2nd Day of Kindergarten

This morning I dropped Jaden off at school for his second day of Kindergarten. (In classic dad form, I'm continuing to strategize the least-traffic & most time-efficient route; I think I may have determined that this morning!)

This is ALL new for Jessie and me. We're dropping off our little-but-big boy at school. Leaving him in the hands of teachers and school administrators! Yeah, I know--nearly every child goes through these hands but it's kind of a wild experience as a first-time parent to release a child into them! A true rite of passage. (I just wonder if it's more about the parent than the kid!)

Jaden's doing great and having a lot of fun. He told me yesterday the name of a new friend. His teacher is fantastic. (We already knew her; she attends our church!) Still, it's a bit emotional to let go of a season that is now over. Jaden's no longer not in school.

In all of this I am reminded: Jaden isn't mine (and Jessie's) for eternity. He belongs to God. We're not raising him to be primarily our son. We're raising him to prepare him for the life God has destined him to live; we're raising him to be a son of the King. (That's Jesus--not Elvis =)

Children are a blessing from the Lord. And as long as we breathe, Jessie and I plan to declare with gratefulness and joy, "Jaden is our boy!" God grants us that privilege. But we'll also remember that it's not all about us. We'll have many more of these opportunities to release him into new seasons of his future in God.

Back From Vacation

My family and I just got back from a week-long vacation outside of Auburn. (Doesn't everyone go there?! Where have you been? ;-) We were on the shore of a lake and a short 3 minute drive to the community clubhouse (read: SWIMMING POOL!). We had a fantastic time. The thermometer hit 100 (or higher) pretty much every day. That could have been a problem...but with AC, the pond and the pool, it really wasn't.

Our boys LOVE the water. They both had a fantastic time swimming, playing, laughing, and simply having a lot of fun.

It's interesting: now that we're back, both the boys seem older. They both grew up a little in a period of a week. Jaden's swimming skills improved and his confidence grew. Van learned to say "please" (well, actually "peas"--but he wasn't talking about the veggies we used to tell Jaden were "sweet like candy"). Both matured in good ways.

I love these family vacations. Being together with each other (and in this case, good friends) does something to remind me of what's important in life. These relationships that God gives us are invaluable. Vacation this year challenged me to value them more.

And Another...

Snapshot #2: The other kids (i.e., all of us!). I was thrilled and overjoyed to witness the 17 people (13 youth and 4 adults) on my team marvel as they experienced God using their lives (talents, giftings, personalities, willingness, etc.) in order to serve other people. (By the way, the group in this photo is the combined group I lead--one of the three sent out to a local Foursquare church; this is Iglesia Torre Fuerte, or "Strong Tower Church!")

How exciting to learn and experience more of who we are made to be and to be convinced of our significance. All 18 of us (not to mention the other 45 or so from other churches in Colorado) came home with a testimony—scratch that—testimonies of what God did through our lives on this mission. What are their testimonies? You can to hear them for yourself at our Thank You Reception! You’ll even get to hear about our adventure climbing a mountain that overlooks El Paso and Juarez. (May that spark your curiosity=)

I hope you can join us for food (Mexican, of course!), photos and stories on Friday, August 8^th, from 6-8pm at The Coastlands Foyer.

Another Snapshot

Mexico was an awesome experience. In addition to the very fun, upbeat Latin music at the churches we visited, there were many, many wonderful things that took place during our mission. Here's another snapshot...

Snapshot #1: The kids! Jesus said that if we want to experience life to the fullest—as God designed it to be lived—we need to become like little children. Enter Vacation Bible School—Juarez style! Each of our three teams hosted a three-day VBS at our respective three host churches during the week. The difference in language did not prove to be a “barrier” when if came to connecting with and loving on these precious little ones. The kids got blessed and we regained our own childlike joy and faith. To top it off, some 60 kids made the decision that they wanted to know Jesus as their God and Savior...