late night blog ...

I realize I haven't blogged in days ... yes, I'm alive ...

I'm taking a Master's counseling class at Simpson this week ... 40 hours ... I'm learning how to listen and how to pray and how to encourage and how to grieve ... I'm learning how to slow down and love thick ... I'm reading three ginormous textbooks ... I'm drinking coffee to stay awake ...

last night, God woke me up in the night ... I can't talk about it on this blog, but God spoke something so clearly to me for our church ... I prayed and wept and journaled and then went back to bed ... God is so real ... I shared it with my wife tonight ... we're praying for God to give us courage and wisdom to lead the Stirring through such an exciting and stretching time ... God has given Erica so much wisdom ... I'm so grateful to have her in my life ...

I'm praying for Randy and Kristen Miller ... last week, they found cancer in Randy's body ... it's hard to believe ... Randy is one of the most courageous and encouraging men I have ever met ... I'm proud to stand with him in this time ...

these days, I live in a tension ... so much to be grateful for and so much to grieve ... one thing I know, God is so good ...

creepy floating baby ...

yes, the rumors are true ... my wife and I are pregnant ... and not just pregnant, but 5 months pregnant ... and we're having a little girl ... unbelievable ... my crazy life just got a bit crazier ...

4 kids changes everything ... beds and bedrooms and clothes and shoes and food and seatbelts and movie tickets and plane rides and college tuition and weddings ... and on top of that, 3 girls ... drama and boyfriends and lipstick and periods ... someone punch me in the neck ...

I'm proud to say I have the most amazing wife on the planet ... and she happens to be such a great mom ... I wouldn't want to tackle 4 little half-hispanic half-norweigan tikes with anyone else ...

God is so good and has given us such fantastic (I love that word) children ... 134 days ... yep, I've got to get that Honda Pilot ...

the elephant in my driveway ...

there's an elephant in my driveway ... a creepy pink wire-frame elephant ... for our 'elephant in the church' series at our church ...

my kids love it ... they're begging me to let them keep it in their bedroom ... no, you can't have a huge creepy wire-frame pink elephant in your room ... nightmares of the worst kind ... worse than clown nightmares ...

anyways, this week at the Stirring, we're talking about the sexy elephant in the church ... s e x ... the M word ... porn ... how to teach our kids about sex ... you know, all that stuff ... sex is God's and sex is good ... and God has so much to say ... invite your neighbor and your mom ...

friends and wheelbarrows ...

yes, I've just purchased 10 yards of playground bark and they're dropping it off at my house this Friday morning ...

so, I'll need a couple friends and wheelbarrows ... we're wheelbarrowing 10 yards of bark into my backyard so my kids can fall off the playground and not die ... if you care about my children, please give me a call and respond to this blog ...

seriously, I think we can knock it out in a couple of hours ... anyone available around 3 p.m. this Friday afternoon? ... I'll buy some ice cream sandwiches ...

ava louise edwardson

every day, I realize HOW much Ava Louise is just like me ... she looks like me ... she talks like me ... she has legs like me ... she remembers like me ... she smiles like me ... and she runs like me (unfortunately) ... have you ever seen me run? exactly ...

and just the other night, I realized that she eats like me ... food can't touch other food ... mashed potatoes can't touch peas ... fruit salad can't touch meat ... beans can't touch the bread ...

a few nights ago, she asked for a bowl for her salad ... she's 5 years old and she already NEEDS a bowl for her salad ... yep, me ... anyone else super obsessive when it comes to food touching food? ... probably just me ...

the Elephant in the Church ...

this morning, we planted our new Sunday morning campus ... the Eureka Way campus ... what a great morning of worship ... coffee, God and pews ... it felt so strange being in a new space, yet at the same time, it felt like the Stirring ... I can't wait to see what God does on that side of town ...

we kicked off our new series the Elephant in the church ... I spoke 3 times today ... this is crazy ... every gathering, I'm trying to remember the stories and the phrases and the verses ... it all gets jumbled together ... but in the end, it's all about what God speaks ... I'm just being faithful with God's words and my prayer is that God would take it deeper into people's lives ...

tonight, we talked about the greedy elephant ... greed is so subtle ... we live in a world of greed, but more than that, that world of greed lives in us ... I asked the daunting question, "when is enough enough?" ... at what point in our lives, if ever, could we stand in front of God and say, "I have enough" ... or "I don't need more" ...

over the past year, more than anything, God has been teaching my wife and I how to be grateful with what God has given to us ... how to live gratitude ... how to live enough ... may God free me from greed so I can become more grateful and more generous with the life God has given me ... and one day, may God bless me with a Honda Pilot ...

spiritual fathers ...

I am grateful for the mentors and spiritual fathers God has placed in my life over these past few years ... they have challenged me and encouraged me and protected me and taught me and shaped me to become the man I am today ...

Bill Randall ... one of the most passionate and courageous men I know ... he saw something in me ... he taught me how to lead with boldness, how to live with focus and how to love with truth ... I will never forget the years I walked with Bill Randall at Risen King ... Bill showed me Jesus and Starbucks ... now I'm addicted (to both) ... I'm looking forward to the next season of our journey ...

Jeff Coulter ... God brought Jeff into my life in a time when I needed a loyal friend ... he taught me how to pray ... he taught me how to listen to God's voice ... he taught me how to wait on God ... he taught me how to enjoy God's presence ... everyone needs a Jeff Coulter ...

Father Sam ... one of the most honest and humble men I have spent time with ... I'm learning Greek and Hebrew ... I'm learning how to humble myself like Jesus ... I'm learning how to love my enemies ... and on top of that, he's a monk ...

My grandpa ... 81 years old and still leaning into God ... I want that ...

My father ... I am grateful for a father who is crazy in love with God ... he always has been ... and more than anyone I've ever met, my father has a burning passion for people ... he has taught me how to love people ... he has taught me how to love through pain and betrayal ... he has taught me how to love the way Jesus loves ... every once in a while, someone will say, "you remind me of your father" ... years ago, I would have cringed ... but now, I take that as a great complement ... (sorry dad, I will never wear Hawaiian button up shirts) ... I must draw the line somewhere ...

may I become a father to others as they have been fathers to me ...

a culture of overload ...

I'm reading a book called Margin for my Seminary class ... someone handed it to me almost a year ago ... I was too busy to read it ... (no margin) ...

We live in a culture that devours margin ... if you are homeless, we send you to a shelter ... if you are penniless, we offer you food stamps ... if you are breathless, we connect you to oxygen ... but if you are marginless, we give you yet one more thing to do ...

I just finished the chapter on overload ... activity overload and change overload and choice overload and commitment overload and debt overload and hurry overload and information overload and noise overload and people overload and technology overload (I love technology) and work overload ... sound familiar ... I just described everyone I know ... overload is epidemic ... it's so subtle, yet consumes us ... we've become a people of overload ...

Why are we always so busy and stressed and strapped and broke and hurried and over committed? ... is this what it means to follow Jesus? ... is this the life Jesus calls us to live? ... as I read this book, Jesus confronts my overload ...

my prayer ... Jesus, teach me how to create enough space in my life to hear your voice and live the pace of God ... I want to be fruitful, not busy ... I want to be faithful, not successful ... and Jesus, I would like the iphone for Christmas ... amen ...

4 days, 13 hrs, 36 min, 36 secs

today, staff meeting was great ... we prayed for each other ... we encouraged each other ... we drank coffee ... God has blessed me with such a great team ...

4 days, 13 hours, 36 minutes and 36 seconds until we plant our Sunday morning church plant ...

tomorrow, a few of us are taking a roadtrip to Sacramento to pick up some stuff for the for the church plant ... Ikea and Guitar Center ... two of my favorite places on earth ... I could live in Ikea ... couches and beds and toys and upscale cafeteria food ... and huge elevators ...

I just spent an hour wrestling with my 3 kids ... bucking bronco ... pillow fights ... dog pile ... just a few of our crazy games ... Ava and Adiah attack me like little midget ninjas ... and when I'm trapped on the ground, Asher bites me in the nipple and laughs at me ... I'm screaming in pain ... and then Adiah pile drives me in the neck ... and Erica's laughing ... and Ava sneaks up behind with a plastic shovel and stabs me in the back ... apparently, they've watched Nacho Libre one too many times ...

just found out that Rob Bell's new book just came out ... Jesus wants to save Christians ... amazing ... my brother Benji just picked up the last copy at Barnes and Noble ... I'll wrestle him for it (if I can use the plastic shovel) ...

asher's first fight ...

I just wrapped up the craziest weekend ever ...

Friday night ... Sigur Ros at the Greek Theater in Berkeley ... life changing ...

Saturday night ... the Myriad at the Cascade ... glorious ...

Sunday night ... the Stirring ... just finished our vision series ... it's official ... we love ...

so, this morning while I was working out at the gym (chest and back), my son Asher fought his first fight ... he's the man ...

Adiah told me the story on the way home ... this bigger kid stole Asher's green truck at least 100 times ... Asher stole it back ... and then the bigger kid pushed Asher ... Asher stood his ground ... then this bigger kid took Asher's head and smashed it against the ground ... the 'child care' lady ran across the room and grabbed the bigger kid by the arm and threw him in the corner for time out ... Asher screamed a bit, found his green truck, pulled it together and got back to the playing ...

I'm proud of my son ... one day, he'll be that bigger kid (like his dad) ... don't mess with the green truck ...

the Myriad ...

hey, we're looking for a few guys who are willing to help set up and tear down for the Myriad show this Saturday ... it's going to be amazing ...

you'll get free admission to the show and the base player might even give you a backstage 'piggy back ride' ... seriously, if you're interested, give me a call or respond to this blog ... we need 4 guys at 2 p.m. and then after the show ...

(suddenly my blog is beginning to feel like myspace) ... sucks!

beard challenge ...

I've taken up the beard challenge ...

if you have haven't noticed lately, I have the most beautifully trimmed Norwegian beard ... if you're confused, click here or click here ... if you're jealous or a bit curious, I use a professional beard trimmer and I shave gently twice a week ... a triple blade Winco razor ... edge gel with cooling conditioners ... clean and refreshing ... ultimate closeness and ultimate comfort ... I don't mess around ... it's a beard thing ...

stay classy ...