College...am I really that old?

Hard to believe so many of the "kids" we've helped raise either at our home or at the church are going off to college now or will be very shortly.  Most are nearby and within a few hours.  Still though, it is just a bit mind blowing that I am THAT OLD!  We are blessed to have worked with so many that are departing...and that we get to live out our life with the rest of them back home.

(I'm glad they'll be close so we can hopefully run into them down the road.) 

This revelation came to me after receiving my official invitation/announcement from OSU about my upcoming 25 YEAR GRADUATION!!  My princess informed me that I was older than she was and that this invitation officially makes me old.  OUCH.  I mentioned this recently in a discussion with about 200 incoming college freshman at Redlands Community College.

When I mentioned the invitation and the whole "25 year reunion" thing...they looked at me like I was Methuselah!

It was twenty-five (25) SHORT years ago...during a cold December in 1989 that @jaythebanker graduated from OSU with an AgEcon degree... Oh yes, there's more to that story..

I made a movie trailer... Very fun indeed!

I made THIS with the iMovie app on my iPhone5 last weekend..  It'll also work on 4's and 4S's.

Lots of other options on the app too..  We'll see what's next..

#kw2013

We came. We saw. We conquered!

If I told you I was still tired and recovering from the retreat..would you believe me? Well, I do and I speak the truth!!
It was a full throttle 48 hours and a fun crew of 38 youth at New Life Ranch (7 sponsors too). This picture was right before departure on Saturday morning. Gorgeous day and a great one for the "challenge course".
The challenge course provided access to lots of fun activities. But the best part of the course was watching many of the youth overcome the fear of heights or jumping off a 40 foot pole! Many very literally took a leap of faith.




The picture here is of some of the more seasoned camp attenders who had experienced the Zipline before.. My daughter is in the center of the picture. And yes, they were having fun.




The focus on this trip was to get them working together.. Cohesiveness, community, connection and other cool words like that.. We live in a tough enough world as it is - we need others to help encourage us and spur us to achieving things.
As a Christian (and youth) it's even more important to have that group (or community) to back you up and hold you accountable too. If left to ourselves...we stumble and fall or maybe just make poor decisions. It's cool to celebrate successes too. So, we focused on connecting to each other.
New Life Ranch is an awesome place.. Many lives have been changed, enhanced and even saved in this great valley. (We stayed in the WestWoods Cabins right on river.)








•from an undisclosed location..

Youth Retreat NLR2012

Heading to Colcord, OK to visit New Life Ranch..Oh..and taking 38 of my friends! (7 sponsors too)

There's been lots of rain in NE Oklahoma so we shall see if the creek did rise. Interestingly, our cabins are right on the creek..

We will experience many things including: THE SCREAMER, PAMPER POLE, ZIP LINES and even something new for our group.. "HUNT, COOK & EAT".. If its not too wet we will enjoy the old school bus hay ride (they've cut the back top off of the bus).. They'll gun it and we hang on as we ride the rough pasture!!

Certainly each of us will have some Jesus time and awesome worship together. Mostly, i am excited to see how the Lord will stretch us..

Pray for us..

Wish you could've joined us.. je

My "YES" vote..Reason #1

IT'S "MISSION-like" in my mind..To me this is somewhat of a mission opportunity (albeit a stretch).  Where else can my family invest ~$11 per month and impact my daughters, their future daughters and their daughters daughters?  We send money to other parts of the world and in most cases never get an opportunity to witness the impact it has... Soon, I can contribute ~$134 a year over many years and actually SEE IMPACT.  (a 6.61% increase of 2010 ad valorem taxes)   Find you real estate tax here  --> http://www.tmconsulting.us.com/visitor/visitor_taxroll.php?cnty=Canadian