Hey all,

Typically I drive home feeling pretty good about how things went almost every weekend. However, on weekend’s like Dadfest I find even greater energy pulling away after having taken the risk to try something “out of the box.” Dadfest is one of those great community building weekends where car owners, dads and attenders all get a chance to come together and hang out. Our hopes were that dad’s would be honored, people would connect with others and, ultimately, that lives would be impacted. From the looks of it, dad’s were honored considering we gave out almost 400 hot dogs. people were seen connecting over hoods of cars and lives were changed with one of our biggest “Yes” weekends in recent WB history. Over 30 people said Yes just at our little site which, believe it or not, is more then our response at Christmas and Easter…combined…wow! We had no idea the two events (Dadfest and Yes weekend) would come together at the same time, but God obviously had more in mind then we did.

Anyway - thanks to all those who recruited cars or bikes or were willing to bring their toys for us all to enjoy. Thanks also to the volunteers that help pull off weekends like these.

My wife and I are off for a 5 day trip to the U.P of MI to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. We’ll see you on the weekend of the 4th.

Don

PS - if you want to mute the song on this, put your mouse on the word “slide” in the upper left corner and hit the volume logo that appears.

 Hey everyone,  This is one of those weekends that should be a memorable one.  Cool cars, motocycles, inflatable games for the kids and free hot dogs for the dads.  Stop by, stroll around and meet some people along the way.

After the 6:30 service on Sat and between 10-11 on Sunday!

If you have a connection to cars or motorcycles, make sure to have them come along and pull into our lot.

You know Father’s Day is a great thing.  Last year I remember my oldest son asked me what I’d like for Father’s Day.  I told him I’d like him to take me to get my favorite ice cream in the world, Ben and Jerry’s - where you can only get Mint Chocolate Chunk in the scoop shop.  After taking my usual Sunday afternoon nap after church, we decided to go to Stadium Village and eat dinner near Ben and Jerry’s then go there for dessert afterward.  When we got to B & J’s the three of us took our seats outside in the beautiful summer evening.  Halfway through my cone I took the moment to stare across the table and remind myself how blessed I am to have such amazing boys.  After this divine moment, I went to take my next bite out of my favorite cone to find a large hair sticking out.  I pulled it out and decided it was still worth it.  I then looked over at my youngest son’s cup of ice cream and realized he too, had a similar hair sticking straight up from his scoop.  I don’t usually do this, but I grabbed his cup and went back in and explained the situation.  Before I was done, the “scooper” immediately said, “It’s not mine!”  It actually wasn’t till that exact moment that I realized his dreadlocked hair was the exact same makeup of both guilty strands of hair.  He did ask if we wanted new cones and I said we had probably had enough but would be willing to come back for a free cone.  He obliged and gave us one small cone to return.  A bit discouraged I returned to my car.  When I got to my on-street parking spot I could barely believe my eyes when I saw the wonderful note under my windshield wiper that the policeman and recently left.  It wasn’t a “Happy Father’s Day” card.  I stared at the meter that said enforced M-F.  It was Sunday.  I took out my phone to take a picture, but my camera wouldn’t work (it just keeps getting better).  Red-faced with embarrassment and anger I jumped in the front seat and drove away.  It wasn’t till I got home that I realized the ticket was for expired tabs which I had the stickers to lying on the kitchen counter.  What a Father’s Day it was!

I wish I had some deep lesson that was learned through all this, but the reality is that being a dad is one of my favorite gifts from God.  I hope and pray all of you dads will get to enjoy a hairless ice cream cone with your kids this weekend.  Oh…and don’t forget to make sure your tabs are up to date!

Happy Father’s Day!

I’ve mentioned this before, but being a pastor is a wild ride.  This last Friday I had the great opportunity to officiate a wedding at Mn Landscape Arboretum.  It turned out to be great weather and all went really well.  I feel honored to come alongside people like that in the highlights of life.  I then had the chance to lead through the services on Sunday which I thought Kenny and the band did a phenomenal job of bringing us all into the presence of God.  Jason did a great job with his message on forgetting the past and I had the opportunity to recognize those who have given their lives while serving in the military. 

Then Sunday night came and went.  My two boys were out in front when our Shoreview tornado siren went off.  We went inside and watched the news about Hugo.  I’m embarrassed to admit we didn’t understand the extent of the damage, turned off the TV and went about cooking our burgers on the grill.  It rained for about 10 minutes, hailed for about one and we went back about our life as usual.  Little did I know how life was far from usual up here in Hugo.

It really wasn’t till Monday that I started to understand the gravity of what had happened.  I spoke with some people who mentioned the Prindle family and realized that this would have a massive impact on our church family.  Later that day I saw the front page of the Pioneer Press that showed one of our WBL attenders, Craig McKinney on the phone while standing in the rubble from a devastated home.  I had just met Craig on Sunday.

Throughout the week our church has done some great things to reach out to these people in a time of devastation.  We’ve set up a resource/prayer/care tent at a house right in the middle of the neighborhood that was most effected, we’ve had staff and volunteers posted at this tent all week handing out water, pop, snacks and providing a listening ear.  We hosted a dinner last night for those impacted and we’re encouraging as many people as the city will take to help on the big clean up day that’s taking place this Saturday.

Today I had the chance to spend about 3 hours at our Oasis Tent in the neighborhood.  I wish I could explain the destruction that is throughout the community.  Some people are optimistic and ready for a new start already, others are still talking about what happened and trying to wrap their minds around their new home and lives.  I was able to take 2 backpacks full of supplies, pop and water and go from home to home and offer God’s love in a practical way.  Some were wrapped up working and many were thankful and interested in some M & M’s or a drink.  This gave me many opportunities to hear peoples stories and offer them a listening ear as well as a dose of encouragement.

As exciting as it was to spend time officiating a wedding for two friends at the height of life last weekend, it’s quite sobering and humbling to come alongside and serve those who are in a time of devastation this week.

Let’s keep praying for our friends of Hugo…especially the Prindle family.  It’s Thursday night and I just heard the 10:00 news that says she is still in a battle.

To the people who are representing Christ by so generously giving of time and resources - thank you!  To those who are in a time of chaos, construction and clean-up, know that our prayers are with you and for you!

Hey all,

It was good to have a weekend off.  Sounds like all of you had a good time hangin with Bob while he stepped in as CP.

I had to pass on this picture that was sent to me from the people of SLP.  Apparently they want a re-count on the Bridging decision (that went clearly to WB).  Check out the picture and see if it convinces you of SLP’s “victory”.

Here’s a heads up on a few things going on this weekend you might not want to miss.

First of all, our good friend Noah the harmonica player will be back.  He’s been to WB a couple of times and you can check out one of his last appearances at this link.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XXkK7aGVLg

2nd - Jason Strand will be kicking off our new series called “Christian Cliche’s That Drive you Crazy.”

Also - Bob Merritt will be hanging out with all of you this weekend as my family and I are escaping for a weekend away.  Sorry I can’t be with you on Mother’s Day weekend but I’m sure Bob will be the warm friendly face the mom’s are looking for.

Have a good weekend and Happy Mother’s Day!

Well, I said last weekend and I’ll say it again today.  You guys blew me away with your giving.  We filled over 2 full semi’s of furnishings for people in our community.  As I understand it, SLP filled a little more then 1 truck and Lino did a little less then 2, equalling 5 full trucks.  Along with this our kids raised over $2300 to add to our donations.  It was quite amazing to see.  Let me extend a special thanks to all of you who especially gave of your time, energy and resources to make such an impact.

My hope is that we’ll continue to find outlets for us as a church to pour our generosity toward people who are in need.

Here’s a couple of our pictures from SLP Campus Pastor Steve Whicker’s excitement to wear his new shirt.

These dates have a way of sneaking up on us.  It’s unfortunate because great ideas come for me in the last minute about how we could and should pray together more.  But perhaps a quick note on the blog might just help.

This morning I decided to carve out some time to pray.  I’ve put a few practices in my life that have really helped my prayer life recently, although I constantly find myself wishing I was more disciplined to dial in with God more regularly.  For whatever it’s worth, here’s 3 things that have helped me more in this area.

  1. Type out your prayers.  Seems a bit odd at first, but once you get used to it, it’s a great way to “journal.”  For me journaling has never stuck.  I’ve taken shots at it, but my handwriting is terrible and slow.  Typing allows me to keep up with my thoughts more and, as odd as it sounds, I kind of enjoy typing.  When I do this I simply write out what I’d want to say in my mind toward God.  I often start by typing out a verse that I had just read, then I launch into praying for my family, my parent, my friends, my church and then finish with prayers about my upcoming day. 

  2. Create a prayer grid.  For those of you that like tables or excel sheets this will be right up your alley.  Try making a column with names of people that you want to pray for, then make a second column that has space to write out specific prayer requests, then add a third aisle that allows you room to write how the prayers were answered by God.  Put a date even if you can.  This makes for a great way to look back and see God’s faithfulness

  3. Turn your radio off.  This sounds easy, but if you can commit to going to work with your radio off and try to commit your time there to hearing from God, asking for his help, expressing how you desire to line up with his ways, I believe your day can get going in the right direction.

In honor of national prayer day, give one of these a shot.  See how your day or your life takes a different turn when you feel God’s presence in your day.

Happy National Prayer Day!

PS - You all are defintely a part of my regular prayers!

Well friends - I have heard what the official results are from the Bridging Furnishings drive and although I’m tempted to tell you who won between WB and SLP, you’ll just have to show up this weekend to find out.  Let’s put it this way, as a church my understanding is that we filled over 5 full semi trucks of donations.  That’s amazing and will make a huge difference for people who are in need. 

I must admit, I love when I see the people of the church generous.  I believe it’s such a tangible way to show God’s love today.

Thanks so much to all of you who brought donations and/or helped volunteer your time on some dreary cold days.

Way to go!

BTW - here’s some of the photos that Steve and I took for last weekend’s announcement.  You’ll recognize most of them if you were there.  There might be a couple others that I’m not showing (just so ya know)

Hey troop - I just wanted to give you a quick heads up here.  We’ve been promoting the ongoing series as PG along the way.  I realize some messages have been more clearly “PG” then others.  This weekend will be one of those.  The main focus on this weekends message will be pornography.  Probably not great content for those in 5th grade and younger.

Also - If you ever want to talk about what you’re hearing on the weekend, consider this your official invitation to talk.  Feel free to post comments here, send me an email…or if nothing else, give the church office a call and track me down.

See you on the weekend!