1.  I have been on staff at New Hope Church for just over a month now!  It doesn't feel like a month.  It feels like a year smashed into a week, and covered with gravy.  (I don't know what that actually means.  I just know that everything is better with gravy!)

You see, leaving a church we love (Grace Community Church in Goshen) to go to a church we don't know is a risk.  In this past month, I have felt nearly every emotion, nearly every day.  I love my jobs, but I hate the fact that I can go 2 or 3 days without having a meaningful conversation with my children, or even seeing them while they are awake.  (Don't worry, that is a short-term situation)  I love being able to be the leader God has called me to be, but I am terrified of screwing something major up.  I thank God for our staff when I spend time with Donnie, Rodney and Jim, but I feel burdened to prayer when I realize they cheer for Michigan, Michigan State and Michigan.  (At least, there aren't any Buckeyes in the bunch!)

It's almost like a life-cycle has passed.  Our time at Grace, and in Goshen for that matter, has "died".  This doesn't mean that relationships have died... they're just different.  At the same time, we have started a new "life" with New Hope and Hillsdale County.  With this comes excitement, but also the realization that there are growing pains ahead.  And these growing pains aren't always as much fun as spending 30 minutes with Alan Thicke and Kirk Cameron.  (If you get that reference, you are offically old like me.)

2.  My friends and students are AMAZING!!!  I put out the call to some of our family, friends and my students at Plymouth and Northridge High Schools to help Olivia's class win the Penny Olympics at her school.  Basically, the class that collected the most money in pennies won the contest and each student got to hit their principal, Mrs. Olinghouse in the face with a pie during the school Fun Fair.

Olivia woke up the morning of the final day of the Penny Olympics to discover we had collected somewhere around 7-8,000 pennies.  That is nearly $80 IN PENNIES!!!!  It took our whole family to lug those stupid coins into her classroom.  But it was worth it! 

Her class won!!!

The school raised over $2,000 for the Parent-Teacher Organization!!!

And, most importantly, Olivia (and her class) got to cover Mrs. Olinghouse in whipped cream!!!



Thanks to EVERYONE who helped with this project.  You made my daughter happy/proud/giggly, which makes me happy/proud (and maybe a little giggly, too.)

3.  I am who I am.  I have tried to be someone else, ok... various someones else through the years, and I finally realized that I need to be who I was made to be.  This means I use big words.  (Not because I am trying to show off or anything, that's just who I am.)  This means that I don't always filter things before they leave my mouth.  This means that I don't always act as graceful as I should or as often  as I want to.  I am a work in progress.

If I have ever done something that offends you, it means you either offend too easily, (or more likely) I was being the imperfect project that I am.  Please accept my apolgy, along with the reasonable assurance that I will do this again at some point or another.

4.  Olivia was totally bummed that she had to miss school today, due to the Chicken Pox.  Today was the 105th birthday of Dr. Seuss, and they had big plans made at school.  Angie made us all green eggs (mixing spinach in with the eggs) for lunch to celebrate, and that really brightened Livi's day.

As parents, we often get caught up in providing our kids with the latest form of entertainment, and we forget that the simple things like making green eggs on Dr. Seuss's birthday can tell our children we love them in a way words can't. 

If you have kids, find a way to tell each of them you love them, without words at least one time this week.  Let me know how it goes.  If you have a spouse, do something like that once a DAY for the next week.  You can keep those stories to yourselves...

5.  I was preparing for a class I am teaching, when I ran across a story in the book.  In it, a pastor was discussing the different styles of music preferences within his church.  He said something to the effect of, "We want to keep everyone happy.  That's our job, I think."

Let me ask you, is this the job of a pastor?  I don't think so.  It actually sounds more like a prostitute to me. 

Pastors are called to lead.  We are not called to appease and "lead" in the way our modern politicians do, by following polling data, demographic studies and such.  God has called YOU to lead the church, not a committee!  (If you don't believe committees are of the devil, look up the terminology used for a group of vultures.) 

Keep the well-being of your congregations in mind, but never keep them "happy" at the expense of what God's calling your church to do.  If someone is bothered by that, and threatens to leave your church, let them go.  Don't be angry, but don't give in and give up the authority God has placed in YOUR hands.  Remember, some day YOU will have to answer for how you led your church, they won't.

6.  My son makes me laugh.



7.  I love going to Indiana Percussion Association contests with my groups!  It is kind of like a reunion of a bunch of really cool, fun guys, and a few jerks.  Last Saturday was our first show of the year.  Both of my groups played well, and I am REALLY proud of them.  But I also had a blast hanging around afterwards and meeting people like Dave Heroux, seeing people I hadn't seen in a while like Dustin McClain, and spending a great deal of time with old friends like Jeff Sanders.  I am looking forward to this upcoming weekend.

Now, if the judges would start understanding what a genius I am, and give my kids all the credit they deserve, then it will be even MORE fun!

I'm not going to even try to predict when my next blog will be!  Hi, I'm Travis, and I am an irresponsible blogger.

Since our last episode...

My bands both finished in the top eleven in the state of Indiana, and more importantly, they grew to be great performers.  Here are a few pictures...


Plymouth warming up before Semi-State 


 
The whole Northridge percussion section after State Finals


It was a great season, and I am very grateful to have been able to work with all of these students.  Now, we've moved on to winter percussion season, where I expect some great things, in spite of me!

Angie and I flew to South Dakota for a whirlwind weekend of work and interviewing with a church.  We met some amazing people, especially those that write songs about pickles.  However, the pastoral search committee felt that I wasn't the right person for their job, which I agreed with.  Nice place, nice people, just not the right fit.

Don't feel sad for us, though.  Nothing is quite official, so I don't want to say anything definite, but I have a strong sense that the Miner's will be packing up to move in the next few months.  OK, it may take longer than that, since we have to sell our house (anyone interested?).  The good news is that the church is close enough to commute to.  The bad news is that it's far enough away to be a LOOOOOOOOOONG commute.  Needless to say, we're excited, nervous, fearless and terrified all at once.  I promise to give you the full details as soon as it is official.  (Look for something in about 3-4 weeks)

I've been happy to be leading worship a lot lately.  I was leading in the Link a couple weeks ago, at the church in Michigan last weekend, and now I'm leading at a church plant in Granger on Sunday.  Sometimes you don't realize how much you love something until it's gone.  That's how it was with leading worship for me.  After taking one Sunday off in four years at The Lighthouse, I was burned out and debating whether I even wanted to be involved in ministry anymore.  Well, (obviously) I am ready to dive back in.  A big thanks go out to my family at Grace Community Church.  I've had a chance to work side-by-side with Jim, Jeremiah, Jerimae, Jeremy, and Jon over the last few years.  (Seriously, do they hire ANYONE whose name doesn't start with the letter J????)  They (and the rest of the church) have played an enormous role in the healing process that has enabled us to re-enter ministry as a vocation.  I can never say enough thanks to everyone there.  I will do my best, before it's our time to leave.  I've also been grateful for other friends who understand the ups and downs of ministry.  I specifically want to thank Bryan Bucher and Steve Clouse, who have helped me more than they know.  You were there when I was at the bottom, and helped to pick me up and brush me off.  Thank you.

Seeing as this is likely to be my last blog before December 25th, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas.  I'm sure that many of you have less than you did last year, financially.  I know what you're going through.  In fact we're right there with you.  Rest assured that the Savior who was born in Bethlehem thousands of years ago loves as much now as He ever has.  So do I.  Remember the stuff that matters the most this year, try to block out the problems that don't matter as much, and have the merriest Christmas you've ever seen!

That's my plan, and I think it's a good one.

In the words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us, everyone!"