Last night I played out a scene that would have brought a sense of pride to Clark W. Griswold himself!  I put up Christmas lights around the outside of our house.  We don’t have the most lights in the neighborhood, but we do have one of the tallest houses.  As I climbed the ladder that was perched on the bumper of my car and leaned up against the house 30 feet up… I thought “this would make a great scene for a movie”.

The lights are all up and I didn’t have to go to the hospital… so everything ended up ok!

I had a rude awakening tonight. We had just finished dinner and Emily had started doing cartwheels and handstands in the living room. I know this sounds like a circus but it is just another day in the life of the Smith family. Not wanting to be outdone I had to show the girls that their old man could still do handstands and other assorted stunts! It was in the midst of this that I had my realization. My center of gravity has changed! Apparently I can no longer generate the speed necessary to my weight over in a cartwheel motion.

It doesn’t take a genius to know that the problem is not with my gymnastic abilities, but probably is tied more closely to my eating habits. See here. It really is time that I begin to shift my center of gravity. Tomorrow I will visit the gym and see if there is something that can be done. In case you wondering… I will not be taking a chili dog with me.

Yesterday I had to run to Wal Mart to pick up a few things for Halloween.  For future reference it’s a bad idea to go to Wal Mart at 5:00 on October 31st.  There were costumes and bags of candy flying everywhere.  My second mistake was trying to push a cart through there… General Patton would have had a hard time getting a tank through!

Aside from the mass of humanity trying their best to get their “stuff” before everyone else took it, I saw two things that made me question the decision making processes at my local Wal Mart store.

Apparently a promotion minded manager decided that right next to the three ailses dedicated to Halloween “stuff” they should set up a “haunted house”.  I am not joking… right in the middle of the store they put up a big black tent with every side closed.  I didn’t go in the tent, there was a sign at the entrance saying “No Shopping Carts”… but I didn’t have to go in to understand what it was.  There were “scary” noises and flashing lights seeping out of the tent along with the screams of all the elementary aged children whose parents were fighting over costumes and candy.  Kids were running though the haunted house and immediately running back to the entrance, a route that took them through the cady aisle which was full of adults and shopping carts!  I know it probably wasn’t that scary, but I think that kids just liked the idea of being allowed to scream at the top of their lungs in a Wal Mart store… so they did.

Now, I am sure the same genius manager who decided this was a good idea also decided that the Wal Mart employees should be allowed to wear costumes… apparently with no guidelines.  I saw a vampire, painted face and all, stocking the shelves… a grim reaper, sickle in hand, pushing in carts… the greater was some kind of scary looking dead person… at the jewelry counter there was a woman with a robe on curlers in her hair and some kind of green face paint meant to be a beauty mask… and finally I was checked out by a cashier wearing some kind of mask that had red liquid in it so that it looked like blood was flowing down his face!  Apparently the management at Wal Mart did not think ahead… they must have underestimated the creative thinking and lack of common sense that most Wal Mart employees have.

It makes me wonder who is in charge of the decision making process there!

By the way… I know it sounds strange, but I think after their shifts ended many of those same Wal Mart employees must have come by my house trick-or treating!  What is with the adults holding out a pillow case to get candy?

Last night we had a great time visiting with some friends and doing some trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  We had somewhat of a party in our driveway complete with witches brew (homemade root beer smoking with dry ice).  Part of the Smith family tradition includes running out of the candy we bought to give away, so each year we start giving away the stuff that the kids have collected.  This year I was determined not to let this happen so I braved the zoo at Wal-Mart to buy 4 additional bags of candy.  I thought this would be enough, but had to have some reserves, so we sent The Witch (Allison), The Chef (Kate), and The Cheerleader (Emily) out to collect as much as they could.

They brought home their bags of candy and true to form we ran out of the candy we had bought and had to break into the reserves.  I told Allison to go and sort through her candy and take out what she didn’t want so that we could give it away, no sense in giving away the good stuff!  Allison promptly did what she was told, but there was one problem… her choice of location.  She decided that the front of the driveway would be a good place to do the sorting, and by the way, why not eliminate the middle man.  So… as all the neighbors walked up buckets outstreatched looking for a “good treat” Allison would look through the “spread” of candy laid out in the driveway and decide which piece to give them.  There she sat, selectively picking through the candy laid out across the driveway and giving out the “second class” candy like small boxes of nerds and little packs of smarties.

Of course I immediately helped her scoop all of her candy back into her bucket and move the procedure into the house.  The big question is… how do you explain to your child that when we are sorting through the candy to keep the best for ourselves and give away the “bad” stuff it’s not polite to let everyone see us.  In other words, it’s important for us to keep our selfish sorting to ourselves!

When we finished our ministry at Encounter Church Shelley and I never imagined that it would be more than 20 months before we would begin another full time ministry position. During the past 1.5 years we have been stretched, challenged, and blessed by God. It has been very difficult at times, but has also been great. But now our “waiting period” is over.

Two weeks ago I started in my new role as the Pastor of Creative Arts at Palm Valley Church. We began visiting Palm Valley on Saturday nights while we were working with Encounter and have been attending and serving there for a year. We are excited about what is happening at Palm Valley and can’t wait to see how God will use us here.

This week the girls finished up the “Spy Chase” series at Palm Valley Church. They had a great time learning about prophets… so much fun that a few weeks ago they started playing “spy” around the house. They put on disguises and call each other “Agent E” “Agent K” and “Agent A”

Every week our Home Team meets on Wednesday evenings. The adults meet downstairs and all the kids go upstairs and destroy things. The still destroy things, but now they have their own Home Team going on. They call it the “Cool Jesus Kids”. They spend the 90 minutes doing crafts and playing games.

What a blessing that our kids enjoy their time at church so much the come home and try to duplicate it!

Every night when we sit down to eat dinner we ask the kids to share the best and the worst thing from their day. You just never know what you’re gonna get. The other night Kate told us that the best thing from her day was spilling her drink a few minutes earlier. Why? Because it gave her a chance to see the “magic tablecloth” (scotch guard is magic to an 8 year old!). She couldn’t think of the worst. The next night her best was falling down the stairs. Hey, it was fun! Emily’s worst was Kate falling down the stairs because she was on the stairs and got kicked in the head. Emily had her best and worst all wrapped into one: 1st grade homework starts in a week. Best, she knows she’s not supposed to want homework; worst, she really likes it and was disappointed that her sisters have homework and she doesn’t.

Best and worst is all a matter of perspective. July 19 was one of the worst days I can remember. To those of us who know and love Scott Kemp, our lives will never be the same. Every day lived without him makes us realize how much of an impact he had in our lives. For him, it was the best day he could ever imagine. He came into the presence of the Lord; he reached the goal and received the prize for a life lived serving Christ. I am so thankful that we have a heavenly perspective that makes the worst days more bearable and the best a glimpse of more than we can ever ask or imagine.

I got this video in an email from my brother in law Matt and then found it on YouTube for you all to enjoy. There are so many things that could go terribly wrong, but I have to say I think it would be soooo much fun!

Shelley isn’t a huge fan of rap music, so maybe the next time I sing LL Cool J’s hit song “I Need Love” I will need to change it up and do this version!

Something tells me Shelley would NOT be swept off of her feet!

Scott Paschall Kemp of Mesa, AZ passed away on Saturday afternoon July 19th, 2008 at the age of 63. Scott was born in St. Joseph Missouri on April 3, 1945. The only child of Joe and Doris Kemp, Scott moved to San Diego when he was a young boy. There he attended Sweetwater High School and San Diego State University. In May of 1967 his life would change forever when his mother introduced him to a beautiful young cashier at Leader department store. Betty Jane Barber and he were married on March 30th, 1968. Scott served in the United States Air Force from December 1967 to March 1973 serving as an F-4 Pilot in the Vietnam War. While serving he earned the National Distinguished Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Republic Of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Air Force Longevity Service Award, the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, and the Air Force Meritorious Unit Award Ribbon.

Scott and Betty began attending Central Christian Church of Mesa, AZ in 1974 where Scott served as an elder and teacher. He did not just attend Central Christian, he served with a steadfast desire to see the Kingdom of God expanded.

Scott was an exemplary father to his six daughters who were known around the church as “the Kemp girls”. The tremendous pride he had in his family was well founded, his girls have grown to be fine women and have shown themselves to be excellent wives and mothers. His family is a testament to the kind of man he was.

The character, integrity, and honor he displayed in his life were only overshadowed by his tremendous faith in Christ. He truly lived his faith and is without a doubt experiencing the rewards of a well lived Christian life.

He is survived by his wife Betty Kemp; children Steve and Lori Hutchins, Matt and Kirsten Lunsford, Sean and Shelley Smith, Jon and Stephanie Howard, Mike and Davina Baird, Cade and Candice Fassett; fourteen grandchildren, Gregory, Trevor, Amanda, Ella, Olivia, Allison, Kate, Emily, Claire, Anna, Sam, Abby, Kenny, and Scott who is expected in September.