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I have switched cell phone companies. If you would like to call me, my new cell phone is 574.361.1064.

What If...

Sorry about the ridiculously long absence for the blog here. As my journey continues I am learning a great deal from my experiences and my time spent with Jesus. Here are a list of questions for you to think about.

What if...you put yourself in a position where only the power of God could help you move forward?

What if...instead of waiting for someone to love and accept you, you started loving and accepting everyone around you?

What if...you were obedient to God and started taking steps not knowing the final outcome?

What if...you just stayed where you are?

What if...you lived with others interests in mind?

What if...you lived selfishly?

What if...when you are standing before God and he asks what you did with what he gave you, you had no answer?

What if...you had an answer?

What if...instead of trusting money, jobs, materials, people or ourselves we put all of our trust in the plan that God has set before us?

These are questions that have developed throughout this journey that I have been on for the last year and a half. I am learning some valuable lessons and they will help me as I continue to press on.

Five Star Weekend

This past Saturday we had our first Five Star Day Trip of the year. We had a record number of students attend. We bussed 130 students up to our ranch, Manowe (ma-no-way) in Sturgis, MI. Students were put into groups according to their school and we had seven different stations that they rotated through. They were horse riding, fishing, high ropes, low ropes, archery, potter's hammer (crafts) and table time (meal prep). It was an incredible weekend. There's nothing quite like inspiring students to face their fears and watching them do things they have never done. Gotta love getting paid for that!!! Hopefully I'll start adding pics here soon!

It's That Time of Year

Tonight Hayley and I spent some time making our first ever caramel apples.

Here are the victims.

Hayley prepares the caramel pellets.

I got the fun part.

Hayley is making sure we did everything right.

It was a fun night. Now it's time to eat.

Happy Birthday Kaylyn!!!

Last weekend our niece Kaylyn turned one. Here are some of the pics we were able capture of her celebration.

Uncle for a Year

It's hard to believe but I have been Uncle Otis for one whole year already! This weekend Hayley and I are heading to Mt. Pleasant to celebrate with the family the first birthday of Kaylyn. It should be a good time!

I am also going to take my wife to out on date tonight to the same place we went on our first ever date. Bennigans!!! Turkey O Toole sounds good to me!!

And so it Begins...

I love this time of year. Especially when the Lions start with a win. Hopefully it is the start of the 10 promised wins this season made by Kitna.

Our World - Reality

What is happening in the world we live in? Check this out

Summer Photography

Just a few shots I took over the summer.

New Album 8/30/07 12:22 PM

6-8-07

Here is a small sampling of our wedding pictures.

New Album 8/30/07 12:15 PM

Recap

It is a Saturday morning and I finally have the time to sit and bring this blog up-to-date. So here we go. This is what Hayley and I have done in past 2 months.

We went on our honeymoon of Playa Del Carmen, MX. We went to the Mayan Ruins and relaxed at our resort...

From July 4-8 we went up to my parents in Boyne City, MI to watch fire works and celebrate my birthday...

From July 11-16 we traveled to Vermont for my cousin Christian's wedding and stopped by Niagra Falls on the way...

Then for the next two weeks I was working at Manowe for Five Star summer camps...

When summer camps were over, Hayley and I left the next day for India for a mission trip with our church. Check out the blog here...

When we returned home Hayley started a new job and I have been trying to get caught up with Five Star.

So needless to say, we have been a little busy but through all of this our marriage has continued to grow and become stronger. I love being married. Life would have been a little dull if I had to do all of the above things alone. I will do my best to continue to keep this updated. I have lots to share.

Where am I today?

Over the last month Hayley and I have been on the go. We are finally home now and should be for the next few weeks at least. We have not even been in our apartment one full week since we have been married. So, if you wondering why the lack of posting...just no time as of late. I am almost getting to the point of regular posting but not quite yet. When I do...I will be updating where we have been and what we have experienced. Let's just say India was quite the experience. More later...

India...7 days and counting

As things have been extremely busy in the life of the King's, there is no sign of slowing down. In just one week we will be heading to India with 10 others from our church. We are going to lend our status to the low status Indian church planters. By doing this, we will help to elevate their status which will help to make their churches and ministries more prominent. It should be interesting. Feel free to check our team blog to see the progress and the happenings of our trip. Also, please pray that God would use us and protect us.

India Blog: http://augustindia2007.blogspot.com

Slacking...or...just plain busy

Maybe a little of both, but I have been on the road a lot lately. Here's a little run down of what has been going in the life of the King's:

- Summer Camp with Five Star
- Up North for the 4th of July
- My Birthday on July 7th (I guess I'm 26 now...doesn't feel any different)
- Preparing and Sending cover letters and resumes to schools for Hayley
- Preparing for the next Five Star Summer Camp
- Leaving tonight for Vermont for a wedding

So there has been a lot happening. To sum it all up, marriage is awesome and I love doing life together with my wife!!!

Transition

I have not been able to post as much as I would like to. I am in this period of transition right now that is keeping me busy to say the least. Transition into the married life, which is freakin incredible. I love my wife like crazy. Also, there is this transition into Five Star which has been great as well. Between the two life has been pretty fast paced.

For the past 4 days I have been at Five Star Summer Camp. How was it? Well, every single kid either recommitted or made first time decisions to follow Jesus. I'd have to say it was a pretty fruitful camp. Follow up will be key with these kids but they all have started taking steps in the right direction. I feel very fortunate to be a part something that is having significant impact in the lives of people here in michiana. And it is only going to get better.

First Day

For those of you who don't know, as of today I am starting a new, full time job with Five Star. I will be leaving for the office in about 15 minutes. My initial thoughts are I am excited about the opportunity, I look forward to working with Justin and Seth, I think it will be a great experience being a part of something from the ground up, and I get to wear shorts to work!!!!

So...more on this later. I am taking another step in the journey.

First Blog as a Married Man

Well...I'm married. The great thing about that is my wife is the best wife on the planet. If you are wondering how that could be, just read the last 25 posts. Sorry I didn't get to reasons 1 and 2 but the wedding comsumed my time and I didn't have internet access.

Hayley and I are currently in the process of organizing our apartment and exchanging different gifts. It is fun but I am ready to be done with it so we can just enjoy each other. Thank-you's will be the next big step. I will write more about the Honeymoon when I get a chance and I may even include some pics.

Thanks to all of you who were a part of our day with us. It was awesome!!!

3

3...yes only 3 more days. Reason #3 is that I am special to Hayley. She does not feel the same towards anyone else as she does towards me. That is a great feeling to know that I am the only person in her life that loves this way.

4

Only 4 more days. We got our marriage license today after a whirlwind trip to Pigeon for a birth certificate that we didn't even need, but we didn't know that till today. But, we got it done and we have our license in hand.

Reason 4 stems from today. Despite the chaos that can come from planning a wedding, Hayley can still stay focused on what matters most and that is the fact that we are starting life together and we can be excited about that no matter what happens. Thanks Babe!!!

5

Down to the last 5...Hayley is a great planner. She might deny this but if you look at what she has done for this wedding you would be amazed. We are five days out and pretty much everything that can be done at this point is. She is amazing!!!

6

Six more days and Hayley left to go to her parents for a of couple days. I already miss her. #6 is that when she leaves, I can't wait to see her again. I do believe this a good thing. I know she misses me too which makes the next time we see each other even better.

7

The seventh reason is her selflessness. Hayley always has other people's interest's in mind. She has challenged me in this area and helped me to get my focus off of me and onto other's. Thanks babe!!!

I don't know if I mentioned this earlier but she is very, very good looking =)

8

Reason #8 is that Hayley desires to serve side by side with me in whatever ministry I am doing. I love this. There is no one else I would rather be serving with than her. I know God is going to use us and I am really looking forward to how that will be.

9

Single Digits...this is crazy. Reason #9...I know I trust her with everything. This is huge. The comfort and safety that come with this is so important for our relationship. She has my trust and I have hers. We will not keep anything from each other...unless it's a surprise for her (which I like to do).

10

Wow!!! I can't believe we are only 10 days out. It doesn't seem real yet but I'm sure about 8 days from now it will.

Anyways...reason number 10 that she has a great relationship with her family and mine. This is very important. I know her parents love her and she loves them. This will help a great deal as we begin a family of our own someday.

11

Reason number 11 is that her dream is to raise a family. I love this because it is also one of my desires. I look forward to doing this together...but it can wait for a little while longer.

12

In case you're just tuning in to the countdown, I am giving 25 reasons why Hayley will be the best wife in the world. And now for reason 12...she loves to be organized. This is a good thing. It's not that I am not organized, I just have a tendancy to let things for short periods of time and then they get piled up. Last night we spent a couple hours combining our files into one system. Let's just say I'm glad that's over with.

13

This is usually an unlucky number...but not when you are marrying a woman as good as Hayley. Reason 13...I know that Hayley loves me and cares for me. She makes this obvious by the way she treats me, looks at me, cares for me and misses me when I am gone. It is a good thing to be loved!!!

14

2 weeks out...we're getting close. Reason number 14 is that Hayley makes me complete. What I can't do...she can. What I'm not good at...she is. I love that God has paired me with someone who can be strong when I am weak.

Bible Fight Game

They have pretty much come up with everything. It is pretty addicting though. Check it out here.

15

I love Hayley's creative side. She is very good at scrapbooking and making cards and invitations and whatnot. Definately not my deal (I'm terrible at that stuff). It's good to know that Hayley can represent us well in that area.

16

Reason number 16 is that we are best friends. I would not want to do life with anyone else. I love being with Hayley and she loves being with me. I can't wait to walk the rest of our days side by side.

17

Reason #17...Hayley's favorite food is Mexican. That just happens to be my favorite food which makes it easy for us to determine where will go out eat. It's either Don Pablo's or our local favorite Casa Del Rio. Muy Bueno.

18

Hayley is a gamer. What does that mean? She loves playing board games. So do I. Early in our relationship we had some pretty intense Scrabble battles and we have also duked it out in Skip-Bo, Uno Attack, and Rack-O. It's good fun.

19

Reason #19 is that she makes me laugh. Hayley will do things that are off the wall or random that just crack me up. It might be a dance or a song or some other crazy thing but it is always funny. I love it.

20

Since we have been together, Hayley has constantly been affirming me. This is huge for guys. Most guys would actually rather be affirmed more than loved. They are both pretty important for me and Hayley has given me both. She is awesome!!!

Did I mention she is incredibly good looking?

21

Hayley makes the best stuffed peppers in the world!!! Actually, I can't recall a time I didn't like something she has made. She is a great cook. I look forward to many meals together.

22

Hayley has one of the best personalities I have ever seen. For those of you that don't know her very well and in case you were wondering, yes, she does have a crazy, wild side to her. I love that about her.

Book 5 of 20

One of my goals this year is to read 20 books. I just completed book 5 of 20. Here is a list of books I have read this year:

In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren
Sex, Romance and the Glory of God by C.J. Mahaney
The Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley

I would have to say I have experienced some good reading this year and I hope for that to continue.

23

Now the 23rd reason why Hayley will be the best wife in world. She is shorter than I am. I was always thinking I would end up with someone who would tower over me but then God brought my perfect match. I wouldn't want anyone else!!!!

24

#24...She is willing to take risks. I love this about her. She is able to step out in faith and trust God to take care of her. This is very important, especially when marrying someone in ministry.

25

I am starting a new series of posts today. I will be counting down the next 25 days leading up to the wedding. Each day will give one reason why Hayley will be the best wife in the world. They will not be in any particular order. So, to kick things off...

#25...She is dang attractive both inside and out. Other words I could use are beautiful, gorgeous, hot, smokin, stellar...I think you get the point.

Next Steps...

At GCC, we talk a lot about taking your next step. Wherever you are, you always have a next step. They may be small or large but they will always advance you in the direction in which you step. I have several steps the past year. Take a look at the journey:

- Made connection with GCC (curious step)
- Agreed to internship (committed step)
- Started Dating Hayley (very, very good step)
- Left Pigeon (big step)
- Moved to Granger, IN (scary step)
- Joined the Life Mission team at GCC (fun step)
- Joined the MERGE Leadership team at GCC (gain experience step)
- Proposed to Hayley (Most exciting of all steps so far)
- Joined the Five Star Team (searching step)
- Taking Financial Peace Class (wisdom step)
- Marriage Counceling (learning steps)
- ...

And the journey goes on. What will the next step be? Stay tuned...I think it's going to be big.

Unposted Post

Yes the trip is over. We arrived home Saturday night but because I couldn't get access to my blog I am posting the blogs I had written on the trip but haven't posted yet.

And so the trip continues at a non-stop pace. Thursday we landed in…well…Houston again and from there we went down to Guatemala. In the city of Chichicastanengo (Chichi for short…that’s “Chee-Chee”), we are visiting an organization called Pray America. To find out more about them and their ministry here in Chichi go here. This is my first trip ever to Guatemala and here are my thoughts about it.

- Some of the most beautiful landscape I have seen. Mountains, hills, jungle, lakes, active volcanoes…can’t go wrong there.
- Driving is pretty much a kamikaze mission. Let’s just say the reflexes better be good.
- Burger King for lunch wasn’t my choice. It is still just as bad for you here…maybe worse.
- The natives here are very confused about religion, gods, and Jesus.
- The roads are very narrow which requires folding in the side mirrors at times.
- The living conditions of those less fortunate are very, very bad.
- Because of their diet, children are already losing teeth due to rotting.
- This place is lost and dark and needs a mighty act of God and His people to bring the lost people home and free from the evil spirits that rule many places here.
- Pray America is currently feeding 1,500 children and mothers twice a week.
- Impact is happening and progress is being made in relationship development with those who were once not open to it.

So those are just a few thoughts and fact from this stop so far. Feel free to check out the pics. There are many of land and children. They are pretty darn cute.

Guatemala

37

Why is this number significant? Because in 37 days I will be the luckiest married man on the planet that’s why. The wedding is almost here. The honeymoon is set. Where are we going you ask? Take a guess. First one to guess right will win a prize of some kind.

Back 2 Back

This week, Dan Blacketor and I are on a whirlwind trip down to the Mexico and Central America to visit with some Mission Organizations to look for good connection points for family missions trips. Our first stop was in Monterrey, MX.

In Monterrey we visited an organization called Back 2 Back. For information about them and what they do, go here. We arrived Monday and spent all of Tuesday and Wednesday as well. Our agenda consisted of driving to various children’s homes that house any where from 25 to 60 children. These children have either been abandoned by their parents or dropped off by their parents because the parents can not afford to care for them properly. Most of these kids are between the ages 5 and 12. They attend school and usually stay in the children’s homes through junior high. Some will stay for high school and college as well.

We also visited with Pastor Edgar who oversees 3 children’s homes, Pastor Jose who pastors one church and is in the process of planting another on top of his job as a mechanic, and Pastor Rene who is the pastor of the church were the Back 2 Back staff attend. It was very interesting hearing all of their stories and how God has led in their lives. They shared that the biggest need in Monterrey is for pastors to be trained and discipled so they can do the same for their congregations.

Overall this trip was a huge success. We love what Back 2 Back is doing and we look forward to possibly partnering with them in the future. I will keep you all posted as we progress with them.

Monterrey

Summit Adventure

Summit Adventure

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You...

I have been having some recent struggles trying to upload photos to blogger and I have not had enough time to figure it out. When I get it figured out I will have a large number of them to post from Summit Adventure, Monterrey, MX, and Guatemala. Stay tuned...

Conquering the Summit

I write this post from a bunkbed on the campus of Back2Back Ministries in Monterrey, Mexico. Back2Back is a Missions organization that does a number of things you can read about here. I will be blogging more about this trip tomorrow.

This post is about what happened last weekend at Manowe. Myself and five others were trained and certified on Summit Adventure (the ropes course at Manowe). I had a blast. We spent Friday night, all day Saturday and most of the day on Sunday training and testing. I did things I had never done before like climb up a 30 foot telephone pole and stand on top of it...and then jump off. I also rode on the forever long zip line and walked across a wobbly pole at 32 feet in the air. So needless to say it was challenging and draining but it was a freakin blast!!! I met some new people and made some great friendships and I look forward to how God is going to use this for me in the future. So, I am certified and look forward to many more days on the Summit. Pics will be on soon.

Experience the Summit

Later this afternoon I will heading up to Manowe for the weekend. Manowe is a ranch located in Sturgis, MI that is owned by one of the members here at GCC. The purpose of the ranch is to provide people with a place to retreat, relax and recharge. It consists of large lodge (used for sleeping and eating), fishing ponds, horse-back riding, a garden, hiking trails and Summit Adventure. Summit Adventure is a state of the art High and Low Ropes course that is used by Five Star and retreat groups to help build team and trust. This weekend 5 of us will be trained on how to run the ropes course. I'm looking forward to hanging out with this team and experiencing a little adventure...Check out the pic of Summit Adventure.

Wow...what a day at Schmucker!!!

Yesterday we did something at Five Star that we have never done before. We got kids to open up. We got them to take off the mask that they wear all the time and share some real stuff about who they are and what their life is like. I had one kid in my group who was just full of anger yesterday and didn't want to share anything. He finally shared with me that his younger brother (who is also in my group) has been beating him up verbally and has never told him that he loves him. He was deeply hurt by this.

We then moved on to another activity. If you have seen the movie Freedom Writers you know what this activity was like. We places a line on the floor and had kids split into two groups on each side of the line. We then began to ask questions like "If you have ever been made fun of for your physical appearance step toward the line." We asked a series of these questions until eventually just about everyone was on or near the line. The point is that we are all doing these things to each other and where did we learn to act like this? By this time the older brother was in tears and crying pretty hard. I went over to him and put arm around him and stood with him for a little while.

We then moved on to a time of team affirmation. I took my group and before we got started the two brothers were beginning to fight verbally back and forth. After talking to them both we realized that the younger brother was actually going over to apologize for the way he had been acting but the older brother put up his defenses to quick and began to reject for fear of being made fun of again. After they both realized they wanted the same thing, to get along, they looked at each other, both in tears and forgave each other and made a pact to stick for each other from now on.

Talk about a break through in the family. This moment may have saved tension and hatred from building up between two brothers for a long time. It is great to be apart of something that is literally changing the lives of students forever!!!

Turning Point?

Today is a big day for Five Star at Schmucker Middle School. Our message this week is Serve Love. We are going to have the kids get a little more personal today and share some real life stuff. I will post tomorrow about what happened. If you read this today, please pray for the 60 middle school students that we will encourage and love on today.

1998-2007

Last Monday was a sad day in the King Family. We had to say good bye to a family member. About 8 months ago Opie was struck with a strange neurological disease that caused his nerves to be unresponsive to the messages sent out by his brain. His mind was still sharp be he was unable to make his body function. It was almost a kind of paralysis. His favorite toys were his grape head, monster tennis balls, Hamyburger, and his newly aquired Ref. So, needless to say, he will be missed. Thanks for the memories Opdogg...or as my dad called him...the big brown goat. He also lived by the slogan "What can brown do for you." More pics will be added.



Not sure what he is thinking here

54 and flying by...

I can't believe Hayley and I only have 54 days left until we get married. It seems like there is a lot left to do before then but I know we will get it done. I am having a hard time booking a honeymoon but hopefully we will have landed on something by the end of this week. We are looking at going to either Cabo San Lucas, the D.R. or a cruise. Just need to find the right deal.

As I look at the canlendar, we have every weekend booked between here and the wedding. With Hayley's up coming showers, a bachelor party for me, church obligations and wedding planning, the next 54 days are going to fly by.

Keep us in your prayers as we continue to plan and prepare for our life together. I am excited for how God is going to use us to help advance His Kingdom.

New Link

As you can see on the right hand side of the screen I have added a new link called 2007 August India Mission Blog. This blog will tell you all that is happening during the preparation for the trip and the during the trip itself. I am helping to co-lead this trip. Hayley and I will be married when we leave so that should be fun. This will be her first ever international mission trip. So...check it out.

Latin America...Here I come

As most of you know, one of my goals here at GCC is to develop a Family Missions program that will give families an opportunity to serve together locally, regionally, x-culturally and internationally. As part of this development, Dan Blacketor (volunteer here at GCC) and I will be traveling from April 30-May 5 to Mexico and Guatemala.

In Mexico we will be visiting Back2Back Ministries in Monterrey. Back2Back was launched in Monterrey by some local people from the Granger Area. Currently, our youth ministry travels down every summer to engage in a short term missions experience. We will be staying there for 2 days and then off to Guatemala.

I am very excited to visit the country of Guatemala. This is the land of eternal spring where the temp never goes below 55 and never above 80. While we are there, we will visit a ministry called Pray America. Pray America currently offers a food program for hungry families and children, widow housing, orphanges and schooling. Their headquarters are located in Chichicastenango (Chichi). Because of a recent civil war in Guatemala, many of the men were killed, which has left 40,000 widows and 300,000 fatherless children in Chichi. 85% of the men that are there are alcoholics and of it's 50,000 people, only about 150 are Christ followers. So it should make for a very interesting stop. We will be here for 2 days and then head back to South Bend. I'll keep you all posted on this trip when it arrives.

Coaches Training

Last night we had our Five Star coaches training here at the church. It was a mixture of Seth Maust casting vision, Justin Maust doing some leadership training and Judy Gregory (jr. high youth pastor at GCC) teaching on how to make the most of small group discussion. It was a great night. I love working with the team of coaches that I work with at Schmucker Middle School and seeing the impact that we are having on the kids in that school. One quick story:

Yesterday I went to Schmucker to do Five Star promotion at lunch. Schmucker has 1200 middle school students so I spoke to three different lunches with around 400 students each. As the last lunch group was heading back to class, one student from Five Star (he is like a mini Chris Farley) stopped to talk to me. He said, "What do you have to do to be a coach anyways?" I asked him why he wanted to know. He responded by saying, "Because when I get bigger that's what I want to do. I want to be a coach."

It provided a great teaching moment for me as I told him he needed to model a five star life. Show that he is responsible, has integrity, willing to serve, chasing his dream, and is excellant in all he does. He is beginning to get excited about what life has in store for him. That is what I love about Five Star. We are bringing to hope to kids who really never had any before.

Eldredge

On my way to and from the Red Wings game last Saturday I pulled out an old cd I had forgotten about. It is a two cd set of John Eldredge and the Rasomed Heart team talking about what it looks like to have conversation with God. There was a great deal of that cd that I connected with. Some things were simple like the fact that there is always give and take, back and forth when talking with God. He wants there to be dialogue. It's not just a one sided conversation. We need to wrestle with what it is He is communicating to us. Ask questions. 1 John 4:1 says to test the spirits to see wether they are from God. Look for confirmation.

So that is just a spill over of what I heard during my drive. Might seem a little scattered because it kind of is...but...it was good.

Destination Disease and Multiple Dimensions

Last night at MERGE (GCC's college age ministry) Mark Beeson (GCC's senior pastor) came and spoke for part of the night. What he had to say really hit home with many questions I've had recently. He said that since he only had about 10 minutes to talk he wanted to share two of the most important things that he thought 18-25 year olds need to know. And I think he was exactly right.

First, he said beware of Destination Disease. In other words, don't live for tomorrow, live for today. So many times we say, "When this happens...Then I will do this." When I get a new job, when I graduate, when I get married...then I will start disciplining myself to do this, then I will pay off that, then I will commit to whatever. He said if we continue to live for tommorrow it will wreck our lives. I have to admit that I have been guilty of living like this. And Mark is right, it makes life pretty miserable at times because we live for tomorrow but tomorrow never comes. All we have is today. I need to pound this into my head.

The second thing he said was we have to live multi-dimensional lives. We don't have a choice. For example, at GCC we focus on five things. Invest and Invite (mission), Have a friend, be a friend (connect), Reach your Bible (grow), Serve once a month (serve), Do the next right thing (worship). You can't just choose one or two of these and forget the rest. You have to do them all. Life is multi-demnsional. We have to take care of all that is intrusted to us. Our job, our family, our body...everything intrusted to us.

So with that I would say that I have some work to do. I need to get rid of destination disease and make every moment count today because today is awesome and I will never get it back. I also need to begin incorporating all dimensions into my life and not just the easy or convenient ones. That's my challenge for the next while.

Blog Stats

Thanks to some helpful programs I have been able to track how many times my blog has been viewed and from where in the world they have come from. Here are the numbers:

• 638 visits Since Dec. 28th. (Avg. of 255/month)
• 75 visits in the last week.
• Received hits from 3 different Continents - North America, Europe and Asia.
• 3 hits have come from Beijing!!!

So this is exciting to know that people from all over the world are reading my blog. Feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think about what you read. Thanks to all you readers.

EWOK it is!!!

Jon Shupe said in his last comment to me something about me being an Ewok from star wars. So I took the star wars personality test and believe it or not, I am...

Your results:
You are An Ewok

An Ewok 77% Qui-Gon Jinn 75% Yoda 71% R2-D2 71% Obi-Wan Kenobi 70% Chewbacca 65% Han Solo 62% Padme 61% Princess Leia 58% Luke Skywalker 58%

You're a hard worker, cute, and view all your close friends as your own personal tribe. Yub yub!

(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)


Click here to take the "Which Star Wars character are you?" quiz...


Good Call Shupe!!! The Ewok's were actually my favorite characters from Star Wars. I guess it was meant to be.

From a Galaxy Far, Far Away

My first ever marshmallow and toothpick creation. The legendary Tie-Fighter. So if you're wondering what I am doing here at GCC, there you have it. Actually we used this at our Life Mission Leadership Retreat last weekend for a team building event.

My Celebrity Look-A-Likes

My Life

As we all continue to live day-to-day in our busy routine, it's good to just step back and stop and look at the big picture of all that is going on. It is beneficial to get a fresh, new perspective on life every once in a while. Our lives are like the city streets of Chicago where it is busy and loud and congested at times and when you're on the streets you can't see what the whole city looks like. Then you hop in the elevator and take it to the 95th floor of the John Hancock building and you see the city from a new perspective. You begin to see different buildings and how everything has been laid out. There is some order and organization after all, we just hardly ever see it.

I think that is what our lives are like. The majority of our time is spent on the busy streets (work, family, school, etc.). It's loud and busy and feels pretty congested at times. So we need to pull back every once in a while and take time see the whole picture. To go back to the basics and ask ourselves why we do what we do? Who has God created me to be? To pull back and realize that there is some order and plan to our lives. God has designed us on purpose to carry out a plan only we can carry out.

At GCC we have started a new series call My Life. We are going up to the 95th floor and asking some basic questions for the next 5 weeks. The topic of week 1 was My Heart. It was about realizing that what we do matters. We are called to do the right thing. I am. You are. Not that guy over there or the next person in line. You. Me. We need to intential about what we do and take advantage of the time we have now. What we do matters. Are we living that way?

You can check out the weekend service HERE.

Tamil Nadu

This is the name of the area in India where we (GCC) does all of its international missions work. We work with indigenous Indian church planters to plant churches and train pastors. I just wanted to share with you what has happend there in the past five months:

• 7,659 people have received a Bible
• 176 cell groups have been formed
• 19,025 new converts completed a core class
• 13,928 left their old way and accepted Christ
• 7,475 were baptized
• 1 new church per week was planted

Uh....Amen? And I am excited because I get to co-lead a missions trip there in August of this year. Good stuff!!!

Our Executive Pastor blogged an article about this too (actually his was first). You can read it here.

Coming up for Air

I just realized that it has been over a week since I last wrote. That is the longest drought yet. So here is a quick update until I have time to write more.

Ministry - The pace of things at the church are starting to quicken. I am enjoying the responisibilities I have and the people I am working with. We are getting closer to setting our date for the Mexico trip to do research for the family missions program.

Hayley - We finished registering for our wedding last weekend. That was a fun process but draining at the same time. We are both glad to be done with it (for the most part). The wedding gets closer everday but it still seems like a ways off. We are ready for it to get here.

Personally - I am learning a lot lately about myself. I am trying to figure out what my strengths and where or how I can position myself to play to the strengths that I have. It is a process that isn't always easy or fun but I know it is worth it. I miss all of you from back home. I am looking forward to what God is going to do with me this year.

So that is it for now. Hopefully I can take another breath soon. Until then...

2nd Saturday!!!

The first 2nd Saturday of the year was today and it was a huge success. About 400 volunteers showed up the help serve at either MC3, Feed the Children, State Theater or Minority Health Coalition. I attended FtC. We packed 2,400 boxes of food that will feed 9,600 people for a week and we did it in under 3 hours. What a way to start the day. Here are a few pics below.

Five Star Website

Check out the new Five Star website here.

Schmucker: Week 2

Last night was my second week doing Five Star at Schmucker middle school. This is one of the largest middle schools in the state with about 1,200 students. 62 of those students are currently in Five Star with about 10 on a waiting list. My role last night was to lead the games that take place for the first 45min on the night. We played Human Blob where each team has to make whatever shape I tell them to make using every member of their team. The second game we played was "Miss'em". "Miss'em" is actually dodge ball but we are not allowed to play dodge ball for some reason so we renamed it.

During the second half of the night Seth spoke on having Excellent Thoughts. I filled in for one of the absent coaches and after Seth spoke I spent some time with the 6 guys at my table asking them questions relating to the message. I had two students who tend to have negative thoughts. I didn't want to push them too much but they actually opened up. One kid said his dad left when he was 5 and only talks to him twice a year (birthday and Christmas). He doesn't even know where his dad lives. The other kid said he doesn't know either one of his parents because he was given up for adoption when he we like 2 or 3.

So it makes sense that they would have negative thoughts. Who wouldn't in a situation like these. And these stories are just two of hundreds in Five Star. We are making a difference in the lives of hurting kids. We are showing them that they matter and that they have a purpose. Next week I get to speak on Excellent Words. Looking forward to that.

Playing to My Strengths

This past weekend Hayley and I went up to Jackson to spend some time with Joel, Scott and Julie. We watched the Superbowl last night which ended up being a really fun game to watch. I was cheering for the colts the whole time so it was good to see them pull it out. Gotta love Tony Dungey and the demeanor and character he brings.

Anyways...the night before the Superbowl, Joel and I spent some time watching Marcus Buckingham DVD's. Marcus is a guy who talks a lot about determining what your strengths are and learning how to spend the majority of your time living in them. He says that in the work world today, less than 2 out of 10 people feel like they are actually doing what they really love or feel like they are really good at. So how do we become one of those 2 in 10?

This is something I have been asking myself. I am on a journey right now to discover what it is that I want to do with the rest of my life. What are my strengths? What do I just really love to do? I ask that question because what I'm good at and what I like to do might two different things. So what do I just love to do? What doesn't feel like work? I'm not real sure at the moment. I feel like I am good at alot of things but not great at anything. Maybe that's ok. I guess those people are needed too. I sure would like to excel in something though.

Joel and I talked about this to figure out what I might be good at and after thinking about I came up with these things that I enjoy. I like to be efficient and organized. I'm good at putting things together. Computers always seemed to come pretty naturally to me. I love sports.

That is a little of what I have discovered. More on this later.

Schmucker Kick Off

Today will be my first experience as an official member of the five star team. For the next eight weeks I will be slowly progressing into the position of "point person" at Schmucker Middle School, which is the largest middle school in the area with around 1,100 students. Today I am just going to be observing the whole time. Each week I will be slowly taking more and more responsibility. Four weeks from now I will be speaking and basically running the whole deal at Schmucker. Should be fun working with Seth and trying to manage 62 middle schoolers.

La la la la la la, la la la la la

Have you ever wanted to be a smurf? I guess I never thought that running around in underwear and a white hat would that great but I guess if I would have to be a smurf I would be happy being...
Yes, this is my smurf personality.

If you want to take the smurf personality test, click here.

Oh...and my smurf nickname is...

Josh King - Goodie Smurf
Otis King - Vanilla Smurf
Joshua King - Smelly Smurf

Marriage Counseling

Hayley and I are in the midst of our marriage couseling and we are loving it!! We are taking a little different approach than most couples. We have decided to meet with 6 or 7 different couples who we know to get their advice about marriage and to ask them a series of 8 questions that we came up with. Here are the questions:

1. What was one of the best decisions you have made in your marriage?
2. What was one of the worst decisions you have made in your marriage?
3. What do you feel is the strongest area of your marriage?
- What advice can you give here? How can we make it strong as well?
4. How do you do your finances? Advice here?
5. Before marriage, what do we absolutely need to know about sex?
6. As you look back on your marriage, what is one thing or some things that you wish you were more prepared for or knew more about?
7. What do you do to pursue Christ as a couple?
8. Any other advice or any questions you might have for us?

So we are looking forward to hearing some of these answers and to see what patterns may emerge throughout the process. I know we are finding out some cool things about each other and I look forward to discovering more and more.

Family Missions

As I sit here at GCC brainstorming about Family Missions and what that might look like, I thought I would pull you all in on the process. We are making progress in this area and I am getting excited about what lies ahead. I am traveling to Mexico in April with Dan Blacketor (incredible volunteer here at GCC) to do some exploring for possible partnerships down there so I am excited about that. Also, a few of us are meeting in February to begin to lay a foundation for a team of people who will work together to pull this off. But for now, it is still in the brainstorming stages. So here is my question for you to think about and hopefully answer. For those of you who have a family: What would make you not want to miss an opportunity to travel to a third world country and serve? You can't say a free trip because that pretty much can't happen. So...

Hat Trick

No this post has nothing to do with hockey. But it does have something to do with me doing something for the third time. And with my wedding coming up in June, I decided that now would be a pretty good time to get started. So what am I doing? Well, I have decided to dig in and grind out another 12+ weeks of the Body-for-Life. There are parts of this program that I really like and some...well...not so much. I like that I always feel great during and especially after the program. I like the set up of lifting three days, cardio three days, and the ever coveted FREE DAY where you simply slip into sloth mode for a day (no workout, eat as much of whatever you want). I don't like getting up at 6:30 every morning to workout. I don't like passing on the awesome dinner or desert offered to you for free at different church events. And I don't like that if you quit the lifestyle after 12 weeks your body won't stay the way it is forever. But, I guess the phrase "nothing good comes easy" holds true once again.

So there you have it. I'm going the for the hat trick. As I press on, I do it along side some fellow BFL comrades. Good Luck Brian and Lisa Keim and Joel Maust. See you all on the other side of fat and lazy.

"Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey

I wandered in to Barnes and Noble last night, while Hayley was babysitting, to do some catching up on my reading and journeling. I have been thinking a lot about finances lately. Setting up a budget, controlling my money so it doesn't control me, and making sure we (Hayley and I) are making wise choices with the limited income we have. It was recommended by the GCC CPA that I check out the "Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. Dave Ramsey is a Christian who has been twice a millionaire and flat broke inbetween. So I decided I would pick that up, grab a hot chocolate and begin reading. Once I started I couldn't stop. The book made so much sense and it was inspiring. I read the first 130 pages in one sitting. So much for the journaling part. The book is all about destroying the myths that rule our society regarding finances and helping people in debt (which the is majority in our country) get out of it. I feel fortunate that I currently have no debt but I know that if I don't continue to make wise choices that could change pretty quick.

So if you have debt or struggle with knowing how to manage the finance side of life, I would strongly recommend this book. More to come later.

A Slight Change in the Journey

As we live each day of our lives we make choices that will impact our future. Some are bigger than others but regardless of the magnitude, the choices we make will affect our future. A choice I have made recently was to put school on hold for now. The program that I was enrolled in at Bethel College was the Master of Ministry program. Granted there was some good material in both of the classes that I took, but after talking to a few different people who had been through the program, I wasn't sure it was worth the time and the money. The feedback I got was that the program was good on the theology end but the ministry training was very irrelevant. So, with the wedding coming up and the opportunity for further ministry involvment (five star, merge leadership team) I felt that the best decision was for me to save that money and time and use it elsewhere. Will I go back in the future? I think I would like to but it may just be a class here and there. For now, it's wedding and ministry and trusting that the Lord will provide in many ways.

Wedding Planning...

So Hayley and I are in the process of the making the important decisions to pull off a wedding that is going to be sweet. Anyways, we are currently looking for a photographer. Do you have any idea how much a good photographer costs? Well, if you don't, let me just tell you it is pretty ridiculous. So I am posing a question. Does anyone know of a good photographer that is fairly reasonable in price? If so, I would love to know.

iWant

Yesterday Apple introduced its newest creation. The iPhone. This thing is incredible. Hopefully a future purchase for me. Take a look at it here. I'm so glad I have been brought out of the darkness of PC land and into the light of the Mac world.

Five Star

As of the end of last week, I have committed to be a volunteer for Five Star. Five Star is a ministry founded by Justin and Seth Maust that reaches out to middle school students to help them discover who they are and what they can achieve. Over the last year this program has grown significantly in popularity in the Michiana area and is in very high demand. My role with Five Star will be a coach. A coach is a person who leads a small group of junior high students one day a week from 4-6. If I enjoy what I do, there are more possible opportunities that lie ahead. Just taking one step at a time. Hey, the doors open so why not explore what's on the other side?

Hit the Ground Running

2007 is off to a blazing start. Here are just a few events set for the new year...

1) Start volunteering for Five Star as a coach. (more on this later)
2) Going to Mexico for a week to do research for family missions.
3) Getting married...no small task...and going on a honeymoon.
4) Going to Vermont to stand up in my cousin Christian's wedding.
5) Co-leading a trip to Southern India in August.
6) Five Star Summer camp at Manowe.
7) Traveling to Chicago to do research for potential family missions.

...And if I pile the normal everyday odd and ends on top of these seven events, it could get pretty crazy. Not to mention all the traveling back and forth from Lansing for wedding planning. But I am looking forward to all of it because I know that in the midst of the crazyness and new experiences, physical, mental and spiritual growth will be the result. Time to saddle up!!!

153

That is the number of days left until Hayley and I are tying the knot. In case you don't want to figure what day that falls on it is June 8th, 2007. That is about 5 months. So the planning begins...it's go time!!!

The Countdown has been added in the right column.

I am Superman!!!

According to the super hero quiz, I would be Superman. Not sure about the little red speedo though.

Click here to take the what super hero are you quiz.

A Look Back

2006 was a year I will never forget. I dealt with more changes and more transitions than ever before in my life. I tried to pull out some of the big events from the previous year below.

1. Lead Pigeon River through their refocusing process
2. Made contact with Granger Community Church
3. Met with Jack Magruder (Director of Life Missions) about a possible internship
4. Traveled to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
5. Started talking with Hayley (who would later become my fiancee)
6. Announced my resignation from Pigeon River
7. Moved down to Mishawaka, IN
8. Started taking Masters courses at Bethel College
9. Started my 2 year internship at GCC
10. Was a guest speaker at a youth retreat in Albion, IN
11. Traveled to Chicago
12. Proposed to Hayley and she said Yes!!!

Those are 12 big events that took place in 2006. To sum it up, it seems like it was year that introduced a lot of new beginnings in my life. I can't wait to see where God takes these in 2007.