Stupid People & A Brush Fire

So unless you've been living under rock, or you don't live in Bay Area, you may not have heard about the Lick Wildfire that is going on in Henry Coe Park. Basically it started Monday, September 3 and is still going. I live in Gilroy, which is just miles from the start of the fire, no homes are threatened, but it's big. The fire is in Henry Coe Park which is basically a lot of brush and weed, with the occasional grove of trees. This fire is crazy, last time I heard the fire was about 25% contained, but that was yesterday, so hopefully it's more contained today.

Anyways, the air has been really smoky and muggy which has sucked but the thing that is most annoying is that the start of the fire was a guy who was illegally burning trash in a barrel. Apparently it's legal to burn trash in barrels in rural areas, but it's illegal in parks like Henry Coe.

So, the stupid person award goes to this guy along with the bill for the millions of dollars that has been spent to put out the fire that he started. Good job guy.

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When, Then, Now

James 4:13-16
 13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.

So I was listening to Craig Groeschel at www.lifechurch.tv this morning. He was beginning a sermon series called 30 Days To Live. The name of the sermon was Living In The Moment. One of the main things he talked about was using "When, Then" statements. For example, when I have enough money, then I'll give to the poor. When I'm less busy at work, then I'll invest in my marriage. He asked what your "When, Then" statement was. I'm still not sure, but I'm thinking about it. It probably has to do something with ministry and my personal life, since those two things are always in a battle with each other.

Whats you "When, Then" statement? What are we waiting for later to do, that we can't do now. The reality of life is that it's not gauranteed. Craig said that he went to deathclock.com to find out when his day to die was. I did the same, and apparently I'm going to die on Friday, December 16, 2064. I'll be 83 years old. But when it really comes down to it, we have no idea when we will die. The book of James says, "How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog - it's here a little while, then it's gone." Who know what tomorrow will bring, the important thing is that I"m living my life, glofiying Christ in all that I do now. Accomplish what I want now, live for the moment now. Because whens and thens may not come.

Death Through God's Eyes

A question I that comes up often as a pastor is why bad things happen to good people. For example, why do good, Godly people die before it's "their time?" As I was doing my quiet time today, I came across this verse.

Isaiah 57:1
Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die.

I found the verse interesting and a new way to look at why people die. In our eyes, death is such a bad thing, but in the eyes of God, death may be a protection of what is to come.

Junior High Myspace

So I decided that one of the best ways to connect with students in ministry and have them feel more connected is to have a myspace. I know that there are parents and people out there that don't like the idea of a church using myspace, but the reality is that I believe we're missing out on a valuable ministry tool if we don't

All that to say that CRASH, the SVCC Junior High Ministry now has a myspace. Anyways, enjoy.

Savage Summer Session Beach Trip

Well, we had our first Savage Summer Sessions beach trip last night. We had 25 students go to Manresa for a beautiful evening at the beach. Sam did a great job lead our study in James 1 about how trials in our life strengthen us for later. We broke up into groups on the beach and discussed the concept. We ended the night with a fire and smoreos. It was a great beginning to our summer program.

More pictures are available at www.myspace.com/svcccrash.

So I've come to the conclusion that the only way that I'm going to be able to afford and iPod is if it comes outside of my normal budget, so I'm collecting cans and bottles and using the money to buy an iPod. My goal is $200 by the end of the summer. I don't know if I'll meet my goal by the end of summer, but I really hope I do.

So if anyone wants to donate their cans and bottles to the Steve wants an iPod fund, email me and I'll come pick them up from you.

Playing Catch Up

Hey everyone,

This is my catch up post. It's been a crazy summer already. It started off with a JH missions trip to inner city LA, then an 8th grade grad trip to Magic Mountain, fireworks on the 4th of July, watching Transformers, Fantastic 4, a college beach trip and looking towards Savage Summer Sessions (our summer events/bible study program) and of course Hume Lake. Oh yeah, there's a college camping trip next weekend and college Hume the first week in September.

Man what a busy time. In other news, Heather signed her contract to teach full time with at Brownell Middle School here in Gilroy. She's going to teach 6th grade Language Arts & Social Studies.

Anyways, that's a quick update, see you all later.