Well.. here we go. A little update on the journey. Let’s start with something I get asked about a lot- “What’s going on with your second book?”

Well there are a few answers to that…

* I have a bunch- but right now 4 big ideas for other books I want to chase. After a lot of thought and discussion-I decided to chase one of those ideas. I did that and have a ton written for what that book will be one day. Until this last season I was still working on it. That is until God essentially led me to hit the pause button on that project. It will be finished but I simply have to follow where God is leading, and He is leading me into a new journey. That book is about unmet expectations which is pretty funny now because it’s not done…. welcome to my life.  I believe there will be a season where God will use that content in a special way. But that season is not right now…

* That being said I’m at a place and have been in a season where God has been really refining and challenging me. It’s been a bit of a restless process, but in this moment I am SO grateful for it. I’m becoming more and more aware of who I am in Him and what He wants me to do with my life. Which has led me to what the next book is about…

* I’m now working on a new book that’s more focused on something I’ve had the opportunity to do with my life for the last almost 15 years- invest in students. It’s shaping up to be a practical set of ideas and encouragement for those who lead small groups- especially student small groups. It’s been fascinating thinking through all aspects of this and beginning to jot down some thoughts/ideas. I’ll be sharing more about this project as we go, but it’s humbling to see God take pieces from the last almost 15 years and put them all together in this way. I must be getting old, but it’s been a fairly emotional journey so far thinking about the groups God has allowed me to be a part of. It’s been so amazing to see His faithfulness and His hand in this journey.

On another note… my first book is still out there somewhere. I know Amazon and Barnes & Noble have them in stock online and there are still some left at the North Point Connections Bookstore. Because of this shift, I’m not sure when the new one will be out, so you might have to settle for HALT for now. I’m still very proud of what that book is and what it has begun to represent in my life.

That’s the update on book stuff. There is a full creative board sitting next to my computer at home and many words yet to be written and stories to be told I’m excited about this journey!

Next up… talking about “the restlessness”

Hi there.

My name is Jason and this is my site. If you check here often you’ve likely noticed that this has not been updated much lately. There are some reasons for that. Some of which I’ll be starting to share here soon…

I’ve had a really refining/challenging/incredible/humbling/amazing/life-defining/restless/surrendering/grateful season. And I hope and pray that I’m a better man for it.

I know that I’m more focused on who God has made me to be and what He has called me to do with my life. And that’s a pretty cool thing.

So this post is simply to simply let you know that, I’m back. And I’m excited. And coming soon I will be sharing with you some of the incredible things God has been doing in my life lately- I think they might just challenge you too.

It’s a new season in my life and heart and I’m excited to share this journey with you. Come along won’t ya?

Let’s meet back here again soon…

Been home from our mission trip for almost a month now… and enough time to take a few moments to scribble down some overall thoughts on our mission trip to Merida, Mexico. So here goes…

* It was an interesting week for me- being “the leader” in a good way. Most trips I’ve been on before I was more the hang with the students guy- this time around I was the “leader” which was actually something I really enjoyed. It’s interesting seeing myself in a different way. It’s a good thing and in many ways natural and part of the season of life I’m in. I’m very grateful the team trusted me and followed where our trip led us.

* One of the fun parts of being a leader who delegated to great leaders is that (especially at VBS) I found myself with not a lot of things that I had to do. What I mean is that we broke our team into 3 teams and each team had an incredible leader. (Art, David & Joe) Each of them met with their team to plan & pray for their part of our trip. They all knocked it out of the park… every night. My role was to simply hang out and make sure they had what they need, troubleshoot anything going on and connect with the leaders we were serving. It was cool to be able to let go, trust and watch things happen. I felt like my director at North Point a lot (that would be Coach Shef for you blog folks) he does a great job of trusting leaders and letting them do what they do. It was a cool experience.

* Even a few weeks later I feel a strong connection to our team. My friend Rick said it best- “There is always something special you share with those you are in the trenches with.” Well said. It seems that most of our team still shares that strong bond from our experience. We had a get together last night and it was great to see everyone again.

* It struck me when I was preparing for a talk for July 4th- the city we were in (Merida) was developed in the 1500′s from the Mayan’s. The United States hasn’t been around that long. Crazy how much God has blessed our country so quickly.

* The “win” for this trip was two-fold- first t serve the fine folks at Shalom with whatever they needed from us. I hope and pray that we did that well. Secondly it was for the parent/student team to have a shared experience that caused a deeper connection to each other. It’s hard to gauge that so early after the trip- but it sure seems that the Lord did that and more. It’s something our ministry leaders have been talking about for a while now- partnering with families to create cool experiences that have spiritual value. These trips were our first 2 shots at doing that and from my perspective I’m very excited about this season of our ministry.

* As we begin to move from it, it’s cool to hear that the church we did the VBS at has had an increase in attendance. It’s cool to hear some stories of how God is working in the hearts of our team. It’s cool to be reminded that the God of Atlanta is the God of Mexico and the God of the Universe. It’s real easy to kick back and only see God where you are- it’s so refreshing to be reminded that God is at work all over our world. His Kingdom is not our church buildings- His Kingdom is His people. It was an incredible honor to serve some of His people with some of His people.

* Have had a bunch of people ask me if I would go back. In a heartbeat. Even last night a lot of folks on our team want to go back next year. Cool stuff.

Lord may you take everything from our trip and use it for your glory…

FRIDAY

Shalom Work

We finished up our construction at Shalom this morning. It was another sweaty concrete filled morning and again the team was incredible. We finished helping mix and pour concrete on the 2^nd story floor. Before we left most of the team left their work shoes and gloves for the local workers who were there if they wanted them. They took it all. Amazing. I brought an older pair of tennis shoes to work in and they snapped it up. I am so proud of all the hard work the team did at this church/work site. They put so much heart and energy and really did so much without complaining or arguing… but serving. It’s so powerful when that happens.

Sinkhole

We took a little road trip to the cenotes. This is a really cool sinkhole/cave that has water in it. You can jump off a platform into it. It was incredibly cool. I had a blast just hanging out in the water with the team. A lot of the guys (teenage and some adult) were doing some cliff jumping which was pretty cool to watch. Watch the video below to check out how you get there. It was also raining like CRAZY on the way back which was interesting… on a horse drawn cart in the middle of a torrential downpour. Making memories!

To get an idea of what it was like check out this video or this video

La Parilla
We had our last dinner together at a cool restaurant called “La Parilla”… no it’s not the chain that’s in America. By the way- found out that means “the grill.” It was SO good. I got the steak fajitas with this special steak they have. I had the chance to eat next to a lot of the local staff and leaders that were with us for the week. I’ve grown to really love and appreciate them a ton. It was also cool to simply sit back and watch the team simply enjoy each others company. A week ago we were not this close… the Lord has really drawn us together over this shared experience. I know I will miss interacting with them daily.

Team Meeting

We had our last team meeting tonight. We had some time for the families to share with each other what they learned during the week. It was cool thinking about our first meeting together when everyone stared at each other and then tonight when I would ask a question and then have to interrupt them to move on. I say that to say that God has obviously done something special not only in us individually, but as families too. That is a huge answered prayer. We also had some time to celebrate communion together to mark the celebration of not only what God has done for us, but what He did through and in us during this week. Honestly, I have been so honored to be a small part of this team.

Saturday= Sick

Unfortunately around Friday afternoon I started getting sick with a very, very bad stomachache. It has stayed around for a bit, but I am getting better. It made for a very, very long travel day home. Let’s just say I spent a lot of time in airport bathrooms on Saturday. Ugh. In fact I would say that Saturday will go down as one of my longest days ever. Honestly by the time we got to the airport in Merida I was already down for the count…and that was at 4:30 in the morning. Not gonna lie, it was a rough day, but I knew God would bring me through and He did. I am writing this now on Sunday afternoon and beginning to feel better. I started some medicine this morning that is supposed to help get rid of things that can happen when you go outside the country. (Yes, I’m being vague for a reason.) I was blessed to get exit row seats for both of our flights yesterday which helped me stretch a bit which was a godsend.

Home

I gotta tell you… I came home and Mama Carr did not only stay here, she got to organizing. She did some great things getting my house a little (insert laughter there) organizing of things around the house. She didn’t have to do all that… but it’s awesome! They also got the Murph a haircut, got my car tuned up and fixed up a few things around the house. I don’t always receive help well… but I am grateful they took time to help me out. Thanks Mom and Dad- I’m very, very, very grateful for your love and support as I chase after God’s plans in my life.

Church

To wrap up this post I have to say that I was blown away this morning by the leaders and volunteers at Xtreme. All of you who prayed and said kind things about this blog were such an encouragement to me. I can tell you this- your prayers were felt. Honestly. You asked the Lord to carry us and He did. Thanks- I know it is our teams desire that God was honored by all that was said and done in our time in Merida. I’m praying that’s the case.

Work

Not gonna lie, we had some hard work to do today and it got done. We made concrete with a machine (adding buckets of sand, rocks & water plus a bags of concrete) poured it out, shoveled it into buckets and then made a link to get the buckets to the roof where some team members were putting it out. The “roof” will actually end up being a floor for another room sometime down the road. They say it will take 2 years to finish. Serious work. And the team was awesome. Simply awesome. Everyone was covered in gook, sweaty and making it happen. At the end we needed to fill a big hole/pole area with concrete and it started raining and we finished filling the hole in the rain. Good times. Not sure I ever thought I would love working in the rain so much, but as hot as it is here, it was a refreshing break.

It’s cool to think about what God might do in those rooms one day. It’s cool to think of those of you who gave and are praying to make this happen. Your investment is in that floor. I could not be more proud of this team. They are working their booties off and I think God is using it in cool ways. So, so, so proud of each of them.

It’s also cool to see what a team of 13 year old students are capable of. There have been times this week when I’ve forgotten that they are just 13- they have been work horses and amazing. (Of course there are times when I’m reminded they are 13 too!) They really have been awesome and I think for many of the guys they might have had a “validation” moment or two in the midst of construction.

Tour

We took a guided bus tour of some of the sights of Merida tonight. A sad thing was how many “old” churches were shown to us. It’s sad because of how in many ways dead the church is in this city. It makes me more excited for our friends at Shalom and all the hard work they are doing to be a place to lead people into a growing relationship with God. It was fun time though- it was an open air bus and it was a good relaxing time after an intense day of work. The bus made a quick stop at a mall and everyone enjoyed looking around for a few minutes. I made a purchase of an “el jefe” hat. That means “the boss.” That’s what the locals call the team leader and I’ve not been called that much this week- some folks on the team said I needed to get a good “el jefe” hat. So I found one at the mall and am not sporting it. I kinda like it.

After that we hit up Shalom again for dinner (tamales & some crazy good potato stuff). We’ve noticed most meals are simple meat and potato. Not a lot of salad, vegetables, or fruit… the ladies on the team are ready for a salad. I think the thing folks miss the most is some ice cold sweet tea. I’ve actually started taking a little liking to the local coffee brew. Shocking, I know…. I said little.

We finished up with a quick team meeting and some called it a night. A few folks walked a couple of blocks to a cool square in downtown Merida. It was cool walking and taking in a bit of the city at night. Also scored some great local ice cream and a decaf americano from the “Italian Coffee Company” in Mexico. I know. We are all drinking a ton of water to stay hydrated so something different is a welcome thing. I’m only letting the students drink sodas at meals, not during the work hours and they’ve been great about that.

We go back to construction in the morning and then tomorrow afternoon we take a long road trip to a massive sinkhole that you can jump into. Then we have our last team meal… the last supper if you will. I’m excited about taking some time as a team to stop, think, and share about some of the things God has been teaching us- yet I’m sad to almost be done with this team. I’ve grown to love every member of this team- all 18 are great, great people.

Not sure if I’ll be able to update tomorrow night- we have a long day and leave in the middle of the night for the airport for a long, long day of travel. We leave the hotel at 4:30 am and won’t be in Atlanta until after 6:00 pm. I might not update again until Saturday night- but I will post about the rest of our trip then.

On that note- I wanted to publicly thank Mama Carr for staying at my house this week and watching the Murph. Thanks mom! I’m honored by your service!

Can’t wait to see my boy! I’ve been gone a lot lately and it was cool to have someone be able to stay with him this week.

Also- thanks to all for your kind emails, facebook messages sending thoughts and prayers our way. It really has sustained us. Keep it up for another day and a half! Pray for strength tomorrow, wisdom to hear from what God is telling us and safe travel home. Talk to you soon friends…

Random Thoughts

If you play “punch buggy” you’ll be sore here. There are VW bugs everywhere. By day 3 the guys had to stop hitting each other.

Interestingly enough… Burger King is way bigger here than McDonalds. We’ve passed some huge BK’s and not even seen a MCD’s. Daniel told me that’s because BK came here first and everyone loved it and MCD’s came later.

Traffic is not too bad, but it moves quick and you have to be wise when near a road. Slowing down for others does not happen a lot. The horn is used a lot too.

A lot of families simply sit outside at night and talk. It’s so hot during the day and even at night that they spend time just talking and chilling outside.

Beach

We had the opportunity to spend the morning at a beach about 30 minutes from Merida. Many of us did not have beach towels and we were not able to acquire enough hammocks in time so we stopped at Costco on the way there to get beach towels. Yep, Costco. That was fun! Little know fact about me- not only am I a coffee snob, I’m also quite a fan of the non-alcoholic Pina Colada smoothie thing. All that to say- if you find yourself in Merida, Mexico- do yourself a favor and pick up a Pina Colada at the snack shop outside. Incredible. I had 2.

The beach was a ton of fun. I hung out in the ocean a little bit, spent some time swinging in a hammock chilling and had some great time sitting on a rock overlooking the ocean listening to some great music and having some time to simply be. Our team had a blast and I think it was great timing for us. After that experience I think I understand a bit more why people like to chill on a hammock at a beach. Wow. I need to do that again soon.

VBS

Tonight was our last night to do the VBS for the kids. I could not be more proud of a group of people than I am our team. They knocked it out of the park. So much love, fun and good times. The lady who worked at the church was so kind and gracious and said the nicest things about our group. They got all the new students info and will be following up with them. It’s cool seeing things that were planned back home come to light here. And of course lots of things changed. For instance a big deluxe game ended up being duck, duck, goose which the kids loved. So grateful for Shalom Church for trusting us to represent them in helping lead this VBS. The pastor at the church we did VBS at said “Es fantastico and God Bless You” so many times. We drove off tonight and I was humbled to serve alongside this team.

After VBS we went back to Shalom and then went out to celebrate for some ice cream to a local place with some of the staff and folks who helped out with the VBS. Good times!

Tomorrow we are back on the job with construction for the day and tomorrow night we are taking a bus tour of Merida to learn more about some of the history of this cool city. I can’t believe that we only have 2 days left here. It’s gone by so quickly… tonight at dinner one of the 8th grade guys said “I wish I could stay here for a month.” If you knew the student you would be crushed by how powerful that statement is. God is moving in hearts in a cool way. We are grateful to serve Him here.

At Shalom Church

This morning I met with Lupita and we practiced the next 2 nights of stories for VBS with different teams. Very excited about what the teams cooked up, going to be some fun & engaging stuff for the chillens. At the same time we were loading concrete blocks up on a roof and also moving a ginormous pile of dirt out of the way. Both required having a line of people passing either buckets of dirt or concrete blocks. Everyone jumped in and made it happen.

We finished work way early and our foreman had nothing else for us to do. We asked the staff at Shalom what we could do to help them around the church. They said nothing and then (I swear!) Daniel said (in a Mexican accent:) “While you wait for lunch I take you to d Starbucks if you want to go?” His idea. Really it was. Dude after my own heart in another country. Love it.

So we loaded up most of the team in one of the vans and made a run. The store was really, really nice and everyone loaded up on their favorite beverage. (I might have acquired a bag of beans and a mug as well… might) Not gonna lie, it was refreshing to have a nice venti iced americano in the middle of the trip with it as hot as it is. A cool treat. I didn’t even think there was a SB here, I’ve been giving VIA’s away to all the staff members who like coffee. Crazy.

The few that stayed back got to go for a ride on one of the staff members motorcycles around the area and had a blast.

We got back and Genny had whipped up another batch of something incredible and then we cleaned up and headed back to the hotel. I had the sense when we left for work this morning that we are already a little on the tired side (I think it’s the heat) so I asked everyone on our team to take some time this afternoon to be alone with God to fill our tanks up a bit more. I hope they took advantage of the time and did that.

VBS

Tonight’s VBS was so much fun. Attendance increased by about 50%. Really. The church we are doing this with has a regular weekly attendance of around 20 kids. Last night there was about 35. Tonight almost 70. It was great watching every last member of our team serving, loving and investing in the kids and other people around. So great. There is a great energy level on the team right now that honestly only the Lord could do. It’s fun watching all these relationships form and go deeper. Our team already feels deeply for the staff we are working alongside and to be quite honest I don’t think a month ago that I would dream about our team being this close with each other. It’s an answered prayer.

Back to Shalom after VBS for another throwdown with Genny.. this time is was chicken tostadas. Wow. Seriously- this might be the only mission trip I’ve ever been on where I feel like I eating better than I usually do at home.

So we are  4 days in and have 3 full days left here in Merida. Tomorrow we go to the beach in the morning and have the last night of VBS. (Which our team is bummed about, we’d love to be with the kids all week.) I think the beach break will be good as we prepare to finish VBS and the last 2 days of construction. We are laying a concrete floor later on and likely moving some more concrete blocks around.

Great times are being had and it’s cool seeing God working in a different culture in some cool ways through some great people. We are thankful to be a very small part of seeing God work. More to be done…

Shalom

Today was spent at Shalom. We had breakfast there (cheese quesadillas & cinnamon rolls) and then got to work outside. I met with the Childrens ministry director to talk through our plan for VBS. We also met with the team doing the story tonight at the VBS to do a walk through rehearsal so they could get used to doing it with a translator. When that was over I walked out and our team was helping lift some concrete beams for the ceiling of a new room. They were not light and our team was incredible. Simply incredible. We had a late morning fruit snack. After that we went back to work and I paid a visit to the guy who put our trip together, a man named Gaby. His job at Shalom is to host teams. He tore up his leg playing soccer a few weeks ago and is laid up for a few months. He wanted me to come by so I had a chance to go visit with him and his family for a little time. It was great and I was very encouraged by my brother Gaby. When we got back to Shalom the team was moving concrete blocks around. Once again, they are incredible. Working really, really hard. They were not light and a big mountain of them were moved today. Cool stuff, so proud of our team. I got to help a little while having a few people tell me not too with my back…. trying to find that balance of what I can and can’t do. It’s hard to watch!

Afternoon

We have a bit of free time in the afternoon. Most of the team played in the pool for a while and then took a quick nap/rest before we left to go to VBS.

VBS- Day 1

We are doing a VBS for a different church than the one hosting us. I’ve heard this is their first VBS they’ve done. It was a great experience- to be honest I felt like I proud parent watching our 3 teams do their thing. I felt like some of the leaders I’ve serve(d) under just watching other leaders lead and not necessarily having to be the one up front. Our team really did a great job of loving on the kids, having fun and introducing the story. Really, really proud of all of them. There were some technical difficulties and other things, but such is the journey… you just make the most of it and keep going. Which our team did. So cool.

We wrapped up with dinner at Shalom… some of Genny’s homemade cooking. So good. We are eating really well here. Every meal has some interesting thing to it, but for the most part it’s all been incredibly good. At dinner one of our hosts and drivers Manuel said something really cool to me, he said that he could tell our team had good relationships with each other and with God, he went on to say that he already feels very close to us and feels a special bond with our team, in a cool way. That’s a great compliment and I’m so proud of each of our team members.

Tomorrow will look pretty much exactly like today. We’ll work in the morning (some teams will do that and will also be working on their VBS) and have VBS tomorrow night. Who knows what challenges might come our way… but we do know that God is faithful and sometimes that’s just enough to keep you going.

Breakfast at the Hotel
Buffet of some local stuff and traditional stuff. Not sure what all of it was, but it was good.

Church At Shalom
Really cool hearing songs you’ve heard before in another language. For some strange reason the pastor did the whole message in Spanish. As I was sitting there taking it all in I was again reminded that as Christians, we are a part of a global body. It’s so easy to make “church” where you attend and lose sight that the church is all over the world. Cool stuff.

Drive to Chitzen Itza

We were having a blast… got some cold water and enjoying the drive. (We were in 2 vans) About 25 minutes from our destination our van which was behind the other one literally stopped. Dead. It was out of gas although the gauge didn’t say it. That created some fun “oh, boy!” moments for those of us in the van. Actually, I wouldn’t replace that time, that’s what makes trips exciting and special. Eventually Genny came and got us and took us to CI. The waiting made for some fun moments and great laughs.

Chitzen Itza
Mayan ruins. Google it. They are incredible. We visited them today. VERY cool stuff… if you can get past the tidal wave of local vendors always trying to hock something to you. It was really cool to see something with so much history and story.

Restuarante

We stopped at a buffet (See a pattern here?) for lunch after CI. It was about 3:00ish… learning how different our times are as far as eating. We were dared by our host to try this salsa they bring to the table. It was fiery hot. And awesome. It also had a pool attached to it which a lot of the team jumped into and had a good time hanging in.

Dinner

We went to another local restuarante for dinner and they had 3 salsas on the table. It was like a fireball swirling around in your mouth. Good times. It was cool looking down our long table and watching the team enjoy each other and having a good time. Excited to see how God is bonding us together. After that we had a quick team meeting to talk about tomorrow and now we are calling it a day before a long one tomorrow.

Tomorrow starts the work… construction in the morning and VBS tomorrow night. I think we are all anxious to get started full force on serving the church. Oh yeah, it’s still really hot. I would say we are used to it, but… we are drinking a ton of bottled water and will keep doing so. You almost have to. I did try some Coke at dinner and it is sweeter than the Coke back in the ATL.

That’s all I can remember from today. I’ll try to update again down the road if I can. Thanks for your prayers!

Not sure how much time/margin I’ll have to blog this week. But I managed to jot a few things down today in the middle of all our travel. It’s been a long day of travel and we have a long week ahead of us. We have spotty wi-fi at the hotel.. if I get time to update later I’ll try. No promises. Here’s a few quick thoughts from today:

Dang

It hit me last night… I’m responsible for 18 people over the next week in a foreign country. God sure does have a great sense of humor.

Luggage issue

We checked in and were about halfway through when dude realized he didn’t check all of our luggage through the Merida, he checked them to Mexico City. We had a few bumps, but thankfully it was all here when we were. It’s the small things.

Starbucks (c’mon you expected that didn’t you?)

I saw 2 Starbucks in the Mexico City airport. I had a cup of coffee from one of them. It had a cinnamon flavor to it, but it was pretty good. It’s so hot here I’m not sure how much coffee I’ll be drinking, but I do have some VIA with me if need be. Yes, I’m a snob.

Mexico City…

Had a random uniformed dude get us from security and escort us to where we needed to go to catch our next flight with AeroMexico. He wanted a tip, and got one. Dude saved us a ton of time- we might still be wandering around that airport now.

Bad Back and lots of flying

I hurt my back really badly in late April and just finished up a little over 6 weeks of physical therapy this week. A long day of flying was not the best thing ever, but such is the journey. Luckily homey brought some pills with him! Would appreciate your prayers on that, to be honest- I’m feeling it now, but I know I’ll get through this week.
Team bonding

Honestly, one thing I was praying about was that the trip here would bond us. It was so cool watching everyone interact at the airports and enjoying each other’s company. That’s a good sign for the week ahead.

No seat on the way to Merida

On the way to Merida the seat next to me was empty. For a big and tall guy, that is a great, great blessing. I must also say, I was very impressed with the people who worked for AeroMexico. Cool customer service and friendliness.

Merida

Ummm, you might not know this but Merida is evidently Mexican for “steambath” or something like that. It is H O T hot. But we knew that coming in. Gonna be a great week and we’ll have plenty of bottled water to keep us hydrated. On an interesting note… I had a ham and cheese croissant at the Mexico City airport and for dinner today our hosts ordered us Domino’s pizza. Welcome to Mexico. We’ll start throwing down authentic stuff tomorrow. I might add the cinnamon sticks from Domino’s come with a warm chocolate sauce here that has a bit of spice to it. It did not stink.

That’s a lot for one day. Need to shut it down and get some rest, we have a long one tomorrow. I’ll try and update again if I can. Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement!