K.C. Wahe - Follower of Jesus, Husband, Father, Pastor, Student, Blogger

Merry Christmas from the Wahe COOL Wahes! (This picture was taken this past Sunday right after church)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpog1_NFd2Q]

Can we clone this guy?

 HT: Steve

Around 6:30am this morning this event took place the day after our youngest had a tooth fall out…

Youngest boy: “Dad?”

Me: “yes.”

Youngest boy: “The tooth fairy didn’t come.” (As he holds his little baggie with the tooth still in the baggie with no cash in it and as I scramble quickly looking for a buck and my wife mumbles half asleep, “look in my purse,” as youngest boy looks all over his room for the dough)

Me: As youngest boy is trying to inquire why the tooth fairy didn’t come with mom in our room, I under stealth go into his room and stuff a buck under his pillow, I enter back into our room, quickly jump on our bed and my wife says to youngest boy, “why don’t you go back into your room and look again?”

Youngest boy: Enters our room again with a big smile holding up the buck and the tooth still in the baggie and says, “what about the tooth?”

Me and the wifey: “Sigh.”

In about eleven days I’ll have been the pastor of this awesome church for one year. So much has happened in a year. I’ve preached a bunch of sermons. I’ve done a couple of weddings, a few baptisms, a couple of funerals, and I’m learning how to build a new church building with some awesome leaders. What am I learning in my first year as a solo pastor?

I’m learning to listen. The church needs someone to listen for those God moments. Those little reminders that God is at work and that its not about us as the people of God or me as a pastor. I’m also learning to listen to those who truly are led by God. One of my jobs is to empower the people of God to be the ministers. Finding people with a heart for ministry and for bringing hope to those people who need hope. Finally, I’m learning to listen to those who really need someone to just stop and listen. I want to be the kind of pastor who doesn’t mind not trying to have all the answers as opposed to the pastor who always tries to be “super fix it pastor to the rescue” which is easy to do as a pastor.

I’m learning to breathe. Breathing is important when you’re in ministry. No matter how big or small your church is that you pastor. Others need to see you breathe. Its a sign of ones trust in God to be at the center of all things. Its our opportunity as pastors to give God thanks for everything that happens in the life of the church even if its not the way we want it to be.

I’m learning to rest. I remember the pastor who charged me at my installation. Resting and taking care of myself, my mind, and my body have not been top of the list of things to do this past year. I’ve even had some warning shots fired at my head reminding me to stop and rest in God’s restoring power. Learning mostly to spend time resting in Christ and his love for me as his own. In spending time with God being one who prays often as a way of finding rest in God. I still enjoy what Nouwen says, “what would it look like if someone called the church office and asked for the pastor and the response of the secretary was sorry the pastor is out praying.”

I’m learning to enjoy my family. I had a pastor friend tell me not to do the same thing he did in sacrificing his family over the church in his first couple of years as a solo pastor. When the six year old wants me to follow his “neatly” drawn map in finding a secret treasure in the house, I sure as better get my “button” off my chair and go play with that little guy. I’m also learning that as I sit here and write this post that the kids aren’t getting any younger and if I’m hiding behind a computer or sitting in a meeting that I’m really not needed at I will miss this ride called parenting and enjoying our kids. Finally, enjoying the blessing of being married to a woman that I love more than anything and that continues to encourage me and love me no matter what. Knowing that again she is someone that I am not willing to lose because of my need to be “super pastor dude.”

Over this next week I will do some more reflecting on lessons learned and that I’m still learning as a first year pastor.

My kids asked me once, “Dad, were you ever on the principals list or honor roll?” My response, “No, I think I was on the custodians list?”

This week is parent teacher conferences for the kiddoes.

And as parental units we are very pleased to say the kiddoes rocked. Bring on those cheesy cool bumper stickers that say my kids rock at their school!!!

My other favorite question from the kiddoes, “Dad, did you ever get straight A’s?”

Here ends my post on grades and kids.

Kids and gaming. One word…Ughhhh

My gaming as a kid was asteroids and pac-man at a local 7-11 in Hollywood in 1981. If you wanted to play a game, it cost you a quarter.

I will be charging now as the kiddlings enter the age of the need to play 24 hours a day…

Twenty Five Cents…in 1981????

$5.00 in 2007?????? Oh yeah!!!! I”ll be rich by the time they get out of high school…I guess they will need allowance now…maybe not rich, but coffee money is nice.
ht: ysmarko

We have a time in our service at church where we hear prayers of concern or praise. Let me take you back to our church this morning for this little bit of coolness…

Me: “Are there other prayers of praise or concern?”

Child 1 raising hand: “I’m going to Tahoe.” (Going with family member)

Child 2 raising hand: (Huge smile on his face as a he raises his hand) “My dad is taking me to see transformers.”

It was the cutest thing I’ve ever experienced in church and a reminder of the need for us big people to come to the Lord in prayer with a kids heart.

Did a little self care today and took the family to Manhattan Beach. What a great beach. I haven’t been to this beach for almost seven or eight years. Back in my youth group days as a youth pastor guy we’d take kids to Manhatten Beach every week for a whole summer for what seemed like years. It was also the first time we’d been back to a So. Cal beach for longer than an hour since we’d been back from Princeton in 2003 and east Coast beaches, better known as the shore weren’t much to write home about and we hated paying to enter “the shore.” No. Cal beaches weren’t that great themselves. Being in Manhattan Beach today though brought back a whole lot of memories serving in youth ministry and the relationships we’d had built on the behalf of Christ. Now as for the family, got to go booooooogie boarding with da boys and played in the water for a very long time. Deb and I got to witness some happy kiddoes sitting in the midst of the grace of the ocean, some huge sand crabs, and the grace of God.

You ROCK Deb! Thank you Lord for Deb. Bless her, love her, fill her with your love, and most of all may she continue to be and become the woman you’ve created her to be. May it be so. amen.

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Woke up Easter morning around 3:20am. Showered, got ready for a beautiful sunrise service at 6:00am (of course it was the Antelope Valley cloud cover) Arrived to the church at 4:30am after stopping at McDonald’s for coffee. (I can’t believe I’m saying this, the coffee is actually better than Starbucks) Littlerock is also the quietest little place in the Valley at 4:30am. Finished one service got ready for the next two. It was a joy to be able to preach on Easter Sunday. Years past I’ve been on the other side listening to the preacher or I was always away doing some kind of youth group mission trip. This year was neat in that I got to be the one giving the message. My favorite sermon of the three was the one I gave to a bunch of folks at the Sunrise service in Juniper Hills. My sermon title was “it really happened,” and my text was Matthew 28:1-10. What was special about the day was that three of the churches from the area helped lead the service. Each of the pastors had a different role and it was a day where we were one church, the church universal proclaiming that Jesus is Lord. We also had a great day back at the church. I loved arriving to the smell of lilies and coffee. After the second service folks stayed and ate some Easter munchies and fellowshiped together. The parental unit in-laws joined us for church. It was neat to have them in worship. We ended the day with a feast back at case de Wahe. Yours truly cooked his first ham. It was also a blessing in that we’ve never owned a home until this year, praise God! We were able to host our first meal for our relatives. The best part once the meal was over and as I couldn’t keep my eyes open from being up since 3:30am and stuffing my face with easter treats was hearing the sounds of the “moms” outside with kids searching for plastic eggs filled with coins and than watching one of the kiddoes counting his loot. Anyways, praise be to God that we in the church universal get to celebrate “Easter” all year long…oh yeah! The dodgers swept the giants…a very cool day.Thanks for the reminder Scotty!