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           Football, rugby, power tools! That is one of the several men cheers that we have at Kanakuk in the summer and this week was full of manly things because it was Man Week. You're about to get jealous because our Mystery Monday started off with some clay/skeet/trap shooting. Whatever it's called. I've only shot a few guns in my life most of which was at a government shooting range (free ammo, and fully automatic weapons) and it's been a few years. But I was pretty proud of myself. I was able to shoot down 8 out of 25 using 5 different guns. Usually lunch is not included in Mystery Monday's but this one included grilling some juicy steaks on the grill. I'm just going to say that I need some practicing and it made me miss my dad’s steaks. 

            Continuing on the theme of Man Week, Adam Martin took us down to the lower fields down by the lake where he had a campfire ready for us to keep us warm. He also had some fun surprises waiting for us such as a huge potato launcher, a sparkler bomb, a dryer to destroy, a TV to destroy and a few fun games. But in the midst of all of these fun man things, he told us what it means to be a real man of God. Bruce Morgan brought it on Wednesday when he talked to us about the characteristics of what men have and what Godly men have. Donyes brought it hard on Thursday and talked about being men verses being boys (and we also watched an episode of Duck Dynasty). This week was full of fun activities but also full of what, as a man of God, I need to be focused on.

            Cole Wardell, who works for Afterdark brought it on Wednesday night when he covered Proverbs 18 this week at the Fort! (Click on the hyperlinks to check them out!)

Only a week until I leave for Ireland for a month! Getting really excited!

Until next time!

Week 1 of Semester 2

          This has been a great first week back with all of the students! We had a pretty chill mystery Monday where we shared a little about our breaks over breakfast. But the main part of this week is the speaker and this week we had the privilege to hear from the head pastor at Woodland Hills Family Church, Ted Cunningham, which is the church I attend here in Branson. He is also the author of a few books including but not limited to: Young and in Love, and Trophy Child.

            Ted’s main topic on the first day was about prolonged adolescence which is where kids aren’t growing up and are moving the 5 main adulthood milestones until they are 30 or 40 years old. Prolonged adolescence is the result of the kid-centered home where the parents are putting the kids in higher priority than their marriage. Ted put it this way, “too much privilege and not enough responsibility.” He sees this most with the ‘vanity parents’ which is where parents are using the accomplishments of their kids to impress others. I don’t thank the Lord enough for the parents that I have. Ted went through 7 different types of, what he calls ‘trophy parents’ (which is not a compliment) and I could honestly say that my parents weren’t any of that and I am truly blessed to be able to say that.

            On the last day, Ted talked about communication and what he categorizes as the 6 levels of communication. It was really interesting to see how conversations start at level 1 which is small talk and how they can jump to the other levels of desires and needs. I really enjoyed this week and I always look forward to hearing Ted on Sunday mornings. He’s pretty funny as well which makes him that much more enjoyable.

On another note, over break we had to write a 10 page paper on Mere Christianity which definitely seemed daunting at first but as I read the book it got me kind of excited about the paper. I really enjoyed the book and made me want to read more books. Next up is the Ragamuffin Gospel which a friend gave me a few years back but I’ve been lazy and have just kept pushing it away. I’m excited to read this book and might give you a little recap when I’m finished with it. Not sure when that’ll be.

2 weeks until Ireland! Getting stoked about that. Stay tuned!

Until next time!

Passion 2013

This last week has been insane! I'll give you a little run through...
Got into Atlanta around 7:00 AM after taking the Red eye from San Diego. My friend Alex picked me up and took me to The Varsity which is a fast food ATL-must. Great experience but not so healthy food ;)

MARTA was a huge part of my time in ATL. MARTA is a train system that goes throughout Atlanta. The house that I stayed at was actually quite a ways from where the Georgia Dome was so we drove about 25 minutes to take MARTA right to the Dome.

The group that I stayed with was amazing and I wouldn't change it for the world! I got to stay with 28 other guys most of whom I didn't know which made it that much better. It was a great time getting to know them and to make new friends. 

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The main sessions were the best. I learned tons from the speakers who consisted of John Pipper, Francis Chan, Judah Smith, Beth Moore, and Louie Giglio and all of them did a great job! Then there was the worship. I have never felt anything like it. Something about singing with 60,000 other people at the same time just gets to you. Let's just say I definetely felt God's presence this last week. 

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Now we need to get down to business. We need to END IT. And when I say end it, I mean end slavery. There are more slaves TODAY then there have ever been. At Passion we raised $3 million to fund 19 different organizations that deal with this. Visting End It 's site, click here will give you more information about the movement and you need to pledge to end slavery. At Passion we made a little commitment to shed a light on slavery and here is a picture of about 60,000 people holding candles around a light that went 3 miles in the sky to "shed a light on slavery." You can check out this video from CNN.

On another note, Happy New Year and if you would like you should check out my brothers top 25 records of the year. I respect very much his style in music. You can find that blog here at www.pdodd.com.

X-Mas Break

After being away at Link Year for three months it was nice to sleep in my own bed. Right when I arrived in San Diego, my dad, sister, brother and mom were wating to pick me up and took be straight to my favorite taco shop Robertos. It had been to long since I had divulged into a delicious California Burrito but man, did I savor that taste. 

The next day, the 23rd, was my brother Jordans birthday and also the last day I'd have with my eldest brother Patrick before he and his wife took off for Dallas for Christmas. It was a good day hanging out with them and having our own little sibling Christmas before they left. Christmas Eve it is has been a tradtion of my extended family on my moms side to get together which is always a good time with good food. It is also a tradtion to take a walk on the beach on Christmas evening. Now believe be when I tell you that this sunset was one of the best sunsets I have ever seen and I've seen so beautiful ones. Here's some proof...

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As I am planning on attending Balor Unisversity next fall it was exciting to hear that they were going to be playing in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 27th against UCLA. Because I was going to be in San Diego, I wanted to go. Fortunetly, my family got tickets through my brother and we all got to go! Baylor beat down on UCLA 49-26. It was a fun game to be at, especially being a Baylor fan. On the 26th, the day before the game we had the privlage of eating at the Baylor UCLA Bridgepoint Education Luncheon. This was a neat experience but my one regret was not getting a picture with all of the Baylor cheerleaders. Don't judge. 

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And on the 29th I was able to support my good friend at his mother's funeral. Although it is a sad time and I didn't know his mom I was super encouraged by what was shared and from what I heard, Christ is living in this woman!

I am currently in the Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport waiting for a friend to pick me up to go to snatch some lunch and then off to Passion 2013. I am so excited for this conference and meeting new people. I'm sure I'll have plenty to say after. Stay tuned. 

Until next time.

TWELVE

Mystery Monday was pretty awesome this week. They rented out a whole theater to ourselves to go see The Hobbit. We snuck our own snacks in so we didn’t have to spend $20 on a bag of popcorn and a drink. We got to see the movie in 3D and even though I am not a huge fan of 3D, I still really enjoyed the movie and I cannot wait for the next one.

Back in week 7 when we were in Kansas City for Urban Entry (which you can see more about here) we got the pleasure of listening to the Executive Director of Reach Life Ministries, DA Horton, who blows my mind every time I listen to him. God has blessed him and is definitely using this guy to further His kingdom. DA talked to us about two things, heart transformation and maximizing moments. One thing that DA said that really stood out to me was the idea of spiritual adoption as opposed to physically adoption. What’s cool about spiritual adoption is that we can look like our Father in heaven. We can have characteristics of Him such as the fruits of the spirit but if we were to have a physical adoption our adopted parents cannot change any physical features of us, they can’t change our nose to make us look like them but when we accept Christ we have a new father and the more we get to know Him, the more we get into His word, the more we look like Him.

And on Thursday we got to hear from Darrell Shemwell who spoke to us for a day back in December. This guy has so much knowledge about the Bible and we got a little glimpse this time about God’s sovereignty. This was great as it is helping me build what I believe theologically which is pretty much why I’m here at the Link Year. Tomorrow, Friday, is going to be off the chain! First we have men’s Bible study and small groups, which are always awesome. Then we are having a little white elephant gift exchange and then we are going to Silver Dollar City which is a lot of fun.

I plan to do a few blogs during the break so stay posted.

Until next time.