nails+grace=Easter

Easter at White House Church of Christ is apparently a two-week event. On Palm Sunday (March 16) we did the easter-egg hunt/potluck celebration that turned into one of the best days you could ask for. The night before, we showed "Passion of the Christ" in our auditorium. It had been a while since some of the group had seen it and I wanted to start a discussion about the concepts of the movie and the focus on death and resurrection around the Easter holiday. That movie led to the final step for one of our kids, Erin Bauer, to decide to give her life to Christ during services on that Sunday morning. She said, "I never understood what the big deal about the cross was until I saw the movie." That quote has stayed with me for the last couple of weeks just to think about how many other people feel that same disconnect between Christianity and the actual reason why we have faith and what grace and mercy is.

As we get older, it's as if worshipping God isn't just a joy or a luxury to do or have, it's part of the weekly checklist. I know...I've been there. My generation and Erin's generation are a very visual generation. Pictures and music are put together to pull at the heartstrings and capture that moment where we are brought to our knees and reminded that our lives are bigger than what it seems and we are not our own...we are his.

Last Sunday being Easter Sunday, that same emotion was hard to grab on to. I don't know if it was the focus of the day, if we had formally celebrated Easter a week too early or what....I found myself kicking myself in the pants because I had too quickly lost the focus on the "big deal" about the cross. I need more Erin Bauer's around just to humbly let me know that my Christianity needs to thrive on my passion for Him and not so much if I can connect on a Sunday or not.....not really sure if this made sense or not. Hope everyone had a happy Easter!

Educating Aaron

Have you ever had an experience where, if someone were to ask you to describe someone to somebody else, you could do it in a heartbeat and have that person described to a tee? And then find out, in some cases you were right, but for the most part completely wrong?

Earlier this month, I got a phone call from my Dad letting me know that my step-dad, Ralph Vitale, had died from a massive heartattack. Ralph was 55 years old and way too young. My Mom and Dad divorced in 1992 and my Mom and Ralph were married in 1995. Ralph was the complete opposite of my Dad....spiritually, physically, mentally, socially....it was as if Mom sought out not to have the same experiences as she did with Dad. Ralph was happy-go-lucky and came from a messy marriage that continued to work into his everyday life even after him and Mom got married. Ralph was a big eater and a big sleeper. He was the only person I knew that could fall asleep at a Lions game....granted, this was back when the Lions were good....I'm sure sleeping at Lions games happens more regularly. (ugh!)

Ralph cared about family...his immediate and adopted family. He took pride in the importance of a good and healthy relationship. His awkwardness, humor and loud laughter were his trademark. He just loved being 10 years old because being an adult was too much work. Ralph was a workaholic but, within his work, he found ways to build relationships and make connections.

Not being in Michigan since 2002 and not seeing Ralph or my Mom since then, I had forgotten these things. I watched people that I had known for years when I lived in Michigan grieve for a person I thought I knew. People knew my step-dad better than his own step-son did. I can blame this on circumstances and distance and family issues and pride. For the five days that Sara and I were up in Michigan for the showing and the funeral, I felt like I was given a lesson in how to live life and how others really look for God qualities in a person when it's all said and done. Trying to carry this youth minister title, I feel like I'm supposed to make sure my group understands that. I feel like I was taught a lesson and humbled at the same time.

The family decided to have Ralph cremated and, on the Tuesday after the funeral, the ashes were delivered to Mom's house. It's humbling to see a body on Sunday and on Tuesday all that remains is in a nice wooden box that is smaller than a loaf of bread. Sara and I have decided that's what we want too. Mom held Ralph's remains close to her that afternoon and we put the urn on a mantle so now Mom has something tangible that will allow her to have Ralph around. If, for some reason, God calls me home early then I would want Sara to have something that she can hold and have nearby and vice-versa.

I guess the point of this is to try and not put someone in a "box" before time runs out and you are in one. Always be learning, relational and caring......people and God will honor you more for the love you give than what you take.

Tuesdays in Tennessee

There are certain things in life that are automatic....Texas and good barbeque, taxes, death and rain in Tennessee on Tuesdays. Every Tuesday since we've moved here it has either rain or snowed...no lie. And guess what it's doing today, Tuesday, March 4th....raining. I thought April showers brought May flowers. Apparently...January, February and March didn't get the memo.

By the way, the colder it is the more I want to eat. It's like hibernation....I'm wanting to store things away for some reason. Can't wait til' summer.

Sara and I move our "big" stuff into our new rental house on Saturday. Everybody hum "Wide Open Spaces" all together now...it'll be nice to stretch out even though we are VERY grateful to Mike Wall for renting us the place we have now. Thank God for the church and people looking out for us....now if I can have just one sunny Tuesday :)

Leap Years and Pepper Palaces

Just a quick random thought....why is it that the year we add a day to the calendar we call it Leap Year? Shouldn't the other three years be leap year since we're "leaping" over February 29 to get to March 1st quicker? All of these poor people who were born on 2/29 in 1972 just celebrated their 9th birthday last Friday. Their special day gets "leaped" over every year except once every four. When someone asks them what it will be like when they turn 40, they answer, "I don't know...I only change ages once every four years. My lifespan is 23!" We need to think of a better name and, come to think of it, this random thought wasn't so quick.

Sara and I went to Winterfest in Gatlinburg, Tennessee for the first time. Winterfest and Gatlinburg are literally two seperate events. If you've never been to Gatlinburg before going to Winterfest, you are in for brain overload. Due to a scheduling mishap by the previous youth minister before me, our group stayed in a town just outside of G-burg called Pigeon Forge that is, well, a small Gatlinburg but with much more go-carts and a Gatti's pizza.

Winterfest was incredible. Jeff Walling brought it...again. The praise and worship time was incredible. For two full days, you're getting fed love, grace, mercy and reality about where our teenagers are in their walk with God. Youth ministers all over get a reality check on where their group compares with others and if their ministry is sizing up with what it should be. Granted, I've only been "on the job" for a couple months but it gets you excited about where God will take you if you and the kids let Him. The big question of the weekend was, "Do they care?" A survey taken prior to the weekend said that teenagers today don't. I see that in some but I see the complete opposite in others and the passion of being a child of God and carrying that over to college life and adult life starts in two places: the home and the church building. The problem is that sometimes kids never get from home to the building and so that flame quietly fades away. You see kids that want to believe in something so bigger than themselves that they fight for that connection with God and for a relationship with others that also have that similar passion.

It's like the long walk I made on Saturday night to the Pepper Palace....this little store in a small mall that serves spices of all different flavors and alarms. Being that it was my first time to G-burg, W-fest and the first time with this group, I was properly initiated. My job was to survive the hottest sauce in the universe, galaxy, solar system...can't remember. Luckily, a doctor (who is also one of our elders) was standing by and provided a quick tip on how to properly sample this sauce. You take a mini-pretzel stick (fitting for a little store in a small mall), lightly dip the pretzel into the sauce and then try not to get any of it on your tongue...oh! and dip just enough so that people can see that you're sampling it. Did that (maybe a tad more than I should have) , went down OK and then the forehead started glistening but I did it. I also have the sticker (it's on my shirt) in my office to remember the occasion. Sometimes, to be able to get through what seems like an impossible situation, you need a little guidance and a little guts. The moment will pass, you may sweat a little but it's rewarding at the end not just for you but for others as well. There was a Wendy's on the first floor so the 99 cent frostee was a great finishing touch.

Comparing Pepper Palace to living out the mission wasn't my intent when I started writing this....that's the kind of writer I am. Maybe I'll just "leap" into something else random next time and see where that leads me.