Taken by Suprise

Today at one of the best Sonsets we have ever had (see programs for more details: http://www.magonline.com/jrhigh/programs.htm) a student came up to me and ask to give the devotional this night. I was blown-away! This guy stood there and told his peers to go out and share Jesus with their peers. I beamed at Garrett as he took a stand for what God had laid upon his heart. What was even a more a kodak moment... Garrett's father was standing in the corner of the patio watching... he was beaming as well.

Magic Mountain

Yesterday I took 24 junior highers to Magic Mountain, good times. Here are some of the highlights and lowlights:

Highlights:

• Got to spend time with students I normally don't connect with...can't beat that!
• The rides were extreme.
• There were no injuries or accidents (one student puked on the way there...bad McD's)
• Good leader support
• No logistical issues

Lowlights:

• Heat (although it wasn't that bad it still was hot)
• Some students didn't like the rides
• Prices for food inside the park (I had to take out a student loan just to pay for lunch)
• Magic Mountain employee's attitudes (they suck, and if they speak English your lucky)
• Students with extreme ADD and mis-management of money (one student spent his entire lunch/dinner money at the arcade...go figure)

Overall, the trip was great. Students had a great time, no one got hurt and we got back to the church right on time. Can't ask for anything more, I love my job :.)

Staff Meeting

Today at the staff meeting I was asked to pray for the Senior Pastor (a man whom I greatly respect and am honored to be in the trenches with). I was nervous...but real! I am blessed to be in such awesome company.

Deadlines

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  Can anyone explain to me why some people think that 'deadlines' for events do not apply to them and that they can sign up whenever they want....humm...maybe I need some starbucks right now?

The beginging and the End

a song on my itunes began to play...these are the words

This is where we start
This now take our hearts
Away

Thus we reach the end
The beginning and the end
You see I could not try
And here you and I
Parting due to me only
And now

bizarre, that's what I have been thinking/feeling these last few days...
Ok that was random and kind of emo...please forgive me!

My Sarcasm

Within the past three weeks I have been notified that my sarcasm is a little too much at times. I like to think of my 'humor' as a gift (it has gotten me out of trouble more than its gotten me into it), but I should be more serious sometimes and remain silent. My official rebuttal to such attacks on my humor...don't visit the UK!

• For those of you who have discussed this issue with me in a professional setting, this post is not intended for you. Your views are valid and respected, and are being introduced into my personality matrix. This will take some time.

Weekend Glance...

These are the highlights of my week:

• VBS is now over...THANK GOD!!!
• I got to rap during the worship rally at VBS... my CD will be out this fall.
• Went bodyboarding on Thursday. Saved a kid from being taken out by the riptide with my trusty bodyboard. Lunch at Wahoo's (Huntington Beach...If you we wondering)
• Free lunch at Chick-Filet on Saturday. Evidently Satan got the same coupon, because it was hotter than hell in Corona. Something was not right that day?
• Church...I am reminded how much I love my job!

These are the low lights of my week:

• Broke up with my girlfriend on Tuesday. The hardest thing I ever had to do...It had to be done.
• General tiredness from VBS
• Summer Camp issues (nothing major)
• CBU fin-Aid issues (Evidently, working at MAG rates me right up there with Bill Gates. However, my checking account would suggest something completely different. Please pray for me and this)
• I am staying at a home were the ants are unbelievable, the dog runs away, and the AC sucks upstairs.

Overall it has been a decent week..Praise the Lord!

Home in the Hills...

I went home this weekend for some much needed rest and relaxation. As you can see from the pictures, Tehachapi is beautiful place of oak trees, horses, cows, sheep and heat (it was very hot here)! My parents seemed to have my itinuray planned out for the whole weekend. Here is what it looked like:

Friday: Lunch at our favorite place 'The village Grill.' It is a hole-in-the-wall type of establishment. But, places like this most of the time have the greatest food. I ordered the French Dip...it was pretty good (not Mimi's Cafe good...But good). We finished the night with a BBQ...Loved it!

Saturday: Woke up early and got messured for a tux. My sister is getting married in a few months and alas...I'm in the wedding. After that we took off to Bakersfield (separate cars). My father and I had sushi, went to Breans Christian Bookstore, and saw 'Superman Returns' (loved it). Pops was tired so my mother took me out for Mexican food. We finished the night visiting with my Aunt and Uncle. Good times! What the girls did is still unknown to us, but I can imagine it involved spending money at the mall.

Sunday: Went to church...Loved it! Ate Thai food. My folks seemed to have ordered almost everything off the menu because the waiter kept bring dish after dish...Loved it! Drove around Tehachapi taking pictures like a retard. Apple cobbler and coffee at our favorite pie place...Loved it! To finish the day, my mom made breakfast for dinner (if you have never done this...you have not lived...just kidding. It's awesome)!

Monday: Hasn't come yet...I plan of leaving for the Ghetto (Riverside) when my parents leave for work, which means...I don't get to sleep in.

Overall, God had blessed my time here with my folks. It has been great to get away and SLOW DOWN!!!

Hello Doggy

This morning I walked to the back yard to feed the six year old black lab named Scotty, as I do every morning. However, this was different...He was gone! Somehow, he broke his tie-line that he was attached to and decided to jump the fence and check out the town. After driving all over creation yelling "Scotty...Scotty...Scotty" (like I have tourets or something), I decided to check the animal shelter; he was not there either. Anyway, sometime around 2:30pm I hear a scratch at the front door. Lo behold Scotty came home...covered in white feathers! I am assuming that a family is now relieved of a few chickens or water foul. Needless to say, this place is now on 'lock down' and he will be in solitary confinement for the duration of the summer...poor doggy!

Beach Trip Recap

Yesterday, I took our junior high group to Huntington Beach. Fun Times!!! The waves kind of sucked, but the students found things to do; football, rugby, looking for buried treasure, throwing sand, neglecting re-applying sunscreen after numerous reminders. The parents that joined us were down right AMAZING!!! They made sure that everything was ready and prepared. Our stove that we brought with us could not cook burgers. One parent walked over to the camp next to us and asked if we could theirs. We got hooked up! I almost die in a rip current...David...Thanks (Brad must never know of this)! Overall, excellent trip. Good planning, good attendance, good food, awesome fellowship and admiring God's creation.

The worst BBQ ever!

Ok, today was supposed to be our promo BBQ (entering in of the new 7th graders and leaving of the new 9th graders). The BBQ happened but with some lovely little lowlights.

• The place were supposed to have it at didn't have anything we needed (extending cable, trash cans, etc.)
• individuals who really didn't want to be there and physically and verbal pronounced this.
• delegation gone bad (simple things such as moving objects from point A to point B require a 5 min. Explanation of'why', stuff I didn't have time for...'just do it' sort of thing)
• A very weak parent's meeting. Talk about 'creative redundancy'!

Overall the highlights are as follows:

• the one's who showed up seemed to have a great time.
• The food was great (didn't get any of it though).
• The pool was cold and the music was grand!
• We did get hooked up with a sweet tent!

I learn, study and move on...THANK GOD!!!!

The van from hell

Yesterday I had to drive this van to Norwalk to pick up some sound equipment for a friend. This is his van and it's previous owner was Satan himself. Here is why I believe this to be true...

• I left Riverside at 4:30pm. Traffic wasn't bad till I got onto the 91 west. It pretty much sucked from the 91 to the 5 north and all the way to the church.
• The van has no working AC nor do the windows roll down (not even joking). So while it's 100 degrees outside, I'm baking inside this car. No human being would own something like this. Its safe to say that I was not having a great day.
• What should have taken me 44 minutes, actually took me 2 1/2 hours. I got to Norwalk at 7pm. This whole experience really tested my patience. Honestly, I think I failed...

Oh, I looked like a youth pastor from 1986 while driving on the freeway...Absolutely ridiculous!

New at In & Out

Today for lunch a friend and I went to the wonderful In & Out. We ordered, waited, sweated, and finally received our food. We walked over to the tables (which were outside) and sat to enjoy a killer burger (animal style of course). Next thing I notice is that my bum is beginning to roast. I'm not talking rump roast, which is a slow cooker. No, I'm talking deep fried! The temperature outside was so hot that the chairs and tables were unbearable to use. Both my friend and I have third degree burns (not really) from this ordeal. Nobody ever told me that In & Out sold hot cross buns?

Not a Handyman?

Ok, the house that I am staying at had a problem. The drain in the bathroom was clogged. The water took 5 hours to drain. Now, having no handyman gifts I went out and bought some the gel/foam drain-o. I almost had a coronary went two hours later I still found the water slowly draining away. I grabbed the plunger and attacked the drain. Lo and behold, that did the trick. My pop would be proud!

Summer cold...God the Doctor

For the last week or so I have been sick with cold that I picked up in Arizona of all places. I rarely get sick, but when I do I'm out for the count. A few days ago I went on a staff retreat to Big Bear...big mistake. My head felt like it going to pop (altitude sickness?)! As with feeling miserable I had forgot to bring my medicine. So, sometime around 12am I walked down to the front desk of the hotel we were staying at and asked to see if they had something for me. They didn't. They did suggest that I go the 7-11 that was down the street. The answer to my problem? Nope, I drove up with some else, and he was asleep. So, I walked all over Big Bear at 12:24am looking for drugs! With no luck, I finally went back to my room, where I prayed that God would knock me out...It was 3:30am when God finally obliged. The funny thing is...I woke up feeling refreshed?

A promotional rant...

It's that time again...Transition. Many of our students will be leaving to the High School realm (some are already gone, they are just counting down the time). High School is such an exciting time in one's lives that I am also excited for them. They get to hang out with the coolest high school guy ever, get to enjoy uber-fun events and really develop character (not that they didn't have that chance in middle school). With that said, we are losing many of our student leaders. It has been an honor to see them grow in their journey with God and find the Refinery a place called 'home' here at Mag. Nevertheless, there are those who have written the Refinery off as childish with the that there interaction has become distant and sometimes rude. It is my prayer that the students will remember to 'run that race' and continue to look for opportunites to serve and grow...Sorry for the rant.

Donkey-ville aka Oatman

On our way back from the very hot Arizona, we stopped at a little place called 'Oatman.' It was cool (kind of). The town is filled with roaming donkeys and baking piles of...what?. The donkeys are mellow and love carrots, and love to walk into stores...go figure! Overall, I give this town 50% on the coolness factor. Please note: the donkeys are in fact more cordial than the human inhabitants of the town itself...go figure.

What?

Hummm....who is this guy again?

You scored as Anselm. Anselm is the outstanding theologian of the medieval period.He sees man's primary problem as having failed to render unto God what we owe him, so God becomes man in Christ and gives God what he is due. You should read 'Cur Deus Homo?' Anselm 73% John Calvin 60% Jonathan Edwards 53% Charles Finney 47% Karl Barth 47% Friedrich Schleiermacher 47% Augustine 47% J?Moltmann 40% Martin Luther 40% Paul Tillich 33% Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Arizona Trip 2

After driving (for what seemed like hours) we finally arrived at the Canyon. It was an awesome sight. Although, I have to admit, my ADD was really kicking in, after about 30 min. of walking around and looking at the Canyon, I started to become restless. Nevertheless, it was awesome!

Arizona trip

I have been on a 'mini-vacation' in Arizona this weekend. Here is a picture of the awesome Grand Canyon. Breathtaking and amazing, word's still can not describe the beautiful workings of the Creator!