The Grill

THe Grill

2008-12-10T11:15:00.001-08:00

Hello to all, welcome to PG's Grill. I've been out of the blogging loop for a little bit, but looking forward to starting again. This will be a place for me to talk about things that are relevant to life, and also put a positive perspective on a variety of topics. I am a youth pastor at Trinity Assembly of God. The church is located in Lutherville, Md, and i have been currently living in the area for 6 months. For the next few days, i will be blogging on the topic of transitions in life and what Im learning on this new chapter in my transition. Stay tuned to see what's cooking next on THE GRILL.

Random Thoughts

2008-03-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

I'm a little on the tired side today.

I'm excited about March Madness. GO CAROLINA!! (yup that's my team)

I love hanging out with my leadership team!!

Spring is here!! Which means RITAS is BACK!!

I'm going to Read and finsh a couple of books today.

Fine Arts was a Blast!! Congratulations to all the students for using and developing your gifts!!

Joe Gibbs is back in Nascar.

I'm Thankful for Friends!! They keep me on point in different ways.

One of my students is on a school trip in HAWAII!!! I'm jealous, she better bring me something back. :)

Taking Risks

2008-03-13T07:06:00.001-07:00

Hey guys, i apologize for my procrastination. I am obviously back from Thailand and the jet lag monster has been thrown off of my back!! I will do my best to post everyday from here on out. Last night was an awesome night at Fusion. We kicked off a new way doing our youth service. When you start something new, there's always a risk and many questions such as: Will this work? ARe they going to like it? THis is not going to go well? What if people will hate me forever? I must say, even thought there is a potential for all of these things when trying something new, you must still go forward!! That's apart of the thrill!!! It's exciting, and i must say that i LOVE challenges. It's fun to get input, think creatively, just TRY things.

Is there something in your life that you can surely say you are afraid to do? WHat's holding you back from taking the plunge? Fear of failure, regret. Which option will you regret over the long haul jumping or not jumping? When you are fifty years down the road, what stories do you want to tell your grandkids- stories of risk and adventure, or stories of average and mediocre. YOu choose- it's your choice.
In all honesty, it's hard for me to just front and say that i have successfully taken all the challenges head on when they have come my way. I can't say that i've never buckled under pressure. Even in these moments, God has taught me some things about myself and him. The times that i have fully jumpred into challenges and risks though, i've always learned and come over the other side a better person, and most importantly more fulfilled. Even if i've failed, i must say that is also refreshing as long as i was true to God and my hearts desire.

I challenge you to be a person who is a calculated risk taker. Ask God for wisdom and trust in him. He will show you the way. Most importantly as we put our trust completely and fully in him, he promises to be with us. I believe that God wants us to take risks in this life- it's an oppurtunity for our faith to be worked out.

Have a great day and be blessed!!
PG

Sessions 4-6

2008-02-22T01:47:00.000-08:00

Well, to say that this week has been amazing is an understatement. It has been an awesome blessing being a small part of what God is doing here in Thailand. These last few sessions, i held a second panel with the missionary kids, spoke 4 messages, and hung out with the students in different locations. The kids were very transparent with me on many different issues ranging from what not to say to a MK (missionary kid) to the joys of being anMk. We ended our last session this morning, and as always saying goodbye was hard. More pics and lessons from the Mk's to come in the near future.

i tell you jetlag is crazy. My body has been in and out of sync. I hope it's not too bad coming home, even though i heard it is. It's been hard to get to and from to blog more frequently than i anticipated. I think it's a good problem vying that i had some great oppurutnities to hang out with the students at the night market and also to visit some cool places in the city.

We are now awaiting our shuttle to get to the airport to began the long voyage back home. Sonja and Laurie added up the hours of our flight home; It will be a whopping 29 hours, counting all of the layover time. Wow, i'm gonna be out once we get home which will be on Saturday morning around 10 to 11am. I have to do my best to stay up so that i can get back on schedule- i have to be ready for church the following day. Just warning you students, I may have alot of red bull and jolt by my side as i teach sunday school. I'm looking forward to telling you guys all about the trip and showing you some cool pics.

Well, the rest of the gang is watching Batman, and i got a little bored so i'm probably going to do some reading. Again, it's been a great experience and i'm humbled again of how God includes us in the great work that he is doing. Big Ups to God!! Thank you for your prayers and support. Continue to pray for us as we head home. Pray that they have movies on this trip. They didn't have them on our way to Thailand. :(

Have a great day,
PG

Sessions 1-3

2008-02-18T21:56:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys, been a while i know. We had a full day yesterday filled with sessions. In session 1 i talked about dream chasing, and we had a great opening service. During the second session i put the mk students on a panel and thi sblew me away. I feel like i know in a small way what it means to be a missionary's kid. they were very vulnerable and real- one girl even talked about the fact that she sometimes hates her lot in life. The common pattern in the response from the students was that they hate the fact of meeting new people and then departing. this is a never ending cycle in the life of a missionary. I have an assistant and his name is Olinto from Brazil, but he lives in China. We have hit it off very well. He's a cool dude. We went to the night market with the kids and this was very interesting. I took a few pictures with some Thai ladies. This was very fun, they then tried to maul me into buying some bracelets- then i had to put the crackdown and say a loud and adamant NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they saw that i meant business and backed off of me. Right now Laurie Solhjem is laughing profusely behind me. She is starting to get on my nerves- where is BJ when you need him? LOL!!!!

We all have a block of free time this afternoon. Some of us are going to check out the mall, some will venture to Lotus (the Thai Wal Mart), and some will take a nap. I need to run to 7 eleven to get some lotion. I'm a little ashy and the security at the airport took all of my lotion. Anyways, tonight we will be heading to a dinner theatre. That should be cool. Well, i'll probably have some cool pics for you later on tonight.

Have a good day.
Gavin

Sunday pics

2008-02-17T04:28:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, just wanted to send you some more pictures of our times thus far. Enjoy. Our first day of ministry is tomorrow and we are very excited and pumped!!! We just finished an awesome time of praying, asking for God's grace and strength to minister and encourage other brothers and sisters in the Lord. Thanks again for all of your prayers, we appreciate them.

Elephant, Monkeys, and Butterflies

2008-02-17T02:35:00.000-08:00

Wow, what an awesome day so far!!! You wouldn't beleive some of the things we did today. Let's just say that my favorite and most exciting part of the day was the elephant rides. Yeah that's right- elephant rides. I believe that i officially have street credit now. Many people push a Escalade, a Rover, or a Benz, but how many people can say that they've pushed an Elephant? It was great, i'll tell you those big donkey animals can move up a mountain. There were a couple times that i called out for Jesus thinking that we were going to fall off the cliff, but the elephant was a trooper. There was one time when my elephant stopped to let's just say take care of some business!! I'm glad that i was in the front of Sonja and Laurie while this was happening. They had a ringside seat-something that i'm not jealous about at all. We then went out to monkey training school. That was'nt for us to be trained, but for us to see some real live monkeys go nuts!!!!! Sonja, our daring children's director actually picked one up. I'm sorry, i did have to chicken out on this one, the monkeys were acting just a little bit crazy. I obsereved and took some pictures. We watched a show of the monkeys where they rode tricycles, played basketball, and i even had one untie my wrist which was wrapped with rope. My heart was beating 100 miles a minute but i got through this pretty good-good job rope untying monkey. We then went to a butterfly orchard where there were many butterflies flying around. They were cute. After that we capped the day off with shopping at the market and then we went to a 3 story starbucks!! Pastor Lane, eat your heart out buddy. We also ate some lunch at McDonalds. It was great- their chicken nuggets taste the same as ours, but their bbq sauce was kind of interesting.

Well we are now getting ready to eat dinner and then go to a prayer service. Some of you may be wondering what kind of missions trip is this? Well, this was our full free day- the rest of the week will be ministry, but i'll keep you updated on this also. Were just getting started.

Well stay tuned for some more pictures.

Peace and a bottle of hairgrease!!

Were Here!!

2008-02-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

Well after almost a whole day of traveling, we are finally in Thailand. We got into Bangkok around 8pm and we met up with the missionaries who are taking care of us. They treated us really well. As soon as we arrived at the hotels we went to get some dinner and then we hit the market at night to go shopping. I was so mad- i forgot to bring my camera, but tomorrow should be a good day to get some pictures going. I'm very surprised to see many people who speak English here in Thailand. It's kind of cool ,especially for me because I'll usually do my best to fake it till i make it.

The plane ride was wicked long. To make it even longer, the movie players were not working!! It was a never ending cycle of sleeping, reading, stretching, and listening to music. The food was really good and we received great service from Thai airways. There was a lot of diffetent meals and snacks that they kept us loaded up with. I had a lot of time to think about things- I'll express more of those things later on this week in a series of blogs under the title "Takes from the Plane". I'll blog about things such as turbulence, people, and about when things don't go your way, so don't miss it!! Well, right now back home in America it's about 12 noon. That's crazy!! We are twelve hours ahead, and i have to force myself to sleep. I'll probably pop a movie into my laptop and let the good times roll. I must admit that i'm wired right now. Well, the day of traveling is behind us and for the most part it was smooth. I even learned a little Thai at the airports. They were very friendly and patient with me. Thanks to all of you who prayed for us traveling safely; we appreciate it and please don't stop. God is going to do some great things. I'm excited and nervous about speaking to a group of missionary students, but I'm gonna give it all i got. Well hipefully i can put up some cool pics for you guys to see tomorrow. Well i'm off to bed sleepy heads.

Toodles for now,
PG

JFK- Finally!

2008-02-15T06:46:00.000-08:00

Well were at JFK airport in New York. I've always been enamored by New York City, and i always wanted to know what the airport here was like. The airport i must say reflects (in my opinion) the city culture- busy, noisy, and random things that you may not see anywhere else. It's a funny place- i guess that's why i've always loved the city- but i don't know if i could ever live in the city though.

Anyways, it's been a pretty cool trip so far. We are here on a 3 hour layover before we get on the plane to Bangkok. It's going to be a long plane ride- 18 HOURS!!! Oh my goodness, i've brought a lot of books to read of course, and i'll probably be jamming to some of my favorite tunes on the Ipod, and these actiivities will of course be peppered with me dozing in and out in my seat. Well, i thank God for causing someone to invent chewing gum. My ears were popping just a little bit from Reagan National, so i will make sure that as we go down to china town that i have 10 sticks of gum in my mouth. I ate a huge all american, healthy breakfast at McDonalds this morning. I had to go all out because God only knows what THAI food tastes like!! I'll be a trooper i promise, but if i come back home looking twenty pounds lighter- don't ask me why.

Well i'm gonna get back to learning some other cool stuff on the subject of blogging. Peace and a bottle of hairgrease!!

From the Grilla!!

Oh the whims of Packing

2008-02-15T02:01:00.001-08:00

Ok, i must admit that when it comes to packing- i'm a perfectionist, and very interesting. How much to pack, what to wear to the airport, how much underwear should i take, what books will i read, where do i put the lotion (black people get ashy :), how much lotion should i take, AHHHHHHHH, it's so crazy, but nonetheless it's apart of the journey. Lord i can't wait till you send that helpmate, because i know a few places right off the bat where i could use her- and that's with me packing!!! After 3 hours and some change, the task was done, and i must say, that sitting in the airport after going through the rift raft ( security check), i'm feeling alright. The biggest scare came when i had a brain freeze, when i forgot where my license was around 11:30pm. I found it finally in my light jacket, and i must admit that i had a tear. THe lord reminded me that in ALL things we are to trust him, for he is our hope. I have to reminded of this daily- no joke!! I will definetly have to rely on God's grace as i minister this week. I'm looking forward to it, even though i'm a little anxious for this flight. Thanks for all the prayers, keep them coming, we need them!! Click the link below to see where we will be staying in Thailand.

http://www.empresshotels.com/empress_hotel.html

The Passion for Fashion-2/13

2008-02-13T19:56:00.000-08:00

Wow, what an awesome night of worship tonight at Fusion!! God rocked our faces off!! Remember teens, don't forget about what God did with Gideons army!! He used that situation to show off his splendor and power. Despite the low attendance (due to the incoming blizzard :)) God moved in some great ways. Tonight the message was about what God says in his word about how we as christians should approach the world's influence on our apprerances and image if ourselves. I was pleased with the response of the teens, and i'm proud of those duking it out to give it all to God. I'm very proud of what God has been doing in this current series entitled "American Ideal". My favorite highlight of the night is when students spread out throughout the youth room to seek God in their own life. I look forward to hearing tesitmonies of what God has done in your lives. Please let me know. YOu can email me at pastorgavin@cag.org. Tune in next week as our very own Dean Brown will bring the word. I'm not going to give you the gist of the message away, but i guarantee that it is going to be slobberknocker. Dean always manages to keep pur hearts and expectation sweet with his creative way of bringing the word. You guys rock, stay tuned, and posted to what's going on at the grill as we go to Thailand for an awesome oppurtunity to impact lives for the Kingdom!!! You guys rock my face off!!

Thailand Here we come!!

2008-02-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

Well Guys, i am about 2 days away from probably one of the greatest adventures i will ever embark on in my life. I am on my way to Thailand. Forgive me for my long Hiatus from blogging, but i guess God wanted to give me something to blog about!!! I must say that i thank God for this awesome oppurtunity, and would have never imagined in a million years to be going over to China land. The closest i've been to this area is by looking at the tag of my old t shirts. Well, please continue to check the grill daily as i will be letting you know what's been happening 20,ooo miles away in the REAL chinatown!!! Fusion, i will miss you- lots, but i know God is gonna do great things throughout this week in your lives and in next week's youth service. Dean Brown is going to be speaking and it's gonna be OFF the HOOK!! You don't wanna miss it. Well tonight i'm gonna be learning to post pictures on my blog from my big brotha from anotha motha- Chris. See you guys soon!!!!

From the Grilla
Gavin

Hello Blogosphere

2007-06-17T16:08:00.001-07:00

hey dude this is my new blog. do you dig me? i'm excited to give you different flavors and spills and chills from the grill! Check me out as much as possible as I will be pontificating about life and leadership and lessons that I'm learning.