Moving....

No, we're not moving... my blog is.

For a few reasons:

1- Wordpress is a better blogging engine than Blogger... sorry blogger.

2- I read a book about tribes, and blogging and such, and I came to realize that this blog has no actual purpose. So, I'm going to edit this extensively. My new blog www.jdharney.wordpress.com will be strictly about me as a husband, dad etc. I will talk only about my personal life and journey in these areas. I'll also be starting a ministry blog to chronicle that aspect of life. It will be more for HS leaders/parents, maybe students.

So, check the new face of the blog out at wordpress, and subscribe... I'd love to have your input!

Day of 9's

Today is 9-9-9... it's currently 9am, so I thought I'd read some wisdom from the 9th chapter of Proverbs. The 9th verse smacked my face, and really was unsettling in many ways.

Save your breath for the wise—they'll be wiser for it;
tell good people what you know—they'll profit from it.

That seems to make no sense at first glance. You can read that this way. Don't waste your time with fools, just talk to people who are wise. Shouldn't someone who is wise talk to someone who is struggling? How would the fool ever find help if all the wise people shunned him like, well... a fool?

After I took a breath... I got it.

My dad used to say "Son, there are two types of people. Some listen and learn, others live and learn. Which will you be?"

Meaning that some people can talk to someone and learn something and stay away from a bunch of guilt and regret in life. Other people say "yeah, whatever" and have to live, build up guilt and regret and then they'll look back and know what they "should" have done. That person is a fool.

So, it's not about not saying anything to someone who acts like a fool, and not trying to help. But, it is realizing that some people some times... just need to live and learn, and at the end of that road they will look back and say "OHHHH, that's what they meant." "Stupid"

A day I don't want to remember...

Not sure what happened today.

I had a great day yesterday. Labor Day, had nothing to do but hang with the fam. I played basketball, took a nap, watched two movies and laughed A LOT! You would think after a day like that, that a guy would be Mr. Sunshine and Lollipops. I gotta be honest though... I'm not!

I have been the most judgmental jerk today. Mostly in my heart and head, but it has found it's way out through my mouth/fingers a few times. I've felt disinterested in people and their feelings and have even caught myself desiring to destroy someone with my words. Because "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me" is the biggest lie in the history of lies.

I've asked God why I'm feeling this... asked and desired for it to leave. I've confessed this feeling to people around me in hopes that getting it out of me would help it pass. So far, nothing.

So, I come to this place... where I process life. Bear my soul... maybe some video games with the boys will turn it around.

I'm sorry, but why?

I love perusing the "christian" book section while waiting on my sons to pee at Wal*Mart. I find the funniest things there. This one though took the cake.



Who are these books written for? What is the expected result? I'm not trying to be a butt... I just don't get it... Maybe I'm just an idiot and everyone else is so excited to see theses on the shelf.

P.S. I apologize to the writers of said books... didn't mean to crush your experience... you got published *yeah!*

Best I can tell... you just come out 67 minutes ahead if you read these two books back to back. Not much else.

What wise people know.

Wise people know that they don't know everything.

That's counterintuitive because you would think that wise, or intelligent people, would be the ones that everyone would come to to get answers to their questions... right?

Well, there's one thing I've learned in life.

Wise people know when they don't know.

I'm not good at that. Too many situations in life make me feel as though I have to have all the answers, and I have a hard time of saying many times "I don't know".

But not only do wise people know when they don't know. Wise people aren't afraid to go to someone who does know.

Wise people ask questions, and lots of them. That honestly makes me think that my 5 year old is a genius, and if you think about it... he does learn a lot every day. And what does he do all day? Ask questions. I read once that the average 5 year old asks 473 questions per day... no wonder they learn so much at this age. Why do we ever stop that? I guess someone along the way told us we ask too many questions, but I honestly believe that person was/is a fool.

So here I sit... grateful for wise people in my life who help me be just a bit more wise, and I'm hopeful that I'll be wise enough to realize when I'm at my limit and humble enough to ask for help.

I get to do this...

This is where I spent my Friday night.

No, I don't have a son in high school, or a daughter cheering. I do though have a bunch of adopted kids in the stands, walking around, playing, cheering, you name it!

It's cool too, because I'm not just the weird bald guy in the stands... stalker old man. I'm actually greeted by these soon to be adults. They smack the fence, and run up behind me. They introduce their girlfriends, and talk about their ex's. I'm their fan on the field or off, and I LOVE IT!

My job/life... is amazing, and I'm so thankful!

Top 5 moments this Summer...

As summer 2009 draws to a close, I thought I'd take a second to reflect on what went down. Too many times in life I rush from one season of life to the next without any pondering or celebration. These are a few of my favorites:

Spencer (my son) accepts Christ
Yeah, I know this was in May, but it was a bang up way to start the summer. My oldest son putting all the pieces together and realizing a need for God, accepting Him and beginning his own journey.

3 Awesome Road trips
Every Summer we do Road Trips with Blue Ridge instead of a camp. This year we had three amazing trips take place, heading to Charlotte, Myrtle Beach and New York City. We saw students take HUGE steps in their relationship with God, and share really hard things with each other. I had the honor of being with the NY peeps.

151
That's the number of high school students we had just a week ago. People who know me, know that the numbers really don't matter, but WOW! When I saw that... I was blown away. I never got into student ministry thinking that I would ever be a part of a big ministry. I just wanted to be a part of a few students lives and watch them grow up into amazing adults. That creates a space issue, but I'll take that problem any day!

10 Baptism's in August
You'll be hearing about August 30th from me for quite some time. It's an amazing day when 34 people say yes to God and are baptized. It's a fantastically amazing day when 10 of those 34 are high school students. I love seeing life change in high school students.

Spencer's Baptism
August 30th 2009 again! A milestone in my life. What a celebration! With tear filled eyes and a choked throat I knelt next to a glorified cattle trough and baptized my oldest son. What I'll never forget was the emotion he showed. Little tears filling his eyes, and such an outward expression of joy from him to his mother as he came up. MAN! That's better than crack!