Thirsty V8

You know the car that always makes you tap the breaks when you approach it. It can also be the car that you drove in high school or the same kind your grandparents currently cruise in on a Sunday drive. It might have leather, ride very smooth, possess all the gadgets that make a ride as comfortable as possible. It also has a powerful engine but is not very sporty or have much get up and go. It is a crown vic. Yes, I am currently, not by choice or any action of my own, riding in crown vic for a week. It is very comfortable and has lots of room but does not have very much eye appeal. Matt has proven to display some of his rookie moves in making car rental reservations. As we walked by an Impala, Subaru Tribeca and some more appealing cars, I stared upon our white crown vic. I am confident that several funnay stories will come from our experience in this giant car. Also keep in mind that gas is at a rate of $2.65+ per gallon so it will be interesting to see how thirsty this V8 will be.

Big Boy

You may have heard this phrase from a credit card commercial but I will use it to describe something that is much more important to me. Our family has experienced a new stage of life for Mr. Mason. He has moved into a new Big Boy or toddler bed as some would refer to it. He accomplished this just last night. Amanda and I were able to read a couple books to him and make sure that he had his usual blanket to have throughout the night. He cried a little but made it the entire night and because of his new found freedom was able to greet us in our room. He ventured in to our room around 6:30. This was not to far off his regualr time of 7:15 for a wake-up time. He is becoming a big boy and showing us daily new things he is learning and accomplishing.

See, Experience & Believe

I was at the most recent CIY Believe in Tulsa, OK and I can say that I actually saw and experienced something that I thought I never would at a Believe weekend event. There are many elements that are part of the event at Believe. Students sing songs, listen to Mark O speak about Jesus, watch Brent the acrobat, laugh at Dave and Brian and listen to Robert Pierre. But there was one other element included in this particular weekend in Tulsa. Across the hallway in the arena was an extra piece of entertainment taking place on Saturday afternoon. It was youth ice skating. I have a hard time watching ice skating on television but now it was right in front of me. I saw some kids glide and twirl their way to claps and cheers from the stands. I experienced pain and disappoint as some of them fell to the ice. I could not believe that I actually sat down to view this spectacle of competition.
Leaving that thought behind, I really enjoyed the weekend as many students were part of a great opportunity to hear about Jesus' life. I was able to talk with many youth ministers that I have not talked with for some time and met some for the first time. I was encouraged to see the excitement, experience the craziness and believe for myself that Jesus wants to use students in many ways.