Softball With My Bro

I’ll preface this post by saying that my wife DOES NOT handle curvy roads well and has been known to get car-sick on occasion. Well, last night Sharon faced the dreaded curves of the road heading to Barona just for me. No, not for gambling or the buffet, but to watch me play softball with my brother. Not that she loves softball, but because she knows I do.

Anyway, Dan called me up and asked if I could fill in for their team who was missing a few players. Dan pitched, I played 1st base and we won 11-4. It was a lot of fun to get the old softball juices flowing again. There were no injuries and the only problem was that the road got the best of Sharon, on the way there and on the way back. Looks like I’ll be on my own if I’m asked to fill in again.

Thanks for going Babe. I love you too!

30 Years Later

Two weeks ago I got a Facebook message from one of my best friends from elementary school. Yes, that’s right. A friend from 30 years ago contacted me and guess what…he lives in San Diego. We exchanged a few emails and got together for lunch today.

This is us way back when we were 11 years old (I’m the one on the right). It was great to sit down and try to catch up on things that have transpired over a 30 year period. We got a decent start, but catching up is definitely going to require more than 1 hour. Hoping to meet him and his wife for dinner in the near future.

So Cal Youth Camps

This weekend my kids head off to camp. DJ is part of the first group of interns under the direction of Terry V. and Kylie Skiles (they have to be the coolest couple ever). He’s learning about leading and serving and he couldn’t have two better models than TV and Ky. I’m sure he will never be the same.

Jason will be part of the Senior camp which starts this Sunday and Jessica will be part of the Jr. High camp which starts a week from Monday. Sharon and I have tried to model what we want to teach our kids. However, there is something special that happens when your kids get around others they think are cool that are also modeling a Christ-like life (typically as their parent, you are not cool).

I’m grateful for all of the young leaders that take their vacation time to be up at camp with my kids. Year after year they help my kids take another step closer to God and I pray that God will overwhelm them this year as they pour their hearts out for the students of So Cal.

I want my kids to have an encounter with God that will change their lives and God is certainly big enough to do that over and over again for every student at Bethel In The Hills. Please join me in prayer for the students and the leaders at the So Cal camps. God is faithful!

Family Vacation

Last week my family and I took a break and went up to Bishop, CA to do some camping and fishing. We had a blast! The weather was great and the fishing was even better.  Our family caught 40 fish in 5 days of fishing, 2 days at a couple of the lakes and 3 days in the stream.

I caught fish every day except day 2. The rest of my family caught fish on day 2, but not me. I got skunked. I’ll attribute that to a lack of time with my line actually in the water. You see, one of the responsibilities that comes with being a Dad is making sure everyone else’s line is setup (hooks, bait, swivel, bobber, weight) and reels are working properly. You’d think that my 18 & 16 year olds would have learned how to set their own rod up by now, but I guess that was wishful thinking.

Actually, I didn’t mind that they still relied on me for that. The last time we were in Bishop, DJ was 12, Jason 10 and Jessica was 7. Before too long, they won’t need Dad to fix their line, just like they don’t need me to kiss their owie or comb their hair. I am grateful for my family and for the week we had together in Bishop – where I won the biggest fish contest! A whopping 1 lb 2 oz rainbow trout. Maybe next time guys! And maybe next time you’ll clean your own fish too.