Seek, Don't Mope

I met a friend when our Youth Ministry went to Yakama Valley Reservation to serve the Yakama Nation for a mission trip, his name is Brandon. In Youth Ministry there tends to be a lot of politics even between other Youth Pastors as far as beliefs go, theology, group size, most of it has to do with ego I am sure, but it is rare to meet someone and instantly become buddies not just mere acquaintances. So I follow him on Twitter, if you are wondering, his handle is @daxsdad, and I hope to collaborate with him on a few things. Regardless, today he posted this, “How are you engaging God today?”

When in ministry (or in life for that matter) it is easy to feel alone and so your reliance needs to be on the Lord and you need to find a community that is going to encourage you, both of these things are critical to continue in ministry. But lately I have felt closed off to God, like we were playing hide and go seek in a meadow and he is still hiding even though it is time for dinner.

At first glance it seems like a normal thing that your token Pastor friend would write to encourage those around him and especially those he does ministry with, “How are you engaging God today?” But I got to thinking about this question and the more I thought about the more that I came to realize that God hasn’t gone anywhere, I have. I counted to 100 and rather than finding His hiding spot I sat down and waited for my mom to call me in for meatloaf because I felt like the game was too hard.

God is everywhere, His creation is majestic, and he isn’t hiding, we just tend to get lazy, or bored, or frustrated, or busy and we sit and sulk rather than to glance up and see him smiling and swinging his legs on the Oak branch above you (Does Jesus climb trees?)

2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Monday Morning with Coop

So I haven't written about my boy lately and I think I am overdue. Yes, it is Thursday morning but to keep with tradition I am going with my normal Cooper-man title, Monday Morning with Coop. My boy is at a cool age right now, he can interact with you, he has a personality, one of his current favorite things to do is to impersonate the sounds he hears. He loves making barking noises, and the other day I taught him how to say, "Doh" in true Homer Simpson fashion.

He has also reached the height where everything is forehead level, mix that with still being slightly wobbly and you have a recipe for disaster, this kid hits his head everyday as often as I did while sitting through two hours of, "Dear John," with my wife. But he remains a champ regardless.
(He fell on pebbled cement)

And he is getting really big really fast, which I guess is a good thing because his little brother will be peaking into the world in 2 short months.

Because of this we are working on Cooper's ability to share, we are working on please and thank you, and we are working on his ability to be a bit more independent (Just yesterday we taught him how to use public transportation.) Everyday we hang out with Cooper-man is a day that he learns more and more, he has recently taken to killing bugs. I was barbecuing last night and Coop walked over to the door but stopped half way, turned around, bent down and squished an ant with his fingers then continued on his way. I am very proud of the way he has asserted his dominance over inferior beings, he squishes ants, tackles our dog parker, and just last week caught a fly with a pair of chopsticks (we may also be training him to be a ninja as well.)

Life is good, Sarah is pregnant, Cooper is talking, and we are busy. I love you all. John 3:19-21