Some Snapshots from the Men's Retreat

I just got home from my church's men's retreat which was held at a cabin ran by the gracious folks from the Calvary Chapel Conference Center in Twin Peaks. And it was refreshing to say the least! I'll be posting my thoughts on it later this week. In the meanwhile here are some snapshots from the weekend.

Go. Eat. Drink. Do.: Slater's 50/50

Me and my sister Monica like to throw down (eat) at unusually good and local restaurants every month. The last place we went to easily made my favorites list, Slater's 50/50. If you're in Orange County and haven't been here yet, shame on you! This place will change your life.

You can also find it on Yelp.

Bearing and Leaving Loads

“We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday's burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it.” - John Newton

Baptisms and Spaghetti

Alex came to know Jesus through one of our community groups and today we baptized him and his girlfriend Marcy who also knows and loves Jesus. Sheer awesomeness. This is a real encouragement for not only those of us who were fortunate to see God at work in Alex's life over these last few years, but also an encouragement to all community groups and missional communities everywhere. Our God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save indeed.

And our God is mighty to grace us in the middle of our suffering. I say this because last week we had 3 deaths in our church. And we've been going through a series on Heaven and Hell at the same time! It's been sobering for our little church, but it's also been a time for us to reflect on the good news of the triumph of Jesus over sin, death, our idols, condemnation, and hell in a way that hits home. These baptisms were a sweet thing for us at New Hope today. And we are grateful for it. Oh, and we had some epic homemade spaghetti afterward too!

Thank you, Lord.

Rain, Rainbows and Redemption

Had a huge rainbow earlier today here in So Cal. Made me think of this...

"Hard rains remind us of God's power to destroy us by a flood and rainbows remind us of his promise that he won't. We don't deserve rainbows." - Burk Parsons

Insta-Joy

Okay. The only thing better than getting the latest Modern Ref in my mailbox today is seeing this little man on Friday. My godson, Coen.

Enjoy the Little Things

Had a lousy day of sorts today. At least my favorite publication on the planet came in the mail. And as Woody Harrelson wisely said in Zombieland, "Gotta enjoy the little things."

Soon.

Soon, God willing. Soon.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words, Right?

"We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first." - Oswald J. Smith

Random, But Forever Noteworthy

On a wall outside of The Crab Cooker in Newport Beach, California.