Faith, Family, Leadership, & Advice for My Kids
Here are some links that are associated with an old ministry I was involved in called “The Wave.” If you were a part of it, you should check out these sites and go down memory lane a bit.
http://zachmcnair.com/~soundw/thewave/v2/
http://joneichler.com/post/970445977/the-wave-today-zach-mcnair-tweeted-that-he-found
http://stevecorn.com/2009/09/simon-says/
http://stevecorn.com/2009/11/mutemath-concert/
http://stevecorn.com/2007/05/its-a-small-world-3/
These are just some pics of some t-shirts I’ve either used or designed over the years for different youth trips and programs. It’s amazing how many memories are conjured up when I look at them.
These are only a few. I can think of some more but I guess I’ve lost the shirts over the years. Let me know if you’ve got any of the missing ones. I’d love to collect pics of them all and post ’em here.
When I was a little kid, I remember my dad taking me to the beach. I wanted to go out where the big boys were in the “Big waves.” He took me. The water knocked me over and I tossed and turned in the waves, but dad held on to me when I couldn’t stand on my own. He was my strength when I was weak. Sounds a lot like God to me. Anyway, I have an old picture from those days. I love it.
I took my son, Kasen, to the beach the other day and we tried to capture the same image again with me as the father this time. I hope I can be the strength that Kasen needs as well as my dad was for me.
Here are the pics:
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Yep – we found out yesterday, that we’re gonna have little boy! All his parts are in correct order too. He has two kidneys, a stomach, a spine, two arms and legs, etc. . . I was even able to see the four chambers of his heart. It was all pretty amazing. They said he was 10 ounces right now so considering that I drink lots of 20oz drinks, I figure that means I could drink him twice right now. (Sorry, maybe I’m sick, but I thought that was kinda funny.)
Anyway, we’re kickin around the name Kasen Mathew. Let me know what you think. That’s why we haven’t decided for sure. We wanna see what the name means to people and what kind of memories or thoughts it stirs up. According to my research it means (1) “purity” in one language, (2) “shining upon mankind” in another and (3) “protected by a helmet” in another. The middle name “Mathew” is Miranda’s maiden name.
Anyway, here are some pics. I know, I sound like an idiot proud father here, but I guess that’s what I’ve become. This first one is his profile.
Here he is smiling at the camera. (Seriously, you could see him opening and closing his mouth.)
He waved at the camera in this one. His hand is near his face.
Whoa! Last night, I had class – it was the second of our 5 Gospel Literature classes at College for Biblical Studies. Anyway, there’s a guy in my class (Justin) who was going to sing a song for the group ’cause it went along with our discussion on Matthew 1. ( Andrew Peterson’s song “Matthew’s Begats” on Behold the Lamb of God – By the way, you should all check out Andrew Peterson – He’s an amazing writer. www.andrew-peterson.com )
Anyway, he had a guitar player who joined him, named Tim Dillon. I would never have recognized him, but Tim was one of the students who came to a youth program I was a part of in Tomball called “The Wave.” It was a skate ministry and by God’s grace there were lots of youth who came that were not from our church. For that matter, I’ll just be blunt and say they were really “rough” kids with drug problems and all sorts of issues. Some of the people in our church, wouldn’t let their own children come ’cause they didn’t want their kids around “those” kids. Anyway, come to find out, Tim was one of “those” kids. He said that he came every week just to skate, but most of the time he was stoned when he got there. I certainly knew that we had quite a few who were coming like that, but we still had the opportunity to let them know they were loved and to tell them about Jesus so I figured it was a good thing. Anyway, I’ll never really know a whole lot about what God accomplished during those days with those students, but I feel confident that there were seeds planted which with God’s help will grow and produce amazing fruit.
Tim has come to know Jesus now. Interestingly enough, he is a pastor’s son and it was after watching some friends die, that he became serious about knowing God. He plays guitar for an artist named Jimmy Needham now too. (Check him out @ www.jimmyneedham.com) It’s great to see that God is still at work among us all even when we don’t have a clue.
When I was really little (like 4 or 5 years old) my parents took my brother and I on a vacation to Galveston. We lived in Oklahoma at the time so it was the first time I had ever seen the beach. I don’t remember a whole lot, but I do remember playing in the water right next to the beach. I also remember watching all the “big” kids playing out in the “big” waves. Like most kids, I wanted to be a “big” boy and play in the “big” waves too.
I asked my dad to take me out there and I remember how he helped me get out to those waves. (The waves probably were just over my dad’s waist, but they were way over my head.) Anyway, I remember holding his hand and how the waves would knock my feet out from under me and throw me around, but that my dad would never let go of me. Even when I couldn’t hold on to him, he was still able to hold me.
This story is a picture of the verse in Ephesians 4:14 that says, When we become mature in Christ, “we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men.” I think about how God can hold me when things get out of control and that if I live my life with Him, it’s like having my dad right there next to me. When the “big waves” hit, He can keep me safe and with Him, I’m able to venture out into the deep waters of life. With Him I can even look at the waves coming toward me and not feel scared, but even a little “playful” as I enjoy the ride with Him.
