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Weekly Hit List #7

// February 26th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Faith

Hey everyone! Here are some of my top recommended links of the week (from the blogs that I subscribe to):

FAITH:

“All that Glitters” from Stephen Brewster. Good reminder about being honest and authentic as a leader.
“Small Groups are Dead” from Ben Reed. Interesting discussion about small groups and the church. There are 3-4 posts about it this week.
“Think Globally, Love Locally” from Josh Harris, about the importance of the local church and how vital it is in the growth of a believer.
“What Will Your Words Do Today?” from Stephen Altrogge.
“Ruined for Anything Else” from Tim Challies. Great thoughts about the importance of doctrine.
“Silence is not golden…Speak up!” from POTSC.

OTHER:

“Xerox’s New Chief Tries to Redefine Its Culture” from NYT.
“Don’t knock naps, they make you smarter” from USA Today. I’ve been saying this for years!
“We Pretend We Are Christians” from NYT/Freakonomics. Sad, but true reality that people do this.
“Shaun White and the Integrity Test” from Stan Jantz/Conversant Life.

I hope that you, like me, were encouraged by each of these!

Thoughts?

Dustin

California-Bound!

// February 25th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // olivia

 Our baby girl traveled to sunny California yesterday with Mom. We know she’ll have a lot of fun, but we miss her already! Turns out her flight was delayed leaving ATL 3-hours for LAX. During the delay, here was a FB post that my Grandma left on Jen’s wall:

“Thank-you for letting Olivia come to CA, I just lost 3 hours of time with her coming in later but I will have to cut some other peoples time and make up for it. Do you think she will be in one piece when she gets home? Love you, Grandma”

At least we know that Olivia won’t be deprived of attention!

Weekly Hit List #6

// February 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // Faith

Hey everyone! Here are some of my top recommended links of the week (from the blogs that I subscribe to):

FAITH:

“Following God and Farming” - from Don Miller.  Intriguing thoughts from his blog this week. He asks the question, “what is my field to plow, and am I plowing it?” Challenged this week from this, in a good way.
“Secret Christian Undergrounds.” from SCL. Funny stuff that I can relate to at times.
“A God Who Will Neither Snicker Nor Sigh at Your Brokenness” from Justin Taylor/TGC.
“Wait To Worry: Procrastination at Its Best” from Gail Hyatt. Great reminder!
“One Thing” from Refineus.org. Link it to the main site, but check out last five posts. 5-part series this week detailing 5 couples being real about marriage.

OTHER:

“Did He Get Married Too Young?” from Al Mohler. An earnest and heart-warming argument for early marriage.
“Nerds Unite for World’s Largest Dodgeball Game” from AOL Fanhouse. SIGN ME UP!
“Airplane Flights and Fights” from NYT OpEd/Freakonomics.
“Homeless Haiti quake victims get tarps, want tents” from Washington Post. With all the things Shaun King is doing for Haiti, I found this to be appropriate.

I hope that you, like me, were encouraged by each of these!

Thoughts?

Dustin

Telling the family about Sophia for the first time!

// February 17th, 2010 // No Comments » // sophia

October 9, 2007 – I’m walking out of the delivery area to the waiting area to tell everyone if the baby is a boy or girl.

Telling the family about Sophia for the first time! from Dustin Valencia on Vimeo.

Hope for Guatemala Golf Challenge

// February 17th, 2010 // No Comments » // Faith

Hi everyone!  I need your help!  I have agreed to help raise funds for an upcoming event that will benefit some terrific children in Guatemala.  This is a cause that I care about deeply and you can be a part of this effort by sponsoring me in the Hope for Guatemala/Stonecreek Church Golf Challenge.  I am participating in this unique event because you and I have the opportunity to help impact the lives of poverty-stricken children who are served by Hope for Guatemala.

Each Spring Break, high school students from Stonecreek Church sacrifice their typical teenage vacations to bring hope to children in poverty.  In a world where approximately 40% of people live on less than $2 a day, students want to make an impact, meet a need, and bring hope to the hopeless.  Through Hope for Guatemala, a non-profit organization in Guatemala City, Guatemala, high school students have the opportunity to help 200 children who represent 114 families, and as a result positively impact the lives of more than 1,100 people.

On April 5-10, 2010, students from Stonecreek will embark on a “once in a life-time” journey that will change their life forever. During the trip students will be able to serve meals daily, do light miscellaneous construction, as well as build life-changing relationships. With your prayer and support, students will be able to spend their Spring break like never before.

That is why I want to give you the opportunity to “join me in spirit” as one of my sponsors while I participate in this “friend-raiser”.  Our goal is to raise many new friends and funds for the children.  My personal goal is to raise $2,000 with the help of good friends like you. Suggested donations include $25, $50, & $100, or you may sponsor me per hole (I will be playing 36 holes of golf on March 10th). Your sponsorship is fully tax-deductible. 

I hope you will help by sponsoring me in this worthy cause.  For now, just a return email with your pledge amount is fine, as I am just collecting pledges at this time. I will touch base with you after the tournament in regards to your pledge.  Just email me @ dustinuga (at) yahoo (dot) com. All you would need to say is: “I’m with you! Count me in for $___!”  Thank you SO much for your support!

Sincerely,

Dustin

P.S. You can learn more about the ministry of Hope for Guatemala here. Also, you can learn more about Stonecreek (our church) here.

Telling the family about Olivia for the first time!

// February 17th, 2010 // No Comments » // olivia

Telling the family about Olivia for the first time from Dustin Valencia on Vimeo.

Snow and A Little Extra!

// February 15th, 2010 // No Comments » // family

So, with the “ATL Snowstorm 2010″ hitting us again this past weekend we decided stay inside most of the weekend. Turned out to be pretty nice to just relax a little at home. Here is our weekend, as chronicled with these iPhone pictures:

Friday night, as the snow was falling, here are Sophia’s hand prints.

Her thing lately has been to eat the snow. I’m just glad it wasn’t yellow.

We did venture out to Target Saturday night. Olivia was fixated on the Coke cup. Smart girl!

Jen’s cute idea to make some Valentines for some of the girls’ friends.

Made fondue for my three Valentines. Notice Soph and her prayer-pose. I think she was ready to eat!

The Big Red Tractor

// February 12th, 2010 // No Comments » // Faith

via vimeo.com

“The Big Red Tractor” is a children’s story that Francis Chan wrote to illustrate the current condition of the Church. It was illustrated by Jacob Lewis.

HT: Daniel Mosley