5 Shining Moments

730.  Perhaps a strange number, but today a very significant one.  As of today I have posted to this blog 730 consecutive days.  That's 2 full years of blogging each and every day- and on 4 of those days, blogging twice!  Today, as we prepare for tomorrow's 2nd anniversary celebration, I want to look back at 5 special days from my life and ministry that I shall never forget.  I also want to wish a very Happy Birthday to two of my favorite people in the whole world- Heather Beggs Varner and Jill Gilbreth Bryant.  It still amazes me that two of my Hall of Fame students share a birthday!

1)  My Wedding Day -  On August 30, 1986 Marilyn and I were married.  Those of you who can do math will know our 25th anniversary is coming up next Tuesday.  Back in 2009 I posted some memories of that wonderful day, and you can read them by clicking here.  I cannot imagine my life without Marilyn (and Will); she is a gift from God and a shining example of what the love and grace of Jesus should look like when lived out here on earth.  This was a great day...
2)  A Star is Born - On July 16, 1995, William Joshua Jones was born at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando.  It was an amazing and stressful weekend of false starts, broken promises and on exhausted mother-to-be, but in the end it was a glorious adventure that produced a now 16 year old son that I could not love more.  You can read more about that day by visiting this vintage post - The Best Night Ever!

3)  The SAD Man - In the summer of 1983 I was hired for my sixth summer of working full-time summer camp staff at Quaker Lake- but for the first time, I would not be a counselor.  I would instead be the first ever Crafts and Special Activities Director (later shortened to simply, "SAD Man").  It was an amazing summer.  On Thursday night of that week we began a tradition that as recently as 2006 was still going strong- a themed banquet during high school camp week.   We did a luau (a theme I would repeat many times over my years in youth ministry) and had a great night.  Many of my all time favorite campers are pictured here enjoying that night.  Awesome stuff.
4)  Disney VIP Treatment -  My commitment to student ministry and my love of Walt Disney World came together on one night in a spectacular fashion in 1993 during a youth group trip from Springfield Friends Meeting to Orlando.  Through a series of most fortunate events our large group wound up having one of the most amazing evenings of dining and entertainment at Pleasure Island you could ever imagine.  It was such an incredible night that it took 2 posts- about The Fireworks Factory and The Comedy Warehouse - to tell the tale completely.  Best. Youth. Trip. EVER!

5)  My 50th Birthday - On October 6, 2009, I turned 50 years old, and a group of old friends from our days in Kissimmee joined us for a special evening on the Saturday before the big day  to celebrate with my family.  We went to our favorite Tampa Japanese steakhouse- KADO- which has since closed down.  It was a great night full of excellent food and lots of laughter that came at a great time for me, and was one of those moments that reminded me that despite all of the turmoil I had been through, it was still "well with my soul."  You can read more by clicking here.


So there you have it- 5 Shining Moments.  I hope that all of you will join me tomorrow to celebrate the birthday of this blog- and maybe even leave a comment or two!  :)


Because of Jesus,