Life Observations, Part I (with stolen thoughts from Rob Bell)

A few nights ago,

Marie and I went with her family to a

trendy Japanese restaurant in

downtown Fullerton, called Chomp.

We were there to celebrate her brother's birthday.

If you have never been to Chomp,

it is kind of like a nicer version of Benihana's.

Anyways as we were eating,

I couldn't help but notice the couple

at the table across from us.

They seemed about my age,

they looked like the typical cool

Orange County couple.

The guy was all tatooed up,

the girl was dressed up...

But throughout

their time sitting there, I noticed that they

hardly spoke a word to each other.

At one point, I saw them both just staring off

into space, seemingly ignoring each other.

Later, as we drove home, I asked Marie about it.

I wondered how two people could sit at a table together

and have nothing to say?

Were they arguing?
Were they on a awkward first date?

Did they simply feel so comfortable with their

relationship that words were not necessary?

What was going on in their relationship

that would cause them to want to go out

to a fancy dinner and then when it came down to it,

have nothing to say to each other?

Warning: Here comes the Spiritual Analogy...

I wonder if I am like that with God sometimes.

I get all dressed up and ready to go to church.

I drive to church, find a parking spot,

grab a bulletin, sit down...and then frightenly realize

that have nothing to say to God.

Maybe it is because of how I felt He let me down

in a certain situation.

Maybe it is because I feel guilty about something.

Maybe it is because I ignored Him all week and then when it

was finally convenient for me, when I was ready to squeeze God

into my schedule, I didn't know how to relate to Him

or what exactly to say.

The amazing thing about God is this:

Even we we do not what to say to God, even when we

feel awkward or uncomfortable in relating to God,

God knows us.

In Psalm 139, the author David these incredible words about God:

"O, Lord you have searched me and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

You perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

You are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O Lord."

(click here to read all of Psalm 139)

Isn't that amazing!

The God who created all that we see,

who rules over everything,

knows us.

There is such comfort in this.

Even when I do not know what to say,

God knows me.

His presence does not abandon me.

Mark Roberts is the Pastor at Irvine Pres. in Irvine, Ca,

read his prayer based on Psalm 139:
"O Lord, this is either some of the most wonderful news I can imagine, or it’s some of the worst news. You have searched me and known me. You know everything about me: every little secret, every thought, every desire, everything. Nothing is hidden from You.
Why might this be bad news? Well, what if you looked upon me with something other than grace? What if you judged me, not according to the righteousness of Christ, but according to my own sinfulness? What if you realized that You wanted no part of me? I would be lost, without hope, separated forever from You and from the life that can be found in You alone.
Yet the good news is that though You know everything about me, You nevertheless have chosen me for Yourself. You want me to be one of Your beloved children. You desire my participation in the work of Your kingdom. This isn’t a matter of my worthiness, Lord. You know that. It’s pure grace, pure mercy, pure love.
Thank You, dear Lord, for knowing me as You do, and for choosing me as Your own!"

Oh to be a Freshmen Again...

In the last 2 weeks

we have welcomed the new freshmen

class into our High School Ministry at church

which we call "EveryDayLife" or E.D.L.

The first 2 weeks of summer events in our group

are designed to be highly relational and laid back.

We began with a New Freshmen Dessert on June 16th,
Had a video game/bon-fire night on June 18th,

Went to the only Orange County Drive-In Movie Place

on Wednesday, June 20th (click here for info on this place)

and today on June 26th began our Tuesday morning

Bible Studies for girls and guys, respectively called

"The Conversation" and "Band of Brothers."

Tomorrow night we launch our Wednesday Night BBQ/Bible Study

at the Park called "EDL on the Grill."

Throw in our Senior Dinner last Sunday and our

2 Sunday morning gatherings

and it has been a busy, but great launch to the summer.

I really like our new freshmen class.

They seem excited to be in High School

and as a class they seem ready to grow in their journey

with Jesus.

As I have been getting to know this Freshmen class

my mind has been naturally drifting towards what

my Freshmen year in High School was like back in 1989!

Back then:

#1 - The internet had not been invented

(thank you Al Gore for thinking of this in the years to come)

#2 - No one knew what a "text message" was or owned a cell phone for that matter

#3 - There was not one reality TV show on TV

(okay, maybe you could have counted Bob Villa's "This Old House")

#4 - Paula Abdul was a singer, not a judge

#5 - The San Francisco 49ers were Super Bowl Champions

Now, it is the year 2007 and our High School Freshmen:

#1 - Have never lived a world without call waiting

#2 - Do not know who Hulk Hogan is

#3 - Have never shopped at Lucky's Supermarket

#4 - Never saw Magic Johnson play basketball

#5 - Have never driven, seen or wanted a Datsun pick-up

Would you do it again, if you could?

If you could, would you want to go back and be a Freshmen in High School again?

My Prayer for our Freshmen:

Lord, prepare them for the 4 years they are about to face.

May you give them hearts that beat for you Jesus,

May you give them minds that grow in their knowledge of your Word,

May you give them mouths that sing praises to your Name

May you give them experiences that challege and grow their Faith in You.

May you give them favor with others, so that many will hear the Gospel.

May you protect them physically, emotionally and spiritually in High School.

All for your Glory, Lord Jesus we pray,

Amen.

Will Lily have a brother or a sister?

Marie is 18 weeks pregnant
this week which is right
about the time an ultrasound
can determine the gender of
the baby.

So we went in to see the doctor
on Wednesday to find out.
As Marie and I were driving to
the appointment
we felt like we were having the baby
that day. We were so nervous.
Why were we nervous?
It is not everyday that you hear news
that affects everything about your future life.

So it was with great anticipation
that we walked into Lakeview Hospital
for the ultrasound appointment.

The ultrasound showed a healthy, growing baby
which was such a relief and it revealed
to us that the baby wil be...

A Boy!

We are so excited!!!

Yet we are filled with many questions.
How do you raise a boy?
(Lily has been so wonderful, are boys more difficult?)
What does a boy wear to church?
(This is Marie's big question!)
Do boys wear sweaters?
(Our only boy outfit right now is a sweater vest with a turtle on it)
This is just a sampling of our questions.
Any advice would be much appreciated!

Here a few name options:
#1 - Johnny Cash Doan
#2 - Kobe Trade Me from the Lakers Doan
#3 - ESPN Doan
#4 - Orange County Pastor Doan
#5 - Elmo Doan (This is Lily's choice)


We feel so blessed to
have a healthy baby on the way.

Our Prayer

Lord, grow and protect this little one!

prepare him to be a boy who loves Jesus

lives with convictions and courage

and leads others to you.

Watch the Video...

Here is a link to the video
we made for High School Group
last Sunday...
The infamous video
where I fractured my ankle.

Props to Ryan Condron
for creating this.
Great stuff.
Very worth the download
time it may take you to view it.
Enjoy!



Please pray for me as I enter
Day 5 on crutches.
I believe crutches were invented by the Devil.

I took on the Skate Ramp and...

The ramp won.

10am, Thursday.

I attempted to drop in to

the infamous skateboard ramp.

The rest is a little blurry,

but the next thing I now

this is happening to me:

I broke my ankle

on my first attempt

to drop in.

Now I am on crutches and in a cast

for the next 6 to 8 weeks.

I am thinking about changing

the name of this blog

to dumborangecountyyouthpastor!

I recently overheard

my brother say,

"Pain always has a purpose."

I pray that the pain

of being in a cast and on crutches

will be used for God's glory and his purposes!

The Ramp Awaits Me...

This Thursday (2 Days) from now,

I have a date with destiny.

Me.

A Skateboard.

And a Half-Pipe.

Melissa and Peter and myself

thought it would be funny to film

the 3 of us attempting to drop

into a ramp on a skateboard

as part of our Summer Promotional Video

for the High School Group.

I am all for laying myself out

for the sake of a few laughs

but I have to admit,

this upcoming stunt

is freaking me out.

I haven't riden a skateboard

in over 7 years.

And I have never been very

coordinated when it comes

to board sports.

I keep picturing myself

on top of that 8 foot ramp

looking down,

my back foot on the skateboard

sweating bullets as I muster

up the courage to put my front foot

down and commit to pain.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

How do I attempt to drop into

a half-pipe and not die?

Stay tuned...Thursday is coming.

Summer begins Now

This morning we said goodbye

to the outgoing Senior Class

of our Church High School Group.

It was a great morning.

We showed a video of pictures

we had of the students over the past

4 years.

We had 6 of our Senior Small Group Leaders

share a challenge to the class.

Lots of parents came and said really nice

things about our ministry,

which is always an encouragement.

But now we quickly move into

Summer mode.

Tomorrow our new HS Associate

Melissa Brosch officially starts.

She joins me and Peter Pizzuto

our current HS Associate.

Tuesday, we have a church wide

chapel to announce our summer themes

and pray for the different events of the summer.

Saturday is our new Freshmen Dessert.

Sunday is our "Promotion Sunday"
where we introduce our summer theme

to our students.

It will be a busy week!

Here is our Summer Calendar.

It is too blury to read,

but at least you can see we have a busy upcoming season!

(I will explain the theme of "ONE" in an upcoming post).

I saw the Cup!

Tonight the Anaheim Ducks

held a rally in front of the

Honda Center to celebrate

winning the Stanley Cup.

Since we live 5 minutes away

I figured I needed to go.

This is history!

This is how the conversation went between

me and Marie:

Me: Hey Marie, can I go see the Stanley Cup?

Marie: Why?

Me: There will be thousands of people all unified

all celebrating and cheering for the same thing.

It will be like experiencing

a glimpse of heaven!

Marie: Heaven?

A bunch of sweaty hockey fans

sitting all close together

in parking lot?

That's your idea of heaven?

Me: So you are saying I can go?

And off I went.

The event was pretty boring

for the first hour.

Winerschnitzel was giving

away free hot dogs and pepsi's

but besides that, everyone was just

kind of standing around listening

to some 60's surf band play on the stage.

But the wait was worth it

when at 7:45pm
all of the sudden

2 Anaheim Fire trucks

came driving up the Honda Center

sirens blaring and right behind them
the Ducks players arrived

in a double decker bus,

Pennywise the band jumped up

on the stage to play live,

these huge cannon looking things

began to blow Confetti all over the place

and the Captain of the Ducks, Scott Neidemeyer

and Assistant Captain, Chris Pronger flew

onto Katella Ave via helicopter
with the Stanley Cup!

The crowd of about 20,000 went nuts!

It was awesome.

I loved it.

Marie was happy for me.

I love my wife.

The Cup lands in the OC

The Anaheim Ducks of the NHL won the

Stanley Cup on Wednesday Night.
I wanted to go to one of the games
so badly. But tickets were going for $1200.


The arena looked electric on TV
as hockey goons (I mean fans)
cheered on the Ducks.





Tonight, the Ducks are
having a Rally at
the Honda Center
to celebrate the Cup.


They are giving away free hot dogs
and cokes and free T-Shirts.
I have to go.
I must go.

It is only 5 minutes from our house
and when is the next time something
like this will happen in California!

Hopefully some Canadian mounties

are there for crowd control.

One Sad Thought, One Happy Thought and One Wish

The Sad Thought:

Last week I ran into a family in our church whose

college aged daughter has walked away from following Jesus.

As I looked into the eyes of her parents, I saw such pain.

I cannot not even imagine what it must feel like

to see your child, your offspring, your flesh and blood

make choices that take them away from the heart of God.

I do my best thinking on Friday mornings

while I mow the grass in my front yard.

Last Friday morning as I pushed the lawnmower

back and forth

in the front yard

my heart was so burdened for this family and the many

families I know just like them who are having to see

their kids reject Jesus.

The most difficult thing

in being a Youth Pastor

is seeing students run from God.

The Happy Thought:

Lately, I have come across some

incredible stories

of people who rejected the Jesus

they had heard about as a child

and then as adults

experienced incredible, amazing

transformations.

This gives me such hope

for some of the students

I know.

One story is the life of Andrew Palau.

I heard Andrew share about his life

a few weeks ago at a lunch

for Livin'it Ministries.

Andrew is the son of the famous evangelist

Luis Palau. Andrew rejected Christ

in his college years but at the age of 28

radomly attended one of his Dad's

festivals and ran back to Jesus.

To read more of his story click here.

Another story comes from a lady in my

church named Barb Paulson.

Barb walked away from Jesus

and her family in her 30's

to pursue a lesbian relationship.

A few years later she

experienced a radical transformation

as she walked away from this lifestyle

and ran back to Jesus.

I heard her share her story

at a great event called Exodus.

To learn more about this ministry

to those who struggle with Same Sex Attraction

click here.

My Wish

I wish there was some easy

formula to get people who are running

from God to turn back to Him.

I wish there was a piece of advice

or a book or a movie I could show

that would instantly work in

causing someone to run to Jesus.

There is no formula.

There is no quick fix.

So what are we to do?

Pray with pererverance.

Love with sincerity.

Ask God for wisdom

in when to use your words

with the prodigal and

when to listen to simply listen.

Gather others to pray and

love the wayward with you.

"The Return of the Prodigal" by Rembrandt