Happy Blogiversary!!!

Three years ago today I decided to start writing a blog. I did it for a variety of reasons, almost all of which were selfish.  After two years of wandering in the wilderness following losing my ministry in 2007 I wanted to put some discipline and commitment back in my life, so I began with the idea that I would post everyday for one year. Today is my 1097th consecutive day of posting.  I wanted to tell the stories of my many adventures in youth ministry, so I named the blog I'd Laugh...But All This Happened To Me!  And for 3 years I have been telling those stories and we have laughed, cried and remembered together.  I wanted to share with my readers the many people and places who made my life so blessed, and I have done that.  I knew at some point I would tell the story of my "notorious sin" and how I was saved by the amazing grace of God and my family, and this past year I told those stories- and experienced grace in new ways from so many readers.  And somewhere in the back of my mind I prayed that maybe...just maybe...this blog would help me reconnect with a few of the people I loved so much and had lost touch with during my time "off the grid."  That prayer has been answered in ways I could have never imagined.  When I started, I dreamed that a few of my old friends might read it.  Now I know that friends old and new read it every day (Although I confess it would be nice to know exactly who reads- comments are always welcomed! HA!).  This blog has been more that I ever hoped it could be. I am so blessed.

Through these daily posts, old friends have become some of my best friends.  I have reconnected with important people from my own teenage years who I thought might be lost to me forever, only to discover that what we shared can never be lost.  I have found a new ministry with young adults who grew up in the youth groups I served, discovering that there are times when they still need prayer and spiritual guidance from their old youth pastor.  So many have shown me grace when it would have been so easy to reject me as a failure and disappointment.  Perhaps they were actually listening when we talked about God's love and grace all those years ago. :)  As a youth pastor you are never quite sure.  Now some of those very students and adult volunteers have become the people who constantly teach me about grace.  What a blessing!

The addition of Twitter to my life in the months following the birth of this blog brought me a new group of friends who have been amazingly supportive and encouraging.  They are a wide variety of folks- some of them youth pastors, some of them Disney freaks, and some of them just really good people- who have learned my story and embraced me.  I wrote yesterday that without them I am not sure I would still be blogging.  I mean that.  And the best part is there are more new connections to be made nearly everyday.  I never know where my next new reader will come from!

But having said all of that, I realized early on that what I really wanted people to understand through my writing is that my life has been and still is "all about Jesus!"  His love in my life changes everything, from the way I approach life to the way I treat people. I have written often about how the church needs a Jesus Revolution; how we need to be less wrapped in the institution and more involved in our relationship with our Savior.  As I have begun to run out of the old stories (although there are still stories left to tell), I have turned more and more to being a crusader for the revolution.  And the revolution is best summed up in the most famous words of Jesus himself:

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him."  ~John 3:16-17  (New Living Translation)

Today I celebrate 3 years of Jesus reminding me that he loves me (and you!) so much that he gave his life so that we might live. When you read those words "to save the world" remember what that really means is " to save YOU...and me!"  We have been rescued.   I also celebrate 3 years of having my life revitalized and changed through relationships with friends old and new.  But this journey is nowhere near complete.  I have much left to say, more stories to tell, and more friends to reunite with- or meet for the very first time.  Although this blog often looks back at my life, it is also the way I will go forward, thankful for my family, my many friends, and the radical, amazing and unconditional love of Jesus in my life.  Thank you all for being a part of this. You are loved.  My life has been quite the rollercoaster ride, and I am blessed to be able to share it with all of you.  Like the title says, I'd Laugh...But All This Happened To Me!  And it continues to happen...  

Because of Jesus,