Harbor Beach People

Today is Saturday, and it was one of those "not much is planned, but there's a lot to do" kind of days.

This morning Kassie, Aurelia and I met with Pam Schantz and the Pysklos to discuss Remix. We had a good conversation and figured out something things we need to accomplish before the informational meeting next week. During the end of that meeting a somewhat familiar face came into McDonalds Deli, a blast from the past. It was the mother of Chris, Bruce and Dean McNeal. I haven't seen any of them or heard from them in quite a long time but it reminded me of the time when Chris and I were friends.

This afternoon, I went to Saginaw to run some errands for our family and for the youth group. Of course, many Harbor Beach people end up, or at least pass through, Saginaw usually due to connections with SVSU or another college in the area.

I stopped at the strip mall containing The UPS store, Guitar Center, Best Buy, etc. As I was pulling in, I noticed Harbor Freight Tools (I think that's what it's called) was having a sale. Being a man, I was interested in a sale on tools. Plus we needed a hammer. So, I went in. After looking around for a while, overwhelmed by all the tools I wish I knew how to use, I was stopped by one of the employees, who happened to be Nick Sanislo. It was cool catching up with him a little bit and interesting to find out that his family is in the middle of a busy wedding season, similar to my family.

Next, I went to the UPS store where I was surprised by the efficiency of the visit. I had ordered something and needed to return it. The company I had gotten from sent me a shipping label. So, all I had to do was give the package to the guy there and walk out.

After walking out I went to Dunhams where I thought I might look for some soccer cleats and/or check out the toe shoes if they had any. I didn't see any toe shoes, and there selection of soccer boots wasn't impressive.

I went on to Guitar Center to try out some acoustic guitars. I thought mine was having problems recently but realized it was just my cable. Nevertheless, my guitar isn't great quality (it's from China), and we are almost out of debt so we might be able to save up for a new guitar sometime. Clinging to that hope, I entered Guitar Center and was met by none other than Jason Guitar. We had a brief exchange and he went on his busy way as I went to try out guitars. I found one I liked quite a bit, a Martin. I tried all kinds, Ibanez, Seagull, Takamine, Taylor, some brand I had never heard of, and another brand I had heard of but don't remember. I ended up really liking a Martin, though. I wanted to buy it right then, but I don't think that would have made Kassie very happy.

Well, it's time for dinner. Gotta go.

Vent

I ordered an Xbox 360 with Kinect for the youth group and got it and am trying to set it up for the 5th quarter party tonight, but I am having some difficulties and I am on my 3rd support person.

The first one was from the company I bought it from and they just kept saying to put in a game and that will fix it.

The second told me to download an update and put it onto a USB flash drive and insert that into the console, but that did nothing either.

We'll see what happens...maybe no Kinect for 5th quarter tonight. Maybe God is trying to tell me that I shouldn't be spending the youth budget on video games and stuff.

On a more positive, but equally (if not more) weird, note, I also received something else I had ordered for the youth group, some guitar strings. I ordered one set of strings and ended up getting 10 sets, for the price of one, and that price was good to begin with! I am not sure whether to tell amazon to see if there was some kind of mistake or to see if I can get another box of 10 sets for the price of 1.

Hello Dear Friends,


We had what I believe was the highest attendance since I have been leading the Uncommon Youth Ministry at Kingston Wesleyan Church. Wednesday was our kick-off event for the school year. We had Matt Moore and Josh THO bless us not only with their music but also their smiles, stories, and hearts for God. 


It was awesome!


We also had pizza (you shoulda been there)

Blown

My mind is a little bit blown right now.
Not only is today the first day of school for the students I work with, which means many different types of ministry are starting, rebooting, or simply changing, but I am also in the middle of a likely position change. 


 I don't know how much of the following I have mentioned in my blog, but at least some of it will be new. The two ministry job thing isn't really working. I would like to do more with each but am limited by time, being one person, etc. I had convinced myself as well as both of my bosses, I think, that the best direction for me, and for us, would be to transition to being full-time with YFC while maintaining involvement but not employment at the church.


The summer has been difficult for Kassie and I, but recently it has begun to change, for the the better. And along with working on our marriage and talking more freely and openly with each other and others, a new possibility has come up, one that I did not think was a possibility. That is, the possibility of transitioning to a full-time position with the Kingston Wesleyan Church instead of Youth For Christ. Since its inception, the idea has developed into a probably direction. Kassie, most importantly, is on board with it. Secondly, Pastor Len seems to welcome it. Thirdly, Todd Cramer seems to be surprisingly supportive of it. 


At this point, I can't say that it will happen, but I can say I would appreciate your prayers and hope this update is helpful as you pray for us. 


Also, thanks for reading.

Fall and Rise

Well, this summer has been a summer of ups and downs as Kassie and I have had quite a bit of stress in our relationship and things with my job have gone back and forth. I definitely got to a breaking point multiple times, but I finally feel like God is lifting us out of this in a real way. Throughout the summer, and much of our marriage, the ups have consisted of basically forgetting about our problems and pretending they aren't there. This time we are actually working to change, together. God is providing. So this Autumn, as the leaves are falling with the temperature, we will rise in our relationship lifted by God's strength and guidance. Also rising will be the amount of activities I will be doing in ministry, such as 5th quarters, music ministry, walk-thrus, breakfast club, etc. I am actually excited and feel somewhat prepared, infinitely more prepared than I was last year. Praise God!