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.

New Discovery: Two Day Weekends

What is this thing called, "Two Day Weekends?". For the last 13 years, I've tried to take Saturday off and work half-day on Mondays, but now I am experiencing two days off in a row...and I LOVE IT! I get Saturdays off and then another whole day! We use our Sunday mornings to do an activity with the family and then we head to church (The Stirring) on Sunday evening. I find myself singing the old Loverboy song, "Everybody's working for the weekend" throughout the week.

Two guys I resemble...

Most people I meet tell me I look like Dana Carvey. I guess I can see some similar features:

But I've had 3 people tell me I look like David Crowder:

...should I be concerned?

Simpon Update

Well, I've officially been in Redding for two weeks. I am loving it here. I am going through that overwhelming feeling whenever you begin new position. It will take me awhile until I fully grasp my responsibilities, but everyday seems to get better.
I was hired as the Director of Campus Ministries, but there have been some changes and my role is now Director of Spiritual Formation. I will oversee the Student Missions and Student Ministries areas, along with helping organize many of the chapels.
I love the students. They have been very welcoming to me and my family. This is what charges me up the most. I enjoy being a part of young lives and to pace with and lead as God directs their hearts. I am so encouraged and challenged by their faith. My role is NOT to organize things for the students, but to develop THEM as leaders. God has put a call upon THEIR lives, not just mine. I am so excited about this part of my role here. I met with two students today who have been praying and talking with friends about creating a night of student led ministry and worship together. It is contagious...their passion rubs off on me.
I'm tired, though. I haven't had much time to be with my family yet. That will change soon. I leave tomorrow after chapel for Southern California to officiate at Cory Ritzau's wedding. I am looking forward to this and am honored to be a part of this ceremony.
I miss my friends from Riverside and The Grove.
I also miss our friends in Santa Cruz from Vintage Faith Church. Today, I listened to some of Josh Fox's songs on my iPod. I am so blessed to have worked alongside him and Dan Kimball, Lee, Kristin, Sarah & Sara, Amy, and the rest of the team. So much of what I learned there at Vintage Faith is helping me here in Redding.
I have a few former Overflow students here with me at Simpson (Heather Calfee and Melissa Hart) along with some Vintage Faith friends, too.
I was able to teach at the New Student Chapel last Sunday. It was good for me to share with them, and I received some encouraging feedback. I also have to stop saying, "When I was your age" and change it to "When I was in college...".
Thanks for loving us so much. Our friends think so highly of us and are so supportive. Everyone needs a posse like ours to have in their corner. I have to admit that it sure gives us strength to know how much we are loved. We are blessed to have so many people that love us and want the best for us.

I'll be at The Grove this Sunday to see some of my peeps (I roll deep).

I'm in trouble...

Today, Annette called me to say that Jonah told another boy at school that, "my dad is going to punch your dad in the face!".

...bring it...

We're Here!

I have no pictures to post, just some updates:
* We made it here on Thursday. Dan Lance, Nate Edwardson, a guy named Tyler, and Heather and Simone Calfee stopped by to help us move in. Dan and Nate brought their families, too. Thanks guys.
* I had some meetings at Simpson U. on Friday morning. I'm so excited to get started. I get to meet the student leaders tomorrow morning and walk through a passage of Scripture with them.
* The U-Haul was a champ driving over Hwy 17. The only mishap I had was when I first rented it and brought it to our house in Felton to load it up. I got stuck turning in to our uphill driveway, blocking our street with the truck and trailer. I was freaking out while trying to move it but it wouldn't budge. The tires would just spin because the trailer was grounded on the street. Thankfully, I had a few people (including my friend Ron) stop and help me get it unstuck. A Tow Truck driver named J.J. stopped to help and he looked at me and said, "Where do I know you from?". I told him I was a barista at Starbucks and would serve him is 5-shot Iced Venti Americano each day. After that, he smiled and started helping me out.

* We LOVE our house. We have a large backyard with grass and plenty of concrete for the kids to ride their scooters and bikes on. The people behind us have some horses and cows that graze in their backyard. I feel like I'm back in Norco! Beyond that, we have a perfect view of Mt. Shasta.
*Yesterday, I took the boys on a bike ride to Simpson. It is only half a mile away and there is a dirt trail we ride our bikes on. There is a little jump on the trail that some kids have made and we charged it like pro's. Davey bit the dust, but didn't cry. While at Simpson, we saw the President of the University and Davey was excited to tell him how he could "pop a wheelie".

Well, I'm heading home and the Lances are coming over to help me with some IKEA furniture. I normally set that stuff up with no problem, but yesterday was different. It would help if all the holes lined up!!!!!! I know Dan has super-human patience with IKEA furniture, so I invited him over. I'm kidding about his patience...