Finally feeling well...

It's been a week, but I am finally feeling better. I have gone through a whole prescription of Amoxycillin, a whole bottle of Aleve, a half bottle of Aceteminophen, and a lot of other drugs...but I am finally feeling better. It has been kind of a bummer week. I had to move offices and try to get back in the swing of things after being in CA for a week and a half, all the while with raging tonsils, a feever, and huge headaches. Definitely a bummer.

I was supposed to take our guys to a weekend retreat this weekend, but the conference we were going to was canceled due to weather concerns. I was looking forward to it, but I have to admit that I was kind of relieved a little when I found out I didnt have to go to Indianapolis. I thought I had gotten off easy and was gonna have a nice quiet nite with Liza and a good dinner, but oh no. The guys had other plans! Ha ha. They ambushed me in my office after school and demanded that I take them to do something else, and of course...I buckled. We went to over to St. Louis and ate at Outback and then went to Dave & Buster's. That was a blast. If you've never been there, its a huge arcade for grown ups. Hundreds of the coolest games everywhere. It was really fun. The guys had a blast, and I was able to con Liza into going with us too. She and I had a really good time too. When we got back, the night had only begun. The guys wanted to play basketbal n the gym at church. I thought I would humor them, and then it was up to the Zone for some ping pong and pool. Then back to my house to sleep...FINALLY...sleep...at 4:30 am. Ha ha. It was a fun night.

I haven't done a very good job of getting into a routine yet with my school stuff. I am hoping that this coming week will be a good one for getting into the swing of things. With moving offices and being sick, it was a little much to take on. I'm still thinking positively about it though. Think it's going to be a real learning and growing experience for me. I'll write more about it later. For now...PIZZA! Ha ha.

No Fun...

Well, I'm home from Cali, and it's been no fun ever since I got home. I woke up Saturday morning, the day I was to leave to come to MTV, and I was kinda sick...achey muscles and sore throat. Then I missed my flight and had to take a later one which routed me through Dallas, which meant that I had to go up and down two more times...no good when you're sick. Then the luggage bay door on the plane was frozen shut and it took them an hour to get it open. Finally, at 11 PM I arrived at home (should have been here at 7) with a fever, flaming tonsils, a splitting headache, and body muscles throbbing. No fun at all.

On Sunday we started FUSION. I think it went pretty well. The band rocked, seriously rocked! I think the message was pretty good...I just felt like I couldnt get my words to come out. My head was simming and I didn't hardly sleep a wink. As soon as FUSION was over I skipped the 11 o'clock service and came home to go to bed. My fever got worse, my head came as close to exploding as is humanly possible, and I was praying for death to come soon! Ha ha.

Lots of drugs and sleep later...I'm at about 25% I think. Definitely on the upswing...as long as I keep popping Aleve and the antibiotic. LOVE THOSE TONSILS!!!

We had a great meeting tonight to get our small groups started for this semester. I'm excited about this. I think it will be so good to see 60 high school kids involved in these groups of deeper study. I cant wait to watch this effort bear fruit. I really anticipate God doing great things over the next couple of months. I kinda get the feeling that we have done a great job of following God's lead...we've primed the pump...and now things are gonna take off. CANT WAIT!

Finally got unpacked tonight. Started moving to my new office. Tomorrow starts my new routine. Up at 6:30 am and start reading and online assignments for classes. I was dreading it yesterday...but I think that was the tonsils talking. Tonight...kinda looking forward to it.

More to come soon.

The Long Road Ahead...

Today, at the beginning of the day, I remember thinking that I was glad it was the last day of class so that I could just relax a little and then get home and back to normal. I remember driving to class this morning and feeling like I was about to get to the end of this road that I have been on for the past two weeks. It was kind of a nice drive...feeling like I was about to be at a point of accomplishment. Ha ha. Ya, shortly after the drive to school ended...like when I actually walked into class...that feeling also ended.

All day today all we did was talk about all of the work that is about to begin now that the "in class" work is done. I think I am about to start the most academically strenous experience I have had in a long time. It might even rival sophomore humanities...if thats even possible...(those of you from Milligan will understand the weight of that statement...aaaahhhh). 4000 pages of reading, a 40 page journal, 3-4 hours/week of online assignment work, a 15 page paper due every two weeks (total 5 papers)...all in all I think I heard one of the other guys say that it was something like 175 pages of writing...all by April 10th!!

Ya...the end of the road...NOT SO MUCH! Ha ha.

I have been looking over some of my notes and stuff in the hotel tonight. I've also just been praying and thinking about how to best grow through this experience. During my prayer time tonight I've had some excitement about this growth and I've had some wierd feelings too. I think its something like this...It's just that age ole feeling of fear of change. I know deep down that the next few months are going to be ones of change...the next couple of years are going to be ones of change as I go through this program. I can't really say that I know all of what the change is going to be. I know, though, that there will be change...very personal change...and that is exciting and scary all at the same time.

Well, enough bloviating for tonight (thanks to Bill O'Reily for that one). Tomorrow will be one of fun, relaxing, and probably some work too. FUSION starts on Sunday...can't wait! I'm pumped about it. See everyone in the Vern soon.

Beautiful Sunset...

Today was a pretty good day. The weather was absolutely beautiful. The drive to class was good with the windows down, the music blarring, and the wind in my hair. We had Krispee Kremes in class this morning, and we even got out early for lunch. I went to a cafe in Fullerton and ate outside while I read a book. It was a great morning.

The afternoon session left something to be desired. It was supposed to be on team leading, but we never actually got around to it. In fact, I'm not really sure we what did in there other than listen to someone talk about something that I could never tell you what he was saying. It was...well...confusing. I worked on FUSION stuff. Got a lot done for that...so that was good! Ha ha.

On the drive home, I saw the most beautiful sunset. Every time I come out here, I think to myself..."Why dont I live here?" Then I remember all the good stuff about home. And then I think to myself again..."Why dont I live here?" Ha ha. Class is over tomorrow and then I am going to have a day to relax and get some stuff done for when I come home. At the beginning of the week, I kept thinking about Friday as my day to just chill and maybe go to the beach. As the week has progressed, though, I can see all the stuff that is going to be waiting for me when I get home, and I think I better spend at least part of the day getting ready for that. Of course, though, I'll have to get some beach time if the weather is nice!

Well, off for now. Let me know if you drop by.

A good day of learning

Monday...Today was a really good day in class. This morning was filled with a section on Mentoring. Our professor was Lloyd Irwin from Australia. He has developed a model of intentional mentoring that was awesome. As a lot of you know, mentoring is something that is really important to me. I dont know if I would say that it is something that I am really good at, but it is definitely something that I love to see happening. I also dont know that I would say that I really have ever been involved in a "true" mentoring relationship, I mean in it's truest most intentional form. This model, though...a year long goal-oriented monthly meeting plan- was cool. Kinda "professional" but a good framework.

I spent some time in the library during lunch just chilling. It was good. I updated the growth blog and just had some time to read. It was good. After lunch we had another class in pneumatology...the study of Holy Spirit issues. Today the topic was Spiritual Gifts. It was really a great time of learning for me. I have to admit that I thought that I thought I understood the Biblical definition of Spiritual Gifts. Apparently not! Ha ha. I'll share more about the day if you want...just let me know and I'll e-mail you the details.

2 1/2 more days...then back to the Vern. And the best news...THE SUN COMES OUT TOMORROW!!!

A Day At Church

Well, it happend again! I wrote a great entry about the day that I had today, and then something happened and I lost it. When this happens, I just wanna cuss! It's so hard to think again about all that i wrote. Oh well...here goes again!

So today we went to Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, CA. The above logo isn't theirs, but I couldnt find theirs, so now you see this one. Anyway, it was a pretty good morning. Nice to just be there and not have to be doing any of the work. The service was good. The message was about Absolute Truth. As you can imagine, I loved it. Good stuff. The pastor is Barry McMurtrie, one of the professors this week. He's from Australia, and I could listen to that accent all week. Love it.

We met with the staff after the service and had a chance to ask questions. We also got to see their building plans. Cool cool stuff. Includes mall stores, three cafes. 3200 seat auditorium, etc etc. The whole idea is based on how the Biblical towns were centered around the synagogue/temple. Crossroads is, in essence, building their own little village, called Candlewalk, and the church will be a part of all of it. The idea is that they can use all of these resources to draw people into the church. Cool ideas. Dont think it would be accepted well in MTV, but here in SoCal...I'm sure it will be a big hit.

Tonight we go to Eastside Christian Church. Don't really know what to expect. I think we are meeting with the staff there also. I checked out their website. I dont know what the church is like. I think it's large, but I dont know. The website leaves you wondering. We'll see.

Well, I better get going. Thanks to all of you who made church stuff go smoothly today. It means a lot to me to be able to be here, and you all are part of making that possbile for me. More to come soon.

Blowing my mind!!

Well, I'm on my lunch break and sitting in a pizza place that has free wireless internet. It's the first chance I have really had to sit and just think about everthing that has gone down so far. Let me fill you all in on the past couple of days.

Wed...I arrived in SoCal to some beautiful weather. It was about 65 degrees and sunny. Beautiful. I got all checked into my hotel, the Hyatt in Irvine- close to the airport, and then got all unpacked. Then I went adventuring. I drove down the coast on PCH to Laguna and ate a late lunch. The Pastry Bistro...it was alright. A little too froo froo for my liking...but healthy and on the coast...so that was cool. Then I went to South Coast Plaza and did some serious...and I do mean serious...shopping. Good deals and a good way to just relax and get ready for a long 9 days ahead. All in all a great day of fun. Back to the hotel to just relax and get some sleep.

Thur...I got to HIU early in the morning (7:30 am to be exact) and was still asleep I think. It had started raining, and that was no fun. It certainly wasn't the SoCal I was hoping for. I met a few people and got oriented into what the whole thing was gonna be like. There are 12 men in my section of the program...Leadership Studies. There are some women here in the worship program, and I think total there are probably about 35 students in this program...in 4 different sections. So then it was off to class.

The first order of business was a four hour session with Barry McMurtie of Crossroads Christian Church. He was interesting. He's Australian, and he has some pretty interesting ideas about leadership in the church. He approaches it from what I would call a "CEO" model. I dont mean that in a negative way at all...I just think he takes it very seriously and is very responsible to his calling and role in the church as a leader. It was a pretty challenging morning.

At lunch, in my effort to find a way to connect online and be in touch with the outside world, I ended up at a japenese place that I think was a combination of a sushi bar and a tea room. It stinked and smelled good at the same time. The sign said "free internet" but I never actually got it to work. And, since I didnt want to feel like a jerk, I ordered some tea...mango tea to be exact. You would think that would be good...but I couldnt really understand the cashier when she was asking me something. It ended up having some round squishy ball things in the bottom of the glass that kept coming up into the straw. They were so gross. Think Fear Factor and you'll get the picture. And the internet didnt work. All in all...a bad experience.

After lunch, another session with Barry. He showed us some really cool plans for his church. They have such an interesting idea of church and reaching the lost. Very cool. I dont know if I would do it that way...but his energy about it was contagious. I liked! After class it was back to the hotel to sleep. I think I hit the sack around 9pm. I was soooooo tired.

Friday...Yesterday was a really really long day. Three long sessions that lasted from 8 am to 9 pm. First, we had a section called "Pneumatology and Leadership" It was all about the Holy Spirit and how to begin to lead "in" the Spirit. I loved it! It really challenged some of my ideas on the Holy Spirit, and I learned some new stuff. I will explain more to those that are interested.

After this, it was lunch time. I found this pizza place...Round Table(the one I'm at now)...that has free internet. I was able to log online and get some stuff done for church on Sunday. Good sandwiches too!

After lunch we had a section called "Organizational Leadership." I went into it with a bad attitude...haha...suprise right?...but it was actually really good. I mean, I could probably go through my life without it...but none-the-less it was pretty good. Basically, it was focused basic principles of leading an organization. There was some good stuff that I can take home and try out.

Dinner was interesting. I tried to find this cool mall that I heard someone talking about. I was really tired of sitting, and I thought it would be good for me to just get out and walk some. So I went on another adventure. Well, this time it didnt end so pretty. I soon found myself in the mexican ghetto of Orange County. It was really kinda scary. I dont really know how I ended up there or how I got out...but I did, and I'm here to tell about it now.

Friday night was the beginning of a three part class on Christology. Hmm...how do I say this. Well, the professor is a man named Gene Sonnenberg. He's a great guy...extremely intelligent. His class has continued on into today. ALL DAY!!! I'm trying to find a way to help you understand what it's like. We're exploring the Biblical pictures of Jesus' life...Son of Man, Son of God, King, etc etc etc...OK? Well, I'm not exactly a Bible scholar, but I think I have a fairly average working knowledge of the Good Book. This guy?! He's brilliant. Brilliant! Brilliant to the point of being really hard to understand. Know what I mean? It's hard just to follow his train of thought sometimes. But I dont doubt for one second he knows what he is talking about. It's just I dont know what that is! Ha ha. I'm hoping it will all come together soon.

Well, that is all for now. That brings everyone up to speed. I have a few mins before class starts, so I think I'm gonna run by Starbuck's and get a mocha. That ought to help with the afternoon. Check back tomorrow. I'll let you all know how the churches are that we visit tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.

Gonna Post Again Soon!

I have arrived at Hope International University to begin a Masters program in Leadership Studies. I only have like a minute and a half to write this before class starts again. I have every intention of posting more later tonight. I am having a blast so far, and I'll fill everyone in on it later tonight. More to come soon.