...furthering the invisible kingdom...
this is my 2 year old treasure, ashlyn. what a surprise this was last month when they showed it at church after my sermon. priceless.
if you enjoyed that, click here to check out some other film shorts that the creative team at the church has done lately.
if you know my father-in-law randy, make sure you check out the pie auction film. classic!
furthering the invisible…
today is my 30th birthday.
i should feel older and wiser. okay, i feel a bit older but i have to say that each year i live the less i realize i know…the more i need to learn…the more i rely on others…the more i need the Lord.
i guess growing up isn’t so bad! not that i’m wishing my life away, but maybe i’m actually becoming more like the person i was created to be, with each year that passes.
but, can’t my daughter stay the same age?
furthering the invisible…
this won’t be a long post…just long enough to say that i’ve discovered twitter this week and i think it may be something i can do regularly. it should work well in the craziness and busyness of my life, because i can do it on the run…it only takes a second…and doesn’t require extensive time spent in the publishing room. you don’t have to always spend 30 minutes writing a long blog post in order to keep in touch with others (which i’m pretty lousy at.)
kinda like prayer…don’t give up just because you’re not able to spend a really long time, every time you talk to God. sometimes, ongoing tweets will work, just to keep the communication flowing. keep in touch…with God, and with others. don’t be a stranger.
i’ve been on hiatus when it came to my blog. it wasn’t really intentional, it’s just been pretty insane lately. but no excuse…shame on me! i’ve taken about 5 months off since my last post. however, now that i’m considering a return back into publishing my queries online, i thought i should find a new look to my blog. i’ll keep this one until i find a better one.
catching up: since last time i blogged…my love for my life has increased. i am “still” blessed to be in the family that i’m in (which, by the way…my father and mother, my sis and brother-in-law, and mother and father-in-law have all moved to long island to assist us in our ministry.) i love my wife, marissa, and daughter, ashlyn more and more each day. this church is incredible (another blessing), and i really appreciate how open they are to stretch for kingdom’s sake. our ministry is developing quite nicely, and the Lord is bringing about the steady progression that i had envisioned he would (more details will come in future posts).
“…the best is yet to come and won’t that be fine…” [sinatra, of course]
furthering the invisible…
it’s no secret that i’m a sports fanatic, and when it comes to baseball…”forget about it” (as my new friends here say). yes…i’m a dodgers fan, but i love every aspect of the game. without taking time to count, i’ve been to 15 or so different major league ballparks in my life (give or take a few). two that i had never been to, are scheduled to be torn down after the 2008 season. 2 weeks into being a new york resident, i was able to see a game in both parks.
shea stadium (probably the best seats i’ve ever had at a game)
“the house that ruth built”
i was very appreciative of the opportunity that the gentlemen gave me to visit these two parks. the pennant chase “buzz” was in the air at the mets game. the “buzz” of it being the last series in yankee stadium’s history was in the air at the yanks game. both were great experiences…and i look forward to adding two more parks to my list next year, with the opening of citi field and the new yankee stadium.
furthering the invisible…
our family has concluded our trip from denver to long island. after 4 days and 4 nights of travel with a two year old…we finally arrived in new york where we plan to establish deeply entrenched roots.
our travels were complete with beauty (iowa, pennsylvania), monotony (nebraska and ohio), and nostalgia (we visited where i started grade school in indiana).
[from denver to nyc]
[my first t-ball field - portage, indiana]
[my nursery/day-care teacher (g'ma kathleen)]
overall, it was a great trip! ashlyn was a trooper, too…but boy were we glad we invested in the portable dvd player.
furthering the invisible…
our week of packing, loading, and leaving started off with a bit of a delay on sunday night, with the visit of a funnel cloud turned twister. our friend julie was over helping us frantically pack when i looked out our window, saw a suspicious cloud, and called everyone over to the patio to take a look. this is what we saw.
we then followed the cloud around our building and noticed that it was pretty close. after turning the tv on, we saw that we were in the middle of the path, and the tornado was only a couple of miles away. moving 10-15 mph we knew that we still had a few minutes so we took another shot.
we then got wise, and took shelter until it passed. overall, the adventure wasted about 2 hrs of packing time, and we ended up staying up till 2am that night as a result. i’ve kinda always liked severe weather my entire life (i know strange, huh?), but this was a little too close.
furthering the invisible…
i’m not all that familiar with the ins and outs of long island, as we’ve only visited there twice. however, i am attempting to get familiar with the area via internet browsing while i watch tv in the evening. as we speak i have the dodgers game on in the background, while i type away.
according to various websites, the village that we’ll be living in (garden city) is apparently only about 30 minutes from the beach and 30 minutes from “the City“… Sounds a little too good to be true! Apparently, it’s true.
marissa and I have spent the past 4 years (for marissa, most of her life) living along the rocky mountains, but have never really taken advantage of them. our first two years in boulder, we’d drive up to copper and snowboard a few times a season, but other than that…we’ve remained at lower elevations.
what we’re headed to, reminds us of what we loved about los angeles. when marissa and I were first married, we lived about 20 minutes from the city (in pasadena) and about 30 minutes from santa monica (beach).
we really love the energy of large cities and lots of people. new york metro area has around 20 million people within a 90-minute drive. a plethora of people!
i’m also more of a beach bum than i am a mountain man. i’ve lived close to the coast a couple different times in my life, and love it! there is something therapeutic about sitting on the beach, hearing the rhythm of the waves breaking on the shore, while enjoying the sun or moon setting over the water (depending on which coast).
i’m looking forward to our 30/30 opportunity!
furthering the invisible…
Last night, we had our final Sunday night worship gathering for theClayCommunities. Marissa, Ashlyn, and I will be moving in a few weeks to pastor a church in New York.
We have spent the past two years leading this great group of people, and it’s truly been a blessing to see so many people striving after more of Christ. In a nutshell, “theClay” is a missional-incarnational ministry, basically focused on spiritual depth and evangelistic breadth. I spent most of the past 23 months encouraging the church to be externally-focused, while maintaining our number one priority of becoming disciples of Christ.
It was a bit emotional after my final talk…as I sang in the back to the musical worship led by Chris Martin and the band. Yet, I was reminded what’s great about the community of believers…we’ll forever be connected as residents in the Kingdom of God. I am excited for what the Lord has in store for each and every one of you! Remember, while the Lord may not ask you and your family to drop everything you know as secure and move across the country in obedience to His call (as he’s asked of us), you must at least “be willing” to do so. The Lord has called each and every one of us to “unconditional obedience”.
furthering the invisible…
…We’re going to be a part of it… New York, New York!
We are just a few weeks away from relocating to Long Island, NY where I will serve as Senior Pastor of Valley Stream Church of the Nazarene. See my wife’s blog about our transition.
I am really pumped to see how we will be used by the Lord to reach the people of Long Island. The church we’ll be serving at, is really “one of a kind.” It is probably the most loving and friendly church we’ve ever visited, and now we’re able to bring spiritual leadership to the community. We interviewed over two different weekends in July, and really connected to the people there.
Now, it’s crunch time! It’s time to pack everything we own, and get ready to move 1800 miles away. In addition to family, we will definitely miss those we’ve had an opportunity to serve here in Denver. Emotional days are ahead of us. Please, keep us in your prayers.
Furthering the Invisible…
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