daddy-daughter-decade

well, my favorite kid is going to be 10 years old in just a few days. I can't believe it. when she was born, I was 30 years old and in full-youth-pastor-mode. I wasn't really sure what kind of dad I'd be, or how my life would be different. but when she came, everything changed- for the best. its been 10 years of giggles, and dancing, and mary poppins, and pooh bear, and trains, and projects, and hugs, adventures, slow-days, and daddy-daughter-days. I don't appear in lots of photos, but here are 10 photos from the last 10 years:

from December 2004-
jane was born on 12/2 at oconnor hospital here in san jose-

from 2005- this is one of maybe a thousand rides on the billy jones wildcat railroad at oak meadow park in los gatos. back then it was a thrill for her, now, its me that wants to ride the tain and jane saying, "ok, just ONE ride!"

from 2006- giants fans for life.

from 2007- jane was a slow-talker. she began communicating through sign language. I love this photo, because we are riding the train at roaring camp, and she is signing the word "train." talking is longer a problem for jane. at all.

from 2008- a hot day at "the train park." apparently this is the best time to snap a photo of jane and dad.

from 2009- swimming at the AVAC swim school- she loved that place. now she is way too advanced of a swimmer to go there!

from 2010- we never miss a chance to watch mary poppins outdoors.

from 2011- in line to ride toy story mania at California adventure. we went through a serious toy story phase during this year.

from 2012- at the warriors game in Oakland. we've got a thing for matchy-t-shirts- as you can see in the next 2 pictures. I could make a whole blog of photos of jane and I wearing matching shirts and hats. she likes to match Deanna too-

from 2013- wearing custom "daddy-daughter-day" shirts (designed by jane herself) on one of our last visits to one of our favorite spots, Gilroy gardens. on a side note, the daddy daughter day shirts are cute, but let me tell you, it takes a lot of guts for a grown man to wear a shirt like this! and when people ask about it, they assume that its some sort of weekend-custody-thing, and kind of look at me with sad eyes. I'm happily married people!

and from 2014- two proud giants fans taking a rare selfie in the family bathroom at the mall.

 

 

if I knew that being a dad would be this awesome, I would have done it a long time ago. i know a lot of kids; but this one will always be my number one favorite. thanks for 10 amazing years Janie! I love you!

 

being a dad is fun.

God is love.

-rev-rob

otter obsession

recently, we got an annual pass to the Monterey bay aquarium- which is a super cool spot in cannery row. in all of our previous visits to the aquarium, we enjoyed the jelly fish the most, but over the last few months, we have become obsessed with sea otters. the aquarium has an excellent otter exhibit with some very sill and playful otters.

 

you can also go outside and watch the otters outside of the aquarium in the monterey bay

and when we get obsessed on something, we go all in. otter toys,

 

 

otter books, homemade-otter-playsets, and otter movies. the aquarium has an awesome movie about otters. and along the way, we've learned a lot about otters. here are some fun otter facts:

// otters have the world's thickest fur.
its over a million hairs per square inch. this is why the otter population is so low- their pets made for excellent winter coats. since their fur is so thick, its very buoyant- which allows otters to easily float on their backs:

otters seem to prefer to be in the water, on their backs. they even sleep in the water, on their backs. sometimes they hold hands so they don't float away from each other.

other times they wrap themselves up in kelp to stay in place during a nap:

since their fur is so thick, they spend most of their time cleaning the sea-gunk out of it. but when you watch them it looks like they are constantly washing their face.

// otters use tools.
otters don't eat fish. which is surprising to me, because I thought that everything eats fish, but otters don't. but they love clams and sea urchins. so to get the clams open, otters will bang the clam against a hard surface like a boat or a rock to get to the meat. you should look this up on youtube. its hilarious.

a lot of otters will just rest a rock on their belly and wack a clam against it to get the clam open. they rest their food on their bellies to make a built in tv tray for their food.

otters even have a secret pocket under their arms where they can keep their favorite clam-cracking-rock or a sea urchin for later.

// otters protect the kelp forest.
sea urchins eat the kelp forest, and otters eat sea urchins. if the otters disappear, so will the kelp forest. that makes them a keystone species.

// otters take parenting very seriously.

otter moms teach their babies how to do everything: how to dive, how to crack shells, and how to survive on the shores of California. if an otter baby is separated from its mother, it needs to get help quick. the aquarium has some foster otter moms who will teach lost babies how to survive in the wild.

// otters are pretty much the cutest thing in the world.
they are super-playful, mischievous, super-social, super-curious, and they do a lot of hugging. they're funny and fun to watch.

 

 

when we go to the aquarium, we pretty much just find a good spot in front of the otters and we are entertained for quite a while. I would really like to have one for a pet, but they can get to be over 50lbs, and they play really rough with each other. and I don't have a giant water tank.

but if you get the chance to see them in Monterey, or out in the wild in morrow bay, take the opportunity. they're super-cool animals.

God is love.
-rev-rob

los gatos creek trail mile markers

my favorite way to start the day is to go to vasona park in los gatos and walk for an hour. I like to review my memory verses, have a prayer time, look at nature, and think about the day ahead. there are some cool little mile markers along the los gatos creek trail (which runs through the park); and I've often wondered where they lead. so recently, I made a goal to find all of them- and along the way, I learned a lot about the los gatos creek trail:

the trail is almost 10 miles long. it goes next to highway 17, under it (which was pretty spooky in earthquake country) and over 17!

the trail starts at the Lexington dam in los gatos.

 

 

here is the ZERO marker-

 

 

pretty much every part of the trail is full of walkers, runners and bikers- but this area is the least populated.

 

here is the half mile marker- its the only one that is damaged. ths stretch is the only part that isn't paved, and the only part of the trail that features a steep hill:

 

there is a big pipe that runs along this area, I have no idea what its for- probably water since its so close to the dam. its covered in moss and dirt and people write their names in it. there is some pretty spectacular scenery out in this area too- giant hillsides, a shaded creek, old trees-

 

 



here is the one mile marker:

 



the 1.5 marker is right along 17, just after downtown los gatos:

the 2 mile marker is behind old town los gatos just after a wooden bridge that goes over the creek-

the stretch between the 2 mile marker and the 3 mile marker is my favorite- and the park I walk on most days. the 3 mile marker is right before vasona park:

 

the 3.5 is at the end of vasona, just before the dam:

 

 

the area between mile 4 and 5.5 goes through a los gatos neighborhood from the park to lark avenue-

 

 

the area between mile 6 and 7 goes through los gatos creek park and all the way to Campbell park. a LOT of people jog in this area:

 

 

the 7.5 marker is at Campbell park and hides under this rock. Campbell park is a great park for the kids and is close to downtown campbell:

 

 

the trail goes behind the pruneyard and through downtown los gatos at mile 8. this is the most urban part of the trail- with the trail actually going through a parking lot at one point:

 

 

 

the trail goes past Blackford Elementary school in Willow Glen and then ends at Meridian Avenue in Willow Glen:

 

this photo is the only one that I googled. I searched for an hour trying to find this marker. it certainly isn't a half mile from the previous one. it may have been removed, or it might have been covered in ivy or something, but it made me super frustrated because I couldn't find it! if anyone knows where it is, please let me know!

 

 

here is where the trail ends at meridian in willow glen:

 



the los gatos creek is an awesome way to get a walk in and enjoy nature right here in los gatos/ Campbell/ willow glen/ san jose. there is good parking, and almost all of it is paved. there's also lots of dog doo-doo stations; and Campbell park and vasona park are 2 of the best parks in the area for kids.

 

check it out!

-rob



 

 



rev-jane

jane and Deanna have been serving in the 4 year olds class at church on Saturday nights. this is a big deal, because jane is a 9 year old child, but she is serving children- and I think its super cool. so does she.

one night, my students were in small groups, and I was looking for some cookies from the ushers' closet, and I walked by the window of the 4 year olds class and saw jane in a rocking chair with a little boy, and she was reading him a story. so cool!

every Saturday night when I come home, I get a review of what happened in kids church (which jane attends) and from the 4 year old class. last Saturday, Deanna started telling me about 4 year old class when Jane interrupted and said, "Mom- I want to tell him!" I could tell this was going to be good.

from what I could tell, it was a very unique situation: there were 3 four year old boys, 2 mom-helpers (one of them was Deanna), and 1 kid helper, Jane. One boy melted down and had to leave- but his mom was the other mom helper besides Deanna. That left 2 boys, and Deanna and Jane to watch them. Deanna was about to start the bible lesson when a second boy was melting down. Deanna had to tell the childrens workers to call his mom, but that would mean that she had to step out for a second with the boy- which left Jane with the third boy. Deanna was only gone long enough to tell the workers to call his mom, but Jane insisted that she could tell the bible story to the third boy.

So she says to me, "Dad- I did the bible lesson tonight."
 "what?!" I asked-
"yup. I did it. I used the puppets and the stuffed animals and I told the little boy how God created all of the animals. he really liked how I used the stuffed animals to tell the story."

I was a little speechless. "Jane- YOU did the bible story?!"
"yup. it was fun!"
we immediately discussed what kind of special reward she would get for doing something so brave, mature and others-centered.

I tell kids about God all the time. and I find a lot of satisfaction in that. now my kid got a taste of what its like to serve God and help others. and I'm so, so pleased, deep down in my heart by that. I've been praying for something like that.

I'm so glad that children's ministry gave Jane that opportunity- now we need to find ways to fan that flame.

God is love.
-rev-rob

coffee story

over the last few years, I have had a ministry to local youth pastors. I love to cheer for them, listen to them and help any way I can. these guys always have awesome new ideas that I can use too.

the other day I was meeting with a local youth pastor who is much younger than me. I went in with the mindset that I was going to help him somehow. he told me about all of the new things going on in his ministry and I told him how awesome that was and how I knew those projects would succeed.

then something happened that I didn't expect- he encouraged the socks off of me.
we were talking about a series he was doing on social media, and he started talking about some of the photos that I had been posting on facebook and instagram and he said something to the effect of, "you know- you seem to be really balanced between work and family. I really respect with way that you spend time with your family. I'm guessing that is why you have lasted in ministry for so long. that's the kind of life I want- and the kind of dad and husband that I want to be when I get married and have a family."

my instinct was to go into a little advice session on how I keep things balanced, but I just couldn't.
I just said, "wow. thank you- coming from a guy like you, that means so much." and I just let those words soak in for a second.

he went on to talk about what the bible says about taking care of your family, and I was still speechless. I just said, "wow- you don't know how much that means to me."

that was a cool thing to hear- that my photos inspired a local youth pastor to be a good dad and husband. I'm still floored by it.

people watch your life. they listen to your words. and you don't know when they are watching or what they will see- but we all have the opportunity to inspire and encourage just by the way we live.

you only get one Today, so-
be awesome today.

God is love.
-rev-rob

correspondence

a mom sent me these photos- her daughter has saved every postcard that I have ever sent her and taped them to her wall:

God is love.
-rev-rob

hume lake 2014

Last week was year number 14 at hume lake! To be honest, I couldn’t have scripted it any better. There were no major discipline issues, no major injuries (no trips to the hospital!), no major vehicle problems- but instead, there was a crowd of students with great attitudes. We had a team of great counselors- and hume always has a great team of workers. The theme was delightful and silly, and still made its point. We had many students make significant decisions for Christ. It seems that all of them had a great experience. Every leader has their own stories from camp, and so this list certainly isn’t an exhaustive list of all of the wonderful things that happened, but this is my personal list of fun memories:

// on the first day, the cabins all got together and had some “get to know you time.” This one counselor asked her group, “what is the thing you love to do?” one girl answered, “I really love singing. Actually, would you mind if I sang you a number?” the counselor said, “sure!” so the girl started to sing, “let it go” from frozen. Except, this wasn’t just a few bars, she sang the entire song- she PERFORMED the entire song, right there on the grass to her cabin. She gave it everything she had. The counselor was surprised by this and wondered if the girls would tease her. To her surprise, the girls were all enjoying the song, and then ALL joined in at the chorus. And they weren’t “singing” or being wacky, they ALL PERFORMED that song with all they had. The counselor thought it was ridiculous; but when she told me the story, I thought it was adorable.

// during the singing time, I looked around, and saw all of the students- even the boys- just going for it. They were really into it- eyes closed, hands raised- part of me was a little jealous, because they don’t do that at my meetings! But mostly I was encouraged.

// I was sitting on the shore of the pond one day with some leaders, when some students started freaking out. A girl had a really bad bloody nose. I went up to her and asked if she was all right. She said, “yeah- it happens all the time. My nose just bleeds. Its like a period.”

I stopped.
“what?!”
She answered- “you know- like a period.”
I looked over at the other leaders and they all darted away so as not to embarrass her with their giggling.
I said, “oh- like a period. Ok.”

// we had this new counselor, ilse. She wanted to be baptized. We don’t usually di baptisms at hume, because we want grandma and grandpa to be able to watch it too. But she insisted and said that if she were baptized at hume, there might be some negative response. So we spent our church time talking about baptism and listening to her testimony. And then I said, “well everyone, LET’S GO OUT TO THE POOL!” and they all let out a cheer and we baptized ilse at the pool at hume lake. All 100 students gave her a hug and cheered for her. So cool!

// I was also reminded that it was at this spot, 13 years ago, that God broke my heart for middle schoolers and called me to serve them:

// I didn’t have a cabin of my own, so I didn’t really have a place to sit at meals. But 2 boys let me sit with them. Every meal this one would tell me the most epic stories. The only problem was that the cafeteria was so loud, and he spoke so quietly that I couldn’t hear a word he said. All I could see was his epic facial expressions.

This boy discovered that I love star wars and the clone wars. We discussed many, many episodes at length over many meals.

 

// on the last night, we were at victory circle, and a boy got a really big splinter on the back of his thigh. I thought about removing it, but this was out of my league. So we went to the infirmary. He laid on his stomach with his pant leg rolled up while a nurse poked and pulled at his skin with needles and tweezers. Each time he would wince and twitch. I kept saying, “hold still! Its just a splinter! Man up!”

He kept saying, “I’m trying rob! Is she using a giant knife on me?!”
After the splinter was out we walked back to his cabin, late at night, and he says to me, “Rob- can you introduce me to Jesus?”
I said, “are you sure? Its pretty late.”
He said, “I’m sure.”
So I had a tract and we read through it. I invited him to pray the prayer at the end- or something like it. He closed the tract and folded his hands and squinted his eyes shut and said, “jesus: I’m so sorry I sinned…” we talked a bit more and then went back to his cabin. All of the boys were still up. I said, “everyone! I have an announcement! We have a new member of God’s family!” and they all cheered and encouraged him.

What a great way to end the week!

 

 

God is love.

-rev-rob

Snow dream

This morning I had a dream that we were having this big work day at church with all if these volunteers and church leaders, when a bunch of big rigs and tractors rolled into the parking lot. Then I remembered "oh yeah! i ordered a snow ball fight and tubing day!" The tractors came all the way from the mountains, so I couldn't send them home. The main guy said "sorry we're late! We should have this set up in time!" They started putting plywood over the lawn and spraying snow on it. Judie the youth secretary came up to me and said, "what is this? Is this a good day to be doing this?" I started to wonder if this was a bad day to do this and if it would distract from the big work day. I wondered if I was going to get in trouble. All of the kids from the work day left their jobs and came over to see what was going on. The main snow guy said, we have ice cream and snow cones for everyone!" "This is going to be awesome!" I thought. The students that were volunteering were thrilled. I started posting pictures on Instagram saying "snowball fight and tubing tonight at 678!" Then I thought, "wow- I really need to get ready for tonight!" Then I woke up and thought, "how am I going to pay for this?! This is going to cost a fortune!" After 13 years of middle school ministry, these are the things that I dream about at night!

holly polly

I got a phone call today that had me really worried. it was from my daughter, jane.
I picked up the phone and said, "hello?"
"dad? sniff, sniff..." (she was crying)
I panicked. was something wrong with my wife? what was wrong?!
"yes! jane! are you ok?! what's wrong?!"
"dad, sniff... you know holly right?"
"holly?! who's holly?!"
"holly...my doll..."

backstory: jane has a ton of polly pocket figures.they all basically look the same, but they all have different hairstyles.



so in jane's world of imagination, they are all sisters, and their names all rhyme: polly, dolly, molly, and her favorite, holly.
back to the story:

"yes- holly- did you lose her? is she lost in your room?!"
"no dad...sniff, sniff...its her...its her paint...sniff...its wearing off! we tried to draw her face back on with marker, but it doesn't look right...do you know where we can get a new one?"

holly's eye-brows and lip-paint had worn off from so much playing. normally I might think,  "who cares?! you have a dozen of those dolls- and their heads are interchangeable, just name a different one holly." but when I heard that broken-hearted voice over the phone, my heart melted. I haven't heard that voice in a long time. my dad-instincts kicked in and I had to do something to help my girl. and I immediately recognized that this was an opportunity for me to step into one of my favorite roles: super-dad. and its been too long since I've saved the day.

I left the office and  met up with deanna and jane. we went to a few stores. the polly we were looking for has blonde pony tails on the sides of her head- and after some detective work, we discovered that this particular polly only came with a specific yellow car:

 

this was not going to be easy to find on this afternoon. probably impossible.

we decided that the only way to restore holly's face-paint and keep her unique hairstyle was to pry the blonde pony tails off of the head that had worn out paint, and glue them onto one of the many polly-heads that we had that had good face-paint. their faces are all the same.

 

so when I got home from work, I boiled the heads to losen the glue. that stuff was stuck on there really good. it took a while, but I pried the plastic hair from the heads.

 

 

then I gorilla-glued the blonde pony tails onto a head that had good face-paint, clamped the hair to the head, and let the whole thing dry for an hour.

when I pulled the clamp off, holly was back, and good as new. my daughter was delighted, her tears were dried, her smile was restored, and I got to be super-dad.

 

I have a feeling that my appearances as super-dad are going to be less frequent in the future, so I've got to take advantage of the opportunites when I find them.

 

being a dad is fun.

-rev-rob