"i'm taking jake to the hospital!"

...

not what you want to hear your wife say when you answer the cell phone. our son fell out of a tree and busted his right arm - broke the ulna close to the wrist, and dislocated his elbow. we met at florida hospital south. they have a special pediatrics emergency department. they took good - if a bit slow - care of him.

his arm looked gnarly. i have pictures but it's just too gross. things are bending in the wrong place and his elbow is just wrong looking.

in the end, they drugged him up, kicked us out, and manipulated his bones back into place manually. i'm glad we weren't in the room for that part!

through it all, my 11 year old son was as brave as you could possibly expect a kid to be. he did everything they asked, suffered thru 2 sets of x-rays as they moved it all around, and told us when he needed more pain meds.

jackson is a stud dog. it's not that he was stoic or fearless - it was that while he showed his pain and fear, he didn't let it overwhelm him. he handled it with maturity way beyond his years. he asked us to pray for him a couple times during the afternoon as we waited for treatment - what a treat when your son asks you to pray for him in a public place.

my son and i have had a running conversation for several years about fear. it started when he was about 5 and learning to swim. we've always said that it's ok to be afraid, just don't let your fear keep you from doing something you want or need to do.

he lived that this week. he's my hero.

"have I not commanded you? be strong and courageous. do not be terrified; do not
be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

joshua 1:9

===

most of the dudes are chicks

...
one of the greatest frustrations i run into when i talk to guys about their churches is just how feminized it is. from love songs to jesus sung in the key of falsetto to a 5:1 ratio of women's activities to men's activities, to sermons about feeling better about yourself, a lot of guys are just tired of this "chick-ified" version of church. and the ones who like it, well...

here's great video with mark driscoll that points out how important it is to reach guys, and gives a little editorial on the state of men in the church.



===

courage and victory!

...
the kids competed at the american bouldering series florida regionals at aiguille rock climbing gym today. in the morning, jackson took 4th in his division and cassidy won hers in the youth competition. kind of a weird competition, where the kidsstay sequestered until its time to climb. they don't see the route til its time to climb it and then then have 5 minutes each to climb 5 routes with 5 minutes in between.

in the afternoon, they participated in the 'citizen's comp', basically, the adult competition with everyone who wanted to compete from around the state. jackson climbed himself into the advanced category (!).

cassidy entered the open division - basically, the best climbers in the competition. she made it to the finals, and finished in second place! my 14 year old beat every woman in the comp except the 24 year old who flew in from Kansas City for the event! what's more, cassidy has been sick all week and hasn't climbed since last saturday. she was in bed from sunday through thursday, and felt awful most of the day. she is amazing!!!

i'm so proud of them both. jackson for coming along so quickly, and cassidy for overcoming ridiculous odds and finishing second to someone with 10 years more experience, and beating everyone else. my kids ROCK (climb)!

===

climbing comps and stuffy noses

...

tomorrow's the big day - regional bouldering comp and then a citizens comp in the afternoon. cassidy's been sick since sunday morning. in bed sun morning to thurs morning almost non-stop. she made herself take a 1-mile jog/walk this afternoon to get her muscles going. she's either going to rock and roll or crash tomorrow! what an adventure!

jackson is determined to climb better than ever. he will, too. he's a stubborn kid. once he decides to do something, he gives it his all.

i haven't decided if i'll climb in the afternoon or not. 'game time decision.'

watching a movie with my family and in-laws this evening, i really had a sense for how much i am blessed. we get on each others' nerves sometimes for sure, but it's nice to be with a group of people who really love each other.

===

jason castro is a follower of jesus!

someone sent me this website: http://www.iamsecond.com/

really cool site. they have a collection of videos of people talking about their faith. jason castro, the "over the rainbow" with a ukelele singer from american idol, has this incredibly cool testimony on it.

what an encouraging thing to watch today! a gift...

here's a youtube video of him singing 'hallelujah' on idol. watch his iamsecond video to see what he says about this song.

boulderpalooza!

...

my kids rock!!! my son took 3rd place in his age group (beaten by a couple of boys with a lot more experience than him). my daughter took first in her age group, and beat a 17 yr old for first in all the girls.

they are so awesome!

ever heard of a "mountain pie"?

...

no, it's not the leavings of a cougar... it's two pieces of bread, buttered, put into this folding skittle on a stick with some jelly, preserves or even pizza fixings inside, and then stuck on a fire to grill up. when it's done (correctly), it looks like a grilled cheese sandwich.

you heard it here first. mountain pies. brought to you by my brethren brothers in maryland.

check 'em out on York Blog:

behavior modification vs. heart transformation

...

this is one of the biggest ideas for the man in the mirror seminar, 'rewired.' as i teach it this weekend in maryland to guys from the frederick church of the brethren, God is speaking to me all over again about the importance of believing in Him, in His power, in His grace, in His accomplishments, rather than my own.

in romans 7:5, pauls talks about "the sinful passions aroused by the law", saying that the law itself results in sinful passions - i think he means that when we decide we'll follow the law, motivated by our desire to make our own salvation, then all it ends up doing is making us want to sin.

1 corinthians 15:56 says, "the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." so if the law leads to death, what's the answer? next verse: "but thanks be to God! he gives us victory thru our Lord Jesus Christ."

being religious just doesn't cut it. the righteous live by faith...not the law. how's that for the consequences of grace?

===

someone who helps get me out of the box

...

andy searles is a pastor at aloma methodist church just north of orlando. i love the way he talks (he's british). i think he's a good judge of life partner, as his wife tracie is pretty cool and works with me at man in the mirror.

but mostly, i love the way he thinks. his blog, 'whatever is', is one of my favorites. i read every post thru google reader. but what i enjoy the most if just sitting at lunch and talking about things. he's got great insights, always sees past the surface.

we all need friends (brothers, mentors, whatever) like that. people who challenge us and who make us see the world differently - get out of the ruts we sometimes don't even know we're in. andy does that for me.

i think it's time i took him to lunch again. feeling a little too inside the box lately myself...

===

some outrageous video from my friends in montana

...

i've worked with harvest church a couple of times in billings, mt, with man in the mirror. these guys have a great ministry with their men, 'harvest wild men.' they also have some ridiculously funny videos.

go here to their video vault and check 'em out. my personal favorites are the 'man law' ones.

this is a fantastic example of reaching men with manly, resonant language. i gotta think jesus is chuckling every time one of these is played.

did i mention ... they have climbing walls in their lobby. so cool.

www.harvestweb.net

===

going to maryland for a men's event

...

i'm going to frederick, maryland to conduct a rewired event for their men's retreat this weekend. it's always something i look forward to doing, yet i always have to miss something to do these. this weekend, i am missing... BOULDERPALOOZA!


boulderpalooza is in gainesville, and it's the biggest bouldering comp of the year. the kids are going with friends from the climbing gym. they'll have a blast because the gym is really set up well for bouldering. kimberly has a memorial service to go to for one of her best friends mother.


to top it off, kimberly's parents arrive saturday afternoon as well.


anyway, as i prepare for this weekend, i am praying that God would refresh me and speak thru me. the last few months have left me a bit weary, but i have a growing sense that he has something for me - and our family - in the coming year.

here's a video i did a while back that churches use to promote rewired events...
http://mitm.rev-media.com/asx/mitm_wired_high.asx

===

our dog's got cancer

...
we have a dog named kernan. got her 4 years ago from the son of a friend of a friend. she turns 12 this month, and she has this growth in her mouth. the vet told us yesterday it's melanoma - cancer.

so, we had to sit with our kids and tell them. that sucked.

interesting to see how they each handled it differently. i thought one would burst out crying and the other one would cry later by themselves. right reactions, wrong kids.

so mom and dad each slept with a sad child last night. we all cried together, and comforted each other. of course, the questions about the next dog started. i don't think there's a good chance of that happening, at least not quickly.

anyway, here's to kernan. a sweet tempered, gray muzzled black lab who wants nothing more than to be with "her people." she'll be with us a lot over the next few months. (i'll post a picture of her soon.)

i never should have gone to see 'marley & me'!

===

ouch!

i've got this wicked pain in my right arm from climbing. it's right above my elbow on the inside of my arm. plus, i fell about 6 feet from the top of a bouldering problem and landed standing up with my legs locked - just felt the impact right up my spine. my back hurts too.

i am either an recreational athlete with the aches and pains of training and improving...or just an old guy.

===

when the phone rings at 1 am...

it was my 14 year old daughter. from her cell phone. from her own bed. by accident.

seems she was texting her friend and hit a button accidentally. after our hearts stopped pounding, and i got her cell phone from her, it took her mom and i a long time to get back to sleep.

she is so grounded.

on the other hand, if you're going to get awakened by your daughter at 1 am, i'm glad she was safe. safe, and grounded.

===

faith, family and climbing

these are the things God is using to give me joy right now.

my faith - my relationship with Him, my relationships with my pastor and brothers at church, my work helping men find an authentic relationship with Him

my family - a wonderful, caring, hilarious and beautiful wife. awesome, smart good-looking, athletic, conversational and sometimes exasperating kids. parents, in-laws, sister, etc. all better than anyone else's i know.

climbing - a new found passion for climbing up walls with little to hang on to. initially with my daughter (who is awesome at climbing), and now with my son, and we're working on mom.