77 is the new score to beat!
Click on the picture to see the scorecard

I played golf with Joseph yesterday at UNC's Finley Golf Course. I made the turn at 38, and was really hitting the ball well. I missed a couple putts in the 3-6 foot range. After 15, I was sitting at 4 over par. This was the exact same position I was in when I broke 80 the first time this summer. I knew I had to go bogey-bogey-bogey to shoot a 79, and that's exactly what I did in August.

So I'm thinking, "Hey I've done this before. I don't have to bogey out. How low can we go? :-)" On 16 (handicap #1), I almost put my drive out of bounds. I had to punch out, hit up on the green, and two putt for bogey. No. 17 is a par 5, I played it conservatively (4 iron, 8 iron, and sandwedge to about 18 feet). Just missed the birdie putt.

No. 18 is a par 4, 345 yards. I was debating between hitting a 4 iron or 3 wood off the tee. I ripped the 3 wood to about 80 yards. Approach shot to 25 feet, and made the two-putt for another par and a 77.

The best hole actually came on the front nine. No. 3 is a par 5: short (468 yards) but tough dogleg right (it's handicap #2). I opened up my clubface on 4 iron and let one fade around the corner. It put me at about 205 yards. I hit my 5 iron right at the stick. The ball rolled passed the whole and stopped at about 15 feet. I just missed my eagle putt and tapped in for birdie. I still have never carded an eagle, but that was as close as it's ever come. I made 3 birdies in the round, but also two double bogeys that really could have been avoided. That's golf, huh?

Fun day with Joseph yesterday. Happy Birthday, Joseph. More on Joseph's 7th birthday party today!

My parents biked in a 31 mile race yesterday in St. Paul, MN. They're looking pretty good for getting up at 5:00 a.m. and biking 31 miles.

My dad golfed three times this past week. Sounds like they're enjoying retired life, huh?!

Click on the picture for a larger version.

UPGRADE!

Hey, checkout the new upgrade to my site. I now have previous blogs posted under "Archives". If you click on "Archives" above, it'll shoot you to the bottom of the page where I've linked the posts by month.

A few updates:

1. Kendrick Jr. is the only one left sick. It's been a long three weeks with sickness around here. :-(

2. Mali (www.malimusic.com) passed the Lou Engle approval this weekend. They are down in Houston. They played a church, and Lou liked the gig. So Mali is up to play at The Call Texas on Nov. 29, 2003 at the Cotton Bowl. Way to go guys!

3. I preached this morning on "The Enemy Within". It was a plea for freedom from man-centered striving to win God's approval. A more blunt way of saying it: pride. I felt a good connection with people. I am so enjoying Grace Church.

4. We're launching 60 small groups this next week at Grace Church. There are tons of creative ideas out there. I'll be leading or co-leading three groups: a campus Bible study/worship and prayer night (every other Thursday), a Friday morning worship and prayer time (10 a.m. at Grace), and a family small group with Mark & Lisa Daley.

5. Joseph's 7th birthday is Tuesday (hunting theme). We're going to do a little pre-birthday warm-up tomorrow with a round of golf at Finley golf course.

Have a great week!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Jerry Daley writes a daily devotional each month. I am particularly enjoying this month's devotional on enjoying the pleasures of God - a subject dear to my heart.

If you have the time to meditate on these topics, God will change your life. May you be mightily blessed in knowing His pleasure over your life. May your heart be deeply satisfied in His love, and He will be greatly glorified.

You can download Jerry's September devotional right here:
Sept 03 - Word Format
Sept 03 - PDF Format

Enjoy His pleasure in you!

PRAYER REQUEST!

We've been battling sickness for quite awhile here. Gabriela got a virus that gave her a fever for six days. Nana seems have caught the same thing. She's on day 5 or 6 now. Yesterday they gave her a strong anti-biotic thinking that the virus had turned into a sinus infection.

Joseph got a fever yesterday. We don't need Joseph to endure 5 or 6 days of this. Kendrick Jr. cut his thumb and needed 4 stitches this past Sunday. Oh Lord, help.

Thanks for taking a moment to prayer. God is good and able. We trust in His ability to help. His love endures forever.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALIESHA!!

Aliesha is 5 today! She's sporting a new outfit from Grammie and Papa. The theme of her birthday is cats, so she's holding her new cat with carrying cage.

We watched home videos of her birth the other night. What a gift of God.

Aliesha got to sit in a regular chair at breakfast - no more booster.

Wild Days at the Vinar Household.

Nana has been sick for the past few days. She seems to have caught Gabriela's virus. Gabriela ran a fever of 102-104 for six days. We were able to keep it down most of the time with Tylenol and Motrin. Nana's got the fever and ache body. Blah.

Kendrick Jr. was playing with Josef Jongkind today. They were sawing in the woods when Kendrick's finger got wacked by the saw. Three hours and four stitches we're back at the house. Quite a day. We're very grateful to God for His protection over Kendrick Jr. It could have been much worse. Any sharp or pointed object has now been confiscated. :-)

We appreciate any prayers to supply us with grace from heaven.

Enjoy your Labor Day. May God be the delight of your life. He's the best - always worthy to be trusted.

Small Things Done With Great Love Will Change The World!

I had lunch with Curtis Campbell today. We had a great talk about AOK - acts of kindness (a.k.a. servant evangelism). We're resurrecting this outreach tool at Grace Church. Danny Bryant is going to lead the charge. I'm real excited about this development.

I am a believer that relational evangelism is the most effective method - family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. But...

Every local church needs some way to reach out to those they do not know. We must "Go" to show God's love and bring good news. I am open to any and every effective way possible. Servant evangelism is still one of the most effective ways to mobilize people in sharing God's love to the community.

Steve Sjogren pioneered this endeavor at the Cincinnati Vineyard. Here are some cool links.

Steve Sjogren - This is Steve's personal site. Click on "Follow the blog"
Servant Evangelism - Great site for ideas and inspiration
Cincinnati Vineyard - The church's website.

Have fun. Shine His light and love through you. :-)

Book Review: "The Power of Full Engagment" by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

Great book on managing energy not time. The jist of the book is that you have four sources of energy: physical, mental, emtional, and spiritual. In each of these areas, you are meant to have rhythms of stress and then rest for rejuvenation. Most of us live with a linear output of energy - we're always going. Trying to go all the time causes your body to become inefficient and burnout.

They key is to push yourself in each of these areas and then rest. They've done a lot of research on world class athletes. Everyone who came looking for help was either overtraining or undertraining. The result of a well balanced energy output (with hardwork and rest) is maximum output. Sounds like having a sabbath rest. I wonder who came up with that idea? :-)

It's amazing how I see this in my own life. When I push too hard, I cannot concentrate well. I don't disengage, and my kids have a hard time getting my attention. I go to bed too wound up and don't sleep as well. When I'm in a good rhythm, then I can be fully engaged at work, with my family, exercising, and sleeping.

It's a timely book for me as I'm looking at a new job description and schedule for the fall.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Nana and the kids kicked off the first day of school for '03-'04. Continuing a family tradition from my childhood years, we always take a first day of school picture. The kids marched off to school - down the street, back up the street, into the driveway, and into the house. :-)

The visit from principal Dad started with Proverbs 3:4-5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will bless your school year." (Slight application adjustment to the text) We dedicated the school year to God trusting Him (not our own wisdom) to provide every need: wisdom, learning, peace, fun, and lots of honor and respect for Mom.

We count it a true privilege to teach our children at home. When Nana and I visited Cuba, our friends were amazed at our liberty here in America. May God be glorified and our hearts satisfied in His unending grace and love.

God in the workplace!

Jeff Paine is co-owner of an architectural firm in Durham. Today several of us went to his workplace to pray blessing over his company, the employees, their families, and their work. God is alive and well in the workplace. It was an exciting and powerful time.

There is a network of workplace ministers at Grace Church that are praying for one another through an e-mail group list. What an example of a church with no walls. I love it. :-)

We're back in action from our vacation in Minnesota. Several highlights from the vacation:

1. Dinner with Rich and Memie Kao. They've left Minneapolis on July 29 for Vancouver to plant a church. You can check out Rich's website at www.richkao.com.

2. Visit to City Hill Fellowship to see friends.

3. Riding jet skis with Chad Aleshire for an afternoon up and down the St. Croix River. Giving Nana, my mom, Kendrick Jr, and Joseph rides. Chad and I got seriously drenched by Jordan's jet ski (ooops - yeah right)

4. Spending a day at Mall of America with the kids as they did the rides. They had saved money and each bought something from Lego Land.

5. Watching fireworks out the bedroom window with my wife.

6. Sitting on the deck at Steamers hearing Chad tell his internet date story. If you haven't heard it, you've got to ask him or me about it. This one is publishable.

7. Going downtown with Aliesha to get a freezie during Lumberjack Days.

8. Up north at Breezy Point Resort with my parents, my sister and her family.

9. Shooting a 79 in golf for the first time in my life. (see previous post) We had lots of fun rounds with my dad, Kendrick Jr., Joseph, Brad, and my mom.

10. Staying up and playing buck euchre with my parents and Nana.

11. Fishing with Joseph and Kendrick Jr. We caught some serious sunfish.

12. A Walleye and steak dinner with Nana. She's the best wife.

13. Lunch with Jim and Mary McCracken. Great connecting with them.

14. Shopping at Southdale. I do miss the shops and restaurants in Minnesota.

15. Card party with the guys at Chad's house - Jim E., Kurt, Dan Kral, Jim McC, Stu, John Powell, Jordan, and John Weber.

16. Staying up until 4:00 a.m. with Chad and Jordan. Toasting Russ at 3:30 a.m.

17. Ice Cream at Nelson's (my favorite place growing up) with my kids. Wow, am I getting old.

18. Meeting with John Piper. Okay, this was seriously awesome. He's had an incredible influence in my life. I had 45 minutes to talk with him. It was so fun.

19. Flying home with Kendrick Jr., Joseph, and Aliesha. I love my kids. They are so cute traveling through an airport and on an airplane. Nana and Gabriela went home a day early as I had to bump my flight back a day to meet with John Piper.

Big news from the vacation. I accomplished a long standing goal. I broke 80 for the first time in my life. After 15 holes, I was 4 over and realized that I had something special going. I survived the pressure and finished off with three bogeys. Lots more details about the vacation to come. :-)



I hit 13 of 18 greens in regulation. I had three 3-putts for bogeys. Two double bogeys when I was sitting at 100 yards after my tee shot. It was a lot of fun. Last night I played back from the blues and shot an 82.



KV

It's been a wild and crazy week (or more). I am blogging from Minnesota. We been working hard to go on vacation. I have a theory. You work work two weeks worth the week before you go on vacation. Then you work a double week when you return. You do the math. How does that work? :-)

We're on vacation for two weeks (so I shouldn't complain, huh?). We'll be in Minneapolis for a week and then up north at Breezy Point Resort for a week.

The kids were so cute riding on the airplane. They were super jazzed to be on the plane and having fun together. I'll be reporting again from great white north.

Dominoes is a family favorite. Tonight we had a pretty even match. The other day though the score went as follows (games won):

Dad - 0
Kendrick Jr. - 0
Joseph - 1
Aliesha - 1
Gabriela - 4!

In game #2 for the evening, Joseph cleaned up in Monopoly Jr.
He owned 3/4 of the board including most all of the good properties.

I took the kids to the zoo in Asheboro this morning. We had a great time. It was warm. My shirt was soaked by the time we returned to the truck.

We stopped at a Taco Bell on the way home. Nana must have ruined my digestive system with all of her healthy food. Four hours and four tacos later, I was feeling sick. Came home, laid on the floor, ate Tums, drank water, and finally felt better. Lesson learned: not sure if it's stay away from Taco Bell or keep your system used to junk food. Hmmm...




Have a great day!


:-)

So I get an e-mail from Bob Watson asking me if I want to hang-out with him. The following picture was attached to the e-mail.












I'm not sure if I'm feeling good about this idea. They don't call him "Big Bob" for no reason.

Yesterday, I shared at Grace Church on "What's Your Problem?"

It was a real culmination of a lot of my thinking and theology. I'm really enjoying Grace Church. It's a wonderful group of people hungry for God and relationships. God is building something exciting in our midst.

If you'd like PDF file of my notes Click Here

The Recent Vinar Disaster:

So a week ago (July 2), Nana, the incredible cook, wonderful wife, and mother, was making chicken soup. She gets it boiling and then turns it down to simmer. Goes out the door to church for two hours.

She returns home to a house filled with smoke. She had turned the soup on high but forgot to turn it down to simmer. We're grateful that the house didn't burn down. We worked hard to clean the place and realized in three days that we'd never get the smell of smoke out of the house.

Monday (the 7th), we called the insurance agency. USAA is great. In a few hours, a professional fire and water cleaning crew was here. They took almost every bit of clothing with them to be dry cleaned. They've wiped down every surface of the house. The carpets and ducts are being cleaned today. Every item in the kitchen was hand-cleaned. Pretty amazing.

Lessons learned:
1. Cook the soup when you're home.
2. Protein fires (as they're called) STINK!
3. God is in control, and everything He does is good and wise. We can always trust Him!

On the brighter side: Kendrick and Joseph are in horse riding camp this week. They've been having a blast learning lots about horses and how to ride.






Good lookin' cowboys, huh?