Author Brian Aaby

Prayer Works!

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God is great! 

 

Thank you to all who have been praying faithfully for Youthmark, an I’d like to specifically give a thanks to those who lifted up these last requests over the weekend. The Lord answered these requests in His timing and in a way that has eased my mind!

 

The Writing

RoadGrip, HomeBase and Merge are all not completed, edited and off to Graphic Layout for final publishing.  The quick turn-around is still a matter of prayer, but the toughest part (writing) is now complete!  I will post the specifics about Merge in my next post.

 

The Needed Call

Jared Coe, a friend and Youth Pastor in Glenwood Springs, CO was a late addition to the YMV’s this year.  While out to Colorado to train students in Colorado Spring (two churches) I made my way up and over to Glenwood to do a last minute training of the Glenwood Springs students.  The only problem:  we didn’t know for sure where they were going to go.  Jared (who has done two trips with me in the past) wanted to do a custom trip and stay in state.  

 

While serving as a Youth Pastor in Phoenix I had taken three teams into Southern Colorado, so it seemed like it would be a an easy land to get one of those three churches to commit to be the “receiving” town for Jared’s group.  Well, for whatever reason, one town/church had a very busy summer and didn’t think they had need for a team.  Another town was very slow in getting back to me and the pastors had changed since I had served there and it seems they weren’t that interested just by how slow they got back to my every call or email.  The third town/church seemed to be a little too far out of the way for Jared’s group, so I was pursuing other options.

 

Because of my great relationship with an organization, Village Missions, I decided to pursue a VM church in Colorado.  The only problem, the Pastor in Kittredge (the church I pursued) was on a mission trip to Poland.  He did, however, respond to an email, and this gave me great hope as he expressed interest.  Well, in order to keep this post from getting too long, long story short, I FINALLY spoke to the Pastor yesterday (after he had returned) and he gave a resounding “Yes” to having a team!  So, without further ado, welcome to Kittredge, CO for a YMV team!  Praise the Lord!

 

The Launch And Landing Details

The other potential “stress” was coming into play last week as well.  Each of our trips starts and ends in a hub city.  The Montana and Idaho are going Launch/Land in Spokane.  NorCal will be in Salem, OR, The Gulf Coast teams will hub in Dallas, and the Hawaii team will be in their town of Anahola.  Well, the only problem, my original Spokane hub church was not able to commit to being the Hub.  So, with less than two weeks before our first trip, we didn’t know where our Hub was going to be (keep in mind we have three different weeks of MT/ID mission trips!). Again, long-story-short, God answered prayers in a mighty way and over the last three days I had two churches say yes to being our hub!  We only need one, but I am thankful that two churches stepped forward!

 

Thanks for your faithful prayers!

 

More Prayer!

Because there are 24 different teams going on the mission trips, it is nearly impossible for me to keep my blog up to date with all the specific requests for each of the teams.  I am going to post an “adopt a team” blog in the next few days.  I did this through my prayer letter and we have several teams adopted already, but we want more people praying faithfully for each team.  Please go to www.youthmark.com and click on “blogs” and you’ll see the list of teams.  Most of the churches are using the blog, some will kick in just for the trip.

 

Grace,
Brian

Weekend To Do

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We are officially two weeks away from the launch of our first mission trips!  The first weekend will only have one team going out.  First Baptist of Chehalis will be heading to Simms, MT!  

This weekend will be crunch time for the completion of a few major projects in order to have things set for the trips.  Please take the time to praise God for the following items and the pray for the things that still need to get done!

Praises:

  • I have the Mission T-shirts in tow (picked them up today)
  • We have all of our Launch/Landing sites set up and confirmed!
  • Road Grip and Home Base are completed and off to graphic design and publishing (for a quick turnaround).

Prayer Requests:

  • The Merge (previously 14 Ways for 14 Days) needs to be completed by the end of the weekend, this underwent a MAJOR change I will post about after it is complete, it is exciting though!
  • Waiting for a very important call from a receiving town Pastor who has not gotten back to me, this could throw a major wrench in things (him not getting back to me), so pray all the details get worked out and that he calls me ASAP!
  • Working on some final details for the schedules of the Launch and Landing weekends.

Thanks so much for your prayers!  I am so thankful to God for His provision and am trusting Him with all the details!

Grace,

Brian

Mommy and Halle to the Zoo= Daddy + 2

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I have a wonderful day in store, Elisabeth has volunteered with Halle’s class to the Zoo.  What a glorious Seattle day for that adventure.  I’m pretty excited for what it means for me as well.  I get to spend the entire day with Will and Audrey on an adventure of our own.  

There are a few things I still need to get done throughout the day so it’ll be fun to introduce the two to a couple of my regular Wednesday activities!  After breakfast and clean-up we plan on dropping by the Burien Network to hang with the 6-8 Youth Pastors I normally meet with on Wednesday.  We’ll probably cut this one short, because I don’t think those guys can keep up with the discussion topics Will plans to bring to the table today.

I need to swing by a T-Shirt place to pick up my summer missions t-shirts, so that will be fun for the kids to see how T’s are printed.  I then hope to treat the kiddo’s to lunch, depending on the time we’ll join the YP network at La Costa for some good Mexi-food or we’ll do some picnic stuff to a park. 

After a Will nap (and my opportunity to do a few tasks) I’ll take the kids to a park before we fry from the heat and come home to hear about the great zoo adventure!

Pretty excited for a GREAT Daddy, Audrey and Will day!

I have a couple important ministry posts coming over the next couple of days!  Stay tuned!

Grace,

Brian

Want some Garlic on your wax?

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I have been battling some sort of sickness for about the last week.  Minor muscle and joint aches, then some sort throat for a day, then all of a sudden I am fine, only to have it return the next day; this went on from Tuesday to Saturday last week, well, then it just hit full-bore for Saturday thru today.  My throat is pretty raw and my ear began aching Sunday as well.

I almost went to the doctor last night, but c’mon, who wants to spend $100 on a doc saying “it’s probably just a viral thing, you need to wait it out?”  So I saved myself $100 and told myself, “it’s probably just a viral thing, you need to wait it out.”

So, this morning my wife remembered she had some really cool drops for ear-infections.  So we tried them on my ear. I say this just in the case you see me sometime in the next couple days… you might smell me before you see me actually.  A couple of the main ingredients in these drops: olive oil and garlic! 

Welcome to my Italian Restaurant, would you like some ear-wax Lasagna?

My throat still hurts, but weird-as-it-might-sound, my ear feels (and smells) better!

Grace,
Brian

Are You Serious?

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Yesterday was a busy day; got up early and was out the door by 6:20 on my way down south.  Got in about 90 minutes of writing before catching up with Wescott over coffee.  After the coffee I was on the road even further south to Chehalis to meet with Portland friend, Kirk (Chehalis is about the half-way point between our homes).  While meeting with Kirk one of our friends and Youthmark Mission Venture client, Jeff (the key to the title of this post) arrived at Starbucks with his wife and one of their daughters.  After chatting with Jeff, extending my meeting with Kirk by going to Applebees I stopped by for a quick coffee with Brad in Lacey.

Okay, back to the Jeff conversation at the Chehalis Starbucks:

We were chatting about all the things he has going this weekend, including a fundraising dinner tonight for the mission.  Then it hit… it was Friday.  Then it really hit:  His mission trip starts exactly three weeks from now.  

As my friend Dylan would post:  Are You Serious?

Wow, three weeks from yesterday begin the actual mission trips!  

Speaking of that, I have been blogging a lot more over at my youthmark.com blog here.  Would love for you to follow and even comment there (while there, read the church blogs too… pray!).

Grace,
Brian

Burien Networking and a Rant

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Before I get into this possible rant/sermon, please understand I understand the word “balance” and know that it is needed in our Christian life; where I may come across as “evangelistic,” I understand fellowship, discipleship and “meeting together” are needed, especially because of evangelism!

Every Wednesday morning I network with a bunch of Youth Pastors from the greater Burien-Tukwila-SeaTac area.  Because the last church I Youth Pastored is in that area this was my “home network” for the last five years.  These guys have become near and dear to me and I very much miss the fellowship and encouragement any time I have to miss it.

Last week we had a great discussion about “the fear of the Lord.”  As a result we all agreed that no matter the viewpoint on the fear we are/are not to have (as believers), we know that unbelievers should greatly fear not having a relationship with Him.  The conversation turned to what “witness” currently looks like in our own lives.  The challenge was given:  come back next week with a story of your own opportunity to share the Gospel.

Yesterday was the day to report.  We all shared the opportunities we saw the Lord provide.  I think every one of us was very honest, including a couple who shared they “were around Christians all week.”  This (being with Christians all the time) is a tough one for us Christians, and I would argue specifically hard for a paid pastor.  

Pastors are paid to shepherd the flock (be with other believers).  There is a sense of accountability that most feel for ‘being in the office.”  Many pastors are so time-consumed with the sheep in their flock that they don’t have an active witness with the lost.  They may preach evangelism but live it very little.  I constantly struggled (and struggle) with this.  

Brief trip down memory lane

I remember an early pastorate I held, our secretary told me about a conversation she had with one of our elders.  He called and asked why he didn’t see my truck at the church.  She conveyed to him that I had not been in the office yet.  She took the message for me to call him back.  When I called him he quickly put me on the defense and let me know that it was his observation that I needed to spend more time in the office where people can see that I am working.

I don’t remember it perfectly, but I think this is a fair representation of what my day looked like:

6:15 AM Fellowship of Christian Athletes for the local high school (50% Christians and 50% non-Christians)

7:30 AM Back home for a nap

9:00 AM Network breakfast with area Youth Pastors (all Christians)

11:00 AM Study for message at local coffee shop (around non-Christians)

Noon Lunch at home

1:00 PM at office working on youth group stuff

2:30 PM Coaching Basketball at local high school (almost 100% non-Christians)

5:00 PM home with my wife (she’s a Christian!)

6:30 PM Youth Bible Study (mostly Christians)

9:00 PM debrief with the small group team (they were saved too!)

10:30 PM Home

I was only at the church for 1.5 hours that day, and this elder had a really hard time with my schedule because I was “often out Mountain Biking (with students from my youth group), coaching (soccer and basketball at the high school), or doing other stuff outside the office; the congregants need to see your car at the office more as the drive by, so they can know they are getting their moneys worth.”

As a 22-23 y/o Youth Pastor I didn’t have the words to say in response.  I was stunned.

Back to today

I believe Pastors, Youth Pastors, Church Leaders and every-day congregants (such as myself) need to start talking about our witness the same way we talk about our study, prayer life and times of fellowship.  For some that may look all the same–you have nothing to talk about because you’re not doing much of any of it.   For me, with my youth, I have always been quick to share what I am learning from His Word.  I would often talk about my struggles (and times of discipline) with my prayer life.  I love sharing about my times of fellowship– but what if we were to talk more openly about the opportunities we take (or ignore) to share the Lord with the lost? 

What if these Burien Youth Pastors took the time each week to share a fun story of obedience in sharing with the lost?  Perhaps the students in these youth groups would start seeing it as “normal” to share Jesus and not just something you do on a mission trip!  What would happen if at the dinner table moms and dads took the time to share about the opportunity he or she had to share Jesus at Boeing with a co-worker?  Maybe their kids would want to emulate them?  

What if our expectation for each other was not to be present and accounted for in the pew, office space or small group, but actively pursuing those who are dying without knowing Jesus?

What if I expected my pastor to be out with the community, out with the lost and not always around to meet the needs of my congregation?

I need the Wednesday time of fellowship with the guys in this network, but I hope I need it for the right reason.  I want to come back each week because I need the encouragement (or correction) after a tough week “in the field.”

Rant/Sermon complete.  Now time to process this and live it!

Grace,
Brian

The Weekend Report

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This last weekend was a great one!  Perfect NW weather, great mix of family time and task completion!  Here are the quick highlights:

Friday:  Halle was off of school so we got an early start out the door to Oregon.  Stopped for a couple hours in Portland for me to have a meeting with Ron Marrs, Youth Ministry Prof and friend from Western Seminary.  Elisabeth and the kids got to take in the Lloyd Center for lunch and some shopping.  Then, on the road to Eugene (where Elisabeth’s sister lives).  Unique experience with a waitress at El Torito (for some reason she couldn’t grasp that we had 6 of us, but insisted on us sitting at a 4 person table… ????)… Stayed up way too late watching the M’s pull out an extra-inning win.

Saturday:  Will doesn’t like sleeping in new places, so we didn’t get a great night of sleep; but we took turns with morning naps, so that helped.  In the afternoon I took the kids for a walk and Prince P’s (Ice Cream) so that Elisabeth and Anne could do some shopping and prep for Audrey’s birthday on Sunday.  After a great time with the kids I was able to sneak off to Starbucks and get a few hours of work done, including a fantastic talk with our contact in Kauai.  Saturday lunch and dinner was fajitas (leftovers for dinner)… I love Mexican food!  Went to bed somewhat early (11:00ish).

Sunday: Took off in the morning to do some more study and work on the devo’s for the mission trips, it’s fun to see the crowds at coffee shops on a Sunday morning, always wonder about church habits of those in the shops.  Had one or two conversations as people saw me studying the Word.  After Anne returned from her church I took Audrey out for her own Daddy-Daughter date.  We went to Old Navy (where she was to pick out her very own shirt) and then to a park.  We bought the rest of the family about an hour of time to set up for Audrey’s Birthday Formal Tea (lunch).  After a great birthday celebration (complete with presents) we cleaned up, went back to Prince P’s and then said our goodbyes for our drive home.  

On the way home we discovered that Portland has a Five Guys (Burger joint) as well.  Just off the 205 we happened upon because of a strong desire to use the restroom… low and behold, a Five Guys served a couple purposes!  Made it back by about 10:30 with three kids sawing logs in the back!

Monday: A great night of sleep (much needed). In the morning we went out to breakfast with our friends Jess and Alisha (and kids).  The afternoon was spent getting some work done and preparing for hosting a BBQ at our place.  The Schlauds and Heiders came over for a fun evening with some good food! 

What a fun unofficial beginning to the summer.  Much to do this week, but thought I’d take a few minutes to review and celebrate the weekend that was!

Grace,
Brian

Audrey is 5!

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I am so blessed to have a seven year old, one year old and now a FIVE YEAR OLD!  That’s right, Audrey celebrates her fifth birthday today!  

Audrey is a unique little girl, she is a mix of sugar and spice.  At a given time she is sweet and cuddly (she’ll nuzzle her nose right into mommy or daddy’s neck and just “be”).  Then at other times she shows her independent spirit (the “spice” I referred to) by desiring to play alone or be in charge of her little situation (I have no idea where she gets that?).

Some of my favorite times with Audrey are on our Daddy-Daughter dates.  We will go out to breakfast or lunch and then off to the park.  She loves to swing and climb.

Audrey graduates from preschool this week, next fall she’ll be a big time kindergartner!  

Pray for our little-middle child… Elisabeth and I are both middles as well, so obviously we KNOW it is toughest being in the middle!  Ha!

Here are several snaps from the last couple years of her life:

Happy Birthday Audrey!

Grace,

Brian

Yard Work Analogy

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My Dad loves yardwork.

I don’t.

My parents keep a very “park like” yard all year round.

We don’t.

I wish we did, but that would require constant attention to our yard (stupid weeds!).  Instead of that constant attention, every now and then we do the all-day project on the yard to make it look good (but rarely great).  One of these days, I hope, I will start practicing the little disciplines that take 15-30 minutes a week in order to maintain the good/great looking yard.

You see, the yard analogy has transferred over to other areas in my life right now.  If I were to practice those little 15-30 minute disciplines per week in several other areas the following would probably take place:

  • I’d have a clean and maintained yard.
  • I’d have a clearly organized filing system for Youthmark.
  • I’d have a very functional and clean garage where everything had a place!
  • I’d be done with writing, edits, etc. in a very timely manner.
  • And several others…

Why did Adam and Eve take that fruit?  I blame them.  If it weren’t for that stupid fall I’d have it all together!  Right? 

Okay, so maybe I just need to go back and read this post and start practicing these things!

Grace,
Brian