Quote o' the Month

This one's been rattling in my brain for the past few weeks:

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny him with their life style. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable"
Brennan Manning

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!

McIver Prayer Requests

Hey there to the faithful dozen who keep checking just in case I actually post... here ya' go!

Praises:
-Praise God for a sizable grant that will enable more students to participate in our four most cost intensive events!!! (Thanks, CH S)
-Safe travel for Janelle's mom as she joins the family for a few weeks.
-Great ministry & safety at two events this month- High Schoolers camping trip and Middle Schoolers Paintball day

Please Pray for:
-Jon as he travels to Colorado Springs for MCYM training.
-Janelle and her mom as they hold down the fort at home.
-Planning and preparation for an outreach event on December 5th.
-Health, especially for Laren & Liam (a little wheezy)


Thanks to all of you that stand in the gap for us. We love you.

Jon for the McIvers

NYWC

I am at the National Youth Worker's Convention in Sacramento. I love this event- these are my people, you know?

However, riding up the elevator last night I had a bit of a revelation. You see, I was carrying all my "free stuff." If you know anything about Youth Workers, you know that our hearts skip a beat at the mention of a free CD, t-shirt, water bottle... whatever. I was doing a quick inventory and calculated how much all my schwag* was worth. The total? Well over $100. Yes, you heard right, my 45 minutes walking through the exhibit hall netted me over $100 worth of the good stuff. Three t-shirts, a backpack, a pair of Etnies flip flops, two CD's...

Then I started thinking about how much these vendors are going to spend on trying to woo all of my fellow YWs to take their groups missions trip, buy their "cutting edge" curriculum, buy/sell their t-shirts...

At the risk of being excommunicated by my fellow YWs, I'm going to share where my mind went next:
1-How many kids are going to die tonight for lack of proper nutrition or safe drinking water? (Some statistics say 30,000 in a 24 hour period. You read that right: THIRTY THOUSAND PEOPLE WILL DIE IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT!!!)
1b-How much of a difference could we make if we gave up our free stuff and focused our resources on meeting physical needs of the hurting/dying.
2-Does any of this stuff really equip me to be better able to point kids to Jesus?

Back to reality.

I still love this event.

I will still go to seminars telling me how to run crazy games.

I will still go through the exhibit hall for another round of freebies.

But maybe...

Maybe next time I will pick up a Compassion Child to sponsor.

Maybe I will encounter someone today who needs a smile or kind word.

Maybe today I'll remember that I am a child of the King, and live for what really matters: Loving HIM and pointing others to HIM.

"Weekly" Prayer Requests

Ok, folks...
I guess the least I can do is post our prayer needs here on a "regular" basis. I'll do my best!

Praises
-Jon started doing Security as a volunteer at Buena High School... it has really opened some doors with students that wouldn't normally be in his circle of influence.
-We had a great time last weekend at Canoa Ranch. (Army "Strong Bonds" Marriage Retreat) Jon was supposed to teach, but ended up observing the training. The kids enjoyed the pool!
-Praise God for an awesome group of Chaplains and support staff that we work with. It's a great team!

Requests
-Students are hurting- physically, emotionally, spiritually. Some of their intials are S, M, A.
-We have one more weekend retreat this weekend. It is great fun, but very tiring for us and the kids. Pray for rest!
-Jon is traveling to Sacramento for the National Youth Worker's Convention on October 7th. Pray for safe travel, and for Janelle as she will be home with the kids.
-Health- Kids- teeth; Jon- trying to start running; Janelle- mentally & physically drained.
-Still praying for a second car!

Thanks again for standing with us! We rely on your prayers.