Our Life

If you are wondering why we haven't posted anything in a long long long time, it is because we have two wonderful little blessings by the name of Silas and Isaiah. Believe it or not, they take up a fair amount of time and energy. Gone are the days of EVER sleeping past 7:00am. Gone are the days of having a quiet house. Gone are the days of a floor free of Potato Head or Legos.

On the other hand... we are right in the middle of having our days filled with the pitter patter of little feet. With lots of big smiles and laughing fits. With jumping on the bed together. With teaching Silas how to love his little brother well. With wonderful hugs and kisses from our little boys. With rocket ships, cars, boats, and cranes.

Our down time looks much different these days and we are thankful for it. Everyday we grow closer as a family as we laugh, teach, and love each other. I am so thankful that I married a woman like Kristin to be my wife and partner in life. She continues to amaze me with her love and patience toward me and our kids.

Life and a Book

Kristin and I are adjusting to significant changes in life AGAIN. Just a few short weeks ago little Isaiah entered our world and has changed just about every aspect of it for us. How so? Well, one little joke he likes to play on his parents over and over again is peeing and pooping while his diaper is off... especially in the middle of the night. For those of you who don't have kids or haven't changed many newborn diapers - you would be amazed at just how far poop can fly.

The summers at UCR seem to have a little more life than other schools where we have ministered. We will soon be starting a summer book club with the students who are around. We will be reading Shadow of the Almighty. It is the story of a missionary named Jim Elliot who was martyred and has many of his journal entries. We pray often that God would raise up men and women from UCR to dot the map in the less reached parts of the world and this seems like a great first step. It has been a very powerful book in the lives of many and we are praying that it will push our students a little closer to "going" into all the world with the gospel.

Truth Conference

Today is Thursday and tomorrow is the Truth conference. It is a region wide student conference and I am directing it this year. We have a different theme every year and this year it is Truth. We will be focusing on the Truth that is Jesus. He said that He is the way, the truth, and the life.

We have been praying for 300 people to attend. We currently have 283 people signed up and hopefully a few more will sign up.

We were praying for 10 students from UCR and we are currently at 9.

We have been praying that some would come to know Him who do not know Him now through the conference.... we will see what God does

We have been praying that God would draw those who know Him even closer to Himself... we will see what He does.

The conference is always a whole lotta fun and I look forward to it tremendously... but I will breath a sigh of relief when it is over.

Gone Fishin'

I have loved to fish as long as I can remember. Bass, crappie, catfish, whatever... I am just happy to have a pole in my hand and see God's creation around me.

I now fish in a lake by the name of UC Riverside. And instead of bass or crappie, I am fishing for men.

Fall Quarter Draws to a Close

It is hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner. Students at UCR are gearing up for finals week which starts tomorrow. Yes, they start on Saturday here. It has been a good year for us here in many ways. I am thankful for the staff team that God has brought here... us, RJ and Alice Matagora, and Los Ortiz. We get along well and it is an encouragement having them here with me to labor on this campus.

Last year at this time RJ and Alice had only been here with us for about 10 weeks, Silas was just over a month old, and we were adjusting to major transition. I have found that the major transition we were adjusting to seems to linger on. Silas keeps us on our toes and every time we turn around we are trying to adjust to something new... new staff on campus, Silas skipping naps, new students and trying to figure out how to love them well, a new level of noise in our house, and the list goes on.

I personally look forward to what God has in store for me/us in the coming year. I know that He is a God who loves me deeply, gives me hope, has good in store for me, and spilled the blood of His Son for me. I look forward to getting to know Him in deeper ways and walking through life with Him.

Roadtrip

This friday we will leave for Sacramento at 7:30pm for our annual service project "Roadtrip." About 10 UCR students and 150 other students from our region are all giving up this weekend to go and serve a bunch of underprivleged middle school students.

So, I will be driving a carload of students for 7 hours to arrive in Sacramento around 2:00 or 3:00am. Then we will all try to sleep for a few hours on some wrestling mats on a gym floor before we get up and work all day. Last year there was lots of manual labor and this year will be more of the same. After dinner and a talk we will eventually settle back onto our wrestling mat beds and attempt to sleep through the snoring and other strange noices. Sunday we get up... dirty and tired, get into our cars, and drive another 7 hours back home.

Sounds like fun doesn't it? It is all worth it considering the relationships that develop... the schools and kids that are influenced in Sacramento... and the priceless conversations that take place in the car or working along side these new UCR students.

Thoughts

"Enjoying the sought after blessings of God is sometimes confused with enjoying His Person." - Larry Crabb in Inside Out

I have been reading this book and was struck by the truth of this thought and the magnitude of the implications... they will echo throughout all eternity. I have known more than a few people who abandon the pursuit of God because the blessings that they were relying upon dried up. The truth is that many of the blessings that we enjoy will dry up and will ultimately end in disappointment. Kristin and I are painfully aware of this truth after losing our daughter, my dad, and a miscarriage. Those are not exactly the blessings that I had in mind when I decided to follow Christ. And in the midst of such tremendous loss and pain the blessings of a good meal or a beautiful day seem to matter much less. Of coarse, the pain eases in time and I find myself appreciating the trivial again. The life that is in the Spring of Living Water is that I can still enjoy the Person of God in the midst of withheld blessing and loss. I can still drink deeply and find satisfaction in the deepest parts of my soul whether the blessings are many or few. What good news. I think that people (myself included) long for more stories of real satisfaction of the deepest parts of who we are.