That's my mom!

I just found out from my mom today that her picture appeared in a local paper, the "Camarillo Acorn" (that's her, third from the left).


The picture accompanies this article about the classical guitar society she participates in. These classical guitar enthusiasts meet monthly for free group performances, where all members are encouraged to try their hand at performing. The other musicians have been a huge encouragement to my mom, who just started playing classical last year.

A snippet from the article:

The society is loosely organized- members pay no dues and aren't required to play to a certain level. "It's the joy of playing classical guitar music with likedminded people," said Gail DeWolfe of Camarillo, a founding member. "It's just a group that loves classical guitar and that's the only requirement."

Way to go, mom!

ROTFL

Drat

Blogger has just posted a new feature that looks pretty cool - the ability to insert video into your blog, similar to the photo feature. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make it work quite yet. Perhaps once G-Dub gets home, he can show me what I'm doing wrong...

Chicken for Twenty

Last Friday evening, the Weston home was converged upon by Fair Oaks youth workers!

Gary and I invited all of our volunteers and their families, both junior high and high school, to come together to eat, talk, and share one another's lives. It was a great time to just hang out and be friends, and not have an agenda to cover. Our hope is that this will evolve into a regular event, that we may continue to get to know and encourage one another, outside of youth events where the focus is on our students.

Of course, our favorite way to hang out is to eat together, and last Friday was no exception. I am not accustomed to cooking for crowds, so I took the opportunity to debut a new dish; and as many people requested the recipe I will post it for you here.

Cousin Sandy's Tejas Chicken

Ingredients:

-Appropriate number of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-Equal number of bacon strips
-1 6 oz can jalapeno or chili peppers (sliced or diced)
-1 bottle Italian dressing
-1 large jar chopped pimentos (optional)
-Toothpicks
-Oven bag

Directions:

-Fold each chicken breast around 2 slices of pepper, or, if you are using diced peppers, spoon approximately two teaspoons into each fold.
-Wrap a slice of bacon around the chicken breast, secure with toothpick, and place in a large cooking bag, dusted with flour.
-Pour Italian dressing over the chicken and sprinkle with pimentos.
-Marinate in refrigerator overnight.
-When ready to cook, puncture bag and place in a large baking dish.
-Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Cousin Sandy says:

This is delicious with rice and very filling. I usually allow two chicken breasts per person, but I've rarely seen anyone actually eat two at a sitting! Leftovers may be frozen in marinade and reheated with no loss of flavor. I have also prepared this with mushrooms instead of peppers, and used diced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese on top, for a completely different flavor. Good luck and good cooking!

Spare the Rod...

The other day, one of my students asked me a very profound question.

He was concerned that a certain thing in his life was becoming more important to him than God, and he knew he needed to adjust his priorities. Not only did he recognize this as the right thing to do, but he also realized that by rebelliously holding on to the idol in his life he ran the risk of God forcibly taking it away from him.

Now days, we don't talk very much about God disciplining His people, despite the very clear teaching of Scripture on the topic. (Heb. 12:5-11, most clearly.) I'm not sure why this is. Maybe because it's not very "seeker-sensitive" to have a God who will hurt you in order to heal you. We live in a culture where even spanking is taboo, so maybe we fear that a God who punishes those He loves for their own good will be unattractive, even to those who believe in Him.

Anyway, the question my young friend came up with was this: "Why is it that God would take this away from me now that I am a Christian, and not take it away from other people around me who don't believe in Him?"

When I heard these words, I smiled ear to ear. This was a deep and important question, inviting the deep truths of Scripture. This is the kind of thing I live for.

I took my young friend back to Exodus. The Hebrew people had just come out of Egypt, crossed through the Red Sea, and seen God smash Pharoah's army something fierce. Now they were encamped at the base of a mountain called Sinai. Moses had gone up the hill to talk with God and figure out what happens next.

God had chosen these people to be His people, and if they were going to be His people, they needed to live a certain way. So, God gave them some guidelines. He started with ten simple rules, and the first of these ten was this: "You shall have no other gods before Me." (Ex. 20:3)

He could have started with any of the hundreds of commands in the law, but He chose to start with this one. Why? Because God does not want to compete for our attention or affection. He wants to be our One and Only. If we are going to be His people, if we are going to belong to Him, then He wants our complete devotion.

It's like me and Katherine. She is my wife. She belongs to me. (Readers with feminist tendencies, please don't be offended by my saying this. Truth is, I belong to her just as much.) So, if Katherine began treating some other man like he was her husband, I would get jealous. And rightly so. She ought not treat another man that way. She's my wife. I have a claim on her.

Now if a woman other than Katherine were to treat some man she was not married to as her husband, I would not react the same way. Sure, I could point out that what she was doing is wrong, but I would not be jealous for her in the same way that I would be for Katherine. Why? Because she's not my wife. I don't have a claim.

If we have put our faith in Jesus, we are God's people. Scripture tells us we were bought with a price, and refers to us as the bride of Christ. So, when we begin to treat something (or someone) other than God as though it were God, when we show a greater level of devotion to it than we do to Him, He gets jealous. And rightly so. We are His.

Now God is not vindictive. He does not do things to harm us maliciously. And I believe with all my heart that He will give you every possible chance to turn away from your idols and come back to Him. But there comes a time when there is no other way. When that time comes, God will take them by force. He will strip you down, and He will remind you that you are His, and He will do it because of His incredible, passionate, intense, scandalous love for you.

And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

--Hebrews 12:5-6

Read this Blog

One of the many random blogs I've happened to stumble upon this year is a gem called Texas in Africa. The author is a young woman who, for her dissertation, travels between Texas and the Congo quite frequently. She describes her site as: "All things Texas, football, music, politics, Africa, & Baptists. In that order."

What's not to like?

Anyways, one of her recent posts, "in black and white", really touched me. She does an amazing job articulating the tension experienced when bouncing between affluence and poverty. I relate to so many of her sentiments, coming back from the world race and trying to figure out what to do with all my experiences.

As she draws the contrasts, I relate to her experience, and relive my own. I particularly experience a sense of yearning, of longing for the simplicity of a life uncluttered by things and the guilt they bring; where people and relationships, and especially God, are more important, more real than the distracting trivialities that one so easily falls into here.

I understand and embrace the caution that:

"If I'm not careful, I'll forget to live as if my choices have consequences for those on the other side of the world. I'll forget to notice the affluence that is so much a part of my daily life. I'll forget to let the contrasts break my heart."

Anyways, this blog is definitely worth a read. Go check it out.

Sunday School Re-imagined

Since Gary and I arrived at Fair Oaks, we've really been praying and seeking the Lord on direction for the youth programs. Throughout this summer, we've been developing our vision for the fall programming and are really excited about new things ahead. Our heart is to reach students where they're at, and to equip them to build a faith that will continue once they graduate from high school.

In today's Oakleaf (our church e-newsletter), Gary detailed Part One of our plans. Here it is:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

-- 2 Timothy 3:16-17(emphasis added)

Traditionally, Sunday School has served to impart biblical information to students. Many generations of young people have grown in their knowledge of what Scripture teaches on various topics because of quality Sunday School experiences during their formative years.

However, we would all agree that following Jesus is about much more than mastering facts and information. Following Jesus is a way of life. The teachings of Scripture were always meant to shape not just what we know, but the way we live and the decisions we make day by day.

So if our goal is to teach students to live this lifestyle of following the Lord, it makes sense that our Sunday School should focus, in both structure and content, on equipping our students for every good work and teaching them how to "walk humbly with their God" (Micah 6:8).

To that end, I am very excited to share with you some changes we're making in our youth Sunday School programs this fall. I call it Sunday School Re-imagined.

In a nutshell, the concept is to offer multiple Sunday School classes and then allow students a choice in what class they attend. Classes will run in four to six week sessions, so at the end of each session, the student has a new set of options to choose from. Class topics will focus on Christian living and practical skills that emphasize not just knowing the truth, but living the truth on a daily basis.

Let's imagine a hypothetical student. We'll call him Jim. Jim is a sophomore who has grown up going to church and Christian schools. He knows his Bible pretty well, but he's not really sure what it means to live for Jesus. He usually feels bored in Sunday School, because it's all stuff he's heard before in one form or another, and he wonders if church will always be like that for him.

Now imagine that Jim begins the new school year in our new Sunday School Re-imagined. Maybe in the school year's first session of classes, Jim chooses to be a part of a class studying various spiritual disciplines. He explores prayer and worship more deeply than he has before, and he learns what fasting is and how it can enrich his spiritual life.

At the end of six weeks, Jim sees that there's going to be a drama class offered in the next session, so he decides to give that a try. Jim works with other students to write, prepare, and perform evangelistic skits that he gets to bless others with during worship services, and he even performs one in the park on a Saturday as a way of sharing his faith. Maybe someone even decides to follow Jesus because of Jim and his friends.

Then in the third session, Jim opts for a special series of classes taught by a licensed Christian counselor on being there for friends in crisis. He learns what to say when a friend tells you they are struggling with an addiction, or an abusive boyfriend, or suicidal thoughts. These are heavy topics, but Jim has friends struggling with some of these things. He's glad that now he has something to share with them.

By Christmas, Jim has learned a number of practical skills that enrich his own personal walk with the Lord and he's better equipped to be of help to his friends at school. He gave drama a try, and while he enjoyed it, he has decided that maybe it's not the ministry for him. Nevertheless, Jim is glad to have had the chance to try it out, and he's excited to see what new choices he'll have in the next session of classes. Who knows? The ministry that is right for him may be waiting right around the corner.

This is just one of several different combinations of experiences available to students within the structure of the new Sunday School Re-imagined. It's my desire to offer as diverse a range of classes as possible, and I need your help to do it.

Do you have special skills, like cooking, playing basketball, or repairing cars? Do you have a passion for prayer, or worship, or serving the poor? Would you consider sharing your skills and passions with a small group of teenagers during Sunday School? If so, I would love to talk it over with you.

In His Service,

Pastor Gary Weston

Fun with potatoes

Ok, at the risk of incurring light-weight status for my blog, I just had to share with y'all one more joke. Enjoy.


Exercise for older adults:


Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.




With a 5-lb potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can.




Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.




Each day, you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.




After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato sacks.




Then try 50-lb potato sacks and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato sack in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute.





( -I'm at this level- )





Then, -






After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the sacks ...

How addicted to coffee are you?

I am 65% Addicted to Coffee

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The Second Step

A while back, I blogged about an idea that Gary and I were tossing around - basically, we were wondering if we could get a foster care license, just in case any of our students were ever removed from their home. The idea is that in the midst of a traumatic situation, our student would not have to be thrust into a house of strangers, but could legally come stay in a familiar, trusted environment until the situation was resolved.

Well, Gary and I have taken the next step in that direction. Last week we attended a meeting with Contra Costa County Children & Family Services, to find out more about the process. For one of three monthly meetings, I was surprised to see how many were in attendance - probably about thirty (though most were interested in adoption as opposed to foster care).

Some of the things I learned:

-In Contra Costa county alone, there are about 1600-1700 children in the foster care system at any given time. About half will stay with extended family, and the other half need placements.
-The county highly values permanency for the child, and the time frame is fairly short (6 months for a child under three years of age, 12 months for a child over three) before they seek to adopt a child out into a permanent family situation.
-There are a number of ways to do foster care: emergency placement, long-term, concurrent (moving towards adoption), or respite care for other families.
-The main requirements to be a foster parent are: over 18 years of age, and a spare bedroom available to the child, and completion of a 21-hour training course.

So, Gary and I now begin the next phase: filling out the application, and going through the training. Once these things are in motion, it should be about 4-6 months before we are fully licensed.

While this enterprise may seem a little unusual, especially for a couple who aren't in a hurry to have kids of their own, I really feel like it's a good way to honor God. This is really the modern-day, American version of 'looking after the orphans in their distress'.

As a long-time foster parent shared her experiences at the meeting, it really hit me what a great ministry it is to be there for a child in possibly the worst moment of their life. To show them love, a healthy family situation, and a vibrant relationship with God, there is such opportunity for significant life impact, even in a short period of time.

So, that's where we are for now.

Gary's Latest Sermon

If you weren't attending church at Fair Oaks yesterday morning, you missed out!

It was a special day for many reasons: Gary's father and his wife were in town visiting, four of our high school girls shared a special musical performance during the service, and Gary was able to preach for the second time at Fair Oaks, while Pastor Steve was away.

If you'd like to hear Gary's message, "The Power of His Presence", you can click here to listen to it online.

Missin' the Java House

Weird... I've just now come across my second blog reference, this week (!), to the Java House in Nairobi, Kenya.

Who knew such a random thing could trigger such homesickness (I'm talkin' real tears, people) for a place I only actually lived for one month?

I SO should have bought the T-shirt.

I miss you, Java House.

On a Lighter Note...

Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark

One : Don't miss the boat.

Two : Remember that we are all in the same boat.

Three : Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.

Four : Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do
something really big.

Five : Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.

Six : Build your future on high ground.

Seven : For safety's sake, travel in pairs.

Eight : Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.

Nine : When you're stressed, float a while.

Ten : Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

Eleven : No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting...


Thanks Mom!

Stefan's Desert Experience

I just got this e-mail from one of my former world race teammates, Stefan. He is leading a group of South Africans on a similar journey around the world this year, called the Global Challenge. He reports:

We currently find ourselves on the edge of the Sinai Desert in Egypt. A few days ago we as a group spent the night on top of Mount Sinai… You will remember that this is where God spoke to Moses as a friend and also gave him the 10 commandments. It was a cold and windy night, but I tried to spend it in silence. Sleeping on the rocky-Plato, I tried to imagine myself what it must have been like for Moses all alone on that mountain for 40 days. I also wondered if he maybe slept facing the stars on that same rock I was lying on… and also, was he as cold as I.


So many great things have surfaced in us as a “church”. As a team we are in the process of reflecting on what God has done in and through our lives in the past few months. Just last night we had a session on: What is your destiny?

I would like to just share with you some highlights that came out of this:

The first question that was asked to the group was:

“What in this world would be the one thing that you could change if you had the chance?”

In the comments that followed we had various candidates standing up for almost every challenge mankind face today: Poverty, abuse, immorality, equal opportunities, world evangelism, education… to name a few. In each case there was someone in the team who felt in some way a burden for one of these causes…

The conversation progressed further to what could stand in you way of contributing to these causes…

Some of the things mentioned were: unbelief, pessimism, negativity, lack of support and us looking at the big picture and thinking our own contribution would be insignificant.

Taking part in this open ended conversation we actually led ourselves to the answer:

Surely it is in Gods plan that men are saved, people fed, children educated, abuse stop… and lives are changed. However where this all start is actually very simple.

Each one of us, you included have the opportunity to make a difference. I believe God wants all of us to be surrendered instruments in His hands. Instruments that is obedient and willing to be used in which ever way He chooses. We should live from the vantagepoint that God believes in us to do His work on earth and that for Him to use us we need to be faithful.

For God to use you to build a thousand orphanages through out Africa, you will have to start with one. For you to be a world evangelist, you will have to start with one. For you to lead others to a better life, you yourself should live that life.

It is my prayer that as we travel through Africa in the last few months of this year, God will help us to be obedient and faithful in the small things, so that we will in future also be faithful in the great things.

Please continue to pray for us.

Thank you for all your support!

How Rich are You?

Find out by going to the Global Rich List.

By entering your income, you can instantly find out how rich you are compared with the rest of the world. It definitely brings some perspective, as it's easy to forget how blessed we are here in the United States.

The site also provides some eye-opening examples of how far your money could go:

$8 could buy you 15 organic apples OR 25 fruit trees for farmers in Honduras to grow and sell fruit at their local market.

$30 could buy you an ER DVD Boxset OR a First Aid kit for a village in Haiti.

$73 could buy you a new mobile phone OR a new mobile health clinic to care for AIDS orphans in Uganda.

$2400 could buy you a second generation High Definition TV OR schooling for an entire generation of school children in an Angolan village.

-YS Update 8-15-07

Congratulations, Earlene!

I was delighted to open today's Contra Costa Times, and find a front-page (of the food section) honorable mention of one of my favorite church ladies!

Apparently, Earlene Boyd is a top-ten finalist for a recent "invent an expressive pie" contest. Earlene, one of our church deaconesses, is quite famous for her baking skills, and when we know she's bringing by snacks for youth group, we always try to show up hungry. Here's her winning submission:




Over Indulgence Chocolate Puddle Pie

Makes 1 9-inch pie

FOR FILLING:

-1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

-3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (Ghirardelli bar), coarsely chopped

-1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

-1 cup sugar

-4 tablespoons cornstarch

-2 eggs, beaten

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

FOR PUDDLE:

-2 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

-3 tablespoons whipping cream

FOR TOPPING:

-1/2 cup whipping cream

-2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

-Grated chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the pecans in a pie pan and toast them for about 10 minutes. Set aside.

2. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt together the bittersweet chocolate and the butter in the microwave for 1 minute. Remove from microwave, and stir until melted and smooth. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar and the cornstarch. Stir in the beaten eggs and vanilla, then stir in the melted chocolate mixture until well-mixed. Stir in the toasted pecans. Pour mixture into the pie shell, and bake for 40 minutes.

4. When the pie is almost finished baking, make the "puddle." In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt together the semisweet chocolate and the 3 tablespoons whipping cream in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave, and stir till melted and smooth.

5. As soon as the pie comes out of the oven, poke holes, at 1-inch intervals, all over the top, with the greased end of a wooden spoon. Then, using a small spoon, fill each of the holes with the melted ganache. If some sink in, fill them up again, until all chocolate is used.

6. Set the pie on a rack to cool. Whip together the 1/2 cup whipping cream and confectioners' sugar until thick and creamy. When the pie is cooled and ready to serve, cover the top with the whipped cream. Sprinkle with grated chocolate.
-- Submitted by Earlene Boyd

Per serving (based on 8): 570 calories, 5 g protein, 49 g carbohydrates, 43 g total fat, 18 g saturated fat, 110 mg cholesterol, 130 mg sodium, 3 g fiber. Calories from fat: 68 percent. -- Times analysis

I want to go!

Global Youth Workers Conference 2007

October 11th-14th, 2007

Quito, Ecuador

Home Sweet Home

Yes, that's right... we're back!!!

Nothing like your own shower, kitchen, or bed. Gary and I are exhausted, and trying to take it easy before church tomorrow.

Peace!