The Tent Trailer, AKA: "the Camp Castle"

About 4 years ago, we bought a used tent trailer from our friends in Riverside. We LOVE this thing. Our kids are so excited to go camping and sleep in the "camp castle". A few summers ago, we took it up to Patrick's Point in Eureka then down to Fort Bragg. We would ride bikes all day, make forts, make s'mores, the kids would practically fall into bed and be asleep within minutes, and Annette and I would make some tea and read before heading to bed.

A few weeks ago, we cranked up the tent trailer in our backyard and had a campout one night. The kids were SO excited. We also played two FULL games of monopoly in the trailer. My kids love this game (although Annette can't stand it).

I need to remember the "simple adventures" like this that make life fun. It didn't cost a dime to camp out in the back yard and our kids thought it was the best thing ever...

Personal Rule of Life

I'm currently taking classes at A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary to complete my Master of Divinity and I had to write a "personal rule of life" for my Christian Spiritual Formation Class. I thought I would share it:

1. An early morning walk with God (Mark 1:35)
2. Daily Scripture reading and reflection (Psalm 1:2)
3. A personal prayer & fasting retreat every six months (Mark 6:31)
4. Pray continuously throughout the day, recognizing God’s constant presence (1 Thess. 5:17)
5. A humble attentiveness to the needs of others; no tolerance for personal arrogance (Philippians 2:3,4)
6. In daily interactions, open my mouth to encourage others with the good news of Jesus (1 Peter 3:15)
7. Rejoice in the wife of my youth and be ever captivated by her love (Proverbs 5:18,19)
8. Teach my children, with my life and my lips, the ways of the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:7)
9. In my work/ministry, I will be prayerful dependent upon the Lord to direct my paths (Psalm 127:1; Proverbs 3:6)
10. I will not love money. I will share the resources God gives. I will live in the freedom of simplicity. (Luke 12:15)
11. I will invest in a community of Christ followers where I can spur others on and be spurred on by others toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24, 25)
12. I will be a contributing member in my neighborhood (outside of my church community), walking with and serving those who do not know the love of Jesus yet (Matthew 5:13-16)
13. I will strive to be a man of character and integrity in every area of my life, inviting God to renovate my heart each day (Proverbs 10:9)

We bought a house!

We just closed escrow today on this house. It is awesome...the perfect home for us. We will move in about a week and a half. It is only a couple miles from the house we're renting (and about a mile or so from Simpson).

Sledding with the Family

Today, we took the family up to Eskimo Hill near Mt. Lassen for some killer sledding. The kids had a great time. We would go down with 3 of us on a sled. Jonah was fine sledding by himself until he took a spill and did a face-plant in the snow. He wasn't so keen on sledding after that. I think I might teach our kids how to snowboard this season.

This one is for Emma P.

Apparently, my friend Emma doesn't think I blog enough. Well this one's for you, Pidge.
We miss you guys. People in Redding are cool and all...but they're not up to your status (yet).

A Quote from Tozer

I've been reading A.W. Tozer's "The Knowlege of the Holy" after I found two copies in Josh Fox's office and convinced him to give me one. This past week, I read this:
"The GREATNESS of God rouses FEAR within us, but His GOODNESS encourages us not to be AFRAID of Him. To fear and not be afraid--that is the paradox of faith."
I've been chewing on that this week...

Speaking at Mt. Hermon Dec. 5-7

I looked at Mount Hermon's website and found this picture of me... If you were a youth pastor or a teenager, would you go to a Winter Weekend with a speaker who looked like this? I've always looked at the pictures of camp speakers and tried to figure out what kind of person they are just by their picture. What opinions will they form about me???
Well, if you want to hang out with me at Mount Hermon, I'll be speaking for the High School Winter Weekend on December 5-7. Last week, I sat down and prayed through some of the direction I'll take during the sessions. I'm pretty excited about it, and I'm really looking forward to returning to Santa Cruz to see my friends at Vintage Faith.