my birthday

Today is my birthday!  I’d say I’m going to party like it’s 1999 but several things keep me from that:

1.  That phrase doesn’t really apply here.  In fact I’d be happy never to party likes it’s 1999 again.

2.  I’m not much of a  partyer (how do you spell this word? spell check hates all ways I’m spelling it).  I’d rather hang out, talk, eat, etc.  Pretty much anything but party.

3.  It is Wednesday and in the life of Southern Baptist youth ministers, Wednesdays are not a day you take off unless you are dying, your wife is having a baby (and you’d better be at least 100 miles away or the delivery is actually happening), or something else that is so far beyond the norm that everyone would sit around and talk about it for the next decade.

So instead I’m going to celebrate my birthday by going out to eat 3 times today and getting fatter.

the end of summer

Here in Cookevegas our summer ends really early – like next Monday early!  School officially starts back on Monday, July 28th.  Unofficially it started last week with students going to get lockers, schedules, etc.  Practices and camps have been going on all summer.

I’m not sure I’m ready for summer to end.  I’ve REALLY enjoyed the time I had with students in the afternoons, hanging out, playing video games, getting coffee, having conversations, talking crazy ideas and answering not so crazy questions.  I know I’m going to miss that when the busyness of school starts back.  I’m also not excited about the busyness in the office that comes with a new school year.  We’re making changes to both Sunday and Wednesday that requires me to sit at the desk for longer than I want – especially knowing this is the last week I can really hang out with students.  So it is hard to get done the things that have to be done for the start of the new school year.  But I’ll survive; in fact I’ve given Debbie, my assistant, permission to shoot me with a taser if I make any appointments this afternoon that will distract me from preparing lessons and reviewing curriculum.  Of course if I’m incapacitated I don’t think I’ll get much done either.

On the personal side of life, Melissa and I are doing great!  We’ve picked out paint colors for the nursery (very light purple, not sure if that’s better than pink) and have the fabrics picked out for drapes, etc.  The crib is ordered and I’ve got my dad looking at when he can come up to help us paint.  The biggest discussion is a name right now.  Melissa’s mom is calling daily asking if we’ve picked one yet.  I keep telling her the name is Rahab hoping she’ll stop asking but it hasn’t worked yet.  Melissa says baby girl is moving a lot and I think I may have felt her move the other night – either that or I had a minor muscle spasm in my fingers.  I keep looking at the calendar thinking the due date is still a long time away but in reality we’re hurtling towards it and I’m sure when she arrives I’ll be wondering where the Fall went.

On a personal note, I’m beginning to work through the Psalms again.  I love the diversity of emotion and life found within.  It seems right now that I want to find God in the emotion and rawness of life and for some reason Psalms allows me to do so.  OK, enough rambling on the blog – I have 3 weeks worth of lessons to read through and come up with creative ways to teach.  If you’re reading this, hope all is great in your life!

Post camp

I am back from FUGE (if you want to see what happened in the week go to www.fusionssbc.org)

Coming back from camp always is full of mixed feelings.  On the one hand you are SO glad to be home.  To sleep in your bed, shower in your shower, eat food that is made in mass quantity, see your family, and all that you take for granted about home.  On the other hand you know you are returning to the “routine” and so are your students.  You want to continue the experience of camp, to worship in creative ways, interact with other people from across the country who are on similar journeys, hang with students throughout the day, have late night conversations – some serious, some fun.  So as I type I fondly remember all that went on at camp – the decision made, the drama of teenagers, the process of discovery, the friendships formed, the lack of sleep and the silly things that were said.  I also feel like I’ve been through 3 rounds of a MMA fight and desire nothing more than to go back to bed.

FUGE is good, I love the students and the church I serve, but most importantly I am truely thankful and in awe of my God.