Hey look...I posted twice in one week....

So here it is:  My friday post. 
Currently listening to: Jimmy Eat World....Futures....fantastic album I had kind of forgotten about.
Currently Reading: Generation iY, Wilt(biography of Wilt Chamberlain), God and Football(a book about Church and football in SEC country.)

It's been a strange week.  Almost every moment that I've been in the office, I've been the only one here.  I've accomplished much.  The Sex and Dating series beginning Jan. 15th is basically put together, I'm ready for a one-off New Years Resolution message on Sunday, I switched all the Christmas lights back over to regular lights and added some lighting touches to the modular, i read a huge chunk of Generation iY, carried all the stuff we used from the modular Christmas eve and morning back to the modular, made some minor improvements to the modular sound system, and chugged water like it was my job.

We started this diet thing and it's fun to see it actually working because i'm actually trying.  And for once it's not about cutting something completely out of my diet(except maybe donuts....i just don't see the justification for eating a donut right now) it's simply portion control.  I don't eat nearly as much as I used to and ya know what?  I'm not starving.  Not at all.  And i'm down 15lbs......sweet.

We're leaving for the in-laws on Sunday after church.  I don't like the drive, but i always manage to get some relaxation and extra reading in while we're there.  It's nice to see everyone there, but nice to get away from here for a few days too.  I'm one of those people that struggle because I have trouble leaving the office.  I won't ignore my phone if someone from church calls, I insist on checking my work email from home, and given the opportunity, I do some of my best ministry brainstorming at home and won't ignore it when it comes to mind.  But when I leave the state, it gets slightly easier.  And that's what i need to do this coming week.  Refresh, relax, read, and just chill. 

And it just occured to me that i wanted to try to get my ipod battery replaced before we left and if I don't leave right now it may not happen.  And if they happen to be closed, it won't happen anyway. 

Let's Try This Blogging Thing Again...

So i really think it would be healthy for me to blog, even if nobody ever reads it.  But I think part of my problem in the past has been that I had no purpose or set agenda for blogging, which is fine for some people but probably not for my unorganized self.  Let me give you an example:  I've tried to diet/exercise many times in the last several years and it just doesn't work for me.  I don't stick to it.  But we started tracking our food and exercise on myfitnesspal.com and suddenly I've lost 15 pounds, have exercised every day, and am watching what I eat closely.  And like I said, 15 pounds in a couple weeks and keeping it off during Christmas is nothing to take for granted.  I think it's worked because I have to plug it in everyday.  I have set things I need to accomplish daily to track it.  So i think i'll apply that to blogging.

Here's what I'll try: 
I'm off Monday's, so Tuesday morning I will debrief the weekend services on here not only so someone else might see what we did, but so that I will metaphorically walk through our services step-by-step and see where we could've done better.  I'll also post what I'm currently listening to, reading, and any videos or stories I've found during the week that inspire me, make me laugh, or make it into my message for Awaken.  Then maybe on Friday I will review a book if I finish one or a movie if I watch one or even a TV show.  Sounds like fun and a healthy output for my thoughts. 

So here goes:
Listening to: A Random Playlist, but right this moment it's needtobreathe!
Reading: Generation iY by Tim Elmore

This past weekend was Christmas weekend.  We rocked the Christmas Eve services with Andrew Peterson's "Behold The Lamb of God."  I'm proud to say we had a banjo on stage for the first time(at least since I've been here).  We've heard nothing but great response to that service and our Sunday morning combined service.  More than 220 people in our sanctuary at once Sunday was definitely a stretch, but it was awesome.  The kids opened the service with Go Tell It On The Mountain and we did very updated versions of some classic Christmas songs.  Larry brought us a unique but very challenging message called "Christmas Number Two" where he reminded us that Christ will be returning and we must be ready.  Closing the service with a song from the Christmas Eve service added a fun element to send people out to enjoy the rest of their Christmas Day celebrations.

My parents left today so our house is back to "normal" but we leave for Stacy's parents Sunday after church.  Lots to do before then to prepare.

This Sunday is a one-off message for Awaken called "New Years Resolution." 

This isn't quite what my new format will look like, but either way, I'm back and going to stick to it!

Settled...Sort of...

Yesterday a wise man asked me if I was feeling some burnout.  For those of you who don't know, that's a word that evokes a lot of emotion and plenty of responses from most ministers because at some point most of us go through a season of burnout.  But I think I can honestly say I'm just a little tired.  We moved(and by moved I mean we are moving because the house sure isn't totally put together yet, but progress is being made.)  We're also expecting our baby boy Jackson in August(or earlier if Stacy has her way.)  This time of the school year is always rough because I'm working hard on summer details while also going through the last several weeks of school year programming.  We've been talking about Spiritual Disciplines at Awaken Teen Services and that deep topic has exponentially increased my study time for each message.  On top of that, Kate's nights of full sleep per week have declined steadily, whether because of the new house or new teeth or not feeling good.  Whatever it is, I hope she gets over it soon.  It's rough on me and rougher on Stacy because she insists on getting up because I have to work the next day. 

But we love our new home (and love not essentially flushing rent money down the toilet each month) and I'm excited for Jackson's arrival.  A busy summer including a weeklong CIY Trip(which Kate will spend at Grandma and Bumpa's...we'll see how that goes) and a week of Sr. High Camp(provided Jackson doesn't arrive before or during camp) and he will be here.  I'm still shootin for a Cleveland Browns themed room, but I dunno if it's gonna happen.  Which is unfortunate cause if Kate had been a boy, the room was already decorated that way.  But I also thought Kate wouldn't mind a Browns room so what do i know?  We love our Kate-Kate but I think God knew we needed one of each. 

We feel so blessed to be here in Virginia.  Life is busy, but life is good. 

Another Funeral.......

In the past year and a half I have lost 3 grandparents.  The third was this afternoon when my Grandpa H. passed away.  He was ready to go.  He had been without Grandma for a long time.  He was weak and tired and ready to be in heaven.  And this afternoon he went.  Of course we are sad.  I'll miss him.  I have the honor of preaching his funeral this Friday and at the moment, I have no idea what I am going to say.  I'll talk to my aunts and uncles and cousins this week to see what they would want me to say.  I'm sure i'll hear story after story after story.  But what can I really say about a man who has always been a part of my life and now is gone.  This is not the first funeral I've preached.  It's the second.  And it's the second of my grandparents funerals that I am preaching.  And I have no idea where to start.  But i guess i'll go write out some thoughts and try to find a starting place from there.  Miss you Grandpa.

Chinese food....coming attractions....old feelings....

So we have several students who attend a local Christian school and can apparently get out for lunch just because they want to, so I met a couple guys for Chinese today.  I do love chinese.  One of them is preaching at chapel tomorrow at school and wanted any help I could give him.  He has a great idea that he's gonna roll with tomorrow and I'm excited to see how it goes! 

We also talked a little about CIY Move which inspired me to come back to the office and check to see if the 2011 dates were posted yet.  The answer is YES!  I immediately figured out which dates were potential choices for us and posted them on the teen bulletin board.  What I want everyone to understand is why I am so excited about this.  Move is something i did throughout high school and it was awesome.  But this summer, when we took 9 teens and 2 adults to move in Scranton, PA, it was life changing for everyone involved.  These teens came back on fire and have not lost that fire.  Move has been one of the main catalysts to propel the teen ministry in the direction it is going.  We have modified our space, spent many hours working on small improvements and have seen attendance jump.  We've seen many new faces and have seen many of those same faces return for a second week, if not more.  That's where we see God really working through our teens.  We could probably get almost anyone to come once, but when they are so welcomed and enjoy themselves so much and feel so encouraged to return that church quickly because a part of their life.  I'm excited to see what God will continue to do through the teens we have contact with, whether we've known them for their whole lives or for less than a week. 

This should explain why I'm already excited about MOVE 2011.  My hope is that it can be a yearly refresher for our core teens.  My hope is that the leaders within the youth group will keep the fire they found this year and build on it at Move next year.  They truly brought back the passion and the energy and the ideas that Move gave them this year, and I can't wait to see what CIY has in store for us in 2011.

As far as why i listed "old feelings" in the subject line; it's because I don't feel well.  Back in the spring I went through a couple weeks where every time i ate anything, no matter how much i hate, i felt sick.  It often resulted in an action I will not go into detail with on here, but I think you get my drift.  It becomes a little scary to know you'll probably not keep down much of what you eat.  I got to the point of dehydration and had to go the ER for an IV and some meds.  They decided I needed an ultrasound of my gall bladder and found that it was sludgy, but not in need of removal.  They instead suggested that I alter my diet and avoid foods with too much fat or cholesterol(something we should all do more of anyway).  I haven't exactly stayed true to that, but now that issue seems to be flaring up again.  Hopefully it's somehow related to the head cold I have developed and it goes away with the headcold, but we'll see.  It's not like it keeps me from coming to work (except on it's worst days), but it does make life very difficult and frustrating, not just for me but for Stacy as well.  I'm pretty pathetic when i'm sick.  So prayers for both of us would be appreciated.

Back....New Ministry.....New Start.....Life Is Good

So i haven't blogged on this blog in a long time.  In fact the last post I made discussed how great things were going in Ironton.  I have removed all of those posts for a new start.  If you don't know me well, I'll explain the reason.  Earlier this year we were presented with an opportunity we could not pass up.  We knew that it was time to move on and find a place to settle and serve for a very long time.  We interviewed at a church in Virginia even though the thought of moving to Virginia had never crossed our minds.  We were blown away.  And several months later, we have now lived in Winchester, VA for 4 months.  I am the Youth Minister at New Life Christian Church here in Winchester and I love the way our lives are going.  We are renting a house from a very good property manager.  When we arrived to move in, the house had been painted the colors we wanted, cleaned thoroughly and really taken care of by members of the congregation.  In addition people brought food and welcome gifts the whole first week so that we could get settled more easily.  We feel at home.  We feel so welcome.  We feel like we are already a part of this wonderful family that is New Life. 

The Youth Ministry is growing, especially for the teens.  In the small modular building we use for Awaken Teen Service due to spacial issues we had 37 people between two services.  We are seriously pushing the limits of that building and will soon have to do something to find more space.  What an amazing problem to have! 

To make a long story short, God has truly blessed us and we cannot imagine being anywhere else.  We have a great home, a great church, great friends, and a great job.  The moral of the story?  God provides.