This Week

This week is busy, to say the least. I’ve got a Network Meeting with the other Youth Pastors in town today, Christian Club @ Hemet High tomorrow, I’m going to Hope on Thursday to see my best friend from my time at Hope preach at Chapel, and Saturday’s the craziest of all: I’m performing a wedding @ 3, then speaking for my friend Josh Quale and his youth at their winter retreat Saturday night on top of all of my other responsibilities this week. I’m excited about what God is doing in our Youth @ Community, both Tuesday and Wednesday nights!

Getting ready for the wedding, I came across this video about John Wooden and his loyalty and devotion to his wife, his school, and his city. I was struck by the fact that for the last 25 years, since his wife passed away March 21, 1985, he writes her a love letter on the 21st of the each month. This meant a lot to me, as a husband, a father, a pastor, a follower of Christ. I love Kristi, my wife, and Karleigh, my daughter more than I can even express, and could never imagine living 25 years without Kristi. As I prepare for the wedding Saturday, I’m charged with communicating the commitment that these two people are making not only to each other, but the family that they’re creating that day. So hit play and let me know what you think.
Z

New Post This Week

The title says it all! For now, check out my buddy Jeremy at  www.tomorrowsreflection.com.

It’s been a while…

So it’s been far too long since I’ve posted anything. Since my last post, Kristi and I went to Santa Cruz with her family for vacation (I fell in love with Santa Cruz), I’ve been to DCLA with high school students, Hume SD with middle school students, I went to Tennessee for Rebecca and Cedric’s wedding, I went to Magic Mountain and Raging Waters, then Karleigh Rose Gibson decided she wanted to hang out with us 3 weeks early! It’s been a wild 6 months since the last time I posted. Our church launched our second campus at Tahquitz High School on the other end of town. So it’s been exciting to say the least! Here are some pictures for you to catch up.
Z

 

Moron, pt. 2

So, a year ago, I posted this blog about a guy named Cyrus Yazdani, aka Buket (I know I spelled it wrong, but apparently Cyrus doesn’t know how to spell, good old California Public School System). I was amazed at his brazen arrogance, tagging in the middle of the day and then posting his videos on YouTube. I thought it was a comedic story so I wrote a short blog about it.

Well, here we are, a year later, and good old Buket was caught again doing some more tagging. He was on probation, after having been released for time served when the police caught up to him. What baffles me is that he continued to paint his name everywhere even though he knew that when he was caught, he would be tossed back into prison and left to rot for three years. And sure enough, almost a year to the day that I heard about Buket, there he was on the news again. So enjoy your time in Prison Cyrus, ___________________________ (insert inappropriate prison joke here).

Vacation ‘09

This past week, Kristi and I took a much-needed week of vacation. We didn’t go anywhere crazy, we stayed home Monday, and Tuesday left for Palm Springs, CA (La Quinta to be exact, but unless you’ve been there, have you really ever heard of La Quinta? I’m guessing not). So we stayed at a really nice resort, the La Quinta Resort (Which the city of La Quinta is named for). We had an amazing night, we got to chillax by the pool that afternoon, and then we shooby-doobied on down to Ruby’s where we had a good dinner.

Now, I love my wife dearly, and usually we’ve got a give and take when it comes to movies, I’ll take her to see killer awesome movies, like Star Trek, and she drags me to see total pieces of crap, I mean chick flicks, and this trip was no exception. We previously went to see Wolverine, which was pretty good (don’t email me and tell me how terrible you thought it was, you’re a nerd, and it wasn’t bad for what it was, IMAGINATION!!!!). So if you’ve kept up with my entirely scientific method of movie choices, you’ll see that it’s clearly Kristi’s turn to pick the movie. So Tuesday night, we went to see the Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. I know, you’re proud of me for even admitting I saw it, but truthfully, it was, probably, one of, if not the worst movie I’ve taken my wife to. Matthew Mcconaughey was all fake tanned and gross; and here’s a shocker, the plot was insanely predictable (am I the only one that knows going in how these movies are going to end, because they all end the same). But I digress.

So Wednesday, I got up after having slept in, and we had breakfast at Panera, one of my favorite places and I noticed my leg was really itchy. I look at my leg and I had 8-9 bug bites on my left leg, 3-4 on my right, and 2 on my left arm. What the heck! I got eaten alive in my sleep at this supposed fancy pants resort. We got moved to another room, which the girl promise was much nicer, which it wasn’t. We got moved to a room with a couch instead of a chair with an ottoman (the chair was way more comfy). Wednesday night, Kristi and I had one of the most amazing meals of both of our lives. We went to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, and it was absolutely awesome. Truthfully, it wasn’t the most expensive meal I’ve ever paid for, but I preformed a wedding last weekend, and that helped quite a bit. Our steaks were amazing, cooked perfectly and they just about melted in your mouth.

Thursday, we took an uneventful trip to SD to go to Ikea. We bought a sweet desk that we promptly had to return because it didn’t fit in the Accord, so sad. It’s interesting, this is the first time in my lifetime that I’ve gone on vacation and been excited to return to work. I say that not because I didn’t enjoy every second I spent with Kristi, because I did, I say that because I love my job. I love that I get to serve God on a daily basis. I work with fantastic people that have a heart not just for this church, but for God’s Kingdom and we get to serve Him together! This summer is going to be amazing, but crazy, so let’s have some fun!
Z

It’s a….

So I promised a blog Wednesday and I have to apologize for the fact that it’s not getting posted until today. I had a couple of phone calls I had to make before the end of the day and I simply ran out of time. That being said, let’s get right down to the nitty-gritty of this post. If I haven’t told you yet, I apologize for not having done so personally, but there are simply too many of you to have called personally.
If you haven’t already guessed by the title of this post, Kristi is pregnant. She’s between 20 and 21 weeks and we found out Tuesday the sex of our baby. Drum roll please… We’re going to have a Daughter! We’re more than excited that she’s healthy and getting bigger (the baby). We’ve got a few names that we’re leaning towards, but those for now will be held close to the vest. If you’ve got the cell, I might be inclined to share. Below is the best picture of the baby so far. We’d be glad to accept any and all gifts for our baby girl, so be generous! I kid. We can’t wait to meet her and I know that you can’t either. Here’s to a more fruitful year of blogging!
Z

Borrowed John’s Blog

For those of you that don’t follow my church’s blog (it’s ok if you don’t, you just don’t love Jesus), I got to borrow John’s blog for a day and write about our upcoming Amor trip. You can check it out here, or simply click on the title of this particular entry. Enjoy!
Z

Ode to my DVR

Recently I’ve realized just how spoiled I am to have a DVR. When Kristi and I first got married, we relished the opportunity to go on a trip and stay in a hotel that had cable. It was a whole new world (technically an old world) where we could watch our favorite shows of yesteryear and enjoy the new exciting things on cable. Well that excitement has worn off. Now every time that we go somewhere, it’s not nearly as exciting. Sure, some hotels throw you a bone and give you a flat screen, but what’s spoiled me is my DVR. I love that I can skip commercials if I record something. I was made painfully aware of how much I hate commercials Sunday night. 24:Redemption was a lot of fun, but the second hour bogged down with commercials. What a pain. Today, as I enjoyed a day off I realized that I’d watched almost everything there is to watch on my DVR (except for some of the shows my wife likes, like Gilmore Girls), and I thought maybe I ought to record more things…Why not? I have a hundred or so hours of recording time. But I won’t have time like this off during the day often, so taping more things means less hours with Kristi. Catch 22.
Z

Sick of it!

I’m officially sick of this election. I’ve had enough of each of the candidates taking ridiculous shots at each other. I’m sick of people equating Obama with Islam and over emphasizing his middle name. I’m sick of people calling a vote for McCain a vote for Bush. I’m sick of people that don’t know a single thing about either candidate getting overzealous, and frankly retarded, about one candidate or another. Sarah Palin’s not an idiot, she was obviously smart enough to become Governor of Alaska.

I’m just sick of what politics in this country have become. All either side does is throw mud at each other (or in the immortal words of Mrs. Stump, they’re slingin’ hash). For once can’t we elect a candidate based on their ideas, and not on their skill as a hash slinger? I already voted, but not for McCain or Obama. I think they’re both terrible candidates, give me Colin Powell, give me anyone with a degree of integrity. Don’t even get me started on socialism. I’m done.

Z

Price Cut

So I realize that the following blog is a long time in coming. And, I also realize that the following makes me a giant nerd. That being said, Xbox 360 is finally cutting its price, cue the whistling smiley face! I’ve waited it out, I even got a Wii for Christmas last year from my amazing wife Kristi! (Wii=AMAZING!!!) The graphical difference is definitely obvious between Wii and 360, but you can’t beat the Wiimote. The draw is, and will be Halo 3. I know, I’m almost a year behind in the Halo 3 craze, but we’ll see what happens. I’m excited with the possibility of a 360. Too bad this was a limited edition.