Christmas 2005

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. The difference with this Christmas is my children are getting older. It is amazing to see the older children going out shopping and purchasing gifts for the rest of the family on their own. It is amazing to see the love they have for each other and what they gave to the family. Christmas is all about family. That is what God has been teaching me this season.

It is about God sending his only Son, Jesus, into the world to take on the form of a man so He could be one of us. Yet, he also remained God but gave up his godly powers. He did this that the Father might be glorified when Jesus died on the cross for us. It was the initiative of the Father to offer his Son as a sacrifice for our sins so that He might be glorified. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, I am a new creation. I no longer live but He lives within me. He has created a new heart within me. I am wonderfully and beautifully created in His image.

Christmas is also about my family spending time with each other this holiday season. It is the blessing of God that I am able to get off early enough this year to attend Christmas Eve service with my family. This is the first time ever in many, many years that I have been able to do this. Jesus is so good! The greatest He has given is His life that I might be free from the stain and stench of sin. Yet, He still provides blessing after blessing! I have a wonderful wife and beautiful children.

God is so good!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I wanted to shout Merry Christmas from my blog site because it is so Anti-Politically Correct! It was as a friend and I were talking about yesterday, in the ancient church it used to be "He is Risen!" "He is Risen, Indeed!" which distinguished whether one was a Christian. Today, one can know if a person is a Chrsitian if he greets someone with the saying of "Merry Christmas!" It seems as if only Christians are saying Merry Christmas. The popular saying everywhere is Happy Holidays. Sooo, Merry Christmas!

I discovered a song on another website which I would like to share with you. It is called "My Jesus" by Todd Agnew.

"My Jesus"

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like my Jesus

May you come to know Jesus this Holy Season. God who came in human flesh, the God who came and with us, died for us, rose again, then ascended into Heaven and set us at the right hand of God.

Blessings!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This has been a very different holiday season. For the first time in almost 30 years I am not working in a grocery store during Thanksgiving. And for the first time in 8 years I won't have the added stress of making sure everything goes right for this holiday! God has been so good to me lately that it can't be hard but to be thankful to Him for everything He does.

Jesus moved me out of the stores in the middle of September. He put me in a new position at the corporate office. I am now officially the Manager of Space Allocation and Product Demonstrations. This means I now have weekends and holidays off. I don't have the stress of the added pressure of running a store. He is so good. People have told me the stress is so less visible on my life. One person told me just the other day I look 5 years younger because of the stress not on my life. Thank-you, Jesus. My doctor told me my health will be a lot better with less stress in my life. Stress is bad for my blood sugar. Thank-you, Jesus!

Then to put another piece to the puzzle in place, He moved upon my pastor's heart to ask Cara and I if we would consider being small group leaders. It would have been very difficult to be a Care group leader if I was still a store director. So again, I am thankful to Him for the opportunity to be a small group leader. I am also signed up to be an usher at church. That will start in December. I will serve for the whole month.

So for this Thanksgiving, I am so thankful to Him for his goodness to me!

Things

There isn't a single focus or thought which has been running through my mind latety, just a variety of things. It is just like living in California, there is such a variety of daily activities which take place. But, life needs to have a focus to make an impact in our lives or else it is just a matter of random things.

The biggest focus in my life lately has been getting into a deeper relationship/walk with Jesus Christ. This has been happening by a variety of means lately. Every morning I have been getting up I read through our church's bible plan. I also read a portion of Scripture before I go to bed. I have been reading a very good book by Greg Laurie, "The Upside Down Church." It is a book about evangelism. He makes several good points in the book confronting the modern church. I am almost done with that book. I am starting another book called, "No More Mister Nice Guy." It is a book about not being passive as a Christian man. This is a very major point in my life. I tend to be on the passive side. I let life happen to me rather that stepping out and taking charge. I avoid conflict at pretty much any cost. This is not what God has called me to be. I have been also listening to an abridged version of "Waking the Dead" by John Eldredge. For me, it has been a very good book. It is about how we view our walk with God. It is about our heart.

So pray for me that Jesus will continue his healing work in my life. To take a more active role in my life. To make a stand for the gospel of Christ and not to have fear rule in my life, not just to drift down the swift flowing stream of life.

Anniversary

Cara and I had a beautiful anniversary last weekend. Our anniversary is Sept 25. We have been married 23 years. Every year I plan a weekend away with the one I love. She is definitely a gift from the Lord. She is the most precious gift He has given to me.

Last weekend, we went to Dana Point. I made reservations for our hotel 4 months in advance to the day. Our hotel was right across the street from Doheny State Beach. We could see the fire rings lit at night and the waves illuminated in the light of the fires. We spent 3 beautiful days together. When we checked out of the hotel we found out that people who were registering that day for the hotel were paying more for one night than what we paid for 2 nights. Jesus is so good!

On Saturday, we went to the San Juan Capritrano Mission. It was great to take the time to spend 2 hours at the mission just observing everything, taking pictures of everything, and not having to worry about the what the little ones were getting into.

I am already plannning a couple of ideas for our 25th anniversary. I want it to be espcially special for Cara. She works so hard and means so much to this family and to me. She deserves to be blessed.

King Tut

We went on our first school field trip of the year. We went and saw King Tut or should I say the in-laws of his father. As far as seeing Tut it was kind of a disappointment. The majority of the exhibit was dedicated to the Golden Age of the Pharoahs which was in the small print of the brochure. The sarcophagus wasn't there and neither was Tut.

We arrived around 10:30,which was a good thing because it was crowded enough at that time. When we left around 12:30, it was really crowded with lines. It would have been really tight within the museum.

After the museum trip, we went and had lunch at the Farmer's Market of L.A. We then walked around the Grove. It was a lot of fun. The family had a chance to ride the trolley up and down the Grove. It was a double decker so we rode up on top.

Then later in the evening, we had a pool party with Shiloh Academy. There were about 5 families who came to the pool party. It was a great time sitting down and having fellowship with the other families. The families who didn't come missed out on a really great time of fellowship. The strength of Christianity is in community. We need to be there for each other to hold each other up.

Yosemite Backpacking

I have been back a week now from backpacking in Yosemite. It was a great time. For the first 4 days of the trip we saw only one other person on the trail Talk about being in a different universe! Then when I get back it is right in the middle of the opposite universe, Sunset & Fairfax in Hollywood. It is totally different there.

The flowers were over 5 feet tall, everything was green, the sky was bright blue, Mars looked like an orange golf ball. I could go on and on about how amazing it was. We did not come across any wildlife though because some of the wildlife was with us. A couple of the boys were really loud, loud enough to scare any wild life away from the area.

The trip was for 5 days and 4 nights. It was about 24 miles long, with some steep climbs on the trip. Those steep climbs really put me under because of the lack of food intake to compensate for the calories I was burning trekking along in the wilderness.

The biggest thrill I got out of the trip was my son and I are planning on having some of our own backpacking trips in the local mountains when it starts to cool off. Even my 7 year old is starting to bug me about taking him along on a short hike to get him adjusted to hiking.

The picture I have posted on my blog is the site of our first night on the trail. We camped right in front of Turner Meadows. It was absolutely beautiful as you see. There was a stream running right in front of our campsite with Turner Meadows right behind us. The meadow was about 3 to 4 inches of water.

Yosemite Family Trip

We had our bi-annual family vacation. This time we went to Yosemite. I wanted to share with Cara what the boys and I saw and experienced last year when we went to Yosemite. Everyone had a great time at Yosemite. We did all of the normal stuff one does when you go to Yosemite.

We went to Glacier Point, Pioneer Village, and Yosemite Falls. We were able to hike up to the lower Yosemite Falls and enjoy the spray from the water fall. On the day we left Yosemite we went out of Tioga Pass. We stopped at Tioga Lake for lunch. The bread had gotten moldy by then after being 5 days in the hot car, I gues that is bound to happen. The kids saw snow on the side of the road so we stopped to play and take pictures in the snow. Walking back to the car, I saw a bald eagle flying over the lake, then another bald eagle actually flew over Josiah. We then spent the next 5 - 10 minutes watching the eagles fly up in the canyon. It was great seeing our national bird flying in the wilderness.

Next week, Josiah and I have the opportunity to return to Yosemite for a back packing trip in the high country of Yosemite. I am looking forward to the return trip to Yosemite. It will be the third time for Josiah and I to Yosemite in a year!

Church

It has been a very hectic couple of months, hence the lack of postings from this blog site. Not that anyone reads my postings anyhow? 'cause I have only received a couple of comments from my sister Kathy when I first started blogging. But, I like blogging because it helps to clear my thoughts.

I have grown really fond? of the church we have been attending the last few months, Abundant Life Community Church. It has its quirks but all churches have their peculiar quirks like we all do because we are human. I guess I have just been growing as a human or can I say man in this politically correct culture? I am starting to value church membership more importantly now as I grow older. We need to make a committment to a body of believers. There was a really good paper written by the Ekklesia Project about church membership. It really spoke to me about the importance of church membership. I read J. Harris book but this short paper is what convinced me about why we should committ to church membership.

So, now I have asked the pastor for a meeting to join the church. Yes, we have to go through a formal interview to be able to join. If we are not allowed to join I don't know what we would do but hey, Mr. Happy Camper, I am not going to focus on the negative. I am looking forward to becoming a member of ALCC. He is supposed to get back to me later in the week about my family joining the church. He said the meeting would last about an hour.

Patches

We have a new dog named "Patches." We rescued her from the Pasadena Humane Society on April 8. She has been a great dog. She is a Pointer/Dalmation mix although, I think she is more Pointer than Dalmation. She is a calm dog who likes to go on walks and play with the children. She is a year and half old, which makes her almost the same age as Nathanael. She has spots all over with a patch over her right eye and black ears. From the pictures I have seen of Pointers, she looks just like an English Pointer. The children really love their new playmate. They are having a great time with her. She is a wonderful addition to our family. She loves going for car rides already.

Happy Camp

Last week, I was able to attend a seminar called Ed Foreman and "The Success in Life Seminar." It was sponsored by Albertson's and since Bristol Farms is now part of Albertson's I had the opportunity to attend. I loved the 4 days being away and learning how to be positive in my life. It also taught about the influence of having a positive thought process and outlook in life. It was a great course. I know it will affect the rest of my life and how I live my life. I am now a more positive person and know how to focus on the positive things in my life. For me this is hard to do since I used to worry a lot about everything but now I just focus on the positive things in my life and am thankful to Jesus for the many ways He has blessed me. I am starting to look at all the little things in life which are such a blessing to me. It is a real blessing in my life.

Joshua Tree

This week-end was our troop's annual trip to Joshua Tree. This marked the first time for me in camping at Joshua Tree where we camped at a different campsite. The campsite we normally camped at for the past few years was Indian Cove. It is a short distance from the town of Twenty-nine Palms. The campsite we were at this time was Sheep Pass. I liked the campsite at Sheep Pass much better. The difference though is the group campsite is 20 miles from the town of Joshua Tree. Some of the dads couldn't make their morning run to Starbucks. It was a good time this week-end. The patrols practiced the patrol method in preparation for the camporee. On Saturday, we took a short, strenous hike up nearby Ryan's Mt. Saturday afternoon we had a short thunderstorm with wind, rain, hail, thunder, and lightning. That evening we had the privelege of looking at Orion's Nebula, the Rosette Nebula, Saturn and its rings, the Bee Hive, and the Two Clusters. We also saw Jupiter rising with the full moon. It was a great week-end. The only thing which was missing was my oldest son, Jacob. Jacob had been to the 7 previous Joshua Tree trips out to the Mojave Desert. A couple of dads asked were Jacob was. He was missed.

California Adventure 2

I forgot to mention one thing which is really exciting about us going to California Adventure. The whole week before we were to go, they had been forcasting rain in Southern California starting on the Tuesday before we were going to go on Thursday. Well, we prayed as a family for a week before that it would not rain on Thursday because then we would not be able to go. Guess What? It didn't rain until 2:30 that afternoon! If had rained that morning then we would not have gone to California Adventure! To God be the glory!

California Adventure

We were able to go to California Adventure 2 weeks after we went to Disneyland. California Adventure was new and shiny but it is not Disneyland. There is still a sense of nostalgia and warmth at Disneyland which isn't at California Adventure. California Adventure is just too new and too much into the post-modern culture. There was a show which was called California Dreamin which was a little bit occultic for my tastes. It had Whoopi Goldberg as the California "Spirit" who is there to guide you and give you advice any time you ran into adversity. It also had two big idles at either side of the stage which came alive and spoke to the audience. If some ancients ever saw these statues they would have worshipped them as gods. It is so easy to imagine about the image of the beast coming to life in the temple and being worshipped in the Book of Revelation. The best ride I liked was California Soarin which took you flying all over the state. The worst part of the trip was the first ride I went on with 2 of my kids, California Screamin. It was a roller coaster type of ride which left me feeling nauseous for most to the morning. It almost ruined my whole trip for me. The best part of trip was being able to spend time with my family for the day.

Disneyland

I'm going to Disneyland! That is what all of my family members had to say yesterday. That's right all of them. All of us had such an enjoyable time spending the whole day there. Some of my children haven't been there at all. The last time we were there was 9 years ago in 1996 with my mom and dad. It was a great time by all because it was during the middle of week, it was still winter, and there weren't any crowds which meant no long waiting in lines for the rides. We went on almost all of the rides. We got there at 9:30am and left at 8:30 in the evening. What a great time we had. Boy was it exhausting just walking around all day with a pack on your back and running from ride to ride so we could enjoy as many rides as we could in our short day. Actually, by the end of the day we weren't running so much any more but just dragging our tired feet closer to the car. It was really nice to visit. We have the chance to return in 2 weeks when we attend California Adventure except this time we will be short the 2 older girls since they will be at school. Oh, and since this was Southern California, the weather was beautiful, bright, sunny, but not to hot, just the right temperature.

Reagan Library

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to visit the Reagan Library with my sons' Scout troop. To say it was an emotional moment is an understatement. Maybe I am getting older or something but the moment we arrived at the library and saw the buildings my emotions came over me, I felt overwhelmed as if I was in the presence of a great man. Reagan was truly one of our great presidents. Just to see the piece of the Berlin wall was incredible, to see one of the last symbols of tyranny in pieces was incredible. If ever you have a chance to be in Simi Valley, CA, you should take the chance to visit the Reagan library.

Malibu Creek State Park

I spent this past weekend at Malibu Creek State Park. I went with my sons' Boy Scout troop. We were able to stay in the group campground there. It was perfect since we were on our own at the end of a plush meadow.

Every morning there was dense fog in the meadow which burned off by 9:00am. After the fog burned off the deer came out to eat the wild oats in the meadow. There was a hered of 7 deer. My 6 year old was so excited to see the most deer he has ever seen in his whole life! It seems camping is in his blood. He learned how to build a fire the first night we were there. It only took one match for us to start a fire. He learned about starting with small twigs then moving on to larger branches to build the fire. On Sunday, he was so disappointed we would not be going on a hike with the troop, he cried, so I had to take him on a special hike with his older brother.

Every evening we were blessed by our Creator to enjoy a moon which was nearly full. In the middle of the night one could hear the coyotes sharing their joy of the latest meal they would be sharing with each other.

It was a great weekend to be out camping with the Boy Scouts, being able to teach a new group of scouts and older scouts about scout craft. I was able to purchase a map of the area which helped with maps and orientering. One scout was disappointed we weren't going to have an orienteering course! This is the first time I had a scout who was disappointed about not orienteering.

Another first was my six year old losing his first tooth on the second day of the campout.

All in all, it was a great weekend of camping. The only thing which was sad about this trip was my oldest son, who is an Eagle Scout, wasn't there to share the experience with. Can't wait till next month when we head out to Joshua Tree. Next month, I will tell you all about the experience of Joshua Tree.

A New Year

Rain, Rain, Rain! When will it ever end? I feel like I am living in Seattle with the amount of rainfall we have been receiving lately!

The New Year is starting out really good. It is amazing how much God has blessed me so far this year. The hardest part of it all for me is to realize and accept how much He has blessed me so far this year.

I am really blessed by the family Jesus has given to me. I have a beautiful wife who has a real servant's heart and children who really seek after the Lord.

With work it seems to be just in a holding pattern with waiting to see what will happen in the upcoming year with all of the changes which are supposed to be happening. This is a year of which there are going to be alot of changes.

I have 2 children who will be graduating from school this year, one from college and one from high school, both homeschooled.

With all of the changes which are going to be happening I know it will come out ok by the end of the year because Jesus holds the universe in the palm of his hand, He holds everything together.

Blessings unto you for this New Year!