I've been trying to convince myself the past couple of weeks that March and April aren't going to be that busy, that I'll have some type of lull before the tidal wave that is the summer. But try as I may, reality is shedding its light on a continued busy time. And busyness really bothers me; so much of society is go-go-go and yet I believe in a completely different point of life or way of life, but don't live that faith as I'd like -- I allow the busyness to dwell around and within.

There is always something to do. There is always someone to talk with. There is always some place to be. Go, go, go.

I don't want to pray for energy to do it all; I want to live in his peace and pace, dictated by his Spirit, not the spirit of the age.

Lyrics from a ZOE song comforting me as I type:

All who are thirsty, all who are weak
Come to the fountain, dip your heart in the stream of life
Let the pain and the sorrow be washed away
In the waves of his mercy as deep cries out to deep

Come, Lord Jesus, come

Come, Lord Jesus, reign in my heart. Be mighty within me as I struggle to completely trust that your grace is sufficient, your provision is abundant, and your presence is near.

Thank you for your prayers for Josh. I went with some of our shepherds this morning to his house for a time of prayer and anointing for his healing. He's made progress with his short-term memory this week, though still can't remember most of the trip. His family is a family of faith and we had a great time praying and communing with God this morning. I'm thankful to have elders who love to pray and cherish times like this morning.

Luke arrived in town yesterday around 3:00; it's been great having him around. Several of my friends were able to come over last night and eat with us; Fouad and I made chicken stew and corn bread -- thanks to my Grandma's recipe and some help over the phone from Mom. Luke and I have been grazing around the house today, watching the Olympics, college basketball, and NBA All-Star practices. We may catch a movie this afternoon or evening.

I'm still wiped out from the ski trip. Maybe in a day or two I'll have caught-up on my sleep. We had a great trip, but also a couple of injuries. The blessings went well on Sunday night; I think the seniors were honored and appreciative of it. As far as the injuries go, there were two: John (dislocated knee cap) and Josh (concussion). John is doing well; it looks like it will be about three weeks and he'll be back to walking normally. He injured the same knee a couple of years ago, but this wasn't as bad an injury as before.

Josh, though, while doing better and seeming to improve, is still having difficulty remembering the trip. He fell back on his head attempting a 360 on his snowboard. The CAT-scan did not reveal any damage; he's got a follow-up appointment with his doctor on Friday. Please, please be praying for him to heal -- and heal soon. He's a sweet kid and is bummed out that he can't remember the great time he was having on the trip before he got hurt. His family would greatly appreciate your prayers.

On a different note, my brother is coming to San Antonio at the end of the week. I'll be meeting him in Dallas on Friday so he doesn't have to drive down by himself. He'll be in town for a few days before heading off to Albuquerque next Thursday or Friday; it will be great to have him in town. I'd planned to meet up with him in California next month, but that's fallen through as of now. Hopefully I'll be able to arrange another Boston-type rendezvous in the Western part of our country, along with meeting him in Hawaii. We shall see...the best laid plans of mice and men...

I've been thinking quite a bit recently about blessings. Most of this has come about from some words from Nouwen in Life of the Beloved and my finishing it as I was preparing for our ski trip. Each year at our ski retreat, I get to share some stories and memories of each of the graduating seniors; it's kind of like the beginning of the end for them. As I thought about our upcoming graduates and all the memories I have of them, I wanted my words to them to be more than a recounting of past events and some thoughts about potential and promise -- I want this to be something more than me rambling about. I really want it to be a time of blessing: a time for them to hear words and truth spoken aloud to them, about them, drawing out of them the reality of whom God is making them to be.

I ran across an Irish blessing during my senior year of high school and shared it with our valedictorian to read during her speech on graduation day:

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
May the rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May the Lord hold you in the palm of his hand

So I've been writing out ideas for blessings similar to the above for each of the seniors. I'm still not sure how to present this; I don't want it to be "look at me and what I think about you and how cool I am" but I recognize that my role in their lives has some significance and it will be good for them and their peers to hear me draw out God's fingerprints on their lives and hearts. I hope it's a time that will be special for them. This class is the first class that's had me as their youth minister for all of high school and that's special -- not detracting from previous or coming classes, but this is unique. Anyway, I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun and very memorable for all of us. I hope I can keep my words somewhat brief because we'll be getting on the bus to head home once I'm done...but I won't rush this.

(I forgot to bring my USB wire to load pics from camera to laptop, thus the absence of pics. I guess it will have to wait unti next week.)

Scary: Losing your phone on the slopes.

Exhilarating: Stopping by the Lost and Found booth at the end of the day on the way back to the condos and finding out that your phone was turned in!

Ironic: No reception anywhere to use said phone.

(For those who heard about a bus wreck in Colorado, it was not our group. We arrived safely this morning and had a great first day on the slopes. I don't know any details about the wreck but I'm sure there are families needing prayers tonight.)

I'm taking off today for our high school ski trip. We're headed to Durango, Colorado by charter bus; it should be about a 15-hour trip, maybe 16. Fun, fun, fun. Fortunately, the VCR on the bus has been replaced by a DVD player, allowing us to watch a few more current movies than we have in the past. There's a total of 38 of us going, so keep us in your prayers as we travel, ski, and build relationships. This is kind of the beginning of the end for the seniors, so it's always a special trip for them; this year, there are seven of them going. I'll share some words Sunday night at our last devo about each of them; I hope it's a time of blessing for them and a time they'll be encouraged and recognize their Belovedness in our Father's eyes. Look for pictures in the next few days...

From one of my senior guys, shared with me Saturday night:

"Hey, Adam, no offense...but your blog is kind of boring."

So much for my attempt to be Blogger of the Month for February...

I usually dislike anonymous notes. There have been several times that someone has left a note to all elders and ministers at church, complaining about something that happened, but leaving the complaint unsigned. If you've ever considered doing that, in any setting, please don't. Personally, I don't like to waste paper and since those types of letters go straight to the trash, I feel another small part of a tree didn't get to serve its purpose usefully.

But there are, I've realized, some anonymous messages that are quite encouraging. Northside has encouragement cards in one of the hallways that can be filled out by anyone and sent to anyone in our directory. Our office even looks up the address of the recepient and puts it in the mail. I received one of these about a week ago and it rests on my desk at eye-sight so I can be reminded of its kindness. Someone wrote:

Someone once told me that it's nice to know when someone is praying for you -- I just wanted to let you know that every morning I pray that God will give you wisdom, courage and strength to keep doing his work.

How awesome is that? I realize that there have been prayers offerred on my behalf for a while without my knowing -- like my parents praying for me all the time I was growing up and me not realizing the extent as it was happening. (Those prayers, as I was growing up, I believe are the reason Luke and I didn't seriously injure ourselves more often than we did because, if nothing else, he really shouldn't be able to walk and run as well as he does after some of the crazy stunts he pulled as I watched...and sometimes encouraged because I was scared to go first.) But even now, how good it is to know that someone is holding me up in prayer as I am holding others up who don't know about it. I think there's a lot to be said for us praying for each other and letting each other know, but it's not a bad thing to not be able to tell everyone you pray for that you are doing so. There's a unity of the Spirit that we touch when praying like this.

Regardless of the anonymity or not, hold one another up in the name of Jesus.

As I've finished Life of the Beloved, Nouwen mentions in the Epilogue that after his friend read through the manuscript, the friend told him he hadn't really accomplished the goal he'd set: write something about spirituality that we can understand and grasp. The term "beloved" did not resonate with the friend; there were broader questions that he felt needed to be answered before what was written made sense.

I was terribly disappointed to read this, though not quite surprised. I wondered as I read what it would sound like to someone without a foundation in Christ and a familiarity with the Bible. The friend told Nouwen that he felt Nouwen was much farther along spiritually and was almost writing in another language, which rightfully bothered Nouwen because he thought himself to be able to communicate the most beautiful and beloved truth to most everyone, especially a close friend. Though the friend may not have connected with what was written, I certainly did.

Reading through those pages, I felt a gentle leading and reminding of what being loved by God is all about. It was a soothing experience, one in which grace seemed to spill and seep into crevices of mine long darkened by the lies of this world. I felt as if a wise disciple had taken me by the hand and led me through a familiar tapestry of beautiful gardens, reminding me of my beginning, my present, and my future, of where I'd come from and what story I was folded into.

Eternal life is not some great surprise that comes unannounced at the end of our existence in time; it is, rather, the full revelation of what we have been and have lived all along.