Seven Months And Counting

Abbie is now just over seven months old. She's a happy little girl. She is smiling and laughing all the time. She is scooting around our living room and taking her first crawling steps. As you can see from the picture, she loves to stand up. It wouldn't surprise us if she started walking a little early.

I love being a dad. It is simply amazing to watch Abbie and to see what she is doing and learning. Yesterday, Andrea stayed home from work because she was sick. After nursing, Abbie just laid on our bed and played. She rolled around, laughed, giggled, and talked to her mom and dad. There is no better way to start the day.

Steve's Top Five Sports Injuries...

So I sprained my ankle playing basketball Monday night. It didn't feel real good, and it still doesn't. So in honor of my injury, I thought I would relive some of my best sports injuries.

5. Open Gym Sprain: This most recent ankle sprain makes the list, but barely. We were playing open gym ball with some guys from the church. We had game point and I went up for a running floater...and came down on someone elses foot. Instant Pain. I went to the doctor, got x-rayed, and then went to the orthopedic doctor (a first for me!). All in all, a pretty basic sprain, I think. This injury made the list because of the cool discoloration in my foot. (Picture is from 5 days after the injury...the discoloration has spread to my toes and up my leg.)

4. Tooth Knocked Out While Wrestling: In 1988 (yeah, the 80's), I was 10 years old and wrestling in the Pennsylvania Junior Olympics State Tournament. I had won my first match by technical fall (18-1) and advanced to the Semi-Finals. The guy I wrestled in the semi-finals beat me, but not by much. I won my first consolation round match and got to wrestle for 3rd or 4th place. In the consolation final, I had a melt-down. I did not manage my temper well, and it got the better of me. My injury in the match was that my opponent knocked out one of my teeth. Now, I believe the tooth was already loose, but it was still kinda cool to get your tooth knocked out wrestling! I came home as the fourth place wrestler in the whole state of Pennsylvania. (Picture is from February 1988- and
yes, I was a dork.)

3. Basketball Practice Sprain: This might be the injury that hurt the most. It was a ninth grade basketball practice. I don't remember what we were doing, but I came down either on someone's ankle or the ball (don't ask). My ankle sprain was really bad. I was black and blue from my ankle to my knee. I actually fractured my fibula (small leg bone?) and chipped my ankle bone in this injury. Neither me or my parents ever remember a doctor telling us I fractured my fibula, but it showed up on my x-ray this week.


2. Boxer's Cut: At the 1996 Rocky Grove Basketball Invitational, we were playing in the championship game. Sometime in the 3rd quarter, some knucklehead elbowed me above my right eye...creating a boxer's cut that bled profusely. The ref didn't see it right away and so play went on. My face was covered in blood. I was wiping it off with my hand trying to stay in the game. Finally the ref realized that I was losing a pint and stopped the game. Our assistant coach grabbed the vasaline, gauze, and some tape and fixed me up. I went back in the game with a huge piece of medical tape over the top of my eye to the point it obstructed my view. How did it affect me? Let's just say I hit two free throws to win the game and made the All-Tourney Team. (Picture is probably from 1995-96. Check out the ankle brace on the left ankle and the shaved head.)


1. Attack of the Bat- During my senior year, my dad was the High School Girls Softball coach. After my baseball practice, I went inside the gym and helped dad with his softball practice. I was working with one of my friends, Kristy, off the batting tee. I placed a ball on the tee and turned a little when Kristy swung hard! Her backswing connected right across my face, somehow missing my eye and orbital. While I wasn't knocked out, I iced it right away and took some IB Profin. About two hours later the swelling set in and my left cheek nearly touched my right one. I couldn't hard talk I was so swollen. I was black and blue from my eye down to the bottom of my neck. It looked like I had a tennis ball hidden inside my mouth. I actually pitched in a game a few days later and couldn't feel a thing as I pitched because of the painkillers. (This picture (From April '97) shows the injury shortly after it happened...and just before the swelling really set in.)

So there you have it, the Top 5 Sports Injuries in my life....what's your story? (BTW, I'm considering bringing back the shaved head...just don't tell Andrea!)

Relationships Over Porn...

I was reading a 'in the news' piece in Relevant Magazine's leaders guide that came in the mail this week. The piece indicated that new research from Time magazine found that social networking sites dominated the web traffic by college students. This should come as no surprise as one considers the myspace and facebook phenomenon. What surprised the researchers was that the visits to adult websites have fallen in large numbers. There has been a 33% decline over the last two years to adult websites in the 18-24 demographic. The conclusion by the researchers is that as online users get more interested in social networking, the less interested they are in pornography.

This makes sense to me in several ways.

1. Porn is a fantasy that can never deliver on what it promises. Sure, it's on-demand and readily available, but the relational value of porn is one way. It's literally skin deep, or paper thin. People go to porn for many reasons- one of them being to fill a void in their relationships, a desire to be wanted, etc. Yet porn cannot deliver in any real way because it is a lie.

2. People crave relationships. We want to be known. We want to be connected. Social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook are aware of this. We live in a society that is increasingly isolated from one another. Social Networking sites give people the opportunity to feel connected, to know someone on some basic level. But I think they eventually leave us wanting more. Social Networking sites have helped me reconnect with a few friends from the past, but beyond that it tends to be a glorified messaging system.

The Bottom line is that we are designed for community. We are designed to love and be loved. We desire to share our dreams, passions, fears, and experiences with others. Porn can't do that. Social Networking sites can begin the conversation- but let's be honest, we desire something deeper than what we can acheive through Facebook or a blog.

Sunday Morning Recap

It is cold outside this morning! It's still cold outside. That often affects the turnout at church, but overall, it wasn't a bad morning. The 9:30 service was packed in tight. Here's a brief recap.

Music: I had no voice today. So the team basically led and I played guitar. We didn't have our soundman, who is preparing for another surgery. All things considered, I thought it went well. Our closing worship was a time of response. The band did a great job of leading into God's presence.

Sermon: I thought my sermon was a good balance of biblical passages and illustrations to open up the passages. I preached on slavery to sin and how Christ provides us a way out of slavery to sin. I probably could've done a little more with the end of the sermon. I rushed at the 11:00 service because my voice was quickly leaving me.

Response: As stated above, we had a good response time following the service. It was an opportunity to lay our sins down at the feet of Christ and experience freedom from the power of sin.
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As I write, the Chargers are up on the Patriots, but the Pats are picking up steam. Tonight is Fusion's last night as a joint effort of middle school and high school students. Next week, we will split the groups. It exciting to be ready to split, but kinda scary at the same time. This could be a case of having to plough through in order to do what is best for the group.
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I've been thinking of a name for our 20's-30's ministry. I think what I've settled on is Emerge (or eMERGE). It gives the right perspective of emerging from high school and entering the next stages of life, relationships, and faith. I'll probably create some sort of vision statement along these lines and begin looking for someone to craft a logo for the ministry. We will launch it in May/June as the college students return home for the long summer break.

Welcome To Elementary School!

I found this program that rates the reading level on your blog. As you can see, the reading level I provide is much like the newspaper...on an elementary school level. I think I like it that way. It makes it easier for everyone else. Some who read this blog would have a difficult time if I used 'transubstantiation' or "hermeneutics".

I finished my sermon this morning. I am taking a look at the slavery imagery that the New Testament uses in regards to our sin nature. Even in the midst of being a slave to sin, we sometimes allow sin to linger. I call this a Spiritual Stockholm Syndrome. Stockholm Syndrome is where an abductee begins to sympathize with their abductor. In the midst of this slavery to sin, we have become comfortable with our condition.

The answer to the problem is the grace of God. It is through Christ that we are more than conquerors because of God's love and grace. It is possible to be set free from the penalty and the power of sin when we live each day in God's grace.

On the family front, Abbie appears to be getting her next set of teeth. She's been unusually cranky the last two days. Tonight, I could see what appears to be teeth ready to emerge from her gums. We didn't get much sleep last night...I'm prepared not to get much tonight!

Working On...

I'm pressing on through a blah Tuesday. I'm tired (Thanks Abbie). My legs are tired (Thanks age and basketball). I'm cold (Thanks winter).

I have really done any worship evaluation lately. I'm not really going to do one today...just a general one from Sunday. Overall I would give the worship time a 7-8.5 out of ten. It was a moving time. The message was clear and there was a great response time. The music fit the theme and offered the people the opportunity to express their hearts. In hindsight, I would have changed the arrangement of the last song a little bit. It ended, well, awkwardly.

I am preaching on Sunday. I actually have a decent start on the message as far as study goes. I may try to start writing tomorrow. I am going to run with an idea that I have been cooking for awhile. So we'll see how it will go.

I spent some time with a member of our congregation today. He helped me out around the church and then we went to lunch. Despite a lot of negative things that have happened in his life, he has a strong faith and a desire to give back to God and the Church. Refreshing to hear in our consumer-church mentality that exisit today.

I will be writing more tomorrow about the upcoming sermon. It will help me get ready.

Ministry Long Haul...

I've been wrestling over the last several weeks on where I believe that God is calling me to minister. A year and a half ago, I started seminary and was appointed in the Methodist Church in the Elder track. I want to do seminary...so I am sure I am in the right place there. What I am unsure about is being in the Elder track. That means that the Bishop in my conference can call me to a church to be a pastor. Now, I believe I have the abilities and gifts to lead a church...the question is where does my passion lie...and where is God calling me?

A few weeks ago, I received a call from a church in Texas as they were looking for a youth pastor. My name was given by a friend as someone they believed would be a good fit there. The job description was remarkable. A ton of potential. Warm weather in the winter! The biggest problem was moving away from our family (especially with Abbie).

This got me thinking about what I want to do. While I like the general church ministry...I think, more and more, that I am more geared to the specialized ministry of youth ministry, or young adult ministry, or worship pastor. What this means, right now...I don't know. But it is something I'm going to be wrestling with for awhile. I meet with DCOM (District Committee on Ministry) next month. This question may come up while I am there. We'll have to see how forthcoming I am. So if you're reading this, I would invite you to keep me in your prayers.

Rally Wrap Up

I'm back from the Pen-Del Conference Youth Rally held in Ocean City, MD this past weekend. I believe this was my 7th Rally to be at since moving to Delaware. It is always an incredible weekend. This year was a little different as I wasn't leading a group, but helping with the leadership of the overall conference. My fancy title was Back Stage Coordinator. This means I made sure all the speakers, students, and bands were ready to go on stage at the right time...and I had a great view!

During my seven times at the Rally- this had to be one of the best overall. All the bands were outstanding. Starfield did a solid job leading worship. Hawk Nelson, LA Symphony, and Flatfoot56 each rocked the crowd. Flatfoot56 is a Celtic Punk band. (It's just like it sounds...a punk band with bagpipes...sweet!) Ayiesha Woods was probably the surprise of the weekend. Her set just plained rocked! Her guitarist was amazing and ended the concert with a crazy solo!

The Rally also featured Taylor Mason- probably one of the funniest comedians I have ever seen. He is simply amazing.

The speakers were Kathleen Baskin-Ball, a pastor from the Dallas area and Justin Lookadoo. They focused on the theme "Whatever" coming from Colossians 3:23. Both did an excellent job of challenging the students in their faith.

The cherry on top of the weekend was the opportunity to hang out with our churches youth group during some of the event. It was different not being with them the whole time, but I savored the opportunity to worship and dance with them during the bands. All in all, a pretty great weekend.

Love is...

I've been reading Rob Bell's book Sex God this past week. I'm about half-way through it. There is a lot of talk in Christian-land on whether Rob Bell is the next Billy Graham or some sort of heretic. I, for one, really enjoy Rob's sermons and teachings...but like any Christian should, I strive to investigate what people say and write.

Regardless of that, I really like what Rob wrote on love and risk on pg. 98...

"Love is handing your heart to someone and taking the risk that they will
hand it back because they don't want it."

"Love is giving away power. When we love, we give the other person
the power in the relationship."

"Love is a giving away. When we love, we put ourselves out there, we
expose ourselve, we allw oursleves to be vulnerable."

"Love is giving up control. It's surrendering the desire to control the
other person."

(for whatever reason, I can't get this justified left...but onward I go)

This is what God did with us. He loved us enough to give us free will. He loved us enough to give us his Son. He loved enough to risk that we might reject His love. When we understand God's love for us, it compels us to look at the love we have for those around us. It moves us to a selfless love, an empowering love.

In the New Year, my prayer is to ask God to help me take risk and to love as He loves me.

Happy New Year...

It's been almost two weeks since my last post. I really haven't gone AWOL. Church life gets so hectice right before Christmas...and I did my very best to stay off the computer while I was visiting family.

Christmas for the LaMotte's was a pretty good affair. We had very nice Christmas Eve services with over 1000 people attending. Christmas morning was fun. Abbie had a good time playing with the wrapping paper. Abbie did get a lot of gifts (most from the Grandparents). It was great to see both sides of the family this year. During the past six years, we've only seen Andrea's side of the family at Christmas- and spent Thanksgiving at mine.

New Year's was a pretty low key ordeal for us. I skipped the Fusion New Year's Eve party to stay home with Andrea and Abbie. Andrea and I took advantage of the quiet night and watched some of season 3 of Lost. We hope to be caught up before it starts back up on January 31st. We're off to a good start.

I think that our biggest blessing of Christmas is just the reiteration of how great our families our. They are certainly not perfect, but they are loving and they are family. The holidays would be a pretty dismal sight without family.

This has been a short week. I am the stage manager for the Youth Rally this weekend. Hopefully that goes well. The Steelers play their playoff game on Saturday night and I don't have high expectations. I am ok if they lose, that just creates more time to play with Abbie and watch LOST.