Blogelemy

So you think you can dance?!

This was a fun dance that the Eden Prairie area youth directors did on September 30 at Grace Church. Kelli Warder who is a professional choreographer gets the credit for organizing it.  No one is to blame but myself for my bad dancing.

Passion Video

I found this video today on Louie Giglio's Twitter Feed. It does a great job communicating a slice of the Christian life!

TV show I keep coming back to: Property Ladder

For the past several months my wife and I have been watching a lot of HGTV.  Most of the shows are the same shows with a different name (i.e. house hunters, property virgins).  We also have been watching some shows on TLC.  One show that we started to Tivo is "Property Ladder".

"Property Ladder" is a show where first-time home flippers try to make some fast cash by taking a run-down dilapidated house and remodeling it with whatever construction skills they may or may not have.  Usually these flips are complete trainwrecks.  This is probably one of the reasons why I like watching this show. 

Lesson's I've learned about flipping a home from "Property Ladders":

• You will always spend more than your budget
• It's doubtful that you will finish the flip in the time you think it will take.  Something always comes up.
• Measure twice, cut once
• If you hire a contractor, stay on top of the contractor.  Make sure your expectations are clear.
• If you plan on doing most of the work yourself.  Plan on having no life until the project is done.
• It's usually better to hire someone to do the things you have no business doing (plumbing, electric, foundation work)
• Don't let your paricular tastes in colors determine your decisions for others.  Make decisions that will appeal to more people.
• Don't use your credit cards as a line of credit. That's never a good idea.

What in the World Happened? How I ended up losing my appendix.

I assume that most of the people who read my blog know already through twitter or other means that late on Tuesday night I had an appendectomy.  I thought I would return to writing on my blog after a month and a half by sharing the story of how I ended up on the operating room table.   

On Monday afternoon, I was taking a student out to lunch at Five Guys.  The student needed a ride so I was going to his home to pick him up.  For some strange reason, I got lost trying to find his house.  This was strange because I had been to his home at least two times beforehand.  While I was trying to find his home, I started to feel really sick to my stomach almost to the point where I second-guessed our decision to eat greasy cheeseburgers and shoestring fries.  I finally found his home and decided that it would be worth it to eat at Five Guys even though my chances of getting sick were high.  After we ate, I drove him home and my stomach continued to feel awful.  I asked him something I've never asked anyone.  I asked if he could check to see if he had any Tums to relieve some of the pain I was feeling.  He laughed at me and I told him that I was serious.  He got some and I thought that I was on the road to recovery.

I returned to the office and continued to feel sick to my stomach.  I felt so sick that I went home a little early and had very little to eat for the rest of the day.  I figured that whatever was inside of me would work its way out in its own creative awful way.  That night I felt really weak and I really wasn't able to do much.  I couldn't offer my regular evening wrestling match with my kids and I ended up going to bed early with this consistent ache in my lower abdomen. 

The next morning (Tuesday) I woke up with the same pain in my stomach.  It felt like it was on both the left and right side of me so I wondered if there was something wrong with my bladder or kidneys but I went to work regardless because I had a bunch of things on the calendar that couldn't wait.  I went home again feeling the same abdominal pain that I had the afternoon before.  I had a normal appetite with normal B.M.'s so I started to think that this had something different from a stomach virus.  I decided that it might be a good idea to go to the Urgent Clinic to get an antibiotic for the bladder or kidney infection that I had.  I wanted to get back on my feet as quickly as possible so that I can be back to myself both at home and at work.  At the Urgent Clinic they took blood and urine tests and also an X-ray.  With these tests they were able to rule out that it was not a bladder infection or something with my kidneys.  My white blood cell count was pretty high which gave the doctor an indicator that my body is fighting something and she said it looked like it might be my appendix.  I was shocked that it could be my appendix in that I felt like the pain was on both sides of my body and I didn't feel like the pain was as severe as what I thought appendicitis would be. 

I drove to the hospital and drank a nasty drink so that they could do a CT scan and see if it was in fact appendicitis.  After a couple of hours, the doctor confirmed that it was acute appendicitis.  I thought that since it wasn't extreme that I would be getting an antibiotic and going back home.  She quickly explained to me that with any type of appendicitis they remove the appendix.  I called my wife Greta to let her know what was happening and I barely was able to tell her the news before they were rushing me to surgery.

The surgery was laproscopic, which means it was minimally invasive.  Three small incisions instead of one long "zipper".  I am extremely grateful for that.  It was successful and the surgeon told me that if I would've waited longer there was no doubt that the appendix would've ruptured and the pain would've been far worst.  He also shared that I will be back to my normal self in a week or so.

I am laying in bed now grateful for many things.  I am grateful for God's sovereignty.  He is in control of everything.  While this was a surprise for me, it didn't surprise Him.  I am grateful that my body is healthy and able to heal from this surgery.  I am grateful that the surgery wasn't as invasive as it used to be.  I am grateful for the friends that have helped Greta and I during this unplanned procedure.  I'm grateful that I didn't try to tough it out and wait for this pain to go away on its own.  I'm grateful for the family and friends who have prayed for me during this time.

One person's junk... (3 Stories)

This blog post is at least a month old.  The idea of it has been rattling around in my head for that long and I finally decided to sit down and let it spill out.   One weekend in late April early May, I was working in my yard trying to rid it of all the infestation of dandelion's.  I was using a new tool that I purchased at Home Depot called the Weed Hound.

In addition to this tool, we for the first time, hired a company to come and spray our lawn so that it might be healthier.  One afternoon while I was outside weed hounding, my daughter came outside and wanted to ride her bike, she needed me to walk alongside her for when she gets stuck and needs an extra push.  So, I put the "weed hound" down and walked with her.  She rode to the neighbor's house got off her bike and walked to their yard and started to collect as many "pretty yellow flowers" that her little hands could hold.  She brought her treasure inside so that they could be placed in a vase.  Here the thing that I had spent lots of time and money to remove from my yard was the very thing that brought my daughter joy.

A few days after the story mentioned above, my wife joined in the neighborhood garage sale to sell most of our boy clothes that we had kept over the years.  When our son was born he was the only grandson on both sides of our family and the result was he had warehouses full of clothes and toys.  My wife and mother spent several hours going through these items to prepare them for this sale.  Beyond the baby clothes, we are stumped by how we continually collect so much stuff!  This is our third garage sale in three years.  You would think that we would run out.  My wife was aggressive in advertising on Craigs List what was available for the sale.  As the sale was about to begin, there were several cars waiting for us to open our garage and haul our junk out for them to rifle through.  I gratefully had kid duty for the sale.  This means that I need to keep the kids occupied inside of our house, while mom sells our stuff in the garage.  I was amazed at the steady flow of people coming to purchase the stuff that we could do without.

And finally, our student ministries team a few weeks ago tackled the daunting task of thoroughly cleaning out our storage area.  We did the take everything out and put it all back in.  It took us the better part of two days and almost half a dumpster to contain all of the items that we threw away.  As I was going through this stuff and throwing most of it away, I couldn't help but think of all of the student ministry pastors who preceded me at Grace Church.  The stuff that I saw as trash or worthless at one time was an item that leader thought: "Hey, we might want to keep that we might use it again"  And one day someone will be tossing all of the stuff that I am holding onto.

The moral of the three stories is painfully obvious. 

Answering kids questions about Jesus...

One of the most rewarding and challenging parts of my role as a youthpastor and father are the numerous questions about God that come up.  I love it when students and my own children think for themselves and ask questions about the things that don't make sense.  I have never had the conversation go where this video goes, but I do find it humorous:

Obsessed People

I got the following list from chapter eight of Francis Chan's Book, Crazy Love.  Which one is the most convicting for you?:

• People who are obsessed with Jesus give freely and openly, without censure.  Obsessed people love those who hate them and who can never love them back.


• People who are obsessed with Jesus aren’t consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else.  Obsessed people care more about God’s kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress.

• People who are obsessed with Jesus live lives that connect them with the poor in some way or another.  Obsessed people believe that Jesus talked about money and the poor so often because it was really important to Him (1 John 2:4-6; Matt. 16:24-26)

• Obsessed people are more concerned with obeying God than doing what is expected or fulfilling the status quo.  A person who is obsessed with Jesus will do things that don’t make sense in terms of success or wealth on this earth.  As Martin Luther put it, “There are two days on my calendar: this day and that day” (Luke 14:25-35; Matt. 7:13-23; 8:18-22; Rev. 3:1-6)


• A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the sin of pride is always a battle.  Obsessed people know that you can never be “humble enough,” and so they seek to make themselves less known and Christ more known. (Matt. 5:16)


• People who are obsessed with Jesus do not consider service a burden.  Obsessed people take joy in loving God by loving His people (Matt. 13:44; John 15:8)


• People who are obsessed with God are known as givers, not takers.  Obsessed people genuinely think that others matter as much as they do, and they are particularly aware of those who are poor around the world (James 2:14-26)


• A person who is obsessed thinks about heaven frequently.  Obsessed people orient the lives around eternity; they are not fixed only on what is here in front of them.


• A person who is obsessed is characterized by committed, settled, passionate love for God, above and before every other being.


• People who are obsessed are raw with God; they do not attempt to mask the ugliness of their sins or their failures.  Obsessed people don’t put it on for God; He is their safe place, where they can be at peace.


• People who are obsessed with God have an intimate relationship with Him.  They are nourished by God’s Word throughout the day because they know that forty minutes on Sunday is not enough to sustain then for a whole week, especially when they will encounter so many distractions and alternative messages.


• A person who is obsessed with Jesus is more concerned with his or her character than comfort.  Obsessed people know that true joy doesn’t depend on circumstances or environment; it is a gift that must be chosen and cultivated, a gift that ultimately comes from God (James 1:2-4).


• A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the best thing he can do is be faithful to his Savior in every aspect of his life, continually saying “Thank You!” to God.  An obsessed person knows there can never be intimacy if he is always trying to pay God back or work hard enough to be worthy.  He reveals in his role as child and friend of God.

FM419 and Rock the River

I am so thrilled to invite all Middle School, High School and College students and youth & young adult workers to an incredible student evangelism training conference by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association called FM419.

John Maxwell has said that Billy Graham has communicated the Gospel to more than any other person in human history.  This student evangelism training conference will draw from this historical reservoir of experience in sharing Christ and will be relevant and fresh for the next generation.  See the details below and hurry to reserve your spot by registering online ASAP.

What? FM419 – student evangelism training conference from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Rock the River

When? May 15^th-16^th – Friday, May 15, 6:30-9:30pm and Saturday, May 16, 9am-5pm

Where? Grace Church – 9301 Eden Prairie Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55347

Who? Stellar Kart worship and concert, training by youth evangelists from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Cost? $15 includes breakfast and lunch on Saturday, t-shirt and wristband.  For every 10 students who register, 1 goes free. 

Seats are going fast.  They can’t guarantee a spot.  Register Today or ASAP online at www.FM419.org or cravegrace.com

You can also connect, keep up & spread the word with all the happenings of Rock the River in the Twin Cities at www.RocktheRiverTour.com and facebook, MySpace, YouTube and twitter.

The last several weeks I have been involved in a number of meetings and I am excited for what God is "birthing" in the Twin Cities for the next generation.  I alluded to this in a previous blog post.  (You can also read more about Rock the River and FM4:19 on the cravegrace blog).

 

What I Twitter About...

I used a couple of sites to come up with the above image describing what I Twitter about the most.

Interesting.

Meeting one of my heroes: Tony Dungy

This past Wednesday morning, I got to attend the Minnesota Prayer Breakfast at the Hilton in Minneapolis with some of the Pastors from Grace Church.  The prayer breakfast brings hundreds of people together for a gathering to pray for our state.  There were a lot of heavy hitters at this breakfast.  Football players, coaches, Governor Pawlenty and a number of other State Leaders were present at this event.  As you can see from the picture above and below our table for the breakfast was incredibly close to the podium.  In fact, there wasn't anyone closer to the front than us.  Travis, the junior high pastor, and I kept feeling like we were in seats we had no business being in.  We were sure that we were supposed to be in another room with a video feed of the event.  Nonetheless we felt blessed to be able to attend.

Table 39 - Can you get any closer to the front?!

The thing that I will remember the most from this event was the opportunity to meet one of my heroes, Tony Dungy.  Tony was the keynote speaker and spoke for about 15 minutes on his new venture from being a prolific NFL coach to building into the lives of young men who don't have fathers and are on a life trajectory towards pain to themselves and others.  Tony has always been someone I've respected as I and many others have watched him take his national platform as a NFL (Superbowl winning) coach as a way to influence others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is evident in how he carries himself and how he communicates where he get's his strength and wisdom.  He definitely strikes me as a man of character who lives his faith out loud.  As a Tampa Bay Buccaneer fan, I see a lot of the turnaround from the Buc's of old to the Buc's of today came from Tony's leadership in the organization.  I am grateful for the privilege to be able to meet Tony and will always be a fan of what he is doing to further the Kingdom.

Another reason I love my job

I love seeing God work to transform people's lives!  You don't have to be a pastor to see this happen but as a Pastor I feel like I get a front row seat to it sometimes.

A week and a half ago, a student stayed after on a Wednesday night to talk with me about the state of his mother and father.  This student painted a vivid picture of a husband and wife who live in the same home but do not act as if they are married.  He shared that he had never seen or heard them fight or argue but could tell that they were no longer “in love”.  He also shared that it seemed that they were going to be getting a divorce sooner than later.  He told me that he had been given a free ticket to the Family Life Conference from another student in his small group whose parents are involved in the leadership of Family Life and that he was going to go home and ask his mom and dad to attend the conference.  Honestly, from the picture he painted earlier in our conversation I thought that there was no way this couple was going to attend something like this.  That’s when it hit me, this is why we need to pray for God to do a miracle in this couple’s life.  This student and I prayed that night for God to do a miracle and have his parents accept the invitation and not only go but be transformed in their relationship. 

That Friday, we got the word that his parents were going to the conference!  I couldn’t believe it!  But I also knew that the time to pray was even more significant.  It was one thing for them to go.  It is a completely different thing for them to be open to change and transformation.  So, after a few phone calls the small group leader and I gathered as many guys from this students’ small group that we could on short notice to come to my home and pray for this husband and wife by name.  It was amazing to see this many guys on a Friday night coming to our home to lift up their friends’ parents up in prayer.  And Glory to God, He has done a work in this couple.  I got a text message from this student last Tuesday night that read: “I can’t believe it.  My parents have had a complete 180.  I’m so happy I can’t even explain it.”

Clueless in Bracketville

I am so clueless when it comes to college basketball.  However, I love competition and will always fill out a bracket or two as long as it is with people I know.  I usually spend a considerable amount of time filling out different brackets with the hopes of winning at least one of the leagues. 

In the current March Madness competition I am in two online leagues.  One with the Church staff and the other with the Senior High students.  And this time I filled my brackets out in haste and submitted the same brackets twice.  At the beginning of the tournament, I would check online to see how my picks were and they seemed mediocre at best. So, being neither disappointed or elated, I figured that I would end the competition in the middle of the pack and haven't checked the standings.  I definitely didn't have the time or interest in sitting down and watch any of the games for an extended period (I've spent more time writing this post than I have watching College Basketball this year).  This past week I went to our midweek program (Crave Wednesday's) and one of the students came up to me and said, "Quite the competition with the brackets, Huh?!"  I tried to find a way to fake that I knew where things were with the standings but I had to quickly admit that I was pathetic and had no idea what was going on.  He then shared that I was tied for second place and that if UConn and North Carolina go the the final game, I will win.  I was shocked!  I feel like the person who made my picks based on the color of the jersey or the ferocity of their mascot.  After checking both competitions, if UNC and UConn win and UNC beats UConn in the final, I will win both competitions. 

In the words of Dick Vitale: "Yeah Baby!"