getting older...

I should have seen it coming. The moment when I first used a "Karate Kid" reference in a talk with the youth and they had no clue what I was talking about. I should have seen it coming when I got so excited about the "Transformers" movie because it would bring me back to my childhood days of watching the "good" Saturday morning cartoons. And when I realize that when the day comes that I have children, as they grow up they will have no concept of not having cell phones, the internet, or ipods, I am really starting to feel old.

Now I realize that there will always be people that I know in different life stages, I don't debate that you probably know better and in your eyes I'm still "just a kid" but hear me out...I'm sure all of us have had this moment, or will if you give it time. The beginning of my getting old feeling comes from this actual quote stated to me this weekend: "You were born in the 70's...whoa."

Actually I am quite proud to say that I was born in the 70's, am a child of the 80's, and in essence a product of the 90's. I can remember actively taking part in fads like slap bracelets, pogs, crystal pepsi, and hypercolor clothing. I will proudly admit that I watched shows like Mr. Belvedere, Doogie Howser M.D., A.L.F., and Full House. I had a metal Tonka truck, He-Man, and G.I. Joe to keep me from being bored. I will even humbly submit that I listened to such popular music as New Kids on the Block, Vanilla Ice, and yes, even Hanson.

The funny thing is that through each of these, I have always viewed myself as not arriving yet, there was always an age that I was looking forward to. I looked forward to 13 because it meant that I was a teenager, 16 because it meant that I could drive, 21 because it meant that I was an adult in the government's eyes, and 25 because it meant cheaper car insurance and the ability to rent a car. My next landmark? 30.

As I face this next July and my departure from my twenties to my thirties I have resolved to embrace getting older. I actually quite prefer it to the alternative. I've never looked good wearing girls clothing which seems to be the trend amongst skinny young men, I have never been able to grow my hair longer than a few inches before it starts bothering me, and I don't see what is so special about American Idol, even if last year's finalist was from Utah. I listen to the music that I like, drive what I want to drive and have the ability to select where I go on vacation. My favorite part of getting older? I get to laugh and be glad that I don't have to do things like high school, experience adolescence, or ask my parents for enough money for Taco Bell again. Besides...there is a glorious sophistication that comes from getting older.

As I have more and more experience at this thing called life, I'm feeling old, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing after all.

Go Utes!

I realize this post is a little after the fact but I wanted to show you one of the greatest sights ever for a Utes fan.

The Utes did about everything they could to lose that game but still came out on top by two points...Go Utes!

My "last lap"

With the Olympics ending in Beijing, I can finally get some sleep and take some time to update my blog. Maybe I can incorporate an "olympic" feel in my next entry...

It is that time of year when the days get shorter and school gets back into session. When I was in Youth ministry I found it always to be a bittersweet time as I had to say goodbye to students who were in my group for five years and say hello to a whole new batch of 7th graders. Don't get me wrong...7th graders are great...really...I mean they are really cool...in their cute, 7th grader way. Anyway, my transition out of youth ministry is almost complete. We have 7 people in our church who have felt God's call on their life to be in the ministry. We are giving these 7 people the chance that I had 8 years ago. Hopefully a few of them will be on staff with us a few years from now.

Rachael and I are in completely different places in life and it feels as if we have traded places. If things were back to normal, she would be in school and I would be at work. But today I find myself waiting for my next class to begin while Rachael is hard at work. Rachael is loving her job but day after day I am finding that I understand her less and less as she is learning a new medical language complete with crazy abbreviations. Something that I'm sure Jake has been privy to since Erin started med school. Her patients, though I don't know names because of patient confidentiality, seem to be enjoying working with her and it has been amazing seeing how charged up she gets because she is doing what she loves!

It is a little weird but as the title of this entry states...this is my last lap. That's right, I will graduate from the University of Utah in the spring. I have 13 credits this semester and so far my classes don't seem like they will be too much of a stretch. That could mean that the classes are easy or that I am actually starting to grasp the concepts that these professors are teaching. I'm banking on the easy factor.

Worship ministry is going good. I am finding that it is a much more "in the spotlight" position than youth ministry. It is easy to celebrate victories but for everything that you do right there are several people who don't like the volume, the style, the look, or the overall feel of worship. I am of the school of thought that worship is not about us at all, but that is a difficult message to get across sometimes. I have enjoyed introducing new songs to our congregation...our band recently learned the song "The Stand" by Hillsong. If you haven't heard it, check it out. I have a lot of support from our Sr. Pastor Kevin and our other Associate Pastor Robert. We also have a team called the church leadership team or CLT. They have provided a lot of support for the changes we have been making across the board.

All in all, it has been one crazy summer and in a weird way, I am looking forward to the routine of a school semester and the fall. Go Utes!

Currently listening to: Myriad, Muse, Edison Glass, The New Frontiers, Radiohead, and lots of Ben Harper.

Currently watching: Nothing...didn't you read above?...school is back in session!

Titles change but the mission stays the same...

If you have been to our church in the past year you would have noticed that I have been leading worship every Sunday. This came about during a huge transition time in our congregation in which our senior pastor (Rodger) retired and our associate pastor (Gregg) in charge of worship was called to another church.

While Gregg was here, anytime he took vacation I would fill in for him. When he left that role switched from filling in to a full time gig. I have been leading worship for a year now and am loving it while at the same time am terrified that I am insufficiently qualified for such a position. All the while God kept confirming that I was in the right place...right where He wanted me.

To make a long story short, when our new pastor Kevin arrived he asked me where my ministry passions were. My answer to him was "If you took youth away I would be sad, if you took worship away, it would kill me."

I have since take a step of faith into a completely new area of ministry. That means that I am transitioning out of full time youth ministry and will be working for the Kingdom in the area of worship. I will still be able to see my students and encourage them in their walk with Christ but the relationship changes a bit. It truly was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do when I told my students that I was no longer going to be their youth pastor.

So here I am. In the middle of yet another transition on this crazy ride called life. All I know is that I want to be where God is moving me. I may not know what is in store for me in this area of ministry but I know who is leading me and that makes all the difference.

They never told me it would be easy...only that it would be worth it.

Sean

Moab...our new favorite place

Rachael and I have been married for 4 years as of June 26th. When we looked back at those four years we realized that we had not been on a vacation by ourselves since our honeymoon. This year we decided to change all of that and headed down to Moab. We got to spend two days and nights hiking in Arches National Park. We also got hooked up with a free hummer tour from some friends in our church family. The whole trip was amazing! You can bet that we will be taking the opportunity to get out a little more often now. Check out the photos! I even included some pictures of our dogs who recently got back from the groomer.

World Changin - Back in SLC!

In 2001 I went on my first World Changers project in Casper, Wyoming. I have since been to Puerto Rico, back to Casper, Clovis California, and Sioux City Iowa on projects. Each of those years I served either as a crew encourager or a crew chief working on a house. Last year after working for a year and half to bring it here, World Changers came to Salt Lake City and I served as the Associational Coordinator. The project was amazing! In fact if you check last July's posts you can read about it there. This year World Changers was back in SLC and I was once again involved, this time as Project Coordinator. This year was awesome as well. Here are some first blush numbers from the week:

Participating churches: 11
Number of Crews: 21
Completed Projects: 30
Gospel Presentations: 85
Salvations: 8

Needless to say it has been a very busy couple of weeks for Rachael and I as we have been working to make this project happen. It worked out for us that the project happened during one of Rachael's scheduled off weeks so she could come and keep me from going crazy!

The worst injury of the week wasn't someone who fell of the roof, someone who fell off a ladder, or who impaled himself/herself with a nail gun. All things one would expect when dealing with teenaged construction volunteers. The title of worst injury goes to yours truly for spraining my ankle while setting up a worship service. While it sucked to sprain my ankle a very interesting story comes out of it.

I was given a master key to the school we used and could use that key to open any door of my choosing (ahh the power). I was in the coaches locker room and happened to check a closet and saw some crutches in there. I thought to myself, "It will be good to know where these crutches are if someone needs them." I then sprain my ankle and our first aid coordinator tells me that he is going to get some crutches for me. I tell him of my discovery earlier in the week and give him the key. After getting the crutches he comes back into the room and says, "How much do you wanna bet that we don't have to adjust these at all?" I stood up and checked the crutches and sure enough, they were perfect. God sure knows what he is doing!

There are a lot more stories from the project but I would simply bore you with them, so instead I'll just post a lot of pictures. I'll also start working on another post with some pictures of our trip to Moab. Watch out now!

Some of our summer staff...Randy and Quinton. We also had Danielle, Anna, and Rachel



My new friend Okesene (O2 for short)


Some shots of work being done...and the whole group:


I've got a lot more where that came from but blogger is being weird. I'll check back and post again later.

Sean
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Even busier

Weddings, youth trips, world changers, graduations, church life, and life in general have all made this spring/summer a very busy one for Rachael and I.

Rachael begins work next week and is very excited about getting to use the skills that she has gained over the last three years to help people live better lives after tragic accidents. I am looking forward to hearing stories of recovery as they always make for good sermon illustrations.

I am busy with making this year's world changer project in SLC a reality. Keep praying for this one as we are currently a month out. I am working very hard to stay ahead of the game on this one.


Movies/TV shows watched:
Iron Man - see it! explosions galore!
Indiana Jones - good but it was my least favorite of all the Indy movies as it took a weird turn.
Juno - Loved it...a very honest look at teenage pregnancy but quite funny in the process. Why it didn't win best picture is beyond me.
Prince Caspian - Very good but the music at the end was very distracting
30 Rock - so funny
The Office - Will Jim propose?


Just read:
Unchristian - very good book about how my generation looks at Christianity
Angels & Demons - Dan Brown distorts images to tell an interesting story about science vs. religion
Do Hard Things - currently reading this one...I'll keep you posted.

Listening to:
Muse, Lovedrug, Iron and Wine, Sufjan Stevens, David Crowder, RHCP, Smashing Pumpkins, Lupe Fiasco, Wilco, and Copeland

If you are interested in seeing how the World Changers project is going between July 5-12, click here for updates.

Our Grad!

Here is a picture of Rachael in her master's graduate garb as promised.

CONGRATS RACHAEL!!!!

It's finally here

If you have read any of the posts for the past three years you know that Rachael has been working toward her Masters degree in Occupational Therapy.

Three years of hard work, studying, and internships have brought us to graduation day. Rachael has done an amazing job and I am so proud of her. She is very excited to see this chapter of her life come to a close and begin working.

Last night we went to her "pinning" ceremony. This is a time where all the students can thank their professors for giving them stress and anxiety problems over the past three years and the professors can tell the students how proud they are of the ones who made it through the program. The ceremony/dinner was held in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building downtown and the phrase "Oh balls" was stated over the microphone. The person who said it then tried to explain the phrase by saying it meant something like "oh shoot" or "Oh nuts". Awesome. Just awesome.

I'll post pictures of the graduate after the ceremony.

A thought

So this post may make sense to you, or not. I just decided that I needed to pose a question and use this blog as an opportunity to start a discussion.

At our church we have been spending the last few weeks in the book of Colossians and moving forward in the transition that was started when Rodger left. It is the word transition that got me thinking. Shouldn't we as Christians always be in some form of transition? Is God ever happy to see us just stay the same?

This is played out several times by the Israelites as they stated time and time again that they should have been content to stay in Egypt or in the wilderness. This usually came after something happening that they didn't expect.

To me staying the same could be viewed as a refusal to grow and to be challenged. It would be like setting a goal to climb mt everest. When you reached the first camp and looked out over the amazing view you decide that you were content where you are and that it couldn't get any better than this. Life is a journey and God is continually showing us that there is so much more ahead of us. If the view is amazing where we are at now, imagine what it looks like to fulfill the dream that was began in you.

As this process continues I have resolved to no longer look at this as a transition but to be fully consumed by God's will for our church as the body of Christ. Whether that be administration, youth trips, planning worship services, or simply being still and knowing that this whole thing is in God's hands.

Our new pastor uses this phrase quite frequently: "You are more evil than you could possibly know, but you are more loved and accepted then you could possibly understand." - such a simple phrase but with it comes amazing freedom. We are wretched, sinful, horrible people, but despite that God offers grace to us so freely and says "get up and try again, I'll be here to catch you when you fall again."

Thoughts?

crashed!

Clowns are creepy...

I'll have a Patrick family update here in a minute but first a thought...Have you ever thought about how we as a society have become addicted to technology? I came to that harsh reality when a spike in power took out my desktop's hard drive. The good news is that I will be getting a new computer and the drive is alive enough to pull the majority of my files, including 27GB of music...the bad news is that the laptop I am working on now is currently trying to figure out if it wants to work or not....bummer.

Another bit of good news is that I will be moving into the world of apple computers with my very own iMac. I am very excited. Mark B tried for a long time to convince me of Apple's coolness and I just wouldn't listen. Okay Mark, you win, Mac is cooler.

On to the update...

Rachael was offered a job at the new Intermountain medical center! She will graduate on May 1st and will start her new job on June 9th. That means that we will get a month to hang out and possibly take a vacation.

I am working on World Changers in SLC this summer again. Currently we have 246 people coming and will be working on about 25 to 30 homes in the valley. Please pray for the details of this project and that things go well as I will be in charge of the whole thing this year. I also have about three more weeks of class until the semester is over so there is a lot of projects, papers, and final exams left. I am still very much on track to graduate next spring...full steam ahead.

Things at the church have been progressing well. Our new pastor Kevin is a cool guy who just wants to see Jesus glorified in everything that we do. He has challenged us to pick up and start moving forward which the church has been ready and willing to do so far. Keep praying for us as we will no doubt be challenging some deep rooted traditions that are antiquated and in need of change. We're having fun in the process which is a very good thing.

Currently listening to:

Fun stuff - Iron and Wine, Muse, Lovedrug, Copeland, and Sufjan Stevens.

Worship - David Crowder, Starfield, Leeland, Fee, and Chris Tomlin.

Until next time!

about freakin time...

to our devoted readers...all two of you, it has been a long while since I updated this blog with any sort of relevant information and for that I am sorry. I plan to remedy the problem with some photos and a Patrick family update in the paragraphs to follow.

Can you tell that I have been in college courses yet? I am sick of framing arguments and writing papers. I am just ready for a little bit of a break. Thankfully spring break is next week, the only problem is that it is also easter week and that is quite possibly one of the busiest weeks for those in pastoral ministry at a church. Oh well, you take the good with the bad huh?

Rachael is loving her internship at IHC. They liked her so much that they are working to create an opening for her in the midst of a hiring freeze. She comes home with great stories of occupational therapy triumph and sad stories of how lives are forever changed by simple accidents. Rachael only has 3 weeks left and then will be studying for a big test (I can't remember the name of it right now). In the meantime she is starting to look at job opportunities. She graduates with her Masters degree on May 1. I am so proud of her!

School is going well for me. I will have two more semesters after this one and will graduate from the U. I'm very excited but I have to take it one day at a time.

Things at the church are gaining steam. Kevin, our new pastor, has really challenged our thinking and is taking us forward. His favorite phrase over the last few weeks is "That will change." It is an exciting time for us as we are allowed to dream again. I have been leading worship and keeping up with the youth group. All things there are going well.

Speaking of our youth group, we recently teamed up with five other churches for World Vision's 30 Hour Famine. Our students raised over $30,000 to combat poverty and world hunger. It was an amazing event and was even better because I got to spend it with my youth ministry friends from other churches.

I'll close with a few random photos that I pulled from my cell phone camera. I hope you enjoy them. I will try to update this blog a little more frequently for the two of you that read it from now on.

A fine example of the parking situation at the University of Utah. I had to climb in my passenger door to get in.

Look closely at this car in front of my truck...yes friends that is a duct tape convertible!

Did I mention that I am majoring in Pirating at the U?

Until next time...

Super Bowl Ads

This year's super bowl game was amazing. That is good considering the commercials were disappointing. The ads that surprised me the most were the somewhat racial salesgenie.com ads and the lack of coke and pepsi commercials. In my humble opinion Bud Light took the award when they let Will Ferrell do what he does best...make an absolute idiot of himself.

Here is the ad, and remember: A ton of sweat goes into each Bud Light.



Here is another bud light ad that makes me laugh every time...

A few photos to share...

A shot taken on our snowmobile adventure after Christmas

Robert Marshall's trademark prescription/multi colored reading glasses look

A Utah way to make sure the small shopping cart doesn't roll away

SNOW!

No posts for a few weeks means that school is back in session. Rachael is loving her final internship and is hoping that a job position opens up where she is at. We are both excited for her to finish her Masters and get involved in what she really wants to do.

I'm currently sitting in the Marriott Library at the U working on some homework. When I walked in about an hour ago it was sunny and a little windy. I just happened to glance out the window an hour later and we had been hit with yet another winter storm. Last Monday we had about a foot of snow in our front yard. I love the snow and living in the mountains, I would just like a little bit of sunshine between storms and Utah inversion.

Another funny thing about the snow is that our new pastor Kevin Lund and his wife Mary drove into town last night to go house hunting. Talk about getting immersed in Utah winter weather right away. Here is hoping that they aren't having to drive in it.

Here are a couple pictures I took while walking from the Library to my next class in the Social Work building

Even with snow blowing sideways...this dude still thinks that shorts and a t-shirt is a good choice

Here is a shot looking at the Marriott Library. 40mph sideways snow makes it real fun to walk around campus.

Yet another new year...

Another new year means a delayed update in the Patrick blog. I hope that all of you had a Merry Christmas and a spectacular New Year.

The reason for the picture is that we have had a lot of our married friends tell us recently that they are pregnant. This has caused several questions as to when Rachael and I will begin trying for a baby. The answer to the question is: Not yet. Should it happen, it wouldn't be a horrible thing and we would both be excited about it but right now we're still going to wait. If you have been married for any period of time you know the questions that are most frequently asked: How's married life?...and...When are you guys planning to have a baby?...

We had a very relaxing break but it will be good to get back into class and a weekly routine that isn't full of parties with all sorts of baked goods and treats that make you feel instantly guilty after eating them.

We spent Christmas Eve with my Dad and Christmas Day at the Robbinses house. We had planned to drive to California to visit my Mom and Doug for a few days but the weather scared us away. Now that they are in Cali it is a lot easier for us to get out there to see them. We'll probably be headed that way over spring break.

Things at the church are going great. We are getting geared up for our new pastor to start in February and in the meantime Robert Marshall has been challenging us and encouraging us in a huge way. It will be sad when he is no longer preaching every week but I asked he and his wife Donna to mentor Rachael and I and they agreed. We'll still be seeing a lot of them and their family which is all right with me.

So kind of a boring post but hopefully this snowball fight video that I made on jibjab.com makes you laugh a little bit. Until next time...

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

The wait is over...

I just wanted to pass along that HBC just called a Sr. Pastor! Our pastor search team has done a great job and I know that God has some amazing things in store for HBC. His name is Kevin Lund and is from Nebraska.

We're all pretty excited over the news. I'll blog more about it later but finals week is demanding more of my time.

God Bless!

Thanksgiving!

Here is hoping that everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I also hope you enjoyed the previous post with 18 Wheels on a Big Rig. Heywood Banks has to be one of the funniest people in the world...He strangely looks like he could be David Crowder's Dad....hmm.

Rachael and I had a great Thanksgiving. We spent the week leading up to turkey day helping others. Our youth group had been raising money for the 28 families that were picked for world changers last summer. They formed a change drive and were able to buy meals for 28 families. The meals consisted of a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, rolls, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, and a world changers t-shirt. The picture you see is one of our youth, Jeremy with the 28 turkeys that we bought from target. It was pretty funny to walk through the store with two carts filled with turkeys.

We put the food together and split up into teams to deliver the food. 28 meals were delivered in one evening. Some meals had to be put on doorsteps because the families weren't home. We received several letters, voicemail messages, and thank you cards for the hard work. Way to go youth!

We then spent some time at Reach Salt Lake (formerly the Baptist Concern Center) and helped them give out food to over 1300 families this year. That number is amazing considering that the Utah Food Bank was at the lowest it has been in over 20 years as far as food levels.

We spent turkey day playing football, getting injured, watching football, and eating some great food. Rachael and I spent time with her family for the day and we had a lot of fun.

In other news...Rachael's little brother Jordan proposed to his girlfriend Holly last weekend. To all of our surprise she said yes! Way to go Jordan! I think they are planning to get married in late May or early June. Here is a picture of the lovely couple...and Jordan and Holly. (yes those are fur hats...what of it?)

Until next time...

18 Wheels on a Big Rig

Grammar by Fire in California

Rachael and I spent the weekend in San Diego with our friends Dave and Jaime. We went to the National Youth Workers Convention...which was awesome.

We stayed at the Royal Crowne Plaza and were greeted by the sign that you see here. Maybe it is the high amount of writing that I have had to complete lately or maybe the grammar was simply that bad but I found this sign to be quite humorous.

I'll explain.

In journalism you learn that if you are going to capitalize words in a title, or a sign in this case, you capitalize words longer than three letters. My question was why are the words "in" and "on" capitalized? This sign also spawned a hilarious conversation about giving an invitation at church by asking "Do you know with a capital "K" that Jesus is your Savior?"

We started to drive back yesterday and were affected by the wildfires that are currently burning out of control in southern California. It took us a couple extra hours to get out of California because of those being evacuated and high winds. At one point, as we were heading north on I-15, we were literally twenty feet away from the flames as the south side of the freeway was on fire. It was pretty crazy. Keep praying for those people as CNN is reporting that 500,000 people have been evacuated this far.

Until next time...