Connor's Car

Tonight I am up late, because there have been a lot of things going on that have me stressed out. I am listening to a song by John Mayer call 1983. In which he sings that sometimes he wishes he could go back to 1983 when life seemed so much more simple and fun (he was 6 at the time). That got me to start thinking about how much fun I would have when I was a kid. The simplest things could keep me entertained forever (mainly Legos). I can see that in my son, Connor, his favorite toy is a plastic car that he can ride in. When he goes over to it he sits in, attempts to buckle his seatbelt and then yells for us to push him around. When he finally gets our attention... he grips tight on the steering wheel and starts belly laughing like it is the best thing ever. I sometimes wish that I could remember what it was like to still live a life with no worries. And be able to just enjoy life. I also start to think of how I want my little boy to be able to stay a little boy forever. But as I sit here and write this I now that he like everyone else will have heartbreaks, worries, fears, stuggles and more... that is the package that life has for us.

We moved here to the DFW area about 6 months ago. It has been really hard since we moved to re-establish the "comfort" we had when we were living in San Antonio. I have a few friends in the DFW area but they might as well be in another part of the country because commuting across the DFW area just to visit friends can be quite a trip. Not only that but I have been so busy with work that I have not had any time to feel settled. This next week I am taking some vacation time... hopefully things willl get better. If it weren't for the fact that I have my beautiful and supportive wife as well as my wonderfully awesome son here with me.... I don't know what I would do.

Fantasy Woes

Alright... Week 1 is over and statistically I had good week. My players for the most part did better then expected. However this weeks matchup I was pitted against somebody who for no good reason picked Minnesota's Defence and earned 32 points for their dominance over the Dirty Birds in Atlanta. Who knew that Mike Vick's Dogfitting would effect me. Thanks Mike Vick for that. No Really thanks for destroying my week one. If you look at the pick I scored a total of 93 points making me 4th in points scored but I faced off against the person who finished 1st in points with 136 points. Suck! If I had faced off against any of the other 6 players who scored less then me I would have a 1 on the win column but no. Thanks Mike Vick. Thanks for messing up my fantasy week 1. I will not forget this. Don't expect any warm welcome from me when they let you outta jail. You are on my list.

CRANK DAT SOULJA BOY WITH BARNEY!!!

I never really liked Barney that much but he earns street credit with me now.

Crank That!

IF you want to be cool. You should follow this how to: this song is converting white guys by the dozen from "running man" losers to SOULJA BOY winners.

Connor Hates Elmo... I Think?

I take Fridays off... So I try to spend them doing something with my son, Connor. Today for example we took him to the Dallas World Aquarium. After the aquarium mommy got tired so I decided to sit down with Connor and watch his Sesame Streets that we have TIVOed (God bless the invenor of TIVO). Anyhow his mom always tells me that he LOVES Sesame Street... that is until Elmo comes on. So while his mommy was napping Connor and I watched Sesame Street. He was loving it! Clapping his hands and bouncing up and down... until Elmo's world came on. At that very moment he stopped watching and proceeded to play with blocks. At first I thought maybe his attention just runs out by the time Elmo's World comes on. Wrong. I fast fowarded it to a part with Bert and Ernie and he was back to watching it! So now it was time to try a few more experiments. I decided to wait until about 6PM when he had been playing with toys for a while and had already had dinner. I put on an episode from earlier this week. Immediately he started bouncing up and down clapping his hands. About 15 minutes later Elmo's World comes on and he stops watching. In the name I science I will continue testing my hypothesis and change up the variables (start Elmo first, no Elmo at all, etc). I want to see if it is an attention thing or if Connor is like his daddy and thinks Elmo is incredibly annoying. Long live Bert and Ernie (there is nothing wierd about to heterosexual guys living together all their lives... right?) j/k

Can't Please Everyone

Today has been a stressful one. The issue that I have been dealing concerns our church's student mid-week bible studies. In a perfect world, the congregation of the church that hired me to run their student ministries would let me run the student ministries. When I make a decision about bible studies, I make the decision with a bit of discernment. Meaning I put it to prayer, I talk to people, and then I make a decision. I thought I had made a good decision and most people seem to approve, however right before I am about to turn in for the night I decide to check my email. BIG MISTAKE! Now I am sitting here stressed out because I am starting to feel like I cannot do anything right. I am not gonna go into the details of the email. I just was annoying enough to bother me.

I made the best decision... I am gonna stick to it and thats it. By the way... the decision was to spilt up our High School bible study because of growing numbers. That should be a good problem, right?

God, give me the strength and calm my nerves so that I can continue to do your will.

I am a Lazy Blogger!

It is the funniest thing when there is a lot of stuff going on in my life... that is when I don't take time to blog. However when I have time to blog is when I don't have much going on, thus not much to write about. SO even though today I am busier then ever I decided that during this little time I have for lunch I am gonna write something.

This summer has been one crazy ride. From May 16 - July 27th I had spent nearly 27 days away from my home and family. I was building house for 2 weeks in Juarez, Mexico with High School kids one week and College kids the other. I took some 30 something middle school students to work in a homeless shelter for a week. I also spent countless days on random team building and spiritually uplifting retreats.

When I finally did get back home I realized that the rest of my summer was not a downhill coast but instead I was a pack-mule getting ready to venture up Mt. Everest. All of August I have been planning Fall bible studies, New Sunday School classes, Confirmation Class, Pumpkin Patch Fundraiser, Winter Ski Trip, and a week long Youth Event! That weekend long Youth Event ran from August 12-17 and I thought I was gonna burn-out bad. However everyday no matter how stressed or tired I would get... God gave me strength.

It seems that even when I was not taking ANY time to devote myself to Him, He did devote Himself to me! Praise God that when I am not aware of Him in my everyday... He is ALWAYS aware of me.

(the above picture is the Middle School Students I took to San Antonio! Awesome Kids!)

Spurs Win!

I was just arriving into the El Paso, Airport when I was able to see the nations BEST team win the NBA Championship! Go Spurs Go! Suck it Mavs fans.

Why the Dallas Mavs Make Me Dry Heave

1. Fair weather fans.

2. Avery Johnson (traitor)

3. Cry Babies (Devin Harris)

4. 7 footer white man who can shoot insane jump shots because he sold his soul or something.

5. Owner Mark Cuban who can't shut up.

6. not the Spurs!

Home is where the heart is but a building helps

Since the move my wife and I have been living in a 3 bedroom apartment with our 6 month old and her father. It is so hard going from an apartment to a house to an apartment. I hate the struggle for parking, the noise of your neighbors and the inconviences associated with apartment dwelling. We are in an apartment for the next three months while we wait for our house in SA to sell. Luckily we have an offer on our house and we are just one signature away from completing the sell. What I realized is that it is much more stressful to be the seller then it ever was to be the buyer. From the offers and counter-offers to the amendments it is just one of the most difficult processes. LIFE IS STRESS. To top it all off we have a 6 month old who wont sleep on his own, new jobs, new loaction, and new financial situations (fun, huh?)

Well I know God has me in His grip and I will just be strong and rely on his knowledge and not my own.

Goodbyes

Tonight was my last night as Youth Minister at Trinity United Methodist Church in San Antonio. Goodbyes are never easy and it makes me wonder why they call them goodbyes cause they are often don't make you feel good. However despite how much I am gonna miss the youth in San Antonio, I look forward to making new relationships at Creekwood UMC. Tonight I reflected on all of the experiences good and bad I had with each one there. One girl in particular, Stacie, was one of my first ever youth at Trinity. She and I had what I would say is a roller coaster of a relationship. She is now in college but when I first got to Trinity she was in the eighth grade. At first I don't believe she trusted me all too much mainly because of the lack of solidarity to the youth ministry before I got there. Tonight Stacie and I stood outside the activities building and reminisced about our battles, our growths and all our times together. It is so awesome to see the maturity in growth of so many kids. I thank God that he gave me a chance to be a part of their lives and that they got to be a part of mine. Goodbye Trinity youth I will miss you so much. Till we meet again at His heavenly banquet.

Going to the Big D...

Today my wife and I decided to except a postion as Student Ministry Pastor at Creekwood UMC in Allen, TX (northeast Dallas). We are both filled with all sort of emotions but trusting God that this was the right decision. Dallas area offers a lot of opportunities for me such as a top Methodist seminary, new ministry experience, and a wonderful new Church. This last weekend my wife and I were invited to visit Creekwood and we were overwhelmed with the welcoming response from all of its members. I am very excited. Now the hardest part comes... telling those at Trinity UMC that I am leaving. There will prolly be tears, anger and a whole lot of other emotions. I just pray to God that we made the right decision. Financially this might be tough but we will trust in Him who provides to us all. Oh yeah please let us sell our home and find a new one in Allen area!!!