These are my people...

I've found where I belong.

I've had the privilege of spending the week with guys (and gals) who do what I do. They understand the struggles, challenges, and joys of ministering to military teens. They also understand what it means to be called.

It has been a blessing and an honor to get to know these guys. I've seen their names on email lists and maps, and heard stories about their ministries. Now I know them, and look forward to seeing them again next year.

Now I'm ready to be home!

On the road again....

I will have to respectfully disagree with Willie Nelson... I totally CAN wait to get on the road again.

It really feels like the minute we get settled into a routine, life gets crazy again.

Here I sit in Denver International Airport on a two-hour layover... on my way to Colorado Springs.

I didn't want to leave this morning. I already miss my wife and the kiddos.

All that said, I'm excited. I finally get to meet some of my fellow Community Directors for MCYM. I will get to spend time with Rog, Stan, Rob, Bill... my peeps.

Editorial note- Janelle and I are both doing a project with our students called "The H2O Project" We are drinking nothing but water or the next two weeks, and donating what we would have spent on beverages to Blood:Water Mission.
What does that mean? No coffee (aka lifeblood) or soda for the next two weeks. I'm sure it's all in my mind, but I've got a headache and I'm jonesin' for a cup o Joe!

Hold on to your hats...

That's right, two posts in a week!

First order of business... Janelle, thank you. Thank you for the gentle reminder to slow down.

You see, I had a little wake up call on Monday... I think I was just dehydrated and tired, but I felt real sick. (relax, Mom... just nauseous, nothing serious) Janelle shoved water down my throat and made me rest. Then she insisted (wisely) that I take another full day off. You see, even my days off tend to get wrapped up in some form of kid time or ministry. And if we look at the past few months, life has been... well... full.

I love it- ministry pumps me up. I just needed to remind myself that I'm in this for the long haul. (marathon, not sprint)

So taking time to relax sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.

Therefore, today is OFF. No (well, almost no) ministry emails, texts, etc. The email/text reminder about Crazy Shirt Night at CONNECT can wait. Nothing will explode in the next 24 hours.

Second order of business. For my Springs peeps- I'll be in Monday afternoon, and my schedule will have me decisively engaged from 8am-8pm. However, if anyone wants to cruise downtown, I'd love to meet up with you in the later evening! I'll also have some time Friday afternoon. Give me a call or email me!

Indiana Jon

No, not the fourth movie in the series... Janelle and I are actually in Indiana. We are here for Youth For Christ's Summer Institute. We're excited to be here- it is the longest stretch that we have been away from the kids together. We are also looking forward to Janelle's introduction to the people I've been talking about for the past four months.

We have email/internet, and cell phone reception is decent so feel free to stay in touch! Text messages may help keep us awake in class. ;)