Max & Taryn Baptized

Certainly, this goes down as one of the greatest days of my life. Having the privilege of baptizing both my kids, at one setting... WOW! I hope you enjoy a personal moment with me, my kids, and my church family. What an incredible moment for our family!

Max N Taryn Baptism 071711 from Barry Smith on Vimeo.

If you don't see the video - click here!

Soul Surfer - Opens April 8, 2011

The MOVIE. I had the privilege of pre-screening this flick and loved it. It's based on the true story of Bethany Hamilton, a surfer from Hawaii. She lost her arm to a shark attack. This film documents her fight back to the top of the surfing industry. She is a Christian and tremendous role model for this day and age.

The AUDIENCE. Although the primary market is for tweens and their moms, it's for everyone. Rated PG, the film is family friendly as well as uplifting Christian values.

The DIFFERENCE! Soul Surfer is the first movie of its kind because it's a family friendly and Christian friendly movie that's Hollywood backed with a Hollywood budget. No Christian based movie has ever had that sort of backing.

The OPPORTUNITY. The more people who watch the movie on opening weekend, the longer the film will run in theaters. The longer it runs, the more money it makes. And if this first ever, Christian friendly, Hollywood backed film does well - Hollywood will produce more family friendly films for our enjoyment.

So please see it this weekend, April 8, 9 or 10. You can pick up group (20+) tickets HERE for just $5.50 each. This way, you can almost invite a friend for free.

You can view their website HERE. There is also a clip from the movie right HERE.

Rest Times? Sometimes not so restful...

Vacation is great. With kids, though, I've noticed it's often more work than fun. Wait - that's not entirely true... I have great FUN with my kids. I guess it's the idea of 'my fun.' Being 'busy' doing stuff on vacation is not necessarily my idea of fun. Sitting around... drinking Mt Dew... chillin'... veggin'... beachin'... eatin'... sleepin'... THAT'S FUN!

Same goes with my quarterly retreats. 3-4 times a year I try to get out of the normal weekly grind to focus, plan, pray, slow down, be creative... but sometimes, it's just BUSY! I get stuff done, for sure. But I think that too often, I try to 'get stuff done' instead of retreat... slow down... rest... think... plan... contemplate... strategize... etc. And I shortchange my congregation in the meantime.

I'm not complaining... truly I'm not. If I did feel the need to complain - I'd just have to direct it at myself. And then, I'd stress over disappointing myself and I'd need to go to myself and apologize and let myself know it's OK to slow down. But then, myself would disappoint me 'cause there's just too much to get done.

Whew - I'm worn out!

My Dad - Lloyd G. Smith

My dad, Lloyd G. Smith, was an awesome man. He died in his sleep the morning of October 27, 2009. You can read his obituary here. I will always have the best of fond memories of him. I'm at a loss as to how to really write this blog. I guess I'll just list a very short number of descriptions of my dad!

* A dedicated father.
* A faithful husband.
* A man of God.
* A sports enthusiast.
* An incredibly successful residential developer/contractor.
* A stable man.
* A brilliantstrategist (esp when it came to paying taxes).
* The best 'deal-maker' in Real Estate Sales.
* A professional Shuffleboard 'athlete.'
* A reader of the Bible (I caught him reading all the time as a kid).
* An insanely great supporter of me personally.
* A stellar provider for our family.
* A legacy leaver.

I could go on and on and on about my dad. I really could. It saddens me to no end that I'll never see him again in person on this earth. It hurts deeply. But to know that he is not suffering anymore (end stages of Parkinson's among other illnesses and complications) - well, quite frankly, I'm thrilled for him to be in the presence of our Lord - completely healthy, happy and full of joy. That makes up for my temporary pain.

As dad brings his unique style of humor to God... I can't help but feel that Heaven is a much better place. Not that it was too shabby before... it's just been blessed by his addition. I am forever grateful because Lloyd G. Smith was on this earth.

Thank you all for your kind words & support - but mainly the prayer! For details about the location and times of the viewing and funeral in Lebanon, IN (for as long as they post it), just click here!

Update On My Dad

I do appreciate all of the prayers that have been going up for my dad. He is in the last stages of Parkinsons Disease, along with Pneumonia, broken hip, shoulder, and no real ability to swallow.

The decision was made, per a living will, to not put a feeding tube in. Hospice has moved in to make his last days a real blessing. Basically - anything he wants, he gets. If he wants a Dr Pepper - no problem. They 'thicken it up' so he can try and swallow it. If he wants a taco - great. But they have to puree it in a blender so he can 'drink it' - which is kinda gross.

The plan is for me to leave Monday to help my mom put some family business details in place. I am not sure dad will recognize me - but I did have an absolutely FANTASTIC 'moment' with him on April 23 in Punta Gorda, FL. We prayed while we stood in a full hug and embrace. It was one of the best moments of my life. I really 'blessed' my dad in that prayer - and he blessed me in his authenticity and vulnerability.

Thanks again for the prayers. And please continue to lift up my mom and the family as we adjust to the inevitable. Unless God is planning on doing a miracle (which would be cool), we pray that dad has as little suffering as possible and that his inevitable face to face meeting with Jesus would be as quickly as possible. As I've said before, "I'm jealous!"

30 Days Of Sex (cont)

We are coming up on week 4 of the 30 Days Of Sex (taken from the Relevant Church in Tampa, FL - Paul & Susie Wirth's book cover is displayed here) and it has been a wild ride. I must admit, after the initial Sacramento Bee article, we have had overwhelming support from the media and extended friends of the church.

From the Fox 40 News piece we did last week, there was a gal overheard in her office who will be participating with her husband in the 30 Days of Intimacy. I know of an atheist couple that is actually going through it as well... go figure!

I am SO thrilled we decided to do this about a year ago. It has been good for the church and for the kingdom as numerous people are now closer to their God... closer in their marriages... and getting counseling in areas that have got away from them. GO GOD!

5,4,3,3,3 - What Happened?

To celebrate New Year's Eve, we went to my brother-in-law's house with my in-laws and my family. We were to watch the ball drop on the East coast at 9:00pm via MTV or some other 'live' Eastern station. The cousins started playing and the 'ball' seemed to 'drop' out of their minds.

However, most of you who know me also know that I value my kids' sleep. They normally go to bed at 8:00 or 8:30pm - IF they get a nap. Today, they only had about an hour nap, if that. So sleep became a pretty important commodity in our house (if we don't want to deal with serious attitudes later).

But the adults got carried away with a game called, "Pit." It is a very loud game which seemed to fit in with all the cousins running around. We didn't want to stop playing - so my brother-in-law just paused the TV for a few minutes. That should allow us some time to finish our game. Better yet - he hit 'record' on the DDR to be sure to get the entire show so the kids could watch Miley Cyrus and the ball dropping.

So, with just about a 5 minute delay, we called the kids in cause we needed to get out of there and get our kids to bed. So there we are... counting it down... everyone in the house watching on... 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3... and then the DDR immediately stopped and went to the Menu of the satellite programming.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This is what we've waited all year for. And the recorder stopped and went BLANK with just 3 seconds left til the new year ball dropping. The kids just kept counting - I'm still not sure they knew what even happened. But the adults... we laughed our heads off. Mainly because my brother-in-law JUMPED out of his seat and tried to get the live TV going... thinking he could get the ball dropping. But the TV revealed "A Double Shot at Love" already 5 minutes into the show - not the best family friendly program.

It was one of the most unique New Year's I've ever experienced. Good times! And, by the way, kids were in bed by 10:00pm... not bad.

Family Activities

My wife is brilliant. She came up with this idea of Family Activities for Christmas.

Most people have extra time off for the 'holidays' and love to do things together. Simple things. Going out to eat... a day in the snow... even a movie. But most things typically cost money - even if it's just gas to get somewhere.

So, my smart wife combined the time off with Christmas presents under the tree. Last year was our first effort doing this and it was a big hit with our kids. So much so that our kids were dying to open the activities that were under the tree this year. Those gifts were things like...

1. Movie with popcorn.

2. Homemade pizza and watching Santa Clause 3 (which we purchased on DVD).

3. Trip to the snow!

4. Making homemade pretzels and a family game, "Whoonu?"

5. Trip to Benihana (they love to watch them cook in front of you).

6. Bowling at "Strikes" - the new alley in Laguna.

And if you plan wisely, you can get much of this for cheap... like bowling from 9-11am on Saturday or Sunday. The cost of a game is only $1.50 and shoes are only $1.50. Otherwise, it goes up to $4-7 per game and $3-5 for shoes. BIG DIFFERENCE for a family of four.

I'm encouraging my wife to write an e-book and offer all of the activities we have already done and some new ones as well. Great family time and more excited kids to spend time with the family. I suppose some of these activities may get more expensive when we have teenagers. :)

Professional Athlete In My Family

My daughter is a professional bowler!!!

That's right - and it only took one day... the day after Christmas. She took the wii system to grandma and grandpa's and bowled and bowled and bowled.

Wasn't very long until she turned PRO... at just 6yrs of age. I'm very proud of her.

That is... until she came home from church this past Sunday where she challenged me. I crushed her in my debut game on this system where I gained 199 points toward my pro status and she lost 5 points.

No way I'm letting a 6yr old girl beat me... even if she is a pro! It's just the way it has to be.

Christmas Eve 2008

Happy Holidays! Well, MERRY CHRISTMAS! It was such a shocker in Bel Air yesterday. The lady at the counter said, "Merry Christmas" to me. I looked around to see if she would get fired or struck down by God... but nothing happened. I thanked her for not being scared to say such a heinous thing in public... on the clock. I think I'm so passionate about people saying Merry Christmas, instead of 'Happy Holidays,' because I am so passionate about this Holiday.

Yes, there are many other holidays where we get time off... or at least celebrate some particular day at hand. I think of Valentine's Day. Yes, I celebrate it. Yes, I get a card. Yes, it costs me money, time and energy. But I'm not real passionate about it. In fact, if they removed that special day from the calendar, I wouldn't give it a second thought.

We celebrate many birthdays of great men and presidents. We get time off for great endeavors like Memorial Day. There's also Labor Day and New Years Day. So many special days throughout the year. We even have one for April Fools!

But there's something special about Christmas and what it represents. I don't care that it was originally a pagan holiday that got swallowed up by those of faith. I care so much about this holiday because of Jesus. Same with Easter.

This Man has done so much for me and my family. Not only did He die on a cross, shed His blood, and provide the opportunity for me to live in Heaven forever. But what He has provided me so much in this lifetime... in the here and now. He's given me peace. My friend, Jeff Lasiter, once told me, "Peace is under-rated." I have repeated that 100 times since then. To have PEACE in one's life... THAT is a beautiful thing.

This Man has also given me a great family. Truly, three of the greatest joys of my life are living in the same house as me. Jesus' work on the cross has allowed me to spiritually mature and have a purpose to my life. There's another under-rated commodity - PURPOSE!

Jesus is the reason for it all. The 'holiday,' the time off, the celebration, and the effort & energy we put into this time of year. JESUS IS CHRISTMAS! And saying Happy Holidays... well, to me, it just short-changes and demeans the whole point. It robs the holiday of its power.

So, enjoy the time off, the presents, the family time, the great food... even the eggnog for some of you freaks. But above all - enjoy Jesus and what He has done. And, by all means, don't be ashamed of saying, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" After all, that's the point!

Basketball Season - I'm an Assistant Coach

Max is playing basketball again and our first practice was this morning. I am actually the assistant coach this year - my first expedition into these realms.

It will be great to invest into these 3rd & 4th grade boys and see their lives changed because of the challenge, support, and inspiration that we will bring to them. It will be great to work with a Christian head coach and plant some seed among a few of these boys who have no real background in Christ.

Appreciate your prayers as we start practices today - and the games begin in January.

I Am The Master...

About two weeks ago, my daughter was kinda board and looking for something to do. I encouraged her to make something... like... maybe a Mt Dew can. That would be cool. This is what she came up with.

As you can see, she made me a Reese's Cup candy container; a Mt Dew can; a cuzie (for the Dew) and a note regarding me. It says (with spelling corrections):

"This cup belongs to the master. This daughter loves you, the master. This Reese's belongs to the master!"

I think she's on to something here. Just don't know where she picked up the word, "Master." I think I'm a lot of things - but that is not one that is mentioned in our house! :)

Proposition 8 - California's 2nd Chance

OK - let's try one more go around before we lighten it up a little.  Proposition 8 is once again trying keep the idea of "Marriage" between a man and a woman.  Some might think it is about bigotry or hatred or discrimination.  Oh, my friends - it's about so much more than that.  Let's not tell people how to live their life... but don't tell me how to define something that God has created.  The family... sex... marriage... these are all HIS creations.

To get a clearer picture of the ramifications of accepting marriage between anything other than a man and a woman - watch this video about what happened in Boston, MA.  And just so you know, it's NOT ok for you to talk to my kindergartner about homosexuality and marriage.  It's just not ok!  Case closed.

If you don't see the video above - click Proposition 8 Video. 

Webkinz: Myspace Meets Gaming

My kids love to play with Webkinz stuffed animals. You purchase the animal for $5-$15 and get a secret code to plug in to their online experience.

In Webkinz world, you adopt, name, and choose the sex of your stuffed animal. At that point, the stuffed animal comes alive online.

It is much like a children's version of Myspace - except its safe. You can interact, send gifts, chat, and play games with kids from all over the world in a safe and controlled virtual environment. My son sent some stuffed animal clothing to a friend from church. The friend sent it back. Go figure.

You can exercise and interact with your new animal keeping their 'happy, health, and hunger' requirements at appropriate levels. In addition, you play arcade and educational games to not only have fun but earn more Kinzcash (currency in Webkinz world to buy food, furniture, toys, vacations, and so much more). My wife encourages them to buy food that's on sale. I caught my daughter this morning completely engrossed, engaged and entertained. Click here for more info about it.

Here's the catch though. My wife, 34 years old, wanted to 'help' my kids get Kinzcash. She spent hours online 'helping' out by earning thousands of Kinzcash dollars for our two children. She is such a servant.