New Pictures

I have been lagging on getting some new pictures of Sophie up for your viewing pleasure.
This last week my sister, Beth Diehl, came out with our mom and her son Blaze. We got this cute picture of the cousins.














Sophie is getting better in the bath tub














Sophie also loves her Oma














And most important, she LOVES spending time with Mommy

Button

Today one of our HS girls is wearing a button that says:

MARCHING BAND
if it were any easier it
would be called football

INVITE NIGHT UPDATE

I really wanted to write this last night, while the thoughts were still fresh, but after cleaning the church until about 10:30pm I knew I needed to come home.
What is invite night?
Invite Night is a time for students to be intentional about reaching out to their friends. We really focus on teaching our students about evangelism and how they have the most influence on them. We bring in our student leadership team and really give them freedom to dream together and think about what they want the night to look like. Our students chose to do a "Club Theme" (that may only work in Vegas.
We started the night at 6:30pm with an invite only BBQ for sports teams. We fed the students and just created a place for students to hang out with each other. Our Men's Director, Kalani, totally blessed us by cooking food for us with some adult leaders. After the food was done we sent everyone outside (our church meets in a strip mall) and had them go into the Worship Room. We created a tunnel that they all had to walk through with red carpet, paparazzi, and a fog machine. Rockstar sponsored the event, so the hyper juice was flowing.
We had some amazing worship for our students to get involved with a quick game and then I got up to teach. I spoke on Genesis 1:24-31, day six of creation. I got some great info on the giraffe and how it defies evolution. Then I went into how we are created in the image of God. I talked about something called Laminin; the basic protein that holds our bod together. Here is an image of what it looks like. I did something that I normally don't do, I had students stand up who wanted to surrender their life to God. I was shocked! I am not a huge numbers guy, but we had 29 students who got up and went into the other room to talk with a leader about their choice. On a great note, we totalled 181 students (not a numbers guy, but God totally worked). The night in a whole was just a huge blessing.
I had some great talks with our leaders who saw God work, it was so good for all of us to see more of the potential we have in this city to reach Jesus. Thank you to everyone who prayed for us!

Using what God has given us…

I was looking through my files and found this, thought it was cool.

After traveling for over 30 hours we finally landed. We had been planning this trip for the last three months and we are finally here. My wife looked over at me and with a huge smile said: “I can’t believe we are in Africa, I have always wanted to come here”. I looked over at her at just smiled back, I thought to myself "I never thought God would take me here". We were in Burkina Faso, the third poorest country in the world. One in three kids die before the ago of 10 and the life expectancy is 42 years old. The average worker makes $2 a day, if they have a job and 87% of the population is unemployed. These are just some of the stats that I learned in the car ride from the airport.
We arrived at the guest house, what would be our base of operation for the next two weeks. I didn’t sleep the first night, I guess it didn’t matter we got in at 3am. I was just so shocked that God had brought me here. I kept wondering, why me God? What do you want with this pale white kid that was raised the mountains? Why did you bring me to Africa? The answers to these questions would come, it just took some time and listening to God.
The first day we went and did a tour of the churches we would be roofing and the pastors we would be partnering with. The team of twelve ranged from a High School senior to a 65 year old VP of some big company, we were a different team. As we drove around I just kept looking at all the people. I was amazed, I don’t think I had ever seen so many people out in the streets just hanging out with each other. I didn’t really know what to make of it and had to remind myself of the unemployment.
After working on some roofs and totally blowing the minds of the missionaries in Burkina, I guess we worked to fast we took some time to paint a church that has a center for Compassion International at it. We started sanding and next thing I knew there was 20 kids in the room with us, they just wanted to help. I started working with some of them and had them help me. I looked over and my wife was just sitting with them, she was taking time to spend with them. She got it, I had missed it. I was focused on the job and not the people. It is usually the other way around. I’m the pastor that spends too much time with students and forgets to work.
I could share hundreds of stories with you and ones where I remembered to spend time with the kids and knew that the work would get done when it got done. When I got home I felt God tugging on my heart. I felt Him reminding me about my times in Africa, and that is what He wants of me, to spend time with people. I can preach the best sermon in the world, and people will forget it. I can make the best winter camp ever and students will remember the snowboarding only. I can do this and I can do that, but students will never forget the time that I spend with them. Students will never forget the time that you spend with them. One of the team members with us was my middle school pastor; I have never forgotten what he did for me and how he allowed God to use him to impact my life. Tonight at our middle school program his son will be there and I will spend time with him and invest in him and the other boys in my small group. Who will you remember to connect with this week? Get out of the office, take some students to Starbucks and just chill with them.

Adult Leader Training

We just had adult leader training and I love our leaders. We really do, honestly, have the best leaders ever! I am always so encouraged by the people they are. Tonight we talked about Matt 22:37-39 and how we need to be who God has God us to be first. Leaders must have their hearts in the right place before God can use us to impact students lives.
Thanks for all you do leaders!

Made it home

This week I was in So Cal hanging out with a group of like minded youth workers and the time was great. As much as I loved it all, I do have to say that I am glad to be home. It was rad to have my wife pick me up at the airport, see my daughter, eat dinner with Charity and sit on the couch with my family.
Charity is feeding Sophie right now and she is leaking it all over her neck. I love this! Had to put up this picture of Charity with Sophie sleeping on her... I love my girls!

Twitter

I'm with a bunch of youth pastors right now and I started a twitter today. Click here to check it out. Not sold on it yet. Not sure if I need/want something else to update. Could be cool though. Its late so I may just be tired. Lets see how it works....

Not trying to brag

But I have to say that Sophie is the cutest kid I have ever seen. This is us watching the Chargers game. She wanted to cheer...

GO CHARGERS

Oh yeah! Today was a great day! Church was amazing; we had our half-time event for Renown, the campaign to build our new campus. Pastor Bret preached a great message on such an important topic. The feel at church was amazing. Men's ministry grilled up some bomb grub! Thanks for hooking that up Kalani.
Then to top it all off I got to chill on the couch and watch the game with Sophie. She fell asleep in my arms and the Chargers won (it was too close for me).
GO CHARGERS!!!!

One Month Old

Today is Sophie's one month birthday. I am not sure if "one month" counts as a birthday, but we are stoked on it! Today at lunch Charity and I talked about all that we have been through over the last month. We have had many ups and downs. Through all these good and hard times we have learned so much and here are some of those learning's:
1) We have a beautiful baby!
2) We have a church who loves us
3) We love each other first
4) We are both newbies to parenting
5) Charity is more hardcore than I had ever imagined. She gets up all the time and I don't even think she sleeps
6) Sophie finally slept through the night last night
7) I can tell you about the NICU
8) We both know what its like leaving the hospital without your kid
9) We found out, again, how many people love us and support us
10) We both are learning new schedules in life.
We are so blessed to have Sophie and so excited for the little lady of God she will grow into. She is so beautiful, thanks for praying for her

Leaders are Learner

This is a quote that I learned back when I first started school and it didn't really hit me until that last couple years of doing ministry. I mean, lets be honest, how many times have you screwed up and done the same dumb mistake? I know I have. How many times have we all failed to learn from the situation. Lets take the winter camp we have been doing for the last 3 years now in Brian Head, Utah. I have learned so much about booking transportation, training leaders, taking care of meals, organizing the speaker and finding a good place to meet.
Leaders are Learners...
The saying does not work the other way; Learners are not always Leaders. Have you noticed that? As much as I could want to learn does not mean that I will be a leader. I could very well finish my MDIV and not be a leader, but God has created me to be a leader. I constantly remind myself that when I at school that God is using me and training me to be a better leader, to help people understand the word of God, to lead students into a life-long relationship with Him
Just remember that to be an effective leader we must all continue to be humble learners.

The City we live in

Sometimes I forget that I live in Las Vegas. Today reminded me on so many levels how hurting this city is. I went down to the strip to pick up a gift for Charity, something she totally wants! (She doesn't even know she got it yet). I was in a rush. I had to be sneaky and get down there. I was rushing there on the freeway, parked at The Bellagio Casino and walked to Tiffany's CO.
I caught myself rushing to get all this down and while I was purchasing the gift, I felt God just tugging on my heart saying; "Are you too busy to love the people down here?... Are you too busy to reach out to them?"
That broke my heart.
I bought my gift and just made some observations that I need to remember:

1. Las Vegas is huge
I say that because it took me about 3-4 min to walk through the casino. This place is big because people are constantly loosing their money. That means that lives are hurting and people could be messing up their families.

2. People are gambling at 11am
This hurt my heart. People are so desperate for money. I know that some people can handle to play the games a bit, but not me. I see so many people that are hurting. I watched someone, as I stopped for a min, play what looked like $5000 on one hand of craps. That is more money then my family will gross this month. It convicted to see who is reaching out to them... It also made me think about the hope that they are searching for. People are looking for hope in the wrong place.

3. The dress code on the Strip
Or the lack there of. I am constantly shocked to see what people wear here. There is like this unwritten law that when you come to Vegas everything goes, you can be whoever you want to wish or wish you were. It made me sad. I have this theory called "Daddy Issues" and I believe that girls dress for attention because they are compensating for the lack of the love of their father.

All of this is happening in my town and God just convicted me today to be open and ready in every situation. I did not choose to come to Vegas to live, but God brought my family here to do His work. That is what I want to be focused on.

The Office

The season premiere of "The Office" is tonight on NBC @ 9pm! We are super excited for it!

5:47am

Is what time I woke up at this morning to go to SYATP (See You At The Pole). It was totally amazing. I went to Coronado High School in Henderson, NV. We had about 70 kids show up, which makes me happy living in Vegas. I hope it went for everyone else.

Chargers Finally Won

And I think that we have the reason why...

Video Announcements

Something we have tried to do is just spice up the announcement time by making them a skit, or doing voice overs or just plain having fun! We have a great student who graduated two years ago who just does amazing video ideas. I give him the announcements and he gives me a video Wed before service. I have never been disapointed and have almost peed my pants some of them are so funny. Here is the one from this week:

Fantasy Football

This year I swore to myself that I would not do fantasy football. I had all the thoughts in my mind and all the rebuttals I would use to those who would attempt to sucker me into the horrible game. I thought: "I don't have time, I am having a kid" or "I just cant do it with seminary right now". After all my planning and thinking about how to get out of it, I think the conversation went like this about a month ago:
Jesse: So you ready for the season
Neal: You bet I am
Jesse: The draft is in two weeks
Neal: You ready to get crushed again?

And from there the rest is history. I once again got sucker into fantasy football. So what did I do? I committed to winning and suckered my wife into helping me! We are doing it as a team, that way we can both have bragging rights. We are not competitive one bit...

Bath Time

So... bath time. Wow, what can I say. A picture is worth a thousand words!















So obviously Sophie hated the bath, but sure did love chilling on the counter in her soft little towel that makes her look cuter than all get up! She is such an amazing little girl!

Lil Bugger

Charity and got this sling to hold Sophie in and it is amazing! It is called a Lil Bugger and all you have to do is put the kid into it, she just chills in there; kinda like a taco and it is amazing! I definately know that my life is changing now that I am stoked on things that hold my kid up. If you are a new parent, know a new parent or need something cool to get someone having a kid this is it! I am so thankful that we got ours! Thank you Mary Beth, we love it.

21 days

Today Sophie is 21 days old. It made me think about some of the crazyness we have been through, but also the blessing that now lives with us (I know that may sound funny). It is weird to think that in 2003 Charity and I met. In 2005 we got married. In 2008 we now have a kid; a beautiful little girl. When I look at Sophie, she is just so amazing. I have told many people that I just don't want to leave the house or do anything because I feel like I am missing something. I do dread the day I hear she took her first steps and I am not there. But I also know that God is working all this out in His timing.
Tonight we went over to our friends the Mansfields and just hung out with them. I have talked about them before, and its nice to just chill with them.
Sophie is doing great. She is eating well and it looks like she is growing! Its just so amazing to me to see how she grows and how she gets bigger and how strong she is and that she has all she needs. Thank you to everyone who continues to pray for us. Please pray for Sophie to desire to nurse. We are still doing like half bottle, half expressed milk and its getting hard on Charity. By the way, Charity is the most amazing mom! She is so patient with Sophie and just there to love on her. I love being married to that girl.
Well its time for the 10:45 feed, so I need to go help out. Please keep praying for us, and if we can pray for you just let us know!

In The Beginning

We are doing a series in our High School Ministry right now called: "In The Beginning" and I am loving this series! I am studying day two and three of creation right now and just in awe of all that God created! I am constantly amazed at how God made everything in order and with a purpose.
God knew to make water before plants so that plants could have water to survive. I found something called:
DAY AGE THEORY – Each “day” was actually an “age” or “long period of time” of about 1 billion years.
This made me kinda laugh, just a little. If each day was not a "day" then plants would have died because they were made on day three and the sun was made on day four. Therefore what would have been there for photosynthesis to happen? Now even deep, is that bee's were not created until day five! That means that all the plants would be no more. If you get the time to study Genesis One and really dig into the scientific information about creation and how it all works, you will love it!
Also we are posting all our message on podcast, through iTunes

Rosie and Sophie

The family is all back home! Today I went to the Rock's house and picked up Rosie. Rosie is our 2 1/2 year old little puppy. Rosie was the baby of the family, but not anymore. We got Rosie from the Rock's as a Christmas present and we love her! Kody Rock is the first kid I met coming out to Vegas. He has been in my small group for 4 years now and this year, his senior year, will be year five. We love this family!
I had to put this picture up with Rosie and Sophie.
Charity and I weren't sure how Rosie would act with Sophie here and she has done great. At first she didn't really acknowledge her, but the first time she cried Rosie turned into Mom #2! Rosie hears Sophie and wants to make sure she is ok. I put Sophie on the couch next to Rosie to just see what would happen and Rosie, gentle as could be, just rested her head on her in such a loving way. I am super thankful for that! I am now truly out numbered in the house!

Today Was Amazing

Sunday September 14th 2008 was a great day. I went to church this morning and we did this table to promote student ministries. We brought in some waffle makers and lured people over to check us out in-between services. Marc did a great job at making that happen and nothing would have gotten there if it wasn't for Amy (true story). Service was amazing. Marc and I hosted and welcome was the best I had been apart of in a while (I felt focused today). The announcements were funny, even though I don't remember any good jokes we said.
One of the best parts of the day was at the end of the message my pastor, Bret Johnson, gave people a chance a accept Jesus. We are in week two of our current series titled: "The Borne Identity". I got to pray with some really cool people today and give them Bibles as they start their walk with Christ. We sang a song right after (that I cant remember the name for the life of me) and it made me tear-up. Just the thought about getting the chance to be involved in people's lives is amazing.
Came home to help Charity out and started watching the Chargers game with Sophie. She crashed out and then Charity did too. The Chargers barley lost, I am still mad, and it was a lame loss. The ref made a bad call with like 50 seconds left in the game.
After that Charity's mom left, thanks for the help Cheryl, and it was just the three of us again. Sophie was being fussy so we walked to the Mansfield's house to hang out for a min (they are our neighbors with twins). Their sons were both in NICU so we can relate to each other.
Came home and watched Click with Adam Sandler. I love this movie and the message is portrays. It reminds me what is important in life. With that said it is off to bed so I can wake up in two hours to help feed Sophie.
Thanks for all the prayers.

Infant Acid Reflux

That is what Sophie has. After all the hospital stuff, doctor visits, blood draws, IV stuff and everything else that I have seen done to our daughter giving her 0.4 ml of Acid Reflux medicine doesn't seem so bad (we got our NICU bill today and it was $24,000+, thank God for insurance). So that is the diagnosis right now. Thanks for praying for Sophie. I will put up more pics soon. She is so beautiful!
I hope the Chargers game is on TV tomorrow, Sophie said she really wants to see LT kill the Broncos...

Simply Text

So these last couple weeks have been crazy in my life, but I found something cool to help with ministry. Its called "Simply Text". We were using this text message system that was hard to use and pretty pricey, we all know the economy is funny right now (that is my favorite line to hear lately). So we checked out Simply Text and this system is amazing. It is much easier to use then our old platform and a better deal. For the cost of one month is the price I was paying for our HS ministry alone. On this system we have MS, HS and College on a plan that is a better deal. If you are in ministry you gotta check this out and give it a whirl.

Sophie is home! (again)

And if feels so right! Charity and I are so excited she is back. We were at the hospital for about a day and a half and it was hard. It was also relieving to get some questions answered that we needed and get things all lined up with Sophie. Being a parent is so much harder than I could have ever imagined. The staff at St. Rose, our hospital, was amazing and so supportive. They have a great group of people running that hospital.
Thank you all for praying for us and just being so supportive. We have both felt so loved on and so ministered to. We are grateful to everyone who has prayed for us, with us and around us. Thank for loving us and being the church!

Hospital Update

Sophie is still in the hospital. We don't think she is dehydrated anymore, she has been peeing a lot! She is still being monitored for her intake and output (yes they really do weigh every dirty diaper). Charity was able to stay there last night and I came home. It was hard to be here again without Sophie and even harder without Charity.
Thank you so much for all your prayers. Please keep praying that the doctors will figure out what is going on so we can take Sophie home, we don't want to rush anything this time. I thought about this verse today that God spoke to me about 2 years ago here:

And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. Deuteronomy 8:2

We know God has a plan for us during this entire time and that He is really using this experience to shape us into the family He has called us to be. Thank you for praying for us, loving us and encouraging us during this time.

Back at the hospital

Today is a very disappointing day for Charity and I; we had to take Sophie back to the hospital. Please keep us in your prayers. She will be ok, she is just dehydrated and not eating well. The doctors did all the tests and there are no serious infections of anything crazy they can find. It is hard being a new parent and wanting the best for your baby and then finding out that all this is going on. We are both pretty bummed. Please pray for us as we spend a couple more days in the hospital...

13 days old

Today, just about 5 min ago, Sophie was born 13 days ago. The last thirteen days have been crazy for Charity and I. The first week Sophie was in NICU, she has been home for a week now and its been amazing. I never knew: how much she would cry, how much people would bless us, how many people would pray, and how little sleep we could function on (really that is for Charity).
This weekend our friends Carlos and Diyi came over and brought some much needed Starbucks! Thanks a million guys. Sophie loves them (already) and fell asleep on Diyi's lap. It was fun to have them over on Saturday. Jessica ended up leaving on Sunday and that was not so exciting. Jessica has been a huge help to have her with us. She was able to drive Charity around and did some errors for us that just needed to be done. We will miss you Jessica!
On Sunday we had some people come over and pray for Sophie. She has been kinda fussy lately and we're not too sure what is really going on. Please pray for Sophie and us. It is so hard for Charity to be up so much and when your kid is crying and you have no idea what the problem is it can be extremely frustrating.
Thank you so much for praying and we appreciate it if you would keep praying as we are parents now! I have so much respect for parents and all they do.

7 Things I've learned By Being A Dad

Being a dad has been more different than I could ever imagine, but I love it. I thought I would take this chance (with all my wisdom) and just share some things I've learned as a dad over the last two weeks:
1) Baby skin is so soft!
2) My finger is as big as her forearm
3) Both her feet fit in my hand (with extra room)
4) Take a nap when you can, ever if that means the dog falls asleep on you too
5) I never though diaper changing would come so natural
6) Get advice and do what your heart tells you
7) Pray for your kid every chance you get

Sophie is 10 days old!!! (We think)

So today Sophie is 10 days old. I know people told me that it just goes so quick, but I never believed them. Its weird to think she is growing up already. She hasn't really gotten any bigger (she is 7 pounds 3 ounces), but has lost some weight. Our pediatrician told us that a 10% weight loss is normal. This is a pic from last night. Sophie and daddy had some "skin to skin time". She kept looking at me and wanting me to love on her, I will cherish these days.
Pray for her, she has been pretty fussy and gassy. We took her to the doc again today to find out what is going on. They helped her have a bowel movement (sure you wanted to know that) and it has been MUCH better. Thank you for praying for our family. We are learning to live on less sleep than we had before. I will do my best to keep putting pictures up here for all to see.

Thank You!

Thank you all for praying for us and being there for us during this hard and totally not expected time of our lives. God has really taught us so much and shown Himself faithful and trustworthy once again (He always seems to do that). We are so excited to have Sophie home and be spending time with her. I will try to keep updating you all on what is going on in her life, she really is our precious little charger (that is what I call her).
Today Sophie got her first bath (look how beautiful she is!).
It was a day of firsts for her. Her first time she didn't sleep and mommy and daddy had no clue what to do (thankfully she wasn't crying). She really is a true blessing and amazing addition to our lives. Please pray that we will amazing parents to her and that we can show her the love of Jesus on a daily basis. Will you also consider to pray for her daily? We are praying that she will love Jesus at an early age and just be a world changer!

Sophie is home!

Praise God!!! Sophie is finally home. Thank you so much for all your prayers! After much prayer and hard work going to the hospital Sophie is finally home. She got her feed tube out last night at 11pm and Charity made the commitment to be at her 2am, and 5am feed times. After the 5 am feed time Charity came home yelling and woke me up (I'm still not sure what she said) but I knew we had to go to the hospital. She told me to hurry and wake-up, that they were going to let Sophie come home.
We got to the hospital around 6am and were packed up ready to go at 7am. It was a for sure God thing. Our nurse worked hard and the doctor knew that Sophie was ready. Our nurse said the coolest thing, something like: "Its great to have parents like you who really care, but its hard to see you go. You make the job rewarding." It was a true blessing to leave with our baby today.
Thank you so much for all your prayers! We feel so blessed right now. Just to make you laugh, Sophie peed on me during her 9am feed time. I felt it soak out the diaper into my pj's. It was gross but so worth it!

Sophie Update #6

Thank you all so much for your prayers, today was a great one! Sophie has been consistently taking her food! Do you notice anything different about this picture (besides my sweet gown I'm wearing)? Sophie got her feed tube out at 11pm tonight. Going to all her feed times is really paying off today. We had the charge nurse say the most encouraging thing I have heard all week: "Well I probably wont be seeing you guys tomorrow night."
We have had some really amazing nurses over the last couple days and Sophie is really on the road to coming home. The Doctors have said that it could be as early as tomorrow, but we are not holding our breath.
Sophie is eating well and really staying on top of her feeding. Also Charity and I are getting to be an example for Jesus there. Our night nurse complimented us many times on working as a team, and doing what we can. She told us that we are the kind of parents she loves to see! Thank you for praying for us.
Our first family picture, yep; that's us! The pictures are somewhat grainy because we don't want to use our flash on Sophie's little eyes.
Its time for bed cause its after midnight, but I just had to share this huge win!
Please pray for:
* Sophie to continue eating
* Sophie to come home soon
* Charity and I to be a light for Jesus
* Charity to get rest
* God to prepare us to be parents at our house
Thanks so much for keeping up on us and loving on us and praying for us! It really means so much.

Sophie Update #5

Its hard to think what day it is right now... Sophie is doing much better! Thank you so much for all your prayers. She has been moved into a different room, but still in the NICU. Here is a picture of her new bed. We were able to bring her in a little stuffed giraffe and one of our students made her a sweet name tag! Charity also dressed her in some different clothes and got rid of the white hospital get-up she was in.
She has been taking her bottle at the fed times and that helps mom and dad feel much better. Thank you for praying for that. She took 60 cc's at her last feed. That is up from the 30 cc's she was at just about 36 hours ago.
There was talk of moving her up a floor and out of the NICU, but just before we left we were told that plan was scratched. It was kind of hard to hear, but we see the light at the end of tunnel approaching rapidly. She hasn't used her feed-tube in over 12 hours! The doctors put her on antibiotics for another day, so earliest we could leave would be tomorrow, Monday.
Today as I was changing her diaper she peed all over my hands. It was pretty nasty, but I am grateful that she is hydrated and doing better.
Please pray for:
* Sophie to keep eating
* Her appetite to increase
* She will keep eating her 50 cc's per fed
* Charity to get some rest
* Us to continue to be a light for Jesus
Thank you so much for all your prayers for our little girl, she is a true blessing from God and we are so thankful for all He has given us.

Sophie Update #4

Sophie is officially four days old now. She was being funny and kept putting her arms up like she wanted to ride a roller coaster. Today was a somewhat tough and long last 24 hours. We were extremely encouraged at the progress she was making and were hoping she would have her feed tube out this morning or afternoon. Sophie has had some trouble eating (taking the bottle) and if she wont take the amount required she gets the rest fed to her through the tube.
Last night Charity and I were both pretty heart broken. She has used the tube about 3 times in the last 24 hours. Every time she uses the tube it means at least 48 hours longer she has to stay in the hospital.
The yawn that Sophie is doing is how all the Benson family is feeling right now. Please pray for Charity to get some rest, I think she goes the hardest of all of us. We are trying to go to most of Sophie's feed times (8, 11, 2, 5 am & pm) and its getting rough on us. Thank God the hospital is only 2 miles away. Our family is tired and stretched right now. Charity and I go to the hospital, stay with Sophie about an hour, come home, eat and do it all again. About half our time is spent going to see her.
Please pray for:
* Sophie's appetite to increase
* Successful feed times
* Mom and Dad to be an example for Jesus @ the hospital
* Mom and Dad to get time with Jesus and some rest
Thank you so much for your prayers. We really do want to honor Jesus with our lives and this has been a huge struggle for us. We know that God is going to use this for His glory and we want to be involved in that. We are so thankful for our beautiful little girl; she is truly amazing!

Sophie Update #3

Sophie is doing better! Last night Charity and I were able to spend some time with her and she has been very tired. She will get on the bottle and just kinda fall asleep. The nurses have been very encouraging and telling us how she is getting better and her color is good. Last night Charity and I decided to just sleep through the night. It was hard being home without our baby. We sat in bed last night just talking about how weird it is.
This morning Charity went in at 5am. Thank God that her mom is here to help drive her. The nurse shared with her that at her 11pm feed she took her bottle in 30 min and then at her 2am feed she took it in 15 min! This is really what we need her to do so we can get her home sooner.

This morning we went to her 11am feed (we can't do the 8am or 8pm feeds because that is right after shift change) and she was the most awake we have seen her yet. Our nurse was very uplifting and reminding us how she is improving every day. At first Sophie would barely open her eyes to see us and was not that alert. Today she was looking all over the place and had great voice recognition. If you notice, this is her first picture with no oxygen. Please keep praying that she will be able to stay off and keep her oxygen levels up. It is so hard to see so many wires and tubes on our baby. Last night we had another win; she got her IV off!!! She still the deal in her hand, but they are not giving her fluids anymore.
Today I went to Starbucks and almost broke down when the lady casually asked how I was doing. I am not doing good. My daughter is in the NICU and I am confused. Charity and I both really appreciate all your prayers and continued support. Thank you for praying for Sophie.
Pray for:
* Quick recovery
* No more oxygen
* Desire to eat
* Mom and Dad to be strong and get rest
Thanks all!

Sophie Update #2

Well, its official... Sophie is 48 hours old. Today was a good day for her. We are starting to know her nurses that are taking care of her and they are both amazing ladies. The NICU is open 24 hours a day, but closes between 6:30 and 8 am & pm.
Today we were able to give her a bottle and try to help her get some much needed food. Here is a pic of me being pretty focused on getting her food. She needs to take about 30 cc's of formula (pray Charity can breastfeed soon) every three hours per the NICU.
They want us to be able to hold her when she eats. If you notice the formula taped to my shirt; that goes down the tube into her tummy and gets her the food she needs. Sometimes its just hard to grab your baby who has all these tubes and wires on her, but it also makes me thankful that I have a baby.
<--Tired face after eating.
Its pretty weird for us right now; we left the hospital but Sophie stayed. She had a really good day, but her lungs are still having trouble.
The staff is pretty convinced that her throat is irritated from all the suctioning that took place after birth.
I had to throw in the picture of daddy changing his first diaper, boy was that a full diaper! I did my best and got rolling, but Sophie must have been saving up because she pooped two more times while I was wiping her. Don't worry, I didn't get any on my hands! But look at that face.
Tomorrow I will try to get some pictures of Charity with Sophie up here and some more face shots for you all. In all reality she is a healthy, beautiful, little girl that just had a rough start.
Some specifics to pray for:
* Sophie's throat to heal
* Sophie to want to suckle
* Sophie's lungs test to come back better
* Her lungs to get strong enough to get off the oxygen tubes
* Charity and I to get some rest and a good night sleep.
Thanks so much for all the prayers and love!

Baby Sophie Update #1

Sophie is doing really good. She is still in the NICU and getting all her antibiotics; really she is on the road to recovery. Yesterday was a good day, but hard. When we went into see her in the morning she had her "hood" on. The doctors were concerned with her oxygen levels in her blood and this hood was over her head being filled with 100% oxygen. Honestly, it was pretty scary seeing her like this.
The next time I went into see her, probably about 2:30pm it was off. I started to cry. I walked into her room and thought my baby was gone, but just the opposite. Her oxygen levels had risen and she was able to get the hood off.
Over the last 18 hours the percent of pure oxygen she has been given is dramatically decreasing. Thank you all for praying for our little baby.

Last night I was able to hold her for the first time (the one time I didn't bring the camera).
Charity was able to spend some time with her last night and tried feeding.
This morning when we got down she looked amazing. She had just finished eating (she gained about 4 ounces already) and was sleeping. This picture (to the right) is her this morning. She still has oxygen in her nose and a feeding tube down her nose. The oxygen level is down to 21% and the pressure is 1/2 a liter (down from a liter last night). I spoke with the doctor and she has "Meconium Asperation"; which means she pooped in the uterus and inhaled it. She will be on antibiotics for 5 days (total) and hopefully we can take her home Sunday or Monday.
Please keep praying for Sophie and us. This is a draining time emotionally. We are leaving the hospital today without our baby (not the first people in the world to do this I imagine). We are just scared.
Pray specifically for:
* Healthy Lungs
* To gain strength in suckling
* The antibiotics to work
Thank you all so much!

Sophie Marie Benson 8-26-2008

Watch out world, here I come! Welcome Sophie Marie Benson into the world.
Charity and I went to the hospital at about 3pm. By 6pm she was dilated to 8cm and her water was broken. Around 8pm she was fully dilated and ready to go. Our doctor arrived to the hospital about an hour later and pushing began. At 9:44pm out came Sophie:











Here is the first time I held Daddy's hand:

















Check me out! Sophie wanted to sit up and see Mommy, she was tired:
















About 20 min later Sophie was taken to the NNICU (Neo Natal Infant Care Unit) because she had inhaled some meconium into her lungs. She will most likely be there for about 2-3 days. Please pray for God to work in a miraculous way in our baby's life!

2 days left

So I kinda messed up, missed the Sunday update and now its down to two days until our due date. Yesterday was fairly uneventful. We watched the Chargers game, they won, we went to bed. But at about midnight Charity started having contractions.
She timed them for an hour and was hurting pretty bad. After an hour and a half of those we went to the hospital at about 1:30am. I was pretty sure we were having a kid. She was crying from the pain and then we got there and no more contractions. Well... not no more, but much less frequent.
We stayed there till about 3am and then came home. Charity woke up at about 5:30 with more contractions, took a bath and started timing them. We called her doctor this morning and are going in at 11am to see what is going on. She has been having contractions all morning, so we are just in wait mode (that's what I call it).
Please keep praying that Sophie comes on or before the 28th. Thanks!

4 days left

Today has been a fairly mellow day. Charity is done with work so her and her sister went out and got their nails done. The contractions are not as frequent as they were a couple days ago, but much more intense. This is definitely running our lives right now. I go to work and keep my phone super close. Today is my day off, so I have been at home working on homework all day.
We are praying, and would love for you to join us, that baby Sophie Marie will come out sometime between now and August 28th (which is her due date). We were pretty sure we would have a kid already given how frequent and intense Charity's contractions were at the end of last week. But we are in peace that God knows when she will come.
Last night was the best night of sleep I have gotten since the contractions started. Charity slept through the night, mostly, and got rested up too. She is such a trooper, I have the best wife ever. Well, please keep us in your prayers.

The Weather is Crazy!

The weather is crazy right now. It was like 100 degrees today and now its all thunder, lighting and rain. The weather can turn crazy here in like 10 min and that is exactly what it did today! Rosie just jumped because the thunder is so loud, the lighting is getting worse as I write and I am kinda scared standing next to the widow as the rain pelts it! I love it when it does this!

What if...

I was talking with Jessica (Charity's sister) this morning and I was wondering; "What if Transformers, the movie, is really a documentary?" Wouldn't that be sweet! I grew up loving transformers and maybe the movie is a way to ease the public into the fact that robots live among us???
Ok, probably not realistic, but could be super cool!

We exist to impact lives

This summer we did a series from Doug Fields called "When People Meet Jesus". We looked at different parables of when people met Jesus and the change that took place in their lives. We decided that, every week of this series, we would have someone share their story about meeting Jesus.
Here is the video of Colton Scholfield's story of meeting Jesus. Colton is going to Carrol College and playing football. He is an amazing young man that loves Jesus and has such a great heart. This video is encouragement of why we do what we do. I came out here thinking that I was going to be a middle school pastor (now I'm the high school pastor) and realized that I am really a missionary in a dark place. I have the best job ever! I cant wait to see more and more of what God has planned for us to do here.

5 days left

Tonight it hits me again that in about 5 days I can be a dad. I don't want to say "will be" because who knows when Sophie will come out except Jesus. Today was pretty mellow, yet packed. I woke up early (for a Saturday to go to Men's Breakfast: amazing). Got home around 10 and spent some time with Charity and her sister.
Last night I started reformatting the hard drive on her computer because we got a Macbook. Apple is having a sweet deal right now, for the student program (working on my masters at Fuller Seminary) where you buy a Macbook and get a free iPod touch. We are selling her comp to help sweeten the deal and lower the price. Also going to sell the iPod on eBay to help out too (great idea I think).
Then Jessica (Charity's sister) had her boyfriend fly into town and we had lunch with them at the pad. After that Charity and I took a nap, read my Bible, bought a Dyson (comes with a free $40 gift card at Target), then went to Shaun and Krystal's house for dinner.
Today was pretty amazing. The contractions are not much today. She had for about an hour between 8-9pm, but they are almost done now. Not sure what to think. I know she wants the baby out, but God knows when is the best time. Thanks for all the prayers. We love you all!

6 days left

Today marks six days till Charity's due date. We are both pretty scared still. The contractions are still happening so I think we are just in wait mode. I have heard that it can take up to three weeks to get the baby out (not stoked). Charity is not in super bad pain, but I know she is feeling pretty bad. She had some gnarly contractions this morning during breakfast. It is so amazing having her sister her to help us through and work on all this. I am able to go to work and get some stuff done (nothing huge, too focused on making sure she is ok). It is nice, she just got a Macbook, so we can do video chat. I like to see how she is doing.
Please keep praying for us!

7 days left

Today we went to the Doc and Charity is officially dilated. Our Doc says she is a 1 and 1/2. This means the baby can come at any time. She also was able to feel the head (sounds crazy to me). We had to stay around and Charity was put on a contraction monitor. She was on for about 25 min and had about 10 contractions (I think that is good). She has had a few contractions that lasted longer than 30 seconds, but we still need them to last longer. We are really in just wait mode right now.
I am super thankful that Charity's sister is here in town with us. She drove Charity around to do some errands today. I talked with her about an hour ago and she had some more contractions, please keep praying for us. Sophie will be here before we know it. Also our Doctor told us Sophie is about 6 and 3/4 pounds (not the average 8 pound Benson kid).

8 days left

Today marks 8 days left until Charity's due date. We have the nursery set up already. The crib is there, the changing table, diapers, more clothes than I have, toys, books, bath tub things... you name it. I am so excited right now, but so scared. Charity's sister arrived in town last night, so we are pretty much covered (I think). Charity is getting pretty big but she is still so beautiful. I am so excited! The pic is kinda blurry, I took it with my phone, but it looks like she swallowed a bowling ball.
We have had so many people give us advice. I would love to hear one thing that you suggest for us. I don't care if you have kids or not, I just want to see what everyone is thinking.

SM Pool Party

We got a Pool Party tonight for all Student Ministry! This is gonna be sweet. Summer is ending and we gotta have some more fun before school starts. Well be at the McComb's house:
781 Vista Sereno
Henderson, NV 89002

Hit it up! Free BBQ, toothpick game, volleyball and some worship!
If you get lost call Marc: 702-553-5917

Lunch @ Pei Wei

Today I had lunch @ Pei Wei with an amazing pastor. Doug Meye came to Vegas about twenty five years ago to plant a church. Doug has some huge respect in the Valley and I was honored to have lunch with him (he even payed!).
We started talking about life and he shared his passion to lead and help younger pastors, I was so stoked. He shared some great advice with me and he is what I will take:

1) The Church is Fragile. This was just an all around statement. We need to be careful with it.
2) Ask people how they are doing: What are you excited about? What are you concerned about?
3) Care less about your impression and more about your relationship with God

He shared a story with me about pennies. He said that in every setting you have so many pennies. For example when you get hired, if people like you, you get 20 pennies to start with. If you got out and double the group and lead some key students to Christ in the first month you get 30 pennies. Lets say four months later you go to camp and something bad happens, like a discipline issue, you loose 10 pennies. He just asked me to make sure you make smart wagers with what you have. He shared about tenure and how that is so important. I am excited about his lunch and Doug speaking into my life.

Date Night

Tonight is the most important night of the week. Its not High School Ministry, Bible Study, Small Group or anything related to the church. Tonight is Date Night.
Charity and I do date night every Monday night. Its a time for us to put the computer away, turn the cell phone off and just have some us time. I love date night. It gives me the time I need with my wife.
To make date night effective we both have to really protect the time. There are about 100 things that I could be doing instead of date night. There are two things that are pressing right now: Pool Party tomorrow night and a fourteen page paper on Ephesians 6:10-20. Both of those can wait. Date night must be protected. If my marriage is not the second most priority in my life (God being number one) then anything can take precedence.
I think this is something good for anyone in ministry to consider and put down on their schedule. Show your wife that she is import and that you love; start date night and make it a priority. I'm out to dinner with my wife!

Why the waves stop

Have you ever been to the ocean and wondered why the waves stop where they do? I mean, really, what keeps them from just going and flooding the near by streets? Is it gravity? Is there not enough water in the ocean so it comes back? What about the gravitational pull?
Today I was reading in the book of Jeremiah and came across this scripture:

Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord.
“Should you not tremble in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
Jeremiah 5:22 (New International Version)

God tells the waves where to stop. God makes that happen. God is such a God of order that He will not allow crazy things happen. I am very thankful that this world was created on purpose and not on accident. If it was created on accident the waves may not know where to stop and many people could get hurt.

Great Quote

Do not be angry that you cannot make others as you would wish
them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.
-- Thomas à Kempis

Cookies

Charity just made the best cookies! I know this is random, but I have the most amazing wife ever. And there is nothing that tastes better than warm cookies washed down with cold milk.

38 weeks

Today Charity and I went in for our 38 week baby appointment. If you are like me and didn't know all these baby terms at one time its all good. The baby is typically in the tummy (technical term) for 40 weeks. That means we are just two weeks away from the due date.
My thought (not medical advice) is that the due date is just a random guess to make women feel good and then they have a date that they can make their husbands due everything by. I am not insinuating that Charity is making me due things, I have actually self-initiated many projects. I want the house to be ready for Sophie.

The Cardinal Sin

I think that yesterday I may have committed the "Cardinal Sin"...
I bought a scale and my wife is 9 months pregnant (its for me though!)

Sunday Aug 10th

Yesterday was a really cool day church. The service wasn't the best ever (I am really talking about my part). I was the host for the day. That means I did the welcome and announcements. For the second service I was asked to lead communion. I found out in-between first and second service that it was my job because another pastor needed to go speak at one of our church plants.
I got up to do communion and talked about the need to remember. Then invited people forward to get their elements and return to their seat. Our staff was at the tables if people needed prayer. A man cam to me who is about 55 and rides Harley's. I could tell he was about to cry. He gave me the biggest hug and said: "Thank you for all you do with my boys". Those words made the day worth it.

Leadership Summit, Friday Morning

This morning a guy named Craig Groeschel spoke about "it". That sounds kinda funny, but he made some great points. I don't extensive notes or great points to write here (I will share some of what he spoke about). He shared about Acts 2:42-47 and what it would look like if "every day" people's lives were being transformed by the Holy Spirit. He talked about "it" and what churches that have it are doing. Churches that have it are committed to doing a few things and doing them well.
He shared his story about loosing it and being too focused on the ministry and not on his relationship with God, I know what that looks like and it hit home with me. He shared what he did to get it back and just what he needed to do.
"To reach people who no one is willing to reach you have to be willing to do things that no one else is doing."
Four things to ask yourself:
1) What are you doing that needs to stop? What can you cut out?
2) What is going trying to show you through what you love and are passionate about?
3) Those who have it are willing to fail, those who don't are scared to fail.
4) Organizations who have it are led by leaders who have it.

My New Thought

Last night Charity and I went to meet a potential pediatrician. Upon getting there one thing crossed my mind: every high school kid in American needs to come here. After sitting in the lobby for about 30 min, I decided that this is the best birth control ever.
There was a sick side (Charity and I decided that the kids should have to wait on that side).
The lobby is loud!
All you hear is screaming kids and cartoons
There was one kid running all over and not listening to his mom
All this made me think that we need to send all students there to just see what it will be like, who knows it may increase purity in America.

Drop Kick Action

This last week at Hume Lake, they did something called: "The Gauntlet". It reminded me of American Gladiator meets Wipeout. The goal of the game was to get across five of these floating pads. You had the option to stop and dance on the third, for more points, and then you need to get the ref off at the end. Out of the 28 participants only one person successfully accomplished the goal.
My first attempt I got jacked. Then I swam back to pad four (the only to go backward), jumped back to number three and charged it. I did a sweet drop kick... but still lost.

Leaving the nest...

Last night we had some students over to celebrate (not in a bad way) the moving on of one my wife's graduated senior girls. It was so amazing to see the students rally around her, encourage her and affirm her. She impacted many of their lives while she was in Vegas. Some things that I learned from watching the students last night were:
1. We all want to be apart of something. The students are so connected and they have some really special relationships.
2. God created us to be in those relationships. We were never intended to do life alone, just read about Adam in Genesis One.
3. Students are fun to be around. Students can either charge you up or drain you. Not everyone is called to work with them and when you are it is amazing.
4. Real relationships are formed over time and sometimes over hard times. Charity, my wife, has poured into the girl who left today and you can see the special bond they have.
5. Pour into others with reckless abandon. You can almost never go wrong by investing into the right person and that is how the Kingdom of God has grown.

The Dark Night

So we finally made it back from Hume (it was amazing, I will write about that soon) and then on like six hours of sleep went to Church. After church we all mobbed it to Panera for some grub. I had the Bacon Turkey Bravo and a bowl of Broccoli Cheddar. Then we headed over to Green Valley Ranch for the Dark Night. While waiting we went and played some video games.
The movie was amazing! We went with a grip of students and that made it better. The movie really was pretty crazy and the Joker was a great character. I love the part seeing that Batman is there to protect, but not always loved. That is how I feel as a pastor sometimes. Well its time to go home and see the wife.

Hume Lake: July 20th-26th 2008

This week we are taking a great team of leaders, students and some students who really need Jesus, to Hume Lake. I am super excited to see God work in this week. Hume does a great program that allows our leaders to spend time with students and really invest in them. We have had some last min sign ups, and have some last min drops. Please pray for us this week. Pray for safe travel. Pray for students to have walls broken down in their lives so that the Holy Spirit can really impact them. Pray for me as a leader to set the example to all we take.
Also, I just received a call from a former student in San Diego who her sister just got back from Hume. She told me that there is some sort of stomach bug happening at Hume right now. She told me that about half the camp had it (almost 500 students) which is a huge number. The bug lasts for 72 hours and causes the person to vomit about every 5 min (not sure how much is true, just sharing what I heard). It makes sense because Hume called me this week and told me that health department has asked them to call all the churches and ask them if they have any students with flu like symptoms to please not bring them or the student will be sent home. Please pray for us, I want to make sure that this is an amazing week for students and that God gets all the glory. I am asking all the people I know to pray for us.

The Church being The Church

We have a HS student name Kyle Watanabe who has Cystic Fibrosis, but you would never know it. I remember the first time he came to Mexico with me and I thought he had to do breathing treatments because he had asthma. Since then I have been to the hospital about 10 times for him, but he is a fighter. God has a huge plan for this kids life. He is so full of joy and models the love of Christ to others, he is some we can all look up too. About four months ago he called "Make a Wish Foundation" and they totally redid his 1970 VW Bug. It is amazing. We revealed it at the church and just seeing the people coming together and reaching out the VW community here in Vegas was super cool.
Here is a video of the event.

Worship Tonight

Tonight we had our summer nights Bible study and Marc Faircloth lead worship. It was one of the most moving sets of worship I have been involved in in a while.
We sang Mighty to Save and our church was just singing so loud and you could feel the Spirit of God moving in that room!

Staff Meeting

Today in staff meeting we were going over the new guest report and there was a lady who found out about our church from "a woman sitting at the slot machine next to me".
I love Vegas!

Get Smart

On Monday Charity and I went to see "Get Smart" with Steve Carell and it was pretty funny. The first 30-35 min was pretty tough, kinda like the office. The scenes were great but it was that akward feeling just like watching the office.
All in all it was a good flick. There wasn't much sexual stuff and not much cussing, the movie is not a must see but worth it.

BB is getting bigger

She is just straight cute right now! I cant wait to be a dad!
This is the pic from 28ish weeks ultrasound. This week will be 30 weeks, that is 75% of the way done.

Middle School Camp

We are at Hume SD right now, which is at Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego. We are here with some middle school students and one of the boys said the best comment ever:
"I am going to sit around tonight and see how many girls I can get to hug me. Last year I got 63"
I am not sure why that made me laugh so hard. Just a glimpse into the mind of a fourteen year old boy.

New Dad Top 10

Today I had breakfast with a mentor of mine that I really look up too. His name is Rob Hall. He hired me in my current position and now he works at an amazing church in The Bay Area called: "Central Pennisula Church". Rob Hall loves Jesus and really loves his family. I look up to him and the way he balances life and loves people.
Today at breakfast he gave me a list called: "New Dad Top 10"
1. Never stop dating your wife, just plan now to pay a babysitter!
2. When you come home be "hands on" as much as possible. (Diapers, cleaning, babysitting, ect.)
3. Give your wife time off! Let her out by herself from time to time.
4. Pray with & for your children from day one.
5. Read the Word with & to your children from day one.
6. Help your wife establish a routine for your children. (Nap time, eating & bed time especially)
7. With a new baby, your ministry will change...for the better! Parents will respect you more & you'll have to find a better "balance".
8. Say "NO" more often to ministry stuff & life things. You'll need to be home more.
9. Enjoy every moment & season with your kids, they grow up fast.
10. Travel with your kids, its so much fun!

When People Meet Jesus

So last night we started the series: "When People Meet Jesus" by Doug Fields. It was super sweet. It helps to have the graphics and notesheets the have done and be able to put your own stories to it.
We ended the message with a chance to receive Jesus and two girls re-commited and one guy gave his life to Jesus for the first time. It was super exciting! I love working with students.

I need commnunity

I am glad I waited to write this till today. This week has shown me how much we all need community and the relationships of others.
On Sunday my wife had her small group girls over for a luau party to start off summer and encourage one of our other leaders who is moving. Seeing the girls connect was amazing! I normally would not be there, but they needed someone to cook. Then I went and played video games.
That night we went over to a leaders house and played some volleyball. It was super sick. Seeing people connect with each other. This time was more for our college students but some of them are our leaders and it was just fun. Not only playing volleyball but connecting with other people from our church was great for me. I noticed, once again, my need for community and how people thrive in that.
Finally, on Tuesday I had small group with my boys. I have Junior and Senior boys so half of my boys are graduating. Hearing my boys just share their hearts to each other is so amazing. They have learned accountability early and it blows my mind. I wish that I had the relationships that they have when I was 17.
All this said, it made me think that we all need this. We need to pour into others, have people we can laugh with and have people we can share our junk with and pray with.

Valley of Fire

On Friday night Charity and I went to Valley of Fire. Its a place that is like an hour or so from our house and is is amazing. This place has all these crazy red rocks and some super sweet formations. We went out there and walked around just a bit. We saw this petrified tree that was super crazy. I have to say that I do hate the signs that say: "This tree is millions of years old." Not sure why do that.
After our little hike action we found a campsite and roasted marshmallows and made some smores. Then we laid out a blanket and just took some time to star watch. I think we all need to just take some time to watch the stars with someone who means the world to us. We needed that time to just chill and be with each other.

The Investment Mindest

I feel the need to preface this thought, for some reason. What I am writing is something that has been stirring in my brain and I hope that it can hopefully help someone.
About 2 months ago we had our adult leader meeting. We try to do these every 6-8 weeks where the leaders get some time to hang out and just connect. I then take about 30 minutes to share my heart. At this particular meeting I shared about the need for us to have roles that we all fit into. I have felt our leaders not feeling like they have a, “job,” something that they can own on Wednesday nights. After the meeting, which I thought went great, I was really excited to see the buy-in level increase and leaders plug in more. It seemed like neither of those things happened.
All of that said, it got me thinking about what I call the investment mindset. I don’t know if you have a 401K or not, but I feel like my retirement is similar to investing into students (you may think I am crazy right now, but keep reading). Every paycheck I get, 26 a year, I ask my church to take out a set amount and invest that into my retirement. I don’t, “see,” that money so I just tell myself that I never got it. I don’t really miss it cause I never really “see” it. Then twice a year I get a statement in the mail that makes me wonder why I keep putting that money in there. I open it up hoping that, for some unknown reason, my retirement will be huge… but it’s not. Then I have to remind myself that this investment will take time to mature.
That is exactly how I think many of us feel about working with students (and our leaders feel the same way too). How many countless nights have you sat with a student listening to their problems, counseling them, sharing scripture with them and praying with them to only see them make the same mistake? Or what about the time it takes to make camp happen and all the hours you put into it, then you have to leave your spouse for the week and you just wish you could see them. Think about the last mission trip you went on. How amazing was it or is all you can think about is how tiring it was? Does it ever feel like some of this is worthless? We have all been there.
See student ministries is just like my 401K. It would be nice to have that time or money right now. Sometimes the sacrifice doesn’t look like it will pay off in the end, but we need to keep reminding ourselves that what we do is so worth it! If someone hasn’t told you that in while just think about the students you work with that will never forget you, trust me, they will never forget you and the constant time you put into their lives. The investment is worth it!

BB is 24 weeks... and a GIRL

So we just had the appointment and got the final word that BB is a girl. We were told at 15 weeks that BB was 90% a boy. We went back at 18 weeks and saw nothing (by the way, our doctor is rad and does an ultrasound every appointment). For the 21 week visit BB had turned into a girl... WHAT??? Are you sure?
Then we just went back on tuesday and its for sure... BB is a girl!
I'm gonna be a dad. So many thoughts to hit my mind.

Greek: my life today

Today I am working on HW for my Greek class. We are translating the book of Ephesians and I am just in awe right now of the power of God's word. It is so easy, I think, for us to read the Bible and just take certain words for granted. When I have to look at the words and sentence structure in Greek it gives me such a deeper appreciation for Gods word. Next time you are reading, take it slow and ask God to show you what He wants you to learn, I think you will like it!