July 2007 Archives

My heart is heavy right now... i would NOT be following my heart if i do not share what is on my heart. this may not make much sense to you if you have not experienced what it means to live life together in community. i thought i had until my last trip that i took to Mexico. i never experienced community like we had there. when you experience something like that you want more of it, at least i know i do. i/we cannot forget what we know...

NEVER FORGET...

what we experienced together. remember that we were never created to go alone. we need each other. at this point, life comes down to decisions. unfortunately, we easily forget what we experienced together and who we became. we need each other to help us remember. STAY CONNECTED!

NEVER FORGET...

our NEW identities that we found in Christ. I remember someone saying, "who i was and what i did just seems so small compared to who i NOW am and what i just experienced."

NEVER FORGET...

to be a part of something that is bigger than you.

NEVER FORGET...

to not take yourself too seriously. laugh at yourself every now and then.

NEVER FORGET...

much love,
F

When you work hard, celebrate by playing hard... We took a bus full of teenagers to one of the best kept secrets in the St. Louis area... the city museum... www.citymuseum.org/home.asp

If you have never been to this place, and i hadn't before yesterday, YOU NEED TO GO! Basically what it is, is creativity beyond reality. Their "tag-line" is where imagination runs wild. And trust me, that is exactly what they have created. Forests, jungles, caves, airplanes, cranes, fire trucks, aquarium, skate park, great pizza, and more... the incredible thing is that there are endless tunnels that run through all the things mentioned that makes you get down like a kid again and crawl through all these tunnels and squeeze through all these crevasses...

Here is what i am trying to say... this place makes you stupid, hyper and CARELESS like a kid again, and it feels great.

One of the best lessons that i have learned this past year is not to take yourself too seriously... the ability to laugh at yourself is a beautiful thing...

Work hard... play hard (like a kid again)

F

The best kept secret in St. Louis is the City Museum...

Alright...
It has been awhile since i posted something other than pictures and shared experiences with you that i have encountered over the last few weeks, so here we go...

Ok, you see...as some of you know, i have this weird, irrational obsession with landscaping. more specifically with freshly cut grass. i am not talking about just any freshly cut grass, i'm talking about the freshly, tight lined grass, where when you look at it you see two different shades, dark green and light green.

Well... we got our grass cut this afternoon at our condo, which is always an exciting day for me. "why" you ask, the lines, it's all about the lines.

now, i know what you are thinking... what the crap is wrong with you? Let me let you in on a little secret... freshly cut, lined grass will bring a tear to the eye of any grown man. by the way, i would wear freshly cut grass cologne if they made it.

So where am i going with this...

That was a looooooong way to start the conversation on the small things...

If we are not careful in life we can and will miss God in the small things... i was sitting on our front porch of our condo admiring the freshly cut grass when i looked up and saw an incredible sunset. The small things... i felt as though God was smiling down and admiring the freshly cut grass also. uhhh... what i meant to say was, that i wasn't being aware of the moment, i would have missed seeing that sunset tonight.

the small things that God brings our way remind us He is here...

don't miss the moments... don't miss the small things

most times... the small things are what matter most.

F

Again... i couldn't resist.
I saw this site that rates your blog and a rating system that rates your words and language that i use...
Apparently i have a family friendly blog...

Mingle² - Online Dating

NOTE: this is for an online dating site... Just click the image if you want to rate your blog

For the month of July into August this is what i have been listening to in my CD player in the car and playing on my playlist(s) in itunes... They have rocked my face off and made a home in my cd player.

The Future of Forestry... Twilight

Paper Route... paper Route

Colbie Caillat... Coco

Check 'em out and enjoy...

F

I was reminded as Michele and I sat down to dinner at a friend's house tonight of how easy it is for me to be forgetful of the "things" that God has blessed me with... not to mention the times that i completely miss it period. there is so much that i am very thankful for in life... good friends are hard to come by these days, you are blessed to have GOOD, loyal, consistent friends. I am thankful for those i consider good friends in life.

May this be a reminder to thank those who have blessed you and ultimately God who has blessed you.

May we not forget...

F

The simpson's have a new movie coming out and they launched a really cool site with some crazy stuff. One of the features allows you to create an avatar for yourself. I made Michele, Ryder and myself a simpson character. What a beautiful family.

Here's the link if you would like to create your own Simpson character http://simpsonsmovie.com
You know that you can't resist it!

When they were in Mexico... look what i learned...

Mud Wars 2007 at the REALM...

The day was STRAIGHT incredible... We will be getting mud out of places for days...
Enjoy the pics

F

We split our team into 3 groups to maximize our influence in the city of Diaz Ordaz with 3 different churches. Here are some pics from our group...

A few pics of Chele and I with some kids at the church our group was with...

There are few things in life that make someone think about something or someone other than themselves, or make someone want to be a part of something bigger than themselves... Mission Trips happen to be one of those things. I have never been part of a trip or a team that came together quite as this team had... this trip was unique in many aspects, mostly for the ethos and the community that was created. Everywhere we had gone, people commented on our team (ALL POSITIVE)... i know, hard to believe isn't it. It did not take long to sense that the team was ready for something, anything that could and would come our way. After camp i wrote a blog about accumulating experiences... i feel very blessed and wealthy at the experiences that have been deposited into my experience account. I know i speak on behalf of the team when i say that.

What made this trip successful?

That is a question that can be very subjectively answered depending on your perception... it could have been the training that the team went through for 2 1/2 months, It could have been the amount of prayer that went into the trip, or how about the faith journey that each had to embark on, what about the hard work and the servant's attitude it takes to be on a mission team, the selflessness in the heat and the travel... Yes, all of these play a part in the overall success of the trip, BUT at the end of the day God breathed. He prepared the way, the hearts, the people...

We just said... here we are, please use us.

Why is life not like a mission trip?
What happens?
Why do we allow things to distract us... to arrest our attention?

God,
May you hold our attention. May our hearts long to beat as yours.

F

We are back... what an incredible trip with incredible experiences.
Over the coarse of the week i will be posting blogs from the conversations and the pics and the life altering and transforming experiences that will be forever imprinted on our hearts.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.
Stay tuned...

F

So... here we go.
One day left...

A few reflections on the process of preparing for our Mission Trip to Mexico before we leave tomorrow. We have been training and preparing for this trip now for 3 months. It is amazing to look back and see what has happened in 3 short months. First of all, this has got to be the most eclectic group of students that i have ever been with on a mission trip before. By the way, that is a really good thing. It is so easy for communities, especially youth communities to become so inclusive and clique-ish that it becomes nearly impossible to penetrate the community. Not so with this community... at least with this group going to Mexico. So first off, i am incredibly excited to experience the molding together of this group of people as we continue to live life together on this journey. Remember, i have failed if all we did was prepare and train for a trip to Mexico... we prepared and trained for life. Mexico is just an extension of life.

I am praying and have been praying that God would do some pretty incredible things in this process. We have witnessed several already and many more to come.

I will be posting daily (hopefully) and updating everyone on our trip.
You can post a comment by simply clicking on the title of the post for that specific day.

Join us on our adventure...

Support us... we need you.

F

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy 4th of July. Enjoy...

F