Get This Kid to the Beach!

Collin loves the water. I can remember the first time we took him to a swimming pool. He pretty much cried the whole time until we wrapped him up in a towel and blew raspberries on his stomach to turn that frown upside down.

Now - complete 180. This summer has been all about hitting the pools, the beach, "splash zones" around the town, and even the bath tub (the least we could do).

Water in the eyes - not a problem.
Water up the nose - not a problem.
Sand in the mouth - not a problem.
Waves the size of King Kong - not a problem.

Love this kid.

Teaching

School begins in about 3.5 weeks. Having spent the last 5 days working at NTI, a conference for new educators, my mind and heart are back in school mode. The students of today are worth my time, my energy and my absolute best. I hope to deliver. Thankfully, I work with great people who share my passion for kids and the classroom. I love my job.

Nicaragua

I could've sworn I deleted all of my photographs by mistake. Nope. God is good.

Lost Coin

Last night, while thumbing through my bible, I decided I would read the first parable I came across. I landed on the Parable of the Lost Coin and took it for a spin. After finishing the passage in under 30 seconds, I flashed back 11 years to Pittsburgh interning at a local church for the summer and hearing some of my friends mention the words found here. Powerful words for a kid of 17 to read:

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

We used to say that the angels were having a party up there whenever someone "prayed the prayer" and how exciting it was to think about life change happening at our church. Over ten years later these words still excite me. Given I was born a people pleaser, but if angels are just itching to put party hats on, blow those dumb unraveling noise makers (well, I guess they blow trumpets in heaven), and cut a little rug, I want to help make that happen.

I love that this parable in Luke gets you thinking about how madly you would search for a weeks wages. I just returned from Nicaragua, and the day before my trip I ransacked my entire house looking for my passport. I had no clue wear it was. It was supposed to be in spot A but it ended up in spot U. I don't think much people care for the letter U and spot U was definitely a place where I never would've cared to look had my wife (lovely wife) not suggested it. When I found it, I'm pretty sure I cursed out of shear joy (a first for me by the way). My heart and my feet both lept and no one was around for me to hug so I threw myself on my bed and laughed and wiggled around a bit. I hope the angels had a good laugh while watching me.

I love knowing that whenever I choose to follow and honor God with my decisions it pleases him and the angels he surrounds himself with. So cool. The best part is that God looks for me.