Christmas Pictures

We are ahead of schedule this year! Christmas pictures are already taken and Christmas cards already ordered. As many of you know we send out about 250 Christmas cards to the entire church family so the task of getting pictures taken, design selected, and then ordered has in the past hung over our heads like an never ending cloud, but this year my wife wisely suggested that we take the pictures before heading out to our family Thanksgiving party and so we did. Here are a few great ones that didn't make the final cut.

Chronicles of Narnia - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Every now and then as a pastor I get invited to an early screening for a movie that in some way promotes Christian values. Hollywood film makers have realized that the Christian market is a large and important demographic and they are learning to tailor certain movies to that audience. The first movie that really demonstrated that was the Passion of the Christ directed by Mel Gibson. So last Thursday my wife and I (absent our children thanks to friends) headed out for a date which included dinner and then a screening of the new Chronicles of Narnia movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Now just in case you were not aware, the Chronicles of Narnia is a book series written by a wonderful Christian theologian, C.S. Lewis. This delightful series is embedded with tons and tons of Biblical theology and Christian symbolism. I have seen both of the previous movies and found them very good and this movie was no exception. Below I've attached one of the more spiritually meaningful scenes. If you get the chance I hope you will support this movie (disclaimer - some scenes are a little too intense (in my opinion) for those under 7 or 8 years of age).

So what is it really like living at the pastor's house...

You might wonder from time to time what it's really like to live at my home. Well...here is a little taste from this evening. Cecile is out for dinner with a good friend so we made our own fun. Here we are playing "freeze dance" (of course all incriminating footage of myself is conspicuously absent).

Getting everyone caught up on my life...

It has been almost year to the date since I last blogged. For the past 3 months, I have continued to tell myself that I needed to get back to the weekly routine but obviously that didn't work. So I'm sure that all of you that are faithful blog readers (I'm only aware of one faithful reader - my wife :) and she just makes sure that I don't post anything too ridiculous), have been wondering what has been going all over the past year that has kept me from this incredibly important job of posting. So, here is the answer....

1. Some major personal stuff that I needed to work through - this is still a work in progress but seems to be headed in the right direction now.
2. Two month sabbatical from church life (December and January) which was connected to #1. This gave me a chance to get a break, finish the semester of seminary (I was taking 12 credit hours including Greek and Hebrew), spend time with my family, and do some much needed personal heart work.
3. My wife took a trip with her Dad to the Philippines in February for 3 weeks. It was her first trip home since she left at the age of 5.
4. Graduating from seminary with my Master of Divinity degree from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary - It took me 7 years to complete a 3 year degree but its finally over. The joke at our house is that now I expect to be called Mastor Josh like my great model in ministry the unpretentious Master Yoda.
5. The final summer with my daughter before she started kindergarten. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by. Alanna has turned into a beautiful young girl. She certainly takes after her mother. She is kind, compassionate, very obedient, loves God, and is always singing, dancing, or making up lyrics to a new song that are in her head.

Well...that just about does it. Hopefully this posting becomes the first of many more.

Watching The Olympics

I know...I should be asleep right now. I have a full, busy day tomorrow and I definitely need the sleep. But I'm really enjoying watching the Olympics. I guess its a combination of the competition and patriotism. I am very proud to be an American. No other country in the world has the unique mixture of freedom and opportunity. Phelps just won another gold medal in the 800m relay! I would be yelling at the television, but the everyone else in the house is asleep.

One last thought: As exciting as competing in the Olympics is...following Jesus Christ is a million times better!

MacGyver

The other day I came across a web link for some classic TV shows (http://www.cbs.com/classics/). One of my all time favorite TV shows is included - MacGyver. My brother and I really loved watching this show. I had the opportunity to watch some of the episodes from the original season. For some reason, I still love them. Most of the actors are aweful, the dialog is hilarious, and the plots are always the same, but I still enjoy watching them. You might enjoy one yourself so take a look.

Hello Again

It's been a month long hiatus from posting here on my blog. There are numerous reasons for this but the primary one is: laziness...I just haven't gotten around it. But that doesn't mean that nothing important has happened over the last few weeks. Here are a few of things going on:

1. I started the spring semester of seminary. I am taking Introduction to Old Testmant II and Worship and Music in the Faith Community. The countdown is on until graduation. I only have 21 more credit hours to graduate. At my current pace I should graduate in May of 2010 :).
2. Our church is launching Financial Peace University starting on March 8. We currently have over 30 adults registered to attend. I truly believe that this program will change our church forever! It certainly changed my life when Cecil and I attended.
3. We have seen over 40 first time guests attend our services since January 1st. Many of these people are continuing to attend and some are starting to get involved.
4. Church attendance has grown by 40% since January 1st. For the first time in our church history, we are averaging over 100 each Sunday in attendance. I believe that God is preparing us for our future at the Patterson Ranch Property.

So that's a brief summary of what is new. Don't forget Easter is just around the corner! It's on March 23rd this year.

Health Update

As many of you are aware, I was diagnosed with high cholesterol this past November (264). My doctor at Kaiser suggested that I start taking medication to help bring it down. When I was 24, I was also diagnosed with high cholesterol and my doctor had me take Lipitor to bring it down. So...for the past three months I have been on the diet from hell. I decided back in November that I was going to do everything in my power to keep from taking medication. I cut out all desserts, all saturated fat, almost all regular fats. I cut out beef and pork. I limited myself to small amounts of chicken and fish.

So you are probably wondering what happened. First I have to thank my wife for making this lifestyle change much easier to accomplish. She is totally supportive of my diet. In fact everyone in the house basically is living on this same diet. We started making homemade soups, substituting egg whites for eggs in baking, cooking without added fats (butter & oil), using lots and lots of fruits, vegetables, and salads. So here's what happend: 1. I lost 15 pounds (not purposely, but as a side affect of eliminating bad food) 2. My energy level went way, way up (I feel better, sleep better, and need less sleep) 3. I lowered my cholesterol by 74 points (It is now 190!!!)

Maybe some of you need encouragement to make a lifestyle change. In hindsight, I'm really glad that I found out about my high cholesterol because it forced me to change. If you haven't been to your doctor in while you should make it a priority to have a yearly checkup. So eat healthy and live happy!

Solitude and Meditation

Today was spent at Catholic Retreat Center in Los Gatos. It was a simple, quiet place up a small hill in beautiful surroundings. This is my second year of attending a monthly prayer retreat called "Come Away" which is organized by a group called Eagle's Wings. The habit of reflection, solitude, prayer, and meditation do not come easy for me. In fact the first few times I attended these retreats last year, I was left frustrated because I wasn't able to" get anything done." But thankfully over time, God began to strip away the busyness and distractions from my mind to focus on Him. Today's retreat (my first since last April) was especially refreshing for me. I forgot how much I truly need to get away on a consistent basis to be alone with God. My first few hours were spent mentally chasing ideas and thoughts, but then slowly God began to calm my mind to experience His presence. In our busy, hectic schedules time alone is very difficult to find. But I have found that it is one of the truly transformation disciplines that I need.