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Basketball's holy land -- Cameron Indoor Stadium

In honor of Coach Mike Krzyzewski's (Coach K)  880th victory last night putting him number two all-time on the men's basketball win list, here are some, or should I say a lot of pics from my recent visit (Dec. 8, 2010) to basketball's holy land --  Cameron Indoor Stadium on the Duke University Campus in Durham North Carolina. 

Whether you are a Blue Devil fan or not, every serious college basketball fan should make a visit to Cameron for game at some point.  I am hoping to make this an annual pilgrimage.

I am fan of not only of Duke's basketball program, but Coach K has been an indirect leadership mentor to me.  I am sitting in a place of greatness.

I have been a long time Duke fan since 1978 when I followed them make a run to the final four eventually losing the championship game to Kentucky 94-88.   The purpose of this visit was belated milestone birthday gift to my mom, who is also long time Duke fan.

The game we attended Duke defeated Bradley 81-48.  It was a historic evening as Coach K chalked up win 877 moving him into third in all-time wins.

That night sophomore great Andre Dawkins had a career night scoring 31 points including 8 three-pointers.

Now what makes Cameron Indoor Stadium the number one home court advantage in all of sports is the "Cameron Crazies!"

Our seats gave a great view of seeing an incredible leader in action.

We spent the whole day walking the campus and taking in the mystique of this place and you never know who you might run into.  Here I am with all-american, player of the year nominee Nolan Smith.

Later that day we ran into sophomore sensation Ryan Kelly the starting 6 -10 forward.

Then after the game freshman phenom Kyrie Irving who was on his way to being a first-team All-American and no doubt freshman of the year. 

This was my second trip to Cameron this year.  Earlier this year I attended a game with my son,  and when we there there were only three of these now there are four.

 

 

PRAY WHERE YOU ARE

I am always looking for fresh ways of engaging with God.  With my tendency to drift I need practices that help keep God in focus as the main thing in my life.  Here is a practice that I have come up with over the past year or so.  I do not do it well and fall short of its objectives often, however I keep at it because when I do engage in it I really sense God's hand at work.

This was to be shared in the message SHIFT that I gave on Sunday Dec. 26 as one of two ways to keep God in focus. 

The two key areas where I will need to do the most shifting is in respect to places that I inhabit and the people I interact with.  The first practice is ...

PRAY WHERE YOU ARE:  In its simplest form this practice involves praying  every time I enter a new environment. 

So here is how it might be lived out on an average day: first praying when I get into my car, my next stop would be the Starbucks where I get my morning coffee and praying there, then praying at my son's school when I drop him off, then praying as soon as I get into the office.  Then throughout the day when I run an errand or go to an appointment praying as soon as I get there, then later going to the gym and then back home praying as soon as I enter into all these environments.

Now what I pray will vary.  The main point is to acknowledge God's presence in all of these environments.  When I am faithful in this practice it has an incredibly shaping influence in my experience in these places. Instead of getting through the routine of what these places facilitate,  I find myself seeing things with more redemptive eyes and more intuned to the people around me.

Two key verses that have informed this practice are below.

Genesis 28:16,17
Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!’ And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

Matthew 28:20b
… I am with you always, to the end of the age.

I hope this will prod you PRAY WHERE YOU ARE  in 2011.

The second practice will be in a future post.

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Adding "Angst" to Any Christmas Gathering

Now that  Christmas is becoming a memory  and in a few days we will be putting away the Christmas tree and packing away all the decorations, here is something I want to prod you to put in the vault for next Christmas.

Most of us attend several Christmas party/gatherings during the course of the season.  Some are highly anticipated, some are more of a commitment or obligatin, some you wish you could put more energy toward -- these are some of the ways we approach them.  Now with these gatherings there is not only a commitment of our time, but also, in a lot of instances, we are responsible to bring a dish (if it is potluck style) and some of you might have some type of gift to bring for a gift exchange.  So seemingly simple tasks are exaggerated because there are so many of them.  So in the midst of an already full schedule and season here is how you can angst to any of these Christmas Gatherings.

You can do so by adding this gesture.  Ask each person that attends to bring a gift for Jesus.  It is His birthday afterall that we are celebrating right?  And when I am invited to a friend's birthday party, I believe the understood norm is that you bring a wrapped gift.  So why would it not be any different for Jesus the King of King and Lord of Lords. 

Trust me when I say this will be met with angst.  Now why would I want to add angst to an already somewhat stressfull season?  I will explain in a moment. 

Up to the day of the party they are usually in a quandry as to what to bring..  When I have done this in the past, people usually have these type of responses:  "What?"  "I don't understand?"  "A gift for Jesus???"  "Do I get Him clothes, I don't get it?" 

And my answer to these questions is always the same, "It's a birthday party, have you not bought a birthday gift before?"  This usually does nothing for them, but add to their frustration.  So again why do this?

Because it can lead to one of the most meaningful Christmas gatherings you may have.  I speak from experience. 

20 years ago when I began following Christ.  I was invited to a Christmas party and when I asked what I should bring thinking it would be a food item, I was told simply bring a gift for Jesus.  And I went through all of the angst and frustration that people I have posed this question to.  I called others I knew who were attending the party, the host -- all who offered no help.

Yet, it proved to be the most meaningful Christmas.  When we sat in a circle to share our gifts I was incredibly moved to see the thought, creativity and heart that was put into each gift. 

This past Christmas that we just celebrated we did a birthday for Jesus in one of the gatherings  attended , and no fail it had a similar effect of adding angst but more important meaning.  The gift I brought for Jesus is in the picture above. You might think I that is an odd gift, but there is explanantion to the significance and the meaning.

Until next Christmas ..

When I Begin to Drift ... SHIFT (Self Examination Questions)

Yesterday, I had the privilge of sharing the final message of 2010 at Journey Community Church.  In my message (titled SHIFT) I shared that at times we will drift from keeping the "one thing" in focus, and when we do we need to SHIFT. 

I shared some self examination questions that I have found helpful in shifting God back into focus as the "one thing.

Here they are in case you missed them:

• Is there any area of sin that I am struggling with?
• Am I genuinely engaging in the lives of people whom Christ desires for us to reach?
• Am I living life of conscientious dependence on Him?
• “I am living life with a grateful spirit?”

 

 

"MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Kaya's"

MERRY CHRISTMAS

To all of you who enrich our lives through our on-line community.  Thank you for all the times  you made the effort to comment on our wall on Facebook or replied back to us on Twitter. And thank you for sharing your life aswell through these means.   Your friendship is a gift.

Wherever you may find yourself this Christmas may you celebrate well the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

 

There is Still Time! "What Your Need to Know Regarding the Journey Christmas Services!"

Here is what you need to know regarding our Christmas Eve Services at Journey Community Church. 

 

Service times are Thursday Dec. 23 at 7pm & Friday Dec. 24 at 2,4, & 6pm. Please note that doors will be open 20 minutes prior to each service.  And if you don't take off right away stick around for complimentary holiday goodies.

There is childrens ministry class for kids 5 younger on the 23rd and for infant to care to 5th grade on the 24th.  Middle School and High School students are to attend the main services.

And for those of you last minute shoppers our bookstore will be open 6:30-8:30p on Dec. 23 & 1:30-8:00pm on Dec. 24.

On Sunday December 26 join us for one service at 10am as we celebrate one last time in 2010.  We will be partaking in communion in that service.

Journey Community Church. 8363 Center Drive La Mesa CA 91942. 619.464.4544 www.journeycommunitychurch.org.

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"Why?" The Greatest Question

A quick thought ...

Last night while flipping through the channels I landed on watching a few minutes of Larry King's final show of Larry King Live. A show that started on CNN in 1985, that he was now calling it quits after 25 years.  The segment I caught had Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast member Fred Armisen playing Larry King interviewing Larry King.

It was fun exchange of questions and one that was posed to the real Larry King that really piqued my interest was,  "What is the greatest question?" 

To which King replied "Why?"  He explained that asking this question (Why?) does two things: 1. it can not be answered in a single word and 2. it gets people to think.

 

 

What a Difference a Year Makes!

On November 9 at the Journey-Up Rally I had the privilege of interviewing four people whose lives have been linked by and radically changed by a series of promptings and invitiations.

One of the persons whom I interviewed was Marie Foster.  One year ago to the date of the rally Marie was confronted by the most devasting news of her entire life.  And now a year later she was sharing about how she had come to know Jesus in a personal way, was baptized and is being healed of past wounds.

What a difference a year makes! 

However, this interview was a bit of teaser.  There was much left in her journey we wish we could have heard and was left wanting.  That was by intention.  This weekend (Dec. 3 & 5) as we kick off a brand new series A LITTLE MORE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT we will get to hear her journey in its entirety.  The purpose of Marie and others on the panel sharing their journeys  during this series is to convey how critical a simple invite to a weekend service might change someone's life for eternity.

And what a great opportunity is in front of us as this series leads up to four Christmas services we will be having on Dec. 23 & 24.  For a complete break down of the series and info on our Christmas series click here.

Be sure to pick up invitiation pieces at Guest Services.