Operation Kenney Move Complete!

Last week I talked about going on the mystery trip which was great! When I finally got home Saturday night operation “Kenney move” came in full effect. When we got home we had exactly 48 hours until we were supposed to move. On Monday morning of this week the movers came to the house and few hours later we were Norman residents! How weird is that! We have lived in Edmond for almost 12 years so it’s really weird to be in a different town. The move was really stressful but I must say it could have been a lot worse! Having movers do it was money well spent! The boys our adjusting I just think my eldest son will be telling his therapist someday about how his youth minister dad wrecked his life! Oh well what can you do except try to do your best. Great news on the other house in Edmond it sold last night! God really does answer prayers!!! I look back on my life and God has taken care of me and my family in so many ways I almost feel silly saying that I was really worried about this house thing! Last thing for the week I have two girls in my youth group (Hil, Erica) they made me so proud in what they wrote on their blog the other day! It’s teens like these two girls that make me proud to be the youth minister for the Summit (our youth group name)! Have a great week everyone!!!

Ok we just got back from our mystery trip with the youth group. We went to Dallas when to the Great Wolf Lodge, Six Flags, and to a Toby Mac, Jeremy Camp concert. It was a daddy trip! Here are my top 10 highlights!

10. The look on Erica’s face on the Tornado (just the best water slide in the world)
9. The look on Mitzi’s face when she got off the tornado
8. Donavan screaming at me on his cell that he was lost at six flags; only to walk around the corner and see that he was 50ft away from me
7. Allowing my true inter-gangsta to show at the Toby Mac concert
6. Ellen taking pictures of Becca sleeping and then charging Becca $5 to have them deleted
5. ZT locking all of his and Josh stuff in the room safe and then forgetting the combo
4. ZT trying to stay up all night to remember the combo
3. Josh trying to convince ZT that they were going to have to blow up the safe
2. Donavan dancing to Toby Mac
1. Getting a chance to get to know this youth group that I am beginning to fall in love with!

Yard Sale People Are Nuts!

Ok, so we are one week away from moving to Norman! Still haven’t sold our house here in Edmond so there is still a little anxiety here. I know what I am about ready to say may offend some people and if that is the case I apologize now. Yard sale people are nuts! Am I crazy I just don’t get it? My wife decides we need have one of these white trash gatherings at our home since we are moving! I have seen some of the oddest people in my life in my yard the past two days. Any other time I would call the cops, but no they are here to see how much of my junk that can take home for 25 cents! Here is what I have seen. There were people waiting for an hour yesterday before the yard sale started just so the could get the “good deal” ok come on how could it be a good deal because lets be real you don’t buy it I throw it in the trash! I had people banging on my front door at 6:30 AM this morning wanting to know when we open! For those of you who know me I you know don’t do well with those I love at 6:30 AM much less some guy with no front teeth and a smoke in his mouth. Then last night I watch some lady argue with Amanda because she wanted something for 10 cents and Amanda was trying to sell it for 25 cents. Are you kidding me!! So here is what I want to know where do these people come from? I mean Edmond is rich town. It’s like we hide Ma and Pa who think going to the “store” is the yard sale! Then on Saturday morning all the freak shows come out! Do these people have a life! Anyway that’s my rant for the week. I am sure some of you are huge yard sale fans, and if you are well I just hope you don’t bang on someone’s door at 6:30, have all your teeth, and are willing to pay 25 cents. Have a great week!

Control

For those of you who don’t know me very well I am little bit of a control freak. I think this week I have learned I really don’t have control over anything. I have been sick all week like the type of sick where there were a couple of times that I thought that was it I wouldn’t be on this world any longer. Ok maybe not that bad but I am a wimp when it comes to being sick. Last week we thought our house was sold this week we find out it’s not, and as of March 24th I am the proud owner of two homes one in Norman and one in Edmond CRAP!! Also I thought I was going to get the opportunity to be apart of a family members funeral this next week. As a minister those are the things you really feel like you can help your family with funerals and weddings. It’s kind of like a doctor you don’t want your family to come to your office everyday but if you can help them with a medical problem here and there that’s great. Well I thought I would get that chance but thanks to one very controlling family member that isn’t happing. Anyway all that and the stress of searching for a new teammate at work have really made me stop and think what do I have control over? The answer for me is a little hard to take the answer is very little. Of course I have control over how I treat people, how hard I work, and what makes me happy, sad, or stressed but really when it come right down to it I believe that God is in control and if that is the case I need to fellow this verse a little more often. “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalms 46:10. For me it’s all about trust if I really trust that God it God then I need to trust that he is in control not me!

Crazy

Ok, so my friend Seth is telling me I need to update. He says he enjoys reading my blog. Knowing Seth I am sure it has more to do with making fun of my 1st grade spelling then it does actually reading. This week as been a little crazy at the beginning of the week I was praying “ok God if I am heading down the right road show me please!” Ok well in the last 24 hours here is what has happened. We put an offer on a house in Norman still haven’t heard anything on that but our realtor says it looks good. We thought there was a chance that the sale of our house could be getting called off, and then just today bam!! The sale of our house is back on and we are moving to Norman March 24th. The house we are trying to buy backs right up to the Sixkiller’s house. Which is cool for a lot of reasons, one you always feel safer living next to a big Indian named Sixkiller, and two he has a couple of really cool sons for my son to play with. My oldest son still thinks that I maybe the worse father in the world. I figure he will get over it or have some huge counseling bills when he is an adult. Ether way I am still trying not to lose sleep over it. Anyway the point is God answers prayer!!!
One other note last night I took family to see the winter jam concert. “Skillet” is my new favorite band. Watching Noah head bang brought a tear to my eye! My boys a rocker at heart! I also decided I want to get a mo-hawk. I think I would look sweet! My wife thinks I would look like and idiot. I wonder if I would be looked at the same in elder’s meetings hmmmm!

A Different Perspective

A few short years ago if you would have asked me what a good youth minister looked liked I would have said a lot of different things. Man of God, good family man, good with students, fun, good leader, and all the other things you could put in there, but something has changed for me the last month or so. I also would have added someone who had a large youth group into that description as well. My thoughts on that have changed. Oh don’t get me wrong being a youth minister of a large group is tough you have to be organized and really good at what you do, but good "youth minister" may or may not be part of that. You see I spent years rapped up in the fact that no matter what I did it was a success numbers wise. I didn’t worry about who wasn’t there because I had so many students that were it didn’t matter. Man, how sad is that I could have huge events with lots of students and my elders, and parents could say man your such a good youth minister, but in actuality all I did was make sure we had numbers. Oh, don’t get me wrong I really believe that the ministry I did in the past really helped young people know God and I am proud of that and I praise God for that. I guess what I am saying is it was easy. I jumped in the driver’s seat of a ministry that had an established youth program for 20 years and as long as I didn’t run it off the road I got the “good jobs” from everyone. I could tell students that we were all going to meet at the building and sneeze and 100 of them would show up. I could tell parents I needed sponsors for a trip and I would have to turn over half of them away. I had unlimited resources and if I didn’t have enough money I could always get more. It was all easy!!! Now I have to battle for everything. The programs have got to be good for students to show up. Resources are limited and let’s just say parent support could be better. I guess what I am saying is for the first time in my life I am really having to work at the whole youth minister deal. The cool part is the little victories don’t go unnoticed. I girl talking to me about here family struggle, a guy who brings a friend for the first time, kids excited about an activity as simple as a flag football game. I guess deep down I always knew that numbers really had nothing to do with being good at this crazy job, I mean after all two of the best youth minister I have ever known (the two guys I work with) had groups smaller then mine at MRCC. Nope now you ask me what a good youth minister looks like and numbers has nothing to do with it at least not the numbers I used to worry about. Now a good youth minister is someone who is just trying to get as many kids to heaven as he can. To be honest I don’t know what God has planned for my group that I work with now, but what I do know is I will never take for granted the small victories ever again.

The Evolution of a lesson

This past week I experienced something that I have experienced a lot in my ministry career but I never thought about it very much. If you’re a preacher or a teacher you will understand, and if you know one of us then maybe this will give you a little insight. I was preparing for my Wednesday night class this week. At the start of the week I was pumped about the class I thought it was going to be great. I felt points were good and I was also using a video clip from “water boy”. Can’t go wrong with “water boy.” Man was I wrong by Tuesday it just wasn’t working the lesson felt really choppy and not good at all. By Wednesday morning I was ready to through it in the trash and start over. The problem was I was T-6 hours from class time no way I was going to rewrite now!! Well I did the class and in my opinion it stunk. For those of you who know me well I don’t do well with stunk, matter of fact it really screws me up in the head if something I do is not a 100%.
So I asked myself the question today why? Why do I kill myself mentally over these lessons? Here is what I came up with. I think it’s because I feel it is so important to do what I do. I mean I get a change every week to teach kids about God. To me that is very scary and exciting at the same time. I also realized that no matter what anyone says to me I will always be my worst critic. I think that has everything to do with not feeling worthy to teach. So after a lot of prayer today here is what I came up with. First, no matter what happens in my class room I have to understand that as long as a message from God’s word comes out it was worth it. Don’t get me wrong I am not going to stop trying to teach a good lesson that’s just not in my personality. I guess what I am saying is I just need to trust that God will use me the way He wants to in that situation. Second, I realized that the more I beat myself up over a lesson the less time I spend thanking God for giving the gift to teach. Finally I realized that the more I pray the better I teach. So let’s see trust, praising God, and prayer. Hmm maybe teaching youth group kids isn’t really about me at all.