The Swim Test...

Guest Blogger!

Head on over to my wife's blog and read her latest post RE the now infamous 'Swim Test' our son recently encountered... and her thoughtful response that we should all ask ourselves.

The Swim Test

On this journey with you,

Pastor Beau

Where I spent last week...

I spent all of last week being a counsellor at WES Camp (Whiskeytown Environmental School Camp) for a group of eight rowdy and rambunctious 5th grade boys!

My daughter's school, Manzanita Elementary School, sends their 5th grade class to WES Camp for a whole week every year.  With over 120 kids going this year they needed a lot of counsellors to make sure these said kids stay alive :) so I volunteered...

I was assigned a cabin full of eight rowdy and rambunctious 5th grade boys...

My cabin, Cabin 10 (dubbed Haleakala), became a place where my profession and the real world collided... and I learned a thing or two about who I am and how God sees me.

These boys and the staff at WES Camp, none of whom I knew before this trip, each in their own way confirmed what I have known in my heart about myself but never really truly believed.

Some things God has shown and confirmed within me last week;

1. We live in a fallen world
2. God brings people into our lives who need Him
3. God's creation is wondrous to behold if we just take the time to see
4. Being a part of God's plan even if I don't see it at the time is spectacular
5. Bringing hope into a child's life is breathtaking
6. Speaking words of affirmation to a child who has never heard them before is amazing
7. The human touch is powerful
8. God really can hear silent prayers
9. God really does care for everybody
10. A lot of people are lost and lonely

There is no way I can relay to you (or even remember) all of the God Moments that happened at camp. But what really sticks out in my mind is this:  I am surrounded by followers of Christ on a daily basis... I am a children's pastor and work at a church for crying out loud.  When I am taken out of the 'Christian Bubble' and placed in the 'Real World' I am confronted with the reality of a fallen world.  I am confronted with children who are not loved by their parents.  I am confronted with children who are severely depressed.  I am confronted with children who have parents who are drug users and pushers.  I am confronted with the result of a fallen world... and my heart breaks.

God confirmed in my heart last week something that I have been wrestling with for a while now.  He confirmed to me that I am not doing all I can to reflect His light into this dark and lonely world.  For too long I have been living in my 'Christian Bubble'... content to go about my day living in denial, when all around me... in my own city, in my daughter's school, are hurting, lonely, dying children and families who desperately need Jesus.

Last week I had a chance to share the light that Jesus has given me to a small cabin of eight rowdy and rambunctious 5th grade boys.  By letting the Holy Spirit work through me I was able to bring some of the hope and affirmation that Jesus has given me to a few children.

Thank you Jesus for using me last week.  Help me to let you use me more for your glory.

This week, let God use you to shine His light into your areas of influence.  Ask Him to bring people to you who need Jesus... but be careful, because if you ask Him to do this... He will :) Because the truth is, all of us are surrounded by hurting people.  Ask God to let you see through His eyes for a bit.  I think you may be surprised by what you see.

On this journey with you,

Pastor Beau

Not too young to teach or too old to learn...

My son is 6.  I'm a bit older than 6.  And yet, what I learned from him yesterday was huge.

Wilson got three cavities filled, yesterday.  Not one, or two... but three.  The days leading up to his appointment he had heard dentist horror stories from his sister (thanks Madison), the "good luck and hope you live" wishes from his friends at school, and the "you're going to be just fine" from his mother and hypocritically from me.

A little back story on me is in order, I suppose.  I had a few really bad experiences at the dentist when I was younger... and those experiences and residual fears that resulted have followed me into my adulthood.  Even though I tell myself that I'm a big boy now, that the dentist isn't out to hurt me, and that all he really wants to do is help me... I still get sweaty palms just thinking about it... Sheesh, my grandfather was even a dentist.  He was loved by all and even though I never got to be a patient of his, he wasn't a scary grandpa so I'm pretty sure he wasn't a scary dentist either.  And yet dentists still scare me.

Deep down I know that dentists are good people :)  And there comes a point in every father's life when he has to put childish fears aside in order to not influence his child's impression of a given experience.  To say that another way... I don't want Wilson (or Madison for that matter) to be scared of somebody who is clearly God's chosen way to help fix our teeth, even though I am...

The night before, during our nightly prayer time I asked Wilson if he was nervous about his visit the next morning.  He told me that he was and then I asked him if he wanted to pray about it.  As I prayed for courage and peace for Wilson I couldn't help but pray the same for myself.

In the morning on the way to the dentist I asked Wilson if he was still nervous.  He looked at me and said. "Why would I be, dad?  We prayed right?"

Wow.

Yes, we did pray.

And just like that, he walked right in to that dentist's office and up on the table.  He wasn't scared in the least... because we had prayed for courage and peace... because he knew that God would grant him courage and peace if we asked for it... because Wilson believed whole heartily that God would do what He says.

Lord, help me have faith like my son.  Thank you that through our children we can become better followers of you.  Sometimes I forget that you are all powerful... help me to have faith like a child once again.

What can you learn from your children this week?

On the journey with you,

Pastor Beau

What I learned in Kid's Church...

Last night in Kid's DNA (our Wednesday night study for kids) we talked about sharing the Good News.

As I was preparing for class I was reminded of a youth event I attended when I was in high school.  It was called SEMP, which stands for Student Evangelical Mission Project.  This giant event was held in Santa Cruz and hundreds of teens from all over came together to learn how to share the Good News with others.

I remember being really excited at the prospect of gaining new tools in sharing my faith.  But when it was all said and done I was left wanting.  Something was missing.

Years later I put my finger on it:  I left that event thinking that I had to change people into Christians by using a special catchy phrase, or kitschy, clever acronym.  I was given some tools, but not the whole toolbox.

Yes, we are commanded  to share the Good News that sin can be forgiven, we are to share that Jesus died for us, we are to share the hope that can be found in Him... but it's not our job to convict them of their sin.  It's not our responsibility to change people's hearts.  It's not our job to save them.

John 16:8 makes it very clear that that job belongs to God... and God alone.

John tells us in this verse that the Holy Spirit will convict people of sin (the wrong they are doing) of godliness or righteousness (reminding them of the proper thing they SHOULD be doing) and of judgment (the consequences for them continuing down a destructive path).

This was something I was not told as SEMP.  I came away from that event with an unbelievable burden that I had to force, cajole, debate, outwit, out quote, or guilt people into being a Christian.  And that is simply not the case.

Our responsibility as followers of Christ is to pray for them.  To love them.  To speak the truth in love. To tell them what God has done in our lives.  Our responsibility in NOT to convict them... that's the Holy Spirit's job, and I'm pretty sure He doesn't need our help.

So, what's the take home for us as parents?

You will hear me say this over and over... God has called you, by virtue of being a parent, to be His example to your children. YOU are the primary spiritual leader in your childrens' lives.

With this in mind, as you interact with your children in the normal ebb and flow of the day I encourage you to be mindful of how you are showing them, by your actions and words, how to be witness for Christ to others.

Your children are constantly watching you and how you relate to others.  They are taking notes and applying what they learn from you to their own lives.  They look to you for leadership in how to love others, how to pray for others, how to speak the truth in love, and how to tell others what God has done and is doing in your life.

So lead well.

On the journey with you,

Pastor Beau