I don't have all the answers...

Last night, I was asked to attend this sort of 'Think Tank' meeting at a church in town that wanted to know about the youth / 20 somethings of this day... The average age was probably 60. It was a really great venue to be really frank and really honest with folks.

They asked really great questions such as:
1. There are 40,000 kids in Killeen ISD and 250 churches. There are about 3,000 involved in church. Why are the other 37,000 not involved.
2. How do you relate to a culture that is influenced by MTV / Hollywood / iPods / iPhone / whatever else?
3. As parents / grandparents, how do we?
4. Should we even care about the youth if we can't reach them?
5. Why is it cool to become a Buddhist and uncool to become a Christian?
6. What are kids 'looking for' these days?

I left the church really drained and exhausted. I felt really heard and really loved. I think they were a little taken aback by some of the things that I said and how blunt I was, but they really appreciated it. I was really excited that I got to be a part of that time.

We are still trying to get kids signed up for camp. Please pray. Please pray some more. Kids are crazy! I was texting this kid about camp and when I could come over and speak with his mother and blah, blah, blah ... and his 'signature' on ALL of his text messages is this: Ask Them Ho's About Me! WoW! I am not sure how many I know, but I will definitely do that! I actually saw him at school yesterday. As he was walking away, I called out his name, he turned around and I said, 'Hey, whatever you do ... don't forget to Ask Them Ho's About Me!' He could not believe that I said that!!! We began texting last night after Taylor went to bed and his NEW 'signature' simply says: Think About It! I never told him to change his 'signature.' I never told him that I thought it was wrong. Maybe it was me actually saying the words out loud. Who knows? But I thanked Jesus for this young man last night. Please pray for Tim. He needs to know our Savior in an intimate way. He really needs to be in Georgia with us this summer.

Taylor and I are painting the Young Life office this weekend. Lime Passion. That's the color! It is gonna be B-R-I-G-H-T!!!!!!!!!! It will go wonderful with the new YL logo and color scheme.

I have had some really wonderful conversations with leaders, donors, pastors, old YL kids and others this past week. Such a blessing. Please pray for my words. Pray for Wisdom. People's lives are being changed in Central Texas because of the work of Young Life!

Thanks for being a partner in something greater than what we can see!

Because High School kids are worth it...

The Long weeeeeeekend...

Don't you just love LoooooooooooooooooooNG weekends? Man 'O Man! I know that Taylor and I sure do...

What did you do? How did you celebrate?

On Friday, Taylor and I went to the Ellison High School Faculty / Seniors basketball game at 3 p.m. Then we walked over to the football field and watched the EHS Screamin' Eagles' Spring Football Game. We stayed for 3 quarters and then ventured out to a friends house for some great cooking by my father in law. He is a really great cook! We ended up watching The Forgotten later that night. I am not sure where this movie came from, but it was definitely in our movie collection. Hmmmmm... It was pretty scary. What is the deal with Aliens? Do they exist or not? Insane! My vote says no.

Saturday was a great day. Taylor planted some Wavy Petunias (pink ones and white ones) in two hanging baskets which decorate our front patio and look So Great! Adding a woman to a homestead sure does LIVEN up the home decor! Color... Who knew what a difference color could make? And I planted a Cardinal Red Oleander on the side of our house to cover the a/c unit from being seen from the street. No longer will it be an eye sore... Those Oleanders sure are beautiful! And now I got the itch to plant more and more...

Taylor, her mom and I went and saw Indiana Jones on Saturday. We HAD to see it ... because we are Americans ... or at least Texans. I don't need to see it again. I was really disappointed. WAaAaAaAaY far fetched. Aliens? Again. UGH! Indy and the Aliens? Come on George Lucas! Surely one can do better than that! Save your money. That's my vote anyhow. Wait until it comes out in Redbox. Save the money. Buy a pizza and enjoy it at home.

We went to church Sunday. Early service and then we served in the nursery. Toddlers. 1 - 2 year olds! We used to be in the 2 -3 year olds which I really liked. Did you hear me say Toddlers? That's right! I thought that it would be more of a temptation for Taylor to have kids ofour own quicker, but it turns out this could be an additional birth control for the Russell Family! Monsters, I tell you! Nah, they aren't that bad... I can't imagine having one though.

We napped after church which is always a Sunday 'staple.' We love to nap. I have gotten into the Chronicles of Narnia books series. I read two this past week and am not on the third. Such great reads. Short. Entertaining. Great imagination! Stimulating. We had dinner at the in laws. Burgers. You have to cook out over Memorial Day, right? Thank you to all that serve or have served! Taylor and I are grateful! Especially of those who have lost their lives.

Monday, we slept in. More napping. More yard time. I don't even remember what we did. Oh yeah, we went to Salado and bought some decorative items for the house. Taylor is really great at decorating not only the outside, but the inside as well. Then we went to the River. Lampasas River. It was really fun. We went with the in laws. They took their Yellow Lab - Jackson. This dog is beautiful. Great Hunting Dog. He sure loves the water. We all got in the water. Very relaxing. I love the simple life. Country. Rivers. Dogs.

And so here it is Tuesday. Another day. Another dollar. Two more kids signed up for camp yesterday! OH YEAH!

I got this YouTube video in my email this morning. If you have 8 minutes and 4 seconds, you should watch it. It's STRONG! It's POWERFUL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

God is in the business of changing lives! OUR lives! Are we letting Him?

Come & Getcha Some...

I've got a couple of things for you today...

I am very excited about many of them!

For starters, I have some VERY EXCITING NEWS in regards to how we are doing on our Funds being raised to help send kids to camp. Each year, I have our leaders / staff send out donor letters to help kids go to camp. It has never really bred much excitement nor funds. Oh Well! This year, I just knew that there was GREAT potential and so I pushed our leaders as well as myself and made a goal of $10,000. What? Did I say $10,000? I must be out of my MIND! Well, as of right now, we have committed monies of $13,180!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Right now you should be praising Jesus for this Incredible Blessing! Camp costs a lot of money. Our kids don't have that much money and folks like you have made it possible for these kiddos to go to camp! Please pray for Jahron from Ellison High School. He will be a senior next year. Starting Linebacker and Fullback / Runningback for the football team. He has really great interest and I really want him to go to Sharptop Cove! Very influential guy. He needs to be at Sharptop Cove this summer! He needs to know our Savior! May our Abundant Lord make this happen.

Next, last night at Campaigners, we had a really great discussion on what it means to be a Disciple of Jesus. To Follow Him. To Walk with Him. To Learn about / from Him. We got to talking about this 'battle' that we are born into. This battle of Good vs. Evil. God vs. satan. Righteousness vs. Unrighteousness. Heaven vs. Hell. I believe that the Bible is very clear that all of these entities are very real! Very Active. Battling for our hearts / souls. Each and every day! So I posed a question to our kids about where they were in the battle. Whose side were they on? One guy answered with confidence that he was on the side of God and Good. The way he answered it made me ask 'and why is that?' He responded with 'because I don't believe in the devil and I don't believe in hell. I think everyone is going to heaven. That's where all roads lead.' Wow! Uhhhhh. OK. I asked him where he got that from and he just said that those were his beliefs. He could not back them up with anything or whatnot. That was just what he believed. Well, in this age of Relativism (where what's good for you is good for you & what's good for me is good for me ... and we are BOTH right and don't question the other) the proper thing for me to say was 'well, that's cool.' But I'm not down with that! I got to tell him about the Biblical view of Creation, Heaven and Hell, God and satan, Righteousness and Unrighteousness and all of the good stuff. He is HUNGRY! Hungry for the Truth! Pray that Jesus would open his eyes. The great news is ... is that he is already signed up for Sharptop Cove this summer! Beleive It!

I read this great quote this morning and wanted to share it with you ... 'Don't spoil what you have, by desiring what you don't have. Remember that what you now have, was the thing you once hoped for!' --- Epicurus. I have no idea who Epicurus is, but what a great quote, huh?!? It sure is easy to wish we had this or that. Get over that. And I am speaking to myself.

And lastly, when I was in Colorado last week, I got to be a part of a Photo Shoot. Let me know whatcha think and whether you know of any Modeling Agents that would be interested in something like this:

Thanks for reading this blog. I hope that it makes you smile, laugh, cry, pray, desire Jesus and to be a better person.

Peace and Love...

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!!!

Welp, I am back in the saddle, but just briefly. I mean, I am back in Killeen for quite some time, but only gonna blog for a brief second today. I am on my way out the door. I have been here since 8 and it is now 3:36. I have not spent this much time in the office in a VERY long time. I sure did get a lot done though!

Check out this quote:
"How do you reach a culture that hears with its eyes and thinks with its feelings? A culture where life and feeling are synonymous? We reach them with a life that is synonymous with the word, in which word and life are identical. And how shall they hear without a preacher? His Word cannot be broken. Let us not break our committment to be honest communicators and deliverers of the truth. Times are changing. His Word does not, and His Word abides forever." -- Author and Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias
How about that? I think it is true. I like the quote.

We had our last Young Life last night. It was great. Sad. But Great. It was Dan's last YL Club as a Central Texas Leader. His 6 year reign is no longer. This was also Lindsey's last night as well. She has graduated from UMHB and is now going off to Graduate School in Dallas or Tyler.

I will be writing more tomorrow. Enjoy...

Crazy snow while in Colorado. Very Unexpected!

Kids at Club doin' Da Train


Dan gets surprised in Skit with a pie in his face


Group pic of last YL Club

Effortless...

So, I bought a new lawn mower the other day and yesterday was our Maiden Voyage! Shoes on. Shirt Off. Always. Beautiful Day. I bust out the new Craftsman Rear-Wheel drive 21 inch cutting deck mower and go to town.

The old mower I had (it was my roommates) was a push mower. It worked well. But now I have a mower that drives itself. And boy does it! Seriously! All I do is walk behind it. It is so incredible. I love it! Here is a picture of our home with a nice clipped and manicured lawn. Taylor and I LOVE our home and feel so fortunate to be in it. I have lived there a little over 3 years. I actually bought it exactly 6 years to the DAY after my folks bought there home in Corinth. Weird...

This is the worst my lawn has looked since I bought it. Me and my neighbor men have a 'Lawn Off' every year to see who has the Best Lawn! It is really tough competition. I hold the Trophy for the past 2 years! I take after my father. He is a Lawn Ninja!!! Ol' Jack Russell ... he is a Machine!

I am heading to Colorado tomorrow for a week so I will be on a blog sabbatical. I am sad to leave my wonderful wife behind, but excited to get to spend some alone time in the mountains with Jesus ... as in the Christ, not the Mexican guy down the street. Get it? Funny, Huh? I'm a DORK!

Anyhow, I love Fridays. It won't be long before the summer is upon us and we are leaving for Young Life Summer Camp. What an Extraordinary deal. Sharptop Cove is so Awesome.

I guess that's all I have for ya for now. I know it's not much, but it's at least somethin'.

Thanks for being my friend...

What has happened...

This morning for breakfast, I met with one of my good friends to talk about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Not really, but we did talk about life.

It's fun to reminisce on the 'old days.' Not too much, but just enough to laugh at ourselves. In this mindset, we got to talking about the 'Field Days' in Elementary School. Did you all have these things? You know, an all school relay consisting of 3 legged races, potato sack relays, hula hoops, slowest bike race and such. Ring a Bell? Maybe it was just at my school.

Anyhow, what's the deal with a Hula Hoop? Have you tried one of those things lately? I picked one up a month or so ago (and mind you, I was INCREDIBLE back 'in the day!') and could hula it AT ALL! And I mean, AT ALLLLLLL. What has happened? Have I lost my Hula Talents? And what about Jump Roping? Remember the Double Dutch? I could run my way up in to that Jump Rope without getting hit. Nowadays? Not so much. What has happened?

I stopped eating flour tortillas today. Did you like that transition? Life Happens! We grow. Our bodies change. We slow down. Even at 31. And I know it only gets worse. So, I am backing off my eating habits. They are fairly bad. I don't eat out a whole lot ... mainly because I can't afford it. But when I do, it's gonna be smaller portions. And not as many carbs. I hear they can be bad for you.

My goal? I want to be able to Hula Hoop again! And Double Dutch! At 31 years old. Can it be done? Probably. I will keep you informed...

Do you have 8 Minutes and 44 Seconds to watch a video? If so, check this out. It is pretty Incredible. The speaker is Louie Giglio. He speaks a ton to college folks around the globe. I heard him in '98 and he is always awesome. Enjoy...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4

Mas Pictorals...

Here are some more pics for you to enjoy...

Dan and Chris performing the 'Dueling Banjos' in the dark with flashlights up there noses!


Bringin' the Word

I spoke about Hosea and Gomer at Club on Monday. This is an Incredible Love Story! God told the prophet Hosea that he wanted him to marry Gomer, an adulterous woman. Seriously? I mean, can you imagine? I remember being in Costa Rica in the summer of 2006 for two months and feeling like God was molding my heart to marry Taylor. How EXCITING!!! Taylor is nuthin' like Gomer! Was Hosea excited?

Hosea did marry Gomer and she ends up having affairs on Hosea. But guess what? Hosea keeps accepting her back! What in the ... Gomer has 3 kids. One is believed to be Hoseas. The other two? No Idea. Some random guys or two... This sounds like 2008, but it was written 700 B.C. Hosea's love for Gomer was Faithful. Unending. Constant.

Do you see the Big Picture? You are Gomer! I am Gomer! We are ALL Gomer! God is Hosea. WE are the Adulterous Bride! We have turned our backs on God and are chasing the things of this world. But His Love is Faithful. Unending. Constant! WoW... Wrap your mind around that one today. Gomer ends up selling herself into slavery or prostitution and Hosea goes and BUYS HER BACK! His OWN Wife! Can you imagine? And God does that same thing. He buys US back. Even when we don't want to be bought back. He Forgives Us. Even when we don't want to be Forgiven.

That's God's Love! That's the kind of Love that surpasses All Understanding... Do YOU know this Love today? Are you living in this Love today? Does your Spouse / Family experience this Love today?

On another note, the bird feeder is still adding lots of entertainment. Doves are coming from all over town to eat at our feeder. There is a Cardinal that frequents the feeder daily. I saw a red-headed wood pecker (I named him Woody ... I know, it's Cheesy!) today. Now those birds amaze me. Got Advil?

This is a bootleg pic of our bird feeder and a Red Wing Black Bird goin' to town


Kids are beginning to sign up for camp. Copperas Cove has 10 kids signed up and Ellison has 5 kids signed up. Over half way there when you include the Leaders! Keep Prayin'...

Because high school kids are worth it...

Pics. Pics. And more Pics...

I figured I would give you some visual stimulation and let you enjoy some of the latest pics that we have taken with the Young Life digital camera...

Young Life Group Pic before Club on Monday


HHHS girls


Kids participating in the Young Life Olympics:
Snot Rockets!


Donut Push!


Weirdo!



That is all of the pics I could fit on this blog. On to the next...

The Battle of the Bulge...

This weekend was simply wonderful! Slow. Low Key. Nothing planned ... for the most part. At HOME! This was a real treat for Taylor and me. We LOVE being at home!

We went to a funeral on Saturday morning in Florence, Texas. Florence is only 20 minutes down the road from us. Small Town. Real Small Town. We did not know the man that died, but we know his daughter and son in law well. So we went in support of them. Jesse Ray was born in Florence, Texas, in 1913. 1913!!! He was 94 years old. His funeral was awesome! The pastor said that Jesse Ray lived a simple life. He loved his family well. And he loved to sit on his front porch and watch the cars drive by. He loved life. The Simple Life. I admire that. A Lot. We too often get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that we forget the little things. And far too often, the things that matter most ... like Family! Lord Forgive Us...

After we got home from the funeral, Taylor and I went to Home Depot, Sears, Tractor Supply Company and Lowe's in search of two things: A lawn mower and a bird feeder. We got a bird feeder on Saturday and then bought a sweeeeeeet lawn mower last night!

We set up the bird feeder in our backyard and waited patiently. We did not know what to expect. But what we saw (or didn't see!) the first day was disappointing! We set it up at 1:30 in the afternoon and had NO visitors that day. Maybe they were just scouting the area out. Maybe the 'word' had not gotten around yet. Who Knows? But let's just say that Sunday was a whole different ball game! When we got up on Sunday morning, the bird feeder was half empty. Today, it is gone. I soon realized that this new hobby could become quite expensive if this pace keeps up.

While I was eating breakfast, There were two Red Winged Black Birds, 4 finches, 2 Purple Belly Sparrows, a Cardinal and 7 White Winged Morning Dove ALL at the feeder. I felt like Ace Ventura ... PET DETECTIVE! The Birds LOVE IT. After bird watching for quite some time on Sunday, Taylor and I got tickled on how 'old' we have become (or 'feel') since out newest hobby! Can one be an avid bird watcher at 24 & 31 years of age? I feel like this hobbies prerequisites must start around the age of at least 40. I mean, are any other mid-twenty and early thirty somethings watching birds and enjoying the Simple Life? I HOPE SO!

The Battle of the Bulge ... The Red-Winged Black Bird rules the Roost! Others may get some food when the RWBB is not there, but when he comes flying in, the others know who is 'Daddy!' It is amazing to see this take place. Even the Dove leave the feeder and hop on the ground to pick up what seed has fallen off. And the Dove are bigger. It looks like my next purchase is gonna be a pellet gun. I LOVE to Dove Hunt! And now they are coming to me ... MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA! My plan is coming together. Just Kidding. I am not going to kill the birds.

Yet.

We had a leader meeting last night at the Zeh's house and it was really great. Good food. Good fun. Good Fellowship. We honored Dan Alexander for his 6 years of service in Central Texas. It was wonderful. He will definitely be missed. He sure does bring a lot to the table.

Thanks for all of your donations to help a kid(s) go to camp! We are reaching about $5,000 that has come in so far. There is still time for you to help change a life! Thanks for your love for us, the Mission of Young Life and the Central Texas area. You can / are making a difference...

May we chose this day to Live the Simple Life...

Who are you most like?

Are you in to Politics? I can say that I am not. In fact, pretty much almost nil. Nada. Not at all. Especially since I don't have a television (and havent' for 10 years now!). It is pretty hard to follow something if you are not intent on seeking after it... And I am definitely not intent on seeking after Politics. Is that bad? I guess it could be. But I feel like I am informed enough. I surround myself with really smart people and they tend to rub off on me ... as do their political views.

But I just took a lil' test to see exactly where I lined up with the current candidates and it was good for me. I enjoyed it. It was good for me to see how my opinions on things differ from or were in line with the candidates.

Interested? Click here and enjoy the testing. http://www.electoralcompass.com/.

I am most like John McCain and furthest from Obama Yo Mama a.k.a. Barrack Obama.

Anyhow, there is my one and only political blog EVER!

Campaigners was really great on Wednesday evening. We had an ice cream shindig in celebration of us finishing up our Song of Solomon Study. We LOVE ice cream. Ice Cream LOVES us! We are a perfect couple...

Here is a pic of our Ellison High School group prior to the Harker Heights High Schoolers and leaders coming over...

It is wonderful having kids in our home. Taylor and I just love it! These girls / guys LOVE coming over our house. Especially when we feed them!

After we ate ice cream, we all got together and played Battle of the Sexes. Surprisingly, the guys dominated! I thought the girls would win, but we had a few Metro-Sexuals on our team that are very in tune with their feminine side, but not homosexual. So, we play the first game and we 'wreck' the girls 15 - 4. Ahhhhhhh, poor girls! So, now they want to play again, but this time ... they want to make a 'wager' / bet! OK! DEAL! I like bets. Especially when I win. So we play the same game, but only to 5 this time for time sake. The Losers have to walk up and down our street (it's only 6 houses long!) with their hands in the air yelling at the top of their lungs, 'WE ARE LOSERS, THE BOYS / GIRLS ARE BETTER THAN US!!!'

And the verdict is ....................................

The Boys! Yeah, we 'romped' on them again. 5 - 2 this time. We had a little mercy on them. The girls loved it. At least I think they did...

Here are a few pics of the gang after the 'Walk of Shame' that the girls had to do.

WOWSERS! Click on the picture above and check out my wife's face! The one in the green shirt. Holy Guacamole... Got Cartoon Character?

This is gonna be an unusual weekend. Why? Because Taylor and I are going to be in Killeen and not OUT OF TOWN! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!

I would love to know where you line up on the Electoral Compass survey...

Thanks for taking the time to read what is going on in our neck of the woods. It really does mean a whole lot to me / us. In fact, I'm not even sure if people are reading this deal, but it's fun writing about what's going on!

Never Live Like You're Not Loved...