The Way

The last week and a half has been pretty much a whirlwind! I was in California and Texas speaking and teaching and loved every minute of it except for the one day I drove from LA to San Diego and the 5 was an angry highway. I love how people on the west coast talk about their highways. The 5, the 405, the . . . it is like their highways are real live people or something. Anyway, even though the highway was angry, the view was pretty sweet. Monday this past week, my boss and I flew to Tampa and back for a meeting. Great meeting; nice to be out just during the day and sleep in my own bed that night. Thank you Southwest Airlines! Work has been incredibly busy and later this week I can tell you about some changes that are already happening for me job wise. I am really excited for an opportunity to reinvent and stretch. It is both scary and overwhelming! but exhilarating. Today is my wonderful wife's birthday. I will not tell you how old she is but I will tell you that we are bot...

I rarely post anything related to politics and know that many might take issue with me on my thoughts, but here goes . . I did not vote for our current President in '08 because I did not agree with his stance on many issues related to the protection of the unborn; his views on same sex marriage, etc. When he was elected I committed to praying for him like I have every President that I can remember in my lifetime (basically Richard Nixon to now). I am aware that I have limitations on knowing all the facts as it relates to candidates, their past voting records, etc. I publicly announced that I would pray for President Obama and I have done so. As the election draws near, I find myself more and more conflicted with our two choices of major party candidates. I disagree with many of the decisions that our current administration has made. I do have to say though, this administration pretty much has done what it said it would do before it was put into power. Mr. Romney se...

The MLB Playoffs are in full swing and in my opinion, this new format shows how goofy leaders have become in this sport. A one-game playoff and then the Division Series where teams with the better record in the regular season are sent on the road for the first two games. Seems to be no reward for playing well during the regular season. But . . . they get three games at home IF it goes to 5 games. I realize that it did not effect all of the better recorded teams but Selig seems to just be a goober and this is another instance. I remember when MLB used to be fun. I spent the weekend watching alot of football since Sondra headed to MO to be with her mom (more on that in a minute). The MIZZOU debacle last week of 5 players being suspended for marijuana use; Pinkel announcing a divorce from his wife; etc all led to a miserable performance on the field against that powerhouse Vandy. Now, I like Vandy. I have struck up a casual friendship with Jordan Rodgers, quarterback for Vandy and ...

I have been remiss in blogging the last couple of weeks and some of you have been unable to sleep without the aid of reading my blog late at night. It usually helps people right off to sleep. Last week was a bit of whirlwind with a trip to Atlanta for a Transform event where I had the privilege of learning alongside of some great youth workers. We covered many of the "basics" in student ministry that I have the arrogance to overlook too many times. It was good to be reminded of the simple things in ministry that tend to make the most impact. On the backside of that trip, I went through Rome, GA to see Shelbi and Mark; catch one of Morgan's roommates who plays soccer for Union play against Shorter College and then get home late Sat. night. Sunday was quick with church, meetings and packing for the D6 Conference in Dallas Mon-Weds. It was good to be able to spend some time with a couple of ministry friends, Shelby Baucum whom I have mentioned earlier, and Gene Wilkes w...