We watched it Live: Game 4 of the western playoffs from Staples Center. If my boys would have pulled of a win on Mothers Day in game 3 we would have had a much huger party. The crowd was pumped, loud, and for sure our blood runs Purple and Gold

View the Staples Center Pics Here

Giving you highlight of my weekend schedule while away at UYWI.

Brief About UYWI: The conference for next generation urban leaders.

UYWI08 is a place of Connection, a place of Learning, and a place of Renewal.
Features include: 160 Workshops, “In Spirit and Truth” Worship Experience, 5 General Sessions, Salsa Lessons, Legacy (Block Party), Spiritual and Personal Development, Networking, and Diverse Training.

Thursday Schedule:

+Thursday Bonus: I will be joining other non-for profit servant leaders who are part of UYWI’s Coaching and Mentoring Group for lunch.

Staff from UYWI is hosting select leaders from their mentoring and coaching initiative.

Friday Schedule:

+Friday Bonus: 5:00pm to 6:30pm I will be having dinner with the Devos Urban Leadership Alumni. It will be great to connect with friends from around the country. Hope to see some of you there.

Saturday Schedule:

Saturday Bonus: Morning Prayer with Larry Acosta/ and UYWI has selected me to participate in a Focus Group conversation be conducted by Center on Faith Communities that will meet on Saturday, May 17th to address the effectiveness of UYWI, and our experience with UYWI.

Workshops I will be attending :

Leadership Excellence—Good Governance, Glen Peterson, Executive Directors

Beginning With The End In Mind: Setting Your Ministry Up For Success!, Romanita Hairston, Executive Directors

Program Rich But Cash Poor, Dean Cowles, Executive Directors

A Roadmap For Beginning Activists, Christy Lambertson, Community Justice Issues
Deep Justice In A Broken World, Noel Castellanos, Jeremy Del Rio, Kara Powell & Lina Thompson, Community Justice Issues

On Sunday we will travel North bound up to the central coast to visit with my Mom in Santa Maria, CA

My boys at Los Angeles lost tonight to Jazz at Utah home turf, but thats o.k. Its their first loss in the playoffs.

Will see them again on Sunday (Mothers Day) and Wednesday in Los Angeles in Staples Center. They will win this series on game 6.

This time of the year is very big for our family (Laker Fans) so this blog has kept up to date with the NBA finals…you know, the wins, the losses, and of course the great celebrations. So, I hope that you will be coming back. Thanks to all my readers.

l 23, 2008l 23, 2008
English: World English Bible - WEB

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. Bryant scored game high 49 points and Lakers won 122-107. " align="left" border="1" height="311" width="215" /> Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant received the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award on Tuesday.

Bryant, 29, is the fourth member of the Lakers named league MVP, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Earvin (Magic) Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal.

“This is an award I could not have won on my own,” said Bryant, who finished third in 2002-03 and 2006-07 in voting by beat writers and broadcasters.

“I cannot thank these guys [teammates] enough. These are my guys, these are my brothers.”

“I do not know anybody who has ever deserved this trophy more, who has worked as hard to accomplish what he has accomplished,” Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said.

Bryant averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.8 steals and 38.9 minutes in 82 starts this season, his 12th in the NBA.

He averaged a whopping 33.5 points as the Lakers swept the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs, and scored 38 points in Sunday’s 109-98 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal.

+This is a must see Video

+Kobe Video+Kobe Pictures

It’s a hotbed for college hoop, but could New Mexico also be ready for the “major leagues” of women’s basketball?
The New Mexico Sports Authority thinks so, and the WNBA is listening.

Read it here as it appears in the Alb Jrnl

Why Wait? Because your worth it!

Next to freshman biology class, there is nothing more universal on college campuses than the “hookup scene.” It is simply expected that students from state schools to the Ivy League will experiment with premarital sex. In the words of one Harvard student recently quoted in the New York Times: “For me, being a strong woman means not being ashamed that I like to have sex.”

Well, surprisingly there are growing numbers of students who have a much different definition of what it means to be a strong woman (or man). It means not being ashamed to say that they would like to have sex, but choose not to.

A relatively new student group at Harvard called True Love Revolution has urged college freshmen to resist the hookup culture by passing out flyers that read: “Why wait? Because you’re worth it.”

+Read nothing more natural article here

+More Resources and Articles: On Abstinence ;

Visit the +True Love Revolution homepage.

For more information, see the True Love Revolution page at Harvard College’s website.

Randall Patterson, +“Students of Virginity,” New York Times, 30 March 2008.

Zoe Sandvig, +“Putting ‘Sexy’ Back into Abstinence,” The Point, 2 April 2008.

Janie M. Fredell, “Abstinence: The New Pink?” The Harvard Crimson, 14 March 2007.

Michelle Miller, “College Students Embrace New Sexual Revolution on Campus,” The Leadership Institute, 19 April 2007.

Jesse Harlan Alderman, “Harvard Club Promotes Abstinence,” Breitbart.com, 22 March 2007.

Adrienne Richards, “Harvard’s True Love Revolution Takes Aim at ‘Mindless Sex,’” Wilkes Beacon, 26 march 2007.

Erin Flaherty, “That Chastity is So Hot Right Now,” Shine, 31 March 2008.

Elizabeth Anscombe, “Contraception and Chastity,” Orthodoxy Today, 1977.

BreakPoint Commentary No. 070214, “A Chaste Approach to Sex: Princeton’s Anscombe Society.”

Anna Broadway, +Sexless in the City: A Memoir of Reluctant Chastity (Galilee Trade, 2008).

This advice comes from a gentlemen whose been in the petroleum buisnes for 31 years.
+Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the
ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations
have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground
the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so
buying in the afternoon or in the evening….your gallon is not
exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and
the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other
petroleum products plays an important role.
A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the
service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

+When you’re filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a
fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three
(3)stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on
low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are
pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping
on the fast rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes
vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground
storage tank so you’re getting less worth for your money.

+One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF
FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in
your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates
faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal
floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and
the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service
stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is te mperature
compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

+Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage
tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up–most likely the gasoline
is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick
up some f the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. Hope this will
help you get the most value for your money.

I hope this is helpful to you all.

+Here are few more Gas saving tips.

here are some more easy ways to save gas

1o things Gas Stations won’t tell you

Time does really pass us by. I was looking through old storage and found all these great pics.

Enjoy.

+View more here

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Isaiah 5:11,22 11Isaiah 5:11,22 11
English: World English Bible - WEB
11 Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; Who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them! ²² Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, And champions at mixing strong drink;

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Woe to those who rise early in the morningto run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine. 22Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks,.

Proverbs 23: 35Proverbs 23: 35
English: World English Bible - WEB
35 “They hit me, and I was not hurt; They beat me, and I don’t feel it! When will I wake up? I can do it again. I can find another.”

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?30 Those who linger over wine
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!32 In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.33 Your eyes will see strange sights
and your mind imagine confusing things.

34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.

35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”

Should they really be discussing “University matters” under the influence of refreshments?

“…it is within my scope of duties to meet with university Government Relations constituents to discuss matters that impact the university, and a small part of these year-round activities and communications includes the purchase of refreshments…” Marc Saavedra

Saavedras has worked as an advocate for DWI… But he is No Stranger to the other side view more here.“Saavedra said the DWI occurred six years ago when he was young and that it helped him understand the importance of DWI programs that he has since lobbied for….
“I believe I’ve been able to lobby for close to $1 million in DWI money for programs both for Metro Court and statewide,” Saavedra said. “I’ve worked side by side with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and I’d have no problem calling Nadine (Milford) right now and telling her about my arrest.” .”

Proverbs 31: 4-5Proverbs 31: 4-5
English: World English Bible - WEB
4 It is not for kings, Lemuel; It is not for kings to drink wine; Nor for princes to say, ‘Where is strong drink?’ ⁵ Lest they drink, and forget the law, And pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted.

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“It is not for kings, O Lemuel—
not for kings to drink wine,
not for rulers to crave beer,5 lest they drink and forget what the law decrees,
and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

After the University of New Mexico’s government affairs director was arrested for drunken driving in 2006, he signed a “Last Chance Agreement” in which he pledged not to consume alcohol as long as he was employed by the university.
Marc Saavedra, the school’s top lobbyist, also agreed in the document to undergo treatment and submit to drug and alcohol testing.
In addition, he pleaded guilty to first-offense DWI and was given a deferred sentence and placed on one year’s probation by a Metro Court judge. See Arrest Here

UNM says it has no qualms about Saavedra buying lawmakers and other officials at least $1,500 in alcoholic beverages since his arrest in his mission to create goodwill and build relationships on behalf of the university. He rang up bar tabs both while on probation and afterward, and while prohibited from drinking.
Lots of liquor
The university allows reimbursements for alcohol expenses when incurred at hospitality events for guests of the university.
McKinsey said no taxpayer money is used.
Some alcohol purchases for which Saavedra was reimbursed included drinks served with meals.
Others took place during meetings that lasted late into the night. Several receipts paint a picture of free-flowing beer, vodka and assorted other liquor, courtesy of Saavedra’s credit card and, ultimately, the state’s flagship university.
Take Saavedra’s $233.31 tab at the Q Bar on Nov. 23, 2007— at which point he would have completed his one-year probation.
Receipts show the evening began at 8:25p.m. and the tab was paid at 12:20 a.m. Saavedra stated that his guests were Beverlee McClure, director of the Association of Commerce & Industry (ACI) and former higher education secretary; Paul Gutierrez, executive director of the Association of Counties; Morris “Mo” Chavez, the state insurance superintendent; and a state personnel office employee.
Saavedra reported that they discussed ACI’s agenda, uncompensated health care and government relations compensation.
Refreshments at the Q Bar included 12 Grey Goose vodkas, two Ketel Citron vodkas, four Patron Silver tequilas, three Corona beers and five Stella Artois beers.

Read the Article here

Now this is cool..me and my baby wearing chucks.

Check out this video: Souled Out cd promo

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Souled Out Urban Ministry

Visit the Artist JDubb

On my recent flight to Phoenix Az, I captured a few photos from above the clouds and I thought about these promises from the bible.

The Coming of the Lord
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.
1 Thes.4: 13-17

First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.1 Peter 3:3-101 Peter 3:3-10
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3 Let your beauty be not just the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on fine clothing; ⁴ but in the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible adornment of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God very precious. ⁵ For this is how the holy women before, who hoped in God, also adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands: ⁶ as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose children you now are, if you do well, and are not put in fear by any terror. ⁷ You husbands, in like manner, live with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the woman, as to the weaker vessel, as being also joint heirs of the grace of life; that your prayers may not be hindered. ⁸ Finally, be all like-minded, compassionate, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, courteous, ⁹ not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but instead blessing; knowing that to this were you called, that you may inherit a blessing. ¹⁰ For, “He who would love life, And see good days, Let him keep his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.

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On The Streets of Phoenix and inside the Airways arena Laker fans were proud to show their colors.

View More Here

Pastor Zeke Rodriguez was our guest speaker and Artist for the evening at The Rock Christian Fellowship annual Valentines Banquet.

He is a Vietnam Veteran and one of few survivors from the 101st Airborne Division of the Hamburger Hill Battle.
Now the lead Pastor of Shaback Ministries in Phoenix, Arizona and professional guitarist for over 17 years. He has played with Legendary musicians and artist such as, Glen Campbell, Jose Feliciano and Freddy Fender.

My Wife got her first drag through the mud experience…she was in route to aunt Tinas for a Birthday party and got stuck in the driveway. Thanks to Celinna for the Photos. Jezzika is the Birthday girl and the co-tractor pilot.

Proverbs 18: 22Proverbs 18: 22
English: World English Bible - WEB
22 Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor of Yahweh.

10 Reasons why I Love You

1. You bring me favor from God.

2. You are the mother of my boys.

3. You are Faithful.

4. You Inspire me to be better leader, husband, and daddy.

5. You were meant to be mine.

6. You Complete me.

7. Your my best friend.

8. You are great mother role model and teacher to the many young girls in our lives.

9. You are Beautiful.

10. You are a woman or character.

10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

Proverbs 31:10-12,15-17, 27-28Proverbs 31:10-12,15-17, 27-28
English: World English Bible - WEB
10 Who can find a worthy woman? For her price is far above rubies. ¹¹ The heart of her husband trusts in her. He shall have no lack of gain. ¹² She does him good, and not harm, All the days of her life. ¹⁵ She rises also while it is yet night, Gives food to her household, And portions for her servant girls. ¹⁶ She considers a field, and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷ She girds her waist with strength, And makes her arms strong. ²⁷ She looks well to the ways of her household, And doesn’t eat the bread of idleness. ²⁸ Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her:

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From its beginning, Accelerated Christian Education has maintained high Biblical and academic standards and remained committed to setting children on a path for success. The goal is the same today: to prepare children for the world today and give them the academic and spiritual tools necessary to achieve their God-given potential.

Why The Rock Christian Academy Chooses Accelerated Christian Education?

The Four Keys to Accelerated Christian Education

1. Individualized: The A.C.E. Model adapts to the learning speed of your child. This is unlike the “Public School Model” where the group is lock-stepped regardless of the student’s academic abilities. The A.C.E. Model allows your child to progress independently through the curriculum and not as a group. The “Public School Model” holds back the faster learner and forces all the students forward regardless of their “learning gaps”. Over a million alumni demonstrate that Individualized learning produces academic excellence.
2. Diagnosis: The child is given a diagnostic test to determine current academic ability and clearly identifies any learning gaps within all subjects. For example, your child’s English grammar may be above his/her grade level. However their punctuation skills may be below grade level. Your child is then placed in curriculum at his/her academic performance grade level in each subject and the learning gaps are then addressed.
3. Goal Setting: The Students learn through setting daily goals and are challenged by marking their achievement. This key to learning allows the child to visualize and plan daily progress. This unique discipline of A.C.E. places responsibility and accountability on the student for learning, thus establishing a lifetime appreciation for goal setting and achievement.
4. Mastery: The Biblical value of excellence in all things we do is translated into mastering subject content. This is the foundation upon which all future learning is built. The A.C.E. Model reinforces honest achievement that results in
5. advancement. Students must master a minimum of 80% of the material before advancing.

Resources: How to start a Christian School in your community information here

great_command_commission-web.pdf

Accelerated Christian Education’s concepts are based on the following Five Basic Laws of Learning:

• A child must be at a level where he can perform.
• He must have reasonable goals.
• His learning must be controlled, and he must be motivated.
• His learning must be measurable.
• His learning must be rewarded.

Based on these principles, the A.C.E. curriculum assures parents of:

• A solid, mastery-based, back-to-basics education for their child.
• A course of study diagnostically individualized to meet a student’s specific learning needs and capabilities.
• A program incorporating Scripture, Godly character building, and wisdom principles.

• A curriculum using advanced computer technology to help ensure the finest education possible in today’s high-tech climate.

Christians of the last century thought that if public schools were established, they could become teachers in these schools and influence the community for Christ. As of late as 1892, teachers’ union stated that, “if the study of the Bible is excluded from all schools…then the good of the state would be better served if schools were returned to the churches.”

View some of  RCA photos and collections here

John 8:3-11John 8:3-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery. Having set her in the midst, ⁴ they told him, “Teacher, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act. ⁵ Now in our law, Moses commanded us to stone such. What then do you say about her?” ⁶ They said this testing him, that they might have something to accuse him of. But Jesus stooped down, and wrote on the ground with his finger. ⁷ But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. ⁹ They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman where she was, in the middle. ¹⁰ Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more.”

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3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Shop for your valentine here. Part of proceeds from your purchase will benefit Hope for Youth Alliance an organization that mentors at-risk youth in Northern New Mexico