family, escrow and chuppah ...

I'm in the blogging mood ... so much going on in my life and marriage and family and church ... where do I begin?

My wife is simply amazing ... we've been married almost 10 years and I'm more in love with her than ever before ... our children are growing up so fast ... Ava is getting smarter and smarter every day ... this week, we introduced her to the world of Monopoly ... she won ... it's on ... Adiah dances in this Hawaiian costume every night ... so cute ... Asher is such an amazing kid ... I couldn't imagine life without my son ... and now we have little Alicia ... she's almost walking and has the most beautiful eyes ...

as far as the Stirring, today we went into escrow on the building we're purchasing ... it still seems unreal ... we've been praying for a space like this for years ... I know this is God's dream for us, and God loves to see His dreams in the hands of His children ... God is so good!

Over the next three weeks, we're wrapping up our series Under the Chuppah ... we've been talking about love and romance and dating and marriage and sex ... all the good stuff ... with all the confusion, divorce and brokenness when it comes to relationships and marriage, I'm convinced the book Song of Songs is more relevant and needed today than ever ... we're calling this generation back Under the Chuppah and into a life of freedom and purity ...

it's late and I need sleep ... blog on!

It's my life!

God has blessed me with such an amazing son ... We wrestle and growl and play with motorcycles all day long ... it's my life!

skim boarding and sewer tunnels ...

my family and I just walked the Pier in downtown San Clemente ...

every year, we spend a week of family vacation on the beach ... we eat Pedro's tacos, build sand castles in the sand, and sit around in glorious hot tubs ... life's a beach ... tonight, we took a family walk on the Pier ... we watched surfers and ate pink cotton candy ... my kids nail cotton candy like champions ... pure sugar rush to the head ...

last night, Sean Gafner talked me into a late night skim boarding adventure (Sean always has some crazy idea) ... we hopped in the car around 10 o' clock p.m. and went searching for the nearest Walmart to buy a skim board ... since most of the beaches are closed at night, we parked in a dark parking lot and walked through a sewer tunnel to the ocean ... we finally arrived around midnight ... we didn't have board shorts, so we skimmed in our boxers ... late night boxer midnight moment with Sean ... priceless!

we skimmed the night away in the moonlight ... I'm hooked!

Oh Canada!

we just spent the past 8 days on family vacation in Canada ...

what a glorious week in Beautiful British Columbia ... so green and so peaceful ... there's nothing like the smell of cows and hay in the morning ... we spent time with our grandma and cousins and uncles and aunts ... we watched movies ... we ate Sushi ... we took the kids to Dinotown (a mix between Kid's Kingdom and Disneyland, but more like Kid's Kingdom) ... we walked on the beach ... we have such a generous family up in Canada ... they fed us and loved us and blessed us ... thank you so much ... go Canada!

by the way, if you didn't know, I'm half-Canadian ... I told that to the lady at the border and she laughed at me!

I know this sounds crazy, but one of my favorite things to do on vacation is to visit other churches ... we visited a Canadian church 'Peace Portal' on Sunday morning ... we sang the song Oh Canada to begin the service ... it just happened to be Canada day ... the message was powerful ... just months ago, the pastor lost his wife to cancer ... she was an amazing woman of God ... he talked about the importance of community in moments of pain and death ... how do we encourage and come alongside people in the most painful moments ...

that night I went to an underground Youth Church movement ... there are over 1000 youth meeting weekly to worship and seek God ... they meet in five different cities ... they're not connected to any particular denomination or church ... it's just Canadian youth who want to reach their generation for Christ ... amazing ... the gathering was raw and real ... one of the youth shared his testimony ... just a few months ago he was dealing drugs, and then he met Christ, and now he's one of the young leaders in this movement ... he shared his story and then we prayed for each other ... God is moving in Canada!

on the way back, we spent an evening with Steve and Renee Swinburne in Bellingham, WA. ... we love the Swinburnes ... they fed us pasta and sent us off with fruit snacks and coffee ... I drank a quadruple shot Iced Caramel Macchiato and drove 12 hours straight back to Redding (with only one speeding ticket) ... 70 mph in a 60 mph zone ... 60 mph on I-5??? ... what the heck? ... Steve warned me about the Washington police and how they're out to get those speedy Californians ... I should have listened to him ... bummer!

now I'm back ... I've missed my country and my bed ...

I'm going home ...

my grandma June passed away this Thursday morning at 6:05 am ...

she loved Jesus ... she walked with God ... she lived a life of courage and passion ... she played the piano and used her musical talent for God's glory ... more than anything, she loved to serve people ... she had a burning passion for people ...

my grandpa Paul and grandma June were missionaries in countries all around the world ... they saw revival in villages, cities and nations ... they preached the message of Jesus with boldness ... they prayed for the sick ... they cast out demons ... they saw the dead come back to life ... they planted churches in New Zealand, the Philippines, and Canada ... they lived filled with the Holy Spirit ...

grandma June leaves behind a great legacy ... she gave her life ...

early this morning, my grandma called the nurse into her hospital room ... she spoke quietly, yet boldly to the nurse and said, "I need to get dressed, I'm going home" ... these were her last words, and she fell asleep ...

brothers ...

when I was young, my brothers and I were in a rock band named 'Outburst' ...

Benji played the drums, Jeremy played the guitar, and I played the piano and sang ... in fact, we actually filmed a music video (we never finished it, due to the fact I got angry with my brothers and kicked them out of the video) ... anyways, one day I'll post it on my sight for your entertainment ...

we wrote a few song and performed concerts for the neighbors and their families ... we set up our instruments in the garage and jammed for hours ... back in the grunge days (before Nirvana caught on) ... I wrote a rap song called 'the Resurrection Rap,' inspired by Carmen, of course ... and I wrote a few worship songs, inspired by Michael W. Smith and Keith Green ...

as a band, we never released an album, but we were a hit in the neighborhood ... and that's all that matters ... we made people laugh and our songs gave people hope ... years later, when I began high school, the band broke up ... it was a sad day, but nothing great lasts forever (except love and Jesus and Christian rap) ...

Benji grew up to be a loan officer ... Jeremy moved to Seattle to become a legend in the rock world ... I am a pastor in Northern California ... we are still friends, and perhaps one day we will resurrect 'Outburst' for one more concert in the garage ... long live rock ...

one more thing: if you've never heard of Carmen, you've never lived ...

grandpa and grandma ...

I'm floored by God's goodness ...

I'm so grateful to be alive and to know Jesus ... Jesus has changed my life in every way possible ... someone asked me a question this week, "When did you know you wanted to be a pastor?" ... I responded, "I never wanted to be a pastor" ... a few years ago, I met Jesus and He changed my life ... I just want to know God and love God and walk with God ... whether I serve burgers at Red Robin or teach weekly at a church, I will live my life to bring glory and honor to Jesus ... pastor is not a job, it's a calling ...

this week, I spent time with my grandpa and grandma ... they've walked with Jesus for their entire lives ... they've traveled around the world and shared Jesus in more than 50 nations ... they've seen great revival in cities and churches and villages ... grandpa plays the trombone and grandma plays the piano ...

I'm so grateful for my grandpa and grandma and the legacy they will leave behind ... they gave their lives ... they have shown me a love worth knowing ... they have shown me a life worth chasing ... they have shown me Jesus and I will never be the same ...

Happy Birthday Asher ...

Happy Birthday Asher ...

2 years old and you're the man ... riding bikes and throwing balls ... handsome little guy, just like your dad ...

I pray for you every night, that you would grow up to be a man of God ... that you would love Jesus and follow Him with your whole heart ... I know you have a great call on your life and I will pray for you and encourage you until I see you walk in that great calling ... you're a marked little man and I can't wait to see the bold man of God you will one day become ...

and please stop beating up your sisters ... that's not cool!

Adiah's first song ...

tonight, my 4 year old daughter Adiah wrote her first song ... my kids are great song writers ... it must run in the family ...

most people don't know this, but almost everyone in my family has incredible musical talent ...

my grandma plays the accordian and keyboard ...
my other grandma plays the tuba and the piano ...
my grandfather plays the trumpet and sings ...
my father plays piano, guitar and writes songs ...
my mom plays the guitar and the piano (and coordinates weddings) ...
my uncle plays the banjo ...
my brother Benji plays guitar and enjoys country music ...
my wife sings and plays the recorder ...
my daughters are songwriters ...
oh yeah, my brother Jeremy wrote a couple of songs in a rock band (I think they won some MTV contest) ...
and I played the trombone in high school ...

anyways, here are the lyrics to Adiah's new song:

I love you Jesus
Please come with me to Disneyland
Please help my birthday to come really fast
I hope my birthday has cupcakes and cake
I hope Spring comes fast

Chorus:
I love you Jesus
I love you all the way to the moon and back

I love you Jesus
I love you everywhere
I love you to the sun
I love my baby sister Alicia
I hope she grows up fast

there's no place I'd rather be ...

I just wrapped up the craziest and fullest few months of my life ...

I finished a challenging theology course in my Masters program, brought our 4th child Alicia Amy Edwardson onto the planet, tackled a thick series on 'Heaven' at the Stirring, and we just hosted our first 'When God Dreams' Conference ...

It's been such an amazing few months ... my daughters bring me so much joy ... my son can beat up your son ... I'm enjoying spending time with my brothers and their wives ... my parents are so encouraging and generous ...

I love our church ... our church is the bomb ... I'm not talking about Sundays, I'm talking about the people ... the people who serve and the people who love and the people who worship and the people who encourage me and hold up my arms every day ... the ones who carry ladders and speak words of life and put courage in me ... that's the church ... thank you for being WHO God has CREATED you to be ... I'm proud to raise my family in our church ...

I just spent the last hour hanging out with my wife on a couch ... there's no place I'd rather be ... I'm fried and ready for bed ...

it's a great time to be alive ...

I'm stoked about the next few months ...

Easter and baptisms ... I get to baptize great friends ...

Catalyst Conference in Southern California ... it's gonna be sweet!

When God Dreams Conference ... our first Stirring Conference ... crazy!

Family vacation to San Clemente ... our favorite family vacation spot ... skunks and the beach!

Summer ... we love summer!

It's a great time to be alive ... and to have four kids and a mini-van!

shaved ice ...

my father is spending the week in Hawaii ...

he took this picture today from his I phone ... it's a small world ... I love shaved ice ... long live America and shaved ice ...

i lost my voice ...

I'm not sure what happened ...

I took a quick nap yesterday afternoon after the Stirring, and I woke up sounding like a seal ... my voice almost completely gone ... my kids are sick, so maybe I'm on the verge of a massive nasal and viral disease ... or maybe I just have a little cold ...

last night, Dan Lance rocked it at the Stirring ... we're in a series called 'I am Jonah' ... Dan talked about how God uses Jonahs ... prideful, racist, depressed, disobedient, and suicidal people like Jonah ... and if God uses Jonahs, God can use you ... go check out the podcast later this week ...

today, I'm hanging out with my family ... playing Tinker Bell Old Maid with Adiah and trains with Asher ... our newest one, Alicia Amy is healthy and dark ... all she does is eat and poop and poop and eat ... it's boring, it's her life ... we're heading off to Barnes and Noble for a family date ...

this Thursday night, I'm speaking at the citywide LYNK gathering ... I'll be speaking about the need for fathers and mothers in the church and in our city ... we don't need more outreach programs and rock concerts and youth groups to reach the young people in our city ... we need fathers to embrace their father calling ... we need mothers to embrace their mother calling ... period ... this has always been God's heart ...

Alicia Amy Edwardson ...

just got back from the hospital ... I've been drinking those 7-up and Cranberry juice drinks all night long ... amazing ...

Alicia is so tiny and beautiful ... she weighs 7 pounds, 6 ounces and looks just like Adiah ... dark hair and dark eyes ... her eyes are wide open and she just stares at me wondering, "who's that crazy guy with the crazy hair?" and "why are they letting him hold me?" ... she has long Edwardson toes and fingers ... tomorrow, I'm going out to buy her a guitar ...

Erica is resting and hopefully coming home tonight ... she's my baby making hero ... everyone needs one ...

this afternoon, I'm taking the kids up to meet their baby sister ... they're stoked ... I'm not sure if Asher knows what's going on, but he's excited anyways ... it's a great day to be alive ... and to have a full quiver ...

hasta la vista creepy floating baby ...

my Valetine's ...

it's Valentine's day ...

I have the most beautiful Valentine's in the world ... I asked my daughters to choose a special Valentine's restaurant to go on a special Valentine's date ... yep, they chose Round Table Pizza in the mall ... we're off to eat pizza ... and then we'll walk around the mall looking for heart shaped candy, doing our best to avoid creepy older men and high school gangsters ...

Happy Valentine's day ... enjoy every minute of it ...

the greatest cartoons ever ...

I'm hanging out with my family ...
It's sabbath ...
We're watching Tarzan, one of the greatest cartoons ever ...
I've only seen it once, but I love it ...

I can't believe I waited so many years to watch Tarzan ... where have I been the past ten years ... and I hear it's based on a true story ... gorillas raising a man to be a gorilla ... amazing ... and Tarzan meets Jane and they fall in love ... she teaches him to speak ... he shows her a 'whole new world' ... what a great story ... that's my life ...

Tarzan and Finding Nemo and Shrek and the Incredibles ... genius ... I can't wait until my kids grow up and we can watch big kid films ... like Goonies and Zoolander ... but until then, let's watch Tarzan 3000 times ... bring it on ...

50 days ...

I'm not sure what to write, but I have to draw attention to the creepy floating baby on my blog page .... 50 days and counting ...

we've been changing diapers and filling sippy cups for almost 6 years straight ... I can't remember a time when kids weren't hanging on my pant legs ... I can't walk down the hallway without stepping on a barbie or a plastic chainsaw ... they always forget to flush the toilet ... I've watched Finding Nemo 468 times ... and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world ... (except the nasty diapers) ...

this week, we begin our Spring Life Groups at the Stirring ... I'm teaming up with Bill and Jill Randall to lead a leadership group for the next 13 weeks ... over the years, both Bill and Jill have had such a deep and profound impact on my life ... they have encouraged me and challenged me and shaped me to become the man, the father, the husband and the leader that I am today ... I am so grateful for their voice in my life ... and now we get to spend the rest of our lives shaping young leaders who will shape the world ... there's nothing on earth I would rather be doing ...

in our life group, we'll be focusing on leadership, calling and character ... we're reading through portions of the New Testament as well as the book 'Next Generation Leader" ... I'm stoked about the young men and women who are apart of this group ...

anyways, watch out for dirty diapers and plastic chainsaws ... it's my life ...

60 days ...

what the heck? ... we're having a baby girl in 60 days ...

so, my wife and I just bought a Toyota Sienna mini-van ... 33,000 miles ... amazing condition ... steering wheel ... four beautiful tires ... CD player ... seats 8 adults and 14 children ... yep, we're mini-van people ... and we're stoked ... I drove it all the way home from Sacramento with a huge smile on my face (listening to Coldplay and Radiohead) ... I'm a proud mini-van dad ...

it's the first car we've bought in over 10 years ... crazy ... we're thinking about throwing a party in the mini-van for all our friends with children ... dancing and music and twister in the mini-van ... everyone's invited ...

anyways, I'm still freaking out about the 60 days thing ... that's just a few weeks ... hospitals make me sick and dizzy ... props to doctors and nurses and janitors and anyone who spends their lives in hospitals ... I couldn't do it ... my stomach gets weak ... I throw up in mouth and pass out ... I get dizzy and punch myself in the neck ... I go crazy and use those rubber gloves for balloons ... then someone tackles me on the ground and they drag me out on the street ... this has never happened, but you can imagine ... yep ...

anyways, I love my kids and I can't wait to meet Alicia ... happy new year ... it's past midnight and I'm a bit delirious ... blog on ...

creepy Santa ...

the other night, we were walking downtown and we came across Santa Claus, just sitting there bored ... yep ... no crazy long line of kids ... no elves ... no cameras ... no Santa sign ... no hype ... plain old Santa ... just sitting there all by himself ... bored ...

when Ava saw him sitting there, she ran up to sit on his lap ... creepy ... some old man in a Santa costume downtown ... passing out candy canes ... talking to my daughter about Barbie and roller skates ... what am I supposed to do? ... it's Santa ... I felt like tackling him on the ground and ripping off that fake beard ... and shouting, "you're not the real Santa because I saw the real Santa in the Mt. Shasta mall!" ... and then I'd run off with his beard ... but I didn't ...

at this point, my youngest daughter Adiah is terrified ... she refuses to sit on Santa's lap ... thank God ... instead, she runs up and grabs a candy cane and runs away ... amazing ...

yep, Christmas Eve at the Cascade ... Wednesday night ... 5 pm and 7 pm ...

I spent some time today reading through the Christmas Story and praying about the gathering tomorrow evening ... I'm stoked ... Garrett Viggers and Jamie White are leading worship ... we're showing a couple of our Stirring films ... and Bill Randall and I are reading the advent Scriptures ... sweet ...

this Christmas, may we know the peace and joy and love of God ... and whatever you do, don't sit on Santa's lap ... it's a trap ... grab a candy cane and run ...

live simple, love loud ...

just wrapped up a week vacation with my family ... I feel rested and ready for the Christmas season ...

it's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas ... we just threw up Christmas lights around our house ... this year, I'm competing with my next door neighbor ... moving lights, moving reindeer, moving elves, whatever it takes ... it's on ...

we just got our family pictures back from Emily Faulknor ... amazing ... great shots of the family and the kids ... my wife is sexy and my kids are crazy ... I love it ... thanks emily ... you are so talented and we miss you so much ...

last Sunday, Dan kicked off our new series Simple ... I'm stoked about the next few weeks ... life gets so busy and hurried and empty ... Jesus confronts our cluttered lives ... Jesus confronts our busy schedules ... Jesus confronts our shallow relationships ... Jesus calls us back to one thing ... live simple, love loud ...

I'm reading three great books ... Margin, Simple Church and the Pressure's off ... great books calling us back to the simple life of Jesus ... if you get a chance, read Matthew 11:28-30 ... life changing ...