Good Friday

Hey friends,

Check out the "New Again" video to your right here on my blog. It's a great song with film clips from "The Passion of the Christ". I want to encourage you today to focus on Christ!

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,Look full in His wonderful face,And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,In the light of His glory and grace."

When I truly slow down my mind, slow down my life, slow down my heart and simply look to Jesus and at Jesus I feel alive in ways I could never express through words. My eyes come into perfect vision and I can see what really matters. It's so plain, it's so easy, it's so amazing. Why would I settle for anything else? And yet I so often do.

Thank you Jesus for your amazing love for me that led you to a brutal cross where you paid for my sins.

Being Cut

Today Andrew Ellis (Coach Andrew Ellis) and I had to cut 5 guys from our reserve squad at Turpin HS and it was gut wrenchingly painful. Having been cut several times in my life, I have great empathy for the guys that were telling "Hey you're not good enough to be a part of our team." I wish we could field a team of 23 guys but then no one would be happy with their playing time.

It felt like having to break up with 5 girls all on the same day and in consecutive order. I'm not good with crying girls but dealing with a crying high school boy was even tougher.

Tough day!

I Hate Slogans on Church Signs

Hey All,

Long time no talk. Got hooked up with Facebook and have been swimming in the "new" technology of staying in touch with people 24/7. It's crazy. I just keep waiting for someone to post "Andrew is pooping".

Anyhow, we had campaigners tonight at Turpin and I had the pleasure of sharing with our students (8 in all) the amazing truth that the Bible says that they are precious, honored, delighted in, sung over, quieted with love, and love beyond measure by Jesus Christ. I only came to Christ when I finally understood that He did love me. Not just "Jesus loves everyone" because He's Jesus, but Jesus love Ryan Keith Ventura.

So the Title of this blog is spurred on by a lifetime of hating the signs outside of churches that carry those "witty" messages and slogans. Here are list of some of my favorites:

1. "Want a treat? Come try our Sundays!"

2. "Have a Merry Chirstmas" *Take note that they actually mispelled the word Christ. I worked at this church by the way.

3. "God answers Knee Mail"

4. "Come hear the (insert random name here) Family in Concert" Nobody knows that crazy singing family besides the people in your church who invited them.

*****Though I do have a wife and 2 daughters so some day we may be the VENTURA FAMILY QUARTET.

But recently I saw 2 church signs that were fighting with each other. The first, a contemporary church, had "A Church for People Who Hate Church" written on their sign. The second, an old school church, had "A Church for People Who Love Church" written on their sign a week or two later.

I sort of liked the first sign and sort of agreed with it in some respect; though I would never advertise in that manner. The second sign I found puzzling. I don't love CHURCH. I love Jesus. If there were no buildings that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to worship Jesus in I would be OK. I wish they would have put "A Church for People Who Love the Church" because I could have agreed with that. Church is us, we our the church. As Keith Green put it, "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than going to McDonalds makes you a Big Mac."

I guess it just brought back bad memories of growing up in "church". Going without understanding, without knowledge of Grace, without Jesus.