A Cubs loss and a dead car

I went into the city today to enjoy a cubs game but unfortunately I watched the cubs loose and when I went to leave the ball park my car was completely dead. Lately, I have been challenged a lot to intentionally find ways to love and help others. Today I saw myself on the reverse side of that. We walked around for a good hour trying to find someone who might help us by giving my car a jump. We heard some of the most pathetic excuses as to why people were NOT going to help us. I think my favorite was an employee at Wrigley who walked right past us and said, "Sorry there is nothing I can do." When we walked two blocks down to ask another gentlemen, the guy told us to go back to the Wrigley employee that walked away because he had the radio to get someone. We called the other two back at the car to chase the employee and when one of the them asked him once again, his response was he didn't have a radio to call anyone. (The radio was clear as day on his belt loop). When Mr. helpful cub worker walked back to where I was and I explained that his co-worker told me to have him call without a response he just walked past me once again. Luckily, at the same time a group of friendly gentlemen came walking by and without hesitation, walked over to my car and got it going. An hour later and about 20 people worth of rejections, I realized just how incredible it feels when someone steps outside their little world and offers a helping hand. I hope that I continue to push myself to be that person for others. In a hurry or not, I pray that my eyes are opened to the lives around me and not just my own little world.

Girls Trip!

I just got back this evening from a great little getaway with some pretty incredible friends. The five of us have been friends since high school but with the busy life of teachers (I know it's summer as I write this but not all months are June, July or Aug), we struggled to hang out like we used to back in the day. A year ago we started a tradition where we schedule a time each month for the five of us to have coffee, dinner, or ice cream together. This month we decided to take it a step further and spend two days in Lake Geneva at one of the girls parents lake house. We all needed a couple days to just get away and laugh like I did. There were a lot of funny moments, funny conversations, and some hysterical memories of old times. Oddly enough, one of my all time highlights was being able to ride in the golf cart everywhere we went within this beach community. There were golf cart trails, under road cart tunnels, and even lined golf cart parking spots within the community. Friendship is a beautiful thing! I pray that as I grow older I always make quality time with friends. No matter what life brings or how busy things get, I pray that every month, the five of us will continue to hang out. I can't wait to be 70 years old and sitting on that golf cart with the same group of girls!

Happy Birthday David

David turns 4 today! Happy Birthday Buddy!

StuCo serve day

Today I spent all day with about 10 of our students working on a habitat for humanity home in Aurora. About three years ago, there was a student who had just graduated from the ministry and was getting ready to be a part of a internship within StuCo so that he can begin leading. At that time, him and his dad talked about the possibility of working together to build a habitat home in Aurora. Kevin's dream was to rally students from StuCo together and his Dad would get people involved from the Community 4:12 ministry to make this happen. Unfortunately, it was during that time that Kevin lost his battle with depression and took his own life. In his honor, his parents have pushed to keep the dream alive. One week from this Sunday, they will dedicated the home to a mother and her twin daughters. There is something about serving that is incredible. If I woke up tomorrow and knew that I would have to do 6 hours of intense landscaping at my own place, I would HATE every last thought if it. Yet when I get the opportunity to serve with a group of people it is so much different. There is something about the laughter, the conversations, the memories that make every sweaty minute of it fun. Then on top of all that, there is something incredible when you get to be a part of seeing the family get a new start on life. When a family is blessed and you get to witness their joy as they take the keys for the first time. Sometimes I even wonder who is blessed more, the family or those of us that got to be a part of the making it happen. It was a fantastic day!

An incredible day!

Today was an absolute great day! We held our first ever StuCo golf outing to raise money for our student ministry. Not only was the weather amazing but everything ran so smoothly! We couldn't have asked for a better experience. We were blessed with an incredible golf course that hosted the event, some wonderful sponsors for the holes, and 72 golfers who joined us in the event. It was a huge success! As a ministry, we never want money to hold a student back from attending any of our events. As a result of today, we are able to reduce the cost to students and hopefully open the door to allowing more students to attend. I can't wait to see how God is going to move within StuCo over the next year! Here is a little video I put together of some of the pictures. If you weren't able to join us this year, please consider coming out next year!

First time in the bleachers!

I have been a cubs fan for a long time and have gone to several games but today was my first opportunity to sit in the bleachers. It was a beautiful day at Wrigley Field! It was fun to experience the game from the outfield. There is nothing quite like the thrill of seeing a ball hit and feeling like it is headed your direction. Although I came how without catching a ball, it was a fantastic day of hanging out with friends, watching baseball and seeing the Cubbies bring home the W!