Sunriver 09

Ali and I are finishing up our vacation at Sunriver with her family and what a restful time it's been! We've enjoyed the typical stay here with much biking, swimming, reading, eating and playing games. I learned how to play bridge last night but can't for the life of me fathom why there would be a game where one person doesn't get to play each round?!!! I don't think bridge is for me; I'll stick with whist.

I haven't snapped too many photos but the sky and deer have been fun to shoot. Here are a few of my favorites.

March - June Recap

What a ride! I'm beginning to wonder if life ever stops changing and settles into a routine. I don't think it does, but it's sure been good overall. Here's a snapshot of the busy & life-changing past season.

Moving on: Just as the 30 Hour Famine ended, my friend, mentor & boss, Brian Eberly, moved on from his role as youth pastor at Grace Point into the unknown of what comes next. Though I miss working closely with him, he has settled down at Rock Harbor, Pastoring students there. I look forward to getting our groups together for local events!

Taxes: Taxes are never fun, but when your wife is a tax accountant, it's a whole new level. Mostly I just don't see her for 3 months...so I was glad when April 15th came around and my Ali returned home.

Beach Retreat: As soon as tax season finished, I entered the full swing of Retreat Season...planning games, sessions and more. What a great time we had though, exploring the theme One. Check out the pictures.

Wedding: May 17 marked a new era in the lives of the Geist family. My dad, Dan married Denise in a hot church sanctuary with a beautifully decorated reception. It was a great weekend as my mom's family was in town and we got to enjoy seeing them too.

New Job: In June, our church voted to bring myself and one other gal on staff, me as the new youth pastor. It has been a great month so far...lots to do...lots of people who need Jesus daily...and a constant reminder of my own need.

Moving on Part 2: Thank goodness for technology! Just a week and half ago, my brother Andrew moved out to South Bend to get his Masters at Notre Dame. I am bummed to see him go but am glad to see him growing and moving on in life. I'm glad for technology because it has never been easier to keep in touch with those far away.

Camp Harlow: After being away from Camp Harlow for 10 plus years, I get to return, this time with a group of high schoolers eager to counsel their first group of day-campers. Wow...I remember my first time in '94 when I took the camp name Wet Willy for a Spring Break camp. That was so long ago, but an important experience in why I love ministry today.

New Decade: On Wednesday, I entered the land of those past their 30th year on this earth. I am truly glad to be here and look forward to the added wisdom and maturity that sometimes come with age. Of course, now I'm almost 20 years older than the 6th graders that just joined our mid-school group!

Moving: After 4 great years in this apartment of ours, Alison and I will move into my dad's house this Summer. It is the house I grew up in and helped build. What fun that will be!

Meeting Moses and getting AIDS: My Famine weekend

I spent a great weekend with the students and leaders of 180 fasting, praying, serving and worshipping during the 30 Hour Famine. Thank you to those of you who donated and prayed for us! So far, and the donations are still coming in, we raised over $2,000 which meets the needs for 6 children this year. Praise God!

Here's a snapshot of our weekend:

The Rally: We met up with many other churches from the Portland area at Beaverton Christian Church. Normally the rally begins with high-energy music, but this year entered quietly while getting marked at health stations. The rally began with a funeral...yes, a funeral for 3 victims of AIDS in Africa. 

When I see stats like about the number of children dying or orphaned by AIDS daily, I fell detached. The number is too great for me to act. But attending a "funeral" for one of those kids brings it home that I can act on behalf of one...and it makes a true difference in that one life.

One of the greatest treats this year's rally was hearing from Moses (pictured), a native Kenyan who would have been a statistic if not for World Vision's work when he was a child. The letters from his sponsor, Julie, are what led Him to following Jesus. What an encouragement for us. We can make a difference around the world!

Worship: We were tired, but AJ led us in worship, reading from Matthew and Isaiah, teaching us to not go around all somber and looking like we were suffering, but to go about as normal. It was great to live out the Isaiah 58 passage in fasting & breaking the chains of injustice.

Though our music was worship, I am convinced that the suffering, fasting, serving, and caring for the oppressed were a pleasing aroma for the Lord. I know He looked down on our students and smiled!

 

Serving: This year, we stayed on site for our service project. This was the most physically demanding year of service in that we spent about 2 hours clearing blackberries from our church property. The students did a great job, not complaining once! All in all, it was a good couple of hours, though I'm not sure what to think about a few of them eagerly volunteering to use the deadly poison spray on the roots....hmm :)

Tribes: Dividing into 5 tribes for the weekend, we played 7 games that had basis in real life challenges that plague the poor of Latin America. They included endurance, mental, strength, balance, and a few blindfold challenges. Pictured are students crossing the Amazon to get to school. My favorite however was the Survivor style endurance challenge where students had to hold a weighted bucket straight out from their body for as long as possible. This challenge represented the long trek back from a river with water for the family to drink, but presented some of the greatest challenge viewing of the weekend!

Speakers: Steve Pringle and Brian Wiggs brought great passion, insight and challenge in how we can continue the spirit of the Famine in our daily lives.

Steve spoke on our passion, how God has uniquely shaped us and our need to remain/abide in Jesus as we live daily. Brian challenged us to be courageous and build relationships with people outside our comfort zone, which is what it takes to care for the least of these.

The Meal: Last but not least, we ended the fast with chicken burritos. But we were asked to stay in the spirit of the Famine and walk silently look through the line, thanking God for the food we have. 

We had a great time and I am so proud of the students who gave up 30 hours of eating to save children's lives. May our attitudes be changed as well. We are so blessed and are called to be a blessing to others.

Check out all of our Famine pictures here.

30 Hour Famine

In just a few short hours, the students will begin to arrive for the 30 Hour Famine. We've already fasted for 4 hours and the hunger just began. I always dread the hunger, but the anticipation is the worst part. It makes me consider those in this world who don't know when that next meal will be on their plate. 30 hours is short compared to some the time others go without food.

I'm excited to fast with so many students who are raising funds for World Vision. I invite you to participate in giving alongside our students.

It should be a great weekend. I'll let you know how it goes!

Adversity

We all face adversity…sometimes as inconsequential as on the playing field, sometimes it has to do with a relationship ending, or a parent, teacher or boss who you feel gives you a bit too much to do. The scale of adversity goes all the way up to sickness and when a friend or family member dies.

Adversity is tough or else we would call it a good time. 

But though it is tough it can be good, because it shows who we really are, it shows what we truly believe and it shows what is most important to us. We see who we are through our reactions. 

Take a look at what happens to these chocolate bunnies when they face adversity. 

HT Marko

When adversity came, they melted, fade away, showed themselves to be hollow, and even lost their head. 

But check out Job, a man faced with more adversity than many of us combined, He said that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away but blessed be the name of the Lord. Job understood that God is good and that He is in control. 

So when you face adversity what are you like? The melting bunnies? Or Job who praised God? 

A few things to remember when you face adversity: 

• Look beyond the now: James 1:2-4
  You are going to grow. No athlete became good if they always thought about how hard practice was. Athletes persevere through tough times because they see that they are getting better and that winning down the road is the goal. 
• Serve God: Matthew 6:33
  Don’t worry, keep on serving Jesus. Make it your first priority to be about what God is about and you won’t have to worry. 
• Obey God (Love Him!): John 14:15
  Not just when it’s easy. Not cheating is pretty easy to do when you’ve studied for the test. But not cheating when it’s the final and your grade will determine if you pass or fail…that’s tough, but we still must obey in adversity.

Remember to the truth of Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

New Year's Eve in North Portland

After a semi-wild day of playing Assistant Apartment Manager (not assistant to the...where was I?), Ali and I traveled to North Mississippi Avenue for a few places she's been wanting to go.

The Meadow: We stopped first here where Ali had read various Portland food blogs raving on the selection. I being a coffee and wine guy, I should assume that there would be many varieties of salt, but this blew my mind! They have 2 walls devoted to salts from around the world with samples of each. My favorite were the salt blocks (pictured). Supposedly you can cook food right on the block! With equally great a selection was the wall of chocolate. A bit of chocolate is a great way to head of to a taco dinner.

Por Que No Taqueria: This fun place just became my new favorite taco joint. Pay no attention to the poor image quality, but trust me in the quality and taste of the pollo asado (chicken) and pescado (fish) tacos. Ali had a small salad topped with three slices of avocado and we shared some fresh baked chips.

If you ever head down to Mississippi Avenue, and I recommend you do, you may also want to eat at The Mississippi Pizza Pub. We found them while spending time over at Emmanuel hospital with my mom last year. One evening we were all there and asked the nurses if there was any good pizza nearby. Sure enough, they were right.

We're back home now and ready to stay up all night...well, at least to midnight anyway. May God bless you in this new year, 2009.

More Snow!

Could it be that the weathermen & women of our fine town could be correct twice in one week?! I sure don't mind.

Seeing as we are supposed to get 6" of snow and then freezing rain on top of that later tonight, we went downtown for photos & shopping. Man, I'm sure glad we've got a Subaru. She sure loves the snow!

While we were out, we stopped at Pioneer Courthouse Square for a couple photo ops. Here are a few from our morning.

Snow Day (week?) 2008

What a great day! We woke up not knowing if snow would be here...and it wasn't...alright...get up and go to church. Just a half-hour later the snow began to fall and didn't stop for at least 8 hours! Needless to say, we canceled church.

We couldn't really drive, in fact you'll see that our street was one of three closed by the city of Portland, so we walked to Starbucks with Annie & Matt. After a warm cup of coffee, we walked through Gabriel Park, then over to Ali's parents to borrow some sleds.

It took 6 hours, but we finally decided to come inside to eat and warm the bodies.

Now for the rest of the week....who knows, we aren't supposed to get above freezing until Saturday, with snow coming Wednesday & Thursday. Yikes!

Here are a few pics of the day's adventure.

Black Friday

I have stayed as far away from Black Friday as possible—until yesterday that is. You see, yesterday, Office Depot had a great sale on a laptop.

My first experience purchasing a laptop (5 yrs. ago) ended in credit card debt, many interest payments, and when the laptop broke, I returned it using the cash to pay off the credit card. All in all, I leased a laptop for one year. No fun.

This time was different. Actually paying for something outright is a much different feeling. Thanks Dave Ramsey, and oh the wisdom of Proverbs.

Getting the laptop did mean some sacrifice however, like waking up at 4:30am. I was 25th in line...not as up front as I would like to have been, but 100 people showed up between my arrival and the store's 6am open time. Yikes! I did however get a jump start on a John Grisham novel while standing out in the cold.

Friday Thoughts

I take a break from the list of errands for a random posting of thoughts from today:

• New tires aren't cheap!
• I'd love to be in Nashville for the National Youth Workers Convention right now. They even have a "Live Blog" where you can view 5 youth workers blogging their thoughts as the convention roles on! Check it out!
• If you want to hear some serious preaching, check out the Cornerstone Community Church podcast (find it in iTunes) from Francis Chan in Simi Valley, CA. Brian and I saw him at the convention last year.
• In listening to the podcast, Francis spoke from 2 Timothy 3 about the last days...and that people would be lovers of self of which he said is the sewer pipe that the rest of the junk comes down. (the love of money, boastfulness, pride, etc...) The quote that made me think the most...and probably the most convicting was

  We will get to a point where we are more concerned about our standard of living than we are about other human beings actually living.

  Check out his series on The End Of The World for more...it's not your typical end times message!
• Speaking of standard of living...I'm enjoying the iPhone 2.2 software update. It's pretty cool directly downloading podcasts and then just listen away. No more syncing!

Well, so far that's my Friday...more errands next and some website work for Dennis the Dentist! If you're in Tigard, Sherwood, Newberg area and are looking for a dentist...check him out!

Encouragement from iTunes

I'm sitting here working while listening to Starfield...my favorite NYWC conference worship band this year, and can't get the song Remain out of my head. The chorus rings so true in trials and when it seems like everything in life is changing all at once.

You are God with us
You're victorious
You are strong and mighty to save
For Your word stands true
There is none like you
And when all else fades, You remain

Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Old School Math

No, I'm not talking about the way we used to do math compared to how they teach kids now. I'm talking about our weekend.

Last Saturday, Ali and I took a walk through Multnomah Village to look in all the shops. We came to Paganwood Restoring, a wood restoration shop with plenty of antiques. Entering Paganwood feels a bit like going to my grandma Geist's house back in the day.

Ali's eyes immediately found a 1920's era mechanical adding machine. Being an accountant, she wanted it for her office. The cool thing is that it still works! After coming home, she looked it up online and discovered how to use it (in a very convoluted way) to subtract.

If you're looking for a touch of something from yesteryear and a good walk, come on down to Multnomah Village.

 

Before I Resign

Encouragement is powerful. We are commanded to encourage one another, and yet sometimes it comes few and far between. This weekend, Brian and I received a copy of a student's paper on youth ministry from one of their college courses. The student had written it, reflecting on their own past in our ministry and as a high school student. It floored me, and encouraged me enough to keep going another 5 years! (no I wasn't thinking of quitting :)

Brian and I share this with you to remind you that you never reap in the same season that you sow, that it takes time to make faith our own, and to never underestimate the role of relationship in the lives of students. You can read the text of the letter from Brian's blog...the link is below.

Years ago, as an intern of Jon Knapp, he told me to create a before I resign file. Put in that file cards, notes of encouragement, and anything else that reminds you of what God has done through you. When that day comes that you think that you're having no impact, go to the file and be reminded of what God has done, and that ministry takes time.

This note is going in the front of that file!

Letter from a student.

NYMC 08 - Highlight Reel

What a great weekend down in Sacramento for the National Youth Workers Convention. This wonderful event put on by Youth Specialties is one of the highlights of my year. Just about the only thing I didn't enjoy was not having my wife alongside.

I'll be blogging through what individual speakers shared as the weeks go on, but I wanted to tell a few of my favorite things.

The People: Although I went for the teaching, worship and soul care, connecting with people was one of the most encouraging elements this year. It was neat getting to know a few guys from my neck of the woods, as well as some from the online world. If you're in youth ministry, you should check out Tim Schmoyer site. He is a dedicated youth worker in Minnesota who provides countless resources and tips for those doing student ministries themselves. In fact, I'm listening to a video podcast of his as I type!

The Communicators: You can't go wrong when people like Tony Campolo, Mark Yaconelli, Shane Claiborne, and of course YS President, Marko bring their thoughts on life and serving God. But I loved the great variety of topics taught. It ranged from 2,000 plus years of church history and its effect on where we are now, to how we act justly today, how we think about the gay community, and those dark times in the wilderness in which all leaders pass.

The Bands: Hello...Starfield, Lincoln Brewster, Shane & Shane, Kendall Payne, and others! Great worship leaders and artists.

The Freebies: It's real nice coming home from the convention with a bag full of free ministry resources, and a few valuable purchased ones too. Above the Golden State, a local Portland band even made it into my freebie bag!

The Tech: For those of you Twitter people out there, my total tweets increased 47% while at the convention. It was fun tweeting and reading my fellow youth workers' tweets as we all learned different things.

Brian had the chance to Liveblog the event, which meant that during all the sessions and seminars, there were 4 laptop laden people typing their thoughts and experience for the world to see. It was fun to interact on the liveblog. If you want to check it out yourself, even see videos & pictures from the convention, check it out here.

The Passion: The convention provides a camp experience for 2,500 youth workers. There are a bunch of people heading back to ministries this week with new passion and vision. You can pray for them as they seek to excite those around them in the things they learned.

Well, for someone who hasn't typed that much in a while, I think I'll call it quits. Check back soon for my thoughts on the speakers.

I'll have cup of coffee...minus the coffee

Thursday brought great weather and a fun trip with our mid-school group to Wild Waves in Federal Way, WA. After a cool time on the water slides and roller coasters, we headed back home, a three-hour journey.

Of course, we stopped at Starbucks so that our van drivers had the gusto for the trip. I ordered my favorite drink—a triple-grande-caramel-macchiato: Steamed milk, vanilla, caramel and of course the all important 3 shots of espresso.

The drink starts out sweet as you sip the caramel floating on the milk foam, then turns nice and bitter as you hit the milk & espresso, finishing sweet when you reach the caramel on the bottom.

After leaving the store and returning to the road, I noticed that the drink was staying a bit sweet for far too long. I began to suspect that they didn't put enough espresso in, or worse...none. Alison opened the cup and sure enough, a white drink.

NO COFFEE!!!??? What?

How do you order a Triple shot drink and receive none?

I could not believe it! We'll see what happens. I wrote Starbucks customer service. Maybe they'll give me a free drink :)

Surprised by God

Pastor Steve from our Church began a new series a couple weeks ago entitled Surprised by God. This meant-to-be-fun Summer series has quickly turned into a look at a God who seems to love surprising His people. From the way He saved Israel from Egypt and the way He sent Jesus to this earth, to the remarkable test He gave Abraham after surprising him with a child in old age, God still surprises people.

Steve shared of two surprises in our own church body: A changed cancer diagnosis in a 25 year old man from terminal to treatable, and a 5% chance of survival during heart surgery into leaving the hospital just a few days later. Wow! How incredible.

It made me reflect on times when I've been surprised by God, some medical, some financial, some spiritual. We have a God who delights in surprising us with outcomes and paths that we didn't even know to exist.

While at this time of morning, I'm usually trying to grab every last second of sleep, I'm getting ready to clean our apartment's laundry room. That was a surprise. Faced with part-time jobs that took full time, we wanted to pay off credit card & student debt much faster than we were able. God surprised us when our apartment manager told us that he was looking for someone or two to clean the laundry and rec rooms for a good chunk off our rent. Surprise!

We're not ready to call up Dave Ramsey yet for the Freedom chant, but working our way. Thank you God.

How have you been surprised by God?

Breakfast & "Mr. Buddy"

Ali and I took part in our traditional non youth event Saturday morning activity: Breakfast & Starbucks. With the weather being so nice, and us only wanting to be outside before it hit 80, we walked. I'm going to miss the hot drinks for the season, but I enjoyed my iced caramel macchiato, and Alison, her iced Americano, all of course while attempting the Saturday crossword.

You'll notice pictures from the walk of various flowers and of course, Mr. Buddy from our backyard. Alison named any squirrel we see Mr. Buddy, because they become our cat's buddy. He was up in the tree, a little angry that I was taking pictures of him instead of providing his morning diet of roasted peanuts.

Dinner and a walk

Alison and I used a gift card to enjoy Manzana's happy hour on Friday which helped us escape the 96 degree heat for the evening. Owning an air-conditioning unit that doesn't fit anywhere in our house is unfortunate to say the least. We enjoy the sun by day, but the heat makes us wish for the winter by night.

After dinner, we walked around Lake Oswego—which happens to look nothing like the portrayal from 24. It was beautiful, and gave us another chance to experiment with the camera and take pleasure in God's creation.

Back in the saddle

An eternity past once again. Life has been busy. This past month has been great, but with plenty of preparation. We took our High School group to the beach, had our first Mexico Mission training session, co-taught an Understanding & Parenting Teens seminar, alongside what just seemed to be a busy month anyway.

I'm sure I'll blog on all of these things soon, but alas, I've got some work still ahead of me today.

But, what I've got to share is our new camera. Prices on Canon's Rebel XT line are falling pending their discontinuation, and I've got a few friends with the same camera. Compound that with our 6 year old camera throwing a green swatch of pixels into every shot and it was time for an upgrade.

I'm not terribly well versed in the language of aperture, exposure, and shutter speed. But from what I know, I thought I'd try some shots in manual mode. What the heck! I mean, it's digital right?

Anyway...enjoy.

Exciting Day

Tuesday was an exciting day:

First, I got my car windshield replaced after the crack grew for months. I'm glad I replaced when I did too. I got the first crack in the summer, but the second crack happened the day before I got it replaced! Lucked out there!

Second, the iPhone 1.1.3 update came out. Now I can have Google Maps locate where I am and get directions from there...great feature!

And lastly, we had our 2nd Tigard-area Youth Pastor's meeting. It will be exciting to see what happens with this group of like-minded and group.