Making a Switch!!

Attention Friends and Visitors I am Changing My Blog Site!!!

I have decided to make a switch to a different blogging host. The hope is it will be easier to maintain and the presentation will look a little more sharp. Raising Daddy will probably take on a different style too... The post will be more about what I am learning through life's lessons and less about my personal and family musing. The personal and family stories can be seen on our family blog TheToFamily.blogspot.com Come check it out and tell me what you think. I'm pretty excited about this switch. 

The new blog will be here:

RaisingDaddy.wordpress.com

Thanks, see you there!

5th Anniversary Getaway

Lisa and I celebrated our 5th anniversary at the coast this year. Friday morning we meet up with our good friends Trong and Henry at the Waffle Window. (One of our new favorite breakfast spots.) They are right off of Hawthorn street across from Ben and Jerry's. Anyway we had a great time catching up with the guys and Trong surprised us with tickets to see RENT next week. Stoked to see it.

 After breakfast we dropped Kaden off at my sister's. He was super excited to spend time with his cousins all day and have an over-nighter. Kaden did great he didn't even fuss. 

Lisa and I took our time driving out to Lincoln City. Our goal for the weekend was to just chillax and spend time chatting about life.  And that's exactly what we did.

 We found this place called the Nelscott Manor. It's a nice little quiet place that looked out over the coast. There was a nice jacuzzi tub that had a great view of the beach and the waves crashing.

This is me being romantic. I think I mentioned that I have a hard time in the romance department cause I just can't be serious long enough. Yeah, the extent of my romance is this picture. I HEART LISA!

We had to pose for a nice sunset at the beach. Lisa put the camera on the car's windshield wiper and then gracefully jumped into the picture.

This is us from the balcony of our hotel. It reminded us of our honeymoon trip to Cancun, o.k. not so much, but at least the ocean is behind us.  

On Friday night we sat on the balcony highlighting our last 5 years together and came to this conclusion, GOD is good... We have had a great start to our marriage and are looking forward to many more years together.  

Raising Daddy Tip Of  The Day

Make sure the ceiling is high enough before hoisting the munchkin up to ride on your shoulders. 

News Letter

I'm trying to put our newsletter on blogger for the first time. Let me know if it works. The quality will suffer but I'm giving it a shot. If you want a copy of the PDF send me your e-mail and then I'll add you to our e-mail list.

Sorry for those of you who do an RSS feed I think it post on there every time I edit.

I got it to work the first time, but then realized I didn't want my address and numbers on there so blurred it out. 

Then when I reposted it, the pictures wouldn't enlarge. I think this will be my last try! haa haa...

Blogging ain't easy! haa haa... 

Blogging Ain't Easy!

It's hard to stay fresh and think that anything I say is interesting to anyone else. I wonder to myself, "if this wasn't my blog would I read it?" The truth of the matter is I'm not sure. Most of the blogs I read are from people I know or have met. There is a big relational factor for me when reading blogs. So I wonder if that is the case with everyone else?

I ran into someone in Seattle a few weeks ago who said they where having fun reading Raising Daddy and I kind of laughed, but he was serious. So I took it as a complement and moved on. I guess there are a few of you who read this blog cause there have been over 400 hits since I started and I would guess I only account for 200 of them (just kidding I made sure my hits don't count). Thanks for reading and stroking my ego.

It is difficult to write a blog because it seems so self serving which for me it is, because I don't think that I give much valuable information and really I just talk about myself. That said I'm going to keep writing cause it gives me a place to share my thoughts (while my little one sleeps.)

Let me leave you with a few blogs that I have been reading lately:

John Stumbo's Blog ~ A pastor who has contracted a devastatingly mysterious illness that doctors are having a hard time diagnosing. John shares what God is teaching him through this.

SkyBox ~ Sky Jethani author of Divine Commodity & Editor of Leadership Journal shares thoughts and resources on ministry and leadership.

Stuff Christians Like ~ Funny yet insightful writings about Christians.

Added Bonus of just funny stuff:

Cake Wrecks ~ When professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong. Makes me laugh every time.

Fail Blog~ Funny video and picture mistakes there is some inappropriate ones but there is an option at the top of the page to only view G-rated entries. 

Hope you enjoy these distractions.

Raising Daddy Tip Of The Day

If you download children's music online make sure you listen to it before you play it for the kiddos. Sometime the song might not be what you think it is.

Planning a Romantic Getaway

This year Lisa and I celebrate our 5th anniversary on June 12th. It's amazing how quickly this anniversary came. We have been talking about trying to do something special, but there are two little hurdles that we have to consider. 

1. What about Kaden? It can be difficult to be focused on each other and relax if our little toddler wants to jump in and share what's on his mind.

2. What about finances? We have been trying to be good stewards of our money and be more aware of our finances.

So this is what we came up with. We're going to leave Kaden with one of my sisters for an evening. and head to the cost overnight. We found a nice little hotel right on the Lincoln City coastline. It is a little more spendy then we wanted, but it is our 5th anniversary and we haven't taken much time for ourselves since Kaden was born. (justifying my spending is something I am working on, honest!)

We're getting excited to get away and hope it will be a nice time of relaxing and regrouping. Not sure how romantic it will really be since I don't really consider myself  much of a romantic. Whenever I try to do something like that it falls apart and turns into complete silliness.  It doesn't help that I can't keep a secret either... I've found that "romance" has a hint of secrecy involved.

So here is a picture of the place we will be staying for our anniversary.

The Oregon Coast never looked so good!!

Ok this is more like where we will be staying at; I told you we were on a tight budget!

Stay tuned for the real pictures of our "Romantic Getaway."

Raising Daddy Tip Of The Day

Make sure you have extra paper towels around if you teach your kids how to blow raspberries or zirberts on your face. It can get pretty wet!

Church

I've been thinking a lot about church lately and what its all about. It started with a conversation with some friends about looking for a church that fit them. I'm not sure what that really means, but its a statement that many of us have used when looking for the "right" church. 

The church we belong to can be very telling of how we participate in life with God. It will shape and many times dictate how we are involved in ministry. So finding a church that can help us go deeper, challenge our understanding, grow in our love for God and others, extend our reach, and also care for our needs is a daunting task.

I read a book a few years ago that shaped some of my ecclesiology (the study and theological understanding of church) called The Local Church Agent of Transformation. This book was written from a Latin American perspective about the qualities that the local church must have to be prepared to take on the task of being "salt of the earth" and "light of the world." 

One thing I know about church is that none are perfect. And no one model is perfect. It's not easy finding a church that fits with your personality and comfortability and at the same time is "missional" meaning; the church is  investing in kingdom work outside it's four walls and building up those who are already within the community of believers. 

I've been fortunate to be a part of Mosaic a faith community that works hard at trying to do this. Like I said no church is perfect, because the people involved are imperfect. But I believe Mosaic desires and constantly tries to be salt & light. 

Here are a few other communities that I've visited or read about that I think have the same heart:

Quest Church: Seattle, WA

Cornerstone: Simi Valley, CA

Mars Hill: Grandville, MI

Simple Way: Philadelphia, PA (not a church but communities living on mission)

{DISCLAIMER} There are many churches and communities that are kingdom minded and are doing amazing things in their communities as well as globally. I don't think you have to be a large church or have flashy websites to communicate this message. Although the four communities that I highlighted may have some of that. 

Raising Daddy Tip of The Day:

It may not be wise to stick your finger into baby's mouth to see if they are teething. Ouch!

Surprise!!

Surprise a new MacBook!!!!

I was speechless.  I must have looked and sounded very silly as I thought about how big a gift a new laptop was. Really I never know what to say in situations like that, when the gift is so "over the top" that you don't know how to receive it or express your gratitude.

Lisa and I gathered family and friends together to celebrate my graduation, but also to thank them for encouraging and supporting us throughout this crazy seminary journey. I didn't expect them to get together and buy me a MacBook as a congratulations gift. I was thinking ,"maybe they'll get me a cake!"

To all who chipped in, all I have to say is WoW! I don't know why God chooses to put such amazing people in my life. I get to share life with people who are generous beyond imagination. And to everyone else who couldn't make it to the party or got me other great gifts I thank you also.

I ran out and bought the new aluminum MacBook on Monday and my buddy Mike came over to help me break it in. Very exciting. 

Thanks again everyone!

Raising Daddy Tip Of The Day

If you let the little ones run around naked after bath time make sure you keep a close eye on them. Peeing on a power-strip can make daddy's heart stop. And who knows what it can do to Jr.