San Diego: Convention Days

Still in San Diego, though the convention is now officially over (and I'm officially exhausted). We'll be spending the next two days at the zoo and safari park. James has had some busy days with Opa and Lola, who have taken very good care of the little shark, but I'll admit to not really knowing all that they did with him. I know they went to see the sea lions and to a birthday party for one of Lola's relatives in LA area, but that's just about it. Today, though, Opa and James were watching the Tigers game and James got so excited and would make excited noises, but when the tv was on something else he wouldn't. What a good boy :) 

So what have I been doing with myself? Jumping from session to session to family room to big room to session to sanctuary to session to family room to big room to session to... It's been a pretty intense weekend! I've come away from it with a ton of new ideas rolling around in my head, as well as a few really important things in my (and Tim's) life that need to be implemented. The two most important things I've learned are that 1. I'm not important to youth ministry, and 2. I cannot manufacture fruit.

So that first one: We're told all the time that we're important, that God loves us SO much, that we're worth so much to him, and either we believe this or we don't. What I've learned this weekend is that just because we're important to God does not mean that we're all-important to his ministry. I love my job, I love my youth, but lets face it - if I weren't there someone else would be. We make ourselves into being so important to whatever it is that we're doing in life. For me, it's ministry. They're MY youth and my lessons are SO important, and really they should shut up and listen to what I have to say because it will CHANGE THEIR LIVES! Wait... hold on. WHO's ministry is this? Are they really going to remember everything that I say and think I'm so super smart and in tune with God and want to be just like me? Uh. OUCH. (Please don't be just like me - that's too scary). My self-importance in ministry has become debilitating to the ministry because instead of it being a God-run ministry, it's a ministry in which I feel like I am doing everything and so I am the important one. It's all about what I can do rather than what God will do. Which leads me to:

#2: I cannot manufacture fruit. Jesus said "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." God is the gardener, Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. I cannot produce fruit without abiding in Jesus - period. If I'm not in a personal, deep, steady relationship with Jesus, then all the work I am doing is just me trying to "manufacture fruit". My job isn't to make fruit on my own, but rather to remain in Jesus, abide with Him, and allow Him to produce fruit through me. This point leads me to realizing that above all else is the importance of my relationship with Him. The problem comes with the fact that I have no real time to focus on that relationship because I am so busy with everything else. Doug Fields, a speaker, told us today that Jesus was never rushed. He didn't rush into ministry - he waited until he was 30 and then spent the first 40 days in the desert alone with God (plus the devil who showed up). He didn't rush to heal the sick - and ended up having to bring them back from the dead instead. He stopped, he took breaks, he slowed down and spent one on one time with God. His ministry wasn't about DOING it was about BEING. Doug said to us "Show me a busy life and I'll show you a broken life." When we're busy and our lives are hectic, we aren't in a strong relationship with God. We're instead running around trying to manufacture fruit rather than allowing God to produce the fruit. Every time I say "yes" to something new, I'm saying "no" to something else. If I say "yes" to something at church on a day I need to spend with my family, then I'm saying "no" to them. I need to learn the art of saying "no", or else my family and my relationship with God will suffer for it. Those are the two most important parts of my life, they are where I lay all of my life-long commitments.  Anything else comes after those. No more saying "no" to family time because I'm running around from meeting to meeting, event to event, program to program. My doing more stuff won't progress God's kingdom if he's not in it in the first place. Time to reevaluate.

San Diego Day 2: Birch Aquarium

Yesterday it was raining on and off all day. We were going to go to the village to see Ruby, a bird that previously sat on dad's shoulder, but we didn't want to get caught in the rain without any gear. We ended up at P.F. Changs to have lunch with Malia. I got the dim sum lunch, which was so good! Malia suggested we head up to the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla (la hoya) to be safe from the rain. Before we did anything else I had to sign in for the convention. At the sign in I got a really cool bag made by women in India who are making these bags to stay off the streets and away from prostituting themselves. The bags are made from recycled banners and not one of them is like any other bag. Some of the bags had words on them in multiple languages, and there was one that even had french fries on it! I chose one that was just a bunch of really bright colors. After signing in at the convention headquarters, we decided to go to the aquarium. Of course, we got lost on the way there even though we were so close. Eventually we made it there and had a lot of fun with James. He was intrigued by the fish in the tanks, especially the big and the colorful ones. He even got to see sharks! It's a small aquarium, not much bigger than the fish exhibits at John Ball Park Zoo, but it was perfect for James. The one thing I wasn't a huge fan of at the aquarium was the global warming part. It portrayed it as fact, rather than theory, and even had a running counter on CO2 emissions since whenever. It was some huge, ridiculous number, which is probably true, but it didn't say how much of the CO2 that has been emitted gets taken in by plant life and changed into O2 for us to breathe. If they had done that and then presented another number of CO2 emissions that are still hanging around in the air, I probably would have found the information useful. Anyway, the day was pretty good and James had a lot of fun (Lola always makes him laugh). The view from the aquarium looking out to the ocean was gorgeous. And to top off the day, the Tigers WON!

JAWS! At the Birch Aquarium.

The ocean.

With Opa and Lola at the aquarium, looking out at the ocean.

JAWS First Flight

Yesterday James and I flew from Grand Rapids to San Diego for the National Youth Workers Convention and for a visit with Opa, Lola, and Aunt Malia. I'll admit to being more than a little nervous about flying with a baby, especially on my own. Turns out, I didn't need to worry, James is an excellent flyer! Tim dropped us off at the airport at 6:30 for our 8:15 flight. I thought it would be good to have extra time to go through security and get his diaper changed. The woman at the check in counter was nice, but said I didn't actually need his birth certificate - that's just for international flights. Not sure how I feel about that. I don't like the idea that anyone could just take a baby on a flight, even in country, without them making certain the child is actually yours. At security, the guard was wonderfully helpful, he even put stuff in bins for me, pulled out my laptop, and folded up my stroller. We got on the plane last - intentionally, and found ourselves sitting next to some great people. James made them laugh with his antics. He kept peeking through the seats in front of us, eavesdropping on those people's conversations, he did his usual jumping up and down, and he tried repeatedly to steal the girl next to us' bright blue pillow. Not once did he fuss or cry on that plane. As we were taxiing into the gate he fell asleep (great timing buddy).

On the plane from Grand Rapids to Chicago

After getting off in Chicago we had to run to our next plane since it was already in the boarding process (not easy to do with a baby, bags, and a stroller that is meant for strolling not running). When we got to the gate the line was still long so I took the time to change his diaper - and was the last one on the plane yet again. This time the plane was much bigger and had a lot more people on it. James fell asleep about a half hour into the 3.5 hour flight. He slept for about 1.5 hours and after he woke up I fed him some yogurt - note to self, next time bring Tim along just for the feeding! He got restless with about a half hour to go so I stood up and bounced him. He laughed, made eye contact at people, smiled at them, and entertained them the whole time we were bouncing. He jabbered away at them and made a ton of "friends". I'm thinking this social personality is a trait he gets from his father...

We got off the plane in Phoenix only to find out we had to switch terminals by going outside the airport, catching a bus for a 5 minute ride to the last terminal, and then had to go through security again. This time security wasn't very helpful. They even tested his bottle and then had the nerve to look upset that I was holding up the line... I wondered if they ever had to go through security with an infant on their own. This is what it involves: take out baby food and declare it, take out the bag of 3oz liquid/gel items (diaper cream, orajel, tylenol, etc.), take out the laptop, take everything out of your pockets, take off your belt and jacket, take off your shoes, take your baby out of the stroller, fold it up and put it on the belt one handed, and then you have to put it all back together again. Of course I was holding up the line! I officially have a strong hate on for the Phoenix airport. If I have a choice, I'm never flying through there again.

The last flight was even smaller than the first. We ended up sitting in front of people from our previous plane, and one woman was actually a true British nanny. She took him so I could find a place for our stuff in the already crowded plane (we were, of course, the last ones on again). James ended up sleeping through the entire flight, only waking up as we descended. Getting out of the airport was easy and Dad and Helena were already there waiting for us (with their own story to tell about border patrol crossing and cop-induced traffic jams).

Opa and James playing in the hotel room.

We went to the hotel and unpacked, then went to dinner and on to Ralphs and Target to get baby stuff. We ended up getting this super cute and totally awesome inflatable tub in the shape of a rubber ducky (see below) for James to take his baths in. He loved it! Honestly, I think it's better than his bath at home. He kept beating on the poor duck's head. Anyway, it was a great trip for the most part, and James is such a good traveler. I got so many compliments on how good and cute James is (and that I should send his picture in to Gerber). I'm thanking God (again) for that blessing! He ended up sleeping better last night than he has in weeks. One thing I didn't think a lot about was the time change - so at 2 (5 our time) this morning James had to wake up for a bottle and then woke up again and wanted to play at 5 (8). It's a good thing Dad and Helena are deep sleepers! That's it from San Diego for now. Our internet connection isn't great, but I'll try to keep the blog up while we're out here.

James in his new inflatable rubber ducky tub!