the blog

On Saturday night we said goodbye (for now) to a great family & our close friends, the Marotte’s. In case you don’t know Vince, he’s an amazing person, dad, friend, pastor, web/tech geek & blogger. We’re all so stoked that he’s currently on the road to Austin, Texas with his family where he’s joining the staff at Gateway Church.

We spent the evening with some close friends, letting our kids play together & just talking life. Jen and I were talking, later, about how amazing it was to watch these kids that have grown up together, connect & play so good – even though we’ve all gone their separate ways. In fact it’s amazing how close many of us still are as we’ve grown and followed God’s plan for our lives – even if it means being at different churches, jobs, etc.

Here’s some of the pictures:

So keep Vince, Tami, AJ & Steele in your prayers as they traverse across the southern states to their new home! We’ll miss you guys & look forward to visiting soon!

May 28th, 2009. Miles is no longer a kindergartner – he’s now headed for first grade!

I can remember when Jen and I used to talk about when Miles would be in Kindergarten and now he’s done, a chapter of his life done and a new one opening.

We’re so proud of him, he’s just plugging along, just being a little boy. Here’s some photos of the occasion:

And here’s his teacher giving him his little diploma (unedited):

Miles K Graduation from alex mclean on Vimeo.

Just a small plug, we were STOKED on our choice to send Miles to Santa Rosa Academy for his Kindergarten year. The school totally accommodated his pace of learning, placing him in the 1st grade class for reading & writing, and allowing him to grow at his own comfort level. His teachers were awesome as well. We’re looking forward to having him in Rancho Community Christian School for first grade!

When I was growing up we had a “no gun” rule in my house. I honestly can’t remember much about that – I’m sure I complained that we couldn’t get the coolest, latest gun – and I think we bent the rules a few times, or maybe I just snuck some in somewhere along the line. Anyway, I don’t think it effected me too much. I’m not a gun advocate myself, but we just don’t make a big deal about them at our house.

Flash forward 20 years or so. And that picture is me shooting a HUGE golf ball gun last week at a friends flower farm. This thing is amazing – it rockets golf balls right through plywood at least 200 yards away! We all had a go at this beast, talk about fun!

And here’s Miles (my son) turning a tree into a gun.

This is a tree to a board game…

The tree has now become a “green goo blaster”

And dual pistols.

Why fight nature?

That’s right. Or at least that’s what’s going on here at the blog. I’m being blown by things going on around me. My mind is being filled by some good studies & conversations. My spirit is being revitalized by spending more time with my family, with God, and with some pretty amazing co-workers. My heart is being softened by hearing some incredible things from God’s word – things that are changing me.

But when it comes to the blog, I really got nothing right now. It’s all just churning inside & maybe it will begin to pour out soon. But I’m ok just soaking in for a while.

As far as just life updates, here goes:

Many of you know that in February I began working at Rancho Community Church & School, as pastor of communication. There’s a lot to do, A LOT. But I’m trying to take it easy, prioritize, set goals, and accomplish as much as possible while maintaining health (what a concept). On the church side I’m working hard on:

• Web rebuild. From the ground up, we’re redesigning and re-architecturing the entire site. A huge project that should be completed in about 7 weeks.
• Some re-branding. From the overall church to individual ministries & departments, we’re modernizing and bringing up the quality.
• Kiosks. We’re implementing a culture shift from printed materials to digital media. So we’re building kiosks which will run computers linked to our website where people can get all the info they want/need instantly.

On the school side of things:

• I setup my school office just last week. (That’s right I have 2 offices – inconvenient yes, but very necessary). I’m there Mondays & Thursdays – stop in and visit anytime!
• I’m doing parent meetings – just inviting parents to come meet me (& Jen) and hear what my role is and my heart – and also to hear their ideas & concerns. So far I’ve done one meeting which went amazing. Looking forward to another one next week.
• Advertising. Mailers, News ads, website, twitter, you know the drill.

And a little mind dump…

• We moved… Again. This time hopefully we’ll be here for a long time. We moved out to a beautiful 5 acre place in wine country. It was a 2 edged sword: The condo we were in was practically unlivable because of the “environment”, luckily Jen found this place – it’s way more “us”.
• I’m praying about ONE VOICE (last year’s worship gathering & hopefully this year’s as well).
• I’ve got whiteboards FULL of ideas & not enough time in a week to even make a dent. And of course they are all the best ideas ever that will forever redefine how church functions, so of course they MUST be completed (read: sarcasm).
• My son is almost 7! The time is flying by (I know, how cliche).
• My daughter is continuing her terrible 2’s into the 3’s but she’s freakin’ CUTE!
• I’m a new Francis Chan convert – can’t get enough of the old podcast.

So, for having nothing, I guess that’s something. But I’m not posting thoughts on leadership or how-to’s for church media. I’m just enjoying life and enjoying some health, coming back it feels like.

This is how I stay connected to my family while I’m away at our Staff Retreat.

I miss them like crazy!