Tag: family

  • Weekend in Vegas

    This weekend we’ve been hanging out with my mom. She lives about 1 mile off the strip in Las Vegas.

    Saturday morning, we went to our first ever dog show. It was a small one at a local park. Besides being a bit warm (reminder of the last half of Revelation, right there.) We had a good time. My mom was especially pleased that one of her yorkies won the toy breed group.

    All afternoon, we swam. Megan and Paul really enjoyed this. We still haven’t managed to get Stoney to swim… more beach therepy needed!

    Last night, Kristen and I drove down the strip. (Takes about 30 minutes.) Then we got out and wandered around for a few hours. Starting at the fountains at the Bellagio, headed to the other side to the… um, crappier side of the street, we walked through some casinos, strolled around before crossing back over to the “nice side” of the street, walking around Caesar’s Palace, looking at the fountains a few more times, and then heading home.

    If you’ve never walked the strip let me just tell you… it’s worth doing. And Saturday night seemed to be great people watching! For some reason, every person who comes feels like they need to dress up. So everyone is walking long distances in dress shoes or heals. Almost everyone carries around alcohol (like Halloween in Romeo) and open stupidity is the rule.

    #1 A woman weeping, I mean WEEPING, at the fountains after the Celine Dion song, “My Heart Will Go On.” It was a fountain display lady. The next one happens in 20 minutes.

    #2 Three young 20ish women having a major argument as thousands of people walk by. Of course, it was about something that happened back home.I like how it climaxed with “Don’t curse at me you **** **** slut.” Maybe what happens in Vegas won’t be staying in Vegas, after all?

    #3 Parents walking around the strip with their young children at midnight. Seriously, 3 year olds playing in fountains! It’s midnight people, put the short people to bed.

    #4 I can’t decide which is more annoying… the endless streams of people trying to hand you cards advertising strip joints or the guy with a bullhorn talking about how fornicators cannot go to heaven. “If you’ve ever had sex outside of marriage, you are destined for hell!” Ur,really?

    #5 There may be wall to wall people walking down the sidewalk, but that never stops a photo opportunity. Just whip out your camera, we’ll all wait while your drunk buddies take the “drunk cigarette shot” you’ll post on facebook later. Yeah, that’ll help you get the new job dingbats.

  • Ikea Trip

    We made our second trip to Ikea this week last night. The first trip was a scouting trip, and this one was a hunting trip. We had a pretty good idea what we wanted, it was just a matter of going to get it. 

    All told, we got a coffee table, tv stand, computer desk, 2 arm chairs, a sofa, and 2 loft beds. It was a trip. Once we got to the self-service area we acquired a couple big carts. We quickly realized that that wasn’t going to be enough. By the end we had 3 carts totally stuffed and crawling to the cashier! Let’s just say they were happy to see la familia de McLane.

    We brought home the 2 arm chairs with us, but the rest is getting delivered on Wednesday. 

    The point here isn’t what we bought or that we went as a family. The point is that we will soon have some furniture! It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve been able to sit on normal things like a sofa, chairs, or even a bed that wasn’t on the floor. I know we are fortunate and that there are many people in the world who will never have such luxuries in their lifetime, but we are greatly looking forward to getting off of the floor.

  • We’ve landed

    Yesterday Megan and I made it to San Diego with about an hour to spare. Our plan worked out perfectly! We were able to drop off all the stuff from the car at the new house just in time to head to the airport and pick up Kristen, Paul, and Lovely as they arrived from Detroit. From there we headed back to the house to do a little “nesting” and get everyone settled. Everyone is having a good time exploring their new surroundings.

    Personally, my surprise joy came when I went grocery shopping. It may sound like something silly to get excited about… but it was a blast! Since there are so many ethnicities in our community the grocery store is packed with new flavors and things to try. I think I came home with 20 different juices that we’ve either never had or have not had access to in a long time.

    The truck gets delivered later this afternoon. So we’ll have the weekend to unpack the truck and start getting organized. Yup, it feels really real now.

    One cool thing that happened yesterday is that we started meeting our neighbors. Although the house is a lot smaller I can tell we are going to like living here a lot.

    video update: It’s going to take me a few days to get all the videos online. We took so much video… getting days 4 & 5 of Travels With Stoney done is just going to take me a little bit. Plus, I’ve got a massive backlog of work!

  • The injustice of grace

    Define GraceHave you ever thought about what Jesus did and thought, “eh?“ I’ve been having this thought lately and I just can’t shake it:

    It’s a complete injustice that I experience grace.

    First of all, I need to be clear what I mean by grace since there are several definitions for this word… even the Bible uses it 5-6 different ways. By grace I mean “the active communication of divine blessings by the inworking of the Holy Spirit, out of the fullness of Him who is “full of grace and truth,”” (Louis Berkhof, 1949) In other words, grace is the good stuff we are blessed with because of our relationship with Jesus.

    Have you ever been comped on something? You know, you show up to a place and because you are with “him” or “her” you get free stuff. That’s a practical expression of grace… and it’s a total injustice! In my life I’ve gotten comped on some very nice things. Rounds of golf, meals, retail stuff, vacations, stuff like that. It’s always a weird feeling as you of look at the person whom you’d normally pay and then flash a glance over to the “big guy” and the need to pull out your wallet goes away. (Sometimes a half thumb pointing at the big guy helps.)

    Why is that an injustice? Well, you get stuff you can’t afford for free! Other people have to pay big bucks for the round of golf I play for free… that’s really not fair to those who have to pay, is it?

    It’s the same way in a lot of areas of my life right now. God is granting my family a lot of injustice lately. When I look my kids I can’t help thinking… what an injustice, I don’t deserve this awesome family. Even as a family, there is so much good stuff happening to us and all around us we’re kind of left simply shrugging our shoulders and pointing at the “big guy” and admitting… “we’re with Him.” God is comping us on little things (stuff) and big stuff (a family who choses to honor God with what they do) and the only word I can use to describe it is overwhelming injustice.

  • Finding a church home: The Prize

    Ladies and gentlemen, let’s look at the grand prize and see what churches in San Diego would get if they won the McLane lottery.

    The total package. This family of four churchgoers label themselves as “contributors.” They won’t just be bumps on a log at your church, they will give it everything they’ve got. Adam has a passion for student ministry and would love to be the best volunteer you’ve ever had. Besides helping with those crazy adolescents Adam is pretty handy with all technical areas of the church. He can create stuff, manage teams of volunteers, or just generally make all your tech stuff work. Kristen has served on church boards, lead small groups, and loves doing outreach to other moms like her. These bible college grads don’t just give their time, they give their money too. But wait, there’s more!

    Adam and Kristen don’t come alone, they bring kids. Their two children are the perfect addition to your kids ministry. Megan is entering 2nd grade, loves to make friends, and will make your children’s workers gush with pride. Paul is a fresh faced kindergartner who is 100% boy. When he’s not pretending to be Scooby Doo or a Power Ranger, Paul will amaze you with his intellect. 

    Could there be more? Why yes! Not only does this family come regularly and contribute positively, they bring people! This family is hard wired for outreach into your community. Whether you are looking for people to head up a major outreach event or just looking for someone to invite their neighbors, look no further.