Author: Wick

For those who may have missed it….Detroit sent Anaheim back to their mom last night…with a beeeyoutiful shutout. Winning 5 to ZIP, even with some pretty significant hits being made.

Gotta give kudos to Holmstrom, who had to leave the ice for 13 stitches, and returned to finish the game. He was targeted like crazy…they know he’s a HUGE enforcer for the Wings right now.

Jiggy even got removed for their 2nd line goalie, who they just recently signed out of nowhere…it was 3-o…..the new guy gave up 2 goals….and the end inevitable. Detroit is just the better team. It’s 2 more games, and we move to play Ottawa for the cup most likely. 🙂

So here we are….Western Conference Finals. The winner of this 7 game series will play for the Stanley Cup! 2 Games have been played so far, both in Detroit. Detroit and Anaheim have both won one…and stand tied 1-1 in the series.

Sorry to say it, but honestly, both games were won on luck. Detroit had some very lucky goals saturday, simply by increasing traffic in front of the net.

But last night, Anaheim sent the game into Overtime by a VERY lucky play. Hasek stopped the shot, but it got caught in his pad….he couldn’t see the puck, and dove back to make another save….not knowing that by crossing the plane of the goal, he actually took the puck into the net himself. Sucked to watch. But anyways….game 3 is Tuesday night in Anaheim!! Look out Disney rejects!

…ever read an article that makes you want to respond immediately to it’s contents? Once in a while that happens to me, and I wish I could say I follow through every time. But anyways, this morning I read from “Relevant” magazine, an article called “Laying it Down. Learning to live with less in a culture of excess.” It was challenging.

Challenging as someone who has lived at various locations in the spectrum of a consumer-driven economy. Growing up on foodstamps, taking donations from churches for clothing/toys/food…to living “The American Dream”, owning two cars, a computer, a big screen, and enough credit card debt to last my lifetime. So many moments come where I want off this ride. This article brings into focus the reasons I would love to just quit being the consumer I’ve been trained to be. But what am I ready to change?

“Do the RED Thing”, the article brings up the RED campaign that became popular a while back…spending hundreds of millions on marketing, and raising less than 20 million for the actual cause. Ouch.

But what about an individual level? What does it mean to have “enough”? What does it mean to have too much? What excess can I begin to shed/let go of? What radical surrendering is Christ calling Chadwick Anderson to?

Do I love my daughter by spoiling her with every fun little toy possible, or love her by teaching her how to be content with little, and enabling her to give to others? These are definitely things I need to be thinking about now…and making the changes necessary now…and living towards others now.

And how about as a youth pastor? What defines a successful youth ministry/church? Tons of flat screens with video games, new couches/cafe seats, and an oversized sound/lighting system? Do I measure success by how many lives I’m able to touch? What does community look like in regards to “youth group”?

In 10 years, when the youth room looks the same, will everyone in the church appreciate that I’ve spent more time developing relationships than a flashy “club” or “program”? Lord help me…as an individual….as a part of this body….and as someone who feels Your call to lead others.