Why I'm Okay with my Blog Failing

My father-in-law sleeps 25 feet away from me every night, no, it's not a metaphor, it's my life.

Sarah's parents have been gracious enough to let us stay at their house while we are finding a new dwelling for ourselves.  They are rad to house a family of four with 2 boys under the age of two and two Australian Shepherds who do nothing more than destroy the lawn with their running races, wrestling matches, and acid pee (the dogs, not me).

One of my resolutions for the year was to write on this thing five times a week, as you can see I am like the, "Don't worry honey, I will get the oil changed," of resolutions, good intentioned but ultimately a failure.

The truth is I like to write, apparently I am awesome at it.  I am so good that my credentialing professors ask me to write anywhere from 8-14 papers a month, its exciting to be believed in!  Oh you didn't hear? I am going to school full time to become a high school teacher. No, I didn't quit my job to go to school full time, I work during the day, do homework at night and squeeze every bit of family time in that I can.  Sarah and I decided that wasn't enough so we decided to sell our house and move in with her parents until we find a replacement. 

Bryan Allain over at  bryanallain.com is a funny guy, he is smart, he likes baseball (well, the Red Sox, I don't know if you call what they do baseball) and he is in last place in our Fantasy Baseball league, regardless, he once tweeted this, "@bryanallain: someday i'm gonna look back at this time in my life and wonder how i did it. but for now, i just have to do it."  

I was up this morning at 5:30 after getting almost 4 hours of sleep, I will be up again in three hours feeding my eight month old kid who still doesn't sleep through the night, I wrote a sermon, a talk, three lesson plans and three papers today on top of watching Michael Scott wheel his luggage off to Boulder, CO.  It is times like these that make me want to punch college me in the face for saying I was ever tired.  But you continue, you move forward because, "for now, I just have to do it."

I won't blog everyday, probably not even every week because my life is like a G6.  I have no clue what a G6 is, but I think it is a fast airplane or a bingo number.  In either case my life demands that I continue, so continue I shall.

It's a Pooptastrophe

Sarah sent this to me this morning after I was already at work, I hope you laugh as hard as I did.  Sarah, however, did not see the humor in it.

Bad Excuses

I thought that I would sit, write, and see what came out.  So this is what it is, a list of reasons that I have not blogged in a very  long time:

1.  I have been weeping since Justin Bieber cut off his luscious locks, who are my sons supposed to look up to now?  A short haired Biebs?  I don't think so.

2.  Brian Wilson told me stop, he was threatened by the wit that I possess, that and how much more manly my beard can be than his. You're Welcome.

3.  Preseason baseball analytics have consumed every available minute I have. (Really Vegas, you think the odds of the Phillies winning it all is 3/1? (Also, I don't gamble.))

Truth is, I am here, I am not dead but i have been super busy.  I'll get back to blogging soon.

Baseball > Football

I will start by saying this, I like football and baseball, but football is the weaker species.

Brian Wilson, Genius/Closer

I have been reliving Giants glory, rewatching the NLCS and the World Series, it has been phenomenal.  As I write this the Giants are 26 days away from Pitchers and Catchers reporting to their facility in Scottsdale Arizona.  Also as I write this Pablo Sandoval is losing about 25 pounds and the rookies and suck ups are at pre-training which started 4 days ago.  I have no expectations of the Giants doing to me this year what they did last year, because last year all they did was rip my heart out day after day week after week, play some hacky sack with it then hand it back to me tattered and worn but having enough life left in it to take another beating the next day.  That being said, if they win the World Series again they can do whatever they want with my heart.

But I get giddy because I love stories and I love baseball.

Buster Posey, Catcher, 2010 Rookie of the Year

Football isn't fun because of the stories, football is fun because a guy breaks a tackle and sprints 80 yards while being chased by another dude in a different jersey.  It is exciting, it is crazy, there was just a huge play out of no where.  Are there stories in football? Yes, but most of them are scandals about dog fighting and shooting yourself in the leg while partying in 'da club.

But baseball is different.

Baseball stories are what make the game.

Tim Lincecum, Starting Pitcher, 2 Time NL Cy Young Winner

Without the back stories that baseball offers it can get boring really quickly.  I can't sit and watch the Yankees play the Red Sox as much as ESPN thinks I can because I don't care enough about their players, I don't know their stories, I don't know who the Red Sox 5th starting pitcher is, so I won't watch that game.

But I will watch a football game even if I don't know anything about either team, why?  Because football is a more exciting game to watch.  It is simple, people get it and that is why the Super Bowl is one of the most watched television events every single year.

I guess what i am saying is football is more exciting to watch but baseball has depth.

Think of Football as the popular cheerleader in high school that can't count to 10 and baseball as the quieter cute athlete who can tutor you when you fall behind in Algebra 2 and also she loves Jesus.

What do you think, cast your vote, Baseball or Football, and don't worry if you choose football I won't judge you, that's God's job.

Terrifying

I stumbled upon this today and I am OUTRAGED that any parent would be so negligent to buy this for their child, mostly because I just peed a little watching it.



Also if you haven't read my Monday Morning with Coop for the day check it out HERE

Monday Morning with Coop

About a week ago something happened, I don't know what it was or why it was but someone flipped a switch and Cooper entered into his "terrible twos."  Before I get too much further into this I want you to know I never believed in the terrible twos, I considered them an excuse for parents to use when their kids acted out in stores or in front of extended family, but after this last week I can truly say I am 100 percent on board with this whole terrible twos idea.

This is how it happened, Cooper went to bed one night, and it was normal, it was nice. We laid down and read his San Francisco Giants book as I quizzed him on the different pieces of baseball attire (cleats, batting gloves, hat, jersey, etc. (starting shortstop in 2032 for the Giants)) we said his night time prayer and put him down with his ever growing collection of stuffed animals that are in his crib.  Everything was good, everything was normal.

The next morning he slept in until after I left for work. At about 10:30 I got a phone call from my wife who sounded worn down, on the other end of the phone was a crying baby and a screaming almost 2 year old.  Sarah went on to tell me that Cooper wasn't acting like himself, demanding things saying "no" on a whim when normally he is one of the most obedient children in the world.  This wasn't the precious little innocent boy I have enjoyed for the previous 21 months, this kid was a monster (but a really cute monster, think Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc.)

It isn't that coop wants to be defiant, he isn't plotting in his crib with Lots-o-Huggin' bear and his stuffed monkey that is wearing a Giants jersey.  Coop is just trying to figure out how to be independent, he is testing his boundaries and with that Mom and Dad's patience.  So last week the Big TO was enlisted for the first time, and no we didn't call in overhyped and underperformed Terrel Owens to discipline our kid, Coop got his first real big kid time out.  He hated it, but not at first.  

I asked him I said, "Cooper, if you keep fussing you are going to have to get a timeout," his response was, "Timeout? Okay Daddy!" Hmmm, in hindsight maybe I didn't make it sound scary enough, like instead I should have called it the "Dragons Pen" or "Mannequin Alley."  Either way it didn't strike much fear into The Coop, until he had to sit there.

I had to hold my son still in timeout for a whole minute because he refused to eat one more bite of his sandwich before he got to have some jell-o.  it took all of my ability not to laugh as my son was melting down because he had to have a bite of his favorite food.

Parenting gets rough, it isn't fun implementing timeout or disciplining your kid at all for that matter, but our oldest is at an age where he knows what is right and wrong and we have to make sure that he is raised in such a way that when he is 35 he isn't collapsing on the floor in a screaming fit because a Barista put whipped cream on his caramel macciato.

Did your kids ever enter into the terrible twos?  How did you deal with it, because i am kind of scared I broke Cooper somehow.

Babies are Awesome

Micah spent the afternoon yesterday bouncing and laughing at out dog, Parker.

Then a breakfast dance party
For Uncle Scotty coming home.

Babies are a lot of fun.

I'm Just Sayin'

Jack Jack baby Incredible

Micah Bradley, baby Anderson

Micah Jordan

Get it? He's jumping like Michael Jordan? No? Okay but he's really cute.

- Peter

No Nalgenes or Camelbacks

When I was in college I had no clue what route my life was going to take, probably like a lot of other college age students.  I was going to the classes that people were telling me to go to, I was taking tests I was supposed to take and doing assignments I had been assigned (for the most part).  When I got married, working part time at The Buckle wasn't going to get Sarah and I financially secure very quickly but at least it was a job and we were generating some income but were by no means able to start planning for the future.  

Then in the same week I got three phone calls, three phone calls from three different churches looking for a Youth Pastor to head up their ministry.  I began to follow up on the phone calls and I decided to take a job in beautiful Selma, California at Selma First Baptist Church, it was probably Pastor Craig's charm and quiet demeanor that sold me on the place. 

I was ecstatic, I had my first real job, I was getting paid a salary not a wage based on how many clothes I could force people to buy (did you hear Buckle has a layaway plan too? You can give us your money today but won't get the product until you can afford it later on. The Buckle credit card is a great option also, buy as much as you want now and worry about the payments later; when you still can't afford the ridiculously over priced, over winged, and over dragoned Ed Hardy and Affliction clothing).

I was a big boy, I felt like Buddy the Elf, "It's Santa! I know him!"

It wasn't until having a few different conversations recently that I realized how quiet some people can be about what it is they do, whether it is a youth pastor shying away form telling strangers his title for fear of being treated differently or a CEO not wanting others to think he is too rich or not in touch with other people.  

I think it goes back to wanting to stay relate-able to our fellow man, not wanting to make others feel uncomfortable or less fortunate or pitied or whatever.

It makes me think about how at times I think about how cool it would be to do another type of ministry, moving to San Francisco to help fight poverty alongside college aged students, or having some type of really cool surf ministry or starting an adventure rec company that takes people on adventures where the only thing they can take is a canteen (No Nalgenes or Camelbacks permitted, just canteens) and their faith in the Lord.

It makes me think about how I feel insignificant in my role as a Youth Pastor sometimes, how I am not doing enough things or being as relevant or as crazy as some of the other functioning ministries out there.  But then I remember some scripture in 1 Corinthians 12 that tells me I have a specific function, I am where I am for a reason I have no reason to be ashamed of who I am or what I have been called to.

If everyone moved to the city to battle poverty, the kids who grow up on farms will be left with no one to lead them.  If everyone ran a surf ministry, the people who are terrified of dark water would be left behind (Hey, it's scary, you can't see what is down there and a crazy huge fish could eat you whole,  it's possible, ask Jonah).

I guess what I am saying is, be content with what you do and who you are in the Lord.  God has put us where we are for a reason, be there and be stoked for the opportunity to serve.

Do you feel like the place you are at gets stale sometimes or do you dream of something bigger?  What is it?  Leave a comment and start the conversation.