Kimberly and I have been putting off Caleb having surgery for over six months. Up until today he had a pediatric inguinal hydrocele that was repaired. If you are not aware of this condition, it is common among children and you con go to this link for more information.

http://www.taumed.com/content/adam/browse.jsp?pid=13&cid=100163

Overall the day was stressful. We left the house at 10am and did not return until after 6:30pm. It took all day. The actual surgery only took about 50 minutes, but the preparation, waiting, and waiting for him to wake up afterwards took all day. They allowed us to watch as the anesthesiologist put him to sleep and we were asked to leave the room. It is very unnerving to know that they are going to cut on your child, and he is so small, and his parts on the inside are so small. But I guess the people at Children’s Hospital in Rockville, MD know what their doing. I took my rolling briefcase packed with stuff to do (even write my sermon) but I could do nothing other than dumbly flip through magazine that I really cared nothing about and wait. I just couldn’t focus on anything else but what was being done in the other room to my son.

The doctor eventually came out and gave us a report, and the first thing out of his mouth was that he was fine. He even explained the surgery once again by writing with a pen on his scrubs pants. Somebody get that man a flip notepad.

Caleb eventually awoke, asked for a ice cream pop and some water and has not slowed down since. They insisted on wheeling him out in a wheelchair and Caleb insisted on pushing it himself with his arms – no assistance please, thank you very much. His brother and sister met him at the van as we pulled up into the yard and they actually acted like they were concernbed for their brother's well being.

He is not supposed to play outside (jumping, wrestling, bike riding, etc…). In other words, all the things that he loves to do are off limits for two weeks. This is going to be hard. He does have a war wound about one inch long about three inches above his groin area. He’s not supposed to touch it, especially not to scratch it. He hasn’t complained of pain and is moving a little slower, other than that you’d never know the difference.

Monday was H-G's fourth birthday and she has been looking forward to it, and asking questions about it for months. The theme this year was "princess party" and it was definitely that. There were about six girls who came wearing princess attire. There were tiaras, foe mink shoulder throws, jewelry galore, and of course fancy dresses.

I was the designated butler who greeted the guests, took drink orders (pink lemonade or banana tangerine), served the tea, and waited the table. I was the only "boy" allowed. The party began by girls being allowed to add to their outfit from a tote full of accessories. They then made a foam crown and pasted various ornamentation on them. Then it was time for tea and sandwiches, followed by dessert. They discussed tea etiquette (like keeping your little finger up when drinking and blotting with your napkin, not swiping).

There were a couple of games and then they all put on play clothes and played in the backyard. I don't think Hannah-Grace quit smiling the whole time.

The real star of the party was Kimberly. She went all out and planned the whole thing from start to finish. A couple of weeks ago I preached on the Proverbs 31 woman and during the whole party that was all I could think -- This party is great, my daughter is extremely happy and it's all because my wife put so much effort to make this special for her. She wore a formal dress, put up all kinds of decorations including a chair decoration for H-G that was made of a pink plastic table clothe and crepe paper, and prepared all the food. There were little sandwiches in the shapes of hearts. All I can is wow!

I will post some pictures from slide.com and if their ads are there just click on the x at the top right corner to see the pictures of the party.

Tonight we experimented with a new ministry called "The Venue." Daybreak has a desire to reach the 18 to 29 year olds who don't seem to have a church to call their own. So we brought in four bands and they blasted their music at deafening decibels. In between songs they would share what Christ meant to them and the only thing that would have made it better were if we knew what the words were. Perhaps the youth knew but because I am over 29 I can no longer recognize such things (which means that I am mature now -- I guess). We served free food and drinks and the bands sold their "merch."

The night was winding down so I decided to head home and help Kimberly get ready for H-G's birthday party tomorrow. I had been home for about five minutes when Donna S. called me and was asking for help. One of the bands had a smoke machine which set off the fire alarm, which we have no clue how to turn it off. There were no instructions anywhere. I instructed them over the phone as best I could, but no luck. So I jumped in the car and headed back; the firemen figured out how to turn the extremely obnoxious screeching alarms off. After cleaning up and locking up, we left the building hoping that no more alarms will go off.

Over all the experience was exhausting and stressful, but worth it. We were able to share Christian testimonies to over 100 kids and parents. But next time we will know ahead of time how to turn the alarm off.

I just got back from our first camping trip. Joshua, Caleb and I went to Gathland Park where the Appalachian Trail cuts it in half. Kimberly drove us and dropped us off. The first thing I asked them before we hit the trail was do you have to go to the bathroom (since there was a bathroom right there!) they both said no, but guess what they said about five minutes into our hike?

I packed the boy’s pack – here’s what was in the bag:
A sleeping bag,
A nalgene bottle full of water,
A metal cup,
A MRE meal,
A whistle, small knife, and a flashlight (all connected together)
I had everything else.

When I put the pack on both of them, they just about fell over backwards. I really didn’t think it would be that heavy for them. So not only did they want to stop and go to the bathroom, they also just wanted to stop altogether. We made it maybe a quarter of a mile, and stopped at a designated camping area.

We set up camp, gathered fire wood, and cooked dinner (Chili Mac). I bought one of those freeze dried meals and it was pretty good (I had the MREs for backup). Later on we did the whole marshmallow thing, and they loved to cook them but had no desire to eat them. So by the end I was feeling pretty sick of marshmallows. As the shadows grew longer, The boys began to slow down.

While it was 8pm it was still daylight, but I encouraged the boys to go ahead and go to bed. I used my air mattress as a seat and sat by the fire. It took them about thirty minutes to finally go to sleep and I just sat by the fire for about an hour. I am looking forward to doing that again.

It was when I decided to call it a night that I discovered something new. The tent was pitched on a slight (ok relatively steep) incline. I have a nice air mattress but when combined with a nylon sleeping bag and incline it equals a dry slip and slide. So the whole night I fought gravity – three guesses who won.

In the morning we awoke to about 45 degree brisk air (but clear and dry). We cooked some oatmeal, and had a granola bar for breakfast. Up until this point things had gone really smooth. But Joshua did not want anything I had to eat, and he was cold. Even though I built another fire, he was tired, cranky, hungry and cold, and for a five year old this equals major meltdown.

We packed up and started back. The only problem was that Kimberly wasn’t due to pick us up until after 9am and it was about 7:30am. We hiked backed and used that bathroom we neglected at our arrival, dropped the packs, and ran around in the large field by the park (in the warm sun). When Kimberly picked us up we all had smiles and were happy to be going home.

Later, I asked Caleb what he liked best about our camping trip and he said “running around in the field.” Sometimes I forget that my children just want to play with dad.

Monday was our first graduation for the year. Hannah-Grace has now officially graduated out of Reading Express that meets at Brunswick Elem. School and is on her way to pre-k next fall! The program is wonderful, and H-G can actually read words and is very excited about continuing to learn to read. She will often surprise me with what she is able to read around her.

Our move to Brunswick has been filled with blessings and surprises. When we first made the move and visited the school, Kimberly and I were not impressed at all with the facilities. But over the summer they removed the orange shag carpet that had been there since the 70’s and spent some money sprucing up. Our experience this year was very good and we have no complaints. I am convinced that it’s not the facility that really matters in education but the quality of the teachers and staff inside – and at Brunswick Elem. they are excellent.

Baptisms are a ton of fun. A little over a year ago Daybreak purchased a portable baptismal tank/pool. It is a large round tank that we fill up with water from the kitchen at the Delaplaine. We just hook up a garden hose in the kitchen, run it to the front of the Pavilion room, and fill’r up! The room was very full, and lately there is almost a sigh of relief when the kids are dismissed. Everyone can breath all the way out and have a little wiggle room. The people standing in the back can come in a sit down, and others can have some breathing (singing) room. God is doing some really cool things right now, and the baptisms on Sunday are just a little piece of these blessings.

In preparing to take the boys camping I have been reading up online about survival techniques such as “what to do if you are lost in the woods.” Every article makes some kind of reference to staying where you are and letting others find you. You can make a signal fire, try and build a shelter, but every article I read said to stay put.

When you get disoriented your blood pressure and heart rate go up, and there is this huge urge to do something: run, hike, climb, swim!; you just want to feel like you are making some kind of progress. Most of the time people use up valuable resources, energy, and precious mental fortitude with nothing to gain from it.

Let’s face it, we all get over whelmed and turned around from time to time, and the best thing to do until we are able to get our bearings is to sit still and stay where we are. The Bible even says in Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God. . .” But it such a powerful instinct to do something.

We also live in a land where there is a constant pressure to be the best,; (in my world it’s have the largest growing church, the most baptisms, the “success story.”) So we push and push, drive and drive, and always stay on the go. I hate to be still and wait – it feels like the world passes you by and those “other guys” are getting ahead.

While you are waiting out there in the forest doing your best to suppress the desire to do something for the sake of doing something, you are also trusting that someone is coming to get you. In order to survive you have to be still and trust others. As if sitting still were not hard enough now we have to put our lives in the hands of other people.

As a leader I put my success and future in the hands of others every day. I have to trust that while I can’t see them, they are working hard to make our team successful. Also, leaders have to wait until those that follow them come along to where they are. If they go too far ahead they get lost, if they stay too close they remain at base camp forever and never move to the summit.

There are seasons of great leaps forward, and there are seasons of sitting still. So in my life right now, I am trying my best to sit still and I am waiting. Grab a log and join me, and let’s make some coffee (there I go doing something again).

Sunday begins our next round of small groups at Daybreak. This will be the second consecutive time that Kimberly and I have led a group. Last time was so much fun, we just knew we had to do it again. You never know exactly what will happen, what people will say, or how the group dynamic will be.

For this round we will be discussing Paul Little's book Know Why You Believe. It deals with questions like, "How can you know that there is a God?," "Did Jesus really rise from the dead?" or "Why is there pain and evil in the world?"

This afternoon Craig G. and I were able to get the playset about 90% complete! All I need to do is put the last of the guard railings on, finish the last detail stuff (hand pulls, steering wheel, etc...), and put the rest of the mulch in the box.

The excavator came to our home this past Thursday at 7:30am and was finished in about an hour and a half. He leveled the yard and moved a tree for us. It was well worth the $150.00 for him to move the tree and for us to have a level yard. When he left I began construction on the box that will hold the mulch. I got about half finished and it began to rain. I decided to go to Lowe’s and get some sod; I figured that the rain wouldn’t hurt the grass.

It rained all day Friday and finally stopped on Saturday morning. I was able to get a load of mulch and some more sod before David R. and Craig G. came over to help. The weather held off all day and we got about half-way finished with the assembly of the playset. It rained all day Sunday so all I was able to do was take a nap. The box looks more like a mud pit than a playground. Volleyball anyone?

It rained all day Monday and today it’s beautiful with a high of 70 degrees. So maybe in the late afternoon I can get some more done. The good news is that with all the rain I was able to determine where I need to move some dirt around to fine tune the leveling.