Just got the wordpress app on my iPhone so I thought I’d give it a spin. Last weekend We went camping with our boys for the first time in our short history as family. Here is the 10 second breakdown of what happened.
1. We camped
2. It rained
3. We have a 3 yr. old
Those 3 things make for some interesting stories, like this one:
Riley our 3 yr old decided he was scared of the bathroom at the camp ground. No matter what we tried he would not even go into the bathroom. (In his defense it was kinda nasty) However after dinner the first night Riley had to poop. I took him to the bathroom and got no where. Mikal with her brilliant mommy skills tricked him into going into the bathroom but to no avail, he would not do the deed. So after about an hour we noticed Riley was suddenly very quiet. If you know any thing about 3 yr old’s you know that’s a bad thing. Upon investigation we discovered he had poop his pants. With no running water or showers anywhere to be found he got a camping makeshift sponge bath witch was no fun for anyone involved.
I feel like a bad person, having neglected my blog for so long. Last month was intense to say the least. So now that I have lost the 3 readers that I did have, my Mom doesn’t even visit anymore, it’s time to refocus and get into the grove again. So here is what I would like from you:
Leave a comment and tell me
A>how old you are
B> if your male or female
with this info I can know who is reading and get a feel for who’s out there. So help me out. Thanks in advance.
I’m very happy with the outcome of the 5k I ran this weekend. Seeing as to the fact that it was the first time I’ve ever done anything like it. I finished in 25:48, that’s a good time for an out of shape Youth Pastor. Anyway what I found most interesting about the race is how good of an analogy it really is. Paul was way before his time when he compared living for Christ with running a race. Unless you’ve run in a competitive race you may not fully understand the depth of his words. I’m certainly no Paul, but here are a few things I learned about following Jesus as compared to running a race.
1. Don’t look back - While running if you look back it messes with your stride and you lose focus. You have to run your race and not worry about how someone else is running.
2. Set a goal and run to it - When you start the finish line is no where to be found, so you break the race down into smaller goals and run to them. Then the next, and the next, before long you covered an amazing amount of distance.
3. Just don’t stop - I found it was so much easier to just keep running then to stop and walk. You lose all momentum when you walk, and it kills your time.
4. Don’t judge by looks - this one made me laugh. The day of the race I’m standing at the start line looking at the other runners thinking OK I’m faster than him, I’ll easily beat her, He’s old there’s no competition here. then the race started and somewhere between mile 2 and mile 3 this little old grandma had to be in her 60’s goes fling by me like I’m not even there. That wasn’t the best moment in the race!
5. It’s not how you start that counts - I didn’t know the course very well and in the first mile there was a down hill segment that a lot of runners did very fast. I held back and kept my pace, and ended up finishing before many of the ones that took off so fast.
I not going to go into the biblical principal that go with these because I’m going to use this as my message for 3PY this week. So if you want to hear the message either come Wednesday night @ 6:45 or I may post the audio on here next week. Anyway I had fun running and learned alot, a true win-win.
I couldn’t sleep the other night so I did some thing I’ve wanted to do for a while but haven’t had the time. This is a little over 3 hours condensed into 11 seconds. Enjoy!
So this is what you do when the weather isn’t being cooperative in Alaska on the 4th of July, and the kids want to camp. So funny they got in the tent and decided they couldn’t sleep without a fan.
A topic I’ve had on my mind a lot lately is how do we make Jesus real to people who don’t care? I have kinda coined the term “Church Monkey” in 3PY the last 2 weeks, witch I understand may be a little over the top. However, it communicates the very real problem that many people just act in church how they are trained to act. They show up on Sunday only because it’s time for church, not because their passion and drive to grow and serve is so overwhelming that they simply can’t stay home. Maybe in some other post I’ll dive into the term “church monkey” more in depth but for all purposes today I’ll leave it alone. On to the core of this rambling. I saw this video from Mars Hill church, it’s worship, it’s raw, It’s not anything like I’ve ever heard before in a worship context.
Could you imagine if this was the sounds you heard coming from your local church? Just a guess but I think church would be filled with less “church monkeys” and more people interested in finding a meaningful relationship with the Almighty Creator, God.
Well, what a week! I say that with some sarcasm. Honestly I have encountered a couple of the biggest problems I’ve seen in a long time. We’re not just talking tough decisions, I mean serious life changers here. However, in the middle of all this I got to thinking about how our church staff and my wife and I have handled these situations in stride. I’m not stressed about this stuff. I know God has a definite answer in store.
All that aside I think the reason I’m not stressing about this stuff is the way we handled each situation as it came up. Here are the 3 keys I think made this processes seamless and smooth.
1. Don’t make decisions in an emotional state.
When the biggies hit, it’s far to often we fly off the handle and react in the heat of the moment. No one wins in this scenario people just get hurt.
2. Talk through the problem.
The Bible says there’s wisdom in the counsel of many. Quick decisions made on a whim are rarely the right ones. When you slow down and talk through a situation you gain perspective. I recently needed to make a discipline decision but didn’t have anyone handy to talk through it with, but I didn’t skip this important step. I talked through it with my self. I stated the problem, in this case a bad behavior, and talked “under my breath” through the best way to handle the problem. By allowing my self the time to “talk my self through it” I was able to come up with an optimal solution that was a win-win for all involved.
3. Make a plan of action.
No problem is ever solved until you correct the wrong. This last step is the sum total of the previous two steps. The thing to keep in mind when making a plan of action is the steps need to be clear, with a clear outcome. You don’t want to leave problem solving steps open ended. Open ended step may cause your problem to compound and you’ll find yourself in a bigger problem. So define what you will do and what you want that action to accomplish. That way if your actions don’t achieve the desired outcome you can alter the plan not repeating the same mistake.
2. New series at 3PY on wednesday nights. 6:45p if your in the area.
3. New look for both blogs: 3PY and here.
4. Watched some killer movies. (sidenote: right now there are a lot of good movies out, go spend some time with friends or family watching a good movie)
5. Getting ready for our churches conference next month & our very first youth conference (more info to come on that)
It’s been busy but productive. I think I like it that way!
I just found this book in my house. I have no clue where it came from, but I now feel so much safer reading pg 66 & 67. The guy walking around town with the sword better watch out, I now know how to win a sword fight!
Thad White is the Youth Pastor of Third Place Youth Ministry at the Soldotna Church of God, produces the Alaskan Christian TV show "A Hope For The Future" on KYES channel 5, Loves meeting people, and adding to their lives.
Thad White is the Youth Pastor of Third Place Youth Ministry at the Soldotna Church of God, produces the Alaskan Christian TV show "A Hope For The Future" on KYES channel 5, Loves meeting people, and adding to their lives. 
