10. God healing my voice before I had to preach to tens of thousands of people at Creationfest East.
I have never completely lost my voice until then. But I literally didn’t speak a word for twelve hours leading up to my speaking time. During that half day of silent pain I scratched out messages on a piece of paper for people to pray for a miraculous healing. They did. God acted. My voice was strong throughout my sermon, the youth leader training session that followed and the rest of that day.
9. Bedtime talks with Jeremy
I love talking to my little boy at bedtime. The kid just cracks me up. He has got a theory about everything and a definite point of view from things as divergent as Jesus and tomatoes. Jeremy rocks.
8. Preaching at Youth Specialties
Little did I know that my sermon would lead to such controversy. But I really loved preaching at YS in St. Louis this year. There’s something about communicating to leaders of youth that is humbling and exhilarating all at the same time.
7. Going on vacation with my family in the mountains
Sometimes I forget what an awesome privilege it is to live in Colorado. Instead of shuttling off to another state or country this year we took our family vacation in the Rocky Mountains. What a GREAT time we had on our little vacation. My little boy turned into a hiking fool (and earned six hiking badges!) and my little girl earned her first stripes as a microhiker. It was a lot of fun to spend a few days with my Uncle Jack and Aunt Earlene on the outskirts of Carbondale. I love Colorado!
6. Discovering “the X factor”
Sometimes ideas just happen. This one seems more like discovery than invention. I say discovery because it really has nothing to do with anything new but with some very, very old principles of spiritual multiplication rooted in the Great Commission itself. But for some reason it clicked in a fresh new way. I believe this idea may make a huge impact on youth ministry nationally and, God willing, globally someday.
5. The Koreans coming to our Denver Dare 2 Share Conference
Speaking of global we had the privilege of having a key group of Koreans attend our Denver Dare 2 Share conference. They have already spread the word of “Deep and Wide Youth Ministry” to over 10,000 Koreans! They have already done their first Dare 2 Share summit. They are planning on using these principles to transform Korean Youth Ministry! These nine friends connected with us and these principles in a profound way. What a privilege it was to meet and minister to Pastor Lee and all his friends!
4. Being there to witness Jeremy riding his bike for the very first time.
Enough said.
3. The Denver Dare 2 Share Conference end of event shofar blast.
I was standing in the crowd when the shofar blew loudly at the end of the Chronicles of Narnia clip. I got so many chills when the kids went crazy. It was amazing. Wow. One of the coolest Dare2share moments ever! I can’t wait to experience it seven more times this Spring in the other conference cities!
2. My little girl warming up to me.
I love my little Kailey. But she is a pretty independent, self sufficient little girl. She is not a snuggly little girl (unless she’s tired) so, for awhile, I was taking things personally. But, thanks to the advice of our child care specialist (she is way better than a “babysitter”) I kept pursuing her. I took her on walks right in the middle of the day. I began finding out what makes her tick, what makes her laugh, what makes her smile. Now when she sees me she yells out “Daddy!!!!” and runs and hugs me and won’t let go. Thanks for the advice Katie!
And my number one 2007 moment (drumroll please)
1. Being in Maui with my lovely bride right now!
My hope and prayer is that your 2007 was great and that your 2008 is even better for the glory of the King. Happy New Year!
