This will all make perfect sense someday

This is something I think we all often say. We look at our lives and hope that the reason we go through this tough time or this learning experience is to grow. That everything will happen for a reason. We want it to make perfect sense someday.

I think honestly right now it is not that bad things are happening as much as just life. Changes continue to happen in my life. And the reality is I wonder why Lord so many changes in one year. Of course I sit with that hope in the back of mind that it will all make perfect sense someday.

Many of you have watched the face of youth change. St. John's has grown and changed in the last several years and the changes keep coming. I will tell you that personally I am excited. In a year's time I have had the chance to look at some many things and see what is the future of youth ministry at St. John's. As a kid from the Midwest I knew it was going to look different than where I grew up. I did not know what the youth in Orange would need. After a year I wish I could tell you it all makes perfect sense but honestly I am still learning too. I am taking time to look at all of you personally and see what will help you.

But when I say help I don't just mean in your daily lives but even more in your eternal focus. Youth ministry changes because we want you to have a focus and an understanding that will never leave you.

See in an earthly perspective we all change. I used to have this on going battle with myself really to see what would be the top song on my Itunes. Right now it is Anthony Celia's I love you so (got to support my boy). Anyway I would see what song would take the top place. For a long time I had Here Comes the Night by Rob Thomas that had been played over a hundred times. But of course I always wanted a Mayer song up there also and at times I would be shocked why this song was above the others. Did I really listen to that one that much? I mean it was for multiple reasons. Maybe some of my other favorites I listened to on my Ipod while I was running. Regardless the songs changed. There was never that one song that took the list.

My point is I buy new music almost every single week and the song that taught me something 3 years ago may still have an impact on me but not be as powerful as it was then. I mean 3 years ago I could have listened to it over and over but now it is just a song that was as memory.

No matter how we look at it the changes in our life will become a memory but one thing stands alone at the end of the day. Jesus his change affected us for the rest of our lives and never loses its newness or its play ability if you will. This year as I look at our theme for the year and for youth ministry at St. John's I have come to this.

SEE the One
GET the Point

As we begin to see the one meaning Jesus and as we get the point the changes fall by the way side. We don't worry whether they will all make perfect sense because we are beginning to live in our eternal focus growing and learning about our Savior, serving others, and sharing with one another. Check out what's new on the Calendar and come to a new event it might be something that you will really love.

Spit Up

I think life is full of moments of spit up. Tonight I was watching Jake and he just spits up. I think to myself what causes that? Why in the world would he spit up just randomly? I mean there he is just chillin on the floor and all of the sudden spit up. That made me think about something...

How often do we just spit up? Actually even more than that how many times do we have the urge to spit up? How many times do we just say something nasty? There we are talking and all of the sudden something we don't like comes out. We might even be fighting the urge of saying something not so good. 

The reality of the Christian life is we all spit up way to often. We say things we don't mean and yes as much as we fight it, it still happens. That is our sinful side showing through. The challenge is to continue to quiet the spit up in our lives. As Christians we want to say encouraging things but then that urge comes up to say something bad. I am trying to fight the spit up in my life...I think the less spit up the better. I hate the spit up on Jake it makes all his cute clothes nasty.

Taking on Water

I think there are days when we wake up and wonder if this is true. There are moments when we look at what is in front of us and are not sure if we can do it this time. It just seems to hard and the journey to long to keep going.

Recently while I was at the Mayer concert I heard this song. It is a new song by Mayer. It is about deciding today is the day you brave the ocean. You ride on a raft and decide it is just your time to be by yourself with the ocean. We could go into so many deep thoughts about this. Which reminds all those readers out there why I love Mayer. His deep metaphors help me think so many things about life. We could talk about storms and being alone while facing them. We could talk about getting away. Surfers would say so often I decide to take on water all the time.

Right now Jacob, my son, in himself can feel like taking on water. His reliance on Mindy and I often times seem like such a new venture. I think the honest truth about taking on water is we all have to do it sometimes. I remember the first day of college I felt like that. I remember even the first day of Seminary feeling like that. I know that when my parents left me alone in Chattanooga for my vicarage (right Brown) I felt that. I felt like I was on this big ocean by myself and trying to figure out how to make it. When it is the ocean that is when we begin to think. What do I want and how am I going to brave this? It is then God comes in. And that amazing thing we could have forgotten to read our Bible for the last week or even missed church but God still shows His face. He still comes in and reminds us that He is there, while we might feel alone we are not. 

The idea of taking on water then reminds me of how many times I think I should do it on my own. How many times do I stand there and say it is ok God I got this one? But the reality is if I truly had this one, well then I would have been ok when I faced this or that...implying all of the times when I messed things up. 

That is my final thought while there are so many times when I feel like I am taking on water. May God remind me that He is there and more importantly that I need Him.  

I Am A Daddy

I just had a baby, and he has a lot of hair.