October in the Canyon

The best time of year to raft the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon has to be October! This is definitely a statement I never imagined I would be making. I never sat as a kid and thought to myself, "When I grow up, I want to be a paddle captain on the Colorado River." This is one thing about my job that I will never take for granted!

Time on the River is just different. It's slow, calm, intense, relaxing, scary, wild, fun, and new every trip. Last week, we rafted my first Prescott locals trip with our Crossfit gym. You can't replace a group like we took. They were great paddlers, workers, and just great people. We laughed every night around the campfire and made memories that will forever become a part of our trips through the Grand canyon. A big thanks to Joey, Christian, Chris, Ben, Jonathan, Jami, Carolina, and Bob for making it all happen. Also another shout out to Chris Holohan and Dan Thompson for their first ride in the back seat as paddle captains. Hope your next trip keeps the rubber side down, the people side up, and the Rez on the left!

Jarred

The New Casa

Welcome to the new and improved Casa de Medlin! About a month ago, Jessica and I learned that we were being given the opportunity to move into a new home at camp. It was a bittersweet decision given that we had been living in our white trailer /redneck/trash/ghetto home for over 2 years. But we have quickly found the new pad to be more than we could have asked for. Great appliances and a guest bedroom make all the difference! I owe so much thanks to my family...Janet, Craig, Kent, and Angie for helping us get started. We did extreme home makeover/move in 4 days. It was a rush! But we couldn't have done it without family help.

Also a big shout out to Jim and Bobbie Kendrick who reccommended we take over their old home. Jim did some beautiful woodwork in the house and we are greatful for the chance to finish where they left off with the home remodel.

Come check it out if you get a chance. We would love to offer you a seat on our new or should I say "old school" glider on the new back padio. Listening to our miniature waterfall is quite relaxing. See you soon!

Jarred

Crossfit

(This is called a prowler. A sled we push around at Crossfit. Check out the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8jEGVDjFBM)

About 7 weeks ago, Jessica and I dropped our membership at the YMCA and stepped into the world of Crossfit. Now I had heard of Crossfit before, but I had no idea just how much it would change my outlook on health and fitness.

Crossift is an organization that designed workouts for Navy Seals. The goal was to create the a fitness program to develop speed, agility, strength, endurance, and mental toughness. But the catch is that it had to take the least amount of time possible. This program had to take less than 30 minutes!

Years later, Crossfit has grown to become a successful organization that is increasing people's level of fitness around the world. Crossfit has planted instructors inside gyms all across the country to coach and teach their philosophy of fitness. And in my opinion, I have yet to find a better method!

Not only does Crossfit develop individual fitness, but it is taking strides in developing community, giving, and service. Last Saturday, I participated in my first gym-wide workout (which the entire organization of Crossfit participated in) called "The Fight Gone Bad." This was not only an extreme workout. It was an event in which all participants raised money for 3 charities....The Livestrong Foundation, The Wounded Warriors Foundation, and the Crossfit Foundation. Each of these foundations are actively changing lives for hurting people around the world. And in my opinion, this is the kind of gym that is worth being a part of. Not a gym filled with mirrors to promote self-consumption. But a gym filled with people working together for greater goals of fitness, community, and service!

Check it out!

Jarred

Mile High Football

Do you remember answering this question... "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

For most kids, we get answers like...Astronaut, Artist, Professional Football Player, Dancer, or Jedi Knight.

For me, I always dreamed of being a basketball coach. This year, I get my first opportunity to do the next best thing. I am a Middle School football coach! And I can think of few things beside Christ, family, camp, and friends that get me more excited and passionate. There's something about working with awkward, crazy, and un-fazed junior high boys that gets me excited. It reminds me of past days of the newness of athletics and the joy of team.

While I don't think Mile High Football is going change any lives this year, I do pray that these boys learn something more than just how to make a hit or run the football. I pray that they each find someone in their life who cares about them. That they learn that a one man team never got anything done. That it took an entire teams effort, encouragement, and enthusiasm to get through each game. That football points to one of God's greatest desires for all people. That we would be one team!

Jarred

In the Name of the Father and the Son....

Weird how Christianity, at least for me, has always revolved around 2 Identities of God. God the father and Jesus. The 3rd part, however, has been put aside. The Holy Spirit isn't a popular topic to talk about in the American Church. I don't know if it just doesn't preach well with people or what, but it is rarely spoken of. Perhaps because of the label that is given with Christians who emphasize the Spirit like hyper-spiritualists of ultra charismatics. It seems as though most people are just afraid of the Holy Spirit because of the unknown. While churches across American preach every Sunday about God the Father and His son, Jesus, few are willing to venture into the less explained and experienced knowledge of the Holy Spirit.

If this is you right now, then I highly reccommend Francis Chan's latest book, Forgotten God. I have found it to be super challenging and a great reminder that Christ is alive in me. That it is to my advantage that Jesus died on the cross so that the Spirit could live in me. That the Spirit prays for me, convicts me, and leads me to repentance.

So the question is....What role does the Holy Spirit play in your life? Does it even have a role?

Don't Waste Your Life

So, with the summer camp season at an end, I have been enjoying catching up on some much needed reading. After all, without any school this semester, I have quite a bit of extra time on my hands. For the past week, I have been working my way through my first book written by John Piper. I have always had a great interest in Piper, but have never taken the time to see what God is doing in his life. I can tell you this...If this was the only work I ever had from Piper, I would say that it carries a message for us all to take extremely serious. DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE!

I think Piper sums up much of his argument with his comments below...

"You may not be sure that you want your life to make a difference. Maybe you don't care very much whether you make a lasting difference for the sake of something great. You just want people to like you. If people would just like being around you, you'd be satisfied. Or if you could just have a good job with a good wife, or husband, and a couple of good kids and a nice car and long weekends and a few good friends, a fun retirement, and a quick and easy death, and no hell. If you could have all that (even without God) you would be satisfied. That is a tragedy in the making. A wasted life." (pg. 45)

Sadly, when I look at how I spend my life...my time, money, interests, thoughts, my dreams. I find that I am prone to spend it on much of the above. And the short of Piper's message in his book is that a pursuit of anything outside of bringing glory to God is a waste. It is a temporary satisfaction that is a distraction from who God has created us to be.

So my question for you and me is simply this.... What would it look like to live a life that wasn't a waste?

Me Too

So I was driving home from some contact work at Young Life tonight, and I ran into a friend. He's quite a bit older than me, but I have gotten to know him a little over the past year. You know how most conversations go when you haven't seen someone you know in awhile? Usually like, "Hey, how's it going?" Well, by the time I got got the first of those words out of my mouth, he was already shaking his head. Life wasn't good. Actually, life sucked... The next 30 minutes or so was just a roller coaster ride of ups and downs (with a lot more downs). It was so hard to listen to. Here is a man over twice my age that has hit rock bottom. He had everything he wanted, and then life caught up with him. Addictions from his past slowly took over, and one by one, the pieces of his life fell apart. So what do you say to something like that? What does a 23 year old kid say in times like these? I really felt like I wasn't supposed to say much at all, besides..."I'm here for you if need me" and "here's my number" and "is there anything I can do for you right now?" Well, there wasn't anything I could do at that moment, but I wonder if it helped at all for us to share that conversation. I wonder if he understood that I wasn't there listening with fingers pointed. In fact, when he talked about addiction and temptation, all I could think about were 2 words. Me Too. If there is anything to walk away with for me in that conversation it's that I have no advantage on him. You see, he believes in Jesus and does his best to follow, but he fails a lot too. And it would be real easy to say that I can't relate, but it wouldn't be true. I may not drink too much, buy drugs on the street, or find myself awake in jail, but the chance is always there. Flatirons Community Church in Colorado puts it like this.."we are all 5 minutes from screwing up our lives." This phrase means nobody perfect, nobody's beyond temptation, and nobody has any guarantees (at least on this earth). All it takes is one weak moment, one bad decision, one wrong step, and I'm right next to my friend. You see, as Christians I wish we'd hear a lot more "Me too's" and see a lot less fingers pointed. Because we are all in the same boat here on earth. We have a one-way ticket away from God, and if it wasn't for Jesus, then we couldn't get off that boat. Flatirons likes to say that the most common phrase we will hear in heaven is "me too." Why? Because when I stand beside someone on that day, I will turn to him and ask, "How did you get here." And the response is the same for everyone. "Well I screwed up my life and went my own way for awhile, but Jesus cut me a really good deal." And then he will look back at me with the same question in his eyes, and I will respond, "Me too."

So I'm praying for my friend tonight and am so thankful for the reminder that I haven't arrived anywhere. I'm just thankful that Jesus arrived in my place and gave me a free ride. Not one that gives me permission to do what I want, but freedom to walk as he walked.

Peace