The Weeekend

Why do the weekends seem to go by so fast? It started off great! Every month Clarinda and I make it point to have our date night. On Friday night we went to San Antonio to The Industry Night Club for some dancing and music. WHAAAAT!!! Did you say night club? Yes, I do have some dancing moves. It was fun, but it came quick to me that I really didn't miss the whole"club scene" at all. Being a DJ on the side I enjoy playing music and listening to it. This particular club played alot of the "old school" Clarinda and I enjoy, but the smoke and the crazy dancing dude that kept on bumping into me didn't fly! We just enjoyed some good music and dancing then came home. Lot's of Fun! Saturday we took care of our nephew Stephen. That's always an adventure in itself, but it's always fun hanging out and watching him grow up. Oh yeah, let's not forget the unlimited viewing of veggie tales! Fun, Fun, Fun! Then on Sunday we went to Austin to join my brother & sister in law at there church. It's awesome to see them growing in there relationship with the Lord! We make it a point to show our love and support by visiting there church every month. It's really encouraging to hear how they serve in there ministries and how God is doing awesome thing's in there lives. That's it! Peace out.

Out In The Open

This past Wednesday we kicked off our series The Secret Life of a Christian Teenager. We talked about how most Christian live double sided lives when it comes to there faith in Christ. In youth culture today for some teenagers it's hard to live out there faith out in the open and fully commit to Christ. Why is that? I believe there can be several reasons. One is that theres the pressure of fitting in so maybe the fact that they have a relationship with Christ can be something they can't explain to there peers. It can be tuff. Every teenager wants to be part of something big, but what price do they have to pay in order to feel accepted? Sometimes keeping there faith a secret is alot easier. There are those times though when occasion it does come out, like "I go to church", or"youth group", but what about Jesus? Where is He? What part does Jesus play? Teenagers need to be able to feel confident in sharing there faith. In most cases it's as simple as teaching them. God then ultimately gives the confidence and wisdom. As it Say's "I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, 'I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing!' And you don't realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."(Revelation 3:15-17). Jesus wants us to realize that apart from Him were lost. Teenagers can think they have it easy and that they have everything they need, but what they fail to realize is that there disconnected from Him. What do teenagers need to hand over to Christ? If our student's are living "The Secret Life of a Christian Teenager" it's time to cancel the show! We need to communicate to them that the sinful patterns they have only creates madness and insanity. The truly amazing thing is that obeying God and living life His way will bring the very results that they are trying to achieve by doing things there own way. A life devoted to openness, holiness, and commitment to Jesus has paybacks they can't possibly imagine. Peace out.

Man-E-Face

Today I did my usual study time to prepare for Wednesday. I have to say that theres was alot that God revealed to me while studying. I'm always looking for ideas like videos, illustrations, and other things to present the Gospel in a simple but understanding way for my students. It can be a real struggle at times when I put to much into it on my own. I go through that alot. And what I end up doing at the end is leaving God totally out of the picture. I'm still learning to do everything the way God wants. It's a wonderful feeling to know that Gods in total control. It all just starts coming together when God leads. I can't wait till Wednesday! The new show "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" deals with alot of issues our youth culture face today, but what about "The American Christian Teenager?" Is there a secret life there? I believe for alot there is. For many they live a double sided life compromising their faith in order to "flow" with the culture. I remember when I was young He-Man was the bomb! In the cartoon there was a character called Man-E-Faces. His face changed into different faces when ever he felt like it. In a way that's what our youth are like, multiple faces. How is it that we can get our youth to live out there lives openly and fully committed to Jesus Christ? It's a struggle, but one they don't have to go through alone. I'm always grateful to God that He uses me to play a part in building His kingdom! What an honor and privilege! I look forward to Wednesday. Peace out.

Paddle Bust

What is the technique in using this contraption? Does anyone know? We had one of these things a few weeks ago, I don't remember where it came from, but I new were I was going with it. So I did what anybody else would do I thought about it and came to a decision. And guess what? I picked it up and decided that today was going to be the day,but after several smacks to the face and my body and just struggling the string and ball popped off. Whyyyy!!!!!!! Once again I've been defeated! Now, I don't know about you but every time I've ever tried paddle ball I've failed miserably. This "game " has to take some major skills or something. One day I will get some kind of consistency from this, till then a few more smacks to the face I'll have to endure. Any tips from you pros out there? Fun, fun, fun! Peace out.

A" little " encouragement go's "BIG"

We just finished our sport's camp yesterday at FOSM. It was alot of fun to see all the kids enjoying themselves. There was one incident I want to share that happened on Wednesday that I'll never forget. There was one kid who joined us for flag football, he was the youngest of the group (4yrs old). We separated the older group from the smaller kids in order to let have playing time in football. In doing so they all got to play with each other in there own game of football it was great. There was one though who wasn't so happy. One kid didn't understand that the flag around his waste had to be pulled off by the other team,so he got upset. After comforting him and assuring him that everything was going to be fine he continued to cry. That's when little Jack stepped in. Jack was the same age as him and totally took over and succeeded what I failed at! I sat there and witnessed a four year old give words of encouragement and watched as the other kid listened to Jack. I just had to sit there in awe and feel happy for Jack and the other kid. After saying what he had to say to the little boy he was fine,no more crying for him. It was like they just clicked and understood each other. What a moment! I just had to share that little story with you. Camp was fun. Great job everyone! Special thanks to all our youth who volunteered! You and everyone else made a difference for the Lord! Peace out.

Mission Possible

Today was an awesome day at church we've been doing alot of different things with our service. Today our band played "Not My Time" by 3 Doors Down it was awesome! We've also added light effects on our stage. I'll take some pictures later. And let's not forget the message, Pastor Randy is doing a really great job on our series DNA. Today he talked about transformation and how the apostle Paul was radically changed by the Lord. It proves that God can use anybody no matter who they are , or what they've done. God's grace is never ending and He continues to shower us constantly. That's the kind of God He is! The call to change ourselves can be very hard, but that very thing we hold on to may be the thing we need to let go. It's then that we experience a life far greater than the one we have, it's the life that God himself gave and wants to work in. It involves and all out invasion in our lives by God. We are His creation and His plan. I love what Ephesians 1:11 says. 11In him we were also chosen,[a] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. It is His will in our lives. I'm challenged to look at my own life and search for the thing's that hinder my walk with the Lord. This series is making me look at everything, and I'm so glad the sermon is said in such a way that's it's simple and practical to me. Church is awesome! FOSM is awesome! Hey, that rhymed. Peace out ya'll gotta go!

Part 2

The mall experience. That Sunday me and brother in law were talking about the stores we had as teenagers. We remembered Bugle Boy, Guess,Z Cavaricci and others. Are those stores still around by the way? Anyway, Bugle boy pants I remember had a zipper on the side of them and were so cool! Classic I might say. Ok, not to confuse them with parachute pants. Although I did have those also. It all had me thinking of my book were Walt Mueller mentions "branding". Branding till this day is strong just look at a group of teenagers next time. Chances are their wearing a variety of brand logos. Walt describes branding as" a process in which a brand catches the individuals interest,and is then adopted by that individual as his or her identity,and then becomes an integral part of his life and culture". You see that everywhere. That goes for everyone not just teens, look at the Nike swoosh, McDonald's golden arches,and Adidas stripes. Branding is immediately recognizable to all. We fall into the whole branding thing. Check out this fact that I read,branding starts young ,with kids able to recognize logos at 18 months of age. That's insane! Marketers really pay attention to there stuff when it comes to advertising and so should we. We need to bring our best game when it comes to our youth. We take that swing and God hits it out of the park! Peace out!

Part 1

Yesterday after church my wife and daughter along with some other family members went school shopping at the mall in Austin. We had lots of fun shopping as a family(eight of us total). It was the first time we all did that and it turned out to be great. One reason why I was really glad to go was that I got to witness something that really got me thinking. First it had been a while sense I'd gone to the mall in Austin,but what really got my attention was the stores that our youth were all into. The Zoomies, Pac Sun,Gadzooks,Hollister,American Eagle just to name a few. These stores had youth culture all over them and it wasn't done by accident. I started noticing everything from the music they played and the design and lay out of the whole store. I started thinking why wouldn't a teenager be attracted to go into these stores? Now, I know alot of these stores aren't just for teens I saw, adults as well shopping there. At least yesterday for me I noticed more youth shopping in them. Okay, so where I'm I going with this? Is this just about the stores? Is it just about shopping? The answer is no! It's about how these stores do such a great job on marketing and advertising their products towards our youth. From the employees who worked at them to the whole store itself. The minute I walked in I noticed so many things. It's like kids were walking around with bull's eye targets on their backs and the stores knew it. First the employees looked young I didn't see any older people in them. It was like they came straight out of the pictures they had on their walls. Now, I'm not trying to dog on them at all I'm just telling you what I observed that's it. Teenagers notice that, and I think it becomes alot easier for them to approach someone who looks their age. Then there was the music and in some cases there were music videos. Today's popular artist playing in stores that sounded more like clubs, meaning they were loud. And what teenager doesn't like loud music? Even the displays as you walked in were awesome. One in particular was the Hollister's store display. Before you even stepped in the store there were two mannequins. One female and the other male. The male was dressed with a shirt unbuttoned and ripped up with some wash board abs! This was a mannequin ya'll! The girl was skinny and had no flaws in it's figure. Now, what kind of message is that for everyone? This world already tells us that's image is everything. Which isn't true at all. The pressures that our youth face already tells us that we need to point them in the right path. How can we do that? Walt Mueller in his book Youth Culture 101 talks alot about this. I want to make this post part one of my experience at the mall and talk about what I read in his book. I fell it's very important to know our culture,youth in particular. Theres so much that we can learn as youth workers and as parents if we just take the time to learn about today's rapidly changing youth culture. We need stay up to speed. I learned that at the mall. I enjoyed being able to observe everything I did at the mall. I learned alot and took in so much it was great! Although next time I'll ask the security guy for his segway, walking stinks! I'll be posting more later and I promise I won't bore you. Next: the stores we had to shop in as a teenager. Can I give a shout out to..... BUGLE BOY !!!!! Peace out.

What's cooking?

What is God doing in my life right now? Have you ever tried to grasp that one thing that seams never ending only to find out it's for your own good? I've found myself thinking allot lately about this new school year for our students. It's like something different is on it's way, but you don't know exactly what it is. I think I'm making sense here so please bare with me. I find it much better typing while thinking at the same time. So what direction do we need to go in? Where do we need to be now? God is doing something BIG here, but what? I have alot of questions as you can tell. I believe and trust with all my heart that the good Lord has something up his sleeve. Gods been getting my attention in so many different ways and I can't help but to feel a bit overwhelmed. What is it about us as humans to think that we got it all figured out. I know I don't. But what if again, that one thing was there all along and you never stopped to notice it. Wow, your probably saying that right now huh? What are you talking about dude! I guess my whole point of all this is that when you least expect it GOD COMES THROUGH! It may not be what you expected but you definitely know it's of God. So what is God doing in my life right now? He's working. And I pray that He continues to show me his ways. Peace out ya'll!