"Praise Him!!" - Hillsong Live (2012)

Love the banjo in this!!

Youth Camp 2013!!

Youth Camp 2013 June 24-28

New Years Eve Party Rules 2010

Baptism Wetness

We baptized 24 children, youth, and adults Sunday! It was an amazing day of celebration and worship! Many of those were decisions made at Summer Camps! If you didn't get wet from the water, then moisture from your eyes was enough.

God is moving and I am thrilled to be a part of it!

First Day of School

Wow! Is it really here? Emma is a Freshman and today, on our way to North Campus, we were reminiscing about her first day of Kindergarten...9 years ago!! She refused to let me take her, insisting on riding the bus! hahaha! Hilarious and yet so sad for a Dad, who loves taking his kids to school.

All three kids loved their teachers yesterday and it was a good start to another year of learning, growing, stretching, and experiencing the joy/pains of growing up.

On another note...Jon Mark was cut from the baseball and basketball teams this summer. The basketball is understood, but the baseball is a mystery. Very frustrating. He said this weekend he felt like a failure. I reminded him of God's setups, appear as setbacks...thanks to Pastor Chris, this has been my motto for several years. :)

Hillsong United 'One Way'

One of fav songs we do @ San Jacinto Church! My friend Ashley Doyle has pledged to remind me of when Hillsong United comes back to Houston...can't wait!

Outstanding song and vid!

The Baptism of George Straub

George Straub, a fun and goofy, blonde-headed 5th grader at San Jacinto Church, was baptized along with his entire family this past Sunday! It was absolutely and totally awesome to see him up there. We brought all 50 of the kids from our KidZone Ministry room to the worship center to watch it! It was great and brought some moistness to my eyes.

Hospitality

Chris & Laura Truitt, the Youth Pastor of my church (San Jacinto Church) and our kids; have opened their home to me for four days until I move into Steve V.'s upstairs rooms. I washed four loads of laundry, drank two Cokes, ate cereal and drank their coffee - they said as long as I am in their house, I am in their family.

True hospitality!

2009 The Year of Worship

Pastor Chris proclaimed this year for our church, The Year of Worship! Count me in...

WATER...WATER...WATER

In code language, Pastor Chris explained on Sunday that "Women are like camels, they can go without water for several weeks. Men are like fish, without water we die"!

OMG ..hilarious! It's the only thing I remember from the sermon!!

Germany Was Great!

I am so glad and thankful that Jon Mark is home, he had a great time in Germany.

Here is a pic of Birdie and Gesa, long-time friends of our family, from Dusseldorf.

Facebook Is Overrated

Are you kidding me? I mean, don't mishear me - it's really cool to reconnect with so many friends and foes from the past. But my frustration is that it is an "online community" and that's it. Real community, one which shares life with another is rare and much tougher to accomplish.

(Abby serving as a volunteer at Field of Dreams 2008 - an event organized by our church - she had a blast working with Girls In Action for five hours in the heat giving away bottles of water!)
I know I sound simplistic and as one co-worker suggested (I am perhaps jealous of the success of it), but let's be honest and say that all these "confirmed requests" for friends does not make a friendship. It' a modern-day, internet-driven facade.

Authentic relationships share life and is better accomplished by on our feet and not our seat. Community is...
- getting our hands and feet dirty in a clean-up effort after a storm
- taking care of your dog and mail while you are on vacation
- playing basketball with your neighbor's fiancee
- sharing a meal together (a lost art and expression of love)
- taking cookies to a retired couple next door sounds so 1950ish, but it works!
- tossing the ball back to our yard after the massive grand slam by dad
- rubbing shoulders with humanity

All these things have happened recently in our neighborhood. By the way, the majority of our neighbors are not Christian, but they understand community and the value of sharing life together despite political, economical, and religious preferences. Community is better experienced face to face.

No wonder Facebook has become so huge. It caters to our anonymous online lifestyle, while rejecting our need for touch, tears, and laughter with a friend, who thank God is not a profile and will not ask me to click "confirm" or "ignore".

EVERYTHING by Lifehouse

This was shown at our church last Sunday during the sermon...twice! It's worth watching again. The song is "Everything" by Lifehouse.