As I think back over the year it is hard to believe that it went so fast!  ’09 started with a mission trip to Nicaragua.  It was a trip that changed so much about me and how I view certain things.  I will never forget the morning I was sitting on the concrete steps at the coffee farm, reading my Bible, looking out over Lake Nicaragua and hearing some of the Nicaraguan girls who were with us start singing worship songs from their tents. The joy that was was so evident in these students lives was something I hadn’t seen in a long time, and something that I want all the time in my life.  There has not been a day since I got back that I have not thought about Nicaragua in one way or another.

2009 was also about getting back to the basics with Thrive.  Our budget was cut pretty good as we headed into the New Year, and I really was good with it and excited about what was ahead for us.  All this happened as I was reading a couple books, Youth Ministry 3.0, by Mark Oestreicher and It, by Craig Groeschel.  I don’t know if it was reading these books at the same time as the Nicaragua trip, but seriously I was excited about the budget cut.  If I really believe that ministry is about relationships and not program then I don’t really need a big budget.  A $5.00 footlong from Subway goes pretty far!  Throughout the year we saw God do some great things in our students lives as well as in our Thrive Staff lives.  We saw God bring about something I had wanted to do for nearly 10 years, in His timing (I wrote about this a while ago), Thrive University.  Our first one was great and our second one is in a week.  Trusting God and His timing is always better than forcing something according to your calendar.

2009 was also a great year with my family.  Ministry schedules can be crazy with a lot of nights, weekends and weeks away from home, so you need to just make time to get away with you family.  In February we surprised our kids with a trip to Disneyland.  The kids thought we were taking them to school and then we asked them if they would rather go to Disneyland (we were pretty sure they would say yes!).  So off we went! Over Spring Break we went camping at Silver Strand with some friends.  It was WINDY and COLD!!  We could only go outside one day so we left early and came home.  Right after school got out we went camping at Santee Lakes.  It was a great time of relaxing, riding bikes and reading.  Just before school started we went to Palm Springs for a couple days.  Yes it was hot!  But the room had great AC and the pool felt amazing.  InSeptember Nikki and I celebrated 14 years of marriage.  We spent a weekend at the National Youth Workers Convention.  I know it sounds romantic, but we really look forward to it each year.  It is a great weekend of reconnecting and remembering why we do what we do.  As we start 2010 we are heading up to Big Bear for a couple days to relax before school starts up again.  I love my wife.  I love my kids.  I am thankful for having them in my life and for putting up with all the craziness that ministry can bring.

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