Danielle tells me I should dress up in a suit and tie and that would be a great costume. I think that I could go as a Church Usher complete with Daffodil. But, I’ll probably go 70′s style again…….

So I bought this today. Not sure what I think yet as I’m trying to make it work.

To anyone who did not grow up in the Northwest this post will probably not make a lot of sense. While the rest of the US had Sesame Street we had JP Patches. JP was a clown and had a bunch of interesting friends like Gertrude the cross dressing friend pictured with him below. JP Patches was one of the longest running local tv shows ever. It ran from 1958 to 1981. Sadly JP is now facing cancer and is unable to get out as much. I ran across an article in the Seattle Times today that made me think about being a kid again. JP Patches faces cancer

Here’s to JP.

Last night my friend Josh and I went and saw Switchfoot play here in Dallas. They played a pretty big place with over 6,000 seats and it was packed. Most of the guys in the band are from my old church in San Diego so I’ve spent a little bit of time with them. Tim put us on “the list” so we had some great seats and passes to the “meet and greet” after. The show was great and Jon is probably one of my favorite performers. He just does an amazing job of connecting with the audience and making it fun.

After the show we were standing over by the Meet and Greet line waiting to go backstage. I overheard two high school boys walking by that they wished they could go backstage. Josh and I looked at each other and handed those guys our passes. They looked shocked and stoked. That was a fun moment. The reality is that I would have liked to say hi to the Switchfoot guys but getting to surprise a couple of random high school students was significantly more fun and rewarding feeling.

Tomorrow is homecoming at Highland Park. I’m taking my daughter and going to to a pep rally in the morning. Before that though I’m taking my boys to Bubba’s for breakfast.

Something I’ve really been thinking a lot lately is how my job is pulling me away from being with students. You might wonder about that if you know my job is to be a youth pastor. But, right now there have been so many meetings and things that have had my attention that I haven’t gotten to do much actual youth ministry. My heart is pained by that.

Hoping that tomorrow morning I see a ton of kids.

I know that this weekend is going to pay huge dividends for us as a staff. We had a phenomenal time building relationships and already today our conversations show it. We reached to a new level with our staff. I’m stoked to have everyone one of them involved in what we do. We might all drive each other nuts sometimes but God has gifted each of us in unique ways that makes it good. Very good.

We’re home from San Diego. Glad we made it out before the entire state burned down. It was a great weekend and a tiring one. Great to see old friends, great to hang out with my staff, great to hear some amazing talks and be a part of great corporate worship.

I’m sure that after I’m a bit more rested I’ll feel a bit renewed but now I just want my kids who are on westcoast time to go to sleep.

Today I spent some time thinking about a feeling I’ve had for a while. As Francis Chan was talking about who he’d like to be the youth leader for his daughter he mentioned that really the only skill he wants them to have is that they pray for her all the time. As I thought about that I was reminded about a girl in the youth group who drives me nuts. I’ve spent some time with her and I’ve had a conversations with a few leaders where I’ve just shared my thoughts on her future as bleak. But, what I haven’t done is hit the carpet praying for her daily. I haven’t believed that God could grab her and that her life could be changed. Before I prayed at all I sort of wrote her off as another youth ministry statistic.

So I was convicted to be a youth worker who prays for kids. Why did I fall away from remembering that?

Several years ago I was hosting a college briefing conference at Forest Home. Francis Chan was the main speaker. The worship band was something like Silas. At one point Francis tried to mutiny the crowd into getting rid of me as the host because I was the only non-asian on the stage.

I like him. I like how he talks and I like knowing that what he says he actually means. Today he gave one of the best talks I’ve heard in a long time critiquing the church in a positive way. He didn’t come with a holier than thou attitude but honestly admitted that he is on the same path.

Now I’m sitting in the room with a bunch of old students who are putting together Legos with my boys. I’ve got a cold Stone Ruination IPA in front of me and life is good.

Last thought: Sometimes I feel when I’m with friends that I tend to talk more about me and not ask them enough about them. Had that experience today and left wishing I would listen more and talk less.

Looking forward to dinner with my staff. I’ve been glad to see so many of them sitting out by the pool or knowing they are taking naps and getting refreshed. Rest is good and they need it.

After one full day of the convention my butt is sore. Each general session lasts for about 2.5 hours. There were two today. Overall there have been some great things here. I’ve enjoyed getting to be with my staff and talking to them. I’m enjoying reconnecting with old friends. It is a bit hard for me to balance the two though. I’ve got a number of old students, interns and coworkers here but I really need to be building relationships with my new staff. I’m committed to that and will be working hard the next three days.

On a bit of a sad note Danielle’s grandfather fell and broke his hip yesterday. He’s having emergency surgery tomorrow and they are not sure how he’ll do. He’s only a couple minutes away from the convention. Our kids have been staying with Danielle’s mom but tomorrow she needs to be at the hospital. We’re just praying for healing in this situation and are thankful that we are out here while it’s happening. God seems to keep putting us in situations where we can be with family at exactly the right time we need to be there.