14 Things I'm Thankful for in 2014

"Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 107:1 ESV

There are countless things I could give thanks to but since it’s 2014 I’ll limit myself to 14. Here are the top 14 things I’m thankful for in no particular order.

1. Jesus – I’m thankful that God loved me so much that He adopted me and picked me to be called His child and sacrificed His own Son that I might live, made pure by His righteous blood.  

2. My family – You can read more about my family on my last blog post. They are the greatest earthly gift I’ve ever received. I love these people more than anything. I am so incredibly thankful for the crazy group of people I get to do life with.

Photo Credit: Fort Vanity

3. My Church- You can read more about why I’m thankful for Mars Hill here. In short, my life has been forever changed my Mars Hill and though this is the last Thanksgiving that my church will even exist, I’ll forever be thankful for the ways God changed my life.

4. My pastor – God has used Pastor Mark to change my life over the past two decades. I’m thankful for Pastor Mark’s dedication to Jesus, solid theology and preaching the Bible. I dearly love this man and I look forward to one day sitting under his leadership again. 

5. Disneyland – I love Disneyland! We take a family vacation there about every 18-24 months and it really is the happiest place on earth.

6. My job – I have my dream job. I look forward to going to work every single day. I get to work with a great group of people at a job that is all about exotic cars. Seriously, I’m the luckiest guy alive!

7. My freedom – I live in the greatest nation on earth. My freedom and the freedom of every American is guaranteed in writing by our government and supported by a pretty bad ass military.  

8. Teaching the Bible – I’ve had the honor and privilege of teaching the Bible to teenagers over the past few years and I’m incredibly thankful for that. I learn far more than I ever teach by working with this great group of students and I’ll forever be grateful for this season.

9. My friends – I have a great group of friends. Those closest to me are some of the best people I’ve ever met. I am incredibly undeserving of the people God has put in my life but I sure am thankful.

10. My biological family – We certainly aren’t the closest family in the world but we are also far from the worst. I am thankful that my mother, a single mom, raised me as best she could. I’m thankful for my aunt and uncle who have sacrificed much to try to give me a good life.

Photo courtesy of Renus and ElTora Cabe (Mu aunt and uncle)

11. Sports – This seems trivial but sports matter to me. I enjoy relaxing (or freaking out) over a good athletic competition. Good teams or bad, winning seasons or garbage seasons, it’s a good way to unplug from the real world for a while.

12. My Bible – I have access to the Word of God. Unlimited access, no restrictions, no one will arrest me for it, it’s just there. I love reading my Bible, learning new things from it, teaching from it, sharing the truths it contains, and sometimes just praying through it.

13. Food and clean water – I’m super thankful that I live in a country where I have access to any food I want as well as clean and safe drinking water. There are many in the world without these blessings. I also just enjoy food, I love trying new things, gathering with friends to eat, finding a new restaurant, tacos, bacon, cookie, and well…. I just really like food.

14. The Perrigo family – I wrote about them in my blog on family but they are worth another mention. There is no family on the family that means more to me than them. I’ve never met a family where I have been so incredibly fond of each and every member. My life is truly better for knowing them. 

Photo: Courtesy of Alyssa Perrigo

I'm Thankful for My Family

I’ve been writing blogs all this week on things I’m thankful for. Today, I’m writing about family. I’m very thankful for my family. I hope you enjoy hearing about the people I enjoy most in this world. This blog may not make complete sense to this who do not share my Christian worldview but please read it anyway because I think my family is worth reading about.

Photo Credit: Fort Vanity

Before I talk about the amazing people in my family I need to define who my family is and which family I am talking about. I have a biological family, the one I was born into. My biological is important to me as well but I want to talk in this blog about my blood family, the family I have because of the blood of Christ. This is where I’m asking you who are not Christians to hang with me; I promise it won’t get too weird. Give me one or two paragraphs and I’ll get to the pictures of the cute kids.

As a Christian I am a child of God. John chapter 1 talks about God giving those who believe the right to become children of God. John is specific that these are people who did not chose this but were born of the will of God, He picked me and He picked my family.

The family of God is one of adoption. The apostle Paul talks much about this adoption and our being children of God (Ephesians 1:5, Eph. 2:19, Eph. 5:1, Galatians 4:5) and in 1 Timothy 5 Paul continues the narrative of family when speaking of the church. So as I write today, I'm talking about the people God has given me as family in Him.

The picture up top if from a family photo shoot we did a bit earlier this fall. Sylvia and Sarah are not my daughters but my heart sure doesn't know that. I think of them and treat them just like my biological children. They are a tremendous gift to my life and I love them will all my heart. Sylvia challenges me to think of those less fortunate than me and to love the unloved. Sarah inspires me with her wit, snark, intelligence, and drive. 

Photo Credit: Fort Vanity
Sarah and Sylvia at UW

Saphyre is my 14 year old and she is one of the most enjoyable people I've ever known. People tell me that having a teen daughter is hard work and that I should be scared. They were wrong, dead wrong. I love this girl! We have a ton of fun together. She is smart, funny, silly, teachable, beautiful, addicted to coffee and a pleasure to be around. She even still snuggles her daddy from time to time.

Photo Credit: Fort Vanity
This is one of my favorite pictures. I was teasing her and she was striking her best teen pose.

 Olivia is 9 and will likely rule the world some day. She is a natural leader and a total daddy's girl. She is brave, confident, and strong. I often joke that Olivia will either be the CEO of a major corporation of a despot dictator. She is generous and kind but she also has a mean streak. She brings unspeakable joy to my life.

Photo Credit: Fort Vanity

Abigail faces many challenges in her but does it with smile. She's visited more specialists than I can count and has to try harder than her peers just to keep up in class but she puts in the effort. She is one tough little girl. I love to laugh wit her and hear her silly jokes. She is the idea 7 year old daughter.

Photo Credit: Fort Vanity

Chaucer, my son, my only son. This boy has scared me more than I ever thought possible. He leads with his head but not in the way you are thinking... He leads his falls off bunk beds, out windows and into walls with his head. He runs around and plays Avengers all day, he practices protecting the family and he curls up and snuggles his daddy.

Tessa, my baby! I've spoiled this little girl like crazy, She's my baby and she knows how to wrap her daddy around her little finger. Her giggles and squeals are a delightful noise to my heart, not always my ears, but my heart. She is silly and girly and hopelessly addicted to M&Ms.

Photo Credit: Fort Vanity

Karina, my wife. She is ties all f the above together. She spends her day managing the above listed personalities and putting up with me and my last minute changes of plan and spontaneity. She loves Jesus, mentors women, speaks truth, loves Scar (the Disney villain) and One Direction (the "band"). I married WAY out of my league and I'm thankful that she was willing to marry a single father and immediately take on the role of mommy almost 10 years ago. I love her very much. I'll stop there because I'll soon be writing a blog dedicated to just her.

Photo Credit: Karina Tinsley

Aly, or Allee as Starbucks calls her. I love this girl dearly. This girl is part of my family for sure. I don't know where exactly she falls but she is one of the biggest blessings I've ever known. She is smart, wise, talented beyond comprehension (at everything), a better friend than anyone deserves and amazing with all kids. In the toughest season of my life she's been a great encouragement. She is beautiful inside and out and I am thankful to know her. She's also the best drive I know.

Photo Credit: Karina Tinsley
We were hiking and though she was injured at the time she joined me on the path less traveled.

Aly's entire family is a huge part of my life and a huge blessing to my family. I don't have a photo of all of them but I'll just tell you about them. Paul, the dad can build anything, he is a bold man yet a kind, gentle and generous man. He works hard and loves his family and mine well. Amy is Paul's wife and though she is still quite young she lets my kids call her Grandma Amy. She loves them and does all sorts of fun things with them. She is also an incredible baker. Her cookies will leave you speechlessness because you'll just keep stuffing your face with them. Jacob is the oldest of their kids and he is a loyal and faithful friend. He dropped everything this summer to take a group top high school guys to a summer camp with me. He suffered a 12 hour bus ride and kept a great attitude. Logan is the baby of their family (he's 14) and like the rest of them he is crazy talented. He's a solid athlete, an actor and a musician. My kids adore Logan and hang on his every word. He is basically a rock star in their minds. 

The final member of the Perrigo family isn't a Perrigo at all, she's Amy mom, Mary. Also quite young, Mary allows my kids to call her great-grandma Mary. This sweet woman loves my kids and delights in getting to hang out with them. She is wise and always seeking more knowledge. She is humble and servant minded. She is hospitable and generous. I am so thankful for all of these people.

Jordan and Alicia, these two chose to be my kids aunt and uncle. They, along with their son, Liam, are a constant source of joy to my heart. We don't see each other quite as much as we used to but I really love them. This year since Liam was so young they were unable to join us on vacation and their absence was noticeable. I'm so thankful to call them family.

Ashley is one of my co-leaders in our churches youth group and a dear friend. She's in many ways like a little sister, snotty and snarky, yet loving and loyal all at the same time. I love her and I love getting to do ministry with her. She is great at connecting with teenagers and making the Bible fun for them. She's a talented communicator, athlete and artist.

Photo Credit: Fort Vanity

I have the best people in the world around me. I could go on for hours talking about what all these people mean to me but I'm just going to remind you that these people are a gift from God to my life, shut up, and post a few pictures. In the additional pictures you'll see Reagan and Darbee, who I love dearly, Kadi Dawn who I miss terribly since she moved back to Texas and the man behind the camera, Matt Kennelly who is one of the best men I know.

Sarah and Karina at Disneyland

Photo Credit: Fort Vanity

Photo Credit: Fort Vanity

Photo Credit: Fort Vanity
Reagan and Darbee hugging Aly

The man who is Fort Vanity is also my dear friend, Matt.

Photo Credit: Fort Vanity

At the zoo with Sylvia

Christmas Pajamas 2013

If you know Karina you understand this.

...and this

Kadi Dawn was only in Seattle a short time but she made a huge difference while she was here.

Karina and Aly

Karina, Aly and some guy

We went on a Jungle Cruise

Sylvia and Sarah with their Fairy Godmother. 

Chaucer and Tess have a great relationship

A munch of people I love

This picture is missing Ashley because she had to leave early to educate young minds as a teacher. 

Tess, Aly and Ashley

Chaucer the protector with his sword

Family, I really love my family.

Finding Joy in Youth Ministry - A Question

This week I'm writing blogs about things I'm thankful for. One of the things that I’m most thankful for is that I get to teach the Bible. I love the Word of God and I love getting to teach it to teenagers. This blog explains my feeling toward youth ministry and for that matter, ministry in general. It is also a good example of why you shouldn't ask me a simple question unless you want a long answer.

I was recently asked if I found joy in youth ministry. That word, "joy" stuck with me all night and into the next morning. What is joy? Sure I like doing youth ministry and I’m happy to be with the students. Our Wednesday night youth group is a highlight of my week and I truly love the students I get the privilege of serving. Is that joy though?

In writing to the Christians in the twelve tribes who had been scattered everywhere by the oppression of the Assyrians and Babylonians James charged them, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds," (James 1:2 ESV). He of course goes on to tell us the benefit we receive in the testing of our faith.

The word joy (χαρά; chara in the Greek) is the same throughout the New Testament and means gladness. It comes from the verb χαίρω; chairō which means to rejoice exceeding, to be glad, to thrive. James is telling us to have the same response to persecution as the wise men had to the announcement of Jesus birth (Matt. 2:10).

Joy in the Holy Spirit is what Paul tells us the Kingdom of heaven is about (Romans 14:17). Again, however this isn't a fun situation. People are bickering over what they can eat. The vegans and the bacon lovers are coming to blows at the church potluck and Paul rebukes them saying, get over it! Heaven is about joy in the Holy Spirit! We see joy listed as the second in line of the fruit of the spirit which I as a Christian possess.

Paul rejoices that he gets to pour his life out for the faith of the Philippians (Phil. 2:17) and he invites them to join him in his joy. So do I have joy? HECK YES I DO! Is it because of youth ministry? No, it’s because of Christ but it is out of that joy that I love others as He has loved me (John 15). Do I look forward to youth group every single week and love hanging out with, and teaching the Bible to this crazy, group of suburban, knife wielding, home schooling, maniacs? Oh, HELL YEAH! You better believe it! I love these students. I love their families! I love teaching the Bible! So my answer isn’t a simple, “Sure, it’s cool”. My answer is an emphatic, “YES!” There is much joy from Christ in seeing what the Holy Spirit is doing in the lives of the teens at this church.

I’m not just here because it’s a good place to do something. I’m here because I love Jesus, I love these students, I love Jesus' church and serving His church is worship and it is joy filled, worship! 

Thankful To Be An American

I'm going to try to write a few blogs this week about things I'm truly thankful for. This first one is hopefully not too controversial, It is something that has been striking me lately as I see all the usual social media complaining change to thankfulness this month. I've found myself very convicted of my own complaining and lack of realization of my own privileged. 

This is the week when we American’s stop complaining about being cut off in traffic, Starbucks getting our drink wrong or the line at the store being too long. In fact this Friday, we’ll seek out bad traffic and long lines. Well some of us may still complain as well. The point is, it’s Thanksgiving week, the dedicated time to stop and give thanks.

Given all that we have in this great nation, it amazes me that we need to dedicate a day remember to give thanks. Even the poor in America live in abundance! We have more opportunity than any other place in the world. President Ronald Reagan said, “In America, our origins matter less than our destination, and that is what democracy is all about.”

Before you dismiss me as a rich guy who just doesn't get it, I am poor by American standards; my back account is currently overdrawn and I worry every month if I’ll have enough to make my bills. I struggle daily, but I’m in the best country on the planet to have these “problems”. I’m able to easily pick up side jobs and sell possessions whenever I need. When I look at my “poverty” compared to the rest of the world, I realize exactly how wealthy I am.

The media would tell you that I’m poor. If my income doubled, I’d still be making less than a “livable wage”. Yet, I have I home with heat, running water, food, and electricity. Many people in the world do not. My family owns two cars that we drive to the grocery store. Many in world walk miles in often empty hopes of finding scraps of food. All by basic needs are met and exceeded. This simply is not true for most of the planet.

Charity Water reports, “In Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year walking for water. Women and children usually bear the burden of water collection, walking miles to the nearest source, which is unprotected and likely contaminated.” People are walking miles through horrible conditions to get filthy water and they are thankful, yet we have our day ruined by a referee blowing a call in a football game.

Even our homeless have places to get food and shelter. We have the greatest freedoms in the history of mankind. Our military is the toughest fighting force ever conceived. We have a raging immigration debate because people from all over the planet want to come to this land of opportunity. If you live in the United States of America, you have much to be thankful for every single day. The poorest among us, have much to be thankful for. The richest among us have much to be thankful for.

Please never forget the blessing we have as Americans. Please never forget the men and women who died to give us these blessings. Please never take for granted how rich you are. Please remember to give thanks today and every day for the blessings you have. Please stop complaining about the 1% and realize you are the 1%.

Thanking God for Mars Hill and Pastor Mark

With Thanksgiving approaching, I've been thinking a lot about what I’m most thankful for in life. I’m in fact working on writing a blog about thankfulness…. which I’ll probably never post but that’s ok. Heck, I’m typing this. and I don’t know if I’ll post it or just send it to a few close friends.

Psalm 95:2 tells us, “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” Luckily for you this is a blog and you don’t have to hear my dreadful singing you just get to read my thanksgiving.

There is one area of my life that I've given much thought lately and have wanted to write about but I just haven’t had the words, or maybe I've just had too many words and needed to sort them out. It’s hard to write about being thankful for something when you know many of your friends do not share your thankfulness and in some cases are even hurt by what you are thankful for. With that said, if you are one that was hurt by Mars Hill, please know that I do not mean to throw salt in your wounds but I do wish to publicly thank God for what He has done for me through Mars Hill and maybe even process some of my pain over Mars Hill’s demise.

I've spent almost 14 years of my life at Mars Hill. I've been trained, loved, disciple, rebuked, challenged, and blessed during these years. I've learned more about Scripture, ministry, community, family and most importantly Jesus than I even did in Bible College. Week after week I sat under the best Bible teaching I've ever heard. Pastor Mark brought the words of Scripture to life and ignited in me a fire, and a passion to search out more for myself.

It is under the leadership and preaching of Pastor Mark that I learned what it means to be a godly man, to be tough when defending my family and to be tender with my family. It was here that I first heard the concept of daddy dates, and spoiling my kids as long as they don’t act spoiled. I learned good doctrine, that Jesus loves His church, and that my deepest family is the family I find in the blood of Jesus. I've learned about worship, marriage, legacy, identity, and most of all, I've learned about Jesus. Every sermon I ever heard Pastor Mark preach was about Jesus. I love this church! I love Pastor Mark! Because of Mars Hill and because of Pastor Mark, I love Jesus more, I love my wife more, I love my kids more, I love God’s people more, I love non-Christians more. I’m thankful for this unfathomable blessing on my life.

This year has been a tough one for Mars Hill, one that will see our conclusion. I’m heartbroken about that fact. I've shed countless tears and spend many hours calling out to God in lament over what is a devastating loss to me. Yet, even in my grief my thankfulness for Mars Hill increases. It is here that I learned to suffer well and to share burdens with others.

Pastor Mark said, “Our identity is not in our joy, and our identity is not in our suffering. Our identity is in Christ, whether we have joy or are suffering.” He’s right! In this season of suffering and pain, my identity isn't in Mars Hill or Pastor Mark, it is in Christ.

Pastor Mark also said, “Any Christian who says he does not really need human friends because God is his friend is calling God a liar because He's the one who says we also need human friends.” Again, incredibly applicable to this season, now more than ever I need my friends. I’m experiencing the death of a church I love and I’m not experiencing it alone. With the help of dear friends, I am walking forward through the pain. When I came to Mars Hill I would never have relied on others but I've been well trained.

(Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 ESV)

[9] Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. [10] For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! [11] Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? [12] And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

No person has had a greater impact on my life than Pastor Mark Driscoll. From the first time I heard him speak over twenty years ago to the last sermon he preached at Mars Hill, he’s been faithful to the Word of God. He’s been a great pastor to me and shepherded me well. Anytime I've run into him, he’s asked with genuine care and interest about my life, and listened and prayed for me. From the stage he’s been a theological powerhouse, from the halls of Mars Hill he’s increasingly been a fatherly figure.

Of course it hasn't all been good, I've seen failure, pride and other sins from Pastor Mark and my other leaders. I've also seen Pastor Mark lead in public repentance, in humility and in grace. I’ve seen him and other pastors and leaders (including myself) fail, repent, and then find a new area to do the same. I've learned that repentance is comprised not just of an apology but rather of confession, contrition and change and I've seen that acted out by many.

However the greatest gift I've received at Mars Hill isn't the teaching, the worship, the discipleship, or all the free books I've accumulated over the years, it’s the people. The people of Mars Hill, past and present are what I am most thankful for. It was here that God gave me a family. People my kids know as grandparents, aunts and uncles and even sisters. It was at Mars Hill that He made us family. The memories of Abigail, now 7 in nursery with Joyce Chester rocking her, Chaucer (4) rushing the stage to hug Batman (Cooper Robinson) during worship, Olivia (9) and her adoration for Pastor Travis Tuttle, Saphyre (14) and her deep friendship with youth leader Ashley Nedervelt, Tessa (3) running with pure excitement to greet Aly Perrigo, these are the memories I’ll hold most dear.

I thank God for the family I have because of Mars Hill. I’m going to miss what was but I’m forever grateful for what God did here and for the blessing of family that I get to take with me long after Mars Hill is gone. We have a six Sundays left as Mars Hill but I have a lifetime of family and fond memories. I owe much to Mars Hill and Pastor Mark, he’ll always be a father figure to me but the greatest debt I own is the one paid by Jesus and it was here that I finally came to understand that. Thank you, Jesus for 14 great years at Mars Hill!