If only…

HT:YSMARKO.COM

Week two has begun. The car-pools have started. School is in full swing. Homework, typing definitions on the computer, and the letter of the week all seem to be filling our house. I’ve even caught the first cold of the school year. RRRGGGGH! Deb’s even having a great time teaching her new class of students. I’m loving it! I’m even hanging out with a youth group right now which is kind of coool. I’m keeping a half a foot in the doors of youth ministry which I’ve always loved. It’s a way for me to remember where I’ve come from in ministry and where the Lord wants me to go. In ministry sometimes you have to go back to the basics. Loving people and giving them Jesus. This is why I do what I do as a follower of Jesus and as a pastor. We get to go to LA this weekend. It will be nice to be away and visiting with friends and family. We will celebrate two birthdays…a 5 year and a 10 year old birthday…wow! How we miss our little babies. I will be preaching here which I’m happy about. It’s a way for me to say thanks to some folks who’ve walked with Deb and I for several years in ministry.  Make sure you stop by Jenny’s place to tell her your praying for her as she finishes her ordination exams for the PCUSA. They are the most fun she will ever have in preparing to becoming a minister of word and sacrament.

Crusing some blogs. Came upon this. No need for words. And here I’m hoping Cali increases the minimum wage for some kids I know…never mind.

HT: JB

My blogging has been limited because of summer and school preparations for our family. I hope to get caught up with some blogging in the next few weeks. I’ve been very thrilled of recent that our boys are finally catching onto the need to help make our home somewhat manageable. We spent some time last week learning how to do chores. I showed them everything from cleaning the bathrooms to washing dishes and placing them into a dishwasher. Guess who’s not doing dishes tonight? YEAH! Anyways, their new list of chores sits on the fridge and their hopes of some kind of benefits for their hard work weekly in the form of a small monetary sum of green cash will pay off I pray. The real treat about today was that my wife started a new teaching job today. She’s teaching a class of Russian/English speaking 2nd graders. I got to help all last week get her class room ready and in order. What a boost for my wife. The boys also started school and I have to admit that I was a blubbering fool. One in kinder, the other starting 5th grade and "JI GAN-TOR" starting Jr. high. I think the treat for me was that as a kid I didn’t have a father who cared enough to get me to school on time and to help make sure I was ready. I get to be the one along with my wife to help get our dudes ready for their new year of school. Praise God for new beginnings. My favorite story from the newbie seventh grader was the locker taking ten minutes to open…some things don’t change.

I’m in conversation with a couple of shweet churches about possible pastorates. Although I’m waiting on pins and needles for a couple, I’m remembering that it’s not my time, but the Lords timing in regards to our future. So, we’re off to a fresh start and here we go again!!!!

Life is cool today…

Dodgers are in first place…(15 of the last 16 games they’ve won)

They shweeped the Giants…(Sorry NoCal Buddies)

And the kids go back to school in a week…

I love this picture. Russell Martin’s first ever walk off homer…how shweet is that?

OH YEAH!

In a few minutes…I’m going with my oldest boy to 7th grade orientation…AGGGHHHHH!

Any words of wisdom, advice, suggestions….prayers as we begin this new journey? How come I’d rather be doing pre-school orientation with him as opposed to this? AGGHHHH!

My favorite family thing we’ve done together in a long time. Great picture…our friend sent this to us from our trip to Yosemite last week. Someones missing though…hehe.

Debbie reminded me to post the picture of the bear that she almost danced with while were at the church doing VBS…and which tip toed on our mini van…and made our little dude think a bear was going to jump out all day long along the a trail we hiked….she is the mommy of all! hehe.

Nice to be home. What do I mean by this? Deb and I had the chance to spend some time with some old friends at Yosemite last week. What a blast. We helped run a small VBS program for a group of kids. It was a treat to serve and I was the bible dude for the week for the kids. I helped my buddy Chauncey lead some music and we got to jam on some of his Celtic music favorites. Deb and I also got to spend time together catching up with these old friends and it was nice. Nice to be with friends who are like minded when it comes to the gospel. The treat for me was that I got to serve communion to these old friends who’ve watched me grow up. Some of these friends are like surrogate parents to me. A representation of the church universal and they all had a part in my life growing up here. It was also a treat for our boys and me to climb vernal falls. I know some of you are thinking, so what? Vernal falls is nothing. Why not half dome? Well, it was special because my boys and I did it together. I watched both of them stop often as they breathed in the sights of the climb. The mist trail was the best. Even when I felt like I was going to cough up a lung, I had to get to the top. I couldn’t let this one go by. I never once did this kind of thing with my pop and the memory of doing this together will stay with me for a long time. They’re already talking half dome…anyways, it was nice to be with these friends and we’re actually looking forward to next year. God is good. I’m jazzed that I get to go again in September. I got selected to be a chaperone on my boys class trip to the Yosemite Institute, one of the boys said, "dad, you better get to the gym, lots of hiking!"

My family and I just got back from this wonderful place. God’s world ROCKS! This is better than blogging…