Today's Project: The Second 1,000

8:34 a.m. Today's project is to let my children, as many as choose to participate, write the blog today. Maybe it's a little holiday for me! And I hear from myself all the time! So the Lord gave me the idea to pull the next generation's points of view--all wildly different as our kids are themselves. I asked them to write any goal for life, career, or ministry; an inspiration, a funny memory, just a paragraph, or even a sentence, about anything on their minds.

First out of the box is Kriss, almost 30, graduate of Cal State Long Beach, B.A. in Interpersonal Communications, husband and new dad, whose talents and passions include writing, singing and playing music. He selected the cartoon above.

"Two major ideas motivate me day after day: Clark and Marisela, both in making me happy and representing a small family that deserves more.

"And...

"The attached photo, illustrating how every person could be a genius of one form or another, but because ours is a system of standardized tests, the apparent economy is built on young students' backs; and the fact that the wealthy always have the advantage with their choice of private schools--

"Smart young people like us are stuck in the trenches. Broken system, broken results. Thre should be more appreciation for creativity. Think about all the artists and photographers who can hardly get paid for the practice and effort they put into mastering their craft. Is artistic creativity a sign of poverty? It sure seems like it nowadays. I'm motivated because I know what is right. I know that I'm not going to base my view of success on things I'm not meant to do, and instead, I'm going to enjoy my God-given talents and passions and be who I am. Cuz I'm a grown man and I'm not going to be looked down upon the rest of my life by people who don't have the same eyes and ears for the world that I do."

Our older daughter Heidi, 28, is a public school teacher who just had her first wedding anniversary with husband Pavel. She kept her entry short, probably because she has a Bible study to teach tonight, and just went over to check on her 85 year-old grandpa who lives a few blocks away in Redlands.

"My goal is to have a house in the next year, in the south side of Redlands, so we can settle in and start a family."

Steven, our baby, is a fitness and diet coach, bodybuilder, and kinesiology major, working full-time at an organic foods market until fall semester, when he plans to continue toward becoming as chiropractor. In a recent interview conducted by his pastor at his church's three Sunday services, Steven spoke about why he is pursuing a bodybuilding career:

"God's given every Christian a platform. For teachers it's the classroom, for Pastor, it's church; for Le Crae, it's the hip-hop community, for me, it's the bodybuilding and fitness communities. I want to be a champion--I feel like that's what I'm called to do. It will give me credibility in a self-absorbed, selfish world that needs Christ. Each morning at 5:30 [before two hours of cardio on an empty stomach] I give myself a little pep talk. 'Do you want to be a champion? If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.' "