BIG BEAR LAKE

Last weekend I had a really cool opportunity to speak at the church where I first met Christ. It was epic! Looking back on the weekend I have a handful of takeaways to share.

Traveling with my daughter
Since I've been traveling a lot lately it seemed right to bring one of children with me. Charity and I talked about it and thought Leah needed the time with me. It was so fun to travel with Leah! We rarely get any one on time. This trip gave us a bunch of one on one time.

We flew out of SFO together and traveled to my moms. Over the weekend it was great seeing my daughter enjoy my mom. Growing up in a small town I choose to leave after high school and have never moved back. Now that we have kids I cherish any time they get with my mom.

Seeing friends
As we planned the trip I had to reach out to some close friends to see them. My best friend Conrad came up to see us. It was great seeing him and his wife Karen. We also spent some time with their son Deagon. On Saturday we were able to see them, ride the Alpine Slide and go bowling!

We also had some time to see my good friend Brian. Brian had been a brother in Christ for 15 years. Brian gave his life to Christ while we both were living in San Diego. He has four children now and it was so fun seeing how well our kids got along.

We also had the opportunity to see more friends when I spoke at church on Sunday. At one point in the service I looked back at my friends and said: "It feels like high school!" It was so fun seeing so many friends in such a short time.

Speaking at Community Church 
A highlight of my trip was being invited to speak at the church I first was introduced to Christ at. When I pulled into the parking lot on Sunday morning I had to do a double take. Never in my life did I think I'd be speaking at that church.

Before getting out of my car I just sat there and thanked God for the invitation to speak there.
I'll admit I was nervous. Nervous for a few reasons. The people in my hometown know me. They know my mistakes and many of them saw them first hand. I was nervous they wouldn't see the change. I was wrongly nervous. I was so well received and was able to hug and see so many friends.
I also saw Bob Pool. Bob was a huge impact in my life. Bob invested me in as a young boy and it was great seeing him!

Looking back on the weekend it was a pure joy! It was great spending so much time with Leah, seeing old friends and sharing God's word with so many loving people.