the last year.

it just struck me today that i have been working at mariners for over a year now! so what has this last year brought? lots of changes… some easy, some challenging… all have been growing experiences. when God started moving in my life last year, i had no idea where i would land. here was the one thing i did know… i was not going to be very comfortable at first! i pretty much like things to be predictable. i like routine and i like structure. when i was willing to surrender that to God in ways i never had, he picked me up and put me in an amazing place where i could grow and learn tons of new things.

today i find myself in the midst of the routine at mariners as though i have been here forever. i get to work with an amazing team of people who are passionate about our community and the world. my family has had the chance to jump in and get engaged in tons of cool things. we have been in a small group with other couples with young kids. i am in a mens small group focused on spiritual growth. i get to dabble in web design, print graphics, communication strategy, system and process, service planning and through my friendships outside outreach i get to jump into lots of other conversations.

in terms of my family there have been lots of changes. sally has gone from 1 and a half to 2 and a half. what a difference a year makes. we get to have all sorts of fun conversations now. when she was smaller i used to always say that i could not wait to talk to her. now i get to! she is so fun. christie has transitioned into her leadership role in the customer service team at allergan. she has had so many amazing opportunities to learn and grow, and she is making a real difference in the lives of the people she works with. our marriage continues to grow and change, and is better than ever. the more we learn about ourselves and each other, the better things get.

i never dreamed that my life could change so much in one year. God has been reminding me lately that he has me right where he wants me right now. sometimes i get impatient and want the journey to go faster and he whispers to me “be patient.” sometimes something will remind me of a moment from the past and i will pause and think back fondly on the person that i was for the first 12 years of my ministry life. i learned a lot, grew a lot and had lots of amazing opportunities.

so what have i learned? never stop listening to God. don’t choose comfort over challenge. remember that life is a journey and not a destination, and there are no rest areas on the way. that God wants me to rely on him and not myself, my family or my friendships. that even if you cannot picture letting go, sometimes you have to in order to get even more. that friendship is something that requires work on both sides. that honesty is the best policy. that growing is better than complaining. that God loves me enough to send His son to die for me, and that nothing i do will ever change that!

here’s to the journey.
//blair

Idol is on…

…and I am pretty excited. So far this season the judges seem to be a bit more tame as in past years, but I am sure that is all just clever editing. Paula seems to be more “with it.” Perhaps the prominent coke cups really just have the brown fizzy stuff this year instead of the funny juice.

My favorite so far… the Star Wars girl, duh. A close second… the fingernails guy. Who has been your favorites?

//blair

Pop!

To be exact… Pop Goes The Church, or so Tim Stevens would have us believe. Over the past few days I have had the distinct honor of reviewing this amazing new book. While I am duty bound to not give up too much on the upcoming release, it is fair to say that this book will challenge anyone involved in church communications or service planning to stop and rethink how we engage our culture to change lives! The book is incredibly practical and engaging.

Okay… I feel like I have already said too much. I am afraid that Ninjas from Tim Stevens writing lair may now be on their way to silence me, so I shall stop. When this book is released… GET IT!

//blair

When Steve Talks…

…people listen. Sure, I’m reading the live feed on the macrumorslive.com website.

Can you say Apple TV 2? I know I sure can.

//blair

How do you use your superpowers?

What is the difference between a superhero and a villain? In most cases it is that superheroes use their powers for good and not evil. To use real churchy sounding language, they leverage their God given gifts and talents to glorify God. Well I am not sure if anyone would call blogging a spiritual gift, but I believe that the ability to connect with people and influence them is. It then seems like blogs become a tool to express that God given gift.

Several influential bloggers have been debating lately how they can be superheroes, that is to say, using their blog powers for good. One answer was revealed this morning by none other than Carlos Whittaker. You can read about it here.

I wish Carlos and the crew a safe journey full of lifechange!  One of the joys I have in working here at Mariners is that we have the chance to see this in action every day. We have decided that Child Sponsorship is more powerful when it is part of an intentional investment in a community. As such, we stopped doing traditional child sponsorship through outside organizations in favor of working through our partners in the areas of the world where we are invested. The outcome of that has been that we are now sending people on trips to parts of the world like Uganda and Peru, where people are able to meet and interact with the children they sponsor. Obviously, most churches are not able to create or sustain a program like this, so there is a huge need for organizations like Compassion and others, but for us the investment in relationship is huge! We have a team in the air right now on their way to Uganda. While there they will train pastors, run a VBS and setup business training and microfinance opportunities. We also have a new missionary living in Uganda for a year. Her charge… setup the tracking database for child sponsorships with our partner church in Uganda. We have a huge investment there! It is exciting to see.

So to Carlos and the rest of the team… you are all SUPERHEROES for Jesus. Keep on making  a difference. To everyone else… what are you going to do to make a difference?

Were you aware?

For more fascinating facts about the phenomena that is Chuck Norris click here.

For the record I was aware of most of these facts. One that I did not know is that Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because he only recognizes the element of surprise. So the question becomes, of any character real or fictional, who could defeat Chuck Norris? My answer: MacGyver or maybe Hillary Clinton.

//blair

Run Like Hell

So here was the best moment of Story Time today…

The OC Marathon was this past weekend and the race goes right in front of Mariners. The glass half empty version of this would be that traffic is a mess and our 9am service is almost unreachable because of the route. The glass half full version is that this is a great opportunity for us to reach out into our community as they pass our door and extend some hospitality to them. Lags (the Reach Pastor) got 35 volunteers together and did a full water station for the runners. They gave out over 8,000 waters! We also hired an 80’s cover band to play some cool music as people ran by. We also put up a sign.

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’nuff said.

//blair

Story Time

I am sitting in the Global Cafe right now getting ready for story time to begin. You may be thinking… are you in Kindergarten?? A: No. I am at work. We have Story Time. This is our weekly staff meeting at Mariners that all staff are invited to attend and we just share stories of how God is working in our ministry and in our lives. It allows us to share victories and struggles. It allows us to see where God is moving. It allows us to be family! We sing and pray together.

The room is starting to fill up and my coffee is empty, so I am going to go and fill up my cup literally and figuratively!

That is all.
//blair

Journaling Challenge

The message in church today was on letting go of “religion” and embracing relationship with God. Kenton challenged everyone in the congregation to being the discipline of journaling in 2008. He shared with us how journaling has had an impact on his life, and how he firmly believes that it can change all of us who will join with him. The basic goal of journaling is to slow down long enough to recognize where you are at, and how God is working. Another benefit is that we can maintain a healthy balance in our life. Imagine that your life is like a container with an opening at the top, and a spout at the bottom. The things going into the top of the container are the things that fill you up. The things that are coming out at the bottom are the things that drain you. The trick is to maintain balance between the two. Journaling allows you to make sure that you are maintaing this balance.

So here is the method that Kenton described for us:

So this is going to be the year. I am going to start journaling. Anyone else in?

jumping back in…

I was reminded in a conversation last week with my friend matt just how amazing blogging is. on friday I was going through my feeds and in one regular read i was reminded of the name of a friend I have not thought of in a few years. I did a little research and came across his blog and was able to “catch up” with him by reading through his blog and listening to some of his podcasts. as I related this connection to matt, he was amazed at the the whole blogosphere. he has never really jumped into it.

In the course of explaning about all of the blogs I read and the great insights I get through reading them, it occurred to me that blogging only really works because everyone plays! while I read many blogs every day, I am guilty of not contributing my fair share, so one of my goals now for 2008 is to be an active participatant in the blogoshpere. I will be talking more about my ministry at mariners. I will be talking as always about my wonderful family. I will be sharing the random moments of life that strike me.

life is a journey of growth and discovery. let’s all move forward together!

//blair

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