Moving To Wooster, OH!

CHANGE.

That is probably the key word for our family over the past 4 years.  Each year it seems that something happens that makes a major shift in what we are doing and where we are headed.  SO…after a GREAT DEAL of prayer (and a trip to my favorite prayer walking spot along the St. Joe River)…we have decided to accept a position as the Director of High School Ministries at Wooster Grace in Wooster, Ohio.  (WHAT?!?!  A Buckeye again?!?!  Crazy!)  SOOOOOOOO excited about the opportunity to team up with Grace to share Jesus' love in Wayne County!

The emotions inside of each of us are ALL OVER THE PLACE!  I look forward to seeing what God is going to do!! QUITE excited about the next 15 years of our lives!!  We are also quite sad to leave SB…We LOVE this city…Kelsey has lived here since 7th grade...We have been here for over 15 years...our kids were all born here...we have family and friends in the area that we will miss so much...our family at Living Stones Church...the staff and the youth group...I don't take lightly that I have been blessed to work for 2 churches with staffs that LOVE Jesus and each other!  I feel grateful for the opportunity to have served God in this place...SO grateful!!

We GREATLY appreciate your prayers in the coming weeks…there is quite a bit to do...we need to sell our house and buy a house in Wooster!  God has already been putting pieces of the puzzle together to make this move happen, which is good!!

To all of our friends in SB…WE LOVE YOU!!  And will sure miss you SO MUCH…and to our new friends that we will meet in Wooster…we are SO looking forward to coming out there and reaching Wayne County for Jesus Christ!!!!

I was right!!

I love being right!!  Don't you!??!  Really...no matter how big or small the issue is...it is good to be right!  To have the right answer...Last night was NO exception!  I made a prediction yesterday that I would not get wet in the dunk tank!  That no one would be able to knock me into the water...GUESS WHAT?!?!  I was right!  Only it was because the seat broke in the first 15 minutes of our event...BUT still...I was right!

SERIOUSLY THOUGH...(although...that is serious...'cause I was right!)  the even was AWESOME!  We had a ton of students at our Back to School Bash and it was VERY fun!  Cool to see the students playing...listening to music...eating junk food...and more sugar...and a little more...OH...but there was bread there for the hot dogs, so it was a little healthy.  GREAT TIMES!

A HUGE SHOUT GOES TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED MAKE IT HAPPEN!!  2 1/2-3 hours of helping...prepping food...watching over the inflatables...playing volleyball...basketball...and on and on...AND I SAW SMILES ON THEIR FACES WHILE THEY WERE DOING IT!!!!  How cool!  We had a TON of adults helping make it happen...and I didn't have to twist any arms to get them there!

A very fun way to finish off our summer and kick off the school year!!

Plan B!

WOW!  What a year...a year ago this day, our family didn't know where we would be going to church. I was about to go full time at Jackson Intermediate Center.  Frankly...I felt lost.  No clue where the future would take me. I was on a path in my life...one that I thought I would die being involved with...then BANG!!  Detour time!!  Shocked me really...rattled me to the core.

Crazy things happen when you are searching for what Plan B might be...what the next step in your journey will be.  I knew that God put me at Jackson for a season...that there would be students, teachers, families that I would have a chance to influence...quite cool to see that happen!

Then when we started at the Living Stones Church...started attending...Sam has always been a good friend...many talks through the years...it was good to be here. But at the same time...whenever you try to connect somewhere new it is a bit ackward...know what I mean...you just don't know how people do things...it has taken time, but boy it is good to be here! 

Then after the first of the year when Sam said...what about coming on staff at the end of the year...scary.  Not because Living Stones is scary of course! ;)  BUT because it meant stepping out again...

Well...here we are!  On to Plan B in the life of the Bouchers...and it is soooooo good!  I feel UNBELIEVABLY blessed to be able to serve in a church that is less than a 1/2 mile from my house...a church that's mission matches my personal DNA of living life for God!  A church with people that I like being around and get to serve in SOUTH BEND, INDIANA!!!!!!  I just love this city and although I opened our family up to move if that is what God wanted...I'm glad that I still get to serve here...for however long this season is...maybe even for the rest of my life...detours happen, but I'm not looking for one!!  THIS IS OUR HOME and I am thankful to God for the opportunity to be building HIS Kingdom on the SOUTHSIDE OF SOUTH BEND!

Umm.....soooooooo good to be a year down the line and see God's hand thoughout the past year...so good!

Teacher of the Year Reflections

Today I received my award for being the Teacher of the Year at Jackson...cool award and a HUGE honor...the overall award went to a kindergarten teacher...THAT is a person with A LOT of patience!!! (For those of you outside of SB...the South Bend Comm. School Corp has 34 schools...each school has a teacher of the year and then a committee picks 1 person to represent our School Corp at the state level...I was one of the Building Teachers of the Year...cool stuff!)

I was reflecting through the ceremony and on my way home...I thought back through all of my teachers that I have had that have sooooo shaped my life...teachers that sometimes I catch myself talking like them...or wondering how they would handle a situation or a student...sometimes I even want to go back and apologize to a few of them!! On my ride home I just had names running through my head...from K-12th grade...and as I'm sitting here I think of my college profs and then Mr. Beam and Mr. Dillon my supervising teachers...people that have invested so much in me...sooo grateful.

Thankful to for my students...because I love seeing them have breakthrough in their lives...love seeing them attempt more than they ever thought that they could...

And I'm thankful that I have NEVER had a bad principal...I mean it!! My principals have been AMAZING people and leaders...they make my life easy and pour belief in me!! Some teachers have horror stories of the people they work for...I don't have 1 bad story of a poor administrator!!

I was just reading a comment on Kelsey's FB page...that behind every man is an amazing women...and that is SOOOO true in my case! Kelsey is an UNBELIEVABLE teammate! She has shaped my life and my teaching in sooooo many ways! She shares ideas and doesn't let me settle...she expects me to do my best and helps me make that happen!! It also helps that she has been a music teacher...she's a GREAT resource too!!

For fear on continuing to go on and on...I'm going to go on and on!! One of the things that changed a lot of my teaching was having children...and more than that...have school aged children. Each of my kids are different...and seeing how they come home and perceive what their teachers are saying to the class...has made me be more careful in how I communicate...Also...I have changed some of my practice time homework!! Kids do need to be kids, so I cut my orchestra practice time after Chloe went to school! Kids do need time to play!!

Lots of reflection tonight...very grateful to have been so blessed to have so many amazing people invest in my life as I get the opportunity to invest in others!!

Manning + Tebow = Super Bowl Ring

Alright...STAY WITH ME ON THIS ONE...

Tebow is an AMAZING leader and VERY SMART and talented athlete.

Manning is one of the best QB's EVER and even at his "diminishing state" is still a better QB than most every QB in the league.

So here is my thought...first...Denver is a GREAT PLACE for Peyton to play...actually...I mentioned on Facebook on the day he was released that I thought he should go to Denver. They have an TOUGH defense, so he could work his way back and not have to do it all.

I ALSO BELIEVE that because of Tebow...Peyton can focus on his health and getting back to peak performance and let Tebow be the leader of the team...No really...

So WHAT DO YOU DO WITH TEBOW?!?! Put the "kid" at RB and TE...seriously...he is a solid runner...as long as he can catch, he is big and strong...PLUS...he can throw some, so you have some trick plays!

I WOULD SAY THIS...if Tebow moved to TE...with Tebow's work ethic and Peyton's ability to make anyone into a great receiver...WATCH OUT...Timmy Tebow will be a Pro Bowl TE by the end of the season. PLUS...he can continue to lead the team emotionally too!!

AND...he wouldn't be able to play in the PRO BOWL game because Denver's Defense will be #1...Peyton will be Back and Both Peyton and Tebow will miss the Pro Bowl because they will be playing for a Super Bowl!!

So here it is and WHY NOT?!?!? Would be best case senerio for both Peyton and Tebow!

Listen up!

Doctors. We pay them A LOT of money. A LOT! We ask for their wisdom...their advice...we want them to be miracle workers...want them to heal our bodies...our minds...we want all our physical and emotional issues to just disappear when they take care of us...

Here is my question though...

WHY DON'T WE JUST LISTEN TO THEM?

You know what I mean? They tell us to take time off...to rest our bodies...and we think..."I'll be alright...I can go back to work/school/regular activities now...I'll be fine!" They encourage us to take medicine for a certain time...and we think..."probably long enough...I'm good!" They encourage us to change a behavior...even give us steps on how to do it...But somehow we think we are smarter than them!!

This really hit me a while back...Here I was...sick as I have ever been in my life...my doc tells me to take AT LEAST...that wasn't a maximum...it was A MINIMUM...AT LEAST a month off...I had the time built up...so I could do it...BUT NO...I knew better than him...SO I went back to work after about 3 weeks...worked hard...and it set my recovery back...and as I look back (because we always have 20/20 vision then!!)...it set my recovery back by months...probably by about a year!! What if I would have simply listened to my doc's advice?!?!?!

SO...why don't we just listen? For some reason we think we know better!! Good ol' human nature...we ask the experts their advice...but then we only use what makes us happy!

Same thing happens in our spiritual lives...we read the Bible...listen to people who have "been down the road before..." yet we think..."It won't happen to me like that...I'll be alright..." only to roadblock ourselves and set our development back by months...sometimes years!! And frankly...I've watched some ruin their lives and deeply hurt people around them...simply because they weren't willing to listen and act.

The book of Proverbs in the Bible has A LOT to say about listening to wisdom...LOTS TO SAY. I still have not become a master listener...but I am working harder to listen to those around me...those that have been down the path before...to learn from their mistakes...to absorb some "tips" from their successes...so that I don't fall into wrong traps...so I make positive habits and patterns in my life...sometimes this makes me go against the grain of my makeup...but when I have it is soooooo worth it...saves me time and pain!!

So let's "Listen up!" Which means we won't just HEAR wisdom...instead we will ACT on what we hear!

Be careful of your choices...they shape your life!

Finished coaching 5/6 grade girls basketball this week...I enjoy coaching...watching kids develop and working to bring the best out of them. This season was an interesting one...especially in the last week of the season...In the course of 5 days our top point guard (who could have started for the 7/8 grade team!) moved to Georgia...because of that we had a VERY TOUGH game in our final game...very tough...didn't play well...just struggled...the truth is WE DIDN'T SCORE!!! And one of the teams we played we had already beaten earlier in the season...to make matters worse on our girls...our 2nd point guard and 2nd ball-handler quit the team after that game...it was TOUGH on the girls!!

So the rest of the team had a choice to make...I couldn't make it for them...they had to choose whether they would cave in and quit...either literally or on the court...or would they step up with 1 practice left and then our tournament. I believe that although this is 5/6 bball...still patterns get set in your life STARTING NOW...so if they were to cave and give up...it would hurt their future...the next time they ran into an obstacle in their life...they likely would give up again. BUT if they confronted the adversity and disappointment...Ummm....character building stuff right there!

I couldn't wait for our last practice...to see how the girls would respond...I was excited and nervous...not because we would win or lose our games, but because their decision mattered for their lives...

Oh...to add to the drama...our last practice was to be a scrimmage between the 7/8 grade JV bball team and our 5/6 varsity team...

The scrimmage started and YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN OUR GIRLS SMILES when they made our first shot!! It was like redemption took place and a transformation on our team...we ended up losing the scrimmage by 2 pts. but OH THESE GIRLS WON! They chose to overcome their obstacles, not give up and PLAYED REALLY HARD.

Then the tourney came on Saturday...the first game was against the same team that we had not scored against earlier in the week...ONLY THIS TIME...we did score and ended up losing by 6 pts in a HARD FOUGHT GAME...I wish I had video of my girls diving all over the floor for loose balls...ripping the ball out of the other teams hands...we were annoying to play against and simply weren't going away! I was never so proud of a loss in my life! These girls bounced back.

BUT...a loss meant that we had to play another game RIGHT AWAY! We had exactly 10 minutes from our 1st round loss to play our next game against a team that had a girl taller than me and ALL of their starters were bigger than us!! NOW it was another challenge...

OUR GIRLS BATTLED...fought...played their hearts out...we were up 4 in the 4th when the other team tied it up...only this time the girls didn't get the "deer in the headlight look" instead they made the plays to end up winning by 6!!

SOOOOO proud of the girls...VERY PROUD!! They had every excuse to give up on their season...2 of our top players either moved or quit on the week of the tourney...people were playing different positions...one of our other top players injured her finger in the first game and was limited in what she could do...BUT instead of caving in...they stepped up! THAT excites me for their future...excited about how one day...they will face adversity in their life...probably MUCH TOUGHER than this...BUT they can look back and know...that although the circumstances seem stacked against them...if they pull themselves and others around them up...they can make it through...PROUD of the girls. The future is good here in South Bend because of kids like these!!

Random Stuff

Stuff that jumps into my head...and please remember that I am medicated after surgery!

-Pains meds work REALLY well!
-My wife is amazing...while taking care of me...she got our kids ready for school...did laundry...is taking care of Sadie...made the beds...is about to make our lunch...I'm tired just watching her! (Oh...she played Yahtzee with me too!!)
-Finished off Leviticus in the Bible today...lots of rules
-God is pretty serious when it comes to sin
-Thankful for Jesus and grace!
-3 months until I'm full time at church...looking forward to it
-Have some cool pics of the inside of my knee...not really sure what I'm looking at, but it's cool!
-Doctor said to not be up a lot for at least 7-10 days...what defines "a lot?"
-I'm really going to miss playing indoor soccer over the next couple of months...it has been REALLY fun to be playing again! Really fun!
-Friends...God has sure blessed me with amazing ones!
-had our final girls basketball party Wednesday...great group of young ladies...fun night!
-I love the Price is Right...watching it right now!!
-It frustrates me to see people with no health problems that don't take care of themselves...makes me wonder what they could accomplish if they did take care of their bodies!
-First small group Wednesday night...BEYOND excited about the group...I love our new model for groups...
-Time to eat lunch...so I'm out of here! Maybe I'll continue this later...did I mention what an amazing wife I have...LOVE YOU KELSEY LYNN!!

Hey #35...thanks, you actually did me a favor!

I'm having knee surgery today...makes me think back to the beginning of all these problems...Ol' #35...I remember being sooooo excited entering my junior year of varsity....I was SOOOOOOOO excited! I could NOT WAIT for the basketball season to start. Simply could not wait! It was the pre-season and I was starting on varsity. It was a rebuilding year for our team...we had lost 10 seniors the year before...our JV team was solid and most of us moved up. We were playing in a scrimmage...when I was driving the lane...#35 from our opposing team came over and undercut my legs...blew out my knee. Season done. Actually...organized sports were done.

I was devastated...as I posted yesterday...I simply LOVED the game of basketball...played ALL THE TIME! Honestly a lot of my identity came from sports...I hated life in 7th grade...(that's another post!!)...but 8th grade came and although our team STUNK...playing ball, I developed more friends...kinda had this "if I perform well, people like you" thing happening...So I jumped in...got involved in as many things as I could and wrapped my life around sports and stuff. Let myself wander from God.

So when #35 changed my life...I was bitter...angry...felt pretty stinkin' sorry for myself. At one point my girlfriend at the time pulled me aside and lit into me...confronted me on my selfishness...I can still remember the conversation...I was convicted. See...she wasn't just talking...she had lost her mom at a very young age...she knew REAL pain...REAL loss...that conversation shaped me...this was just basketball...sure it was important, but not devastating...that conversation was the beginning of a perspective shift...less on my and what I thought I lost...and more on what the future would hold and how God would use it in my life.

As the years have past...I have become more grateful for #35...I moved from wanting revenge to being grateful...not for the pain that is for sure...(or today's surgery!)...but for the lessons...about what is most important in life...on how to begin to handle struggles...that more than anything...my Savior is FAR MORE IMPORTANT than anything else...AND he loves to use the broken things in our lives to shape us and others.

How about you? What is God using in your life right now to shape you? What has happened in your life that God can use to encourage others? I sure don't like going through the tough stuff...but those times sure change us...make us closer and more like our Savior!

Nothing like playing ball outside!

It has been BEAUTIFUL outside the past couple of nights...at least it has been warmer and some SERIOUS wind!! So last night the kids and I were outside playing...Jaden wanted to play a game of "21." So we started our battle...QUITE FUN!!

The game took me back to when I was a kid...I used to spend HOURS on the basketball court...wind...heat...rain...even snow! (I'll never forget the night I had a bad game in High School...when I got home I grabbed the shovel and shoveled the snow off of the ROCKS in my driveway and practiced!)

I'll always remember the battles in H. S. with Deutsch, Roth and Hillrich at Deutsh's house...(I still think my friend Dave was trying to hurt me!! He believed in Rick Mahorn defense!!) I remember going to Mooney's house to play with a group of guys...and OF COURSE there were the courts by the old Nimisila School...HOURS OF TIME! Always outside...Nothing better than an afternoon/evening of playing ball with the guys...

Last night...the smell...the fresh air...the ball in the hands...just brought back A LOT of great memories! GREAT times back in the day! AND NOW...I get to do it with my kids! FUN!!!