Headed Back to Texas

After a great weekend at home, I am in Terminal 1 at LAX waiting for my 5:00 pm flight back to Dallas. I am supposed to land there at 10:50 pm CDT (8:50 pm PDT). I'll spend 2 nights there and start my drive home on Wednesday.

I am excited to make a stop Thursday in Sierra Vista, AZ to meet my great-aunt Margaret. My Dad's aunt, we apparently were together when I was a very little kid, but I have no memory that far back. She is the last remaining Kuzma sibling that far back, and I hope to hear some stories about one of her brothers, who is my namesake and grandfather.

I anticipate returning home sometime Friday night.

Mom was released from the hospital yesterday (Sunday) and it sounds like she is doing well today. It will be a good feeling to start the long drive home with everything having gone so well for her!

Yesterday at church, we took the morning to hear from Johnny Cox, our Associate Pastor for the last four years, on his last "official" Sunday on Staff. We normally receive an offering to send a transitioning Pastor to their next assignment with a financial blessing. For Johnny, we received offerings of finances and support cards for Over The Top Ministries. I am excited to hear how this turned out sometime in the next few days. It was a great morning, and so good to be home to worship with the NewHeart family!

I am discovering a little bit the last few weeks of what it's like for those who have jobs that require constant travel. It's a whole different kind of mind frame it seems one has to be in to travel regularly and stay healthy mentally, physically and emotionally. Different time zones, different cultural locales, the rigors of living from a suitcase and navigating the maze of packing and airport issues.

As I woke this morning knowing today would be travel-filled, I had my mental checklist of things that needed to be done before I left. That's where my mind was, but my heart was at home, wanting to just be with Colleen and Jonathan (Joshua is off on a vacation with a friend and their family), rather than cruising the house and local streets doing stuff.

It was necessary stuff, just not what I wanted to be doing or where I wanted to be. So, it seems that the mind frame (maybe the mental game) that you have to go through to travel regularly is just more than I've realized before.

Enough driveling for now. I'll blog at you later!

Grieving the Loss of Stephen Hampton

By now, sufficient time seems to have passed to share publicly about this week's loss of Stephen Hampton. At a too young age of about 21, and recently graduated from Wheaton College in Chicago, Illinois, Stephen was apparently struck and killed by a train on Sunday, June 17 in Germany. Click here to read Wheaton's public statement on Stephen's death. (UPDATE on Wed., June 27, 2007: For some reason, Wheaton seems to have completely removed the notice about Stephen's death from their website, so the link will get you nowhere. Sorry. I have had a number of people emailing me regarding information on Stephen's memorial. As soon as I know when and where it is, I will post it on the blog.)

Stephen was practically born and raised at NewHeart. The youngest of three brothers, his parents are strong and committed believers in Jesus. The Hampton family was a vital part of NewHeart for most of Stephen's life.

I will never forget Stephen's dry and quick wit. For such a young man, Stephen was a deep thinker, always questioning and searching God's Word for Who God really is and all He really stands for. Stephen always wanted to be sure that who he was lined up with who God wanted him to be.

Stephen always struck me as someone who not only said he was going to change his world (and he did say so often!), but would actually do it. Stephen was going places!

I never questioned whether or not one place Stephen would go would be heaven, but I never would have thought he would go this early (not that any of us think such about our youngest ones). My heart has been wrenched this week, so I cannot imagine the heartbreak and loss that his parents, family, and closer friends are feeling. My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to them as they deal with this senseless tragedy.

Anytime someone so young is snatched from our supposed grip in this life, we're left with the unanswerable questions. Why? Why now? Why so young? What purpose does this loss serve? I have no answers to the questions, only the questions along with those who ask them.

What I do know is that we stand on this side of eternity and God stands on the other. I believe things look completely different to Him than they do to us. His Word declares it so in Isaiah 55:8-9 ....

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."

I don't and won't pretend to know the gravity of the loss those closer to Stephen than I am may feel or experience right now. All I CAN say is that God is with us through the darkest of days and the deepest of valleys. He stands not just upon the mountaintops waiting for us to arrive there, but walks with us through the raging rivers that threaten to steal our joy and cripple our faith.

Through the grief, I declare my stand with the Hampton's for strength, comfort, peace, grace, and courage.

Mom's Day 8.1

I am so glad to see that Mom is improving and strengthening more today! I fly home tonight, so it's comforting to see her progress. She walked all the way around the hallway loop today, which was more than expected!

My flight leaves at 4:10 pm CDT from Dallas Love Field Airport. That's the one JFK arrived at the day he was shot in Dallas. ANYwho ..... I change planes in Austin, do a 30 minute stopover in El Paso and get to LAX at 8:00 pm PDT.

I am really looking forward to seeing Colleen and the boys this weekend, and am at such peace knowing Mom is in good hands her at Baylor and is doing so well. She and I have had some really good conversations over the last couple of days.

I am also really looking forward to being with NewHeart on Sunday. I miss everyone! This should be my last post until I am on my way back to Texas Monday. Blog with you then!

Mom's Day 7.1

It's about 4:00 pm CDT. Mom has done even better today. Walked about 80 feet down the hall way and back and is on orders to eat all meals from the chair instead of in bed. Talked to the surgeon today, who is strongly encouraging her to move even more and estimates she may go home on Sunday or Monday.

Arranged my travel plans today. I fly home tomorrow (Friday) night and then return back on Monday (June 25) night. I'll rest and visit Tuesday, then start my drive home on Wednesday, anticipating my arrival home on Friday night, June 29.

I am looking forward to the weekend at home and am so glad that Mom is progressing. I definitely feel at peace with my decision to stay the extra couple days, although I know it is tough for Colleen alone at home with the boys. However, as it works out, she is off work next week and one of the boys is gone with a friend's family for their vacation. I trust it will work out well, and that Mom's progress just strengthens day by day.

To day is my little sister, April's, birthday. I won't divulge her age here. She can be the one to do that. She has gone through so much in her life the last couple years. It has been good to re-connect with her. The time has been good that way. Tonight, we celebrate her birthday at Cracker Barrel.

Sounds like I missed my storm today. Steve called and said it was dumping buckets and thunder and lightning were in good supply. Not here in Dallas, a short 30 miles away. Nope, dry as a bone here, of course! Maybe my drive home will afford more. We'll see!

During my drive home, I'll make a stop Thursday in Sierra Vista, Arizona to visit my great-aunt Margaret, the last left of 9 Kuzma siblings. She is my grandfather's sister. I never got to meet him and even my Dad didn't know him well as he died in a trucking accident when Dad was 7. I have been told that she would have been the family historian, so I am looking forward to some good history and pictures.

Mom's Day 6.1

It's about 3:30 CDT and I am blogging on my laptop right from Mom's room. Amazing! I've been here with her for the last 3 hours, during which we've talked about all kinds of things that people who are under the influence talk about :^) - happy things though; good and funny things. Things that shall remain between her and I. She made me promise!

After a good session of physical therapy and a good dose of her pain meds, she is now sleeping peacefully. I have made the decision to stay another couple days and fly home, probably on Friday night.

Mom is still doing well and progressing, but is not out of the woods, especially in terms of her kidney. Her kidney is doing OK, but has been a little bit sporadic today. They believe it may be simply a result of her starting solid foods today. When they do that, they usually reduce the IV fluid intake, assuming you'll get it from the solid diet. BUT, that's not happening effectively yet, so they've reintroduced the IV fluids.

Probably TMI for you ... I did just now get to watch a CareFlight helicopter land close up out the window of Mom's room ... COOL!

With my brother Steve, and his new wife, Danielle, living with my parents for now, one way they've been helping out has been by preparing meals. Neither of them are food pros, but I'm telling you, they could be! I feel like as far as food is concerned, I've been at a resort or something. It has been a joy to have the family eating around the same table again!

Before this trip, I had only met Danielle once, briefly, over a dinner with she and Steve last Fall. I don't know exactly how to describe Danielle because I don't know her well. She has quickly become a part of our family as though she has been around much longer than she has.

Danielle is funny, likes to have fun, and yet has been around the block for someone so young. She is very perceptive and is sensitive to other people. Seems to me my brother has done well in his choice of a wife.

Mom's Day 5.1

It's about 2:30 pm CDT and we're in Mom's room at Baylor Medical Center. She is in room 901 in the Roberts Hospital portion, and it is a private room, which is very nice.

It is a very good step for her to be moved out of ICU and into her own room. When we arrived today, she was just finishing her first round of physical therapy.

She was in quite some pain, but the nurse has now given her a cocktail of happy juices and she seems to be resting pretty peacefully.

Today will be the day I decide what to do next with my trip. Mom is well taken care of, but still not out of the anesthesia all the way. I would share with you how I know that, and to do so would bring you some good laughs, as it has brought us, but I'll just keep that in the family for now!

Because I am driving, and have the goal of being at church Sunday for Johnny's last "official" Sunday on Staff, if I drive home, I need to leave tomorrow. I am prayerfully considering why I am not yet comfortable with a decision to leave tomorrow. I know some of it is that I want to be here when Mom is more cognizant.

My other option is to use a round trip ticket that a dear friend has offered to fly home Thursday or Friday and then figure out when to come back for my car (probably in the first week of July). I would appreciate your prayers that God would give me wisdom.

Some of me feels (not just feels, but actually knows), that I have not always been as connected to my family as Mom, or I, have wanted for me to be. I think that's some of why God has given me this trip.

I have been working the last few years to strengthen my connection with my parents, spending time with them whenever I can. It's not been the easiest thing since they have lived in other states, but I have done my best, and it has made a difference for me.

All that to say I am trying to sort this all out for myself emotionally, spiritually, physically, mentally, etc. Thanks for listening, and for understanding!

Mom's Day 4.1

Headed back to Mom & Dad's house after today's hospital visit. She is at Baylor Medical Center near downtown Dallas, which is about 30 miles from Royse City, where they live.

When we got there today, they let all 5 of us in to see her at the same time. She was sitting up in a chair and was eating soft foods!

We only got to stay about 25 minutes as they have decided to keep her in ICU and reassess tomorrow morning. They want to keep a closer eye on her another day before sending her to a 6 nurse per patient care ratioon the Med/Surg floor.

For those who may be hearing news about nasty weather and flooding in NE Texas, we're OK here. We did get some cool dark clouds, a little lightning and a bunch of rain, but that's it for us. It's already all dry, hot and humid.

Probably gonna do some nostalgia today into Heath, TX, where we lived the first 2 of our 4 years here.

Mom's Day 3.1

They were able to take Mom off the ventilator at about noon today! This is a big hurdle! She cannot have anything to eat for 24 hours as they have to monitor her respirations to be sure she can do her own breathing. If not, they will have to place her back on the ventilator. Please pray that she gains the strength to be able to breather healthily!

She certainly is back to my Mom! She had plenty to say about what hasn't happened well for her in ICU care-wise. She also had a finger to shake at the smoking members of our family to declare "No more smoking!!" She evidently was told that her smoking is one reason it was tough for her to breathe on her own. Her feisty-ness is a sign to me that Mom is back!

I did not ask, but am sure she will be in ICU at least until tomorrow due to the respiration monitoring. Her kidney function remains good at this point.

I will post more later as we know more.

A Really Proud Dad

With Father's Day approaching tomorrow, I am really missing my boys. I am so proud, and feel tremendously unqualified to be Joshua and Jonathan's Dad. My goal is to raise two great men, but I certainly don't claim to be the best at it.

I do know that I am proud of my Dad, and that he instilled in me the value of hard work and appreciation for the good things life brings. Perusing old photos this week, I was able to grasp a deeper appreciation of the place in life God has granted me as a Kuzma.

My boys both "culminated" from their Elementary School this week, Joshua from 6th Grade and Jonathan from 5th, both headed for Valley View Middle School. I am extremely proud of both of their accomplishments, but nervous as a Dad about Middle School.

Allow me to pull out my wallet ...

Joshua Paul Kuzma (12 years old - 6th Grade)
Jonathan Pierce Kuzma (11 years old - 5th Grade)

Mom's Day 2.1

The doctor has decided to leave Mom in ICU through today (Saturday). They are still trying to wean her off of the ventilator, but she is just not ready yet. They hope for it to happen this evening.

The ICU nurses say it is a bit of a balancing act. The pain medications strong enough to ease Mom's pain have the ability to require the ventilator, yet they don't want her to take enough of the medication to keep her on the machine. For now, Mom has control of the pain medication by way of a push button. I can only imagine she is in quite a bit of pain.

The doctor originally told us that she could be in ICU for the first 2-3 days following surgery, so none of this is a surprise. It's just part of the process for now, and only Mom can do it. Only she can determine her ability and strength to battle through the process of getting off the machine.

When we saw her today, she was groggily alert and able to mouth some words. She communicated that the nurses have been "great", that she loves us, and that her pain has been somewhat moderate. She also knows the doctor said she came through surgery well.

In the meantime, we are letting her rest. They only allow 2 visitors at a time for a 15 minute slot every 2-3 hours.

Had our first thunderstorm last night. Wasn't much, but certainly more than we ever get in California. Rain has been on and off throughout the day, but we should get a few more thunderstorms in the next couple days, so they say.

More later.....

Good News on Mom

The surgeon just came out to report that surgery could not have gone any smoother than it did!! Her only kidney had to go without blood flow for about 45 minutes, but it seems OK.

He said that as soon as he reconnected it, the kidney began to produce, which is a good sign. She will be in ICU for a couple of days, but he expects she will be able to come out of the anesthesia in a few hours.

I'll keep you posted as the weekend goes by!

Update at 3.5 hours

Received a call from Mom's OR Nurse at 12:45 CDT to report she is still in surgery and Mom is doing OK. That's all for now.

Surgery Start Time

We've been here since 5:00 am CDT. Mom was wheeled down the hallway for the OR at 8:10. We just got word that surgery started at 9:12. The surgeon expects it to go about 5-6 hours. Will keep you posted as we know more.

Countdown to Mom's Surgery

Only a few hours from now, 4:00 am CDT to be exact, the family will make the trek together to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas. Mom's surgery is scheduled for 7:00 am.

Today has been one of laughs, tears, and even hard discussions. We are all praying for and believing the best. My Mom is one of the strongest people I have EVER known. And I mean EVER.

The procedure she is undergoing, however, is very high risk. She has a couple of other parallel issues that heighten the "normal" high risk. The reality that 24 hours from now, Mom could possibly be in our eternal home is sobering.

I've been around this reality with other families enough to know it's best to have tough conversations about what one's wishes are before they get to that point. It's excruciating for families to have to figure that out once someone has died.

In my heart, I just know that Mom's strength is where it needs to be for one to physically make it through such a procedure. I also know that her spirit is in the Lord's hands whatever the outcome. For that, I am so glad for the hope that God gives us in Jesus!

My phone is one of those nifty ones that gives me the ability to post to my blog quickly and easily. If you check back every few hours on Friday, I will post whatever we know as soon as I am able.

Leroy's Story

Spent last night not just reminiscing with my Mom, but actually writing down details of much of her story. It's worth its own post one day soon.

Part of her story is Leroy's story. I write about him a post or two ago and told you I would share more, so here it is. Let me cut to the chase ...

We were living here in Rockwall, Texas in August of 1977. As a matter of fact, the house we last lived in on a main street into the town square was just torn down a day or two ago. Monday night we drove by but it was too dark for pictures. Tuesday afternoon we drove by and it's now a pile of rubble. Making room for a wider street.

Anyway, I think it was August 17, 1977 when I was at home and heard the news that Elvis Presley had died. I ran down the street to The Brown Derby, a fast food restaurant my Mom was managing, to tell her. I had NO IDEA what was to come.

She was visibly upset, but I had no idea why. It was a little weird to me how upset she was at the news. Leroy's story unfolds.

We were always told that my Dad was not Leroy's real father. His birth father was apparently someone Mom had a short relationship with. Turns out that was true. What we were never told was who the person was ... until the day Elvis died.

That's right ... turns out that Mom was a night club singer in Frankfurt, Germany while Elvis was stationed there and the two hooked up. Just after Elvis left Germany, Mom found out she was pregnant with Leroy.

When Elvis died, a friend who knew my Mom in Germany and knew the story called Mom and coerced her into telling my brother that Elvis was his real father. The Midnight Globe got hold of the story and sent Mom and Leroy to Graceland to do a story on them.

I know ... hard to believe. But there are a few people in Mom's life who attest to it. Here is a picture of them both ... you be the judge ...

The Family Reconnecting

I will blog more about our reconnections as the week progresses, but want to mention an exciting reconnection that happened yesterday. Our family has a pretty extensive knowledge of my Dad's Mother's side of the family, the Barkowska's (or ...skI's, depending on who you talk to). However, we have very little knowledge and connection with his Father's side (the Kuzma's) of the family.

When my Dad was 7 years old, my Grandfather (who is my namesake ... Paul Daniel Kuzma), was killed in a truck driving accident in Indiana. My Dad and his sister were raised by my Grandmother and her side of the family. There was some contact with the Kuzma's, but not much.

When my aunt died four years ago, I went back to Mayville, Michigan to help settle matters there for my Dad. During my time there, I tracked down the closest Kuzma, my Dad's Uncle John, and spent some time with him.

While there, he mentioned that the most history would come from their sister, Margaret, who was living at the time in Arizona. These last few years, I kept meaning to look her up and visit her.

Well, we were able to find her yesterday, and I spoke with her by phone. She agreed to allow me to stop by on my way home to California. I am really looking forward to this!

The picture to the right is my Dad, FYI ...

Tonight, we are headed to get a family picture done together! First time in I don't know how long!!

The Family Reunited

After a really good night of sleep, I awoke this morning to a flat tire! Apparently took a nail sometime yesterday and developed a slow leak. Fortunately, my brother, Steve, has spent the last couple years in his mechanic career specializing in tires and suspensions. UNfortunately, the nail was right at the joint of the tread and the side wall of the tire (more in the sidewall than the tread), which makes for an unrepairable tire.

He received a call last night from the Rockwall Dodge dealership in response to his application there, and they set him up with an interview at 2:00 this afternoon. While Dad and Steve's wife, Danielle, went to DFW airport to pick up my sister, April, Steve went on his interview. I mowed Mom & Dad's lawn. With the heat and humidity, I think I caught up on my last few months of missed workouts!!

Steve's interview went well (he awaits return of the obligatory drug testing), April arrived in good spirits, and we all spent the evening at Casa Miguel, a Rockwall Tex/Mex restaurant that operates out of an old house with great food.

An additional and very deeply sentimental feature of this restaurant is their Rockwall sports memorabilia, which includes our older brother, Leroy's, Rockwall High School Letterman's jacket and an 8x10 of his football picture.

Some may not have heard of Leroy, who passed away in 1994. More on him later.

After a great dinner, here I am at my second office getting a few needed things taken care of, including updating you. A few have posted comments letting me know they're traveling with me in spirit. If you haven't yet, please do!

It's Monday

Last night, spent much of the evening with my brother, Steve, catching up on the events of his life. The last couple months have been somewhat chaotic. He is hopeful (as we all are) that this move to Texas will give him a chance at a new start in his life.

This morning, met he and my Dad in the city of Rockwall. That's where I spent my Middle School years, and it is just south of Royse City. They were dropping off Dad's van for some work. The three of us had breakfast at IHOP (have you tried their new Stuffed French Toast? AMAZING!) and then made runs to Wal-Mart and Lowe's.

In the parking lot of Wal-Mart, a Rockwall Police Officer noticed my brother's California license plates and asked where he was from. Turns out the Officer spent 14 years with LAPD before moving here, but was born and raised in Simi Valley! Small world!! May get to do a ride-along with him sometime this week.

We've now settled at what Dad calls my "second office", Starbucks, while we wait for his van to be finished. I've yet to make my nostalgia trips around town and into the little town of Heath, which was where we lived most of for 2 of our 4 years here.

It was at Heath Baptist Church that I started to establish my relationship with God, so it's got a special place in my heart. I also have a nephew who is buried in the cemetery there. He was my older brother, Leroy's (who passed away in '94), son who only lived for one day in 1982.

Commissioning of USS Kidd

Saturday's events were really cool. Spending the day with Matt, Kerry and Gramps was fun. Matt looks and sounds good.

Kerry and I got to take a guided tour of the ship, including the CIC (I forget what it stands for) that is the "nerve center" of the ship's defense system ... radars, computers, huge map screens, guys that sit next to each other that can't make decisions without each other to make sure people don't do anything alone that would be stupid.

Among other things, I learned ...

• A ship is NOT an official part of the Navy until it is actually commissioned. Commissioning is NOT the same as Christening a ship.
• Matt is now what they call a "Plankowner", since he is part of the crew when the ship is commissioned. Grampa Bill is also a "Plankowner", having commissioned a ship in 1943.
• In the old days, when they decommissioned a ship, they would literally give a plank of that ship to each "Plankowner".
• Babies of the crew can be christened (baptized) in the ship's bell. They talk out the hammer, turn it upside down and fill it with water. The first baby christened in a bell has their name engraved inside the bell. When that bell is taken out of service, they find the person whose name is in the bell and offer it to them.

Cool stuff! Below are some pics of the day ...

Safe Arrival

Arrived at Mom & Dad's about 5:30 pm CDT. Will blog more Monday, including some pics from Matt's ship commissioning.

Day 5

Had a late breakfast with Kerry and Gramps on their way to the airport, I left South Houston for Royse City at 12:45 pm CDT. It is now 2:25 pm and I just crossed the 2,000 mile mark. More later!

Hurricane Season Is Here ... hmmmm

Sometimes, you don't realize where you are until you're there. Driving from South Houston to Galveston today, I realized a few things ...

• Galveston is actually an island in and of itself.
• I've heard of Galveston lots in my lifetime.
• The vein I've heard of Galveston in is always relative to bad weather.
• There is only one main transportation artery onto and off the island - the I-45.
• The I-45 was a parking lot before Hurricane Rita hit, right after Hurricane Katrina, with BOTH the north and southbound lanes opened for NORTHbound traffic.

So, on my way from Galveston back to my hotel to pick up something this afternoon, the freeway electric lighted signs read, "Hurricane Season is here. Keep your gas tank full."

At the same time, I was listening to my second book on this trip. It's called "Leading With A Limp". Been on my book radar for a while and I was able to get it cheap on CD.

Author Dan Allender asserts in the book that God always uses leaders with problems and issues in their lives. How true it is! Moses, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Saul, David, Solomon, Peter, and Paul. Read 'em and weep!

When I saw those signs on the freeway, Allender was talking about how "busy-ness is the moral equivalent of laziness that often serves as a mask for other issues." That really strikes home for me.

You know. The phone rings, and the first question the caller asks is, "Are you busy?" What do you say? "NO! I was just sitting here waiting for you to call"? Our answer ... I'm sorry ... MY answer is usually filled with a string of recently done or almost completed projects, hoping that it gives the caller a sense of how important I am.

One result of such behavior is that we keep our wheels spinning endlessly without reprieve for fear that someone will get the idea that we don't have enough to do. God forbid that we should reserve some energy or time for family, friends, or the at times necessary emergency or unexpected occurrence.

There it is again ... "Hurricane Season is here. Keep your gas tank full." Earlier in the book, Allender talks of how filled life is with the unexpected, loss and grief. It's important to realize that we need margins in our our lives AND to live reasonably with our limitations ... our limps ... our imperfections.

Unrealistic expectations we have of ourselves and sometimes of others leads us down dangerous and painful roads. Pain, disappointment, discouragement and disillusion is inevitable in life. Not everything turns out the way we thought it would. King among them is ourselves.

In general, I think we hold expectations of ourselves that Jesus never asked us to carry. Hurricane Season is here. Sounds like LIFE to me. Life is like a never-ending Hurricane Season. That's why it's important to keep your gas tank full.

How are your expectations of yourself? What are your reserves like ... emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually?

Welcome to Houston

WOW! It's 10:15 pm here (CST) and it is 82 degrees ("feels like 90 degrees") with a whopping 85% humidity!! Talk about sucking for air!

Total miles driven in three days - 1,655. For Day 3, still no nodding off! I do have to say that the drive is not the most scenic. I kinda expected more scenery.

Just got off the phone with my little brother, who just got married on Monday to Danielle - congratulations! They are currently living with my parents.

Steve gave me the good news that they found out my Dad's hip does NOT have muscle detaching from it. A bone density test and x-ray showed a stress fracture at the top of his thigh bone. This is good news in that there will be no surgery. He'll do physical therapy once a week for a while.

Mom's pre-op appointment today for next Friday's surgery was apparently pretty uneventful. However, Steve reports that there is a Starbucks on the bottom floor of the medical center!

Tomorrow, I'll connect with Matt, Kerry and Gramps somewhere around Galveston, where Matt's ship, the USS Kidd, will be commissioned during an evening ceremony. Hoping we'll get a tour of the ship from Matt as well.

Off to some reading and sleep....

Day 3 Layover

I'm sitting in a Borders in San Antonio, having needed to get a bit of work done. So far, it's been about 320 miles with another 250 to go.

It's a GOOD thing I like to drive. LOVE to drive actually, so it has made this somewhat of a breeze. Open road, most of the day overcast with the open sunroof for part of the way. No storms, but definitely Texas weather. While Simi Valley is enjoying a current 79 degrees with 13% humidity that "feels like 79 degrees", San Antonio is at 93 degrees with 52% humidity that "feels like 102 degrees", and it's 5:15 pm here! Let's call it "balmy".

The Honda only got me 26 mpg so far today. I think that's because I had the A/C CRANKED the last half of today's trip so far. The heat is on in Texas!

That's it for now ... headed for Houston!

Day 3

Left Ft. Stockton at 9:15 am PST. Little longer drive today to the Houston/Galveston area. Looks like I might get some of the storm weather I was hoping for today. While it's not raining, it's great sunroof weather!

Done For The Day

Arrived in Fort Stockton, Texas at about 9:00 pm PST.

Amazingly, you know how you get the "nods" when you're driving? That scary feeling that you're going to sleep and the next thing you know you're about twice the distance you thought you would be when you open your eyes? The feeling that leaves you wondering how in the world you didn't drift off the road somehow? Hasn't happened. Not even once. Just haven't gotten the least bit tired.

Not complaining, mind you. I'm glad about it and hope it lasts through the weekend.

Going to sleep. Blog tomorrow.

Central Time Zone & 1,000 Miles

Just crossed into CST at Van Horn, TX, so am now officiallly 2 hours ahead of California time. Just broke 1,000 miles too!

Texas

Crossing from New Mexico into Texas at 4:40 pm PST. Uneventful drive today so far.

Kerry called to report she and Gramps made it to Galveston and even unexpectedly ran into Matt. That's pretty cool!

New Mexico

Crossing border from Arizona into New Mexico at 2:30 pm PST.

Just finished a GREAT book on CD called "Why Do I Love These People? Honest and Amazing Stories of Real Families" by Po Bronson. Very insightful and inspiring. Little heads up on some language, but a great book.

If you're keeping up with me, let me know with a comment. l'll comment back when I'm at my computer.

So Long Tucson

Left Tucson at 12:15 pm PST. Discovered my little Prelude is getting me 28-29 mpg! Blog soon!

Day 2 Begins ... Too Early!

Crawling into bed at almost 2:00 am, I noticed that a Continental Breakfast is included at this hotel, between 6 and 9 am. "No way I'm making that!", I thought.

Well, think again, Kuzma. Woke up at 6:30, then again at 7:00, then again ... you get the story! I fell out of bed at about 8:15, threw on some clothes and went to the breakfast area, feeling the drag of wanting to stay in bed.

The Hospitality lady immediately said, "You look tired!" I WANTED to say, "Gee, really?" but instead kept it to, "Yeah, late night!"

Heard from my nephew, Matt, this morning. He's the one in the Navy whose ship, USS Kidd, is being commissioned in Galveston Saturday. The last few days he was trying to get confirmed whether or not I'd be able to get in to the ceremony. He called a few moments ago to say he was able to get it confirmed.

Glad to hear that. I am so proud of him, and looking forward to being with him. His mom, Kerry, (Colleen's sister) and their grandfather, Bill Kimmick, will be there too. They're flying in right now. Grandpa Bill served in the Navy in WW 2, and has a full arsenal of wonderful memories. I am sure he is really looking forward to this as well.

After a bit of quiet time this morning and then getting a little bit of work done ... the Internet really is quite something ... I'll run through the shower and hit the road. Should be able to start about noon, which was my target for today.

We'll see how my '89 Honda Prelude handles the heat. Yesterday's drive went very smooth.

Tucson

Arrived in Tucson at 1:00 am PST. Good night!

Arizona

Crossed into Arizona at 8:45 pm PST. The land of my favorite raspberry iced tea.

On The Road ... Finally

It's 4:30 pm PST and I'm leaving Costco with a full tank of gas and plenty of munchies. Stay tuned and I'll keep posting.

Highly Recommended Movie

Got to take my family to a pre-screening of "Evan Almighty". Thumbs up! Great family movie. It releases in theaters on June 22 and I HIGHLY recommend it. Very funny!

Departure Day is Here

The day has arrived. Well, almost ... as I blog, it is 11:42 PST. Joshua's DARE Graduation is at 1:30. I plan to be ready to leave right after that, which would make for about 3:00 pm PST.

If you'd like to see the route I'm taking, as well as the stopovers, click here. I plan to be in Galveston on Friday night. My nephew, Matt Suttle, is in the Navy. His ship, the USS Kidd, is being commissioned there on Saturday. His mom (Colleen's sister), Kerry, along with Grandpa Bill Kimmick, will also be there.

On Sunday, I'll head to Mom & Dad's. The only possible change at this point would happen if Matt is not able to secure a ticket for me for the commissioning. In that case, I'll just head straight for Mom & Dad's.

I'll be blogging about my trip as it happens. Blogger actually allows web-enabled phones (which mine is) to post to blogs right from the phone. If I run into anything nifty (like a good storm or tornado), you can bet I'll blog it.

Come on along, just for the fun of it, and let me know you're there with a comment or two ...

The Trip of a Lifetime?

I feel like I am about to embark on the trip of a lifetime. Seriously, what am I thinking?

Next Wednesday, June 6, after my son's DARE graduation, I'm hitting the road in my little 1989 Honda Prelude with some munchies, some changes of clothes, and a few good books and mags.

I have no idea what the week in Texas will be like ... somewhat of a strained family reunion. My little brother just arrived there, having moved with his girlfriend for a fresh start in life. My little sister will be there for a part of the time, and we're awkwardly relating these days (long story). My older sister already lives nearby.

All of us there to spend time with Mom as she prepares for her high risk surgery on June 15. I guess this could be kind of like my New York trip back in March that many of you "came along on" via my blog.

I'll blog about the journey, pics and all, if you want to join me. It'll be a good way to stay connected and share what's happening day by day.

All in all, I'm writing this entry tonight to just share that I am not sure what I'm getting myself in to. I am praying, of course, for my Mom's health. That she'll make it through surgery with flying colors and recover well. I am also praying for peace, for Mom, for Dad, for siblings.

Mom's upcoming surgery

The long drive from here to Texas is in the works. One of the interesting factors of the last few weeks was the discovery that my Mom's Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm has now reached 5 cm. That's the size they use to determine whether or not they'll go in to repair it. If it's smaller than that, the risk to your life is greater as a result of the surgery than if they just leave it alone and monitor it.

Monitor they have, and it's now at the 5 cm. An added complication for my Mom is that she only has one kidney, and the kidney she has needed a bypass done on it several years ago. The aneurysm is located right at the area of the bypass. That means that for 30-60 minutes during surgery, she will have to go without blood flow to the kidney. They'll do all they can to preserve it, but she could survive this life-threatening surgery and have to be on dialysis for the rest of her life as a result.

For now, we are putting the matter in God's hands, and she has decided to do the surgery on June 15. As it is a high-risk surgery, I am making plans to spend some time with her before the surgery just in case the worse happens.

For now, I plan to depart Wednesday afternoon, June 6 and arrive in Galveston on Friday. There, I'll get to connect with my nephew, Matt, who is in the Navy. His ship, the USS Kidd, is being commissioned in Galveston on June 9. His mom and great-grandfather (who served in the Navy in WW II) will also be there.

On Sunday, June 10, I'll drive north to Royse City (where my parents live), and spend the week with them, enjoying each other and getting ready for mom's surgery.

One uncertainty should begin to iron out next week. Dad (who has 2 artificial hips) sees his orthopedist on Tuesday, May 29 to find out if he will have to have surgery on his right hip for some muscles that are detaching. If he does, they'll have some difficult decisions to make on who is having surgery when. That may play into my plans some. We'll see. I'll keep you posted!

Still catching my breath

Well, this week has been a bit slower than the last few, and for that I am thankful. But boy, I'll tell ya ... catching up doesn't happen as efficiently as maybe 5 or 10 years ago!

The weeks began with a good Sabbath on Monday. A good day of STOPPING (did you know that's the real meaning of the word "Sabbath"?). Got some good rest and relaxation before hitting Tuesday at full force.

Extra work is being done discerning the issue of filling the spot being left by the soon-coming departure of John Cox from our Staff. He's served full-time the last four years and has been a great support, covering the areas of Worship and Youth so well.

Now, he is fulfilling a life-long dream of going full-time with his ministry, called Over The Top Ministries. He'll be available to travel and speak at churches, youth camps, family camps, and other evangelistic events.

He will roll off staff on June 30, so there's a few weeks left of trying to tie up some loose ends and say the farewells.

The cool thing is that while he is going off of our Staff, he's not going anywhere geographically. The Cox's remain committed to having NewHeart be their home church. Even Johnny will be available to serve on our Teaching Team still from time to time.

Meanwhile, we are in the process of conversation with one couple who we hope to meet at church on June 3. After church, we'll spend the afternoon getting to know each other and determine if it would be good to move ahead in further conversation from there.

Please be praying that the Lord brings the right person to serve alongside us as we further advance God's plan and purpose for us in reaching our city.

Change can be hard, but it can be good as well. Without it, we don't stretch, grow and fully become all God intends for us to grow into. Listen, none of this change takes God by surprise. He knows what He is doing and this is in reality His church, not ours. He will bring the right person to help grow us, both individually and corporately.

Whew!

I don't know about you, but sometimes I just feel like life gets dog-gone overwhelming! Strike that...I KNOW you find that too!

I haven't blogged in the last two weeks because of what the PRIOR two weeks were like. Three Chaplain call-outs (2 of them REALLY intense), the death of a church-connected person, and some tough health news on my Mom and Dad - all within 10 days.

An old story talks about a Western businessman who wanted to go on safari deep into Africa. Upon arrival, he hired a crew of nationals to be his guides. Being the Westerner he is, he drives the nationals at break-neck speed, wanting to get where he is going NOW!

A few hours into the journey, the group stops for a break. Moments later, the Westerner wants to move on, but for the life of him, he CANNOT get the guides to move from their place of rest.

When he asks the Leader of the guides why they won't move, the Leader responds, "Sir, we must let our souls catch up with our bodies!"

That's what life gets like sometimes. And for me, sometimes, while my soul is catching up with my body, I have to lay some "to-do" things down. Otherwise, I remain disconnected. And no one can do that very long.

So, while I've missed sharing life with you here, that's where I've been. I hope to pick up (and maybe even catch you up) over the next few days. It's quite something to me that life has been like it has for the last four weeks or so...right when I am preparing to begin a teaching series on SABBATH!! Go figure!

Chaplain Call Out - April 30, 2007

Received a call from the Watch Commander at 7:45 am about a 51 year old lady with multiple health issues who had passed away over night. She was living with her daughter and family.

This was another reminder that no matter how "prepared" you are for someone you know to die, you never know what the actual moment is going to bring. The family knew for about 10 years that Mom could go at any time. She even knew it herself. But it came on so quickly and caught everyone unprepared.

I am a real advocate of talking about all details before death happens. It makes it so much easier for the family once the event occurs.

Even at the PD, there is an "emergency packet" that Officers are asked to fill out. It contains all the questions in case of line of duty death.

Who do you want to have make the notification to your family? What do you wan to be buried in? What type of a service would you like to have? Songs? Hymns? Who would you like to have officiate and/or speak? Etc., etc.

Once the packet is turned into the Chief's Office, it is sealed and placed in the Officer's file. I am told that most Officer's never fill it out and turn it in. They never think it will happen to them.

Having those decisions already made just makes the process a lot easier for the family. Just a thought ...

Chaplain Call Out - April 25, 2007

Got a call at 6:30 am to respond to the Simi Valley Hospital for a 10 week old girl who had stopped breathing. Met our Officers and the Hospital Chaplain there while the parents were in a closed room. The little girl had died and they were spending time with her.

Normally in a situation like this, we would hand the situation over to the Hospital Chaplain and I would touch bases with our Officers to let them know I'm there if they want to talk. This case was a little different. Dad is an Officer with a neighboring law enforcement agency.

So, the Hospital Chaplain and I chatted and he handed the case to me due to the fact I am a Police Chaplain. The law enforcement connection is big.

The little girl had some major health problems known about from before birth. While this wasn't totally unexpected, she had seemed to be greatly improving as of late. Spent quite some time working with the parents, our Officers, Dad's agency superiors who responded to the Hospital, and the Medical Examiner. What a week!

Life's Sacred Moments

I learned early on as a Pastor that it is a privilege to get to be invited into some of what I call "life's sacred moments". One of those kind of moments is when someone is near or has reached the finish line of this life. Simply put ... when someone is near death or has died.

Today, I got to be involved in some of those moments. David Allan Colvin, husband of 22 years to Patricia and father to Tiffany (16), Jaclyn (13) and Cole (9), went home to be with the Lord at 9:50 pm last night, April 23, 2007.

This man led an amazing life. In short ... 2 tours in Vietnam with the Navy as a helicopter pilot and an entrepreneur who started a number of highly successful businesses. Patricia and her kids found NewHeart a few years ago as a result of Prison Fellowship's Angel Tree Ministry.

David was serving time in jail (about 6 years), and had requested that Prison Fellowship add his kids to the Angel Tree list. As a result, our church was assigned to provide Christmas gifts for each of his kids on his behalf. Angel Tree is an amazing program!

David's jail time is a LOOONNNGGG and complicated story ... truly one of those "unfairly convicted" kinds of stories. While in jail, David survived two bouts of cancer.

Released 18 months ago and catching up on lost time with his family, he was diagnosed with brain cancer in January. Two weeks ago, he was informed he had 3 months to live, and last night, he passed away peacefully.

If you would, please pray for Patricia and her kids. And to those who have participated in Angel Tree each year, just a note to say you never know whose life you're powerfully impacting with a simple gift!!

Bummer News

I'm a small bit of an aviation buff. I love air shows and have taken my kids to some of them. One of my long-term dreams is to get my pilot's license. My in-laws live in Columbia, CA, on a hill that overlooks the Columbia Airport, a small airport by comparison. I'd love to fly my family in for a weekend some day.

Anyway, news today of a Blue Angels crash saddens me. I was at an air show at Camp Pendleton in 1984 or '85 where one of the planes crashed. Wasn't one of the featured groups like Blue Angels or Thunderbirds. An old war plane as I remember it.

Anyway, sad news.

Someday, I'll have to blog about my near-death experience in a helicopter over the Hollywood Freeway in 1985.....

Birthing A Message, Part 2

Continuing from the last post on this topic, I'll share with you some thoughts about why I believe that things like titles and graphics/artwork are so important to a message or series.

I won't belabor the studies that show how overwhelmingly we learn and retain more effectively from visual modes over just auditory modes. Actually applying what we learn by doing it helps retain the "information" even more.

So, if we are really in the LIFE transformation business (and we are, in case it's been a while since you've given that much thought), then in what I do as a communicator, I want to give you the best opportunities and atmospheres in which to not just LEARN, but to APPLY what you learn.

Things like titles and graphics/artwork and music and video connected to a message are just methods of communication. It's often been said that the Bible is the message. As long as the message remains true, the methods of communicating the Truth can vary substantially.

Now, I've always said that I am not the most creative guy on the planet. I'm more nuts and bolts and details oriented. I love to teach God's Word, and to make it applicable and understandable. But sometimes, I get too bogged down in the details and minutiae and can't see the forest (big picture) for the trees (today; moment; little picture).

Though I believe so much in using visuals to help communicate the message, I don't always have the time or talent to get what I do see in the big picture whittled down to actual paper and pen (ie., artwork, videos, music, etc.). Google Images comes in VERY handy when looking for visuals!

That's why I am best friends with guys like Rick Warren, Wayne Cordeiro, Ed Young and the like. In case you don't know them, they are mega-church pastors in different parts of the country.

In case you're wondering, I do not know any of them personally. BUT, they allow their resources to be shared. While I don't use their messages word for word, I sometimes use points from their outlines, and often use their artwork for print, website and screen presentation.

These guys have resources from larger churches they lead that are big help to those of us who lead churches that endeavor to use the best in communications, from printed materials to presentation backgrounds.

There are now some GREAT websites out there for video and background for sermon illustrations and backgrounds. I regularly scan sites like Sermon Videos, Sermon Spice, and Faith Visuals.

I am thankful for guys like Rick, Wayne, Ed and the many, many others who are blazing trails in communication excellence that others can benefit from. There are trails for us ALL to blaze that are different than what everyone else is blazing.

For instance, I believe part of my trail to blaze is in helping Pastors and their church leaders figure out how their Pastor can do what they do the way God means for THEM to do it. We tend to expect the same thing(s) from one Pastor to another without taking into account their individual make-up and wiring in their gifts, talents, personality, background and life-stage.

You've heard me talk about Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, which I believe must play into the maturity growth process of us all, and I especially feel called to see it developed in the lives of Pastors and leaders. EHS is a crucial component of any Pastor figuring out HOW to do what God has called them to do within the context of THEIR life.

Just more thoughts ...

Virginia Tech Tragedy

Perusing some blogs about the VT Tragedy perspectives, I came across one of my favorite bloggers. A Pastor in Washington, DC; Mark Batterson at Evotional.com. I really appreciate how he writes and thinks, and was struck by how he gave some perspective on the VT Tragedy:

It certainly doesn't shake my belief in God. It just affirms my belief in evil. And it's a tragic reminder of how much we need God.

I got a call from a Washington Post reporter asking me about my take. Honestly, I'm like everyone else. A lot more questions than answers. The only explanation, in my estimation, is free will. We can exercise that free will to do tremendous good or
tremendous evil. It is a reminder that within each of us their is the potential to become the greatest of saints or the worst of sinners.

I recommend Mark's blog wholeheartedly!

Birthing A Message

I've had a number of comments the last several days on messages from the last two Sundays. Click here to listen to them online. Good comments, and encouraging, with some curiosity to how it comes together for me each week.

First of all, I want to say it's much like a birthing process. Well, at least as far as I can analogize it anyway. Any given message is usually "conceived" weeks before it is "born". What happens in between is the "labor" process.

Please understand that I am not trying to pretend that I know what it feels like to birth a baby. I am only saying that I believe this is a good analogy as far as I can understand it as a man.

The "labor" process for me as a Pastor and preacher doesn't refer only to the "labor" or "work" of studying, though it certainly includes it. It refers also to the painstaking process of trying to figure out whether what I sense is needing to be said is really the Holy Spirit, or if it's last night's dinner. It also includes ruminating over it to try to put it into words that most can understand and apply.

I believe any Pastor wants to wholeheartedly speak only Jesus' words to his flock. But we're all human. So discerning what's me and what's Him is a big deal.

Our current series, "Authority Issues" has been brewing for a couple of months. I just named it last week, but knew that I would be doing some teaching on how we deal with authority in our lives.

I'll post more later on how the name came about, why I think the name of a message or series is important, and why I think images and artwork are such an important part of any theme and message.

Aching Heart

My heart is aching tonight over the news of the tragedy at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. I was right next door to Blacksburg six months ago. You can read my post about that trip here.

Get the latest news on the incident here.

Folks, life is completely unpredictable. You can be here today and gone tomorrow. That's what James talks about when he writes, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4.14)

When your day comes to meet Jesus, are you prepared? Do you know Him as your own personal Savior? If you do, is your life in order?

That doesn't mean you have to be perfect. It just means that you're living your life connected to Jesus. That He alone is your breath and strength.

What a tragic reminder today is that in a moment's time, completely unexpectedly, life as we know it can drastically change. My heart aches tonight for those families who are left behind in shock and grief.

Praying ...

Chaplain Call Out - April 11, 2007

Received a call from the SVPD Watch Commander at 11:01 this morning. A two-year-old boy was involved in a drowning in his own backyard. No one noticed that he had opened the sliding glass door to the patio and found his way to the pool until it was too late.

When they went searching for him, he was found at the bottom of the pool. A neighbor knew CPR and started immediately. When I arrived at the house, he had already been taken to the hospital, which I know by experience has a great team of Chaplains. I knew the family would be well taken care of.

Upon my arrival, the 2 responding Officers were in the front yard. I spent some time talking through the incident with them. You might imagine that arriving on a scene like this, especially when you have kids yourself, can be VERY difficult for Officers to process.

It's always important, and a good thing, for them to be able to vent and talk it through. I'll check on them in a few days as well to see how they're doing.

In the back yard was one of our Crime Scene Investigators, who I also spent some time with. The opportunity for a Chaplain to be on scene is what we call a "ministry of presence". It's not always (even rarely) that a first responder actually processes the event on scene. However, it's the visibility and contact of a Chaplain quickly that can have an impact when it hits them later.

Once we were done at the scene, I went to the hospital to check on the Detectives working the case there. The little boy had arrived DOA, but they were able to revive him with CPR! By an hour or so later, they had some pupil activity, which is good news toward brain activity.

It will still be quite a while before they know for sure how much brain damage might have been done. Please pray for this little boy and his family. Pray that Mom and Dad will be reached with God's Love through this incident.

Rare Opportunity

I really want to encourage you to INVITE, INVITE, INVITE friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to this weekend's EASTER CELEBRATIONS on Sunday at 8:30 & 10:30 am.

I am very excited about this year's theme ..."EASTER...BASED ON A TRUE STORY!" ANYONE will find strong relation and identification of the need we ALL have for Jesus in our lives.

Studies have been done that show that over 50% of unchurched people would go to church IF A FRIEND INVITED THEM. Well, FRIEND, there is no better weekend to do so than this one! Who do you know that needs Jesus?

There is no better time to breach that all too often awkward moment ... no more opportune days than this week to help bridge the chasm between your friends and the Lord!

Could I also ask you to pray this week for our teams? Because we know this weekend is one of those rare opportunities to reach many more open hearts than usual, our teams put extra effort and time into what they do to make great first impressions. We want people to know the love of God through us! Would you pray for strength, courage and souls?

Again, consider asking someone to join you on your journey with Jesus this weekend. You never know...you might help SAVE someone's life!

P.S. If you're reading this and you are a part of another church family, then by all means INVITE SOMEONE to YOUR church with you this weekend!!

New York's EHS Conference con't...

Chuck and I thought it would be incredible to have Foursquare's top leaders experience this conference IN NEW YORK. We talked with Pete Scazzero about it in a passing conversation. Then, Chuck mentioned it to Glenn Burris, our VP of National Operations, who gave him a green light to pursue the possibilities!

In a span of two years, we are going from Pastor Paul going to New York, getting to know Scazzero to talking about possibly gathering 200 or so Foursquare leaders (Board of Directors, Cabinet, District Supervisors) so they can best be immersed in the material. WOW!

ONLY GOD!

I May Regret It

Just finished a LOONNGG day that I may regret tomorrow! Woke up at 4:15, showered (just to wake myself more), picked up my brother-in-law, and drove to Phoenix.

There, he rented a moving truck and we loaded about an apartment's worth of furniture into it from his parents rental house. Then, believe it or not, we drove back ... today!! Got home around 8:15 tonight.

Now, for me, I got to sleep the first few hours while Dan drove. I actually felt rested by the time we got there. I can't imagine how HE is feeling tonight.

Unloading waits for tomorrow, along with some painting at my house. You know ... one of those "well, if we're gonna get a new (to us) couch, we might as well change the color and clean the walls up like we've needed to for far too long!"

I'm tired from tomorrow already, let alone today. I may regret all this tomorrow. I'll let you know!

By the way, if you didn't make it to church yesterday, you MISSED out! Randy Stonehill was amazing and the laughter we enjoyed was glorious!

Whatever you do, invite alot of people to come to Easter this weekend. THAT, you will NOT regret!!

Good Friends

I mentioned earlier in the week a man named Andrew Favilla, whose wife, Laurel, is Pete Scazzero's assistant and is also the current Director of the Center for Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.

Andrew works at Grand Central TERMINAL. I was reminded by Laurel at church this morning that the name is not to be confused with Grand Central STATION. They are one and the same, however, for the last many years, since the terminal has been revitalized, they have made a conscious and concerted effort to be sure that it is communicated that the Grand Central TERMINAL is MUCH more than a "station". When you visit the place, you can certainly see their point.

Anyway, that's not my point here.

What I did NOT mention was, and believe deserves mentioning, is that Laurel, who has served so well in her place as Pete's assistant, and her husband, Andrew, who serves also as Chairman of the Board of Elders at New Life Fellowship, became fast friends of mine over the last couple of years.

Laurel is a true prayer warrior, and we've has opportunity to work together as I've served as a kind of "unofficial" West Coast Representative for the Center for EHS. She so graciously picked us up at JFK on Wednesday and took us back there today.

It was a joy to spend a little bit of time with her and Andrew at lunch yesterday too. I just wanted to let you know a little bit about the Favilla's as I've gotten to know them some and our friendship has been rekindled this week.

After church this morning, I was surprised at the number of people who remembered me and also had the chance to meet several more of their folks. It is amazing to me how deeply the EHS material has been integrated into the lives of New Life folks. Obviously, it's been a number of years in the formation for them, but I believe it is happening for us too as NewHeart, and that's a blessing for me to see.

Anyway, good night for now ... more to come after taking tomorrow off ...

By the way, Orange Chicken it was ... brought home so the boys and I could catch last week's recording of 24 before they hit the sack!

No Place Like Home

Ahhh! The fresh smell of LAX and here I am in the Sepulveda Pass on the Flyaway bus to Van Nuys. Can hardly wait to see Colleen and the boys just on the other side of this mountain range. It'll be so good to hit some place for dinner with them and hear of the week's exploits.

it's my hope to have a nice sit down dinner somewhere, but knowing that one son's fave is In 'N Out (hamburger with lettuce, tomato and special sauce only, fries and vanilla shake) and the others fave is Panda Express (Orange Chicken), I'm not too sure where we'll end up.

I'll post more reflections on the EHS Conference as the week progresses.

It's good to be home!

Exciting Meeting

I keep forgetting to blog about the exciting Church Council Meeting I had the night before (Tuesday, March 20) I left for New York. No, seriously, it was an EXCITING meeting!!

If you are a NewHeart member or regular attender, you might remember that last June, I announced that our Sanctuary expansion that had been in the works for a number of years was shelved. There were a lot of reasons; too expansive to go into here.

We put the whole project on back burner to give it a rest. In the following months, we began to discover some of the projects we had put on hold over the last few years because "it will be taken care of in the expansion." Stuff like electrical service upgrade (badly needed), some cosmetic drywall repair and painting, A/C replacement (system is 25 years old), etc.

In the months following the "shelving" of the expansion, I was surprised at the number of comments I received that said, "Are we at least going to close off our wind tunnel (the breezeway entrance to the church doors)?" I mean, I got a LOT of those comments. Enough to say that the breezeway being closed off is a BIG value to people.

I've learned as a Pastor that when people get sold on a church and start coming regularly and get involved in church family life, we start to let slide the things that once bugged us when we first came. Little stuff like scratches on walls that are never cleaned, worn carpet, burned out light bulbs, AND HURRICANE FORCE BREEZEWAYS!

Last Tuesday night, we took a look at the first draft of plans to provide handicap-accessible restrooms (whose doors would not open right in front of the Sanctuary doors ;^) ), enlarge the foyer (making it more amenable to using it as a space for overflow seating) and ENCLOSE THE BREEZEWAY!

The cost of the project (a MAJOR factor in shelving the expansion plans) will be much more suitable. While we will need to raise a bit more money so that we can do it DEBT-FREE, we have most of the funds already on hand from faithful giving.

Look for more news on this later this Spring!

EHS Conference - Day 2

My feelings were confirmed today. A TWO day EHS Conference is definitely more impacting than ONE. Had a chance to chat more about this with Pete Scazzero today.

Areas covered today were Contemplative Spirituality and 5 Skills for Growing Into an Emotionally Mature Adult. The way the conference was presented this time around gave me a slew of ideas about how to make the material more easily presentable in a class/small group format.

It's been almost 4 years since I read the first book, The Emotionally Healthy Church. Ever since then, I've been pondering/praying about how to bring the material to the church in a format that is digestable.

When I taught the series, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality in the Fall of '05, I said then and believe now that it would be a ground-shifting series for us. It's a "way of life" kind of thing. That means that when people become a part of our church family, there has to be a way that we bring them along in that way. It's called discipleship.

When Pete's next book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, was released last Summer, I knew it would be the "textbook" for however we teach this in the future. Where the first book is written primarily for church leaders, the recent one is written for everyone, leader or not. It goes even deeper into your life than the first book.

If you are a member of NewHeart, or considering becoming one, let me urge you to get this book (we have them available at church in the foyer) and read it. Newly released at this conference is the workbook that goes with this book. We will have them available soon.

Keep your eyes open this year for the release of a new class that I see being part of our "Building Bigger Hearts Growth Track", covering this material. That is how FOUNDATIONAL I see this material for all of our lives as we grow together into our future as a church family!

Chuck and I considered trying to do the Empire State Building right after the final session. Midafternoon was beautiful here. However, 6:00 pm EDT was a different story. About 15 degrees cooler, fully covered in clouds and a discovered forecast of rain. In Chuck's words, "next time."

We ate dinner at a nearby Chinese place and headed to our rooms to get packed for tomorrow. We plan to visit New Life Fellowship's 9:15 service. Our ride to JFK Airport picks us up at 12:00 noon and my flight leaves for LAX at 2:00, arriving at 5:05 PDT. I am very much looking forward to being with Colleen and the boys tomorrow night!

Chuck flies directly to Christiansburg, Virginia from here, where he will spend about 10 days at the Foursquare Center for Spiritual Renewal that is being developed. I blogged about that here.

For now, a good night to you, and I look forward to great reports about NewHeart tomorrow!

EHS Conference - Day 1

It was helpful that today's Conference didn't start until noon. Gave us a chance to recover from yesterday's activities. Should've thought to bring a pedometer along. I don't know how many miles we walked throughout Manhattan, but it was at least a few.

After a good night's rest, I was excited to see what the day had in store. This is the 2nd of Pete Scazzero's EHS Pastors/Leaders Conference I have attended in New York and one of a handful since I've done a little bit of traveling and helping at others in Southern California.

Each conference has been a little more developed than the last. This one is turning out to show the same pattern. Where past conferences have been only 1 day, this is the first one they've done over 2 days. I can definitely tell that the added day will make a difference.

When we hosted the first Southern Cal EHS Conference 18 months ago at NewHeart, the biggest piece of feedback we received was that folks felt by the end of the day that they had taken a drink of water from a fire hose. There is so much to digest and process.

In reality, I am of the opinion that one would be best exposed to the EHS material and process by having it even be a 3 or 4 day retreat. At this point, the Scazzero's feel that most Pastors would not take that much time.

I agree that it would be somewhat of a stretch to get Pastors there, but it's a stretch I think would be well worth it. This material goes deep and requires much introspection. Sometimes, that introspection can be more readily handled if you have a chance to wear out less through long days of presentation and interaction and allow more time for rest, adequate sleep and down time. Just my opinion.

I realized again today how the Lord is always ready to do something new in us all. It's always been a true thing to me that God doesn't just save us and then call us done. We would never be able to handle the intensity of such transformation in our humanness. Instead, he is patient, loving, loooonnnngggg-suffering and willing to work with whatever we will give Him.

I, for one, am very grateful for that!

Reminded

I am being reminded this morning of the place that the expectations I live with in myself are too much for anyone to live with. It's true for most of us. Who needs to be reminded?

We ALL do!! Unless we are reminded, we just keep living the same way, and it tends to NOT be the way of Jesus.

An additional truth is that no one is going to take care of that for me. Nobody else can take care of such things for you. We are each responsible before God to allow His Spirit to change us and give us the strength to do life His way.

Just a thought for your day....

Great day

NOTE: A few folks have emailed me, and I HAVE received them. However, due to a glitch in the hotel internet service, I found tonight that my replies did NOT send. I hope to have this fixed in the morning. Any and all are encouraged to leave a comment. You will have to sign up with Blogger to leave comments, but I have found it to be non-spam producing, so go for it and let me know you are tracking with us!

What a day! After a great breakfast at Pop Diner, we hit the subway at about 9:15 EDT, arriving at Times Square 30 minutes later. We found the Gray Line Tour bus and got our tickets.

If you're ever in New York, be sure to do the Gray Line All Loops Tour. It's the best way to soak in the city over the course of a couple days. You can get on and off at several points and the ticket is good for 48 hours. And between the double decker bus and the subway, you've got all the transportation you need around Manhattan.

Anyway, our first stop off the bus was Ground Zero. Wow! St. Paul's Chapel is an amazing testimony. Check out their site.

Last time I was here was only 19 months ago. The progress they've made is incredible. I just can't get my brain around what this city must have been through with the events of 9/11. We walked all the way around the World Trade Center site just trying to imagine what must have gone through people's minds as the events unfolded.

It remains to me an absolute miracle that the tallest buildings in the world collapsed within moments of each other and did not do more damage or take more lives than what it did. When you are physically here and get to see the proximity of the neighboring buildings, without a doubt, I can almost see the hands of God upon those buildings, making sure that they did not topple onto more surrounding area.

From there, we walked the southwest section of Manhattan down to the southern tip to catch the red bus again. While waiting, we enjoyed a genuine New York street vendor hot dog that hit the spot and held us over for what was to come!

We rode the bus to the United Nations, which, as interesting as it sounds, is actually a fairly mundane area of Manhattan. From the UN, we walked the "New York short" distance to Grand Central Station.

On the way there, we developed the phrase of the day. Chuck would ask, "how far is it?", wanting to prepare himself for the jaunt. The phrase of the day became, "just a couple of blocks."

Once at Grand Central, we connected with Andrew Favilla, who just crossed 30 years of service there, the last 11 as Deputy Chief of Operations in charge of Safety & Security. As such, he was able to give us the highlight of the day, a behind the scenes look at Grand Central. We got to see their Situation Room, where top leaders gather in a crisis to monitor and strategize. He also shared some fascinating tidbits with us about Grand Central.

• The City of New York actually had plans to tear it down, but it was saved by the influence of none other than Jackie Onassis. She saw what a shame it was for the city to have torn down the old Penn Station to replace it with the current Madison Square Garden and believed Grand Central should be saved.
• Grand Central sees 600,000 people come through it DAILY!
• The terminal has its own Police force of about 400 officers. They each carry a bio-chemical detector as part of their equipment that would instantly let them know if anything dirty was nearby. The building also has sensors that do the same thing.
• After 9/11, all trash containers were replaced with specially designed cans that will not blow outward if a bomb were placed in them, thus saving injuries from shrapnel. Any debris would blow only straight up into the air.
• Grand Central closes from 2:00-5:15 am so that every square inch can be cleaned by a crew of over 200 workers. The floors, the walls, the fixtures (I could not find ONE burned out light bulb among THOUSANDS!), and the brass (LOTS of it).

The tour there was a real treat. VERY interesting.

From there, we took the subway into the Upper East Side (ritzy area near Central Park), where we made our way to Lady M Confections. Check out what we had to treat .... I mean, eat! They were amazing! Excuse the low quality phone camera, please.

From there, we had our first downer of the day. We waited 45 minutes for our tour bus, which was supposed to be running every 15 minutes. We were wanting to get to go up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building, but darkness was falling. I called the dispatch center and was told the bus should be there in about 10 minutes. 45 minutes later, still no bus!

Fortunately, we were able to joke about it and made our way "just a couple of blocks" to the subway, which took us to Times Square. Once there, we hopped on the Night Loop for a 90 minute ride throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Funny thing was that about 5 minutes into the Loop, it started to rain. We're on top of an open air double decker bus, and it starts to rain. Being prepared, the tour guide hands out "Gray Line ponchos". White trash bags complete with holes for arms, a hood for the head and the Gray Line logo! Souvenir it is! Here's Chuck in his ...


After a good dinner near Times Square, we headed back to our hotel in Queens. The Conference starts at noon tomorrow. A good chance to get some rest from an early day and late night.

I only slept a few short hours (I won't say how little) the night before we left. 3:00 am came early, but fortunately, I do OK sleeping on planes. I slept almost the whole way yesterday. Eye masks and ear plugs baby! They work wonders!

However, my body is still on Pacific time, so it was a late night and early morning. While I'm stating that, I should put this body down for some rest. Good night all!