We found out a few weeks ago that we were going to be having a boy sometime around May 25th of this year. We are so stinkin pumped about it!! His name is Cannon Thompson, haven’t decided on a middle name yet. Maybe Joseph or Andrew. He’s definitely a blast and full of energy already.

God is already telling an interesting story through him as well. I can’t wait to share some of that story with you later.

Wanted you guys to know that I didn’t fall off a cliff while meditating, just been super busy.

Any advice for a dad-to-be? And what about the middle name, anything have a ring to it?

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pic from Panoramas

When it comes to ministry, this picture is a scary one. It’s a picture of a plateau. A beautiful piece of God’s creation, but not really what you want if you are the leader of any ministry or business entity. Because this image represents lack of growth.

It might only be for a season, but this is something that in no way is something that I look forward to experiencing. In fact it scares me. But it’s also something that you must learn to embrace for a season.

There are certain things that you can see from a plateau:

1. Where you’ve been
2. Where you’d like to go
3. How stuck in the middle you are

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I still have such a long way to go....

Tomorrow I turn 25 years old. I’m psyched, scared, nervous, and freaked out. To you, 25 may seem like life is just beginning. To me, 25 is another reminder that I am going to die one day. I want to make a huge difference for the kingdom of Christ, for people and for my family. But I have learned a ton from some incredible people. Here are 25 lessons that I’ve learned in my life, broken down by 3 sections of my life:

Childhood

1. Treat people the way you want to be treated. -Thanks Faith Baptist Church, where I grew up
2. You won’t always get what you ask for, but you definitely get more stuff if you ask for it.
   
3. Be an original, not a copy. -Mom
4. Both of my parents would tell me, I don’t care what your friends are doing, they aren’t you… This continues to resonate with me today. You don’t have to do or be something because other people are doing it. 
   
5. Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9, John 3:16, Phillipians 4:13, 1 Timothy 4:12 -all these verse learned from 3rd-5th grade are still essential in my faith today

Teenager

1. People need to know that whatever you are asking them to do, you would do. -Another one from Dad
2. You are only as good as your last win. -Dad taught me this one I would also add this, don’t concentrate on people’s perception or your past, produce more wins.
3. Be a man, treat ladies with respect and honor, they like that. -One more from Father
4. It’s not about me. -Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
5. Relationships take work and upkeep. -learned this while Kristen was in Argentina
6. You can trust God -I learned this one through tough things happening.
7. I was created to lead -UPS taught me this one.
8. Training and Evaluation teamed with love produce growth in those you lead. -UPS
9. God’s will is not as mystical as we make it out to be. Become like Christ, period. -learned from Bro. Bob, pastor at Faith Baptist Church(church i grew up in) and a book called Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung and Joshua Harris(affiliate link) every teenager should be required to read this…
10. Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith, it’s an element of it. -Faith and Doubt by John Ortberg (affiliate link) Had a conversation with a student last night wrestling through this very thing.

Young Adult

1. There’s nothing new under the sun. -written by Solomon, coined by Mike Hepola
2. Leave and Cleave is definitely more difficult than I ever thought. I love my wife more than my mom. It’s definitely been a fun ride going through this one.
3. Invest in the right relationships. learned this one from Josh Bradley
4. Church is always ran by people, who aren’t perfect. O, and we aren’t either, thank God for His grace.  Jared Patrick
5. Let’s be a complex church, rather than simple. Our God is complex and so are people. -Perry Duggar, pastor at Brookwood Church.
6. At least pretend to care about your appearance. -my wife is teaching me this as we speak. I have a hard time with this one. YOUR APPEARANCE MATTERS.
7. Good Communication is the key to lasting mutually beneficial relationships. And so is smiling
8. Christ alone is where my dependence rests. On Him I gain strength and life. My faith in His sacrifice in life and death are the sweetest gift that I’ve ever been given. Rest in His Grace.
9. Don’t be a punk. Always be a part of what’s happening.
10. Being in a place with someone is not the same as being with someone. It’s best to learn this early on in life. -My wonderful wife is still helping me through my tech crazy habits

Bonus Lesson… You always learn more through struggle than comfort. (going through this one right now )

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So the above picture is one of those shots!! Ruth Russell took them and set them up and told us what to do and made us smile!! She’s so good!!! Anyway, I’m trying to get her website going, but if you are looking for pictures for an event or just some family pictures, then shoot her a message on FB or shoot her an email at rrussell718 [at] hotmail.com

Here are some more pics to whet your appetite:

Our Happy Family

Yeah, that's my wife

So you should definitely check her out!! But look for some new pics all over the place!!! What do you think of the pics?

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So my birthday is next Friday. and I’ve got a few big things that I want. I’ve gotten my big birthday present already (a giant gas grill ), but if I don’t make a list of what I like then it won’t be a goal for me. So here are five big gifts that I want to have. Also these are like BHAG, (big, hairy, audacious gifts) that will take some time for me to make happen.

1. Canon EOS 7D kit I want this Canon 7D because, I am looking for a DSLR that has video capability and Chris Brank has totally sold me on this camera.
2. Apple iPad 2 - We have a few iPads in our Preteen Ministry . They are an incredible tool and with Lion coming out, they are going to be more and more useful.
3. Macbook Pro My wife has been wanting this for awhile and I really want her to have one. The 13″ would be perfect for her and our home
4. 37-Inch Full HD 1080P LED LCD HDTV with VIA Internet Application - we are looking for another tv for our home. I really love vizio and this would be perfect
5. Amazon wish list I have another larger one here too: Big Wish List I love reading and books. I can always use more books

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So it’s been so long since I’ve been on a regular schedule. It’s been a blast though. Couple things to be thinking, praying, and looking forward to in the next few weeks here at jcisonline.com

• We, Student Ministry, will be owning the main service this Sunday. Worship, Greeting, Message, etc. Can’t wait. It’s going to be huge for our church and our Student Ministry.
• Pulled off another incredible Adventure Week. This year instead of production, I was in charge of figuring out a way to make it awesome for our tweens. It was awesome. Can’t wait to tell you about it. Got a series brewing.
• Recruiting, Coming up with Training Plans, Camp planning, and just everything that you normally do during the summer in Youth Ministry. It’s going great and I’m realizing just how much help I need running a ministry. It’s crazy!!!

So it’s been awesome. Over the past few weeks I’ve: read a fiction book (haven’t done that in years), played Portal 2 all the way through and crushed it with a buddy of mine, and watched an entire Cubs game!!!

Also I’ve been reminded of my need to have a hobby outside of ministry and I agree. I need something besides working on my lawn. So here are some ideas that I’ve got, but I want to know what you do apart from your ministry and family life. Here are some things I’ve thought about in the past few days:

• learn how to play guitar ( don’t know how, but I would love to)
• read a good fictional book series. (I’m reading through Hunger Games right now)
• Invest some more time into photography. (Haven’t done it in awhile. Really want to upgrade my dslr to one with video capability)

So how’s your summer and what are some things you do besides ministry and family?

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So it’s almost totally official. But after thinking about this every year since I graduated from the University of Memphis. I am finally going back to school. I will be pursuing an M. Div degree from Liberty’s online seminary.

I’m so pumped and afraid, because it’s not like we can necessarily afford some more debt after the house we just bought and my wife’s car…. So please join us in praying for some money for school. I honestly thought of starting some sort of fundraising thing through the blog, but I thought it would be a little cheesy. But I’ve also had some people tell me that you don’t have because you don’t ask. So maybe later…. Anyway I really do ask that you pray for some funding to come in and that it will ease the financial burden on us. And obviously that we (I) don’t become afraid and back out, because of the risk that it will put on my wife and myself financially. Seriously pray for us.

This will be my first biblically based degree. I’m a student developed through the church and because of that and reading a ton, I have a pretty good framework for the Bible. But I want to become stronger in this area and ultimately by going further in my education, I feel that it will benefit our family in the long run.

So do you have any advice for someone going after an M. Div or just someone going back to school after not having been in a long time.

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So May 2011, peace! Bring on June!!

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Hey this has been the most incredibly crazy week of my entire life. Cards and Phone stolen, family stuff, and so busy at work and today I can say that I am just ready to have some fun. My wife Kristen and I will be celebrating our 3rd year of marriage tonight at a wonderful seafood restaurant in town.

My wife and I have been together for almost 7 years and today marks year number 3 in marriage. I feel that this year is going to be our most difficult, but yet incredibly amazing year that we have ever seen as a couple. I cannot wait to travel it with my best friend.

Kristen I am so happy to have chosen you as the one to spend my life with, apart from my commitment to Christ, you are the best decision that I have ever made. You are strong, passionate, and lovely and one day I hope our children grab those qualities from you. I love you and can’t wait for tonight and the rest of our life to come.

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Safety. Such a safe word . This word scares me. I never thought that this word would describe me. But when I got married something shifted inside of me. Ever since I’ve been married, I’ve wanted to provide something safe for my wife. I want her to know that I would do absolutely anything in this world to protect her. But I wonder if I’ve crossed over into the Safety Dance realm.

We can dance if we want to, We can leave your friends behind, ’Cause your friends don’t dance and if they don’t dance, Well they’re no friends of mine
I say, we can go where we want to, A place where they will never find, And we can act like we come from out of this world, Leave the real one far behind
And we can dance

Now from what I understand about the song it was about being a pogo-er and pogo-ing in the club. Club ownders didn’t like it and they would kick out the pogo-ers and run them out of the club. First of all, if that’s true, that is a funny story. Secondly and more on topic, it’s pretty relevant to where I am right now. My wife and I are thinking about having children and I’ve got some things that I want to accomplish sometime before I die. I’m 24, I know this might be a weird thing to think about this young, but one thing I’m sure of is this, I’m not sure Safety is the legacy that I want to leave.

The safety dance song is more about reserving the ability to take chances and do what you can. It is safe to dance and I think that the once part of safety that I want to cultivate in my family is not to be safe in our circle, home, city, country, but instead feel the safety to take chances because of knowing that you are in an environment of love.

I know that safety is something that many parents want for their children. I wonder if that desire lines up with Christ? I remember very strongly this quote, about Aslan, from C.S. Lewis in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

“‘Safe?’ said Mr. Beaver…’Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. but he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.’”

I want my family to be people known for following God, whether answering that call is safe or not. Here are some decisions that I want to make one day that will not be safe for my family.

• Go back to school for my Master’s Degree and train to do ministry at a higher level (this costs money, we don’t have any. My first degree was paid for by the school that I attended through scholarship)
• Write a book to young leaders. (You don’t make money writing books. You do spend a lot of time doing it though. Oh yeah, I’m not good at grammar)
• Have Children, raise them to follow God. (nuff said)
• Adopt a child. (yep)
• Take a desert trip where my wife and I can focus on hearing God’s voice moreso than vacation. (yes, sign me up today)
• See students live out their faith in High School that I taught as 3rd graders. (6th graders now)
• Give more than we gave the previous year, every year. (yikes)

I want my children to really grow and know that Jesus Christ is real and that our lives should not only reflect it but also be an experience of it. Can you do this? Is it possible to live an unsafe Christian life and yet still want safety and protection for my wife and future children(God willing)?

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