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2.14.10 Grow into an Emotionally Mature Adult-Part I.mp3 (14922 KB)

            Back during my college days at MidAmerica Nazarene, all of my classmates shared a common enemy.  In fact, my senior year, right before a basketball game against this enemy, I had faculty members begging me to calm down the student body.  “Donnie, can’t you use your influence as Student Body President to convince your fellow students to lay off the other team?”  I just laughed, which wasn’t real polite. 

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2.7.10 Enlarging your soul through grief and loss - learning to fall.mp3 (16225 KB)

            We were feeding my son breakfast the other day but he was not in a happy mood.  He loves the baby cereal and applesauce but for some reason, he had this constant whine going.  So I decided it was time for me to be a father, to impart wisdom to my son, to give the boy a bit of perspective.  I looked Dawson in the eyes and told him, “Son, life sucks and then you die. Deal with it.”  Dawson is going to be speaking soon, so I won’t be able to get away with saying obnoxious stuff like that much longer. 

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            6 years ago, I had a short but memorable conversation.  I had just come on staff at Christ Community Church in Olathe as the resident church planter.  I was going around the office, meeting the other pastors. One pastor shook my hand, then bluntly told me “no one wants a pastor until they’re over 30.”  I was a bit shocked.  I was 26 and didn’t want to wait another 4 years to start this church.  Of course, we started this church anyway, a lot of us were under 30 when we started the church.

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            On Tuesday, my little baby boy will be 11 months old.  I know, “they grow up so fast.”  They really do.  To keep up, we’ve tried to document Dawson’s growth.  We have a blog where we post monthly updates.  Each update has pictures of Dawson next to a teddy bear, so each month you can see how he’s grown in relation to the teddy bear.  We also keep a list of the things he’s doing at each month.  As our little baby journeys from the joys and innocence of babyhood to the terrors and tantrums of toddlerhood, I’ve noticed that each stage of development has its own unique challenges.

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