Light the Darkness

Cirque du Soliel, La Nuba

Wednesday night Belinda and I witnessed the most amazing sight we've ever seen. We attended Cirque du Soliel, La Nuba in Orlando at Downtown Disney. There aren't enough words to describe the spectacular event that it is. There were acrobats, gymnists, singers, dancers, clowns, bicycle trick show artists, tumblers, high wire acts and more. The colors, motion, music, sets, lighting and sound were an overload to the senses.  I found myself holding my breath when the ladies who wound themselves in the hanging drapes (whatever they really call them) where up near the roof. Then they came tumbling, spinning, twirling all the way to just above the floor. My mouth was dry because I wasn't even swallowing. I was hoping we wouldn't see someone fall. And of course they didn't! Man, you can't afford to have an off night in that business! 

This was a gift to us from our friends at Healthy, Growing Churches. A consulting team from Florida. Their services are provided to us at Indian Creek from the Church of God in Kansas. They wanted to give us a night where we could kick back and be inspired. A generous donor told them he wanted to bless Sr. Pastors who are so often giving to others. We were the grateful recipients. We are thankful.  We had a super time eating in the park, riding a boat through the lake, talking about our marriage, family and ministry. What a night! I highly recommend it! If you have a chance to go--do it! Take a look at the YouTube video to get an idea of what it is like.

Gary Kendall

Trilogy in Maui

The name got my attention.  Their customer service warmed my heart and the experience of sailing with them will be something I remember forever.  I read the add in one of the flyers, "if you can only do one thing in Maui, this is the one."  They all say that I thought.  Then I saw a guy who was wearing a Trilogy T-shirt so Belinda asked if the claim was hype.  His wife said they have been coming to Hawaii for their vacation for 20 years running and the Trilogy trip was the one thing they do every year.  Wow! That was high praise.

We signed up and looked with anticipation to a day of sailing on a catamaran, snorkeling, seeing dolphins and riding a speed boat around the coast of Lanai. We were to leave at 7 am the next morning.  Then Belinda lost her phone and we spent a couple of hours retracing our steps in the evening.  We knew the best chance of finding her phone was to be up with the dawn and to revisit an open market when it opened.  That meant we would miss our trip.  We knew they run full all the time so we went to the check in time and pleaded our case to reschedule.  The young man was great.  He fully understood and said he would do the same thing.  He felt confident they would work us in somehow. 

We did find the phone, praise God!  And at 9:00 am we went to the Trilogy office to see what they could do.  The lady who served us could not have been better.  She considered everything and assured us they would find a way to make this work for us even though we were leaving in three days and then she did!  This was a great example of how to treat customers in such a way that they will brag about you on their blog!  We already felt great about Trilogy and we hadn't even left the harbor.

The trip lived up to the billing.  The crew was funny and confident.  The three men, two captains and one apprentice worked together wonderfully and they had great chemistry.  The snorkeling was the best so far.  We got to swim with turtles, enjoy the coral, and follow large schools of yellow fish. We saw a school of dolphins that numbered more than twenty and they swam right along with us for a long time.  It was phenomenal!  Later we toured the island of Lanai and learned about the history.  The native who gave the tour sang the praises of Trilogy when I asked why Trilogy had the exclusive rights to serve that island.  She talked for five minutes about all the ways that Trilogy gives back to the island and how well they treat the people.  For example they give turkeys to every family on the island at Thanksgiving.  On holidays they take children on speed boat rides around the island.  They built a pavilion and donated it to the island sharing the use of it.  On the fourth of July they host a BBQ for the whole town.  Now I know why the young man responded as he did and the lady at the sales desk too.  The giving culture runs throughout the company.  They've treated people this way since they opened the native Hawaiian quipped. 

Then we jumped in a speed boat and sped along the coast often dipping into bays and venturingg within feet of the surf as it crashed on the rocks.  The captain was daring and you could tell he was having a blast!  

Finally once we were back aboard Trilogy VI they spread the sail and we headed back to the harbor in Lahina.  It was a great day all the way around. Belinda and I both remarked with praise and respect about both the people part and the God part of the day.  It probably won't surprise you to hear that the founders are Christians and that they serve as Elders in their church to this day. I want to be known for the same kind of qualities of serving God and serving people like Trilogy.

Gary Kendall

Swimming with the Turtles

I love to snorkel. There is something otherworldly about life beneath the surface of the ocean.  This is just God showing off!We went to Molokai yesterday, which is a little crater off thecoast of Kehai, Maui.  We dropped anchor on the end where the current brings the fish to you and there were a lot of them, all colors, shapes and sizes. My favorites were the yellow fish that looked like "Dori" in the movie "Finding Nemo." How's that for being scientific?   

In my other snorkeling trips I've always fought my mask filling up with water.  It takes discipline to keep your face in the water while the mask is slowing filling up.  Salt water up your nose takes away from the fun.  When I asked why this always happened I was told it was because of my mustache.  The side the mask cannot seal.  So this time I was prepared.  I purchased some silicone jell and put it in my mustache.  Walah!  No leaks.  Now I could keep my face in the water for long periods of time. By the way I have a borrowed computer that doesn't have software for my pics so these from a Maui website will give you an idea of what it looks like.

We also went to a place they call turtle town.  There is a shelf that extends out from the shore for probably one-half mile.  There are 5 caves where the turtles hide out.  The adult turtles can hold their breath for up to 30 minutes but inevitably they must come up to get another breath.  We were there for nearly one-half hour when there were three that came up right together.  One swam right up beside me and was within the length of my arm.  We looked at each other and he didn't seem to be in any hurry.  He hovered there in the water and I decided I would just stay right there with him.  After what seemed like the longest time he started slowly swimming.  I swam right along with him.  He didn't go deep.  He was about one foot beneath the surface.  He didn't seem to mind the company.  I'm sure he could have sped away or of course he could have gone to the depths but he gave me a huge thrill by allowing me to tag along.  Finally he took off for the bottom and left me one happy snorkeler. 

I have a confession to make, I prayed I could see a turtle.  I may lose my man card for this but Beth Moore has this prayer that she prays, Lord delight me!  She knows the depth of God's love for us and the scriptures say He sings and dances over us, so she says it is perfectly legal to pray this prayer.  I was happy to let God show off for me and he did!  Wow!  This is something I'll remember forever.  Thank you God!  Thanks for creation, thanks for your love and thanks for connecting me with your creation. How would you like for God to reveal Himself to you?

Gary Kendall

Consequences of the "wife" Illustrations

Guilty as charged!  It is a good thing I have a loving wife in Belinda! Enjoy :)

A Tale of Two Brains

You'll enjoy this humorous description of the difference between a man's brain and a woman's brain.

Need a Laugh?

I was tipped off to this by my good friend Mo Hodge, Pastor at the Bridge in Decatur, IN.  Enjoy this spoof of Carrie Underwood's Jesus, Take the Wheel.  This is titled, Cletus, Take the Reel.

Craig and the Devil

I've been following the conversations Craig Groeschel has with the devil on YouTube.  If you need to catch up you can go there and do a search and you will laugh and squirm at the same time.  Craig is the Pastor of Life Church.  Check out their Web Site.  Their latest conversation is about money.  If you are a newbie to help you get your feet under you Craig set the stage by saying that in his past he had a good relationship with the devil.  He served him basically.  And the devil is still trying to get him back in the fold.  So occasionally they have these "conversations".  Usually they are on the subject of sex.  That should be enough to get you up to speed. 

Life Church is a great example of the way that you can maximize the infastruction in one location but spread the outreach to an ever increasing number of sites.  If you want more info on Multi-site visit the Leadership Network link.  We will be talking about Multi-site ministry this weekend at our Vision Retreat (see previous post).

Take Me Out to the Ballgame sdrawkcab

On one of our trips, while the kids were little, my Mom sat in the backseat of our rental car and had the unenviable task of entertaining Jeremy and Luke for several hours.  "Grammie Ruthie" as she is affectionately called, decided to amuse them by taking a song they knew, "Take me out to the Ballgame" and singing it backwards.  It has now become famous in our family.  Since they are here for the weekend I took the time to record it and post it on YouTube.  Enjoy!

An Ode to Roundtable Pizza

We are enjoying a rare visit from my parents who live in Oregon but are here for Christmas.  Tonight we were sharing pizza when Mom told us about a poem she wrote for a contest at Roundtable Pizza.  We got a good laugh out of this and I thought I would share it with you. 

Thanks to all who prayed for my Dad.  The trip here went well and we are praising God for such a quick recovery.  Here's the poem.  Enjoy!

Winter's Beauty

If you look closely you can see the Indian Creek sign through the ice.  I know the ice can be deadly but it sure is beautiful.  I have to admit when it gets cold and we have snow or ice I feel like a little kid again.  My energy level goes up and I get excited.  I guess that's what happens when you grow up in Alaska. 

I'm glad to live in a place that has all four seasons.  If we went through a winter without the snow and cold it just wouldn't seem right.  I often think about the wisdom and creativity of God to give the earth just enough of a wobble on it's trip around the sun to give us the seasons.  We are privileged and blessed to be His sons and daughters.  Do you think heaven will be always 70 degrees?  I hope not!