I love my Mom

i love my wife

Welcome to the World

My Brother had a baby! Ok, his wife did all the work, but you know what I mean.

William Michael

born 8/26/08.

8lbs 11oz

21 inches long

My Sister Came To Visit

My sister Elise came for a short visit. I loved it! I miss her already.

I just love the way her kids and mine interact and play with one another. Here's a couple pics (my camera was in my hand the whole visit!) of the cousins hanging out.

Clouds and Manna

Life has been really odd (and stressful and confusing and painful and so on) since we closed the doors to Axis.

Since we stepped away from ministry, we've asked the question, "What now?" over and over and over.

I've sent out close to 30 resume's for ministry positions in town and across the state... no takers. What Now?

I've applied at 15-20 restaurants for a server position. I got one job (part-time lunches) only to have the restaurant totally shut down 6 days later.

I now have a part-time job at the same restaurant that my wife works at (that's an interesting dynamic). But still it's part-time and mostly lunches (obviously there's more money to be made at dinner).

We contemplated moving out of town, but we can't come up with a good enough reason. Side note: Hawaii comes up most often as a viable location to move.

One a personal prayer retreat that I took in April, I felt like God was talking to me about clouds. I was reading in Exodus where the Hebrews wouldn't pick up and move until the cloud moved. If you remember the story, it was a cloud by day and fire by night. When the cloud moved, the Hebrews moved. When the cloud stayed, the Hebrews stayed.

I really felt like God was speaking to me about not going anywhere... until the 'cloud' moved. It was a caution for me not to get too wrapped up in my own 'good ideas' but to sit back and wait to see what direction God would take me.

So, we've stayed in Fresno. We have part-time jobs waiting tables. We're not going anywhere until the cloud moves. No matter how green the grass looks somewhere else (like Hawaii), God has asked us to camp in Fresno for the time being. I'm learning to be OK with that.

Part-time jobs mean part-time sized paychecks. It's simply a miracle how we've paid our bills since we've let go of Axis. A miracle, I tell you.

At the beginning of every month, Sarah and I sit down and look at the finances. We budget for every conceivable expenditure. Every month since March, we've faced a significant shortfall. Some months look like we'll be behind $500 and some months have looks as grim as $1,000. But God does a miracle every single month.

We got money back from the IRS. We got the "Stimulus" check. People have given us random 'free' money. Someone even paid our rent one month! I got the opportunity to shoot footage and be an actor in a short film (I still can't believe I got paid!!!) I've gotten a couple of photography jobs. Currently I'm developing a website and making a video for a construction company in town.

My point is that God has supplied just enough money for all of our needs.

On my prayer retreat in April I was reading about the Manna that God provided to the Hebrews. God would supply just enough food for each day. The Hebrews weren't allowed to hoard. They weren't allowed to stress about next weeks meal. They simply had to accept God's provision each day. Each day, His provision was new.

God is supplying for my family every single day. Each day His mercy is new for us. Each month we are looking forward to see how God will take care of us... because this month looks like we'll be $800 in the hole.

Since the close of our church we're constantly asking God, "What's next?". Currently our answer is "Clouds and Manna". We're watching for the Cloud to move and we're picking up our manna everyday.

Daily, I am finding God's divine imprint in my life. I hope you can see God's work in your life everyday.

Yet Another One

Here's the latest "we don't want you letter".

Hi Joe,

Thank you for your willingness to correspond with us regarding the position of Worship & Youth pastor. We have received information from a number of qualified, committed persons and have sought to consider each one prayerfully.

At this time God has led us in another direction. We trust that God will continue to lead you as you seek to serve Him.

In Christ,

I am beginning to wonder if God wants to me to be in vocational ministry at this time.

Another One

Dear Applicant

Thank you so much for your interest in the position of worship pastor. We received an overwhelming number of applications and have filled the position.

We pray that you will find what you are looking for and that God will continue to bless you in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Four Years and Growing

Tomorrow my youngest turns four. I love him deeply.

Putting Myself Out There

Yesterday I hung that final two (out of 6) framed art on the walls of local Florist.

Taking my work to the public is a brand new thing for me, so I'm a bit nervous, I'm excited and I'm cautious. I'm nervous to have other people seeing some of my work and talking about it while I'm not around. I'm excited to have other people seeing some of my work and talking about it while I'm not around and I'm cautious - trying to not to get my hopes up too high.

What AM I hoping for? I'm hoping for sales! I'm hoping for a few phone calls for some custom work!

If you are local, I want to invite you to come down to PETAL. Dana (the owner) is really nice. The flowers are high quality. The store is really simple, quaint and has great art on the walls. You will find a map and an address below.

Here are the 6 pieces that I hung.



PETAL (Corner of Willow and Nees) - Click HERE for a map.
1215 N. Willow Ave #140
Clovis, Ca

Now I'm working on hanging some art on the walls of Cinnamonster!

Kids These Days

This photo depicts what my front yard looked like on Wednesday morning.

Apparently one of Josh's "Friend(s)" thought they'd T.P. our house in the middle of the night.

I think they did a terrible job. This kid (or kids) seemed to lack the motivation to do a good job. What's up with kids these days? Don't they take pride in their work?

Another Rejection Letter

Dear Joe,

Thank you for the time and energy you have invested in pursuing the Student Ministries position at our church. We’ve had a large response to the position, and we’ve narrowed it down to one candidate who seems, for a variety of reasons, to be the best fit for our church culture and this particular role. We’ve decided that this role would not be the best place for you from our perspective.

I pray that you will find the right ministry match where you’ll be able to joyfully serve God and His church.

Gratefully,

Job Hunting in a recession

As a pastor who's looking for a job (ok, it's MORE than just a job, but you know what I mean) I've come to the conclusion that this 'recession' is hitting churches hard. Many churches who were looking for staff are no longer looking and have put a freeze on hiring. I've ran into this many times in Fresno as well as out of town.

In the mean time, I (finally) found a job waiting tables at lunch at a nice restaurant. I worked a total of 6 days and they shut the doors because there's not enough business. So, I started looking again for a job and found another restaurant that is letting me serve tables at lunch.

Serving food at lunch time isn't enough money to support a family of 5.

I'm trusting God to supply for my family. He has been faithful to us so far! We have been able to pay all of our bills since we closed the doors to Axis Community Church! All kudos to God for that!

Going Green?

I have been toying with the idea of riding my bike to work, but then I did the math and now I'm wondering if it's worth it.

I work 3.6 miles from my house at GiGi's Italian restaurant on Friant and Fort Washington. I work 4 days per week.

In order for me to save ONE take of gas by riding my bike to work, I would have to ride my bike for 10 (ten) weeks! One tank of gas cost me about $33.

Um, I'm not sure it's worth it.

Thank God for Hondas.

Life: An Update

EMPLOYMENT:
As you may know, I'm looking for a Jay-Oh-Bee (job).

• The job that I want is here. It's for a College Pastor Position. (Terrible website for such a big church!)
• Also, I'm pretty sure I can take a job as the Worship Pastor here. I've led worship here a couple of times now and I'm pretty sure they'd give me the job if I want it. (one problem is that it doesn't pay very much)
  

So, it's decision time. I think I may put off any decisions until after Easter.

EDDIE:
I signed him up for T-ball! Can you imagine 3 year olds playing T-ball?!

NEW BLOG:
I'm contemplating a foray into Photography as a source of income - freelance, of course. So, I started a photo blog. Check it out here.

HORTON HEARS A WHO:
Sarah and I took Eddie and Hope to see this movie today. It rocked. period.

I was pretty sure that I would enjoy it, but I was shocked at how much I actually liked it! Besides the voices being stellar, and the animation was amazing... the story was profound. I won't bore you with why I found it to be profound. It should suffice to say that my faith was strengthened by the time the movie was over.

Seeing the movie and finding God's imprint in it was my favorite divine moment today.

Breakfast with Eddie

Sarah drove Hope to school. That left Eddie and I alone at the table. We ate our oatmeal and we talked about sugar, camping in the summer and his Batman Suit.

Then we talked about camping in the summer with his Batman Suit.

There aren't many things in life greater than a Dad and Son in their pajamas eating oatmeal, talking about superheros and the great outdoors.

1. I'm thankful for unscripted moments with my children.
2. The morning sun on my kitchen table
3. Sugar.
4. God's divine imprint on my son's life. Created in HIS image.