Gotta love SoCal!!

Where else in the country can someone wear shorts and sandals to the office....in the middle of November (other than possibly Florida)?? It's in the late 80's outside dropping down to the late 60's tonight. I absolutely love SoCal! Maybe I should take the rest of the day off and go to the beach....hmmm...that's a thought.

Work-books

As I've been reading Chazown, I've forced myself to follow the guidelines set by its author, Craig G. In addition, since I usually read 2-3 books at the same time, I've had to set the other 2 down until I finish this one because of its demands. Thoroughly enjoying it, though. One of the other books I was reading at the same time was similar, in that it requires the reader to work through it. So my reading pace will slow down just a bit until I finish these two...

Weekend Wrap-up

What a draining weekend! Our minister's meeting turned out to be a success, but it drained all of us who organized it and served there. It's all good, though. It was cool to see and hang out with some of the other pastors in the region.
Sunday was somewhat of a blur. I felt kinda waisted due to the weekend's rigor and stress (not that I'm openly admitting to having gotten waisted before...'cause I never inhaled!). Anywho, it was cool as we talked about God wanting more to bless us than to make us happy.

...just 2 more months to go...

Weekend Recap

On Friday and Saturday, we hosted the newly instituted Holy Spirit Conference where 4 regions/states within our organization, Church of God, united to celebrate together. I believe it was the first time in the West that we had gathered to worship together. It was pretty cool to see an intentionality about unity. Since YCE directors are usually the ones behind the scenes (working their tails off), I was somewhat busy with this short event, even though my counterpart in CA was the busiest.

By the time Sunday rolled around, I was pretty drained and was operating on very few hours of sleep. However, our Sunday service was still pretty cool, and we had a decent turnout. The need to follow up with attenders and the need for care seemed so obvious to me today. It's definitely a pressing issue.
By the way, my phone's clock changed automatically on Sunday morning (DST) but came to find out that the time will not change until next Sunday. That was a little weird, but I'm glad it will be changing next Sunday because next weekend will be as draining, if not more, than this past weekend with our annual minister's meeting coming up.

This weekend was definitely a reminder that I need to stay on top of my game....working hard........and then playing hard!

Going all the Way!

Yep....exactly what it sounds like!....except that I'm talking in marriage. Did Nate just use the M-word?! Ok, I did but only to talk about this book. There are a ton of books I've recently been exposed to, and this is one of them, which I will be reading very soon.

Going all the Way is a book written by Craig Groeschel, which helps people prepare for a godly marriage. You're probably thinking, "It's about time you start preparing!" and you know what? You're right. However, I have been preparing all of this time without you knowing it....or have you known it??? Seriously though, you gotta have some type of life plan and not just make things up as you go because (I believe) one will go in no particular direction and ultimately end up no where. And if one does get somewhere, it'll be by "chance," if you will (o de pura chiripada!).

Anywho, I'll be reading it soon, and you can also check out the youtube video toward the bottom of this page, which serves as a little commercial for the book. Peace!!!

Justo

After a long drought of free weekends (Friday night and all day Saturday, that is), this weekend unexpectedly freed up, and I got to go to a jazz night at Echos of Faith in Ontario. Besides it being a relaxing Friday night, I got to hang out with friends and see Justo Almario perform. Justo Almario!! For a musician, who loves jazz, it was truly a religious experience!! j/k...

Seriously though, I had a great time hearing these jazz musicians, which included epoca (among others), jamm out with Justo Almario. It was sweet. So, I have to post a pic, even though the quality is pretty bad...even on a cool phone like mine.

Chase the Lion

Not too long ago, I came across the idea of facing and chasing a lion into a pit, based on the story of one of King David's warriors, Benaiah, who did this. The story is very interesting, and the implications of it are pretty profound. Mark Batterson elaborates on this story in his book called In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day (which I have yet to read). Below is his lion chaser's manifesto:


Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshiping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.


This totally makes me say, "Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!" (And no, not like Tony the Tiger). The time to seize the moment is now and not in some abstract future. I've decided to chase the lion!

....y tú?