On my podcast today I talked about how to RECLAIM OUR ZEAL IN MINISTRY when we feel it waning.

The Theme Verse was:

Romans 12:11 Never be lacking in ZEAL, but keep your SPIRITUAL FERVOR, serving the Lord.

I used the letters of the word Z.E.A.L. to offer four ways to rediscover ZEAL:

Z = Zero in on What Matters Most (get away from the distractions that pull you away from what drew you into ministry in the first place)

E = Encourage Others (get the focus off yourself)

A = Abandon Busyness (get away from ministry periodically)

L = Love Jesus (get back to relationship over service)

As I mentioned on the show…why do I have my son help wash my car? Is it because he is actually helpful? Do I need his help? No. In truth, I can wash the car faster and better without him. He actually hinders the task a bit.

I let him help because he wants to be a part of what his dad is doing. We wash the car together out of a loving relationship, not out of my need for his assistance.

Guess what?

Our service to God is exactly the same.

God doesn’t need our help. In fact, truth be told, our efforts probably hinder and hurt God’s efforts. However, He allows us to work with Him because He loves us and understands that we want to work with our Dad. Get this: We serve God out of a loving relationship, not because of God’s need for our assistance.

It makes you wonder why we work so hard…and often without God. It would be kinda like my son trying to wash the car without me. Pretty pointless, don’t ya think?

Listen to the free webcast.

We laugh and laugh as the tower crashes down. At the same time, we want to see how many chairs we can add, hoping we can make it even higher than the previous game. Oh, how nervous we are as we try to add chair after chair to our wobbly tower, wondering if we can somehow defy gravity and fate – always having more chairs than the laws of physics will allow us to stack. We have never been able to stack all the chairs that came with the game. Either we aren’t very good stackers, or the game creators were generous (or cruel) in the amount of chairs they provided with the game. We keep on trying to build a tower with all of them, but it always crashes down before we can make them all somehow fit.

It kind of reminds of of life and ministry.

I am the chair at the bottom, and my life and ministry tell me there is a whole box of things that I can add on top of myself. I keep on trying to stack them – oh so many things – but the reality is, I simply can’t ever get it all done. I’m a failure every single week. The chairs come crashing down, and I hope that maybe next week I’ll do a better job at stacking the chairs of life. Can you relate?

Sooner or later, we have to accept that life came with more chairs than can be stacked! Perhaps it was a cruel joke; more likely, God was being generous with all the opportunities we have each day. Perhaps it’s just that we are attempting too much. Remember, Jesus said HIS yoke is easy, and HIS burden is light (Matthew 11:30). So when it doesn’t seem easy or light, we’re probably attempting more than He is asking.

It might be time to let some chairs fall where they may, sit in the Lazy Boy, and open the Word.

Try it, He’ll like it!

One of the highlights of the Monster Jam was the Mega-Saurus. This mechanical beast that came out breathing fire and literally chewed a car in half! It was almost more than my six year old’s brain could handle!

He came home saying, “Daddy, I wish you had a Mega-Saurus for my toy cars.” So, I answered. “Why, of course I have a Mega-Saurus! Every self-respecting dad has a Mega-Saurus! What kind of father would I be, if I didn’t have a Mega-Saurus in the garage?”

His eyes about popped out of his head! “YOU h-h-h-have a Mega-Saurus?” He stuttered?

“Of course I have a Mega-Saurus. Do you have some cars you would like to cut in half?” (Perhaps I could regain my funnest parent status after all!)

“Yeah!”

I headed toward the garage with my six year old in tow; he was practically stepping on my heels he was so eager to see my Mega-Saurus! I grabbed my Mega-Saurus, and also the Vice so that we could flatten some cars for his new Monster Trucks to drive and jump over, and headed up to his play room.

Once at this Car Table (Luke has a Car Table instead of a train table) my Mega-Saurus came out from under the table breathing fire and proceeded to chew through two of his older cars. He was beside himself with delight.

We next used the vice to squish six cars (I had to set a limit or he’d have had to flatten ‘em all this week!) so his Monster Trucks could drive over some destroyed cars!

Never once in the entire process did Luke mention that my “Mega-Saurus” was anything less than the real thing. Why? Because I was pretending with him. Of course it was real. His cars are real, the crashes are real, the noises he is making from the engines are real – the dirt he sees flying off the wheels (that isn’t there) is real. Just as real as my “Mega-Saurus.” After all, my Mega-Sauraus did come up from under the table making monstrous noises before it devoured those two poor cars!

When you join your kids in their imaginative play, you enter their world and you create a love bond that is beyond description. They know it is play – but they see that you are joining them, and it is more powerful and effective that a hundred “I love you’s” because it is how they want to be shown love.

I know all too soon Luke will be too old for toy cars… he’ll just want the keys to my car. But by then there will be things I’ll want to share with him, warnings and instructions and I want to have a foundation of Mega-Love. And it starts today with not being too busy to chew some toy cars in half.

What Mega-Saurus can you bring to life? The result will be a some Mega-Love shown to your kid.

DAY #12: Luke

Yes, it’s been said in my house, many, many times…

But all kidding aside, I love telling the story of April Fool’s Day, 2006 when my life suddenly changed forever by a phone call from my sister asking me to help with a situation with a baby in need… later that day, I would be driving home with a baby that would become my son.

I still remember the moment (and the spot) on the I-294 when this baby was looking at me with wonder in his eyes, and I was trying to guard my heart against getting my hopes up, (the birth mom had offered him to me) and I heard God say, “Hold Nothing Back.” It was only three words, but I knew what it meant. It meant to open my heart to him, regardless of the consequences. Even if I did lose him. It wasn’t a promise that I’d get to adopt him. It was only a command to open my heart 100% regardless of what the future held. I turned to him and said, “Luke, I will love you, no matter what happens.” He closed his eyes and fell asleep. I began to cry. I believe in that moment, I became his father.

Elements of the story has been shared elsewhere on this blog, and more details I tell in person, not online – but every adoption story is unique and wonderful, but the sum of it all, is that God gave me and my wife a son.

This morning he made me breakfast:

He is the most loving and kind boy I have ever known. He fills our days with happiness and craziness even when we wears us out and tires us out. I was hurting from fifteen years of being childless while my life revolved around children and helping others love and minister to children. I honestly don’t know how I’d be doing today without the Gift of this boy, Luke Given Bastian.

I am so thankful for him, I could burst. There is no achievement or earthly success I have gained that matters to me any more, other than to see him look up at me and be happy. That’s why I stop working when he enters the room. He is my #1 job now, my ministry is important, yes, and satisfiying, yes, but my joy and happiness and deep fulfillment comes from pouring into this little guy.

Being the “Kidologist” is fun – I get to equip and encourage folks and follow God’s Calling on my life to serve others and reach many kids with the Good News of God’s Love and train others who minister to kids – but first and foremost, I’m just another Dad. And I’m loving every day of it.

It’s really just something I need to DO MYSELF – but I thought maybe others might want to join me, and I’d enjoy reading/seeing what others are thankful for. So you are welcome to use the Word doc, or just post in the forum what YOU are thankful for! So let me begin today, with my first post. These are NOT going to be in priority order, otherwise I’d have to go God, Family, etc. and then later on, people might judge me for putting one thing “above” or “before” another – so right out of the gate let me say, these posts will be in RANDOM ORDER of things I am THANKFUL FOR!

DAY 2 – God’s Word

DAY 3 – My Mom

DAY 4 – Photography

DAY 5 – Pandora

DAY 6 – George Lucas

DAY 7 – Breckenridge

DAY 8 – Barq’s

DAY 9 – Mercy & Grace

DAY 10 – Steves

DAY 11 – Freedom

DAY 12 – Luke

DAY 13 – Sara

DAY 14 – My Bookkeeper

DAY 15 – Science

DAY 16 – Da Cloud

DAY 17 – Awana & Sunday School

DAY 18 – My Dad

DAY 19 – True Friends

DAY 20 – Scottevest

DAY 21 – My Customers

DAY 22 – Tennis Balls

DAY 23 – Flight

DAY 24 – Jesus

He loves the opening scene when Lucy “kills” the pumpkin, so when we stopped on our Daddy/Son day to pick out a “Great Pumpkin” he said, “we must get a big one to kill.”

Here he is ready to begin the slaughter of our very own Great Pumpkin!

The fatal stab is struck and alas, the Gret Pumpkin is dead.

About to open up the pumpkin and see the inside of the head and the  “brains!”

Luke thinks the “brains” of the Great Pumpkin are pretty gross! Especially, when I tell him we need to reach in and pull them all out!

But, he does like the smell! LOL

The “brains!” Looking tasty!

Carving “The Great Pumpkin!” Daddy did most of this part, (of course!), but Luke drew what he wanted on the pumpkin with pencil and daddy followed it on the pumpkin pretty closely.

The Great Pumpkin and the Great Kid!

Putting a light inside the Great Pumpkin!

Now it’s time to bake the seeds!

The day ended when Mommy called to say good night and Lukey was able to tell her about our day and introduce her to The Great Pumpkin out on the front porch!

(Don’t miss reading out our hike to Castlewood Canyon earlier in the day!

We chose the latter, and headed out to Castlewood Canyon State Park!

We had a great time, and without mommy, of course, we were free to roam “off the trail” a little more than usual. (hehe)

And boy oh boy does this boy love to climb! Of course, I have a knack for taking pictures that look a lot higher than they really are!

Both of these above, Luke is about five feet off the ground. (LOL)

I would never let Luke climb up anywhere high!

I get such a kick out of him stopping every now, turning around and saying, “Take my picture daddy!” I can’t imagine where he got that!

At one point, Luke decided to show me how strong he was! I was pretty impressed! He was going to roll it all the way the down the hill, but I made him put the rock back where he found it.

But what is a hike without bringing some cars to play with? Hiking with Luke is unique, it involves stopping every so often to play with cars, especially if a great spot is discovered…

For example, this was a cool “car cave” we found!

This was my favorite picture of the day – if you click it to enlarge it, you’ll see he is splashing water. (It’s my Macbook Air wallpaper now!) We found this mini pool on the top of a ridge overlooking a beautiful vista and spend quite a while there just hanging out, playing cars and relaxing.

Since we didn’t have mommy, we missed out on her usual great picture taking, so there are no pics of daddy, so I had to get creative – and settle for one of my shadow pictures!

It was a great day! Next was ice cream and then off to pick out a pumpkin and carve it, but that’s tomorrow’s blog post!

My theory is that it began last Easter when we ate at the Red Mountain Grill in Dillon, Colorado because when we visited the rest room there, he was truly impressed! That was indeed a fancy bathroom! And I believe it has been since then, that he has been commenting on the “fanciness” of restrooms. We’ll be in a very nice restaurant, but upon visiting the restroom, if it is lame or boring or dirty or junky, suddenly the restaurant is no longer “fancy” any more. We’ve been to some pretty nice places that Luke was pretty impressed with…. until he got to the restroom, and then he announced, “This restaurant isn’t fancy at all… it’s a fake.” It almost seems like his trip to the bathroom is just to investigate the “fanciness,” as a few times, after going in and checking it out, he’s no longer needed to “go” after commenting on the “fanciness” (or lack there of) of the facilities!

It got me thinking about our ministries. We can put on a pretty good front to impress visitors and try to make things look good and welcoming and “kid friendly” – but how far are we willing to go? How deep are we willing to go? How thorough are we willing to be? Or is it just a facade? Are we fancy or “fake?” If a restroom is gross and unkempt, what does that communicate to a guest? How valued do they feel at that point?

Once there are real “needs” that aren’t met, doesn’t the beautiful front we put on break down and aren’t people disappointed? In your ministry, when they see behind the scenes do they see that there really isn’t much there? Do they see cheap tile and a dirty suspended ceilings with cracks and doors that won’t even latch and towel holders that are empty and sinks that desperately need cleaning? And I’m not talking only literally here. Don’t miss the analogy to other needs.

When it comes to our ministry, it’s not only the fancy kids church room that counts… it may be the bathroom that leaves a lasting impression.

Just something to consider from my five year old.

I recently got a great new hiking book called Colorado Lake Hikes that I highly recommend. This was the first hike I’ve done in the book. We decided to visit St. Mary’s Lake and “Glacier.”

On the way, we spotted this beautiful water fall on the side of the road. That’s one of the things I love about living in Colorado – there are gorgeous spots like this all over the place. We can just pull over and Luke can get to play in Creation just off the side of the road. It was simply beautiful!

Soon we were on our way up the mountain. This was Luke’s second “real” hike. I haven’t had a chance to blog yet about our family vacation in Yosemite yet, where he hiked up to the top of Sentinel Dome! He is very proud of that feat!

He is proving to fit into nature just, well, naturally. I wonder where he gets his love of the outdoors from?

Luke wants to climb on top of every rock we pass… which adds quite of bit of time to the “hiking time estimate” that was in the hiking book!

Can you find mommy and Luke in this picture? By the way, every picture in this post can be clicked on to view larger in a new window!

We often call Luke “our little poser.” He climbs up on stuff and says, “Take my picture here, Daddy!” Hope he doesn’t outgrow that too quickly!

Spotted something beautiful through the trees!

It was an all uphill hike, but Luke held up pretty well for the most part…

Spotting WILD LIFE is always a highlight. We thought we heard a bear, but Luke claimed that was just Dad making toots! We’ll never know for sure.

But we did see lots of Chipmunks!

Finally, we reached the lake and glacier… which technically isn’t a glacier, but a “permanent snow pack.” There were a lot of “cool dudes” with snow boards hiking up there to surf down it! Crazy, we thought!

Just beyond those rocks, was the lake! And it was BEAUTIFUL!

But Luke wasn’t impressed. He was more interested in throwing rocks in the water:

and seeing how BIG of a splash he could make:

But at least the backdrop was nice:

467 splashes later I was able to get him to walk along the shore to where we settled down for some Birthday Cheesecake to celebrate 42 years of life!

THEN IT HAPPENED! A huge gust of wind came along and BLEW our stuff! My hands were full and I couldn’t stop the plastic container and yelled to Sara and Luke to grab the cheesecake dish but it was too late!

It blew “out to sea” as Luke said, and was gone!

It wasn’t just the potential $500 fine I was worried about, I love my state and the outdoors, I didn’t like the idea of leaving with this huge plastic “boat” (as Luke called it) floating out to the middle of the lake!

We kept an eye on it, and about a half hour later, the wind changed and it actually drifted back about 500 feet away and I was able to retrieve it! Luke thought it was the funniest part of the day and keeps telling people all about it!

Here we are! Luke didn’t want to leave his splash making for a picture, so we got creative with this picture… turned out even better we think!

I love the outdoors. It refreshes me. It refills me. It rejuvenates me. It recreates me. It refocuses me. It renews me.

People ask me why I moved to Colorado. I want to show them pictures like the one above and just say, “This is why.” Why would you want to live anywhere else, if you have a choice. I know I am blessed to have a choice. For now, God allows me to be here. So I am breathing deeply and filling my lungs with Colorado Air.

Next, we headed into Idaho Springs, and went BeauJo’s Pizza – a famous mountain town pizzaria joint here in Colorado, where I order Beaughetti! Spaghetti in a garlic bread pizza crust! Yum! Yum!

So to the 164 Facebook greeters, (new record this year!) and all those who wished me a happy birthday via Twitter and in the Kidology Forum too – THANKS!

I had a great birthday, and YOU were a part of making my day special!

But most of all, it was special, because I spent it with my two favorite people doing my favorite thing…

Saturday the family headed to the Pikes Peak Radio Control Club’s “Warbird’s Over Pike’s Peak’s Air Show”, and it was incredible! (Don’t miss HIGHLIGHT VIDEO at end of this post!)

NOTE: Click on any image to see larger in a new window.

For Luke, it was a real treat! He brought a box of toy airplanes and enjoying playing with his planes while watching grown men play with their toys. As the saying goes…

The difference between the men and the boys, is just the price of their toys!

It was hard to believe these things were not real! Especially when the jets went straight up into the air spinning until they were a speck in the sky!

They even SOUNDED like real jets… well, actually, there WERE real jets… just smaller and without a real person inside!

They literally flew up to the clouds! I had to use a telephoto lens to keep up with them!

Luke enjoyed chillin’ out on Daddy’s hammock, which I got for Father’s Day way back when he was just a baby… (remember?)

Everyone had their cameras out trying to capture these birds in the coolest pics possible – the pics in this post and in the video below, are from all three of us, me, my dad and his wife Patty.

The planes took turns putting on a show for everyone, and the stunts they did was just like being at a real airshow with real planes!

And getting to walk around and look at them and talk to the pilots was fun too. (That’s my dad and his wife.)

The variety was amazing. They even let us vote on our favorite and there were awards for the pilots in different categories. I felt good when the one I picked won for best design!

One of my favorite features, was the “little pilots” that a lot of controllers put into their planes:

Pretty amazing detail, isn’t it?

It was an incredible day for a young boy. I love taking him to things that show him you never need to grow up. You can pick a hobby and enjoy it into adulthood, whether or not airplanes is what he chooses, you can have fun at any age!

Days like Saturday are days well invested in your kids.

Even if it does make him think his toys are too small!

We can’t wait to get home and fly dad’s little remote control helicopter!

It may not be as cool as these eight to ten foot remote control airplanes that can soar through the air… but it shows my son that growing up is optional, and that is worth a day is the scorching heat.

That’ll teach him, that HE can soar in life, if he is willing to never grow up!

ENJOY THIS HIGHLIGHT VIDEO: *Recommended full screen!

There is an old saying that you can tell what’s important to someone by looking at their date book and their checkbook. Well, I think that saying needs to be updated to the modern world to be, “You can tell what’s important to someone by looking at their iPhone camera roll.”

Just glancing through mine and you can see what I’ve been up to.

We went to the local carnival this week, just Daddy and Boy and had a blast. (Well, my wallet didn’t but that’s a separate issue!)

We also enrolled in Swim Class. I’m not very impressed with the place – I was hoping they were going to push him a little further than Dad has, so far – blowing bubbles in the water is about all they have done… Dad is working on patience as he watches through the glass as they do stuff I’ve done with him for years… hopefully in the next week they’ll teach him something new and I’ll get my money’s worth, BUT at least he is having some fun.

We love to go for walks around the neighborhood. We have gotten to explore a few houses being built – and recently one that is ALL DONE was left unlocked for contractors doing final touches, so we were able to take off our shoes and walk through one we had seen when it was just framed. It was very cool to see it all done when we had seen it in several stages. I just hope we don’t meet the owners and Luke doesn’t say, “We have been in your house a bunch of times!”

We are learning the bike right now, and if we miss a day of evening bike rides (with Dad actually walking along side) Luke is disappointed. I have plans for a whole article comparing learning a bike to launching a new children’s ministry as I have thought of many parallels during this process. But it has been a very neat process to watch him overcome his fear from an early negative experience that had put off the bike to his growing skill and confidence. He is now eager for the time when the training wheels will come off.

And meals out with Dad are always a treat. Watching cars, airplanes and people are fun. He is so observant. And I marvel at his tender spirit, curious mind, and polite nature.

This week, I’ll be my sons coach and the Bible Story teacher for our sports camp at church – looking forward to that a lot.

But the best is always bedtime… the stories… the cuddling… the hiding from mom to delay the inevitable… the serious talks… the hiding in the closet and coming out with a new ‘monster’ costume on… last night I came out dressed as Mega Man! And then, of course, he had to try it on:

My work keeps my pretty busy – but never too busy for my boy. I’ll always have my work – but I won’t always have a little boy.

Then I got a Bible out and said, “Did you know the BIble is a ‘Book of Books’?” We talked about how the Big Green Book of Books had six books in it, and had him guess how many were in the Bible. He guessed 100! He was close. 66 is the answer. We talked a little about how they were chosen. They also have the same author, God. And the same purpose, to help people know how to live life. And while they might not be funny, they are helpful and are our guide for life. The word Bible actually means “Books” because it isn’t one book, but many book put together, just like this Big Green Book we are reading.

I think for the first time he understands the basic structure of the Bible, thanks to Dr. Seuss’ “Book of Books.”

It might be worth picking up the Big Green Book of Beginner Books as an object lesson. It is a great book on its on merit besides the object lesson it provides.

This was the first Memorial Day I got to hang the American Flag with my son’s help and explain to him the meaning of “Memory Day.” He asked very thoughtful questions like, “Why do we celebrate when none of our family has died?” and “Why would people die for us when they don’t even know us?”

Then we stood and recited the Pledge to the American Flag which he as learned at school. We surprised me by asking me to explain it phrase by phrase – and my tears surprised even me as I explained in language a five year old could understand:

“I pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America…”

“Luke, that means that while we love all nations and God created all nations, I am feel blessed and proud to be an American and live in this country because of how wonderful it is – and this flag is the symbol of this nation. A symbol is something that stands for something – just like you recognize cars by their symbols, people recognize our nation by this flag at world-wide sporting events, on rocket ships, and even by the flag on the moon that shows we were the first to land a space this there and have a man walk there three months after I was born. That’s why we respect this flag. Some say it is only cloth and you can do anything to it – they fail to see that it was only cloth until it was formed into the symbol or our country. Just as two sticks were just two sticks until we form them into a Cross and suddenly they remind us of what Jesus did when He died for us. Of course you can break the sticks and you don’t hurt Jesus, and you can hurt the flag without hurting our country, but we try our best to show respect to the flag to show how thankful we are for our country. Those who are mean to the flag are not reflecting a thankful heart for the blessings of this land.”

“…and to the Republic for which it stands,”

“Luke, a Republic is a land that is ruled by the people instead of the government. We have a government, but unlike most of the world, and unlike most of human history – we the people ARE the government, and we CHOOSE our leaders. You won’t understand who wonderful this is until you are older, but it means every four years we get to choose our President. If we don’t him or her, we can pick a new one. We pick the leader of our city, our state, and even our neighborhood. That is why we love our flag so much, because each of those stars stands for one of those states that all are part of the One Republic for which it stands.”

“…one nation under God,”

“Luke, under God means that our nation, when it was started was planned as a nation that would follow God’s Laws – in a minute we’ll talk about Liberty and Justice – but those needed limits, and they needed to be limited by God’s Laws, otherwise anyone could do anything they wanted and the world would be a crazy place. Someone has to decide what is right and wrong, and there is no better Person to do that than God. So our founders (the men and women who started our nation) said all our laws would be based on God’s Laws so things would never get too crazy. Anything in our culture that is crazy, is usually because our laws are going against God’s Laws – you remember that.”

“…indivisible,”

“Luke, I’m sad to say, our nation tried to split once. It was a long and terrible battle you will learn about in school someday called the Civil War. We weren’t at war with another country, but with ourselves. It was a war between the North of America and the South of America and whether we would divide and become two countries or one, and whether all people would have Freedom and Liberty and Justice for all, but you’ll more about that too when you get older. But we have decided to be One Nation from now on.”

“…with Liberty and Justice for all.”

“Luke, I’ve been to fourteen different countries around the world, and while every country has wonderful and beautiful things and the people are special and love their land and are equally loved by God – every time I came back to America I could tell how blessed and lucky I was to have been born and live here. Liberty is the freedom to live your own life the way you want to without anyone (especially the government) telling you how to live your life. It is something constantly under attack, and something we need to defend always, even here in America. But Liberty is something that is rare around the world. For many people around the world what they will do, how much money they will make, who they will marry or other things are determined the day they are born – but in America we have something we call The American Dream. Some think the American Dream is that if you are an American you should get this or that – nope. The American Dream means if you are willing to work hard, you have the opportunity to have whatever you dream. There is no one telling you “no” except you. Dream it – and work toward it!

Justice means that no matter who you are, the Justice System is available to you. In many places around the world, only the rich or famous or powerful get Justice, the unknown, poor or unconnected can only hope for justice. Here, if you can’t afford a lawyer, one is given to you. You are assumed innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around!”

(I was starting to lose him by now, he is only five, after all! But he was listening intently!)

“But Luke, a nation like America isn’t just something that happens easily – it has to be fought for. There have been evil nations that have sought to destroy us – and while many nations make their young men become soldiers, our soldier are all volunteers! That means they all sign up on their own! They just love America so much, they sign up so go and fight for America. They go to far away places to defend our Liberties, to free people who are in trouble – America is the Super Hero of the world, and our flag is like the S on Superman’s chest – when people in trouble see the USA is coming they know help is on the way. And when we win, we don’t conquer or take over, we help rebuilt and leave!

And Luke, we even help rebuilt our enemies and become their friends. Many of our friends today, Japan, Germany, Russia – were once mortal enemies – but we are a Good Nation, we stand for what is Good, so we win, and then we hold out our hand and help those who were trying to kill us, unlike any nation in World History.

That is why your dad is proud to be an American, and that is why I want to raise you to be a Patriot and why today we Remember those who died so that we might be free.”

Your Patriot Dad,

Karl

Why, we play hide n seek, of course! I love hunting for my son, and I love how his giggles give him away, or how he is oblivious with his feet sticking out.

And I love the look of pure joy on his face and how it lights up when I find him! We both hide from Mommy every night at bedtime, and it’s a challenge to find a new stop where a grown man and a boy can hide from Mommy, but we do pretty good, and while sometimes she plays along, sometimes we fool her pretty good. The goal is always to hear, “That was a good one!”

But the truth is, there aren’t too many places to hide a little boy, and he’s pretty easy to find if you look.

That’s the nice thing about our Heavenly Father too. God has good things for us, and if we are willing to look, He hides them pretty easy too. After all, didn’t He say,

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33

And the best news is, he hides them easy, He said so:

“God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” – Acts 17:27

Perhaps you need to look for God today. You might think He’s hiding… but I promise you, if you look for Him, He’s let his feet peek out, or give you a clue as to how to find Him, because He likes to be found. But He usually waits to see if you’ll seek Him first. He’s like that.

If you will, He has a promise for you:

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:12

So this year, we asked Luke what he would like to do, and he chose The Denver Zoo! It ended up being a treat because his next store neighbor friend was able to come along for the fun!

Up close and personal with a lion!

I got up close to a cheetah... with a zoom lens anyway!

But Luke loves gorillas, so we had to head over the Primate Area!

Beware of Dangerous Primates on the loose!

I spotted two primates lurking right at the entrance to the area! They must have escaped from their cages! Oh No!

In case you are wondering what a “Primate” is… here are some sample:

Primate Samples!

First, some little primates…

Reminds me of a relative... not saying which!

And even littler ones..

Looks like an Ant Eater to me!

But finally, we got to the GORILLAS!

The Boys and the Gorillas

Luke admiring the Gorillas

Luke’s favorite non-domestic animal (he loves dogs) is Gorillas! He loves to play with them, had a t-shirt, discovered Gorilla snacks at the grocery store, and I’ve screened a few old-time King Kong YouTube videos for him! And of course, Casa Bonita here in Denver has a kid-friendly Gorilla he loves!

Could he be eating Gorilla Snacks?

I’ve even cued up the Gorilla sceen in Old Dogs for him – pretty funny!

Luke even got within ONE FOOT of a Great Ape and lived to tell about it!

Hope that glass is thick!

But then came MY favorite part of the day… the Bears! (and I’m not referring to the lousy team from Chicago either.) I love bears! I am a Yosemite Bear Chaser, having been very close to them every year in Yosemite.

First, I spotted this beautiful Black Bear about to eat a tasty little twig and I wondered if he might be the same bear from my oft told joke about the “Christian Bear” (pastors all know the joke, so I won’t tell it here – if you don’t, ask in comments, and I’ll tell it there!) when what to my amazement…

The Famous Christian Bear!

He folded his massive paws, bowed his head and prayed! Why, this IS the famous Christian Bear!

Then, his buddy came out to join him, another massive black bear… don’t let the brown fur fool ya!

Here’s a good way to see just how BIG these guys are! Scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours!

Such amazing creatures! Though I much prefer to see them in the wild, it was fun to be able to see them up close and so active today!

I love bears! So I decided to see what the Bible has to say about bears…

Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly.
Proverbs 17:12

It was a fun day – and of course, it’s so hard to believe we’ve had Luke for FIVE years! Time sure goes by FAST! That’s one of the reasons I started BeTheDadToday.com – to help ME and other dads make every day count as a dad. I’m actually recruiting a TEAM of dads to help me with the site, so the content on the Facebook Page and Twitter feed is going to be increasing.

If you are a Dad – let me encourage you to CHECK IT OUT!

Then today after only a few minutes he said, “Daddy, let me push you.” I was a little worried I’d clobber him on one of the return swings, but he did O.K. But then, after only a minute he got tired of pushing and said, “Why don’t you try pumping with your legs, Dad, I think you can probably do it on your own.” And walked away! Just like that! After all the visits to the park where I’d pushed him for loooong periods of time, never stopping until he was done, being such a patient and long suffering Dad, all he had for me was a minute!

I had to laugh to myself.

First, I had visions of when I was an older man and might need my son to push me around. But then I got to thinking of all the times God has been so long suffering and patient with me, and yet when it comes to giving HIM time – what do I do? A quick prayer at a meal? A zapped up prayer when I have a need? Maybe a prayer before a meeting or during a worship service? After all the time He has invested in me? Even my devotional prayers – how can they compare to the time He has invested in me?!?

You know friend, that is what Yosemite Summit is all about. It’s about finally giving back to God some extended time. He’s been supporting you during hard times, and pushing the swing of your family and ministry faithfully, patiently, never stopping to rest even once… it’s time you said,

“God, Let me come spend some time with you.”

It was an exciting day for ME, because I got to drive my family on a sled across the snowly plains with mountains on all sides of me! What a thrill it was indeed!

Luke got to see some dogs, which he LOVES but can’t own due to daddy’s alergies (and no e-mails about allergy-proof dogs, we aren’t going there, been there, tried that!)

Here’s proof that I LIKED the dogs, just ain’t gonna OWN one!

But mushing was a BLAST! And being on the sled with my wife and son inside was a really cool feeling! (Quite literally too)

I realize those dogs were in more control than me – but I since another guest DID wipe out (woman driver, ha!) there was some steering to it! And I was the only one that got to do some downhill driving, though it was mostly level the whole way.

We never got over 15 MPH, but it was very windy and snowing, so not sure I’d want to go faster…. nah… I wish I could have, just not with the family on board!

But how could there be a Leadership Lesson in my day of Mushing? Could there BE any lesson on Leadership from my day Mushing? I think so. These dogs have done this run a thousand times. A few of them have run the Iditarod in Alaska. Some as competitors, others as medical dogs. I’m merely a tourist who gets to feel like I’m doing the real thing here. The reality is, I’m just along for a ride. But they humor me and my family. (For a buck.) But they know the trail and run it well, really just for fun! What they ran with me today is really quite easy for them compared to what they are actually capable of, I’m sure!

Sometimes in life and leadership we get to thinking we are pretty hot stuff (or cold stuff in this case) but the reality is, we are just following a path that has been laid out for us ahead of time. Either by others who went before us, or – if not – by God Himself, who determined that He wanted us to do what we are doing, He chose us, gifted us, and prepared for us the very things we are doing. And while we might think it’s pretty impressive all we are doing, it’s actually a piece of cake for God compared to what He is capable of!

I Corinthians 4:7 is a verse my dad made me memorize as a young boy, “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” He saw that God had given me some gifts that would lead to a certain level of success in life, and wanted to make sure early on I never thought for a moment it had anything to do with me – but that I would always know, I was just riding a sled being pulled by God.

And if I ever got off that path, I’d end up looking like this:

Yup. That’s me. I did go off the trail to see just how deep the snow was, and it IS deep! Luke said later, “I didn’t like when you did that daddy, I thought you were going to sink and I’d have no more daddy!”

I think I’d better stay on the path for my son’s sake!

I’ve made a decision, and by God’s grace and power, I’m sticking to it. Are you ready?

Here it is:

Never again am I going to make time for my family!

That’s right. I am DONE making time for my family. No more. Never Again. I Quit. I’ve spent over ten years making time for my wife, and then when I became a dad I started making time for my son too. And I was totally wrong to do so! I have learned my lesson, and have made a personal commitment to never ever again make time for either of them.

Have I lost my mind? No, quite to the contrary – I have finally found it! While I have always claimed to put family first – my proof was in all the time I “made” for them. The days off, the dates, the dinners, the vacations, the coming home for a meal, the night time feedings and play time on the floor… all the things I took a break from ministry to do. What?!?!? Did you just hear the insanity in that last sentence?! The “break from ministry” I took to “make” time for my family? I’m ashamed to admit it, but I don’t think I am alone, so I am taking the risk of being honest and hoping I am not alone in my former illness.

I suspect there are many others that still have it, and are as blind to the symptoms as I was. The illness is called Ministryitis, or more accurately diagnosed, it is closer to Significancia. It is a condition where one finds their significance primarily in their service to God and therefore lives to serve God from the moment they arise in the morning until the time they collapse into their bed exhausted at night. They are serving God with passion, and energy, and creativity, and zeal, and sincerity, and with every good intention to please God and lead others to Him… but they fail to see that God called them FIRST to simply BE a child of His, and secondly to BE a husband, or wife, or parent to the children in their home. There ought not be ANY “carving out of time for family.” Family IS your life. Ministry is just something you do for God. Don’t ever let it become your life. Or the results can be catostrophic. The greatest sigfificance you can have in God’s eyes is by being faithful to the primary relationships He has given you…. your family.

Therefore my new commitment is this:

Never again am I going to make time for my family,

I will instead make time for ministry.

and then I will go home to where my life truly rests.

Live for God, Love your Family,

and if time permits, make some time for ministry too!

“How big is your children’s ministry?”

I always hate that question. People always assume because I have a big website I am a children’s pastor from some megachurch. I don’t hate the question because my answer has never been a big number. I’ve always enjoyed answering with a small number and enjoyed the look of surprise I see.

I’ve been proud to serve in small to mid-sized churches and be able to relate to the “average” children’s pastor.  I hate the question because it equates the size of your church to your value as a pastor.

That is why I never ask children’s pastors the size of their ministry. I ask them to tell me stories about the kids in their church. I ask about their challenges and about what exciting new things they are trying. I ask them about what truly matters. Because, as Yoda said, “Size matters not.”

Instead, now that I am a father, when people ask me how many kids are in my children’s ministry, I answer, “Just one.” After I see the puzzled look on their face, I say, “and his name is Luke.” We have class time every evening. I call it “Pit Stop,” due to his love of cars.

How many kids are in your children’s ministry? If you are living out Deuteronomy 6, your family is your primary children’s ministry. If you don’t have kids or they are grown, don’t focus on the numbers. Focus on the individual kids. Whether you have 20 or 620. It is the stories of changed lives that impress me. Have one ready for when our paths cross, OK?

Originally posted in the Kidology Newsletter March 2011

It’s not uncommon for a restaurant to offer my son a balloon. But I didn’t expect my son to say, “Dad, can I give the balloon to God?”

My immediate instinct was to say no – thinking “That’s politically incorrect today!” You know, some bird might choke on it. It’s liter! But then the Holy Spirit whispered, “Your son is wanting to give a gift to God”, and suddenly I realized that wasn’t something I wanted to squelch. Sorry bird, but you choking is a risk I’m willing to take – at least once.

So I went and found a marker at the host’s station, wrote a note to God on the balloon, explained to Luke this might be a one-time thing, and then we went outside and sent his Gift up to God. What fun it was to watch it drift up into the sky.

After several minutes it was impossible to see, and then Luke said, “And now God has it. I wonder where He will put it? I hope He thinks of me when He sees it in His house.” If you ask me, God just might have plucked it out of the sky and put it somewhere in heaven, and I don’t think there is liter in God’s house up in the sky!

Sometimes we just have to set aside our grown-up hesitations and just give in to the impulses of childhood. I made a video of the ascension of Luke’s balloon on my iPhone and we watch it over and over!

What simple gift have you give God lately?

Be The Dad Today!

Karl Bastian

Dear Karl,

I had to respond to this email….  don’t know if you’ll ever get this, though. I loved the story of your son’s balloon gift to God! I am a balloon artist and I wanted to let you know that sending a LATEX balloon (the rubbery kind, not the shiny metallic ones) is NOT an environmental mishap! Latex balloons are 100% biodegradable and are made from a natural product, the harvesting of which actually helps prevent deforestation of the rain forest. Latex is harvested from trees as sap without harming them, in the same way maple syrup is harvested. The trees can live and produce latex for about 40 years.

Also, you can rest easy in knowing that animals are not interested in eating latex… it’s not on their list of favorite foods! If they did accidentally eat any, it would pass through their digestive system intact or break down and disappear. A latex balloon actually biodegrades at the same rate as an oak leaf! I think God loves balloon gifts, especially those coming from the hearts of kids!

Thanks for all you do!

Lynn ____ (last name removed)

I replied that now I can sleep peacefully knowing that I have not killed some innocent bread out there somewhere or caused the earth to end one day sooner than it would have otherwise. LOL

I actually wasn’t too worried about it – I was more worried about getting a bunch of hate e-mails from some environmental wackos out there “YOU LET A BALLOON UP! YOU EARTH HATER YOU!!!” Because most schools have banned the balloon launch practice that we all did as kids claiming it kills birds and harms the earth. I’ve always said that’s rubbish. (Note the pun) But people who don’t believe in heaven have only this earth to care for, so we have to cut them some slack I guess!

Anyway, I appreciated her note, as with several other encouraging replies I got. Funny, people are always surprised that I actually get my own e-mails! Only 1400 more to go! Good night folks!

Today it was pretty cold… and snowy, and when it came time for Dad School, I could tell my son would rather be outside playing in the snow than working on his alphabet.

So what’s a Dad to do?

Combine School and Snow together, of course!

I had to shovel the driveway eventually today anyway – might as well use it as an educational opportunity, and as I like to say, “Kill two stones with one bird!”

We bundled up and headed outside and worked on our letters, in the snow. Granted, we wouldn’t last long in the cold – but we had a great time. (My back might argue that last statement!)

(Contest is over, but it was FUN!) Can you name the letters we worked on today? See how many of the letters you can name in COMMENTS. First person to name ALL FOUR correctly, WINS!

Letter 1:

The Letter "d"

Letter 2:

The Letter "f"

Letter 3:

The Letter "g"

Letter 4:

The Letter "T"

NAME ALL FOUR LETTERS in Comments…

you just might get a PRIZE!

This was a blast! (and quite crazy!) I had no idea I would get such a response, and it was very confusing to go between the blog comments and facebook comments – but the results are in!

Picture 1 is obvious a LITTLE “d” – capital D would not do. Sorry.

Picture 2 is is a LITTLE “f” – some guessed F, but missed the curve at the top.

Picture 3 is a LITTLE “g” – most got this, but a few capitalized again. (oops)

Picture 4 admittedly, was the killer. I had Luke lay in it and form the letter as the hint. It was the Letter “T” – capital. The only capital. Granted, he kept moving and doing a snow angel, so his form is a little off, but since it wasn’t the only letter people missed, I think it’s fair.

THE WINNERS:

My Aunt Linda, for most attempts, was the closest at first with “D F g T” she only had the case off, and being a teacher, I thought she knew better! (LOL) I hinted on her wall but she only went downhill from there with “d E g Y” then “d E g T” then “P E g T” then “d E g L” then “d E g I”!

Krista Mobley is the Facebook winner! Though it took her several attempts and a few tips from me to get it right in the whee hours last night. But she finally pulled it off. But, I’m a little biased toward her. But I didn’t help her any more than I did anyone else!

Doug Olson is my Blog Winner! Technically, I could disqualify the Facebook commenters since the rules said to use blog comments! Anyway, Doug’s a good friend and a great encourager, so I was glad to wake up this morning and see he nailed it.

BONUS WINNER: (I’m just such a nice guy!) As I was updating this page another winner squeaked in! Dawna Lunde posted the correct answer via Facebook!

WHAT DO THEY WIN?

All these smart and lucky winners need to do is contact me via facebook and they will get a free download of one of Luke’s favorite albums.

It’s called Craig’s Kids and not only does Luke love it, but I really enjoy it too!

You can hear a sampler of it on the product page on Kidology. I think every Christian Kid in America should be listening to this CD! This is one of those CDs that is just jam-packed with great music and even better lyrics that kids need to be packing into their hearts and minds. I just can’t recommend it enough. My favorites are “I Wonder Why” and for fun “Rolley Polley” but every single song is just excellent.

If you weren’t a winner, I’ll make you a winner: Just enter code SNOW and get 10% off any Craig’s Kids product on Kidology! (Expires one year from today!)

I enjoy the Super Bowl a lot. Usually, I plan a Super Bowl Party, but this year my party was more virtual as I sat and partied mostly via Twitter and enjoyed it at home by myself, though the family came around once and awhile to check in on me and make sure I was stocked up on snacks.

Who did I root for? Well, as a former Chicagoian, I really really honestly tried to root against the Packers and go for the Steelers – and as a Rush Limbaugh fan (who is a Steelers fan) I tried to root for the Steelers, but knowing nothing about them, it was hard. Especially, when they never gave me any reason to, other than being the team playing the Packers.

I really enjoyed the video CBN put together of Christians in the Super Bowl, and it really seemed to slant toward the Packers, and that made it even harder to root against them. Even though the Steelers QB wore God’s favorite number (#7) on his chest and their coach was a Christian.. they just never seemed to show up for the game, even as they managed to always stay with a TD of catching up.

I do enjoy close games! So it was one of the most entertaining Super Bowl games in recent years. But I just couldn’t help rooting for the Packers as the game went on. There was just something about the way they played that was contagious.

But it was the Super Bowl AFTER the game that was the most fun! Luke came down after the game and wanted to play football – though he loves to antagonize me and invert “football” and “baseball” just to make me correct him. (I’m conviced he does know the difference, and just likes to drive me crazy.)

So we started wrestling in the front room. The funny part was, I kept saying, “We need a football,” and he’d say, “No we don’t, just atackle me!” As every dad knows, the love language of boys is wrestling and so we spend time every evening wrestling on the floor or bed tickling, blowing bubbles, and tumbling around and it usually starts with Luke saying, “ATTACKLE ME DAD!” So when he heard the TV using the word “tackle” he suddenly realized that football was an affectionate sport filled with grown men loving on each other!

He doesn’t think they are fighting over a ball out there on the field, he thinks they are showing love and affection!

Tickling, hugging, blowing bubbles and kissing all on national television!

What a loving sport he thinks football is!

So we spent a while having our own Super Bowl – posing on opposite sides of the Living Room, running toward each other – CRASHING and then hugging and tickling and kissing and loving on each other! Finally I talked him into a football, but that didn’t last long. He much prefers the tickling version! And I do too! I know this phase of childhood won’t last forever and soon I won’t have the strength and size advantage so I’d better enjoy it while I can!

As for Super Bowl Commercials, overall they were as lame and stupid as ever, though less offensive as they have been in the past. If you liked the Mini Darth Vader, you really should see the full version that has been going viral online for a week, and that several already posted on my facebook wall.(Thanks)

Here it is, the MINI DARTH VADER COMMERCIAL, if you haven’t seen it yet:

So, while it pains me to say it as a former Chicago Bears fan (I am an official Bronco fan now) Congrats to the Packers, they really fed those Steelers the cheese!

And to all you dads out there – play with your boys! And BeTheDadToday!

I’ve appreciated the feedback and advice I’ve gotten on facebook, comments and e-mail! Thanks! Day One is in the can and Luke seemed to really enjoy it a lot. The challenge was that I wanted to do an assessment on day one so I’d have both something to measure progress with – and even evaluate my own effectiveness, but how do you start out with “testing” and have your boy want to do Day Two?! LOL

I decided to take an interest of his, cars and parking lots (he absolutely LOVES parking lots, and has mommy make him a new one nearly every day!) and use it as a review tool to see which letters and numbers he can recognize. He loved it and didn’t even know it was a test!

By the time we got through all the letters and numbers 1-20 I had a record of which he knew and have my assignment of what will be focus on in the weeks ahead. Here is what the “test paper” looked like when we were done:

Shhhh, Luke doesn’t know it was a test!

I also made a kite sheet to work on scissors skills and had him try to cut it out since that was a skill the preschool said needed work and we dated it and I wrote “dad helped hold the paper, but Luke cut it out.” Every few days we will cut out the same kite and date them so he can see his progress. (Download the kite here)

We ended with reading “Go, Dog, Go!” which allowed us to end with laughter – but also with a promise, “Lukey, someday soon you will be able to read this book yourself!” He is so excited.

Let me just finish by saying – the point of Dad School is not to push my son to learn, it is first and foremost to build my relationship with my son around a purpose and goal of helping him learn. He will learn, and together we will celebrate his progress. But the learning is secondary. He would learn all these things eventually – without me. But by learning them with me, and from me – I am being his father. Dads need to engage with their kids while their children are young. Otherwise, dads will wonder why their kids don’t engage with them later when they are older. It’s all about investment.

Dad School isn’t about education – education is the benefit. The purpose is relationship.

(Sponsored by BeTheDadToday.com)

Hear me dads: When we are doing our Pit Stop (as we call our family devotional time) Luke is often fiddling, fussing, fidgeting, etc. and I half wonder if he is “getting it” – but this video demonstrates that he is hearing it and learning, and there is lots he knows that comes up other times that isn’t reflected here in the video.

It was especially touching when we got to the Cross and Luke said, “I don’t want to learn about that, it’s sad” but then kept going back to that card with several questions.”

Enjoy: