Aug 25 2010
Living frantically in peace…
One of the difficult things for me this time of year is that everyone is running on frantic, in a focused manner because we all know this is the most important part of the year. The relationships we make this time of year determine how the rest of the year goes, at least the next semester go. The busyness of it all drive us to become focused on doing… getting the job done. Some times we feel frustration from volunteers, other times we are excited about new students we meet. other times we feel like we just can’t do enough to keep up. For those of us with a base performance frame, it’s exhilirating but and intoxicating at the same time.
I’ve struggled with maintaining a grace orientation, one that rests on God’s work in and through me. Yet, it is especially important to see life that way this time of year. I often miss God’s plan in all the encounters and inconveniences during this time of year. I often miss the people of peace right in front of my face, I miss the life lesson my kids are shogin me right now… My desire is to walk expectantly with job and yet I often find myself expecting God to walk according to my latest plan and organizational strategy.
We also were part of a pilot program to preview a bunch of videos called “
Today my son, T-9 became T-10. He had two of his buddies over for his birthday party and they had pizza, cake, played with their DS’s until the wii… I mean wee hours of the night (wii was played a little too) and fun was had by all. The last couple of weeks I’ve had the pleasure of being T-10′s Webelo den leader. It has been a blast watching he and his friend D work through some of the requirements and learn and truly grow. It was not too long ago that Jonathan as at this stage… or it seems. Actually Jonathan is now a teenager, spending countless hours studying about military history and the world… If you ask him what he wants to be… he would say to you, Ruler of the World. (I think tongue in cheek…). Our little one… it seems like she just came home from China and the precocious 7 year old is already talking about boys and wanting to dress well for them. What in the world?!?! Time is just flying. Lisa and I feel blessed to be able to be a part of all this but sometimes it feels like we are watching a car race running in front of us as we sit in the stands as spectators… the only think… we are actually in the race too, they are just moving that fast. Not too long ago, Jonathan and I read Ecclesiasties for our bed time story and I was really touched by its description of the brevity of life. Of how things go so fast… And his conclusion is it is all vanity… the only thing that matters is worshiping God. The fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom. I am really beginning to appreciate that as I clearly get past the half way point of my life.
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Still, this week was very hard… Several dear friends are going home long term this weekend. In addition, several of our staff have had some huge family crises and we are transitioning one of our kids through teenhood and another through being a Webelo… I can’t remember when we have had more “stuff” to do in my life. No I take that back, back in High School, the weeks before I left for New Jersey for the first time, I had just about every hour scheduled with packing, having dinner with someone, etc. It was just as non-stop but the idea that that sort of life style not ending any more can be daunting… Still the exciting thing is that God is showing me through daily time in His word and in prayer that it can be done. We are being forced to depend on Him for every second of every day and it actually works!
One of the things we end each Bible study with every week is “if this passage is true, (which I believe it is) how does it change the way that you live…” I’ve been really challenged this year to make this question a part of every Bible truth that I know and imagine this… THE BIBLE ACTUALLY IS TRUE AND LIVING AS IF IT IS ACTUALLY WORKS! Imagine that…
Our little girl is truly growing up so fast. C-7 was in a concert this week at her school. She sang with her first grade class and she did it with so much dedication and purpose. It was a real blessing. Afterward, we snapped a bunch of pictures with the family. 
Many of you may remember this but perhaps not. There was a time when there was nothing I loved more than strapping on some roller blades, putting on some pads and going to the local tennis court to play some hockey. I used to love the game… actually I still do. I was reminded of that when I was caught up in the hockey at the Olympics this winter in Vancouver. It is a really fun sport to watch and definitely to play. I honestly still have a thing for the Anaheim Ducks but the Dallas Stars are a close second.
Well, imagine my surprise to find that one of our students, one from Colombia of all places also loves hockey and plays a lot in his home country. Julian must be very good. He has traveled to the U.S. in the past for international tournaments with players who play pro roller hockey in the states. One Friday night, this game me the opportunity to take out the old blades, my skates and pads. (They really smell after being in storage for so long) It was really fun. I even let him use my old practice skates while he is here.
Well in talking with him, I found out that he had never been to a real life ice hockey game. God placed it in my heart to take him and I prayed that the opportunity might come up. When it rains it pours when we take things to the Lord. First, my colleague, Jason and I jumped online and were able to get $99 tickets right next to the ice for a fraction of the price. Then, a member of our church said she had some free tickets that she wanted to share with us. You should have seen Julian’s face when we shared the opportunity with him: the chance to go to two games in one week. The smile was bigger than the smile of the Cheshire cat. He wanted to go to both.
Tonight was the first of these games. It was truly amazing! We sat right up on the action, so close we could see everything – from faces pressed up against the glass during a fight to pucks scooting around the boards right in front of us. It was an exciting game AND the Stars played well for once. Julian and our other friend Alex, also from Columbia seemed like they were in heaven. We saw big hits, goals galore and interestingly, right before the end of the game there was a fight right in front of us. Yikes!
I know both of our friends from Colombia were blessed greatly, both in different ways. On the way up and back we had some great conversations about life, about Columbia, the USA, about things even deeper too. Most of all, we truly enjoyed each other’s company. I know we will never forget this experience and it will forever knit us as friends and hopefully allow us to share even more deeply all in the context of a couple of guys enjoying time together watching a common sport that they love. Praise the Lord for His goodness.
One of the cultural fixtures in Texas is football in the fall. Finally, the Yabukis were able to become a part of that cultural rite through flag football. T-9 decided he wanted to play flag football this year. He didn’t feel he was ready for the full blown tackle thing which they play in the local elementary school but we are extremely proud that he took this step. Playing on the YMCA Raiders (gotta love the name Uncle Allen), T-9 was able to play in the trenches on both the offensive and defensive line. While he is one of the smaller players on the team, he became quite adept at slipping his blocker and doing his patented spin move to get to the quarterback. I think he compiled between 5-10 “sacks” of the quarterback. In the second playoff game alone he had had four. On offense, we saw him taking on kids twice his size and winning… what a HEART! Watch out Demarcus Ware! Roy will be coaching basketball in the winter too… sports is coming!!!
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