Kenny Conley is proof that it’s a small world.  I did not officially meet the giant of a man (physically he’s like a giant tree…even in my own backyard) until 2009, but we’ve been dangerously close to meeting for years.  He lived in Tulsa, OK at the same time that I did in college.  He then lived in the DFW Metroplex for years at the very same time I did.  We both left churches in DFW around the exact same time, and even attended the Orange Conference in 2008 at the same time!  I remember Matt McKee telling me that I should visit with Kenny while I was there, but I guess I was preoccupied with sitting in Atlanta traffic and never got to it.

I did finally meet Kenny at the Orange Conference in 2009, and 2010.  I’ve also had Kenny and his family over for an evening in Lubbock once when they drove through town on their way to Colorado.  This summer my family returned the favor (albiet staying for much longer) and we all had a blast.  Ask him to tell you about the time he almost killed me and my oldest son on the San Marcos river in late July 2010!  My kids knew him much before they actually met him; because when we had some family medical issues a few years ago, Kenny and his wife Sara paid to have some pizza delivered to our house.  Such a special thing for my family at the time, and much appreciated!

Kenny is somebody worth following, and he can be followed at www.childrensministryonline.com.  He’s worked in small churches, and big churches; baptist churches, and pentecostal churches; and he’s been through some pretty great ministry highs, and some pretty sorry ministry lows.  For being only in his early 30′s, it’s amazing what Kenny has seen and been through as it relates to Children’s Ministry and now Family Ministry.  In Austin he’s transitioned to a more family ministry leadership role, taking the coolest job title in the word; “Next Generations Pastor” at Gateway Church.  While he no longer teaches kids with weekend regularity, or recruits 3 year old teachers with reckless abandon; he’s still committed to leading others into leading churches to intentionally equip children.

He’ll try anything, and has a closed mind about very few things in ministry.  He’s easy to get time with, and I promise if you email him…he will eventually return your email.  And when he does, I can guarantee you it will be sent between the hours of midnight at 2:00 a.m.

Back in March I filled everyone in on the Beyond Project at Trinity Church.  Our church went through a long season of raising commitments from our church families to build into the future with new facilities.  Much of the project is devoted to new spaces for the Next Generations in Lubbock.  When our family was praying about what we could give as a family we picked a dollar figure that we would commit to give over the next three years.  However, this number was above what we could afford to give on a monthly basis.  So what were we thinking?  We wanted to put ourselves in a position to find other more creative ways to meet our commitment.

We began to pray for opportunities to make additional contributions and vowed that all money above our normal monthly income would be given to the Beyond Project at Trinity..  And then it happened.  We began to receive unexpected rebate checks, insurance payment refunds, and my own kids (with help from their mother) organized a family garage sale.  At about this same time, I was approached by some different sponsors offering to pay for ad space here at www.jonathancliff.com.  As you might have guessed, if you read this blog I have accepted their offers.  I’m working with the Beacon Ad network to make sure that my ads are of high quality content, and so far my experience with them has been positive.

It’s my hope that the sponsors we have here at www.jonathancliff.com will reflect something of interest to my readers.  I know that some might seem more interesting than others, but I ask that you take the time to visit each and every one as they are added over in the right sidebar.  I will also from time to time be doing product reviews, and I promise that I will not accept payment from anyone in exchange for a positive review; honesty will rule the reviews!  You can ready my entire advertising philosophy over on the advertise page HERE.

In this spirit let me introduce you to two of my newest sponsors:

• Christianity Cove is run by Mary Kate Warner and you can visit all that is happening at the cove at http://www.christianitycove.com.  Her blog has been up and running since 2006 with hundreds of pages of free content to help Sunday School teachers, home schooling parents, children’s pastors, etc. pull together fun lessons, games, activities, etc.  I know that you will find many of her resources worth looking at!
• Ministry-to-Children.com has also joined as a partner.  MTC is a fantastic resource for anyone associated in any form whatsoever with Children’s Ministry.  I cannot more highly recommend the A+ content put out on this site. Specifically you will find a link to their coloring page catalog.  Good Stuff.  Tony Kummer, and his group of writers at MTC have long been an important part of the online Kidmin community.  Go there now and say hello!

Thank you so much for being a faithful reader, and as we enter this new adventure together I hope that I can bring advertisers that can enrich your experience!  Feel free to email me with any questions if you ever feel your trust has been compromised by an ad that you see at jonathancliff.com.

I first read Keith’s blog over 5 years ago.  I believe I saw a funny picture that somebody had on their blog, and it pointed back to bagofnothing.com.  BON is a great link-blog, and it’s beginning to be filled more and more with the life of it’s author.  I recommend anybody wanting to waste hours of their day to see all the Internet goodness that Keith has gathered for his readers at www.bagofnothing.com.  Over the years I’ve learned that he hates windchimes, that most Baylor graduates annoy him, and he’s frustrated by people that don’t return their carts at Wal-Mart.  He’s a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys and was even raised not too far from the heart of West Texas.

But I’ve also met Keith.  For months and months we would exchange emails about various things happening in and around our lives.  Once I emailed him and asked if he would give me a run-down of all the U2 songs that a newbie to U2 like myself should listen too.  See, if you’ve read BON you would know that Keith rarely listens to other music and is the quintessential U2 snob.  (That’s not an insult!)  As I awaited his return email with a list of songs I should buy on iTunes, I instead received a package in the mail.  This Internet stranger had sent me a mix-tape of his favorite U2 songs, along with the reasons for him including each song on the mix-tape.  Seriously, he did this!

I’ve read and exchanged emails while he nursed his sick mother, who would eventually pass away.  I’ve followed along from a distance as he visited her native land in Vietnam along with his wife.  And recently I’ve watched him learn to be a father for the first time!  Keith is a seeker of truth, and I love his spirit and perseverance to find answers to his questions on spirituality.  We would all benefit from his curiosity.

So when have we actually met?  A few months after he sent me the U2 mix-tape, I had an extra ticket to a Dallas Stars game; so I invited him and we got to hang out for the evening.  I think we may have had lunch before I left the Dallas area and headed to Lubbock, I think we did; but I’m not sure.  But last September on a Sunday afternoon I got a call from Keith.  He had purchased two tickets to the U2 show in Arlington for a Monday night, and through a series of unfortunate events (and more close friends being unable to attend) he asked if I was interested.  So in a matter of 24 hours I was back in Dallas, camping out in his spare bedroom and standing right next to the stage for the U2 concert at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX.  What a thrill!  I count this as one of the more spiritual experiences of my life!

Keith is a long-distance friend, and is one of the many reasons that I love the Internet.  If you’ve not taken the time to shoot of an email to that blog author that you read, then do it.  It’s always worth is to make a new friend, even if it’s an Internet friend!

Gina writes over at www.ginamcclain.com.  It took her a few blog addresses to settle into www.ginamcclain.com, and we’re all glad she didn’t go with the some of the racier alternatives.  It’s a great story that won’t be repeated on this family-friendly blog.  You should ask her!  We all wish she would write more, so go over there now and leave some obnoxious comments suggesting she write more.

About 4 years ago, Gina sent me an email asking me a question about something.  I don’t remember anything from that email, but I will never forget what she started it off with.

Dear Pastor Cliff,

I still laugh out loud when I think about being called, Pastor Cliff.

But you see that’s the thing about Gina.  She asks questions.  She’s always willing to run something past you, always wants to know what did and didn’t work when you did something, and is always, always, always willing to share.  She’s an original pro-family Children’s Minister.  When she was transitioning between Lifechurch.tv and Faith Promise Church in Knoxville, it was encouraging to both Starr and I to watch God provide the large and tiny details to confirm to their family His faithfulness.

So when have I met Gina?  I first met Gina in person at the Orange Conference in 2009, and talked her into giving some of us a little bit of time when she was at Orange 2010.  I’ve even visited her when she lived in Edmond, OK on a trip my family took through the Great State (that being Oklahoma.)  Her husband Kyle and her are great people to hang out with, and we’re kinda sad we don’t have that stop now on the drive between Lubbock and Tulsa.

As Gina has transitioned to a new church in Knoxville, TN at Faith Promise Church; she has kept her passions for the family.  I know she’s building a great team out there in Knoxville.  Remember we all need her to write more over at www.ginamcclain.com, so head over there right now and tell her so!

Today was the first day of school for my Preschooler, 1st and 3rd grader.  It was a special day full of first day photographs and trying to get our family settled into a new routine.  My day was anything but routine.  It was an especially long day.

7:45 am // Left the house with all the kids, carrying their back packs, lunch sacks, and school supplies.

8:00am // Arrive at work and realize that I’ve left my back pack at home.  That back pack holds my Macbook, amongst other important things.

8:25 am // I decide to stay at work and just pick it up at lunch.

8:26 am // Can’t find my Moleskine, and realize it’s in my backpack.  The backpack is at home.  That moleskine holds my life and entire weeks worth of to-do lists.

8:45 am // Get home and realize that the Moleskine is NOT in my backpack.

9:00 am // Find the Moleskine back in my office.  Sitting in the middle of my desk.

9:50 am // The quick 15 minute meeting that started at 9:00am is finally over.

10:00 am // I settle into my office to get some work done before lunch, but did I mention that it’s the first day of school?  I office in a Parent’s Day Out building.  The sounds of screaming, crying children surround me.  The first day is a particularly loud day of crying.

11:30 am // I decide to head off-campus to get some lunch and work on a talk that I’m giving on Wednesday Night.  I’m looking for a nice place with some free Wi-Fi.

11:40 am // I arrive at Freebirds to eat lunch, only to leave horrified that it cost over $7.99 for a burrito.  I only have $5 in my pocket.  I knew I liked Chipotle better.

11:45 am // I arrive at Schlotzsky’s (Funny Name, Serious Sandwich) to eat lunch.  Can’t find a parking spot.  Hit steering wheel in disgust.

12:00 pm // I arrive at United Market Street to pick up some pizza and a Coke, and eat in their super large eating area with free Wi-Fi.

12:15 pm // Still waiting for my food.

12:30 pm // Finally pay for my food, but can’t find a seat.  I guess every mother in town had lunch at Market Street since their kids were back at school.  Blerg.

12:45 pm // I decide to head home and eat lunch.  I figure I can get some work done at home.  It’s quiet there, no kids around.

12:46 pm // WhenI get home the neighbor is laying new concrete edging in their front yard.  Some cue the loud latino music, and concrete truck.

1:15 pm // I hurridly eat my pizza at home, and decide to just give up and head back to my office and try to work from there.

1:30 pm // I get to my office and it’s quiet.  It seems to be nap time at the Parent’s Day Out.

1:31 pm // Open to my office door to find that my lovely wife has taken up residence on my desk to finish up some of her work projects.

1:40 pm // I move Starr to an empty office nearby, and head back to my office.

1:41 pm // The Internet goes down in my office.  Shoot me now!

2:30 pm // I finally get some calendaring done in Outlook, and start to get busy on my to-do lists.  I’m now interupted by all the kids waking up from their afternoon naps at the Parent’s Day Out.

3:00 pm // After going to the bathroom, and returning I discover that I forgot I had a 3:00 pm meeting.  The person I’m meeting with is sitting in my office.

4:00 pm // The 3:00pm meeting is over, and our ARENA cHMS people are waiting for our 4:00pm meeting.  I will spend the next hour in this meeting.

5:15 pm // I arrive home and hug and kiss my entire family.  I get to find out how their first days were.  Good times.

5:45 pm // I wake up from an accidental nap.  I fell asleep with my neck tied up in a knot and stuck behind my back.  Ouch!

6:00 pm // I sneak out real quick for a haircut at the greatness of Sports Clips (Haircuts for Men).  But during my entire haircut, I’m assaulted by my stylist verbally when she finds out I’m a pastor.  She wants to know how much I get paid, what I do all week since I don’t really do anything when it’s not Sunday morning, and wants to know why I would even want to work at a church.

7:45 pm // After dinner I head out for what should be a quick 4 mile run.

8:00 pm // About 15 minutes into my run, I have to stop at a traffic intersection.  I accidentally push STOP on my iPhone Runkeeper App (review forthcoming), instead of PAUSE.  That resets my entire run history, and now I have to stand at the intersection and reprogram the stupid app for the last 3 miles of the run. Blerg…

8:30 pm // Finally get home.

9:50 pm // Watch my Texas Rangers get within 2 outs of no-hitting the hated Minnesota Twins and then give up a hit.  No no-hitter for tonight.

10:00 pm // Head to bed, and hope it all works out better tomorrow.  Good Night!

In spite of this super long day, I am still super blessed to have lived it.  Glory to God that my long days are still such pleasant inconveniences!