This is where I spent an hour and a half of my day hanging out with some of our retired church folks serving at a food kitchen in downtown. I get all goofy when I watch the people of God ministering an imitating the love of God to souls in need of a bit of peace and rest for a few moments during the day.
LA has a new mayor… 
I was recharged today by the Holy Spirit. Two young adults from our college group stopped by today and helped me with my car. My car battery died while I was in LA over the weekend. You see I’m a nimrod when it comes to changing a battery. I could help you translate a passage of scripture, but I couldn’t tell you where to even start when it comes to changing my battery. These two dudes took the time in the middle of their finals week to come and replace my battery. Often in ministry our battery dies. Discouragement settles in and we often need a jump. What I’m learning is that sometimes the jumpstart doesn’t work until you remove the old battery. What in our lives needs replacing by the Lord? What areas in our lives need a jump start? As I watched the dudes drive off after my car got some new power I felt recharged by the Spirit of God. A new power and a peace to continue dealing with what was left of my day and feeling grateful for the few moments I had being ministered to, instead of doing the ministering.
Here is a pic of my sons school choir Friday night at the Rivercats game. 
After church we fly down to LA for our friend Julie’s memorial service. We will gather from what I hear close to 500 of her friends and family. I can’t help but think that as the church celebrates its birthday on this Pentecost Sunday that Julie is singing praise to God with us.
Something I’m coming to appreciate in my first year of ordained ministry as a pastor is the importance of making family first over my call at church. People will look to my example as a husband, father, and pastor in the way I love and honor family. I heard Chap Clark once say that, “you can always find a job, but you can’t always find a family, wife, and kids.” These last two posts are reminders to me that God has called me to love and honor family above my job. Today I praise God for our kiddoes. Earlier today I told you about my oldest sons school and his work with his buddy at a retirement home his teacher takes his class to every Friday. Another cool thing I love about our kids school is the way cool music program. One of the events my oldest son and his school choir have been practicing for happens here tonight where they get to sing the National Anthem before the opening pitch at the Oakland A’s minor league AAA affiliate baseball game. Along with the weekly visits to the retirement home with his class, the music program rates on his other favorite thing to do at school. I do not remember doing the things my kids have done this past year while I was growing up in good old Los Angeles Unified schools. Praise God for opportunities our kids have and for teachers who take the role as educator as a huge blessing and responsibility.
My oldest sons class teacher has this wonderful program where he weekly takes his fifth grade class to a retirement facility where the students are assigned a buddy for the entire academic school year. It’s impressive. I’ve watched kids who would never speak to someone above the age of 90 overnight befriend those who have in many ways been cast aside because they are about done with life. Here is a poem my son wrote about his buddy…
My Buddy Stanford
My first days at R.O.P
I didn’t really care,
My buddy Stanford and I
Had nothing really to share.
He had a disability
My dear old buddy Stanford,
He cannot sing or speak
So he points to letters on a board.
At first it was very tough
To see what he had to say,
But I enjoyed to visit my buddy Stan
Every week on Friday.
And as the weeks were flying by
I loved to see his smile,
His eyes, his motions, his pointing to letters
I enjoyed it all the while.
Although he couldn’t speak to me
It didn’t really matter,
I couldn’t wish for my times with Stan
Could be any better.
If I had a special choice
To give someone a crown,
I would choose my buddy Stan
Because he never frowns.
My times with Stanford have been really great
All throughout the year,
And the fading years of his golden life
Aren’t even near.
Trust me when I say that right when you think public school education is about to fall apart, along comes my sons teacher. He had a dream a mentor of his had in teaching kids how to relate with older adults. The dream continues every Friday around 10:30am. We can’t be more pleased.
Today is a reminder for me in that I’ve been called by the Lord to help nurture and teach my sons the importance in giving God thanks for MOM. It truly is a day that is about loving and praising God for Debbie. For years I felt a void because of her jumping ship while I was in high school. After many years of not being in contact with my mom I had become somewhat certain that she either had died or had simply fallen off the face of the earth. My earliest memories of my mom were when her and I would walk to the near by safeway market where we lived in Hollywood. I remember her coming to my elememtary school when I had a hard day with some kids and then she then took me over to a greasy hambuger stand on Hollywood Blvd and cheered me up with a late afternoon lunch. What I remember most about my mom was that she was someone who did the best she could with what she had. When I found out she had died in a car accident in the late 90’s I experienced a wide range of emotions. Although I grieved her death I was relieved in that the Lord gave me closure to the void I had experienced for many years. The Lord I know has healed me of some painful years. I’m certain most of the Lords healing comes from my desire to honor God by loving Debbie and my sons with all of my heart. Praying for Debbie when I ever I can. Most of all praying that my boys will remember daily the importance of loving Debbie as their mom.
