The Beach!

If you spend any time with me you know that I really do not like the beach! Yes I live near the beach, yes I post pictures of Family Fun days on the beach, but I really do not like the beach. I don't like to go in the ocean. I guess it would not bother me if I went into the ocean where I could see what is swimming around my legs, but then again maybe I'm better off not knowing. I don't like the sand on the beach. I like to make sand castles with my kids, but I don't like getting sand on me.  I know, I'm a mess - but here is why I love going to the beach. I love that when I'm at the beach I see beauty. No not people in swimsuits, most of them are not looking as good as they think in their swimsuit. I find the view of the ocean extremely beautiful. The span of the ocean, the thought of the size of the ocean is overwhelming. The depth of the ocean and how most of the ocean will probably never be explored. The thought of what was written in Micah 7:19 where he talks about how our sins are cast into the depths of the ocean, never to be remembered again. Totally forgive and gone! I love looking at the ocean and remembering my sins are forgiven!
When I see the beach and look at the tiny grains of sand I am reminded of Psalm 139:17 & 18. "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!" Amazing and overwhelming amount of Love we have from God the Creator.

Some other reason I like to go to the beach is because my Family loves the beach! Tradd loves using his casting net and seine net and I love using them with him and seeing all the amazing creatures of the sea he catches. Cooper and Drayton love swimming and riding waves. Coleman loves to eat the sand - I know gross but it is what she does. Meghan loves all of that and the sun! And because I love my family, I like to go to the beach with them. As a matter of fact we have been spending the week on Edisto Island at a beautiful beach house that sits right on the beach! One of the first things I do when I wake up in the morning is open the door and look at the ocean, and listen to the waves crashing. I love to see the sun rising out of ocean and reminded that God has given us a new day - and His mercies are new every morning!
So as much as I don't like the beach, there are things about it that I love!  Just my thoughts for today - hope it blessed you!

The Church inside the church!

So I have been thinking a lot about what I do for a living. If you read my profile you will know that I am a Children's Pastor! I love what I do. I love the staff I get to work with week after week. They are crazy, talented, and amazing on so many levels. I love the team of workers (we don't like to use the term volunteers for our adult workers in Kidscoast) that serve with us week after week. But I wanted to take a few minutes to describe what goes into a weekend service in Kidscoast and why I continue to do it week after week.
First of all I want everyone to realize that children's ministry is NOT CHILD CARE! And if done well, Children's Ministry is a church inside a church or in most churches it is many churches inside one church.

All the same elements and volunteer needs of a Big Church service go into making a successful Children's Church service. For us here at Seacoast we do lessons starting in our 2 year old department and go up to 5th Grade. We have five different teaching areas on the weekend. Each area needs a Storyteller just like the speaking pastor in big church. We also have greeters at the doors welcoming kids into the classroom, but unlike big church each of our attendees receive a name tag and security number. Also unlike big church we require one leader to every eight to ten kids in the classrooms. Another way we are like big church we do message series too. Currently in our elementary department we us reThink's curriculum, 252Basics. One major Myth in children's ministry, you don't just print out a curriculum and hand it to a team member. We tweak the living day lights out of it, and not because we don't like it but we tweak it to make it more applicable to the group of children in our services. We also add a cast of characters to our lessons who introduce the topic of discussion for the week. I was talking with a group of Children's Ministry Directors and pastors this week and they said the same thing; there is no one curriculum that you can purchase and just print out and use. You buy the one that fits your needs best and tweak from there.

Another way we are like big church is that we also have worship leaders in each of our areas. But unlike big church we have to have motions to our worship songs to keep the kids engaged. Of course we have to have many different song lists for the many different age groups.  Side note: Its funny how the songs have changed over the years, yet the God we teach the kids to worship remains the same!

It takes a lot of work to pull off weekend services in Children's Ministry and I am so blessed to work for a church that sees the importance of a strong children's staff and team. My heart breaks for churches that spend more time focusing on the adults in their services than the children in their church.  I recently heard a talk by Willie George, pastor of Church on the Move in Tulsa, OK. He talked about Jesus' forgotten ministry. The ministry he was referring to was Children's Ministry.  As a Children's Pastor it was a powerful message, reminding me why I do what I do.  Willie (using his first name like we're best friends) made a statement about how Jesus told his disciples on more than one occasion that they needed to become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus never told a child to act like an adult.  The churches that put all their focus on the adults will one day find that their church doesn't have a new generation to raise up, and sadly the church will die.
When I think about these things, I realize how important Children's Ministry is and I am honored that God has called me to serve these Children and to teach them who God is and that God is so that they can know who they are in HIM!

So the next time you drop your child off in Children's Church - take a moment to say thank you to the Children's workers for raising up the next generation, heck why not serve in the Children's church and be blessed as you watch the next generation grow in their relationship and understanding of who God is!

It's just my thoughts and I hope you are blessed by them!

Happy Birthday Cooper!

So today is Cooper's Birthday! I love how the boys birthdays are a couple days apart! So I thought it only fair to post some information about my Coop! I don't remember much about his birth, other than Meghan was again two weeks overdue and had to be induced. I asked the midwife if we could have him on the 25th of February then he and his brother would share a birthday, but she was going to be out of town so we decided to have him on the first! I don't remember much about his birth but prior to his birth we decided to remodel our kitchen so, 9 months pregnant Meghan ripped out walls. We brought Cooper home to all our kitchen furnishings in our living room.
I don't remember much about his birth, but I love the young man he is growing into.  Here are some highlights of Coop...

• He LOVES Lego's and is very creative with them.
• He is our sport's player - great at every sport he plays (didn't get that from his dad)
• He LOVES JESUS! And especially worshiping the Lord. He helps lead worship every weekend in Kidscoast.
• He loves being a part of the Thorn! He plays the music in his room and helps direct his sisters in the show.
• He is an animal lover - especially cats and rabbits
• He enjoys watching movies
• He has a great imagination. (now this he gets from his dad)
• In the summertime you can't keep him out of water. When we get the beach, the pool or the lake he jumps right in and stays there till it is time to go home.
• He loves his daily peanut butter sandwich
• He is just so darn cute!
• He has about 100 stuffed animals, most of them are cats. They all have names and are real to him.
• He loves his brother and sisters but he will never admit it

He is such a great kid! Love being his dad and watching him grow up! Where has the time gone?

Happy Birthday Tradd

So excited that my oldest is turning 11 this week! I love all my kids equally but all for their differences! I remember when we found out Meghan was pregnant with Tradd. A year earlier Meghan had an ectopic pregnancy and lost one of her Fallopian Tubes and her doctor told us our chances at having biological children were lowered. So needless to say we were very excited to learn Meghan was pregnant with Tradd. Meghan knew long before me, she kept it a secret from me for two weeks because that year my birthday and Father's day were on the same day and she wanted to give me the news for a present. I remembered we would read to him in utero, sing to him, talk to him. We read books, took classes. I was so excited to be a dad. I remember as we cam to the end of the pregnancy every time my phone rang I jumped, if Meghan woke up in the night I jumped...yes I was that husband. Well Tradd was due February 14th, but Meghan had to be induced on the 25th. I won't go into the details of the labor and delivery but I will say I remember crying when we found out Tradd was a boy! I was so happy, overflowing with joy! I was so excited to get my son home I even ran a red light. Not safe but God protected us from danger and traffic cops!
Some memories of Tradd through the years...

• When Tradd was potty training and made his first poo in the potty he stood up and said; "Corn!" We all laughed!
• Tradd never really liked eat veggies, one day he was sitting on the potty and yelled; "I can't poop, Someone get me a carrot."
• He loves outdoors and wildlife, especially fishing and hunting
• He loves folks with special needs, I'm sure it is because of Coleman!
• He loves to create weapons out of duct take and cardboard tubes.
• When he was little I had to beg him to let me read him a story at bedtime vs the encyclopedias he always requested
• He loves bamboo
• He loves succulents and has a succulent garden
• His first favorite book was a field guide to birds
• He loves to read! If he is not building a weapon, fishing, playing with his turtles he is reading a novel or encyclopedia.
• He loves The Lord and I had the joy of baptizing him!
• He serves every weekend in our special needs ministry classroom. So proud of him!
• He's is not a big fan of movies, and he hates to go to a movie theater. 

I could go on and on but I'll stop!
Happy Birthday to my favorite eleven year old! Love you so much and I am so proud of the young man you are becoming!

Living With A Special Needs Child

A friend sent me this link today knowing a few things about me, one I have a special needs child and two I enjoy listening to Joyce Meyer - I would love for you to take 28 minutes and listen to this message, it doesn't matter if you have a child with special needs, I'm sure you know someone who does (if you reading this blog you know someone who does - me!).
http://joycemeyer.org/BroadcastHome.aspx?video=Raising_Special_Needs_Children

I thought this message was timely, here's why; Every year for the past 5 years our church as put on a banquet for families who have been touched by disabilities called The Luke 14 Banquet. The event is based on the story from the Bible in Luke chapter 14 where the master sends his servants into the streets to invite the lame, the weak and the destitute to join him for a banquet. (the quick Scott version). Anyway we hold this banquet on Valentine's Day and have approximately 1000 guest and over 500 volunteers join us at 3 different locations for an evening of full red carpet treatment. Valet Parking, a walk down the red carpet complete with paparazzi, dinner, dancing and entertainment all for free for these special need folks, their families and caregivers. I love to see the joy in the faces of the guests as they are showed the love of Christ through service to them and their families.
http://shed.seacoast.org/campusfiles/video/Vid_Announcement/140126-Dispatch-MtP-Luke14-v1.mp4

I also thought this would be a good time for me to share my story of Coleman, my special gift and blessing from God.  If you watched the video you heard several times about how these children are a blessing and Coleman is a blessing in our lives - a challenge, but a blessing. I loved how Joyce said; "Its not something you're ready for but it is something God equips you for." And that is so true. When we were pregnant with Coleman we did not know she was going to be born with Down Syndrome. It wasn't until after she was born that we saw the features. I don't even think Meghan and I said anything at first to each other, it took a some time before we even mentioned it to one another, or even to the nurse. We did the genetic testing and it was confirmed that Coleman had DS.
I remember one of my first thoughts was; there goes my dream of walking my daughter down the aisle some day.  Then the next thought was;  if she does have DS they are such lovable kids and Tradd (my oldest child) was going to really take to her and protect her. And on most days he does. He also serves in our church's special needs ministry every weekend. I'm not really sure he would do that if we did not have Coleman in our lives.As the days past and we brought Coleman home from the hospital I remember to powerful thoughts I had that I believe were from God. One was me asking God why? Why me? Why did he give me a child with special needs? And I felt like God hit me across the head with a 2X4 and said; "Why not you? What makes you think you are above having a child with special needs." This was a sobering thought, but I was still walking around in a cloud trying to process this "adventure" I was on. One day while walking around the outlet mall I felt like God talked to me again asking me "Why are you walking around here? I gave you a beautiful gift and and either wallow in self pity, or you can go home and embrace the gift I have given you." I would love to say that from that moment everything changed and it was all a bed of roses from that day forward. However I would be lying. The next news we received was that Coleman had an AV Canal Defect and would need to have heart surgery. I tried to stay strong, I tried to put on my Christian face and say everything is okay, God is in control, but I didn't feel that way on the inside. Inside my head, I was planning Coleman's funeral because I didn't believe that it was going to be okay. Coleman ended up in the hospital at four months old with pneumonia, God saw her through it, but I still wasn't convinced she was going to make it through surgery. Then just a month before she was to have surgery (which she had at six months of age) I was at a conference and the worship team was singing Amazing Grace-My Chains Are Gone. As they sang the last verse "The earth will soon dissolve like snow, the sun forebear to shine, but God who called me here below will be forever mine." There was just something about that verse and we sang it over and over again and at one point I felt like I was the only one in the room - no one else and I was just singing that verse and I felt like God just gave me supernatural peace about the surgery.  I remember calling Meghan about it and her saying she was feeling the same peace and both confessing to the other the thoughts of planning a funeral in our head.
Over the years Coleman has been such a HUGE blessing to our family and anyone who meets her. She is now seven and a joy to be around (most of the time, after all she still is a child). Her siblings have their moments with her. Her younger sister Drayton often comments that she is Coleman's older sister because she helps Coleman so much.
At the age of 4 while on vacation in Michigan, Coleman got Croup and pneumonia at the same time. She was on a ventilator and was in ICU for 10 days. Meghan or I was always at her side except this one night. Coleman had been doing really well, and they even talked about taking her off the vent the next day so the nurse suggested we both go to the room the hospital provided for us to get some rest. I checked on Coleman in the middle of the night and she was doing really good. The next morning I headed down to the room around 6 am to find the room full of doctors and equipment. Sometime early that morning Coleman took a turn for the worse and the doctors weren't sure what was going on. The vent had been turned back up to 100%, they were checking her heart and everything else they could think of. I remember walking over to the widow of her room, staring out the window and looking up at the sky with tears streaming down my face I said; "God I really want you to heal my little girl, but if you take her home to be with you I won't like it, but I will still love you."
A couple days later God healed Coleman and we were able to leave the hospital and bring her home once more. I praise God for his healing powers.
With everything we have been through with Coleman I have to say I would not change a thing. I would not ask God to take away her DS - and even in the challenging times of pneumonia and heart surgery God drew me closer to Him and I am very thankful for that.

I just wanted to share my story of living with a special needs child! She is a huge blessing to me, even when she wakes me at 5 am. I love her to pieces as I do all my children and I know that God sees her as Valuable and she has a purpose!

Thorn Time

It is that time once again...Thorn Time!!!! What is the Thorn you ask, well I'll tell you; 
The Thorn is a visually dynamic and heart-stirring theatrical portrayal of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not your average Passion play, The Thorn combines martial arts, aerial acrobatics and emotionally powerful performances that have been engaging audiences across the US for almost 20 years. You can find out more about Thorn Productions by visiting www.thethorn.net 
Over the past several years I have had the joy of stage managing and producing the Thorn in Charleston, SC, Austin, TX and Nashville, TN. This year I will be traveling with the Thorn Staff to the west coast to stage manage the show.  Being able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ through a theatrical performance is right up my alley.  I love telling the story of Christ and I enjoy the theater, the two combined makes for a happy me!  
This year the Thorn will be in;
Denver, CO - March 24-31
Seattle, WA - April 1-7
Colorado Springs & Sacramento, CA - April 7-14
Nashville, TN - April 14-21 
If you get the chance you should check out one of these performances, and bring a friend with you - it is a powerful and amazing story come to life through music, dance, acrobats and drama.

Here's another way you can help out - you can support me as I prepare to travel with the Thorn. You can support me through prayer or financially. Please check out my fund raising site; http://www.fundeasy.com/m/1671380/

Thank you in advance for your prayers and support!

Gratitude vs. Entitlement!

I've been thinking a lot about this topic for some time now and I decided I needed to blog about it. I said this blog was a place for me to get things off my mind and so I'm just gonna say it... I can't stand Entitlement!
In my opinion we live in a society of Entitlement. And I really have a hard time when I see Christians with an Entitlement mentality. It breaks my heart to see and hear believers walking around expecting things because they "deserve" them. The reality is we all deserve death and separation from God - that is what we deserve, myself included. We are sinners who have been given a second chance because of God's love for us.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Entitlement as:

• the condition of having a right to have, do, or get something
• the feeling or belief that you deserve to be given something (such as special privileges)

Here is why entitlement bothers me - in Matthew 20:28 it says; The son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. If anyone could have had an entitlement mentality it was Jesus, after all he was the son of God. His daddy could create things with his very words and wipe entire nations out in the blink of an eye. Jesus could have had anything he wanted, but it would not have been good for us if Jesus went around with an entitlement attitude. Jesus came for us, not for him.

I saw this quote online by Steven Furtick; "Gratitude begins where my sense of entitlement ends."

Merriam-Webster defines Gratitude as:

• the state of being grateful

We need to stop expecting things from others because we feel we deserve them and start being grateful for the things we have. Instead of expecting others to serve us, how about we try and out serve one another in Christian Love.

I just needed to get that off my chest. My heart just breaks when I see and hear people, especially Christ followers, treating others poorly or expecting things from others and businesses because they "deserve" it. The whole "Do you know who I am..." attitude just really bugs me. Do you know who I am, I am the child of the King! A sinner saved by grace - the same as you and I don't deserve anything more than death, but by the Grace of God go I!