pic for Erick

Pretty awesome pic from all the kids in Upstreet to their awesome friend Erick in Kenya. The child they sponsor through Compassion.

all those colors are the thumbprints from every kid who loves and supports Erick in Upstreet.

gonna be awesome that my kid will be a part of this.

how can YOU be the change? (Keira)

How can YOU be the change?

i think that's a phrase my kid(s) are going to get SICK of hearing me say. i'm thinking a lot more about parenting these days... since i am one of those now. Crystal and i are both thinking a lot more about it. we're talking about it all the time -- what kind of parents we want to be, what kinds of things we want to do for our kids, WHO we want them to be, etc...

and it's real now because Keira is here. so it's not just a nebulous idea.

but i think Keira will get sick of hearing me say to her "How can YOU be the change?"

let's say that she comes home from school & there is a kid that EVERYONE is making fun of/being mean to. the teacher didn't really seem to even care. Keira is bothered by it. i'm going to ask her - "How can YOU be the change that needs to happen?"

or maybe our neighbor has surgery and their yard is a wreck. Keira complains that it looks so ugly. "well, how can YOU be the change?"

and there are a million other examples.

EITHER:
she will get so sick of hearing me say this phrase that she will stop complaining about anything or talking about anything that isn't right in the world for fear that i will prod her to think about changing it...

OR:
she will change the world.

i hope it's the 2nd one.

and the below isn't all that related to the above but it's just a thought that i resonate with and agree with wholeheartedly. it's how i want us to parent Keira and any other kids God blesses us with...

“I want my children to grow up understanding that life with Jesus is more than just being nice, or trying not to cuss and get drunk because 'that is what good Christians do.' I want my children to be so compelled by the real Jesus that they are willing to stand with him, giving their lives to his revolution, not in order to be religious but because there is simply no more exhilarating way to live. I want my kids to see my wife and me as revolutionaries who subvert the dominant belief systems of the world, not out of religious obligation but in wholehearted response to the person of Jesus.” 

– Mike Erre (from Jesus of Suburbia)

YES! That's what i want!

superhero

sometimes i like to just sit and watch the world... watch life happen... and write about it as i see it. it's just a good thing for me to do sometimes.

i like to simply watch and then process what i'm seeing by writing about it.

i rarely ever put that stuff anywhere else besides my "thoughts" file. but i was cleaning op some "thoughts" recently and one of those random musings caused me to think more about becoming a parent soon. so i thought i would thought i would post it here to renown.

The following is what i wrote the week of this past Christmas (2010). i was in New York with my wife's family and i stole away to a Starbucks inside a Target for a little while. here is what i saw and wrote:

I'm watching a mom walk into Target…

in the snow.

Deep snow.

With 5
kids.

5 kids.

Tugging 4 across the street all holding hands & carrying one in a
carrying car seat thing.

Until one of the littlest walking boys dropped his zip lock bag of
gold fish & had to run back and get it. Then the chain was broken only for
a few moments.

This mom looks really tired. 

It's really cold outside and
I have been being a baby about how cold NY is in December.

i've had a revelation sitting here drinking my coffee and watching this scene. maybe one day i'll find out if this "hunch" of mine is actually true:

When you go to the store with 5 kids – you don’t have a good
day.

Another mom is sitting beside me sipping her Starbucks with her 6ish
year old. She just said to him in a very admirable tone – “wow. 5 kids. She must be a
superhero!” 

haha - her little boy just said “she must have been like this big around
(motioning with his hands) when she had all of them!” 

mom said “well, they’re
not all the same age. [as if that explained it enough] She must be a superhero though.”

And superhero she is indeed.

that time thought by me also in a very admirable tone.

Then a guy with a hard core mullet and a huge bald eagle on the back
of his jacket walked by. 

wow. 

couldn't get my camera open on my phone fast enough though. the sight sufficiently disrupted my thoughts about the world at this moment.

hard to even describe

it's hard to even describe what i got to be a part of last night. i am still wowed and in awe of an awesome God who does awesome and wowing things.

maybe i'll post some pics and/or videos later of Family Birthday Celebration last night @ Ridge.

it was incredible. God has radically changed the lives of 8 kids because of His overwhelming love. and we CELEBRATED that last night.

we celebrated like crazy. we partied. we cheered. we cried. we laughed.

what am i feeling that i can't explain?
proud. humbled. wowed. overwhelmed. excited. passionate. worshipful. blessed. inspired.

and since last night i have the urge to constantly throw up a fist pump.

i love each of those kids and can't even comprehend God's love for them and all of us.

going public

a lot of things probably go through different people's minds when they hear the word "baptism".

here's a quick list of what jumps off the top of my head when i think BAPTISM:

going public

PARTY

commemorating life change

CELEBRATION

memorable

Represent!

drawing a line in the sand

1st step

new association

radical

courageous

Sunday @ Ridge was a really special day. we were celebrating something awesome. God changed the lives of these 6 students and they wanted to let everybody know about it by being baptized!

God did this radical thing in their hearts - it's called redemption. At different points for each of them they put their faith in Jesus to be their Savior. they decided to follow Him.
And Sunday they WENT PUBLIC with that! and we CELEBRATED it!

because that's what the angels in heaven do when someone's life changes and they decide to follow Jesus. they throw a big party. i've actually always wondered what an angel/heaven party looks like? i bet it's pretty raucous.

when i look at that picture above i can't help but smile & get really excited. because those aren't just 6 students who took a dip in the pool. that's 6 students whose lives were changed by Jesus. and they had the COURAGE and BOLDNESS to let everyone know it in a radical way = baptism.

they each told us a little of their story and we caught them on video + their baptism. if you want to watch any just click the links below:
(in the order of the pic above) Robert, Serena, Paige, Hunter, Madison, Logan.

i've noticed something - there aren't many dry eyes when we have baptism celebrations. i think i know why. we're watching lives that were radically changed. we're seeing people who are going in a different direction. Sunday we watched these students who are going to make a difference in the Kingdom. you can't help but tear up i guess.

so unbelievably proud of you guys!