bus stories part 1

well, I couldn't write that last blog without thinking of some stories! I've got a lot of them! here is one of my favorites:

one time, I was taking a group of kids home from santa cruz and the bus broke down. I called for some other vehicles to take them home, and I waited just off of highway 17 for a tow truck. I called the company and told them that I was from venture church and I needed a tow for my bus. he took a LONG, LONG time to come and get me! when the driver finally got to me he was very excited to meet me. he introduced himself and asked what my name was. when I said Rob his face sank. "what's wrong?" I asked. He said, "I was really hoping that you would be Chip Ingram."

then my face sank.

I've got a lot of bark stories too. so many. I could make my own blog of vomit stores after 20 years in youth ministry. one time we were in the bus and we looked back and it looked like a boy was coughing up blood. we pulled over and he had it everywhere. all over his face, hands, shirt, everywhere. when he got out of the bus we discovered that it wasn't blood, he had eaten a giant bag of fire-hot cheetos and all of that heat and swaying made him car sick. unfortunately he barfed into his hands and touched every seat on his way out of the bus. we had the floors switched from carpet to vinyl soon after.

when I was an intern I was in a bus on the way home from LA. a student said that he had to go potty. I thought he was messing with me because we had just stopped a few minutes earlier. I told him to go in a soda cup. well, he did! I didn't want that thing spilling so we pulled over, and he threw it out. the next week his dad asked me why I didn't let him go potty. I told the dad that I thuoght he was messing with me. the dad said, "rob. when a kid has diarrhea you don't tell him to go in a soda cup!"
wait. WHAT?!
lesson learned.

one time I opened the bus driver-side door with my friend Ed, and we saw in the door hinge that some wasps built a nest. apparently wasps freaked Ed out, because he became a mixture of paranoid and violent. he got a beach towel and waved it at that wasp nest trying to knock it loose. he just ended up making them mad and they chased him all over the parking lot. he ran around the parking lot waving that beach towel and screaming bloody murder. I'm tearing up with happy tears just remembering that moment now. we ended up going to home depot and getting some wasp spray to get rid of them.

one time in mexico we were driving to some remote spot that had no roads. there was this big lump in the road that I had to drive over. I knew that if I drove it in the wrong way, I could literally tip the bus on its side. how do you take a road lump like that? slow? fast? I chose slow. I pulled up slowly and that bus stood there leaning at and angle nearly tipping over. now what? keep driving slowly? gas it? how would I get it tipped back if it fell? would I smash the windows? how would we get home? that moment seemed to last forever. I got the thing over the hump, but that moment haunted me for years.

I used to drive the busses in the morning to shuttle the church workers around the corner so that we could make parking spots for all of the guests at church. we parked right next to a fence that housed a couple of horses. I was sitting in the bus with the door closed, waiting for my friend to step inside. she stopped, picked some flowers, and held them out for the horse. the horse came over to her, and started nibbling the flowers. I opened the bus door, and it made that electronic opening sound, and that horse lost its mind. it freaked out. it stood on its hind legs, and started jumping and bucking. I thought it was going to hop the fence and go wild. I called my friend into the bus, we shut the door and did a duck and cover until he calmed down. super-scary.

one time I drove to the snow in a blizzard. in the bus. not fun.

so many fun and crazy memories! I'll post more as I remember them!
God is love.
-rev-rob

my busses-

yesterday was the end of an era.
after 12+ years, I closed out all of our accounts with all of our vendors for the church busses, and I gave away the keys. I'm not in charge of them anymore! no more safety checks, no more drug tests, no more repairs, no more fueling, no more tow trucks!

the vehicles almost never get used anymore- maybe once a year to haul stuff across town. they are unreliable and deteriorating fast. we decided to donate them to some ministries that will use them on a regular basis to drive people to church- that's what they're for!

its a little sentimental for me- i've had some adventures in those vehicles for sure. lots of laughs- and lots of sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck! I've driven them to mexico, hume lake, and all over the bay area.

here are some fun memories in the bus:
some photos of broken busses!

mexico:

running around with the unis:

that time I took the bus through mcdonald's drive through to get 22 ice creams for 22 middle schoolers:

and my favorite: a rolling party!

 

 

well old friends, #15 and #16, thanks for the memories! thanks for getting us all from point A to point B safely. may your seats be filled with many happy faces for years to come.

 

God is love.

-rev-rob

south bay A to Z:

did you ever play the alphabet game while you were driving? I was doing that recently, and I adapted the game to an alphabet list of all of my favorite things in the south bay area from A to Z. I was thinking of doing a blog for each of them, but I was too impatient:

A: almaden lake park. right across the street from my house. great for walking, running, and watching sunsets.

B: the boardwalk- over in santa cruz. I have so many happy memories of taking the family and the students there. it can be either sketchy or magical, or both.

C: children’s discovery museum- we had passes to this place for years. I loved to see my daughter light up with wonder and imagination. I was so sad to see her grow out of this special place!

D: diddams- jane and I used to go to diddams at 9am and roll a ball back up and down the aisles. the workers were so cool about it. I know all of them by name now. we have loved all of their toy displays and visit often.

E: erik’s deli- the food is good- and the atmosphere is even better. they were doing mason jar cups way before it was trendy. I’ve been to almost all of them across the bay area.

F: the flea market-this place makes me feel like I’m in another country. no one speaks English, and there is so much multisensory stimulation from all around: live mariachi music, fresh fruit and vegetables as far as the eye can see, vendors yelling out prices and unbeatable deals on everything.

G: G is for great: the great mall, great America, and the Great Bear in los gatos. the coolest coffee shop ever- and the CCC’s are heaven in a glass.

H: H-parks: history park, hakone gardens, and happy hollow. all 3 of these spots are beautiful fun, and full of history.

I: IMAX- especially the one at the tech museum- we love going to see those movies about nature and space. the entire tech museum itself is pretty awesome.

J: the jungle- my kid has been enjoying this place since before she could speak. she learned how to jump, slide, play videogames, and ride rides at this fun little spot for kids. it’s a great place to go when its raining outside.

K: Kelley park- this spot has 3 parks in it: the history park, happy hollow and the Japanese friendship garden- all are special places for us. jane rode her first roller coaster at happy hollow. we love their café and the climbing area. we love to feed the fish at the Japanese friendship garden.

L: los gatos- especially the downtown area- great shops, great restaurants, and always a great view of the mountains. this spot is rich in local history.

M: Malibu grill! my favorite restaurant. hands down. my second office. remember that show cheers? this is my cheers.

N: novitiate- this is a big white building that overlooks highway 17. it’s a retirement home for priests, and is full of old trails statues and breathtaking views. this is a good spot to go and think about things-

O: oak meadow park- possibly my favorite spot in the south bay. I have spent countless hours on these trails by myself, and on the playground, train and carousel with jane. so many happy memories here.

P: the pruneyard- I liked it more when barnes and noble was there, but this is a great spot to get some food or to go shopping.

Q: quicksilver park- this is another area rich in local history and natural beauty. I’ve hiked every step of every trail at quicksilver. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

R: railroads- san jose has the lightrail, the caltrain and the billy jones wildcat railroad- I love riding all of them!

S: sports- the south bay is close to san Francisco and Oakland, and now you can see the 49ers in santa clara! and I love to watch the sharks at the shark tank downtown. and don’t forget municipal park where the san jose giants play. this is such a fun activity for the family. inexpensive local baseball- great food, safe environment. I like it best at night- there is zero shade in the day!
it’s a great place to be a fan!

T: theme parks! we have great America, happy hollow, the boardwalk, and we’re not far from discovery kingdom. this is a great place to be a ride warrior!

U: mt. umunhum- I always know where I’m at if I can see that building on top of that hill- I heard that they will open it to the public soon-

V: venture church! my church and my work. great teaching and so many wonderful friends and memories there.

W: the weather. seriously. it’s the best anywhere.

XYZ: zoos! again, happy hollow has a fun zoo, so does Oakland and san Francisco.

there were so any of these spots where I wanted to say, “I have spent countless hours here.” where did I get so many hours? anyway, whether you’re new to the area or a local, go out and enjoy the most beautiful area in the world: the valley of heart’s delight, the garden city, san jose california!

God is love.

-rev-rob

elsa-

so-
we were a little late getting on the frozen bandwagon.
I figured that it was going to be all about princesses and boyfriends, and that's not our thing. but we eventually saw it. we saw it so late that we were one of the only people in the movie theater!

when jane first saw it, she was a mess. the parents died. the sisters were estranged. ana died momentarily. we were convinced that we wouldn't see it again. but eventually we did. and then again, and again. and then the dvd came out and we saw it MANY, MANY more times.

so- when we get on a kick like this, jane usually like to get the toys and act out the scenes in her room. so I went on a hunt for ana and elsa dolls. not big barbie ones, just figures. they were gone. all of them. everywhere.
not a target. not at walmart. not at toys r us. not at the disney store.
through this process I've learned that toys r us gets their shipments in on Tuesdays. if you want a toy really bad, you need to go in right when they open on tuesdays. well- a lot of people apparently know that secret too, because the new toys disappear almost as soon as these places open.
disney store gets their new toys on wednesday. I stood in a long line for almost an hour, but no ana or elsa figures.

finally at one point I got ana- but no elsa. I was starting to think she didn't really exist.

I called a local toy vendor (who will remain nameless) on new toy day, and asked them if they had elsa and they said, "no- but sunnyvale does. they have 6."

sunnyvale is like 30 minutes away. what the heck I figured, and went out there.
I walked in, holding my breath. would I really actually find it?

I was unfamiliar with this store, so it took me awhile to find the frozen section. when I found it, I found ana. no elsa. I grabbed ana and went to the cashier.
"I'm looking for this same toy- except elsa."
the lady said "we're all out. there was a line at the door way before we opened."
my head sunk.
"I came all the way from san jose. they said you had 6."
the lady said, "wait here."

she went into a back room, had a talk with some people, and came out with elsa.

I almost collapsed. I felt a surge of relief and excitedment all over. I couldn't believe that I was actually holding it. I had been searching for months.

the lady told me that she was saving it for someone, but wanted me to have it. she has been where I was- she felt my pain and had pity on me.
she was curious about when I was going to deliver it- she was almost as excited as I was to know that jane would get it.
I thanked her profusely and went online and said lots of nice things about her and her store.
I felt like indiana jones finding a lost treasure.
it was a rush of adrenaline.

I texted the photo above to deanna. jane was going to a new dentist that day and she would need a prize for the bravery that she would surely display.

they came by my office and I gave elsa to jane. she was completely surprised- we had pretty much given up on ever finding elsa.

this morning I was laying in my bed and I could hear jane acting out an epic scene from frozen in her room; and I heard jane's elsa and ana chatting with each other and singing their songs- and it made me feel happy and accomplished.

being a dad is fun.
-rev-rob

E.D.A.

about a year ago I blogged a story about my friend Ken who was raising money for a charity, and asked me for a donation while I was at church. I also told how he encouraged me to cherish my wife, as he had lost his wife Alma a few months earlier. He and Alma had been married for 54 years. This has to be Ken's new mission in life, because I often hear of Ken encouraging other men to cherish their wives- and every time he sees me, he asks me how I am cherishing Deanna.

last sunday morning, I was walking out of the church service and into the middle school ministry. the hallways were crowded and I was shuffling through, and there was Ken and his clipboard, a year later-

he said, "rob! can I count on you for a donation?" of course I agreed and started filling out the form on his clipboard; and then (like clockwork!) Ken started asking me about how I was cherishing Deanna. he said,
"you know, Rob, I always ask all of my married friends how they are cherishing their wives..."
(by the way, if you didn't already guess it, Ken is a senior citizen, and when he talks, its very slow and charming)
I saw it coming and said, "yes- you have encouraged me about that before- I really appreciate it..."
he went on to say, "you know, so many men get so convicted when I ask them how they are cherishing their wives- because so many men neglect that part of their lives- you know, we all get so busy with our work and schedules. when alma was alive, I used to forget to cherish her too, so I would remind myself to cherish her by leaving post-it notes around my house that said 'E.D.A.' Every Day Alma. I wanted to remind myself to cherish Alma every day. You know Rob, she used to find my post-it notes around the house and say, 'what's this all about Ken?' and eventually she figured it out. I thought that it bothered her to see those notes around the house, but now that she's gone, I have discovered that she saved my post-it notes in her journals and in her bible and her books. it seems like I'm always finding my old notes that say E.D.A."

at this point, I was just trying to get this form filled out as soon as possible before I burst into tears.

Ken has given this talk to so many men at so many times, that it wasn't emotional for him at all. he just kept on going-
"so Rob- for me it was E.D.A. and I encourage you to cherish your wife every single day. you know Rob, when I get to heaven, the first person I want to see is Jesus. but after that, I'm looking for Alma! I know that there is no marriage in heaven, but I just want to see her again and hang out with her. I can't wait to see her again."

I finished the form, I handed him the clipboard, I thanked him for his encouragement and his friendship and moved on before it could all sink in- I mean, I had to go and talk to a crowd of middle schoolers! I had to hold it together!

but I'll pay Ken's encouragement to me forward to you:
cherish the people in your life. let them know that you love them today. E.D.A- or whatever your loved ones initials are. enjoy every minute of it.

God is love.
-rev-rob

how would do today over again?

here is a thought that bI heard earlier this week that I thought I'd share with you:

picture yourself at the end of your day, lying in bed and ask yourself this question:
"if i could go back and do this day over again, what would I do differently?"

how would you answer?
now, instead of asking that question at the end of the day, picture yourself actually getting that chance to do today over at the beginning of your day;
and go and DO the thing you will eventually wish that you DID.

so, for me, if I was on my bed tonight, I would say, "if I could do this day over again, I would go back and have some delicious food over at the malibu grill, and enjoy some good conversation with some good friends."

and then instead of looking back with regret over what I didn't do, I just worked forward; and then I went to malibu grill, and had some delicious food, and enjoyed some good conversation with some dear friends.

tomorrow I will answer that question differently, and it will lead to more awesome experiences and conversations.

so- tonight-
what will you wish that you would have done?
you now have the opportunity to go and DO that thing that you will eventually wish that you would have DONE!

and instead of living with regret over what you didn't do,
you can live with the satisfaction that you had an awesome day.
you only get one TODAY,
so be awesome today.

God is love.
-rev-rob

lectio divina:: like 15

the other day I walked past jane's room and she looked particularly sad. she was playing with her second new playset that she bought with her own money; a bakery for her dolls, but she didn't seem to be enjoying it much. she just stood there, moving the dolls around slowly.

"what's the matter Jane?"
"I can't find a loaf of bread."
"you mean this one?" I asked-
"no- there are three of them. I can only find 2 of them."
I started looking around. I opened a drawer and found one billion plastic accessories.
"here is a loaf of bread!" I said.
"that's not the right kind of bread. its too long. I'm looking for the shorter bread."

so we looked all over her room. under the bed, behind the bookshelf, in the drawers, no bread. no bread = blue girl.

"let's walk backwards a bit. when did you last see the bread?"
"well, Sarah had the bread in the basket of her bike. she was bringing it home from the bakery when she fell off of her bike. she fell over there-"

so we looked over where Sarah (the little doll on the left) fell off of her bike- which led to a gap between Jane's desk and her dresser- we pulled away the furniture, and there was the bread, resting on a ledge on the side of Jane's dresser. I would have never found it, but Jane spotted it immediately. that girl went from gloomy to elated. she rushed in to tell Deanna the good news.

what surprised me is that she even noticed that it was missing. that playset came with 85 pieces, but jane immediately knew when one was missing. she even had other bread loaves that she could have used, but was not interested. she wanted that particular piece. the set wasn't complete without it. to me, it was just a plastic piece of bread, but to jane it was very important.

it reminded me of that story that jesus told about the woman looking for her lost coin in luke 15:
"suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? and when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’"

it sounds just like jane and her plastic bread! but then Jesus continues- and says that God is like Jane when she is looking for her lost bread- He concludes the story by saying:

"in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

God is searching for His lost kids just like a lady searches for her lost coin, or like a shepherd searches for his lost sheep, or like a nine year old searches for her lost plastic bread. those lost kids may be insignificant to you and me, but to Him, they are very, very important. and when He finds them, He is elated. the entire realm of heaven celebrates.

so if you're off hiding, let Him find you.
and if you've been found, join Him in His search.

God is love.
-rev-rob

jane and the seniors part 2

this morning jane and I went to breakfast at mcdonald's, and again, it was a mad dash to get out of the door on time. "we don't want to miss the seniors dad!"
we got there about 8:40, and we got to the window and looked in, and there they were! jane was so excited to see her friends. when she walked in, they all lit up.
"she's here! look who is here!" they said.
she made a bee-line to them and started checking in with each of them; and handing out hugs. I ordered the food and snapped a couple of candid photos of them.

I brought the food to our table and jane started filling me in on everyone- on patty's cat and how frank used "the old, shake-your-hand-and-leave-two-dollars trick."

they left promptly at 9, and another group of senior ladies quickly swooped in on their table. (there must be some sort of unofficial schedule out there of which groups of seniors use the big table at mcdonald's and when.) each one of our friends stopped by to say goodbye to us, and to our delight, each of them were wearing their red and yellow bracelets that jane had made for them. I think they must wear them everyday just in case jane shows up! patty said, "you know, I've been getting so many compliments on my bracelet- and I always say that my friend jane made it for me." we were tickled pink!

we made them happy, and they made us so happy! jane and I were chatting afterward that you can make someone happy just by saying kind words and being friendly to them. its amazing to me how inexpensive it is to be kind, but how the valuable the returns and effects can be.
so- be kind to someone today!
 make someone happy- and watch that happiness radiate back to you.

it reminds me of something jesus said a long time ago:
"give, and it will be given to you. a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap."

God is love.
-rev-rob

jane and the seniors

I was looking through some old photos and found these pictures and thought I would share the story behind them-

jane and I often go to breakfast together on my days off at mcdonald's. it seems like every time we're there, we see this group of seniors chatting together, drinking coffee, laughing and telling stories. jane has been very curious about these people- who jane always refered to as "the seniors." what are they talking about? why are they there? who is in charge? for weeks, she would sit near them and listen to their stories. there was something about them that she found delightful. she wanted so badly to be friends with them but didn't know how to enter the group- or if she was even allowed to.

every now and then, jane wants something that I'm not very interested in buying for her. usually because its a little too expensive. in those cases, I'll often give her a dare and see how serious she is about getting this new toy. usually I'll dare her to try a food that she has never had before. if she tries it, I'll usually pony up for the toy.

one day we were at mcdonald's and jane was interested in a new toy and I dared her to go and make friends with the seniors. to my surprise, she went for it! she gathered up all of her bravery and went and introduced herself. and they were delighted to meet her. I snapped some quick photos to show deanna:

now whenever we go to mcdonald's in the morning, we always look for the seniors. I always go order breakfast, while jane checks in with her pals and hands out a few hugs. we have learned that they keep a tight schedule: they are there from 8am to 9am only. when we get ready to leave for breakfast, there is always a bit of a rush- we don't want to miss seeing the seniors! a lady named patty seems to run the conversation and shows interest in everyone. (jane is standing next to her in the second photo.) a man named tony always seems to find quarters in jane's ear. sometimes even dollars! I need tony to check MY ears!

recently jane made rainbow loom bracelets for all of her senior friends. she made them red and yellow- mcdonald's colors. she walked in and handed each one of them a bracelet- and again, they were charmed. I usually say hello to them too- and they always marvel at how friendly and confident that jane is. its a fun little aspect of our lives that makes me happy- and proud.

God is love.
-rev-rob

My daughter the business lady

(I'm posting for the first time using the blogger app for my iPhone!)

Jane got a bracelet making kit from her uncle Ross and fell in love with it. She started making bracelets for everyone and soon wanted to sell them. She pressed us repeatedly about this, and finally Deanna let her sell outside of our house for one hour. It was a hit with the neighbors and she got the bug for business. There was no stopping her. She made a few purchases, and then set her heart on a calico critter playset that was just under $100. She had a goal and she was focused on it. She made dozens of bracelets and became quite the sales lady. 

Today she took her bag of money over to automobuild toy store in Los Gatos. 

She found her toy and paid the worker in cash:

Now she is one proud kid and I'm one proud dad!

We've been talking that when you take a skill, and add hard work and self-control, you can buy something really special. Great job jane!

God is love. 

-rev-rob