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A couple of weeks ago some friends and I headed up to Sierra Summit for a whirlwind ski/snowboard trip.  It wasn’t you ordinary ski trip, because the Sierra Nevada had just received eleven feet of fresh powder.  Remember when it rained for six days straight in SLO?   That translated to loads of snow in the mountains! Needless to say, we were anxious to hit the slopes after an epic snowfall.

In order to get the most of our day on the mountain, we left SLO at 4:30 in the morning. My brother Pete braved the early morning darkness and drove us off into the black fog of the valley.  After nearly three hours of riding in the car, the sky started to brighten.  We were in the foothills on the eastern edge of the central valley at this point, and I began to make out the jagged teeth of the mountains to the east as the sky grew more rosy.  All at once, with a blinding brightness, the sun burst out from behind its mountain hiding place and our car was filled with golden beams of light.  The power and warmth of the sun blew me away.  Alyssa Nixon was thinking quick enough to snap this photo of the sunrise from the back seat.  It’s a sweet photo, but it really doesn’t capture the glory of the early morning light show.

As my friends and I sat in the glow of sunlight, I started thinking, The sun rises like this every day.  I may not be awake for it, but its always here.  Every single day, whether we see it or not, the beauty of the sunrise exists. As I wondered this simple idea of the faithfulness of the sunrise, the Holy Spirit whispered truth into my heart.  That same week I had been meditating on Psalm 138, thanks to a suggestion from Misty Zeller.  The last verse (verse eight) of the Psalm speaks of the overwhelming faithfulness of God, saying

“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake the work of your hands.”

In the same way that I can expect the sun to rise each morning, the love of the Lord is steadfast.  Unlike the sunrise, the Lord’s love will endure throughout eternity!  I never doubt that the sun will rise in the morning, but often I find myself doubting the faithfulness of God’s love and care for me.  The Holy Spirit used this sweet morning experience to gently remind me of his great love.  Most mornings I’m not even conscious of the sunrise.  Sadly, most mornings I’m equally unaware of God’s faithful love and care for me.  Every single day (even on the really awful days) God’s love is more real than the sunrise, but I go about my day without even acknowledging this great truth.  Check out Lamentations 3:21-24 for more on this truth.  I’m sure that if we could “see” God’s love it would be far more beautiful and breathtaking than a winter sunrise.

If I sat in awe of the beautiful sunrise, how much more would I be compelled to stand in awe and thanks of God’s love as I take it in each day?

The remainder of the day on the mountain with good friends was so much fun, but what I will remember the most from this epic powder day is the reality that we can rest in God’s changeless character.  I am overwhelmed by his goodness and love.

(photo credit:  Adam and Alyssa Nixon)

Sara Kelly, first year intern

But change is in the air.  Its WOW (week of welcome) here at Cal Poly, which means the air is abuzz with pre-fall excitement and the streets are filled with wide-eyed and (sometimes) inebriated freshman.  What a place.  I love it.  I also love that I have spent the last week with our SLO Crusade staff team planning awesome ways to reach every single student with the love of Jesus.  For the record, I love my job.

There have been several opportunities for me to write.  A few of the things I’ve wanted to write about were: Don Miller’s perspective on singleness, awkward phone conversations that happened while support raising, and all of the tiny miracles that make summer wonderful.  But I’ll do my best to keep you (my friends, family & support team) updated from here on out.  No guarantees on frequency of posts, but I am so very excited to share with you about how this life is unfolding.

I was still in shock of the spit up when notice J across the room.  He had been stationed at the dining room table (pre feed) to enjoy a snack of “peanut butter crackers” and sliced pears before I sat down to feed C.  I find this an effective sitting technique: feed both children at once, that way I can see the antsy 3 year old while I hold baby C in bottle position on the couch.  It tends to work out for me.

At first, I couldn’t even be sure that I had heard J say something, but the look on his face told me he had made an announcement.  I said, “What J?  I couldn’t hear you.”

The slightest, breathiest whisper escaped his lips: “I don’t have to go.”  Then his face went into number two production mode.  I knew it was on, and it was up to me to race him to the training toilet downstairs. Swiftly, I set C in his swing (didn’t have time to strap him in….don’t call CPS on me por favor) and ran to the table.  J let out a telling grunt as I plucked him from his seat and flew to the bathroom, toddler in hands.  As quickly as possible, I unbuttoned his pants to sit him on the pot.

The stench that escaped his batman underwear told me that I was too late.  To late to intercept the load.  I was bummed, but threw him in the shower for a quick spray down and gave him a fresh pair of underwear and shorts to put on.  Not wanting to appear disappointed or upset with the young boy, I lied through my smile  as I redressed him, “It’s totally ok J.  You’re doing great.  We’ll get it next time.” And miracle of miracles, we did get it next time.  But only because of my boss negotiation skills.  Yesterday, number two was safely deposited in the mini-john.  Hooray!

I do have to give it to the kid.  He sticks to his convictions.  Some may label it “denial” because he said he didn’t have to go poo when he was on the verge of doin’ the doody in his trousers.  But I prefer to call it conviction.  This little dude has learned the American way: stick it to the man, no matter what situation you’re in.  Maybe he’ll learn wisdom and honesty someday.  We can only hope.

I’ll proportion them better next time.  They still taste pretty darn good.  Stay tuned to see what I do with the loads of free time I have on my hands these days.

I have been blessed with a wonderful baby sitting job for a family here in SLO.  They have two young boys. J just turned three, and is so much fun.  He loves building forts, play dough, and ghost pirates.  C is almost 12 weeks, takes a bottle like a champ, and loves to have dance parties with his older bro.  Needless to say I stinking love them.  They are the best.  Save for one catch.

J, being 3, has naturally reached the threshold for potty training.  His mom reminds him each day as she leaves the house, “J, who are you gonna tell if you have to go potty?”  To which he replies, “Sawa.”  That’s me. 

Turns out that he never actually tells Sawa if he needs to go.  So the responsibility lies with me to constantly ask, “J, do you need to go potty?”  To which the response is infallibly a whiney “I don’t wanna go!”  But at least once I trudge him downstairs to the little, er I mean, “big boy” potty and let him try to go.  I mean, he loses nothing for trying.  He even gets a Pez candy just for squatting on the pot.  Win-win, I say.  He doesn’t think so, though.  

He usually stands, stiff-legged in front of his tiny potty and squeals “NOOOOOOOO.” As I try to calmly coax him into sitting down and just giving a little push.  I kid you not: he is deathly afraid of doo doo.  I have no clue why, but the kid will go days without a #2 sighting and give himself a huge stomach ache.  His mom assures me that this is totally normal for kids his age, but I still have my doubts.  I just feel like a villain each time I have to march him downstairs to give it a try.  Hopefully this phobia subsides soon!

1. When I was graduating the 6th grade, I remember that our celebration/graduation party to move up into Jr. High youth group was on June 2.  I have no idea why I remember this, except that I thought I was the epitome of cool to be in Jr. High. Maybe I’ve learned some things since then.  Also significant about this day…I stepped on a bee in Westdale Park and my foot swelled up so big it couldn’t fit in my shoe.
2. My dear neighbors back home in Bako had their second daughter on June 2, 1998.  I was almost ten, and got to go to the hospital to visit the mama, daddy, and new baby. It was incredible.  I have never seen a baby so new or so perfect. She turned 11 today.  Time flies.
3. I just found out (thank you facebook) that my pastor’s b-day is today…Happy Birthday Bryan!
4. For most of my life, I’ve either been just beginning summer break or so close I can taste it on this date. Its a wonderful feeling to be almost there.  The anticipation is building, and the boredom of summer hasn’t set in yet.
5. It’s my blog’s 1 year anniversary!

And that’s all I can think of for now.  I just love June 2nd.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27, NIV)

Light bulb moment…So that’s what God wants?  He wants us to love each other, look after those who can’t provide for themselves.  He wants us to bind together in a community as a “salty” people that preserve his goodness in a crooked and perverse generation.  He wants us to shine out his love like stars in the milky way, that each person that he has created will recognize his goodness and love. As a body of believers, we should give freely, love deeply, act justly, and above all, remain connected to our source, our Heavenly Father.

Now that’s what I call church.

Why did it take me so long to find out about this.  I flippin love it.  I’m seriously all about this….I love their articles (especially those meant for campus ministry!)  This stuff speaks to my heart. Here’s the meaty article I’m working on right now.  It is a huge help with all of the spiritual conversations I’ve been having lately.  Here’s where I can find some answers to the people that are constantly asking me, “So, do you judge me?  Am I going to hell if I don’t believe in your God?”  Check it out!