Ladera Ranch WyldLife: Bigger or Better

From a penny, to a dog ramp, to a snowboard...

Bigger or Better was so much fun last night! We had about 40 kids join us at Founders and then broke up into teams of 5-8 kids and spread out through Ladera. It was such a good night on so many different levels.

Matt Wright got a new bike... he was amped!

Having the group split up into smaller groups, each with at least one leader, gave us the opportunity to get to know kids better. The team I was with were kids that I hadn't gotten the chance to hang out with a lot before this. 

We traded a chocolate Christmas tree ornament for this iPod!

We were also able to have conversations with different people in the community about what WyldLife was and what we were doing at their door. So many of the people we talked with were excited to know that something like WyldLife was happening in Ladera Ranch. Most of them were excited about finding something funny for the game.

Rolling in the golf cart

It was pretty incredible to see what some of the teams came back with! One team came back with a fully functional bike, a scooter, and a toddler bike. Another team came back with a mattress, a dog house, and a hockey stick. The 6th grade boys team were able to snag a whole case of snack-packs and a plastic candy cane that there were super excited about. The all girls team were able to somehow get a golf cart (I'm thinking it might have been a pre-made deal)! The 8th grade boys team got a really nice baseball bat, a ton of candy, and a giant lacrosse goal. My team came back with a complete snowboard and a fully functional iPod.

It was great seeing everyone have so much fun last night

On a whole, the night was blast, kids and leaders got to know each other much better, and we were able to do more work in earning the right to speak into their lives with the truth and love of Jesus. These events go so far in getting into these kids' lives. As we show them we enjoy doing fun things, and letting them do things they haven't done before, we earn their trust, and end up getting the opportunity to help them make better choices in life and share the love of Jesus with them as we go. 

The 6th graders were so psyched on this case of pudding!

Friday Morning in Ladera: Jesus and Blind Bart

Friday mornings are the best!

I am constantly surprised at how many kids are excited to wake up an hour, or more, earlier than usual and come hang out at Founders Park before school. This last week I have been meeting with different youth workers from different churches in the area, and can say that what we are experiencing here in Ladera is both unique and special. Kids are coming for more than the doughnuts, that much is for sure! Getting a chance to talk about Jesus with so many kids on Friday mornings is something I look forward to all week.

Nolan and Ben being goofy

This morning's game was a brainchild of Grant. He made a square in the field using cones and then had kids line up side by side around the perimeter. He would then say something like, "If you are wearing shorts, cross the square!" Kids would have to try to move to the other side of the square without touching anyone.

Grant demonstrating the "sumo strut"

It got a bit more interesting when Grant started telling the kids how they had to get across the square. My personal favorite was the "sumo strut" where kids had to walk like a sumo wrestler as they made their way across the square.

"Cross the square if you are a girl!"

Today after breaking up into small groups we read and talked about the time Jesus healed a blind beggar named Bartimaeus. Over the past few weeks we have been looking at the way Jesus sees people in contrast to the way others see them. This is another one of those stories... its also another story of Jesus healing someone and making it possible for them to have a more full and real life. I am beginning to see these stories as a picture of what Jesus does for everyone. He ALWAYS leads us into a more full and real life. Sometimes its as obvious as restoring actual sight, and sometimes its different but just as real and powerful.

Best way to start the day.

In this particular story, found in the Bible in Mark 10:46-52, Jesus, his entourage of people following him around, and a big crowd from the local city are leaving a town and have an encounter with a man we called Bart. Bart was blind, and because the options for a blind man were extremely limited back then, he was a beggar. He was set up on the entrance to the town and would most likely call out asking people for money whenever he heard them passing by. He would be pretty similar to the people posted up on the off ramp at Crown Valley... but it seems that he may have been a little more persistent than just sitting quietly with a sign.

Its probable that Bart had been in this spot for years, possibly for most of his life. This was who he was,  the blind beggar at the entrance to town. That was his identity, the life he knew, and how everyone else saw him.

As he heard a big crowd passing and then that Jesus was a part of this crowd he started to call out. By this time Jesus had a reputation, and people were hearing about everything he had done. So, when Bart heard that Jesus was in the crowd he started calling out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

I imagine that he wasn't bashful about it, but that he was loud, and even a bit obnoxious. People in the crowd following Jesus began to yell back at Bart, demanding that he be quiet, but the more they yelled at Bart to be quiet, the louder Bart yelled for Jesus.

Bart was blind. Bart was a beggar. Bart was nothing. He was a bother, something to be put up with, something to be tolerated. He was barely a person, and for sure not someone that should be bothering someone as important as Jesus. Didn't he know his place? Perhaps he had a reputation for being one of those beggars that was a little more aggressive than the others, maybe he was just persistent enough to make people feel uncomfortable... and to have someone like this YELLING at someone like Jesus, not acceptable. Didn't he know his place?

How often do we see people this way. How often to we put labels on the people we see and them treat them as whatever label we gave them. From the people at the corner, to the person behind the register, to the person at work, or church, or the other parent at your kids' games... how often do we treat them as a thing, and not as a person.

How often do we just accept the labels that others have given us.

For kids, this is very real. They may live out of several different labels depending on where they are. At home they may be one way, at school a totally different way, and then still another when playing sports or doing something else. The kid that is an awesome soccer player, might have confidence on the soccer field, but the second he steps on campus at school, where he isn't known, or isn't seen as a star player, be totally different.

The way people see them, or even just the way they think people see them, has more to do with the way they act than they know. I would say that, to a certain degree, this is true of adults as well.

Bart was over it though. He wanted something different, and he wasn't afraid of making a seen.

And Jesus stopped.

In all the commotion, all the yelling and pushing, people probably trying to just hurry Jesus along so he wouldn't be bothered... Jesus stopped.

Jesus heard Bart. Jesus saw Bart. He didn't see the blind beggar, but the man.

Jesus told the crowd, "Tell him to come here." I love this. Jesus made the crowd turn and treat Bart as a person. Jesus didn't go to Bart, but told the crowd to ask him to come be part of the group... and the crowd's reaction to Bart was a 180 from before. "Cheer up!" they said, "Come on, he's calling you!"

And now Bart had a choice. He could get up and leave his entire world behind. Or he could stay in his comfort zone. I often overlook this. As Bart got up, threw aside his coat (the symbol of a beggar) and began to make his way towards Jesus, he was leaving behind everything he knew. For a few moments, he no longer had an identity. What would happen once he got to Jesus? Would Jesus heal him, or would Jesus just say some encouraging things and then leave Bart to find his way back to his spot? But Bart got up. He was desperate enough to give it all up in order to get in front of Jesus. This was big faith in a person he had never seen, but only heard of.

Once Bart got in front of Jesus, Jesus asked, "What do you want me to do for you?" Without hesitation, knowing exactly what he wanted, Bart replied, "My Rabbi, I want to see!" He went big! Not, "Jesus, could you give some money," or, "Jesus, could you help me out..." but, "I WANT TO SEE!"

Jesus' reply? "Go, for your faith has healed you." Instantly, Bart could see. Instantly, Bart had a new identity.

But Bart did not go, Bart stayed and followed Jesus down the road.

Jesus saw Bart. The whole time. Jesus restored Bart, gave him a more full life, and let him and everyone else see that Bart was a person, that Bart was worth Jesus' time. Jesus feels the same way about each of us. He sees us the way we truly are, VALUABLE BEYOND OUR LABELS, better than what others think, and worth enough that Jesus gave his life for us.

Just like with Bart, Jesus invites us into our true identity. It might mean that we have to leave the identity others have given us, the identity we have lived most our lives out of behind, or even the identity we have spent years creating, but what lies on the horizon is FAR BETTER than what we leave behind.

Freedom awaits!

A life lived being truly human, truly loved, and truly loving. Its not always comfortable, its not always easy or safe and secure, but it is free, and it is better than any life anyone else could give us. Jesus speaks truth into our lives, he said that  if we follow him, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." This is the truth that we are loved as we are, that we are more valuable than we are told, and that we can have a full life in Jesus. Its not a life of rules and regulations, but a life of purpose and love and adventure.

Jesus and the "Wrong" Kind of Woman

Stolen phone selfies

It was another fun Friday morning!! 

One of my favorite things about Friday mornings is greeting kids as they show up, and hanging out while we eat doughnuts. A huge part of what we want to do in WyldLife is get to know kids, and show them that we are interested in them as people, for no reason other than just because they matter. As we do this, we show them that they are valuable in and of themselves. We show them that God thinks they matter, and we get to earn the right to be a positive influence in their lives... hopefully we get to help them meet Jesus, but we are there with and for them no matter what.

Its crazy what a conversation around a doughnut can lead to.

After eating doughnuts and hanging out we played a game from summer camp this last summer. Kids paired off, one was designated a tree and the other a bird. As the music played they walked around in counter-rotating circles and when the music stopped the "bird" had to find the "tree" and jump on its back. It was fun and some of the kids really connected with their inner bird-ness. Unfortunately I did not have an opportunity to get any pictures, so you will just have to ask your kid to show you what that looked like!!

After the game we got into the story of Jesus hanging out at with a "promiscuous" woman.

Jesus often spent time with the wrong kind of people. One might think that Jesus would have spent most of his time with religious experts, or people much like we would find in churches today, but he didn't. Jesus was constantly shocking the religious experts with who he hung out with. This is one of those times.

Jesus and his disciples were traveling and had to go through Samaria. Jesus and his disciples were Jews, and Jews HATED Samaritans. As they were walking through Samaria, Jesus got tired and took a rest next to a well. The disciples went on ahead to get food, leaving Jesus alone. As Jesus was resting, a Samaritan woman came up to the well to draw water. The fact that this woman was coming at this time suggests that she was a social outcast. Most women would come together to get water, but this woman came at time when no one else was around. We find out why later in the story.

As this woman came close, Jesus asked her to give him a drink. Seems simple enough, Jesus is thirsty, and this lady could give him some water... but that Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for water is incredibly scandalous. Jews hated Samaritans so much that if a Samaritan touched a Jew's dish, the dish would be destroyed. The reasons for this were deep, and religion was a huge factor. So that Jesus, God, was talking to someone with differing religious beliefs is a very big deal.

The woman was shocked that Jesus asked her for water. She replied, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" Jesus caught her totally off guard. As they talk Jesus began to explain that if she knew who he was (God) she would have asked him for living water. This is a reference to eternal, true, real, and everlasting life, but she didn't get that and asked for "living water" so that she wouldn't have to keep coming to the well to get water. 

So Jesus asked her to go home, get her husband, and then come back. The woman told Jesus she didn't have a husband, and Jesus let her know that he knows her better than she thinks. This woman had been married 5 times before and was currently living with a man she was not married to. This woman was not the kind of woman people would expect Jesus to be talking to, but she was exactly the kind of woman Jesus came to talk to. 

Jesus constantly looked for the kind of people the religious system of that time marginalized. Jesus didn't wait for people to get their act together before he came to them. Jesus came to be with the "wrong" kind of people. 

This woman was so rejected that she had to come get water at a time when no one else from the town would see her. She had to live a life full of shame, but not with Jesus. Jesus made sure that she knew he knew her, and he came to offer her living water. Jesus didn't point a finger at her, he didn't tell her he knew what she was up to and could give her living water as soon as she cleaned her life up. No. He first gave offered to rescue her, and then let her know he knew everything about her. Its so easy to get this flipped around. Its so easy to think we need to clean ourselves up before we can come to Jesus... but Jesus comes to us in the midst of our mess.

Just like with this woman, Jesus isn't waiting for us to get things "right." Jesus meets us where we are, as we are, and he loves us in that place. 

For a middle school kid, the truth that they can be fully know and fully loved, as they are, is life changing and powerful. They live in a world of labels. A world where they are what they are know as and for. Their experience, more often than not, tells them that if people really knew them, they wouldn't be loved, or have many friends. To understand that Jesus sees them, knows EVERYTHING about them, and STILL LOVES them like crazy can completely change the trajectory of a kids life. It can set them free and bring a truth centered confidence that displays itself in care for others, and acceptance of themselves. 

It is equally powerful for us adults. To know that Jesus isn't keeping score, isn't using guilt and shame as motivation, and isn't holding our past mistakes against us can open us up to a life of freedom. Just like Jesus met this woman, this woman that Jesus had no business talking to, he meets us. He meets us where we are, good and bad, clean and unclean, in the midst of whatever is going on in our lives, and he brings the gift of living water.

Ladera Ranch WyldLife: Jesus Sees You, and He Isn't Scared

Costume Selfie

It was so great to be back at WyldLife this morning! I didn't realize just how much I missed it until it was time to get up and go. I didn't know what to expect this morning since it is Halloween, but we had a great group of kids come out, and we had a blast!

The "Human Centipede" 

Andy Wright, one of our fearless volunteer leaders, came up with the game for this morning. It was called "Human Centipede." Kids had to link arms through their legs, and race as a team around a leader and then back. The goal was to make it the whole way without getting disconnected. Out of the five teams, it was only the girl team that was able to get this done, and they were rewarded handsomely with a bag of candy. As always, even though the game might not have gone exactly as planned, it was a blast.

I'll take a double double with fries and a shake.

It was fun seeing everyone dressed up in Halloween costumes today. We had everything from batman and an In N Out employee, to Napoleon Dynamite and Wayne from Wayne's World. The leaders all got into it as well, Matt and Andy were the guy from "Castaway" and Wilson, Caitlin was a disco diva, Matthew was an 80's mobster, Grant was a flying squirrel, and I was a nerdy dad (didn't have to dig too deep to find that costume).

Right before things got crazy

After the game we did a reenactment of a story in the Bible where Jesus and the disciples find themselves in a situation that seems like a scene right out of a modern day horror movie. I read Mark 5:1-20, and we had a bunch of the kids act out the different parts of the story. We had a few demon possessed guys, a couple gorillas, the disciples, a herd of pigs, and Jesus. It might not have been 100% accurate (pretty sure gorillas weren't in the story) but it was fun and the main story was still clear.

I love getting to talk about Jesus

This story happens directly after Jesus calms the storm. The disciple had just been rescued by Jesus from a life-threatening storm in the middle of the night. They heard Jesus talk to the wind and the waves, and they saw the wind and waves obey. Not a normal experience.

Now, as they are more than likely nervous because of what they just witnessed Jesus do, they come in the very early hours of the morning to shore. As they approach the shore, they hear a man, or it may have sounded like a beast, screaming. As soon as they get out of the boat, this man, bloody, wearing torn rags for clothes, clearly insane, and barely resembling a human being at all runs and falls at Jesus' feet.

Mark tells us that this man had been living in the tombs on the hills. The town had most likely exiled him there, and this man may have even felt more at home among the dead than the living. People from the town had tried to tie him up, but he would always break out of the ropes, and not even chains could hold him. It seems he had some sort of supernatural strength. The Bible says that, "Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones." This person was not normal, he was scary, he was dangerous, and he was on his knees in front of Jesus.

In front of Jesus he screeched, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God's name don't torture me!" This person, insane, frightening, stronger than rope and chains, was now begging for mercy at Jesus' feet.

Jesus didn't run, he didn't cover himself... he also didn't try to get rid of the man, or tell him to get back to the tombs where he belonged. Jesus did something I am certain I would have never thought to do. Jesus asked this man what his name was.

How is it that even in this scene out of a horror movie, Jesus is interested in the person. He didn't tell this man to get lost, he asked this man what his name was. What his parents named him when he was born. The town people had most likely forgotten this guys name. I'm sure they had more than a few names for him, but I doubt any of them were the name his parents gave him on the day he came into this world... they didn't care, he wasn't a man anymore, he was a problem.

But Jesus wanted to know the man's name.

The man's response goes to show that he didn't identify himself as the person he was before. He didn't even view himself as a man. He responded, "My name is Legion, for we are many." His identity as "Legion" shows that he viewed himself as a problem. He identified more with the demons possessing him than anything else. He identified with the problem he had become for the people and the town, more than with the boy who was born and given a name... but Jesus saw this man not the problem, and he wasn't scared, instead he drew near in power and love.

The demons begged to be thrown into a large herd of pigs nearby instead of getting cast back into darkness, and Jesus gave them their wish. As soon as the demons left the man, and entered the herd of pigs, the whole herd ran off a cliff and drowned in the sea. This is what it seems they wanted all along, death.

The man, on the other hand, was completely restored. When the towns people heard the news and came to where Jesus was, the man was sitting there, "dressed, and in his right mind."

I think this is where the story gets strange (because nothing that happened before this seems strange, right). The people were scared. They didn't welcome this man back. They didn't rejoice in the fact that this person was now healed and back to his true self, instead they were scared and asked Jesus to leave.

The man asked Jesus to take him with them, but Jesus refused. He told the man to stay and "Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

Home. Your own People.

I doubt this man had heard that in a very long time. For so long his home had been the tomes, and his people the demons that were tormenting him. But Jesus knew him, he saw this man, he saw who he really was.

Later in the Bible, they return to this town and find that people know who Jesus is and welcome him back. This man, this crazy, dangerous problem spread the good news of Jesus with everyone, and helped change the lives of the very same people who exiled him to the hills and tombs, and tried to forget that he even existed. The love of Jesus is powerful when fully experienced.

When talking with the kids this morning. I hit mostly on the fact that Jesus saw this person. He didn't see a demonic crazy barley-human thing, but a man with a name. Jesus looks at us the same way. He doesn't see us the same way others do. He doesn't see our faults, our failure, our fears or insecurities. Jesus looks at us and sees the true us. Jesus knows our name, and wants us to live out of the truth: that he knows us completely, and loves us completely. He isn't waiting for us to get our act together, he isn't waiting till we have changed enough to be useful, he loves us right now, the way we are, not the way we should be... because, as Brennan Manning says, "None of us are the way we should be."

This is powerful, and a person that has truly experienced the love of Jesus and let it sink down deep into their hearts is truly free to love people the way Jesus did. Once our identity is founded on Jesus' love for us, as we truly are, and not what others think of us, we are free. Free to live. Free to love. Free to enjoy God and all he has given us. Free to help others. Free to be honest and real. Free to be our true selves. God created you. He made you unique and you are a masterpiece. The world wants to destroy that masterpiece, and if it can't do that, it will do its best to make you believe you are imperfect, flawed, less-than, not right.

Jesus restores. Jesus brings life. Jesus brings truer love than we have ever known... and it is extremely powerful.

Ladera Ranch WyldLife... A Tiny Boat and a Big Storm

7:15, on a typical Friday morning in Ladera

First, I want to apologize for this being so late. Last Friday I was in Marathon, TX getting ready to run a marathon with my dad. It was the first Friday I have missed since we started WyldLife in Ladera last March, and the leaders (who are all volunteers) did amazing!! I could not be more proud of this team and each of the leaders that sacrifice their time to come and care for these kids.

Extreme Duck Duck Goose

The game they played was a brain child of Bryce. It was an extreme version of duck duck goose. I'm not really sure how it went, but it sounds like everyone had a blast.

Duck, duck, duck...

After the game they split into small(ish) groups and looked at the story of Jesus calming the storm. Its found in the book of Matthew 8:23-27, and Mark 4:35-41, and Luke 8:22-25. In this story Jesus and his closest followers have just been at Peter's house (one of Jesus closest disciples) where Jesus healed many people. The crowd started getting big so Jesus told the disciples they needed to get into a boat and go to the other side of the sea. This sea was a very large lake surrounded by mountains. Even today, fierce storms can come up very quickly on this lake because of the way the mountains are formed around it.

This is what happened that night. Jesus and the disciples were about half-way across when a storm came up. These storms are so brutal that they can easily sink a small boat like the one they were using that night. As the disciples started to react to the storm, working furiously to bail out water and keep the boat afloat, they began to fear for their lives...  and as they caledl out to Jesus for help they noticed that he was taking a nap.

Jesus was asleep!

The disciples were working to save their lives, fearing that they wouldn't be able to, and as everything seemed to be falling apart, and as death seemed to be coming fast... Jesus was asleep.

There have been times in my own life when it has felt like this. There have been times when it seemed like life was falling apart, when everything I have held dear was breaking apart, and as I cried out to Jesus... there was no response. At the very moment when I thought Jesus should show up and bail me out, he was nowhere to be found, and my response is often a mixture of fear, desperation, and anger.

The disciples responded in the same way. Mark tells us that the disciples rebuke Jesus, saying, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

DON'T YOU CARE.

These disciples, who have given up everything to follow Jesus, are now wondering if Jesus even cares. They are in a boat that seems to be going down in the middle of a giant lake with land nowhere in sight, and Jesus is sleeping.

Jesus woke up, stood up, rebuked the wind and the waves saying, "Quiet! Be still!" and suddenly everything was calm. The water was glassy, the air still, and, besides from the dripping water coming off of the disciples clothes, everything was suddenly quiet. Jesus then looked around at the disciples, wet, tired, and bewildered, and asked them, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"

Why were they afraid? Because they were in a sinking boat about to drown. As far as they knew from every other experience they had, there was every reason to be afraid... but Jesus was still with them, so there was nothing to fear.

The truest thing in the world is that Jesus will never leave us. This means that even when it seems he is nowhere to be found, he is right by our side. He may be quiet, he may not respond to our commands for him to come and bail us out, and sometimes he may even let the boat go down, but he is with us the whole time, so we have nothing to fear.

In my own life, the biggest boat I had for a very long time was my family. About 10 years ago this boat got swept up into a terrible storm, and I screamed at Jesus to wake up and fix everything. I questioned his love for me, and I questioned his power to rescue. That boat did go down. My parents got divorced and my family fell apart... and Jesus was with me every second, every step of the way. What I didn't know then was that Jesus was going to use that to bring me into a much deeper relationship with him that I could never have imagined. My faith in his ability to redeem and restore was going to grow in ways I could never have imagined, and I was going to love and trust him, because of that, in ways I could never have imagined. Honestly, I would never have moved to California, and never been called to do WyldLife in Ladera Ranch if that boat didn't go down.

The truth is, that even if the boat goes down, we are still with Jesus, and we will still have nothing to fear.

But, there are times when Jesus does save, and all it takes is a word. There are times when Jesus calms the storm, and makes things like as if nothing had ever happened. He is that powerful. Either way, Jesus, God, is with us, and his love, power, and ability to redeem never falter.

These leaders are amazing!

Support the Mission in Ladera Ranch

Because Young Life, which includes WyldLife, is a locally supported non-profit, we rely 100% on the local community to rally behind us and support the mission financially. 

I am excited about the future of WyldLife and Young Life in Ladera Ranch. This year, because of the growth we have experienced, the budget includes a part time staff person to open up the possibility of starting ministry at Tesoro High School next year. My vision is to have something for kids that lasts from 6th grade through high school. That would mean that there is a safe and healthy place for kids for SEVEN YEARS. It means that they will have caring adults seeking to be a part of their lives for SEVEN YEARS. It means that they will have positive role models helping them navigate some of the most difficult times of their lives, and someone standing with them through thick and thin showing them what the love of Jesus is like, for SEVEN YEARS.

The Budget for the mission in Ladera Ranch this year will be just between $90,000 and $100,000. This includes one full-time staff salary with benefits, room to hire hire a new part-time staff person, operational expenses, staff and volunteer training, and administrative costs. All of the money donated to support the mission of Young Life in Ladera will go directly to the mission of Young Life and WyldLife in Ladera Ranch.

Fundraising is not something I enjoy doing, it takes time and energy away from doing the actual ministry of WyldLife, but it is necessary. This mission of Young Life does not happen without people in the community stepping up and owning it. Also, this is a chance for members of the community to invest in the future of kids in the community, which is an investment in the community itself. 

By far, the best way to support the ministry is through monthly donations. If we could have 80 people to sign up for $100/month, the entire budget would be taken care of. If we could have 40 people to give $100/month and 80 people to give $50/month the budget would be taken care of. 

I pray and hope that you will join this mission for Ladera Ranch. 

Checks can be made out to "Young Life CA247" and mailed to: 
Luke Bright
24488 Copper Cliff
Lake Forest CA 92630

Or you can follow the directions below in order to give online (by far the easiest way to give). 

Online gifts can be given at Giving.YoungLife.org

1. Go to Giving.YoungLife.org

2. Select the option for "A Young Life Staff Member's Ministry"

3. Click search and enter "Bright"

4. Click the option with my name (Luke Bright) and the area name (South County-CA247)

5. If this is a recurring (monthly) gift please make sure and select that option as well

6. Click "Add Gift"

7. Click "Check Out"

8. Enter Appropriate information as needed

9. Complete Donation

All gifts that are given are tax-deductible, and donors will receive a receipt for tax per poses. 

Please let me know when you have accomplished this so I can make sure it was processed and made it to the appropriate account.

Thank you,

Luke Bright

Young Life South County

LukeBright.YoungLife@gamil.com

949-293-6443

Ladera Ranch WyldLife... Jesus Wept

Friday mornings are great.

It was another fun Friday morning at Founders Park! Along with doughnuts we had a leader bring 80 hash-browns from McDonalds... call it training for Eat the Menu on Sunday night! The kids went crazy over the hash-browns and some of them had a few more than I would have eaten.

Shane and Griffin get ready for Sunday night

"Eat the Menu" will be the kick-off event for "club" this year and will be this Sunday night from 6:30-7:30 at McDonalds off Antonio. I'm asking kids to bring $5 to help cover the cost, but they will be getting much more than $5 worth of food. As gross as "Eat the Menu" is, its a really great way to get messy with kids and they have a blast. I myself am not looking forward to overeating at McDonalds, but if it will help kids see that we are here for them, and help them see that we think they are awesome, then I'll do it for sure.

Brennan is pumped for Eat the Menu

The game was a relay race. Kids got in 4 teams, lined up, and raced to see which team could blow up and pop the most balloons. As always, there was a catch. First, the balloons had to be passed down the line alternating over the head and under the legs. Secondly, once they got to the front of the line, the person there had to put on an oversized sweatshirt, stuff the balloon into it, and then hug the person next to them until the balloon popped. Sometimes this didn't work and kids resorted to jumping on the ground in a belly-flop like way to pop the balloon... it was pretty funny.

Its all about the love

Maddie getting things done

Passing the balloon 

After the game we broke up into smallish groups and got into the story of Jesus and Lazarus. Its found in the Bible in the New Testament book of John 11:1-44.

In this story a man named Lazarus gets deathly sick. He and his sisters are very dear friends of Jesus. Their house seems to be a place of retreat for Jesus, a home base of sorts, and Mary and Martha constantly come into the story of Jesus in the Gospels. All this to say, they were very close friends of Jesus.

As soon as Lazarus gets sick, the sisters send word to Jesus, hoping, I think its safe to say expecting, Jesus to come quickly and heal their brother. Even the phrase they gave the messenger, "Lord, the one you love is sick," points to the closeness of this family and Jesus, but Jesus didn't leave, he didn't drop everything to come to his friends' aid... he stayed where he was, for two days.

After two days, Jesus tells his disciples that its time to go back and help Lazarus. The disciples weren't very excited about this because the last time they were there a group tried to kill Jesus, and there were people there still planning how they could kill Jesus. The disciples don't understand why they need to go back until Jesus tells them plainly that Lazarus is dead, then they finally realize that Jesus is serious, and, a disciple normally known as "doubting Thomas" rallies the others saying, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

When Jesus gets to the place where he normally seems to find refuge, there is anything but. The place is charged with emotion. Lazarus has been dead for four days, and people are gathered everywhere mourning his death. When Martha and then Mary hear that Jesus is there, they each run out to him at different times and say the same thing, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!"

I cannot imagine the emotions here. What must it have been like for them as they watched their brother die, waiting, hoping that Jesus would walk through the door and make everything right. What must it have been for them as they watched Lazarus getting worse and still no sign of Jesus. What must it have been for them as they watched Lazarus take his last breath... and still no Jesus. There is sadness, anger, confusion, and despair in their statement to Jesus, " if you had been here, my brother would not have died." This is not a statement of faith, but of a broken heart.

The response? "Jesus wept."

Jesus did not correct, shame, explain himself, try to minimize their emotions... he broke down. John used some pretty strong language here to say that Jesus broke down. He did just let a tear or two pop out, he was deeply moved with emotion. He didn't minimize anything, he entered into it. He joined in the weeping, in the hurt, in the sadness.

There are so many times I question God when I am hurt, when life seems to be coming apart at the seems, when I lose something or someone close. The temptation is to just put on a good face and pretend that nothing is bothering me. I try to be strong, and while there is nothing wrong with this, and there are times when this is the right thing to do, I don't have to do this with Jesus. I can come to him angry, sad, wounded, frustrated, and clearly questioning... and he doesn't shame, he joins me where I am. He feels my hurt, and he comes alongside me in it. I don't have to pretend around him, I can be undone at his feet.

The story doesn't end here. Jesus tells the sisters to open up the grave, and, again, Martha questions Jesus saying, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there for four days." Jesus tells her that if she believes, she will see the glory of God. So they remove the stone, Jesus prays out loud to his Father, and then calls Lazarus to come out of the grave... and he does! After being dead for FOUR DAYS Lazarus walks out of the grave. Lazarus doesn't come to life like a zombie, but back to full life. The Bible goes on to say that people start planning to kill Lazarus too because he is a sign that Jesus is God.

Jesus did come, and he did heal, just not in the timeframe or in the way expected... there was a bigger story happening here, one that would have effects that would change the lives of countless people for thousands of years.

God does not always do things the way we want, or the way we think he should in order to prove himself. He does things his way... but we can still ask, and we can still question. The important thing is that we go to him, not away from him. He can handle our emotion, he can handle our questioning, he knows us completely anyway so there is nothing we can hide from him. As we go to him our faith will grow, we will begin to know and trust that he really is as good as he says, and we will come to know that he truly is a wonderfully powerful and loving God.