Here is 4 billion pictures for you to enjoy! They all tell the story of my life and ministry and that is all you can really ask for. Go through them and enjoy being a huge part of what God is doing through me here in Dallas and in the life of my family! Then at the end I'll try and say something meaningful and spiritual and touching and then you can see if you want to support the ministry. Along the way I'll try and say some things that will make you laugh...
Ready... set... GO! in no particular order...
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| My father in law had a birthday! Look at that pure joy on his face! I love it! |
My cousin Linda and her sister in law Joanna both turned 40 this year! They and Diane all have birthdays that are very close. To celebrate this milestone we went to this epic tree house! It was so fun!
Diane took Liam to see Weird Al for his Birthday. That is quite the show! I was whitewater rafting as you will see in the following pictures. It was great to go with two former MK alumni who I have walked with for many wonderful years! It was such a blast, we flipped the raft and everything. A fantastic weekend adventure!
Creed and Diane got to go to the Judah and the Lion concert together also while I was away. That was a concert heavy weekend for Diane... best weekend ever! Then she got to go to Montana to visit her sisters and get some much needed facial therapy in the form of face pant. Really adds something to her overall vibe doesn't it?
While she was away we had a really fun movie night with my parents where we watched "Breadwinner". I'm looking for more and more quality connections with my parents that can create awesome memories. This was definitely one of them.
Now a picture that shows that I work with kids and don't just adventure all the time :). I love my lounge hours with these amazing youth!
My amazing aunt and uncle flew in to celebrate my dad turning 74! Every moment is precious with this legend! So thankful for times like these with family.
VT did so well at District, basically crushing it! They came in 8th at Regionals, which although lower than they hoped was the best placement they have ever had! It was a great season for Bella and Asher, who saved his best race for last!
The following pictures were from my last conference that I went to with Nadia. We had the joy of meeting with two amazing MKs for a week. Some places you go are really tough and others... well are like this.
While we were adventuring and doing the Lords work in Europe, Diane took the family to see her brother in Conroe. This picture is an honorable mention of that time.
Now back to me. We enjoyed a day in Vienna before heading to the conference location. It was fun to be a tourist before doing the hard work of being a youth minister.
It was so pretty this morning with the mist over the valley, so green! We listened to "The Color Green" by Rich Mullins to get our hearts ready to receive what the Lord had for us. I taught lessons on Being still and letting the Lord fight for you, inspired by Exodus 14:14. We looked at crossing the Red Sea and the stories of Hezekiah and Jehoshaphat and Gideon. We serve an amazing God who invites us to trust in Him and rely on Him. We need only to be still sometimes and wait and trust and know Him! That is harder than it sounds!
When I was a kid in Congo I remember a family called the Dawsons. Tragedy struck them one night as the father passed away from appendicitis. It was one of the first funerals that I ever went to. All these many years later I ran into the daughter who lost her father! What a small world.
Later that week Diane took the kids to the Texas State Fair. I was sorry to miss that adventure!
But I got to go to a Castle and that eased the sorrow in my heart.
The weekend I flew home Diane did the Spartan race with Asher. It was a blast!
But Diane injured her knee in the process. Boo. She is off the crutches now, but she is still rehabbing her injuries. She is so tough and hardcore!
One of my good friends and supporters just had a baby! Their other baby was premature, this one was carried to term, praise the Lord. Very different experiences for them. Thankfully both babies are doing great and so are the parents, other than being very tired I'm sure.
Lesson 3: Cultivate Spiritual Life
Now a picture of Asher looking silly, but making big bucks to do so :).
Ben, a good friend and supporter, invited our whole family over for dinner. That is a tall task for a single guy! It was such a special and cherished time! So thankful! He crushed it, look at that spread!
Now another reminder that I have a job on Monday nights that you help make possible :). These are some fun activities Jeremy had us do on Community Monday, a night that is his specialty.
My wife got to go see the Rangers play and enjoy Pokemon day... I still have never been to their new stadium, that isn't so new anymore. I guess I need to pick up Pokemon.
I enjoyed taking my family out to Cici's once I learned the some of them have never had the joy of eating such incredible bottomless pizza!
Here we are at one of the first Cross Country meets. Asher and Bella did great!
Skateland is a great tradition and the last night that the former Seniors can attend. We pray for them and send them off to be Freshmen in their new schools. What a great group we have! And to thank us for sending them off they prank our offices. Yay.
Some fun quick hits... here I'm working with Joel to refurbish one of my favorite sitting areas. It turned out amazing. Then the family is at the Drive In for the last time. A Drive In that has since shut down. We say the new Spiderman! It was great to take Aidan to his first Drive In!
Here the MKs are enjoying there last swim of the summer. We finally got the 9 square that Sean built back into the pool and they had a blast. Also some more pictures of my amazing alumni coming back and sharing what they wish they had known when they were in MK. Ben and Anna did amazing!
Here my kids are before the start of the school year. They started the beginning of August, next year the end of July and then lets just get rid of summer altogether!
Matthew was sent off to Seminary. I had such a great time with him while he was home for a while and it is bittersweet to see him go. We are so proud of you Matthew!
Creed, Asher and now Bella are all in the Cross Country world now. Asher was a captain this year like his brother was his senior year as well. And Bella is earning her uniform running for the first time with the gang. They all did a great job and she managed to have a great first season.
Call me Samson, cause I love going to Delilah... Okay maybe that was the worst joke yet. I enjoyed taking Diane to Delilah to celebrate our 23 years of marriage. I couldn't ask for a better wife, God just makes our marriage better and better in ways that I couldn't anticipate. I'm so so grateful for a life spent with this beautiful woman!
God is working so beautifully in our family this season. So much adventure and so much going on but He is inviting us to be still and find our strength in the quiet times with Him. I'm learning so much about emotional health during this season. God is gently healing old wounds and exposing my need to know His love in every space in my life. This is giving me the courage to face some hard truths and to take steps to become more emotionally mature and secure in Him. I'm treasuring the times where I'm stretched to rest and watch Him fight my battles and give me peace beyond understanding.
My heart aches watching my Dad suffer with Parkinson's and my Mom caring tirelessly for him. I'm learning to pray more relational prayers that go beyond "yes, no, wait" answers and push more into "what are you doing and why" spaces. And ultimately into "what can I do and how can I join you in advancing your kingdom?"
This is a busy time with the FORT Fall Carnival coming up soon and the Talent show and all the other joys of the Holidays. I'm excited to press into quality connections with family and to see God moving more in the FORT group. Please pray with me for the events to go well and for wisdom and joy in leading.
We are focusing on 'life' this semester and I believe that knowing the Love of God will be a huge key in opening that door for us to see the 'life' that is all around and helping us to discover how we can be a part of it. I want Jesus' life to fully displace all the death!
Thanks for praying and loving and supporting and being such incredible friends. I can't do this without you and I want you to know that you are credited with every bit of good fruit that is borne from this ministry of which you are an essential part!
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