Vegas Baby!!!

I sent the day in Vegas. I left real early this morning and I am sitting in the airport to return home. Long day of travel, up at 4:30 AM and back around midnight. Anyways, I came to Las Vegas to attend Aunt Annie's Funeral. I will admit that it was real hard to be in the cemetery. I was excited for Annie because she is home with Jesus, but I was real said about Joshua. A hard day to say the least. I find myself still struggling with the death of my son (Joshua), I had a great conversation with my cab driver about the loss of his son as well today and was able to share with him the hope that I have in spending eternity with my son.

The other day I was listening to the radio and I heard a song that reminded me about the hope I have. It was a song by Mercy me, I can only imagine, and it ha new meaning for me that brought me to tears. So often it is easy to get caught up in this world and I forget what heaven is going to be like. The bridge of the song goes like this...

"Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine"

I can't wait to see Jesus. I have no idea what it going to be like in heaven. I wonder if I will know loved ones. I wonder if I will be able to meet Joshua. I can't wait to tell him about our family. Tell him how much we loved him. Maybe tonight Annie and Joshua are hanging out and worshipping my King. I love you so Jesus, and I can't wait to dance with you and be in awe with you. May you continue to heal my heart until I can spend eternity with you. I can only imagine what it might be like with you. I know this for sure Vegas will never be as bright and magnificent as Heaven!

X-treme Fun

Last night I took 20 students to a place called X-treme fun. What a night of fun and fellowship with students. I loved playing with students...laughing, sweating and enjoying the company of one another. About 9 months ago we started a new ministry to high school students at our Erie campus, with the idea that we would practice Christianity as a family together. Meaning that we are going to study the Word of God, we are going to pray for one another, we are going to care for those in need, we desire to develop a place where students can come and discover what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. No big program, no outstanding speaker. Just a community built on the love of God and the love of others. Last night it was evident that students have learned to love each other. In the midst of fierce competition and intense battles students cared for one another. They looked out for those who needed help, gave up so other could have a turn, they made sure everyone was included. Community was happening, real, spiritual community was occurring. On the ride home in one of the vans students began asking each other how they could be praying for one another that week, deep pain was happening in a girls’ life and she needed prayer from the group. I believe that she asked for it, because over the past nine months of praying together as a family God has been answering prayer and students have been seeing God at work. As students were leaving a girl who joined us for the first time came up to me and said I have never experienced a group who cares for each other like you guys care for each other. I can’t wait to come back next week! Praise God! Someone who needs Jesus might actually be seeing him in true spiritual community. “And the Lord added to their number daily of those being saved.” X-treme fun was when the church acted like a spiritual community.

Fantasy Football

Today I participated in my first fantasy football live draft. I loved it and I am excited to talk smack to all the other people in the league. I never thought I would play fantasy sports, but I realized I am a frustrated athlete and know have to live in the fantasy world of sports. The best part of the playing in the league is being able to connect with other guys who I love and enjoy in my life. I look forward to the next 16 weeks of living vicariously through professional athletes.

Drinking from a Fire Hydrant

I just go back from the EFCA national summit in Minnesota. It was a great week spending time with a group of men and women who love Jesus. This eek was a wee of refueling and reimagining what student ministries could look like across the nation. I was able to listen to the hearts of two men who challenged me to think different about the way I minister to others. One thing that Earl Creps challenge me with was, "Instead of doing church we need to focus on doing Christianity." That statement spoke to my heart. Working in a church it is so easy to get caught up in the business of church instead of modeling what it means to be a follower of Christ. It is know wonder that our those who enters the doors of church get confused about what it means to follow Jesus. I confess that I have been more concerned about getting people to a program than drawing people into a relationship with Jesus.

The week was filled with tough teachings that challenged me throughout the week. It was like drinking from a fire hydrant.

Joshua Dale

It has been almost two weeks since Joshua died. I never thought the pain of losing a child I had not yet met would be so great. As I reflect on how his death has impacted my life I still don’t fully understand, but I know I will be different for the rest of my life. I know my relationship with Angie has been affected and my relationship with Jesus is different. I don’t know if I have ever wrestled with God in the way I have in the last few days. I still don’t understand, I am still upset, and I am still broken. In the midst of my heartache I still know that Jesus loves me…A verse that Angie shared with me is one I hold onto in my time of great pain. “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) I never thought I could love someone as much as I do even though I never me Joshua.

When Angie and I found out when out baby boy had died it crushed us. One thing we knew was that he had already impacted our lives, and we wanted him to have an impact on others. We never met him, but we wanted his life to have meaning and that is how we went about giving him a name. For Angie and I this was the hardest thing we have ever had to go through in our lives. We felt that we were in a valley, and “Dale” means in the valley. But we still knew that God was our salvation and our hope, so we gave him the name “Joshua,” which means the Lord is out salvation. So even in the valley the Lord is still our salvation.

As Angie and I have had to say good-bye to our son we have been so blessed by the community of believers and we don’t know how others go through pain and suffering without hope in Jesus and a community. We have seen the church be the church and we feel loved and cared for and know that God still loves us.


This experience sucks, is the hard, we don’t get it, we are frustrated, we are in tears, and we know that people are sorry for us. But the greatest gift that was given to me was a man in our church how told me “he loved me.” I praise God for his words, and in the midst of pain I was loved by God and by others. I praise God for out community who has come around Angie and I and have helped us walk through this valley.