Visits with good friends

In February, we were able to visit with some of our good friends. Above: we took a trip to Redding to visit the Lances.


Below, the Solorios finally admitted that the Osborne's actually did move out of Riverside and came to visit us. Josh was a girl and didn't want to ride a mountain bike anywhere, so instead, we just took a walk through the woods (girly).

We took the Solorios to a local restaurant called "Tucson Taqueria: Real Food. Real Mexicans." Of course Josh loved it because he thinks he is Hispanic...

Why doesn't Annette like my hair?

For the life of me, I can't figure out why Annette doesn't like it when I grow my hair out!

Snow Retreat

Our Youth are heading up to the snow for a weekend in March. We're even missing a day of school! Sorry to the Overflow kidz for never taking you out of school for a retreat. I'm just trying to get these kids up here to like me...ditching school always helps buy admiration.

The Backpacker Paluza

We're leading our youth on a Backpacker Paluza in June. Trevor Christmas, eat your heart out:
* Hiking over 5 miles to our campsite
* Sleeping out under the stars
* hauling our water up from the river each day
* rock climbing, canyoneering, and river rafting on Class III rapids
* morning and evening devotions in God's playground with plenty of time to be with God
* headlamps

I'm so excited to share this experience with our young people and some adult leaders.
DOES ANYONE HAVE A HIKING BACKPACK WE COULD BORROW FOR THE WEEK TO SAVE OUR KIDS SOME MONEY? I'll be down in SoCal the first week of June to pick it up. Let me know. I promise it won't smell like pee when you get it back.

The Bonfire

I forgot to tell you all (by saying "all", I mean my mom) how our "Freeze Yer Buns Beach Bonfire" went. It was AWESOME. We had GREAT weather, and I cooked us up some Chili with cheese and Fritos.

This is a picture of the crew that went...minus two girls who were chillin in the bathroom when we took the picture (I'm sure their bathroom visit had nothing to do with the Chili dinner I made).

My first sermon at VFC

My first teaching experience at Vintage Faith was a good one. The people at all three services were extremely kind and welcoming. My message was about "How to align ourselves to hear and know God's will". I spoke about how God reveals Himself through SCRIPTURE and PRAYER. One of the main points I tried to make was that in trying to understand God's will, we really are trying to understand GOD HIMSELF. As we get a better understanding of WHO God is, we get a better picture of WHO He wants us to BE. In discerning God's will, I believe the question is not, "WHAT do you want me to do, Lord?" but rather, "WHO do you want me to BE, Lord?". WHAT WE DO flows from WHO WE ARE. I took us through Psalm 1:1-3, Ecc. 5:1-2, and Matthew 6:5-8 and Mark 1:35. Jesus often withdrew from the crowds and ministry to be alone with the Father...we need to do the same.

On a personal note, it felt real good to preach again. The topic is one that Annette and I are currently working through, so I was able to speak from the "overflow" of my heart. I've spoken to a few people afterwards, and they have given me positive feedback. Dan K. and I talked and I may be able to teach again here and there.

Here's a cool thing that happened before I preached on Sunday night. I went up to my office a few minutes before the service to pray and just "be still". I got a phone call from my friend Sam:

Sam was able to pray for me over the phone before I went into service. It was so cool because I was really wanting to find someone to pray for me, but I didn't know who to ask. Thanks, Sam for praying for me.

Some other items to note:

--I only said the word "poop" in one of the services

--the first thing I did in the first service was grab hold of the podium (which is a music stand) and accidentally pulled the top off of it. I just handed it to Pastor Lee and started my message. I need to lay off my kids' steroids...

--I continued my tradition of preaching on a holiday weekend (Labor Day, Martin Luther King Day, etc.). I preach best when the other pastors are on vacation along with half the church...I can do less damage that way!

Mountain Lions and Hippies

My friend Adam from Riverside posted a warning from his executive pastor about possible mountain lion sightings around their church. What a coincidence because I received a similar letter from our pastor up here in Santa Cruz about a danger we face up here: HIPPIES.
Here's my pastor's letter:
Everyone,
Late yesterday afternoon there were some HIPPIES sighted on our property behind the ball fields. We are not yet sure of the type of HIPPIE, but they were the large enough to potentially be FROM THE '70's.
We are presently trying to get the right agency to respond and investigate this sighting. In the meantime we need to be aware and be careful. Here is what you need to know:
1. If you happen to see a large HIPPIE of this type, you should call 911 immediately, and then notify the church office, the Operations Manager, or anyone on site who can get the word out.
2. Please avoid the area behind the ball fields until we can determine more of the facts.
3. Please help us to keep any children from that area, and encourage parents to keep their children within arm’s reach when coming and going from our property.
4. Finally, if you are confronted with a large HIPPIE of this type, continue to face it, do not run. Most HIPPIES will not want confrontation and will look for a way out.
This email is simply precautionary and not meant to frighten. We just need to be aware until we know more information.

(I hope you think this is funny...I sure do)