#32 - CHECK

There are some things that I swore I would NEVER do. But then I got married and some of those had to change.

For instance, my wife LOVES to golf. And she's good too! Her folks tell me that she has "a beautiful swing."

Well since I married a golfer... and since I work at a church where most of the staff are also golfers... I should become a golfer.

#32
Learn to Golf

Turns out, I'm bad at golf.

No... REALLY bad.

I'm "a danger to other golfers" bad.

Raise your hand if you're surprised. No one? Didn't think so.

For Christmas (of '08), Shannon's dad bought me a really nice set of clubs. AND he got us golfing lessons with a pro at the golf course he works at.

6 lesson's later... I'm still bad. I shot an 86 the first time out.

On 9.

#5 Check

Well, like I said in my last post, I've "restarted" my 101 in 1001 list. Perhaps it's cheating, but as I re-read my list, I noticed that I've accomplished some already. Well I'm keeping those on the list so I can start out with a WIN!

# 5
Be a part of the solution in Africa

I know, I know... "Africa" is such a trendy cause. And there are SO many problems for which to be a solution. War. Poverty. AIDS. Malaria. Thirst. Hunger. Where to start? How do I make a lasting impact. How do I do more than put the proverbial band-aid on a broken leg?

I decided that the best thing I can do is bring others along with me on the journey. To share the burden that is in my heart and hope that it catches on. I am in such a privileged position to be able to influence high school students at Sun Valley. One of my favorite parts of my job is the Student Leadership Team. Last May, we started dreaming about how we could help meet some of the basic needs for our neighbors in Africa.

Long story short... we stumbled across an organization called Charity:Water. Among other things, Charity:Water exists primarily to bring fresh water (by digging wells) to some of the poorest communities on the planet. The cost to dig a well? Just $5,000.

For $5,000, they will dig a well that will provide hundreds of people with clean, safe drinking water. Enough to meet all of their cooking, cleaning and drinking needs. Since the beginning of the school year, our students have been hosting fund-raisers, putting on benefit concerts, and giving sacrificially so that they can answer God's calling on their lives to not merely be people of "good intentions," but people who really reach out in love.

So far, they have raised $4,287! Just about $700 shy of our goal of $5,000 by the end of the school year.

I know they will reach their goal.

For more information, please visit CharityWater.org. Or to help the students reach their goal, get in touch with me (Greg) via the Sun Valley Community Church website.

I'm starting my list over - Why?

Because I can! THAT'S why! And if you have a problem with that, well then you can just go...

Wait.

I'm sorry. You don't deserve that. You are reading my blog, after all.

I'm feeling a little guilty because I made this list back in October.

Of 2008!

I really haven't done much of it. Plus... I want to change my list a little. And you know what I decided. I decided that it's OKAY! Seriously, I've felt guilty about not keeping up with my list so I just gave up. Then I realized... that's a REALLY STUPID reason to quit. Of all the things on the planet to be stressed about, my fun list of life goals should NOT be one of them.

So I'm starting over. Clean slate, as they say. I've recently been inspired my my hot wife and my good friend (and VERY talented photographer) Erin DeZago. Check out both of their blogs. Do it. Come back to this one later.

Here are my 101 goals I hope to accomplish in the next 1001 days. 1001 days from today (January 18, 2010) will be October 15, 2012. And I better finish on time cuz apparently, the world's gonna end a couple months later.

1 – Graduate College (projected early June)
2 – Go deer hunting with my dad… and kill a deer.
3 – Record a CD of my OWN music
4 – Find a doctor I like
5 – Be a part of the solution in Africa
6 – Sponsor a child with Providence World Ministries
7 – Read the Bible in a year
8 – Camp in the woods for a month (survivor man style)
9 – Visit the original Starbucks in Seattle
10 – Take my students on a LeaderTreks trip
11 – Lose 35 lbs
12 – Buy a house
13 – Start an HSA
14 – Adopt a dog and name him Gunther
15 – Read every Philip Yancey book (3 of 8)
16 – Read every Brennan Manning book (1 of 14)
17 – Audit a photography class
18 – Take a beautiful picture of something common
19 – Take lessons for a new instrument (either piano, cello, mandolin, harmonica or drums)
20 – Visit Alaska
21 – Do a 7-day fast
22 – Run a mile with my wife
23 – Go deep-sea fishing
24 – Make a coffee table
25 – Invest
26 – Hike Picacho Peak with Shannon
27 – Hike Camelback with Shannon
28 – Be a Vegetarian for a month.
29 – Rescue someone
30 – Go on a motorcycle trip
31 – Tattoo
32 – Learn to golf
33 – Be an extra in a movie
34 – Learn to love vegetables
35 – Do something I hate to challenge myself
36 – Give up something I love to learn something new
37 – Do 10 chin-ups in a row
38 – Do 100 push-ups in a row
39 – Play guitar and sing at an open mic night somewhere
40 – See a stand-up comedian
41 – Go to the Opera
42 – Have an entire conversation in Spanish
43 – Go for a morning jog everyday for a month
44 – Write a love song for Shannon and sing it for her
45 – Be alone for 48 hours
46 – Take a 24-hour vow of silence
47 – Cook an exotic meal
48 – Read a book in 1 day
49 – Write 10 poems
50 – Join a co-op
51 – Go to Portland
52 – Eat Mexican food in Mexico
53 – Audit a photoshop class
54 – Design a website
55 – Go to a Jazz gig
56 – Wine tasting
57 – Buy a nice camera
58 – Grow an herb garden
59 – 2 words… Chia Pet
60 – Audit an Astronomy class
61 – Learn a new art
62 – Bet $25 on Black
63 – See 15 of the AFI top 100 movies that I’ve yet to see
64 – Buy stock in a company I believe in
65 – Ride a horse
66 – No soda for a month
67 – Video myself sleeping
68 – Collect all State quarters in both mints (59/100)
69 – Play hookie w/ Shannon and go out of town
70 – Get a Pedicure
71 – Contribute the max to an IRA for 6 months of a year
72 – Buy a rifle and a handgun
73 – Teach Shannon how to shoot
74 – Do a home improvement project
75 – Go a month without eating at a restaurant
76 – Go a week without buying anything
77 – Surprise Shannon with a trip somewhere
78 – Learn to work on my motorcycle
79 – Learn to cook 5 organic meals
80 – Ride my bike to work once a week for 4 months (actual weeks… not average)
81 – (when we have a house) – Audit energy consumption for 2 months.
82 – Then cut energy usage by 25%
83 – Buy all organic produce at a Farmer’s Market
84 – Raise awareness and $$ for a cause
85 – Be debt free
86 – Apply to be on a game show
87 – Buy a juicer
88 – Buy a food processor
89 – Try a yoga class… a macho one
90 – Learn to do a back flip
91 – Repaint my motorcycle
92 – See Switchfoot or Jon Foreman in San Diego
93 – Visit a coffee plantation
94 – Eat Sushi
95 – Fly first class
96 – Buy an original painting
97 – Share my faith with a stranger
98 – Start seeing a chiropractor
99 – Spend a week without TV or Moives or Radio or Internet (while at home - not while on a mission trip).
100 – Go mountain biking on South Mountain
101 – Save $10 for each 101 accomplished (including this one) and put it in my sock drawer… I MEAN… A bank guarded by ROBOTS!!


I've got to be honest... I changed some. Also, as I look back, I've accomplished quite a few of these. I guess I have fodder for the next few blog posts.

PEACE!

:: 3 Sets of Jones' ::

One weekend, 3 different families set out to the coast to enjoy a weekend ‘adventure.’

The first family arrived at the coast late Friday evening. They unpacked their car and loaded all their gear into their sailboat… ready for their adventure. That evening, they ate dinner on the dock and headed off to bed early in the hull of their craft. They woke up late Saturday morning and shared a breakfast of bagels and fruit. They spent the afternoon sunbathing on the deck of their ship while sipping iced tea and discussing the weather… entertainment… politics… and other surface subjects. They ate dinner, went to bed, and woke up Sunday morning to do the same. They packed up their car after dinner, and headed home.

Same weekend… same coast… different family. They also got to the coast late Friday evening. After unpacking their car, they loaded their gear into their sailboat. They ate dinner on the dock and went to bed early. They woke up Saturday morning to the sound of seagulls and shared a quick breakfast. They un-tethered their sea craft, started up the motor and set out for their adventure. They spent the entire afternoon trawling around the harbor, looking at the other ships... maybe some fishing. They talked about each other’s lives… a little. “How was your week?” “What did you do?” “How are things going at work?” They got below the surface of each other’s lives… a little. Evening was spent docked in their spot at the harbor. They ate dinner, looked at the stars, and went to bed. They woke up Sunday morning to do the same. They packed up their car after dinner, and headed home.

Same weekend… same coast… family three. They got to the harbor late Friday evening. They unpacked their car and loaded their gear into the sailboat. They ate dinner on the dock but refused to call it a night. After dinner, they un-tethered their sea craft, started up their motor and set out for their adventure. It was dark now, already a mile offshore, they could still see the lights of the city. They decided that this was a good place weigh to anchor and sleep for the night. They awoke the next morning to see the sunrise, and set of to continue their voyage. They hoisted sail and ventured onward. Soon they couldn’t even see the coast anymore. They found themselves surrounded by a myriad of sea life… dolphins, whales, sea lions, birds, and they SWEAR they saw a shark. With only their sea charts and a compass to guide them, they were at the mercy of the wind and they went where it willed. They found an island a few miles off shore and landed for the night. They spent the night on the beach underneath the stars, listening to the sound of the waves. They talked about life! “What are your hopes and dreams?” “What are you fears?” “What do you think heaven will be like?” They lay on the beach, really getting to know each other. They lay on that beach learning each other… learning to live… learning to love. The next morning, they set sail towards home; more in love then when they left.


That Monday, they would all return to work and they would all be asked, “How was your weekend… what did you do?” And they would all reply with the same answer, “I went sailing.”


What will 2010 look like for you? We are all on a journey… we are all on an adventure. But what will yours look like? Will you just sit still, safe at the dock? Will you just soak up the rays and never get below the surface? =or= Will you simply test the waters? Will you open your eyes and see what’s around you but still play it safe and stay in the harbor, never really digging more than an inch deep? =or= Will you sail? Will you see all that God has to offer? Will you take risk? Will you submit yourselves to His will and His ways and welcome the adventure He has for you?!? Will you sleep underneath His heavens and embrace the depths of life… love… and why?

:: Obligatory New Year's Post ::

Today marks the beginning of a new year and a new decade. Since I was born in 1980, today also marks the beginning of my 4th decade... the year my wife and I will both turn 30! As is the custom out here in the Blogosphere, I would like to look back over the last year.

If you want to skip on back to Facebook... wouldn't blame you.

Let me start by saying that 2009 was a year in which God moved in nothing short of miraculous ways. For as long as I have known Christ (over 12 years now), I have been praying that my family would come to know Him as well.

In April I was blessed (in the truest sense of the word) to be able to baptize my mom. Seriously, one of the best moments of my life!

Our next blessing came from my sister and brother-in-law.

I'M GONNA BE AN UNCLE!! Seriously, I love this little girl already and pray for her tons!

A good chunk of my generation has decided to leave the Church. They say they're disenchanted with the way things are done. They say the Church has lost her way. I'll write more about this later but, in short, they are arrogant... and wrong. Which leads me to the next blessing in our lives, Sun Valley Community Church. I could go on about how God is moving in this church. For now, I'll focus on things in which I am more intimately involved.

This year God led Robert (the High School Ministries Pastor) and I to start a student leadership team. Through their service and leadership, the students of Sun Valley have collectively raised over $4,000 in one semester (our goal is $5000 for the whole school year). This money is going to Charity:Water and will be used to bring a fresh-water well to a village in Africa.

Robert, the other two Student Ministry pastors and I also dreamt and developed an intern program for the student ministry. We took the program live in August. We have had one intern for the last semester and have 3 more on deck for this next semester.

Let's see, what else happened this year? Shannon and I got our own apartment in Gilbert. I got to take a group of 9 students to Jamaica. I landed a part-time job at Eddie Bauer (yes, I'm 29 and yes, I work at the mall).

As I look ahead at 2010 (or "Oh Ten"), I am looking forward to 2 things: What is God going to do in us this year? What is God going to do through us this year?


Also, the Cardinals all the way this year. There, I said it.

Shadow Proves the Sunshine

Below is a copy of an email that I recently sent to 15 FIGHTERS!!

---------------

I'm gonna be really honest with you right now. I know there are quite a few names at the top of this email, but that just makes what I'm about to say all the more real.

This morning I was spending time praying and my heart became very heavy. As someone who ministers to teens, it is easy to become discouraged when I think of the direction most young people are headed. I know I'm 28, and that seems old, but I wasn't a teenager that long ago. But things sure are different now. When I was in high school, I was only offered booze once and I was NEVER offered drugs. That's not to say that there weren't a ton of teens doing that stuff, but it was fairly easy to stay away from it. Teens today are just bombarded with temptation and pressure. I haven't even mentioned sex yet. Almost ALL of my friends thought sex was something special. Most of my friends made a commitment to abstinence and most of those kept that promise. It seems like most young people have given up the fight and just want to blend in with culture.

Anyway, let me get to the point. If you're receiving this email it is because God brought you to mind today. Either you are a teen who I currently have the blessing of ministering to/ with - OR - I've had that privilege some time in the last ten years. God brought you to my mind to encourage me today. Like I said, my heart has been heavy at the thought that we are losing the battle for the lives of young people... but I'm wrong. When I think of you, I am reminded that there are young people who are in the fight. There are students who refuse to be typical. And the world is different... better because of it!

Here's what I think is happening. The Darkness is showing itself to be what it has always been... Darkness. It has stopped trying to look like the Light because it doesn't have to. People don't have to be fooled into Darkness. They simply want it. And while that breaks my heart, there is one good benefit. The Darkness makes the Light all that much brighter! The Darkness proves that the Light is there. How would we know what Sunshine is without Shadow.

Well you, my friends, are Sunshine. You may not always feel like that's true of you, but I know that is true of you. My heart was strengthened and given courage at the thought of you today. And know this, I am in this fight with you... and we will win.

#49 (ish) - Hopeless

Back in October, I came up with a list of 101 goals I want to accomplish in 1001 days.

#49 - Write 10 Poems
I'm NOT a poet... I'm very bad. But here's my second of 10 attempts. Click here to see the first of 10.

Hopeless
Hopeless
I ignored the phone, but you kept calling
I refused the mail, but you kept writing
The longer and louder you knocked, the more hopeless my situation became
Hopeless… Hopelessly in Love
Great romancer, you’ve won me.
Not by empty gestures
Candy, cards, no
You told me you’d die for me
You did
You told me you’d live for me
You did
Hopeless… Hopelessly in Love… Hopelessly in love with the One
In love with the One who knows my fears
Who knows my heart… my hurts… my hopes
You said you love me
I said prove it
You did