This Blog Is Moving!

For the two or three of you that read this blog:

I've decided to experiment with Wordpress, so I've moved this blog. You can find me now here.

Family Vacation

We took a few days of vacation this week and traveled to Lancaster, PA. The highlight of our short vacation was a trip to Dutch Wonderland, a theme park that bills itself as a 'Kingdom for Kids.' That is an apt description as our children had a great time! Here are a few short videos of the highlight of the day for me: Annie and Allison's first roller coaster!

IMPACT Virginia!

I'm at IMPACT Virginia! this week. IMPACT is a week-long (construction) missions camp experience. This year we are in Bluefield, Virginia. We're staying at Bluefield College - a definite upgrade over sleeping on a high school classroom floor. Things are going well. I hope to be able to post some more later. I also hope to get back to more regular posting after I return.

The Perfect Alibi Trailer

Here's a trailer for a short film by one of the students in my youth group. She's a senior and she wants to major in film/media. I've seen the film and it's pretty good. I think she's got a future in the film business. Many of the actors and extras are also members of our youth group and college group.

We're showing the film at our church later this month. Let me know if you want to come and I'll get you the details.

Are you a bigger loser than Marko? Final Results

It's been some time since I last posted to the blog. Going on two trips (to Kansas City and Atlanta) really threw off my schedule and I've been playing catch up for the past few weeks. A lot has happened in the last few weeks and I'll hopefully be catching up with the blog posting soon.

The Are you a bigger loser than Marko? contest ended during my trip to Kansas City. Since I wasn't taking my scale with me to KC, I did my final weigh in on Wednesday morning, April 23. The contest ended on Friday, with final weight and pictures due in to YS by 8 AM. I finished at 219 pounds - for a total loss of 32 pounds during the 12 weeks of competition. That put me in about 14th place among the men that completed the contest. I finished 4 pounds shy of my goal, but I am not disappointed. I am really happy that I lost 32 pounds! Unbelievable! Here are the pictures:

Click here to see the starting pictures. I can tell that I've lost a lot because my clothes do not fit anymore, Randa keeps telling me how skinny I look, and people at church and elsewhere have noticed and commented on the loss. It's been great! Marko won the contest. He lost just over 60 pounds! However, he was disqualified later - check out the video below to see why (and why youth ministry people are the best)!

I've not eaten as well or exercised as regularly since the end of the contest, but I had lost one more pound as of Monday bringing me to 218 pounds and the half way mark to my ultimate goal! I've eaten better and exercised more this week and I plan to stay on track until I reach my ultimate goal of 185 pounds. My new goals are as follows: I'd like to be at 205 pounds by the time we leave for IMPACT Virginia! on June 22nd. I'd like to be at 185 pounds by the time we leave for Summit Lake Senior High Retreat on September 26th. That would be awesome!

TRACKER: Starting Weight 251, Current Weight 218, Ultimate Goal 185

Are you a bigger loser than Marko? Week 11 Recap

This week was not so good for me - no weight loss. But, no weight gain either! I'm hoping to make my goal weight, but realistically, I know I won't - especially for the contest (which ends this Friday). This experience has been great and I love that I have lost weight.

A Friend's Ordination

Sunday morning I drove down to the Roanoke area to participate in the ordination of my friend, Terry Goodnight. Terry is the Minister to Students at Vinton Baptist Church. I had the privilege to share in his ordination by giving The Charge to the Candidate. It's a little long, but I want to include it here because I really want to remember this special day in my friend's life.

Terry and I have known each other for 12 years. We first met in the Spring of 1996 at a preview weekend at Truett Seminary. We both enrolled in the Fall of that year and by the end of our first year of seminary, we had become life-long friends. This time of ordination has been a long time in coming and I am privileged to be a part of this service.

Ordination is simply the setting apart by formal recognition to an office or special service. Of course, ordination is not essential to ministry. Charles H. Spurgeon and D.L. Moody were never ordained, but both had wonderful ministries. Ordination is however, important for both the church and the minister. I was ordained almost one year ago to the day (mine was on April 22). For the longest time, I resisted being ordained. But then things changed. Let me share with you a passage from my blog that I wrote back on November 29, 2005, that I feel illustrates the importance of ordination:
"My pastor has encouraged me to consider ordination not only as part of God's calling on my life, but also because it would be good for our church. Although he didn't use these words, ordination would be a part of God's calling on our church community. I think I feel comfortable with that view of ordination. After all, being a pastor is about living out a shared calling with my church community--it's our calling!"

In the words of Baptist historian Leon McBeth, "It's a good thing to recognize God's call on a person's life. It's a way to say, 'We recognize God has called and gifted you for ministry. Amen, and more power to you.'"

With that in mind, Terry, I’d like to share a verse that reminds me of you. It is Ezra 7:10:
"For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel."

Terry, I think of three things when I think of you as a minister: you are a life-long learner, you are a passionate teacher, and you love teenagers. With those things in mind, I want to leave you with these challenges:

FIRST, deepen your love relationship with the LORD. Make daily time for God and spend daily time with God. Live out James 4:8 – Come near to God and he will come near to you. This is the foundation that you must have in order to be successful as a minister. After God, comes your family, and then your ministry. Don’t fall into the temptation to reverse the order. Terry, I charge you to Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

SECOND, continue to be obedient to the word of God. As you study the word, make it a priority to be diligent in obeying its commands and truths. Live by the saying attributed to St. Francis of Assisi – Preach the word daily; if necessary, use words. Terry, I charge you to make the Word a lamp to your feet and a light for your path, to make God’s statutes the joy of your heart, and to set your heart on keeping God’s decrees to the very end.

THIRD, continue to love people and care for them. Terry, I have experienced your friendship, love, and care first hand. You have made a difference in my life. Continue to make a difference in people’s lives. Always let people know you love them. Terry, I charge you to keep loving and caring for people.

FOURTH, continue being a person of integrity. As Paul Powell says in his book, The New Ministers Manual, “Effective ministry is based on integrity.” Ministries crumble to pieces when integrity is lacking. Terry, you are a man of integrity and my charge here to you is to keep being the man of integrity that you are.

FIFTH, be sincere in your ministry. Be yourself; don’t put on a front or wear a mask. Now, I don’t think this is going to be a problem. I have never experienced you as anything other than the real deal. You are not false or superficial or full of pride. You are a man of your word and you are someone who can be counted on. The charge here is to keep doing that and to GIVE GOD THE GLORY!

Now, the church has a responsibility to you as well. Church, I charge you to take care of Terry—financially meet his needs, give him time for himself and his (future) family, support him in prayer, accept him as a leader, do your part in the work of the ministry, encourage him, and cooperate together in setting goals for the future of Vinton Baptist Church. Remember that in ordaining Terry, you are all in the ministry together.

FINALLY, with apologies to Paul, In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge Terry: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Love God with your whole being. Obey the Word at all times. Love and care for people. Live with integrity each and every day. And give God the Glory in all you do.

That night, Terry's youth "ordained" him in their own special way. You gotta love youth ministry!

Are you a bigger loser than Marko? Week 10 Recap

Week 10 was great! I lost 4 pounds and now I'm down to 220 pounds. I am only 5 pounds away from my contest goal with two weeks remaining! I'm almost halfway to my ultimate goal of 185 pounds. I wasn't expecting to lose so much this week because even though my eating was good I didn't think my exercise was that great. I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale this morning! I'm feeling better physically and people, especially at church, are starting to notice and say nice things about my weight loss. Of course Randa has been the best. It's great to hear your wife gush over how good she thinks you're looking! With only two more weeks to go and beating Marko an unattainable goal at this point (he's lost close to 55 pounds), I have firmly set my sights on reaching my goal of getting down to 215 pounds - a 36 pound loss over 12 weeks. Here's to a great two remaining weeks!

TRACKER: Starting Weight 251, Current Weight 220, Contest Goal 215, Ultimate Goal 185

Contest Rank: I'm currently in 11th place among the men - not too bad!

Are you a bigger loser than Marko? Week 9 Recap

I lost two pounds this past week - encouraging, but I was hoping for three! That puts me at 27 pounds lost after 9 weeks. I am still on schedule for making my contest goal weight of 215, but it will not be easy. I need to lose three pounds a week these next three weeks - hard, but doable!

TRACKER: Starting Weight 251, Current Weight 224, Contest Goal 215, Ultimate Goal 185

Family Spring Break!

Since Annie goes to a school that is on a modified calendar, we've had an extended Spring Break this year - three weeks! The first week, of course, was Holy Week. But, these last two weeks have given us opportunities as a family to get away and do some fun things together. This year, we visited Maymont in Richmond, the Children's Museum of Richmond, the Cherry Blossoms at the Tidal Basin, and just had some fun times locally at parks and at the Planet Play in the mall. Here is a slide show with some of the highlights:

Are you a bigger loser than Marko? Week 8 Recap

As you can see, Week 8 did not go as well as I hoped! Once again, I only lost one pound. I really was hoping to lose three. Technically, I'm still on pace to reach my contest goal of losing 36 pounds - at the two-thirds point I've lost 25 pounds. Realistically, I'm thinking for the first time that I might not make my goal. I'm still hopeful and I'm still happy that I am losing weight. Here's to a strong finish in the final third of the contest! Marko is kicking serious butt (he's lost just shy of 47 pounds) - there may not be any bigger losers than Marko!

TRACKER: Starting Weight 251, Current Weight 226, Contest Goal 215, Ultimate Goal 185

Are you a bigger loser than Marko? Week 7 Recap

Week 7 was my worst week so far in the contest. In retrospect, I knew this kind of week was coming. I only lost one pound this week. I knew things would get tougher as we progressed, but the reality of small losses (or no losses) hadn't hit me until this morning. I have to keep reminding myself that I am doing this not so much to win or even beat Marko (although that would be nice), but to make long-term lifestyle changes with the way I eat and exercise. Small losses and no gains are still making progress toward that life-changing goal and that's what is important.

I ate fairly well last week. What let me down (again) was not drinking enough water and not exercising consistently. I blame part of that on it being Spring Break week, but part has to be blamed on just plain laziness. I'll have to buckle down if I want to reach my weight loss goal for the contest. I'm 12 pounds away from my contest goal, with 5 weeks remaining. I can reach my goal! With that in mind, here are my goals for the remainder of the contest. I hope to lose three pounds in each of the next two weeks and two pounds in each of the last three weeks. That would put me squarely on my goal of losing 36 pounds! Here we go!

TRACKER: Starting Weight 251, Current Weight 227, Contest Goal 215, Ultimate Goal 185

Lent Update - Final

Lent is over! This year's season of Lent was special for me. I was able to keep my Lenten promise of not watching sports on television. It was difficult at times, but it was a good promise to make and to keep. Randa especially enjoyed not having the TV on sports during the weekends of Lent. I was able to do more with my family during this time, so that was nice. I also was able to reflect more inwardly spiritually during this time. Missing sports on TV (especially the first three days of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament) wasn't too bad. I was satisfied with filling that time by focusing on my relationship with God. I even learned a few things about myself and how I had been spending my time. I need to spend more time with my family and with God. While I'm not giving up sports watching for good, I'll definitely watch less from here on out. (Football season will be the big test - I'll check back on this promise then.)

Once again, I enjoyed hearing from the children about how they did with their promises. The youth made promises this year as well. Sharing together in community this discipline was good - for us as individuals and as a group. I always left church on Wednesday and Sunday nights encouraged by the stories from the children and youth.

The final observation that I have on Lent is the power of the promise kept. Focusing on the promise during the season of Lent brought a new appreciation and joy for Easter. Celebrating Easter took on a new sense of joy as I was able to watch some NCAA basketball on television for the first time! I don't think it was a coincidence that the first NCAA tourney game I was able to watch was the Davidson upset of Georgetown. Pure joy!

Easter

We had a great Easter Sunday! The National Chamber Brass played in our service this morning. They have become an Easter Sunday tradition and really add a special quality to our worship service. Our pastor gave three meditations from John 20; they tied together nicely and after each of the first two, you were left waiting for the next one. In between the meditations was music - either a hymn or special music. Today's service had more music than usual and that was a good thing! The following hymn is one that we sung today and also one of my favorites.

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

Charles Wesley, 1707-1788

Christ the Lord is risen today. Alleluia!

Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, you heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!

Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!

Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!

Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!

Where, O death, is now your sting? Alleluia!

Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia!

Where’s your victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!

Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!

Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia!

Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!

Praise to you by both be given, Alleluia!

You we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!

Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia!

Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!

You to know, your power to prove, Alleluia!

Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!

After church, we went to Boston Market for lunch. After nap time/quiet time (and Tourney time for me), we had our egg hunt, took some family pictures, and dyed eggs. It was definitely a full day!

Spring Break / Holy Week

This past week was Spring Break for our students. Spring Break always coincides with Holy Week here in Fairfax County. We usually plan a few opportunities for fellowship and an opportunity for service during the week, in addition to the special worship opportunities provided by the church. This year's worship opportunities included a Maundy Thursday service and a prayer labyrinth.

Monday was spent at a Wizards game. The Wizards played Atlanta. We went down early and had dinner at Potbelly's before the game. Since it was St. Patrick's Day, the Wizards were having a promotional giveaway - nice, green rally towels that light up.

The game was exciting for the most part, but the Wizards lost, as they have not heard about something called 'playing defense'. It was a nice consolation to see Acie Law play for the Hawks. (Acie is probably the best men's basketball player ever from Texas A&M). All in all, it was a good time!

Wednesday was laser tag day. Laser tag was a compromise between bowling and paintball. We played over at Shadowland in Alexandria. Everyone seemed to have an enjoyable time, but the best memory I'll take from the event was when one of our senior girls got excited about finishing in second place and declared that she found her calling!

Friday, the family and I spent the day together. We went to Krispy Kreme for a mid-morning snack. I'm proud to say that I only had one chocolate-glazed donut! After that, we went to a nearby park - Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. We almost had the whole place to ourselves! We played on the park playground, walked around the park, and played on the playgrounds at the school next to the park. We ended our time at the park by having a mid-afternoon picnic and a final round of play on the playground. It was a fun day!

Today was our service project. We joined with Cornerstone Baptist in Warrenton for a follow-up time to our JUBILEE Retreat. This was another opportunity for us to put Jubilee into action.

We worked at a ministry called Community Touch. This ministry is doing wonderful things in the rural community outside of Warrenton. They have a food bank, a clothing and furniture store, and they provide transitional housing. It was great to be able to serve at a ministry that is doing meaningful things in their community. It was also fun to hang out with Josh.

Are you a bigger loser than Marko? Week 6 Recap

We're at the halfway mark of the contest! I lost 2 pounds this past week, bringing me to 228 pounds. Not bad, but it was only half of what I wanted to lose. I slacked off too much this past week - not enough walking, too much eating out (and too many sweets), and not drinking enough water. I plan to get back on track this week, so I'm setting my goal for this week to lose 4 pounds. I'm happy that I'm losing weight each week. I feel better than I have felt in a long time. I even managed to win a game of basketball knockout against the youth last night! Randa bested me this week by losing three pounds - way to go, Babe!

Marko is tearing it up! He was in 2nd place among the men last week. He lost a little over three pounds this past week, so he's ahead of me by about 12-13 pounds. Since we started at about the same weight, it's not looking good for me as far as beating him. But, you never know! I'm just glad I am losing weight. I'm also encouraged by my progress and I am pretty sure that I will make my goal of getting to 215 by the end of the contest! That would be awesome and victory for me!

TRACKER: Starting Weight 251, Current Weight 228, Contest Goal 215, Ultimate Goal 185

Lent Update - Week 5

Carrot Top Studios

We're to Holy Week now. So far, I have done pretty well in keeping my Lenten Promise of not watching sports on television. I noticed I had been lingering a little too long when I was flipping through the channels Saturday. I feel that this week will be the most difficult for me because of the NCAA basketball tournament beginning on Thursday. But, I also feel it will be the most rewarding as well. As I've been discussing with the children and youth, the keeping of a promise is not supposed to be for us to brag about, but something that draws us closer to God. I am hoping that this week will be a good time of reflection for me - reflecting on my relationship with God, my role as a husband and father, and my role as a vocational minister. As we talked about last night at FaithStation (our youth group meeting), I want to think on a deeper level this week and gain insight into who I really am in God's eyes. Easter is coming - Hallelujah!

the CORE: Generation Change

Today, six of us (three adults, three students) attended the CORE: Generation Change at National Presbyterian Church in D.C. This year's theme was about transformation and helping students reach their dreams of changing their world. As always, the CORE material was excellent and our presenter, Brock Morgan, was very good. He shared personal examples from his ministry and from his family that really connected the theme material with the audience. We had to leave early so that some of our students could be at the final choir rehearsal for Sunday's performance of the Vivaldi Gloria. I trust my friend Chris will fill me in on what we missed! I love the ministry of Youth Specialties, especially their two big events: the CORE and the National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC). The CORE is an excellent opportunity for all youth workers (and for the first time this year, student leaders) to get some training and encouragement. The time commitment and price can't be beat and the content is always timely and helpful!

That's a Scary Thought!

Dr. Gray!
Picture this setting as you say those words: I'm in a hospital room visiting with a patient. Here's the story:

I made a hospital visit today to see a church member who is recovering from surgery on a herniated disc. While there, I was mistaken for being a doctor not once, but twice! Two different nurses came into the room and asked me if I was the patient's primary care physician. After the second time that I said "No, I'm a pastor," I mentioned something about not being able to wait to tell others that I was mistaken for being a doctor. The nurse replied that she would rather be mistaken for being a pastor. In my mind I'm thinking, "I'd rather be a pastor, but get paid like a doctor!"

Are you a bigger loser than Marko? Week 5 Recap

Week 5 is in the books and I lost another 3 pounds! That puts me at 230 pounds - a total loss so far of 21 pounds! Randa lost another pound and she has lost a total of 9 pounds so far! We are both one pound shy of having lost a third of the weight we need to lose in order to reach our ultimate goal weight.

I wasn't sure how I was going to do this week. I had to eat out more than normal, so that was hard. I was at another weekend youth event, so that was hard. And to top it all off, I didn't get to walk as much as I have been. The thing that saved me was that I managed, through all the difficulties, to eat well.

Meanwhile, Marko had a great week 4, so I'm 7 pounds behind him pending Week 5's results. Marko has been doing awesome. I guess there's nothing like the pressure of having to possibly give away lots of free stuff to get you extra motivated! (Of course, having a personal trainer helps as well!) I've really enjoyed this contest and I feel so much better physically having lost some weight. It will be interesting to see what YS does once the contest ends. I think they should (and will in some way) keep the emphasis on healthy living going. After all, YS works so hard to nurture the souls of youth workers - why not nurture the physical bodies of youth workers as well? Here's to a great Week 6! I'm shooting for a 4 pound loss this week!

TRACKER: Starting Weight 251, Current Weight 230, Contest Goal 215, Ultimate Goal 185

Lent Update - Week 4

Slabbinck Church Tapestries - Passion

This week went pretty well. I've been able to keep my promise not to watch sports on television fairly easily so far. Difficult weeks are ahead, however. This week is "Championship Week" in college basketball, the week when most conference tournaments take place. After this, comes Selection Sunday and the revealing of the tournament bracket. Then, during Holy Week, March Madness kicks into full force with the First and Second Rounds of the tournament being played. These next two weeks are the weeks that I've been dreading because I already know how much I am going to want to break my promise. I am confident I can keep my promise because of three things: 1)the encouragement I'm receiving from Randa, 2)the accountability I'm receiving from the children, youth, and friends, and 3)because of the Become More... theme from the PlanetWisdom Student Conference this past weekend. I'm seeing this Lenten promise as part of my lifestyle of surrender of my heart (as the clay) to God (as the potter).

The children and youth are continuing to inspire me during this time of Lent. The ones that are keeping promises are doing well and are really being touched by God in the process. It's exciting to see and hear others share about their experiences with God!

PlanetWisdom Student Conference

We returned earlier this evening from attending the PlanetWisdom Student Conference at the Hylton Memorial Chapel in Woodbridge. The theme this year was Become More... and it was excellent! This was our first PlanetWisdom Student Conference. I've heard Mark Matlock speak before and I've seen The Skit Guys many times, so I knew it would be good. Hearing Mark share his heart periodically with the youth leaders during the weekend only confirmed the trust I felt heading into the weekend. Mark shared a little about a new parenting initiative WisdomWorks is working on - Real World Parents. It sounds like it will be good and helpful - and it is needed! Can't wait to find out more! Addison Road led musically in worship and Sean McDowell also taught a few sessions. Fewer personalities, all of which are directly involved in some way in local church ministry, contributed to a very focused conference and I appreciated that.


Only six of us attended, but I signed our group up again for next year because I really felt the quality of the conference is well worth experiencing again. Next year, Dutton Band will be a part of the team. I enjoyed seeing and hanging out with Chris, Mary Beth, Steve, Lane, and Darren. I also got to meet Brian Coday, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator for the National Network of Youth Ministries. We were Facebook friends, but hadn't met in person until today. Brian is passionate about what he does with helping connect ministries together to reach more students. I look forward to getting to know him better in the future.


The theme was the reason why I encouraged our Ministry Group leadership that we should attend the conference this year. Our ministry theme for this year has been "Whatever...Do Something!" The Whatever part is from last year's IMPACT Virginia! - "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col. 3:17)." The Do Something part came from the One Life theme - "You Have One Life, Do Something!" I felt that the Become More... theme of PlanetWisdom fit it nicely with our ministry theme. After all, if you are becoming more, you'll definitely be doing something for Christ!


The metaphor of the potter and the clay and all the spiritual applications that come with those images made this a powerful theme. Friday night was especially effective as Mark sat at the potter's wheel and 'threw a pot' as he taught. The visual was very arresting - several thousand people watching in rapt attention. You could have heard a pin drop! Mark took us through the steps to making a piece of pottery - centering, opening, pulling, trimming, shaping, glazing, supporting clay, and firing. Along the way, he shared spiritual applications for each step. Check it out below:




Sean and Mark did a great job today of giving us the rest of the pieces needed to lead a life of growth. I appreciated the solid teaching and I especially appreciated the simple, direct invitation Mark gave this afternoon that focused more on the relationship between the student and the local church, instead of numbers. There were no decision cards because the important thing was for the students to be able to have a conversation with a loving adult from their church about how God was moving in them during the weekend. I really appreciate that attitude and that commitment to the importance of the local church.


There are flashier conferences around, but I would highly recommend you choose a focused event more likely to bring life-change. In my humble opinion, PlanetWisdom is a conference you should attend. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I'm Going to the Prelude Gathering!

I'm happy to report that I'm going to the Prelude Gathering in Kansas City in April. I first heard about Prelude from Chris Folmsbee while I was attending one of his seminars at the Youth Specialties NYWC-2007 in San Diego. I was interested in going, but didn't think it would be possible because I was already planning to attend a conference oriented more toward Family, Youth, and Children's ministry and I wouldn't have the budget money for a second.

After finding out that Josh, Tom, and Chris (and maybe a few others from our area) were going, I began to think more about how I might be able to attend. The reason I wanted to go is because of the conversations that will take place about new kinds of youth ministry and spiritual formation in adolescents and the chance to experience those conversations with some good friends and colleagues. After explaining this to my pastor and showing that I won't be too much overspent on my conference budget, I was given the go ahead to attend. I registered for Prelude and got my airline tickets on Wednesday! My dream is that the group of us from Northern Virginia will be able to take what we learn and experience at Prelude and come back and together do some transformational things in youth ministry/spiritual formation in our area.

The Scariest Thing I've Done In Awhile

Today, I spoke to all the kindergarten students at Annie's school - all 69 of them! I can say, without a doubt, that it was one of the scariest speaking opportunities I have had! But, once I got started talking, things settled down and I felt at ease. The kids were great! I was invited to speak because I am a "community helper." I had 30 minutes (a long time with a room full of kindergartners!) to share with them about my job.

I took "Theo," a dog puppet we use in our preschool ministry to help with my talk. I even did the high-pitch voice that Theo uses on Wednesday nights. I used Theo to help me share about what I do in the office, what I do with the youth and children, and other things I do and our church in general does. I specifically tried to share why our church is an important part of the community since that is what they are learning about right now.

One way I tried to make the point that a church is an important part of the community was by sharing about our food pantry and how we help people. I used Play-Doh to help tell about our food pantry. I made a person out of the Play-Doh and explained that people come to our church in need of food because they are hungry. To illustrate that, I punched a whole in the person where the stomach would be - to illustrate the person's tummy was empty and they were hungry. I then asked if the kids liked Macaroni & Cheese (almost every hand went up) and I shaped the Play-Doh into the share of a food box. After explaining that we give people food and gift cards to the grocery store, I made the Play-Doh into the shape of a smiley face to illustrate that the person was fed and happy! I brought small Play-Doh containers for all the kids, along with pens from our church. I encouraged them to share the Play-Doh story with their families at home. I also encouraged the kids to write thank-you notes with the pens - to their teachers, family members, or friends. All in all, it was a good time - I really enjoyed the experience!

Hopefully, Annie's teacher will email me a picture or two that I can post later.

Happy Birthday, Randa!

Today is my lovely wife Randa's birthday! She is 42 years young and still as beautiful, if not more, today than the day we met nearly 10 years ago!

The girls and I baked a cake last night and the girls frosted it this morning. Annie picked out a pair of earrings for Randa and Allison gave Randa a Periwinkle Ty Beanie Baby stuffed animal. (For those that don't know, Periwinkle is from Blue's Clues.) Ainsley and I gave Randa a book (Iron & Silk by Mark Salzman) and cd (The Altar and the Door by Casting Crowns). And of course, there were cards galore - including the first signature from Allison in which she spelled and wrote her whole name by herself. And the mailbox only had cards for Randa today! Incredible!

Happy Birthday, Babe!

Are you a bigger loser than Marko? Week 4 Recap

Week 4 was great! I met my goal and lost 3 pounds last week! After the first four weeks (a third of the way through), I have lost a total of 18 pounds! I'm halfway to meeting my contest goal of losing 36 pounds!

My parents were in town last week for Annie's sixth birthday, so I was a little worried that this was going to be a hard/bad week for me eating-wise. But, my parents were very supportive and encouraging of me and my taking part in the contest - that made things a whole lot easier. I managed to survive a week with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese for a birthday dinner, a birthday party with my favorite Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake, and several outings out to restaurants, especially the Old Ebbitt Grill in D.C. I ate well and was able to exercise plenty this last week. In fact, I think last week was my best week eating and exercising together that I have had thus far. I tried to run some, but my body is not ready for the pounding yet, so I upped my walking distances/times instead. Randa has been very encouraging and that helps A LOT!

Week 5 has its challenges. First, Randa celebrates her birthday on Wednesday! The girls and I will bake her a birthday cake again this year (very tempting), so that will be an obstacle. We'll also go out to celebrate! Second, I am deciding not to eat the church Wednesday night dinners. They are good, but not for my diet! Finally, I travel again with the youth to the PlanetWisdom Student Conference this weekend. As always, I have to plan ahead so that I can choose meals that will be good for me - not too hard, but time-consuming. And I won't get to exercise as much as I would like during the conference weekend. But, I'm going to do the best I can! My goal for this week is to lose another 3 pounds.

TRACKER: Starting Weight 251, Current Weight 233, Contest Goal 215, Ultimate Goal 185

Lent Update - Week 3

Abbott Church Supplies - Slabbinck Lent Banner

This past week was the hardest week for me in keeping my Lenten promise to not watch sports on TV. My parents were in town last week to celebrate Annie's sixth birthday. One thing my dad and I like to do together is watch sports on TV. We didn't do that last week. Saturday was the hardest day for me. For the first time since Lent began, I was home for most of the day on Saturday. As college basketball draws toward the conclusion of the regular season, there were several good games on TV. I missed seeing Coach K get his 800th win and Texas get upset by Texas Tech! But, each time I flipped through the channels Saturday afternoon and saw some sport on TV, I quickly flipped away and was reminded of my promise to focus my thoughts toward God. I also decided that it would be better to do something with the girls than to watch TV, so we worked on some craft projects and played some games that Annie received at her birthday party earlier Saturday morning. And then I took a long nap. It was nice to be able to do that!

The children at church who are keeping promises seem to be doing well. Some have already completed some of the actions they promised to take during Lent and have moved on to other promises. Hearing their stories and experiencing their energy is very encouraging!

U.S. Treasury Tour (and other adventures with Flat Stanley)

We went on a special tour of the U.S. Treasury today.


Our tour was arranged by Neal Carlton, a former Boy Scout (Eagle Scout) from my dad's troop. Neal is the Scheduler for the Treasurer. We met the Treasurer of the United States, Anna Escobedo Cabral. She was very nice and greeted all of us, including Allison and Ainsley. We also met a Treasury intern from Alaska named Eric. He is an interesting guy. And we met several of Neal's friends: Michael, a staffer in Congressman Joe Barton's office, and Chris, who works at the Treasury. After our visit, we went over to the Old Ebbitt Grill for lunch.


It was great. The food and atmosphere were wonderful. After lunch, we went over to the White House so we could take a picture. But, the south side was blocked off. And here's why:


So instead, we took a picture in front of the north side of the White House. Ainsley is sleeping by this point - pretty amazing considering it was cold and windy!


The paper doll in the pictures is Flat Stanley. He was sent for a visit by Maryanna, a second-grade girl from our last church in Texas. Her class is doing a project about different states. Flat Stanley is supposed to visit different states and his hosts are supposed to send back pictures, postcards, and stories about what he learned. So we took him with us today!

Annie is Six!

Happy 6th Birthday, Annie!!!!!!

I Love You!

Daddy

We interrupt this program for an important message from BBC News...

Last Saturday, our church held our annual Mama Mia's fellowship. Mama Mia's is a church-wide spaghetti supper and variety show that raises money for youth missions. People from the community also support this event. The great thing about Mama Mia's is that many, many people are involved and it is great fun (and I'm not in charge)! Our creative people really get to show off their talents and skills (as well as some who are not so creative, but are good sports). Check out the video above for an example of the show. The theme this year was "TV Like You Have Never Experienced Before." To see more, check out our youth group's blog here!

Are you a bigger loser than Marko? Week 3 Recap

Week 3 is in the books and we have reached the one-quarter mark of the contest. I did okay this past week - I lost 2 1/2 pounds. It's not quite the 3 pounds I was hoping for, but it was better than the 1 1/2 pounds I lost during week 2. (Randa had a better week than me and lost 3 pounds. Way to go, Babe!) So far, at the one-quarter point, I've lost 15 pounds. Not too bad! I'm 21 pounds away from my contest goal with 9 weeks left. I did better with my eating and walking last week. This week I am hoping to add some other exercises in addition to walking. I might even try to mix in some running this week - after I get some running shoes. My parents are in town this week for Annie's birthday, so that will make it a little tougher to stay on the right track eating-wise. I think I had too many sweets last week; I'm going to try to limit myself to just a piece of birthday cake this week! All in all, I'm pretty happy with things so far!

TRACKER: Starting Weight 251, Current Weight 236, Contest Goal 215, Ultimate Goal 185

I Saw a Glimpse of Heaven Yesterday

...or maybe heard a glimpse of heaven is more appropriate. Yesterday our church celebrated a joint worship service with the Northern Virginia Chinese Baptist Church. The NVCBC started out as a mission church of Westwood and reached full church status in 2005. Sunday was their last time to meet in our facilities. They are moving to the Fairfax area and will meet in two locations for their various ministries - an elementary school and another church. This move, as one of their members shared Sunday, will be bittersweet, but it will allow for growth to occur in both congregations. Both congregations seem excited about the possibilities the future holds.

During the service, we did two things that painted a picture for me of heaven: we said the Lord's Prayer together and we took communion together. To hear the Lord's Prayer spoken by hundreds of people in Chinese and English (and who knows what other languages) was an awesome and powerful experience. The rhythm of the voices reciting the words of the prayer simultaneously was both wonderful and awe-inspiring. To see two different churches cooperating in the serving of communion really helped to see a glimpse of what heaven will look like and be like - all God's people worshipping him no matter the differences in race, gender, age, or language. It was a good day to be in the house of the Lord!

JUBILEE Retreat

Last weekend I was on retreat at a monastery in Newport News with my youth group and my good friend Josh Hayden's youth group. The retreat was called the JUBILEE Retreat and you can read about our hopes concerning the retreat here. I really enjoyed the retreat!

Most of all I enjoyed planning the retreat with Josh. I love being able to plan and share ministry opportunities with friends. And I especially enjoy friends who make me think in deeper and fresh way. Josh is that kind of friend. Our friendship was a big reason I decided to suggest to our Youth Ministry Group leadership that we do our Winter Retreat differently this year. Normally, we go on retreat during the semester break. I'll invite in a speaker and worship leader, we'll go away to a resort, enjoy skiing and tubing, and have a few sessions. We usually have a great time and take a big group, but the retreat sessions part usually isn't that powerful because the kids are always tired from skiing. And because of that, I have felt that we are not being good stewards of our ministry budget dollars. This year we are substituting three things for our Winter Retreat - a ski day at Whitetail, the JUBILEE Retreat, and the PlanetWisdom Student Conference. Doing this met several needs: better stewardship, a greater focus on the retreat teaching, and being able to participate in activities with other groups. After PlanetWisdom, we'll evaluate and make decisions for next year.

I thought the retreat went well. We only had 8 in our group - 3 adults and 5 youth.

Despite the low number, I felt the participation was above average. I am really looking forward to seeing how this retreat impacts the lives of these youth, our youth group, and our church. Here's a breakdown of the retreat from my perspective:

LOCATION
The location, LivingStone Monastery, was a perfect setting for our theme of Jubilee.

Being able to observe people living for a season of their life in community was wonderful. Being able to join with them in the daily rhythms of their prayer life was fantastic! Having our students have the opportunity to have a Q&A with them was beneficial and helpful for the retreat and for the students.

The facility itself was very conducive to having a spiritually-focused retreat. Our hosts displayed wonderful gifts of hospitality.

SPEAKER
The speaker, Jon Middendorf, did a great job communicating the idea of Jubilee to us. We had three worship gatherings and the style of Jon's teaching changed with each gathering. I think that helps to keep interest from the audience as well as allow people to experience several different learning styles. I thought Jon did a great job of explaining Jubilee and then tying it into our personal, church, and community lives. I was challenged and inspired to make Jubilee a reality.

We ended our last worship gathering with taking communion together - two different youth groups from two different Baptist churches, but with one heart - a heart for Jesus and a heart for Jubilee.

WORSHIP LEADERS
The worship music, led by Tim Gardner and Kent Jaffrey, was excellent and the audio/visuals, led by Kent's wife Andrea, fit in seamlessly and added to the experience immeasurably.

The songs chosen, the graphics used, the prayers and readings chosen, and the movie clips used for reflection all helped to create an environment for worship to take place. The theme song, Give Reviving, was wonderful and for me, helped to focus my thoughts on Jubilee.



OBSERVATIONS
I felt that the worship stations allowed for us to reflect more in depth our relationship with God and they also helped us have an awareness to the need for Jubilee in our lives and in our world.

I felt that the discussion time with Jon about Jubilee and how it impacts us on many levels was powerful, challenging, and inspiring all at the same time. I have great hope in a future where this band of students and adults has chosen to make Jubilee a reality in daily living! This hope was seen in the response to our groups to the movie we watched on Saturday night, God Grew Tired of Us. The movie dealt with the crisis in Sudan and followed the stories of several of the "lost boys." Seeing their response to tragedy and injustice was inspiring.

PRACTICE
The chance to work with the community at LivingStone was an integral part of the weekend. I had hoped we would be out in the community instead of at the monastery, but all in all it was good to do something, however simple it may be, that will help minister to others as they come to LivingStone for help. I look forward to our groups getting together again in our local communities and practicing Jubilee together!

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
I really enjoy doing things differently than they have always been done. It's good to get out of our comfort zones and stretch our mental and spiritual muscles. Through solid teaching, wonderful music, opportunities for service, observing others living in community, and being challenged to bring about Jubilee, this retreat definitely made a mark on me and I trust my youth group and Josh's youth group. Ending with lunch and games at Chuck E. Cheese capped off a great retreat weekend!

Lent Update - Week 2

This is a bit later than usual, but I am doing well in keeping my Lenten promise. Next Wednesday I will be teaching the children and I am looking forward to discussing with them how their promises are going and how they are experiencing God during Lent. This year, for the first time, I have introduced the idea of Lenten promises to the youth. Sunday night will be our first time to have discussion about our promises - I am looking forward to that as well!

One thing I have noticed in reading other people's blogs about making promises for Lent is that some people share about their promise and some people choose to keep things to themselves. I see merit in both approaches. I like to share because I need/want the accountability that comes with sharing. I also appreciate the community aspect of sharing the promises. I also try to emphasize the idea of humility with the groups that I share/discuss with - we're not doing this to brag about how good we are, but instead, to draw closer in relationship to God and each other.

Are you a bigger loser than Marko? Week 2 Recap

Week 2 is in the books! It wasn't a great week like last week, but it was a good week because I did lose weight. I lost 1 1/2 pounds last week - I'm now at 238 1/2 pounds. Not too bad considering Valentine's Day fell last week, I couldn't walk several nights, and I was on a youth retreat last weekend. I knew it was going to be a hard week, but I still was hoping to lose 3 pounds. I've already eaten better today and had a great walk tonight! Here's to a great Week 3!

At the end of Week 1, I was in 9th place. Marko was in 14th place. Week 2's standings came out this afternoon and I did not stay ranked. Week 2's standings are different than Week 1's - Week 2 lists the top 10 men and the top 10 women; Week 1 listed just the top 10 overall. Marko is still in 14th place overall. According to his blog, he has lost 14 pounds so far; I've lost 12 1/2.

TRACKER: Starting Weight 251, Current Weight 238 1/2, Contest Goal 215, Ultimate Goal 185

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's a glimpse into what my Valentine's Day is like - love, flowers, and candy for all the girls in my life!

Here we have home-made cards for the three girls. We have roses for Randa - 9 roses, one for each Valentine's Day we have spent together. We have three roses for my three sweet daughters. There is candy for Annie and Allison. And last, but not least, we have tulips - Randa's favorite!

This part of the post is for my wife.

Happy Valentine's Day, Babe!

To my one and only, always and forever!

I love you!

Lent Update - Week 1

Week 1 of keeping my Lenten promise went well. I was able to keep my promise of not watching sports on television. I was able to spend more quality time with family on Saturday and I was able to reflect on my relationship with God when I normally would have been watching sports. Since those two things are the reasons I am doing this particular promise, I feel pretty good about the Lenten journey so far.

I don't really anticipate not watching sports on television being too difficult until my parents arrive for a week-long visit next Saturday. My dad, like myself, loves watching sports on television. After that hurdle, the big test comes when March Madness begins. The First and Second Rounds take place during the final days of Lent. After football, the NCAA Tournament is my favorite sporting event to watch.

Are you a bigger loser than Marko? Week 1 Recap

Well, Week 1 is in the books and I'm happy to report that it was a great week! I lost 11 pounds! My current weight is now 240.

I've been counting calories, drinking more water, and exercising. (I'd say exercising more, but then I hadn't been exercising any.) Randa is joining with me in the calorie counting and she lost 5 pounds! I made a few startling realizations (which, in retrospect shouldn't have been all that surprising) in the first week. First, I was eating way too many calories. I would say that at times, I was probably consuming at least twice the calories I should have been consuming. Second, I need to exercise. I've felt good after my walks, especially the ones where I have pulled the girls in their wagon. I'm looking forward to seeing how I will feel once I start running again (once I lose some more weight - too much pounding on my joints right now). Third, I'm not feeling as hungry as I thought I would. Sure, I am feeling hungry some, but the problem I have dealt with more is wanting foods that are unhealthy and filled with calories. Participating in this contest and receiving so much encouragement from Randa have made staying on track a whole lot easier. Here's to a great Week 2!

Week 2 will be harder for several reasons. First, I am certain that I won't lose as much weight the second week and I have to prepare myself for that. Second, Valentine's Day falls during this week. Randa and I are going to order in and have a nice romantic dinner at home. We're going to relax the rules a bit for this meal. Third, I'm going on a youth retreat this weekend. Staying on track away from home is harder, but it can be done. I'll be happy with whatever amount I can lose in Week 2. I'm hoping for at least 3 pounds.

TRACKER: Starting weight 251, current weight 240, contest goal 215, ultimate goal 185

Ash Wednesday

Tonight our church held our Ash Wednesday service. Our children (1st-6th graders) participated in part of the service. They entered and led the congregation in a Taize song, "Come and Fill Our Hearts." We then received the ashes before leaving to have our own special Ash Wednesday study. Last year I led the children in a special Lenten study. As we reviewed Ash Wednesday tonight I was impressed with the children's memory about many of the things concerning Ash Wednesday and Lent. It was very encouraging! We talked again about making a Lenten promise and I gave them Lenten calendars to take home to use as reminders about their promises. My Lenten promise this year is to not watch sports on television during Lent. It's going to be hard, but it will be great for my family and for my relationship with Randa (as a matter of disclosure, this was one of her suggestions and after reflecting on what to give up I chose sports watching because it would require the most sacrifice). I'm also planning to work through a devotional book during Lent called, "40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer." Randa is going to work through "40-Day Journey with Joan Chittister." Should be a great time of remembrance, reflection, and repentance.