As many of you know, we have been checking out different churches the last month and a half. We are in the middle of our second round now (narrowing the field and returning to churches for our second look). In the spirit of not really thinking of a post today and in the spirit of of just wanting a good laugh, I hope none of this happens in the church we visit tomorrow (okay, so maybe I do want some of it to happen)!
Grace,
Brian
Sizzling Tri-Tips! Yummmmmmm!
Every now and again I need affirmation that you’re out there reading this; so I will post some sort of “comments needed blog” (though I love comments on any of my posts). Here is one I hope produces some good thoughts. The subject you need to comment on: Your Favorite Summer Meal!
Last week in Scottsdale, with my Lifeboat (you can go back several posts and read through the entire trip), we ate a lot of meals at the rental house! Because I did the menu I got to pick the things I like the most! So, I’ll start the dialogue with my ultimate summer meal that I made (and I’m kept mine financially feasible, you can go over the top if you’d like):
Grilled (by me) Tri-tip steak from Costco, Large Russet Baked Potato (with butter, cheese, chives and sour cream), Corn on the Cob (though we didn’t do this in AZ) and a Green Salad (with Ranch on the side). I’ll go with an Arnold Palmer (combo of iced tea and lemonade) to drink.
Your turn, what is your ultimate summer meal?
Grace,
Brian
*I categorized this as a “contest” because if anyone wants to be the first to have the Aabys over for this Favorite Summer Meal, you win! (you win nothing but a fun evening hosting us, but you still win.)
Does your spiritual life look like this?
Ever been stuck in traffic? Of course you have! We turn on the radio to find out 405 North is backed up for NO REASON, and that I-5 south has a jack-knifed semi-truck taking up all 5 lanes!
The “birds eye view” of a helicopter or a traffic cam give motorists the information they need in order to avoid the potential dangers and back-ups ahead. They help us to take different routes and guide us to better roads.
In life we often need the birds-eye view of another person. A week or so ago I spoke about “balance” and the struggle I sometimes have with the advice of one person that contradicts that of another (or my own). But this outside perspective is very needed! It is much like the traffic advisory.
This morning I had a phone call from a long-distance mentor. Barry St. Claire is an older name in Youth Ministry. He has written much and is a godly man. I enjoy hearing his perspective on life and ministry. Several months ago I was feeling convicted and felt a mentor would be helpful through this process of moving from being a pastor to a small business owner. Barry has done exactly the same (several years ago) and done so with keeping his Lord and his family as his first priorities (as I desire to do). I sent him an email (I had gotten to know him a big a couple years ago) asking him to mentor me (explaining the reasons why). Because of his own busy life, he told me he would pray about it… Well, eight months, five phone conversations and several email exchanges later, apparently he is still praying because he hasn’t said “yes,” or “no” to mentoring me. So this “non-mentorship” is working out quite well (exactly what I had hoped for)!
So here is my birds-eye view traffic report… Life is busy, it is hectic, there are a lot of jack-knifed people out there and a lot of life’s roads are moving slowly because of our sin (and other’s sin)! I hope you have others in your life that are helping direct, giving outside perspective and I pray we all will have the wisdom to receive godly counsel and apply it. If you don’t have a mentor/discipler, perhaps today is the day to ask someone?
Grace,
Brian
Dan and Melissa Stone came by
Ella, Anthony, Bennett and Stephanie... and some other guy.
The old Aaby house on Julie Drive, Glendale, AZ
Ricky, Dylan and John at the M's spring training facility
The guys are currently getting dinner ready. They were assigned the task of working together at making meal. We wanted to live out Acts 2:42-47 and share/break bread together tonight. It is neat to see them come together for this “Last Supper.” I will post about that later.
The last two guys I haven’t posted about are Frankie and Dylan… so here goes…
Frankie, Hollywood, Francisco, etc.. He’s been a fun kid (okay, young man) to have around the last four years. I have really seen him mature in his walk with the Lord. Frankie has been a ring-leader of sorts for this group and I believe he has gifts in leadership that will be used for the future of the church. I remember the first several weeks in Lifeboat and the questions Frankie would have; his faith was his, but certainly seemed like a “Sunday School” type faith. Just today I came back to see he and Alex studying the Word together on the back patio. He is now answering questions far deeper than the ones he was asking four years ago. Frankie is a gifted musician and I hope he will use that gift as an encouragement to the greater body.
My Bold Prediction for Frankie: Frankie will start a Rock Band named “Fighting Foo.” They will have several hits that receive a lot of radio play, but then, in true Frankie fashion, he will just stop the band. When asked why, Frankie will reply, “just because.” He will then fall in love and become the worship leader at a huge church… in Canada, because he doesn’t know Spanish. He will also compete in the Monster Truck circuit for a few years.
Frankie's large Fajita last night
Dylan Johnson came to our Lifeboat about half-way through his Frosh year in high school. He had heard about the Alaska mission trip and wanted to be part of it, which meant he needed to attend a Lifeboat. Though he never did do that mission I am quite pleased it was incentive enough for him to join the boat. He has been a blessing to have around. Though he is one of the funniest guys you could ever be around, he is also one of the most sincere Christians I have met… the challenge is for him to allow people to know when he is being funny and when he is being serious. Very few people know the depth of Dylan, I believe I am privileged to know that the depth and I hope and pray He will gift people with his passion for Jesus and the church. I believe Dylan could become a pastor or some sort of teacher, but I also believe he could use his humor to glorify the Lord through the entertainment industry. He is headed to SPU in the fall.
My Bold Prediction for Dylan: After a couple years as a youth pastor and a couple years starring on “Happy Days 21st Century,” Dylan will become a church plant pastor in Hollywood. Using his humor as the entry point, he will turn stories like “Doubting Thomas” and “Paul and Barnabas’ Break Up” into serious Gospel presentations in which the likes of Tom Cruise and Oprah become interested in taking a deeper look at the Christian faith. Dylan, unfortunately never does get past his love for Taco Bell and ends up with a serious gut illness from the Crunch Wrap Supreme. He retires to Florida with his fourth wife* and 7 kids (yes, Ricky has more).
*The other three wives all pass away from food poisoning.
Last Comic Sleeping
I love my lifeboat guys! And I know the boldest, and true prediction is this: They will love the Lord their God with their heart, soul, mind and strength!
Amen?
Grace,
Brian
Keeping my streak alive of blogging about multiple subjects, I’ll post two non similar topics this time…
Youthmark Fellowship Gathering: Several months ago a friend/mentor of mine challenged me along the lines of “support.” Since we are going to do our best at making Youthmark a for-profit organization (versus a support based ministry) my friend suggested we still “raise support.” His challenge–get a consistent prayer base around you. So, here is where things stand: I am a little over a month into Youthmark being my full-time endeavor and I feel I am now at a place where I have some legitimate direction and specific prayer requests for my friends/supporters. It is nice to have an average readership of 65 or so each day (at least that’s what the wordpress stats indicate). So, hopefully I can parlay some of this readership into solid prayer-ship.
On Monday, August 18, we will be having our first fellowship/prayer gathering. At this gathering I will have the opportunity to briefly share where the company is headed and how you can pray. I hope you will be able to come. I will talk to hosts, Andy and Terri Heider, over the weekend and will give you the full details by Monday (it will be an evening gathering, just don’t know if we’re doing food or anything yet). Andy and Terri live just off 518 near the airport, so it is very convenient in terms of driving.
Back to the Lifeboat
Brandon Yorker, aka, the tall one, has been a part of the lifeboat all four years as well. He calls Calvary Chapel South his home church (like Tim), but has been a small part of the BPPC youth group as too (occasionally doing stuff with Harbor/retreats). One of the traditions in our Lifeboat was to rotate houses about every 5 weeks. The Yorker house was the last house of the rotation each year. Their back yard holds a hot tub, trampoline and a fire pit. It also was a great battlefield for the annual waterballoon/squirt gun battle. Brandon takes his faith seriously and is a solid (not to mention tall) kid. He and his family were a blessing to our lifeboat. Brandon is, by far, the king of useless knowledge in our group. You name the movie or potential sequel to a movie and he will tell you the most useless knowledge about it. Did you know their was a, “Back to the Future” cartoon in the 80’s? Yeah, neither did I, but how did he? Brandon is working toward his AA at Highline CC and should be done by March.
My Bold Prediction for Brandon: He is not a sports fan at all, however, he has some untapped athletic talent he has yet to discover. While in college will be recruited to play on the intramural Ultimate Frisbee team. He will play so well that the entire student body will come out to watch this athletic phenomenon. Brandon will gain fame, and the fortune will follow soon; you see, the Circus happens to be in town at the same time as his championship Ultimate Game. The circus master attends and recruits Brandon to join as the Giraffe Frisbee trainer–a new act in which the Giraffes play frisbee catch with each other. Brandon’s height will bless him big time! And to think, he was in my lifeboat.
Alex (background) at 6'7" is dwarfed by the much taller Brandon Yorker!
Back to the pool!
Grace,
Brian
These guys will make horrible bachelors. I understand why most of them will be living at home for the couple of years! Ha. This morning we awoke to about 600 ants on the floor in the kitchen. The late-night chips, sodas and sandwiches (and the “stuff” that landed on the floor) became the feeding ground for the little insects breakfast. Of course none of the guys own up to the 3/4 full Mt. Dews, the cheese wrappers on the floor and the jelly explosions… Don’t get me started with their attempt at doing laundry…
Good grief I sound like my parents… ahhhhhh!
To be honest, I laughed at most of it and I understand we are on vacation. They did do a great job of cleaning up this morning and the house is looking really good. Today is a great relaxing “day at home.” Frankie and Ricky invited their friend Cory over. Cory went to Highline High (I actually remember meeting him during his Frosh year). After his freshman year he moved down here. I have my friends Anthony and Bobby coming over for lunch today as well. Both are friends from college and I can’t wait to hang out (already had coffee with Anthony on Wednesday). I think we all may go catch a movie this afternoon to beat the heat and then tonight we hit Acts 11-20 after Steak and Chicken Fajitas (can’t wait to grill again).
This morning I’ll blog about my friend Alex Randall. Alex, as I stated yesterday, was one of the original LB guys. He was there at Vince’s Pizza and the first 5 weeks of LB was hosted at his house! Alex has been probably the most hit-n-miss members of the group. He would be at lifeboat for 3-4 weeks straight and then we wouldn’t see him for a month. He kept himself busy with Homeschool, work and two sports at Evergreen High School (swimming and Cross Country). I have enjoyed some great personal moments with Alex and I believe he is a very wise young man. He has an ability to quickly understand Scripture and explain it. I think he will be used by God in some sort of teaching capacity in the future, or at least I hope he uses this gift! He is a gifted guitarist as well and believe he can/should use this gift to bless the body.
My Bold Prediction for Alex: Alex will end up getting his doctorate in philosophy and religion and teach at some prestigious university. He will get married a little bit later than some of the other guys, but still end up with six kids (yes, Ricky will have more).
Alex at the game!
Back on later…
Grace,
Brian
The Boys and the Canyon
Ricky had the most fun... I guess?
After the Canyon we made our way back (all the guys sleeping, making me completely jealous) and came down (south) through Oak Creek Canyon toward Sedona. We stopped off at Slide Rock. What a hoot. There were a ton of people at both state parks today! Slide Rock got the best of us too… a few of us slipping into the water while holding our backpacks and clothes! Dylan unfortunately was the hardest hit… bye-bye Ipod (water damage).
Slide Rock... literally, sit down and slide
Dylan discovers the death of his ipod
We then hit the town of Sedona for dinner. Good times there as well. Check out the beautiful scenery!
Sedona and the rainbow
We made it back to the house at about 9:30 and I want to get a post about one more of “the guys” before heading to bed early! I am beat.
The first lifeboat meeting at Vince’s Pizza was attended by Frankie, Alex and one John Dakin. It is hard to believe it was nearly 4 years ago. John Dakin was a skinny and slightly socially awkward boy when I met him. He is now a strong young man whom I would describe as a true gentleman. His “Christ confidence” is such an encouragement to me, I believe he is in a very good place in his relationship with God. His tender heart will take him a long way in life. He set the tone for being vulnerable in our lifeboat and I think every guy is thankful for the tone he set. I believe John is going to make a fantastic father and husband; I envision John being a stable elder in his church, serving in a variety of ministries. His immediate plan is to study at Highline and then transfer to a four-year school. Pray for him as he considers helping with the BPPC youth group (trying to balance school, work and ministry life).
My Bold Prediction for John: I think John “The Gentle” will emerge as one of the best WWE wrestlers of all time. He will be “Jesus in a spandex Jumpsuit” to the many lost souls who attend and work in that industry. Sure he may look awkward, but he’ll body slam his opponent and wrestle them into submission, only to invite the pour soul to submit to the real maker!
John, living on the edge
Posting more tomorrow!
Grace,
Brian
Greetings from Flagstaff, AZ. We left the house at our planned 5:30 AM departure! Woo-hoo. Several of us took a dip in the pool to start the day! Nothing like 90 degree heat at and a 92 degree pool at 5:05 AM! We are on our way to the Grand Canyon, Sedona and Slide Rock State Park today. Busy tourist day.
Our first “Lifeboat” meeting was great last night. Awesome sharing from the guys as we did a great review of the first 10 chapters of Acts. We had to laugh when we thought about the fact that it took us two years to get through those first two chapters; and in less than two hours we got through those first 10 chapter of Acts!
Our Lifeboat meeting last night
It is hard to believe that Tim Esser has only been part of our group for year. It was about eleven months ago that Tim walked through the doors of Galianos (where we always have our first and last LB of the year). Tim was friends with Brandon and Josh and has quickly gotten close with each of us. Though he doesn’t speak often, he brings a quiet wisdom and an awesome wit to our group. I am very thankful for the opportunity we have had to get to know Tim this year. He attends Highline Community College and is a “regular” at Calvary Chapel South. I believe Tim will always be a solid contributor in his church. It is evident to me that he is a very faithful person.
My Bold Prediction for Tim: Tim seems shy; therefore I believe he is going to be the person to shock us the most and get married first (among the boys). So my (obviously humorous) prediction is that Tim falls in love this year and by this time next year each of the 10 Lifeboat guys will be upfront in their tuxedos witnessing the marriage of Tim and his beautiful bride. Tim will one day become President as well (of what? I don’t know, just a president).
Tim (left) with Brandon at the game
Not enough time to do a second guy right now, so I’ll get my Iced coffee and call it a post! Catch ya soon.
Grace,
Brian
It’s been quite the trip with these guys! We are having a lot of fun in the dessert. Don’t let anyone tell you “it’s hot” in AZ. Because after all, “it’s a dry heat.” Hmmm… so is an oven.
Each of the guys is currently studying the chapter in Acts they will be presenting tonight. Each of us was given one of the first 10 chapters to talk about tonight. I drew chapter one and I’m pretty prepared (though this takes me back to their freshman year, weeks one through about twelve probably. I look forward to diving back into the Word with them. These guys have grown a lot and as I have posted, mean a lot to me and I look forward to seeing where God takes them. Over the next few days I will post about each of them.
Steve Kelly, aka "Naked Steve"
I remember the weekend I met “Steve.” He was a friend that Jusin Rose had invited to Boot Camp (our fall camp at Boulevard Park). Steve has asked for a semi-rough ride on a boat-pulled inner tube. This gutsy sophomore was ready for the ride of his life, and little did he know he was going to give the onlooker a site to behold. About a minute into the ride Steve was jumping and skimming… so much so that his little waist couldn’t hold on to his swimwear any longer. On the next turn and slide across the water, a full moon in the middle of the afternoon! From this point forward, “Naked Steve” was to be his name. I need to apologize to Tim, Janis and Victoria, they are now known as “Naked’s Family.”
Steve is a great young man. I have seen him come out of a little shell the last couple years. We have had the opportunity to have a few deep talks and he has much to offer. The guys all respect Steve. He was one of a few of the guys who came in from the outside, and you’d never know it seeing how he is accepted by the others. My prayer is that Steve continue to seek God with his heart, that his faith become his own more and more each day. He plans on attending South Seattle Community College in the fall and is “making progress on getting registered.”
My Bold Prediction for Steve: Steve will start a clothing company called “Naked Wear.” It will be a clothing line for no-hipped people. He’ll make millions and forever be known as “Naked Steve.”
Creepy Ricky
Ricky Judd came to lifeboat on week two or three. His parents were in the midst of a divorce and Micah and I were amazed how well he hid his emotion. Over the next four years I can’t think of a Lifeboat who proclaimed his love for baseball, black lake and lifeboat more! Ricky is a true baseball fan, so we automatically had something in common there. He loves the stats and all the detail of the game. I see he is beginning to love the faith in the same way. This is quite exciting. I have the honor of meeting with Ricky one-on-one now and we are going through the book of Colossians together (that is when he isn’t at Black Lake Bible Camp). Ricky is going to most likely attend Highline Community College in the fall. I see Ricky dabbling in a few different things ministry-wise to see where he can best be used.
My Bold Prediction for Ricky: I think Ricky just might love the game of baseball and black lake bible camp enough to become the play-by-play announcer for the Semi-Pro Olympia O’s baseball team (made up of all ex-Black Lake Bible Camp staff members). This way he can stay near both of his first-loves. Ricky will for sure end up having the most kids in the lifeboat as well.
Today at the D-backs Game!
Great game today at Chase Field. Almost saw a perfect game by the Pirates pitcher. Hoping for the perfect first night of “Lifeboat” on this trip. Off to grill the steaks!
Grace,
Brian
Just a quick entry, we’re off to the Diamond Backs baseball game (afternoon game).
Great beginning of our time together last night. It rained harder than I have ever seen it rain here in AZ as I was picking up the second group last night. The “baggage” was delayed 45 minutes just because of the lightning strikes around the airport.
The guys were quite surprised by the house.
I’ll get to my posts about the “guys” later today. And yes, Naked Steve and his story is on tap today!
Grace,
Brian
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