathons with my sister.  I’m very blessed by her willingness to give up her time (running and literal) for me, as well as train for a very different and slow runner.  While I did not have issues staying hydrated as in races past, I did well in Tacoma, WA, but not so well in Sacramento.  So, that can only mean, I have to try to do another one for a better time.  Tonya and I continue to try to work out and stay in shape as best we can.  We love playing basketball at the local high school with the teachers…it has been great for relationship building with these students, to see them in a different life.

Since I enjoy movies and reviewing them, I have to throw in one final movie for the year, as well as a  Top ten list and pet peeve about movies currently be promoted by Hollywood.  I’m not sure which, so I will do a combination of both.

First, The Hobbit.  I hate to say it, so I will ask:  Is anyone else sick of seeing Middle Earth?  I mean, the first 3  films were solid and came out and made sense and then were done.  Since then, man, there have been video games and posters and conferences and rumors….AND 3 more movies that have very little to do with the quick, excellent novel called the Hobbit.  In fact, while the movie is solid (you will not regret going), I find something interesting going on in Hollywood recently:  Calling something one thing, but adding way too much to it that the original would be insulted.  For example, I took our youth group to Noah and Exodus.  The movies were great for getting discussions going in regards to what the Bible (the actual manuscript from God) actually said.  However, that is about it.  They weren’t great films and by deviating so much from the original material of the books, the movies  were actually worst.  Noah had a guy build a boat and he was named Noah, but that is it when it comes to what Hollywood took from the Bible.  Same could be said of Exodus, only worst.  There was a white guy name Mo- something,  and there were some plagues in it, but even that is pushing it.  Why deviate so much from the Bible?  When it comes to the Hobbit, why add so much more?  I mean, there were what, 4 major characters added to these films?  I understand that Hollywood wants money, but dang, this is pretty bad.  With that said, The Hobbit does a good job in all facets of action, CGI and story to move things along that you won’t hate going, but the nerd or purist in you will wonder, “Huh, this sure is long…I wonder why…”   3.5/5

My Top Ten movies of the year:

1—Despicable Me 2

2—How to Train your Dragon 2

3—Guardians of the Galaxy

4—The Equalizer

5—Captain America: Winter Solider

And to those who are still reading, hoping, with baited breath, for my prediction for what will come, here it is:  while 2015 will have ups and downs, as all years do, there is one thing that will trump all:  Tonya and I will be welcoming our first child into the world sometime in August, thereby being the greatest present and gift we could ever have.  Here’s to the new year!