Death

There's a great post over at Lilly's Pad entitled "The Mystery of Death..." Check it out - it is a thoughtful look at a situation we've all been in or will be in as we minister to others. Lilly writes in a straight-forward manner that is simple, yet profound at the same time. I always appreciate reading her thoughts on difficult subjects.

The Teen Whisperer

I started a new book today, The Teen Whisperer: How to Break Through the Silence and Secrecy of Teenage Life, by Mike Linderman with Gary Brozek. Mike Linderman is a licensed counselor who has worked with teens for more than ten years. He's been married for twenty years and is the proud father of three healthy teens. He lives in Trout Creek, Montana. The book looks like it will be pretty good. I'm thinking this will be a good resource for youth pastors and for parents. I'll post a review when I'm finished with the book. For now, here's the publisher's description of the book:

Mike Linderman is a star in the making. He wrestles cattle at the crack of dawn, then spends his days working with the country's most troubled teens before coming home at night to three healthy teens of his own. Where so many other therapists can only offer futile advice to struggling parents, Linderman has mastered a blend of downhome honesty and military–like discipline––not to mention a layer of trust and love very rarely found in the therapist's office. Most of the teens Linderman treats are angry, abused, violent, and dangerous–they are children without hope.

Yet despite their difficult pasts, Linderman has achieved an extraordinary success rate with these teens, helping them turn their lives around and earning him the nickname "the Teen Whisperer." The son of a poor ranching family, Linderman learned at an early age the values of honesty, tough love, and hard work. Miraculously, it is those three values that have transformed the hardened clients at his school into loving, rational, productive teens.

Finally, Linderman shares these and other secrets with parents everywhere as he explains his methods for turning around America's toughest teens. Centering on the Five Primary Needs of Teens (Survival, Fun, Freedom, Power, and Belonging), his approach demonstrates the importance each of these concepts plays in teen's family life and the negative impact that occurs when a family is incapable of fulfilling these Needs. Here he provides concrete steps that parents can take to reconnect with their teens as they work together to create a stronger relationship and kids learn to:
* Trust themselves and others
* Process emotion and pain in healthy ways
* Understand and appreciate boundaries
* Gain joy and pride in real work
* Live a life of love, respect and gratitude

Interacting with teens on their terms and in their language, Linderman allows parents to see that in order to help kids you must meet them at their level and treat them as peers not subordinates. With powerful and effective words, he calls on readers to understand that our teenagers deserve our love––not our fear––and ultimately it is this unique and straightforward perspective that sets him apart. It is this methodology, grounded in honesty and integrity, that has led to his unparalleled success record with some our country's most difficult youths. This is the story of that success and how parents can use the lessons he's learned to heal the troubled hearts of their own families.

Soccer Rant

I read an article in the Sports section of The Washington Post this morning about the U.S. women's national soccer team. The article was about Coach Greg Ryan making a change of goalie on the eve of their World Cup semifinal match with Brazil. Talk about foreshadowing! I thought that making a switch wasn't a good idea as the author of the article, Steven Goff, hinted. On my way to the office, I heard the score was 2-0 Brazil. By the time I got to the office it was 3-0. And the final ended up being 4-0. Turns out changing keepers might not have been the best idea. On the way home this afternoon I heard an interview with Hope Solo, the goalie who was benched. She called out the coach for making the change!

Here's a snippet: "It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that. There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. . . . You have to live in the present. And you can't live by big names. You can't live in the past." Good for her!

Now, before the comments roll in about a blog post on women's soccer, know this:

1) I consider soccer not only a sport, but a good one.

2) I have three daughters who may one day play soccer.

3) I know probably not many people are blogging about this, much less men blogging about it, and I don't care.

RANT ALERT!

It irks me when people make stupid decisions and replacing a successful goalie (whose previous three matches were shutouts) on the eve of the most important match since the 2004 Olympics qualifies in my book as stupid.

On a positive note, D.C. United won last night!

Catching Up

Today, my oldest daughter, Annie, said she didn't want to go to school. She said this as we were walking to school. We never broke stride and after hugging and kissing me at the school entrance, she went inside and walked to her classroom. Whatever made her not want to go to school must not have been too bad. When I picked her up today, she said she had a good day. When I asked her if she was glad she went to school she said yes. When I asked her why she didn't want to go this morning she said she just didn't. Isn't that the way we are sometimes with the things in our lives?

Annie is in Kindergarten. She started school on July 30 - her school is on an alternative schedule. She loves school! In fact, today was the first time she ever mentioned not wanting to go to school. Annie being in Kindergarten is a monumental life passage. I have the privilege and joy of being able to walk her to school every morning. Along the way, we talk, usually about what she might do that day or about big things coming up. We always say a prayer on our way to school. It's tough as a parent to watch your kids grow up. Moments like these are exciting and sad! The excitement comes from the possibilities of the future for Annie. The sadness comes from the realization that Annie is no longer spending her days at home learning from Mommy. Kids grow up so fast!

Randa and Annie at the special lunch we had together before Annie started school.

Annie ready to leave the house for the first day of school!

Annie sitting at her table on the first day of Kindergarten!

Random Stuff

There was an interesting article on the front page of today's Washington Post about worship and technology. Seems like people are more concerned with the method rather than the act of worship.

Yesterday's USA Today had an interesting opinion piece about God and the role of women. Reminds me why I'm not Southern Baptist anymore.

The warm weather we've been having lately reminds me of something that can only be described as coming from God - the Frosty! I enjoyed one this afternoon and it was heavenly!

Remedy is here and it is truly amazing! DCB continues to produce wonderful worship music. Read Marko's review here - his is better than anything I could do.

My sister-in-law Erin celebrated her 30th birthday today! Happy Birthday! Erin is married to a great guy named Jeremy and together they are the parents of four wonderful kids. You can check out her thoughts on motherhood here.

Fall Means Blogging!

After taking most of the summer off from blogging, I've decided to start back up on this, the first full day of fall! A lot has happened over the last several months, so I think there will be many posts forthcoming! Let's start with this past weekend.

Friday through Sunday was my fourth Summit Lake Senior High Retreat. This is the second year I have been involved in leading the retreat as the "Retreat Director." In reality, I work with a great team of fellow youth pastors from the NorthStar Church Network to help make the retreat happen. My main contribution has been to be the administrative leader. I don't mind it, but I am looking forward to having someone else either take the mantle or at least be co-director.

I felt this year's retreat was our best one yet. The speaker, Chris Folmsbee, was great and together with Harp 46 and Communidad Hispana de Columbia, made up the best worship leadership I think we've had at my four years of Summit Lake. The words honest, open, authentic, heartfelt, and genuine come to mind when describing our leadership. They pointed us to God! They challenged us! They encouraged us! Chris left immediately after our last worship celebration so that he could try to get an earlier flight back home to be with his family. That's the kind of speaker I want teaching my students. My good friend Josh and I (along with Andy and Katie) helped put together some worship stations that made the worship times even more special. Thanks Josh! You can read more about Summit Lake at Chris' blog and Josh's blog.

Josh with Chris at Summit Lake.

Me with Chris. Unfortunately for Chris, his Bears lost to my Cowboys!

The best part of the weekend for me was having my family present. This was the first youth trip that we have attended as a family. My wife is awesome! She did so much with the kids by herself because of my leadership responsibilities at the retreat. The times we were together made the weekend special for me. Being able to see Randa and the girls each day was awesome. Eating meals together, going on paddle boat rides, playing on the playground, and worshipping together was an experience that I will never forget.

Westwood Baptist at Summit Lake!