Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson has some enlightening things to say about education, kids, and creativity. His sense of humor and his ideas about ones uniqueness and take on how we educate are fascinating. I thought I would share it with you.

Butter Cream Gang

Butter Cream Gang
Originally uploaded by stuchap

Remember those guys? They dropped in my neighborhood. Class acts, those guys are.

Dance regularly.

Every so often, my family likes to go on walks. They are not long walks but they're just long enough to get outside away from the inside. There are days when the inside can be stuffy and lame.

The other day Dev was pushing our newborn, Abe, in the stroller with her phone playing music. Asa, our 23 month old, was holding my hand. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Abe was snoozing. Dev was talking about her day. Me & Asa were listening.

Then Asa did something awesome. He ran ahead of me unprompted, turned to face me and pushed against my legs with his hands to make me stop. He proceeded to dance! Dance hard. The biggest smile was plastered on his face. After a few seconds, he was done; he grabbed my hand again and kept walking. As quickly as it started, it ended.

I was reminded of 2 Sam 6:14. Bringing the Ark into the city, David danced before the Lord with all his might. Why? He was celebrating the fact that the Ark of the Lord had returned to Jerusalem. In that moment, David wanted to praise our great big God who is worthy of our love and attention. I love that David chose to dance...with all his might.

Asa served as a reminder to me to not forget to dance. Dance with all my might because the God of the Universe deserves it. Obviously, I'm not literally referring to me shaking my hips. More so, I talking about taking time out of my everyday routine to tell God unprompted that I love Him.

So often, we wait till Sunday mornings to worship instead of 'dancing' throughout the week.

Follow Asa's example. Don't forget to dance. Whether its literal or figurative.

Need inspiration? Maybe this video will help.

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

I've been on this indie folk kick over the last few weeks and I stubbled across this dandy by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. Enjoy.

A Lesson on Respect

When I was five years old, I learned a valuable lesson. My momma is bigger and faster than me.

Thinking it was just me and my sister in the room, I walked straight up to her and called her "Boo Boo Face". Yep, I called her a "Boo Boo Face" and you know what? It felt good. I do not remember what she did to deserve it but I have no doubt in my mind that she did deserve it.

However, as soon as the words left my mouth, I heard my mom rush into the room screaming my name.

What happened next is somewhat of a blur. I panicked. I ran. I screamed in sheer terror. My momma was right on my heals.

I was one of the fastest kids on the playground at Mother's Day Out and I was feeling pretty good about my chances of out running my mom.

I was wrong.

Making a dash into the next room, I felt a massive hand on my shoulder bringing me to an abrupt stop. I remember saying to myself, "I think I've made a mistake." My momma made me remember that day to never, ever run away from her. I learned a lesson on respect.

This month the kids in Adventureland are learning about the virtue RESPECT. Our bottom line for this past Sunday was "You respect God when you show respect for people in charge." That would have been a great lesson to sit through 22 years ago before I learned the hard way.

Looking at Romans 13:1-7, the kids learned that nobody gets put in charge of them without God knowing about it. So the next time you have a serious conversation with your kids on respect, remind your kids that God said the leaders in your kids lives, including you, wouldn't be there without him. When we respect them, we actually show respect to God.

And hopefully, you won't have to chase your kid to get that point across.

Nigeria is beautiful.

Nigeria is beautiful. The people and cultures you will find are breathtaking. What's more, the faith the Christians have in Nigeria to depend on God for basic needs is inspiring. Tonight I thought I would share with you some of what I saw...

I wish...

What an incredible trip. This has been tough to unpack in my head and verbalize much on this blog. I have seen much and experienced much. I am sitting here wishing....

I wish you could see the kids smiles at the orphanage.

I wish you could meet the community elders who came today to thank us for the work we are doing here.

I wish you could hear Julie's sarcasm (classic).

I wish you could sing songs with the kids.

I wish you could see Adrienne getting her hair braided.

I wish you could meet Daniel and his family (incredible).

I wish you could see the faith these people have.

I wish you could have seen me & Doug get scolded by the Nigerian police.

I wish you could have seen Larry teach the kids in Sunday School this morning.

I wish you could see Kay playing with the kids during clinic.

I wish you could have seen Renee receive good news about her adoption after the visit from the commissioner.

I wish you could experience their culture - beautiful.

I wish you could see the cow being loaded in the back of the car.

I wish you could see Paul light up around the kids.

I wish you could have seen that judge with the funny, old school wig on.

I wish you could see the kids hanging on Matt.

I wish you could have seen the ruckus we caused at market.

I wish you could see the gas stations we fill up at.

I wish you could experience church this morning.

I wish you could see Adam loving on the kids.

I wish you could taste the good food we have eaten.

I wish you could ride like sardines in these little cars they cram us in.

I wish you could see Eric being such a great brother to Hassan.

I wish you could see the patience Ken shows in every situation.

I wish you could see Kyla tie-dying shirts like a machine.

I wish you could have seen the children's programs Cibolo did (totally rocked).

I wish you could see them laugh at our attempts at Igala.

I wish you could see....a lot.

I saw this qoute the other day and it would be appropriate now...

"Now I have seen, I am responsible."

Side note for Dev - I love you and Asa and baby b SO much it hurts. It makes me cry thinking about how much I miss you. Lucky for me the sweat is covering for me. See you very soon.

Nothing but love, stu

"Not in Kansas anymore"

I have a whole new appreciation for the movie Wizard of Oz when Dorothy starts wondering around a whole new world. I know she was feeling anxious and nervous as she had people come up to stare/touch her. How do I know? Because today I went to Market in Anyigba, Nigeria....it is a whole new world.

For those of you from Texas, imagine the flea market in Canton on steroids only it serves the purpose of meeting their daily needs such as tools, food, & fabrics instead of the "good junk" one would get in Canton. Goods are lined under rows and rows of small, tin or palm covered shelters. It is loud. People were yelling. Venders were very eager to coax you into their area to "push" you into buying something. At any moment, motorcycles, cars, or people carrying large bundles on their head could squeeze their way down the narrow alleys.

We had 12 Americans plus 1 Nigerian walking through the Market. The entire 3ish hours we were there (seemed much longer) we stopped [foot] traffic, literally. People would yell at us "ENEFU!" (White Person). A massive crowd formed everywhere we went (no lie). This was an odd experience. They had no shame stopping to stare at you for a looong time or coming up to touch your hair. Nigerians typically speak aggressively so what seems angry is normal speaking for them. It was a new experience on so many levels. I have videos and photos that will come later when I get back home.

After leaving, someone asked our Nigerian driver why they crowds formed all around us. He said "They will never again in their life see that many white people at one time." They would shout "ENEFU" so other people could come see.

All that to say, today was an adventure that was awesome. Filled with a new smells, new sights, new people, and new cultures. It is awesome to sit back and watch these people genuinely live by faith. Faith that He loves and He provides.

God is teaching. God is good.

Although I am learning tons and seeing tons, "There is no place like home. [Dorothy]"

Dev & Asa - Love you and miss you. I will see you soon!

Nigeria

Agba or Hello from Africa.

This is intense. I do not have the time I thought I would have to blog. I will give you a brief update.

- I have never seen smiles like this.

- We have now done 2 clinics which lasted two full days. One for kids at the orphanage and one for the village of Otutulu.

- Myself, Matt, Eric, & Doug took a journey to purchase a cow in a village we could not begin to pronounce. Myself & Doug had a brief run in with the law which is a long story for another day. The cow was slaughtered today and we used some of the meat for a picnic with all the kids tonight. I am so proud of the kids of Adventureland and the kids at Trinity for partnering together to help provide protein for these kids.

- I am learning kids names. It is very difficult to understand them. Their language is tonal which means I CANNOT SPEAK IT! You have to try to talk with an accent for them to understand you.

- God is good. God is good to these people. God provides for them in ways I have never experienced. I believe there are big implications based on what I have seen...not sure exactly what yet.

I have to go. Sorry this is short. Thank you for your support and prayers.

Continue to pray for us.

-pray for safety

-pray for remaining clinics

-pray for God sovereignty to reign over what we are doing

-pray for the children's activities (camp) we will do tomorrow

Nothing but love.
Stu

Christ Calls

(Nigerian Flag)

Well, it's 11:30pm and I am wide awake with my mind racing. On Friday, we leave for Nigeria and although my mind is racing about all the things left to be done, I am surprisingly content. I would expect to be a little nervous about such a big trip...but I'm not. What our team will be doing in Nigeria is so blatantly biblical and I think this is what calms my nerves. Christ calls us to go us to go make disciples. Christ calls us to care for the poor and the needy. Christ calls us to love kids. I pray God's name is glorified through this trip.

Recently, I was directed to a blog that highlights 10 pre-departure thoughts prior to going on a mission trip to Haiti. Most of the thoughts resonated with me and I have slightly modified them for you...

1. I am going to miss my family. Asa is learning more and more everyday and the thought that I will miss something kills me (He now says Donut or "No Nut"). Also, I hate leaving Dev for overnight trips. I love her company.
2. I am anxious (not nervous). I've never been on a trip like this. The unknown is coming quick.
3. I will be heartbroken. I’m going to come across some devastation and grief. I’m going to witness the ramifications of injustice, poverty and trauma. I am going to meet orphans. That alone will kill me.
4. I am going to get frustrated. I anticipate at times feeling like my hands are tied behind my back at what I will see and experience. I will want to help but will be very limited.
5. I will fall in love. I’m going to meet some wonderful and humble people. I’m a sucker for those who struggle and don’t or can’t hide it. I will fall in love with people remarkably free of much of our baggage.
6. I will see the depravity of my own life. This usually happens to people who come from more affluent societies. My complaints will fade in comparison to theirs, and my self-centeredness will become painfully obvious to me.
7. I will meet some amazing people. The underlying unity of the human race will impress itself upon me, and I will be driven deeper into my love for the world-wide community.
8. I will be changed. I feel like I’m going into surgery. It is not elective, but urgent. I have this gut-wrenching sense that something remarkable is going to happen to me that will transform me forever.
9. I will receive more than I give. I don’t feel at all like I am coming with something to offer. I guarantee the stories of faith I have been told about the kids in Otutulu that I now get to witness will fill me up.
10. I will be inspired. Not sure how yet but I know it will happen.

I will attempt to continue to update this blog and twitter while there. However, nothing is guaranteed.

You prayers will be greatly appreciated.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for quick travel recovery.
• Pray for safety.
• Pray for the Doctors going.
• Pray for energy.
• Pray for our interactions with the Fulani Tribe.
• Pray for our Boys Small Group Bible Study.
• Pray for our Children's Programs.
• Pray for our medical clinics

Nigeria

First off, thank you. Thanks for showering our team in prayer and for financially supporting me to travel to Nigeria.

We are in the final stage of preparing for our trip. There is one more team meeting on Monday and on Tuesday, we pack our luggage full of supplies to be distributed to folks in Nigeria. The time to leave is quickly approaching.

I have been told that we MAY have internet access while at the orphanage and if that is the case, there is a great chance that I will be able to update this blog. However, we will only have 3 hours of electricity in the evenings and it would need to take place in those three hours. This is assuming the generators are working.

Prayer Requests

1. Pray for safety during travel.
2. Pray for the young men's small group focusing on character.
3. Pray for the Children's Program that I will be leading.
4. Pray for a chance to safely purchase a cow or some other form of protein.

This is a video we made for Adventureland to show the kids what life is like at the Orphanage. Let me know if you have any questions.

Stuck in my head

I get songs stuck in my head. Usually it is one song for like a month. This jingle has been locked on my mind for a while.

Copper4Cows

The Copper4Cows Penny Drive has officially kicked off and we are well on our way to purchasing a cow for the kids in Otutulu. Adventureland's goal is to help the kids at the orphanage by bringing pennies that will be used to purchase protein (hopefully beef).

When the team travels to Nigeria this summer, we will scour the land in search of a herdsman. Sounds easy enough but they are nomadic. According to the folks who have traveled to Nigeria before, cows are not on fenced-in ranches. There are no promises that we will find any cows but we are hopeful.

To give the kids a glimpse of the orphanage, I threw this video together real quick.

Questionable Food

To say I am excited about traveling to Nigeria would be a gross understatement. The last couple days I have been working with videos taken by last years team in Nigeria. I am making a couple of promo videos for upcoming Adventureland events. By looking at these videos, I feel like I'm getting to take peak at a birthday present early. Working through the videos have been glorious. I wanted to share with you a quick clip from the orphanage.



On Monday, we had our first of five mission's team meetings to prepare for Nigeria. Each one of us had to answer three questions as an icebreaker. You are my supporters and think it is fair for me to answer these questions for you...

1. Why travel to Nigeria now on this trip? Maybe it is my generation or it is my stage of life, but I want to be apart of something bigger than me. While I am young and have the energy to contribute to a missions team, I want to go, do, serve, & love. The timing is right.

2. What am I most excited about? Mignon McLaughlin said "Only where children gather is there any real chance of fun." I am a big kid that loves fun. We are going to an orphanage where I've been told some of the happiest kids in the world live and "gather." The kids are what I am most excited about.

3. What is my biggest fear? The food. I have watched a lot of video of questionable food from Nigeria. It looks intimidating. At the meeting last night, they assured me we would not be eating the food I saw in the videos. I'm not sure if I believe them...

Otutulu

From June 25-July 6, I will be on a mission trip, traveling to the village of Otutulu, Nigeria. It's hard for me to describe all the thoughts and emotions running through my head. However, I will do my best to inform you (my prayer warriors and financial supporters) about the details and prayer needs of our trip.

Am I excited? Very. I will have the chance to champion kids in another country. This will be a chance to get out of my comfort zone and waive the banner of Christ.

Am I nervous? Yes & no. I am not nervous about my interactions with the people or kids of Nigeria. I am nervous about the traveling (long flights & small cars) and food (foreign with lots of question marks).

What is our purpose? Cibolo Creek Community Church has invested time, money, labor & love to ensure the kids of Otutulu are cared for and fed throughout the calendar year. Our church makes sure the kids have food by raising enough funds to provide the kids with food that will last them an entire year. Our church has paid for a roof to go on their school building. Our church has installed solar panels to provide much needed power to the office.

During the annual visit to Nigeria, the agenda of the trip depends on the team traveling to the orphanage. This year we will have two doctors and a nurse that will enable our team to set up several medical clinics in the area. I have volunteered to take the lead on providing the kids of the orphanage with a kids "camp". I use the term "camp" loosely since we are uncertain what our activities will look like.

Starting this month in our Children's Ministry, we will start a campaign call "COPPER FOR COWS". The kids will bring pennies from home each Sunday for an entire month. To help motivate kids, it will be a competition between the boys and girls. At the end of the month, we are praying to collect enough pennies to purchase a cow for the kids of Otutulu to have much needed protein while we are on the trip. The entire process will be video recorded - from the kids bringing the pennies to us searching for a nomadic rancher to the kids seeing the cow come into the orphanage. The prayer is that our kids will see the impact they made in the lives of the kids of Otutulu by bringing pennies to church.

Again, I will continue to update this blog with new information as it comes up. At the end of each post related to Nigeria, I will list several prayer requests that you can start praying over.

Thanks for your support! Nothing but love.

PRAYER REQUESTS
- Pray for my preparations for the kids "camp".
- Start praying for Dev and Asa to be safe and strong while I am gone for 12 days.
- Pray we are able to find cheap airfare to Nigeria.

sick

I was sent this link by Jared and we both agree - this guy is sick. His name is Khalid Mohtaseb. It was all shot with a Canon 5D MKII using a Kessler Pocket Dolly which makes the videos ooze drama. I have a couple of additions to my wish list.

If your curious to see how he made this video or his HAITI video, click on this link for more info.

Egypt / Lebanon Montage from Khalid Mohtaseb on Vimeo.

something to do with kids

In a recent blog I read, it asked the question "Do you have a personal mission statement?" That got me thinking about what I know about mission statements.

I feel like I know "Mission Statements" well. I have taken multiple courses in college where I practiced writing mission statements, as well as objectives, and goals. Professors crammed it into my head that it is impossible to plan a good program without a well constructed mission statement. I have practiced writing and saying them in school, and even used them at work. For every project I've done at Cibolo, I have written a mission statement. If there is anything in world that I know...it's mission statements.

BUT I don't have a personal mission statement.

I want to change this.


I'm not sure what my mission statement is yet, but I know the theme would have something to do with kids. Possibly pertaining to the quality of life and their faith development. What happens during a kid's childhood affects the rest of their life. It is important to encourage and support kids early on. I recently read a book that said for every 100 people who do not follow Jesus by the time they reach age 18, only 6 of those individuals will commit their lives to Christ as an adult. This highlights for me the need to continue prioritizing the faith development of children.

Does this give me a personal mission statement? Not yet Chris Kinsley. But I am working towards it.

GUEST WRITER

Hello. My name is Jared and I am Stuart's brother. This is a picture of the two of us together. See how happy we are? It's because I just told stuart a really funny joke.
"Knock, knock", I said.
"Who's there?" he replied back.
"Me! Jared! You're brother! Don't you remember me?"
Then we went to the doctor to have him tested for dementia. Turns out, he was fine, just lazy.

Our beards make us look like pirates!
Booty!

Love, jared.

unChristian Wrap-up

When you hear the name Chick-fil-A, what comes to mind?

• The greatest chicken sandwich of all time?
• Excellent customer service?
• Waffle fries & lemonade?

What about when you hear the word Christian? I would like to think you imagine:

• Loving without attached strings
• Advocating for the voiceless
• Genuine
• Compassionate
• Etc.

I just finished reading the book unChristian where it takes a humbling look at what younger generations think of Christianity. It includes none of the preceding thoughts. In fact, through extensive research, it concludes that Christianity has an image problem. Instead of giving you a book review that is a couple years too late, I will pass on some of the striking finds.
* the term outsider is used to denote someone outside of the Christian faith

In a national survey, it found the most common perceptions of present-day Christianity are antihomosexual (an image held by 91% of young outsiders aged 16-29), judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%), too involved in politics (75%), out of touch with reality (72%), & old-fashioned (78%).

These statistics are compiled from thousands of people standing outside Christianity looking in. Obviously, I disagree. However, I am on the inside looking out. Their opinion greatly matters. The stats are a honest look at what they think of all Christians...what they think of me. What am I doing to help fix this image problem?

Interesting book to read if you get a second.

Haiti

Want to help Haiti but unsure who to partner with to help?

Try Compassion International.

It "exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults."

Compassion International has been helping Haiti for more than 40 years — teaching, feeding, educating, loving, mentoring, caring and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.



Myself & Devanee sponsor a child through Compassion. If you've got questions, let me know.

Trouble

I have been in this coffee shop music kick for a long time. In fact, my shuffle is full of laid back musics that does everything but motivates me to run. I'm not saying Ray LaMontagne's song "Trouble" is that but it definitely is a song that makes me want to take off my shoes, prop up my feet, and chill. Maybe think deep thoughts...maybe not.

Ray LaMontagne - Trouble from The Staus House on Vimeo.

Only a test...

This is only a test to see if I could post a specific photo set from Flickr in this blog...looks like it worked.

FLICKr BLOG

It's not everyday that I take the time to say I really like something on this blog. But tonight, I've opted to put down my book, take a timeout from the State of the Union, and tell you that I really like something.

I like pictures - taking them, looking at them, and one day collecting old pics (I say 'one day' because I haven't started yet). Today, I would like to pat Flickr's Blog on the back for a blog well done. They post pictures that are sick and I like sick pictures.

unChristian

A couple years ago I started reading the book, unChristian but lost interest. It's based on research by Barna Group and has several dry spurts, which regardless of the book - dry spurts put me to sleep. However, I've had a resurgence of motivation to read. I once heard David Gergen (a smart guy) explain the need to read in order to develop and boost your leadership capacity. Today, I decided to attempt to read this book in 1.5 weeks to hopefully improve my ignorance of young Americans impression of Christians. This is a quote from one such young American found in Ch.1...

"Christianity has become bloated with blind followers who would rather repeat slogans than actually feel true compassion and care. Christianity has become marketed and streamlined into a juggernaut of fearmongering that has lost its own heart."

I'll keep you updated on how it goes this week.

Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights
Originally uploaded by stuchap

Recently our church support Giddings State Indians Football Team which is a high-restriction facility for troubled youth sent there by juvenile courts. Great time supporting those seldom receiving support.