Tae Kwon Do

Toby has been saying for a while (at least since the release of the last Karate Kid Movie) that he wants to take lessons. Well, over Holiday Break, Toby was putting on the moves. I was shocked at his ability to kick and punch, so I figured I better look into it! Well, he had his first lesson today and he LOVED it!! It was so darn cute! Very proud momma here!! Listening to him repeat the Korean count was awesome! He did so well! Love this kid!!

Crazy Hungry Ducks

After our first bit of snow fell, my parents suggested we take a loaf of bread down to the ducks at the pond. I had no idea they hadn't been fed in weeks!! OMGoodness!! It was hilarious. Toby took off screaming, and the other two couldn't get away from them! Such fun!

Tay at Christmas Program

Toby's Kindergarten Thanksgiving program 2011

November 21, 2011 11:07 AM

Toby's Kindergarten Thanksgiving program 2011

Frustration of a 21st Century Sports Parent

This weekend ends the fall seasons for the kids sports! Taylor had her last regional soccer game, Toby had his last parks and rec soccer games and Drew had his last football game! Taylor also got to cheer her last football game at the Varsity game this weekend! Tomorrow night she will play her last travel game for the season as well! What a busy fall we have had!!

You know, I love every minute of watching my kids play. I enjoy watching them grow with each game. I enjoy seeing a light come on when they make a play that they have missed many times before. I enjoy the smile on their face when they are enjoying being a part of a team! I LOVE watching them win, and I even find joy when the loose! I just LOVE WATCHING THEM PLAY!!

So what is the frustration you may ask? The coaches and the parents!! UGH!! Taylor is 13 and we have been sitting at sporting events since she was 3 years old, so with 10 years behind us, I think I have a right to vent a little. Why is it parents these days care more about the games than the kids. Does anyone else see anything wrong with this? Now, I know I get excited at games, but I hope that I am an example to my kids! I love to cheer them on, I even enjoy cheering for the other team when they do something great! "Great save goalie!" Yeah, I wish it went in, but hey, that was an awesome save! Or "great block O Line", Do I wish we had stopped them, heck yes, but you can't stop them when the blocks are there! These kids are KIDS!!! Why do parents and coaches have to be so negative? And sadly, most of these kids will all be on the same team in the near future! Why can't we encourage them all? Instead we hold grudges against them, and when they hit Jr. High, it becomes hard to form a team!

It nearly makes me cry sometimes to hear how these parents yell at their kids (and some of them how they yell at kids that aren't even theirs!) And Grandparents? What? At a football game recently, a grandmother was yelling about how our team only used one player? And how unfair it was! HUH? We have 11 players on the field, and while that one is very good, he can't do it alone! He can't snap the ball to himself. He can't block for himself! Please just be quiet! And you want to yell at the refs? Really? These are 9 and 10 year old boys learning a game of football. I won't even call it playing, because they have a LOT TO LEARN!

And what about coaches? I have a confession to make! My son tried out for football this fall and we were lead to believe he was going to be "picked" by a certain team. We don't know what happened at the draft, but he wasn't picked by that team. He was picked by the team that was going to be coached by two gentleman I swore I would never let my child play for. The things I had heard (and some things I had seen with my own eyes) lead me to believe that Drew playing for them would not be a good thing. I even prayed about it "Lord, any team but THAT team!" But as always, God had something to teach us! When we got the call from one of the coaches, I was very disappointed. Nate said to me, I'm going to coach with them, so let's give it a try! So we did, reluctantly! I could never have been more wrong! These guys that I had tagged as monsters were very good to my boy! Nate was there, he saw everything, and while there were times they got on the boys, they were also very encouraging!! Drew had the best season! He learned so much, his passion for the game increased and they succeeded!

We were told that these guys coached dirty... but we never saw it! I had a parent from another team ask which team Drew played on. When I told her she said "oh, our coach said your coaches teach your players to play dirty!" WHAT? Why would a coach say that to the parents? Nate was at every practice and every game, we never saw that! Some coaches just love to create drama!

Drew played in the championship game tonight, and they lost! It was tough after an undefeated season! But the game they played on the field I couldn't have been prouder! The refs seemed a little one sided! There were some horrible calls! The players for the other team played rough (Drew has fingernail scratches down his arms, and he doesn't carry the ball!) but our boys played well, played fair and played by the rules! So proud!

But being a sports parent these days is tough! Parents of 8 year olds are already talking about scholarships! They don't care how it happens, they just want their kids to be #1. Sad, sad, sad!! Let's let kids be kids! Let them play a game! Let them learn what it means to be a team! Let them get some exercise! Let them learn what it means to win, and more importantly, what it means to lose sometimes! It happens in life. We win some, we lose some! Kids aren't learning that these days. They only learn they either win, or they were cheated out of a win.

I know I have a long road ahead of me! I just hope I can continue to be supportive and encouraging not only to my kids, but all the kids on the field (or court), because some of these kids may not see it from anyone else!

San Fran Recap Video

San Fran 2011 Rewind from Wooster Grace Students on Vimeo.

The best part

I had the honor of baptizing Erika in the hotel Pool Sunday Night! She has been in my small group for 3 years and is entering her Senior year! What an awesome close to an amazing trip!

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Cable Car Ride

We got to ride the cable cars after our time at China Beach. We were with Team Steve again, and it was a first for all of Hus, which was very cool!

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China Beach

The first stop on our sightseeing day was China Beach. What a beautiful place! Team Carol and Team Steve paired up and we met up with team Rachel and Team Mark. It was a wonderful Time! The view of the Golden Gate bridge was a little foggy, but still breathtaking. The kids loved climbing the rocks and our little monkey Jordan had this momma nervous! We had one student, Brandon, brave enough to swim a little, and he made sure he wasn't alone. He carried Josh into the water as well. We all shared a good laugh! Once Josh got out, he made a point to find Steve and share the love, but Steve got away!

We also enjoyed our sack lunch at the beach!

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Saturday Morning

Before we left Saturday morning for a day of sightseeing Nick shared with us and challenged us to stay on mission!

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Saying Goodbye

Tonight we had some time to wrap up the week and share what God has done in the lives of these students. K is yawning in this photo, not crying! It has been a long week :) We have really enjoyed getting to know our two YWAM leaders, Katie from Virginia and Tom from Britain. It was a blast hanging with them, and making poor Tom say things like" Harry Potter" that just cracked the kids up! The kids gave them a big (3 second) group hug after our meeting! GREAT TIMES!

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Love Feast

All week, while we were out ministering to the people we met, we were also inviting them to the Love Feast. Tonight was the meal and we had a great turn out and the students had a great time.

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Worship Time

Each morning we had worship/teaching time. It was a great time with all the groups that were here staying at YWAM this week.

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5000 Pounds

That's a big number! But that is roughly how many pounds of beans we weighed out in 1 pound bags yesterday at the San Francisco Food Bank. We took the Muni train, which was an adventure in itself, into town! We all made it with few problems! That is a task with 28 students, and maybe few directionally challenged adults :)

Once we were there we were given a little history and background of what they do, then we were sent in to the sorting room! The team did a great job and we had a blast. The gentleman that was helping us, whenever he wanted our attention, he would yell out O-H to which of course we would respond I-O and he would have a quiet room! It was really funny!

One more day at YWAM! Hard to believe! It has gone fast!

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brandon's world!

So having alot of fun here and wanting to stay longer. Changing every bit of my life and thoughts here. Love and miss everyone.

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Nessa's p.o.v. meeting Marvin

Hey! Today my street team had a great experience. We met a man obviously named Marvin-who had lived on the street for 50 years...wow!!! When we got on the topic of God, he denied that he was one of God's beloved. At that moment I felt the nudge of the holy spirit and grabbed my bible. I aimed to find the verse that says how we are God's prize...I ended up finding Romans 5:15: 'God's gift is different from Adam's sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But it was even more sure that God's grace would also come through one man. That man is Jesus Christ. God's gift of grace was more than enough for the whole world.' Then I said "You are God's beloved." As we went and bowed our heads to pray I glanced over at Marvin and saw a tear soak his jacket. My eyes began to tear up. I know that there was a deeper purpose than just friendliness to our conversation...it's a God thing. Friends and family, if you can spare a moment of your day please pray that we will carry this strength back to Ohio. Sharing the Gospel with friends back home will define the word challenge. By the way-I don't regret a single moment of san fran '11. Thank you for pushing us all to take a leap of faith. We have all seen tremendous change taking place in our hearts. I <3 you all!!! Nessa

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The church with their doors wide open!

This morning we were given free time to hit the streets of the Tenderloin. We had a wonderful conversation with Marvin and he encouraged us tremendously! I hope we can see him again! He is a chess player and I told him I was terrible and he promised to give me a lesson. As we continued to walk, Jordan suggested entering a church that's doors were wide open! As we did, I noticed the sign that said sleeping hours 6:30 AM - 11:30 AM and sure enough, the pews were packed! People laying everywhere. The sights, sounds and noises can put you on overload, but as we look around at this beautiful church, I am reminded of the beauty of each one of these people! The students have all taken their bibles and journals out, they are feeling it as well!

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Homeless Plunge and High Places

Today was another full day but Homeless plunge was the majority of it. We left YWAM at around 7:00 and could not come back until 3:00. Our team took off to hit various parks. We tracked up the hill...YIKES! We got a glimpse of The Golden Gate Bridge and right before Lumbars Street, Jordan wanted to walk through the park across the street, so we did. That is when we met Orion from the post below. God was tugging on our hearts!

After time with Orion, and some debriefing from it, we went to Lumbars Street and had some fun! Then we took off for the pier and beach areas. We spent a lot of time there, reflecting, journaling, and a special treat, I handed out a letter to each student that their parents secretly wrote. They all went off on their own for a while to reflect on life back home! We did a lot of walking, talking and connecting! We handed out a few lunches and really the time went pretty fast.

After a short time back at YWAM, we took off for High Places. We hiked back up the hill to Grace Cathedral for some teaching time from Nick, some time of reflection on what our" High Places" are. What is it we put as more important than God? What idol is it we worship Monday through Friday, before we come into church all happy and cheerful! After that, we went outside to reflect on that and I had the privilege of chatting with and praying for several of our young ladies, and I spent time praying for each student and what God was stirring in their lives! It was amazing! We spent time in worship as well, in the courtyard of the cathedral.

We got some photos of our students that recently graduated (at the fountain) and those that are upcoming Seniors! We have a great group and I am just praying for their leadership and encouragement of the underclassmen!

Tonight we spent some time as a street team having dessert and doing a little shopping followed by some very powerful time as a whole team encouraging and praying for each other!

I am exhausted again, so I am off to bed! Tomorrow will be more time on the streets meeting people and working in a local food bank! Thanks all for your prayers!

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