"The authority once given to Scripture is now ascribed to the appointment calendar." - Eugene Peterson

I have allowed myself to be called a pastor not by the authority of Scripture, but by how busy I have allowed myself to become. I am saddened that as I think through my weeks, they typically begin with an overview of calendared events and meetings. I would love to tell you that my days begin in communion with my Lord; intimacy with the Savior; a broken-ness of my sin that leads me to a place of repentance; bringing me to my knees in worship of who Jesus is and what He has done. But they don't always begin this way. 

Christ, in HIs mercy, has allowed me to be one of the pastors at Logos Community Church and while it continues to be a great honor and humbling experience, it is very easy to fall victim to meetings and schedules. While meetings and schedules are inevitable, I must remind myself that my primary call as pastor is to shepherd the flock the Lord has entrusted me with. 

"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock that the Holy Spirit has appointed you to as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood." (Acts 20:28). 

How heavy is that?! My central responsibility is to the flock God has appointed me to, not church wide communication or community group strategy. And while areas like communication and strategy have their place, they should not govern my life; they should not be my initial thoughts for the week. My growth should come from a place where I am filled with "the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding so that I may walk worthy of the Lord." (Colassians 1:9)

My desire is simple: to see people meet Jesus. This desire will only be made possible by making the calendar secondary, if not tertiary. I wish to be a pastor who is busy because the Lord has brought me to my knees in prayer over my sin and the weight of those I have been appointed to. I wish to be a pastor who is utterly in love with God's Word that I am immersed in what God is revealing to me; a pastor who, first, proclaims God's Word. I wish to be a pastor who embraces slowness by being still and knowing that Jesus is Lord.

I think I have communicated my wishful thinking enough, so the question becomes, what do I do? 

The best place to start is with Jesus. He knew what it looked like to be busy, but didn't allow the calendar to lead him, but was intentional about resting to get away in prayer and rest in solitude. Luke 5:16 records that Jesus "often withdrew to deserted places and prayed." If I am to be healthy and brave in order to lead those entrusted to me, then I must begin with intentionality and the worship of Jesus. 

May this be the start of realignment to the care of the flock God has appointed me to shepherd. 

This picture was taken a little over a year ago in my backyard after my son's Nerf War party where his posse of friends gathered around and shot one another for 6 hours. It was probably one of the coolest events to see in my life. But as fun as this day was, I'm not here to tell you about the gnarly shots or how the adults won several of the games due to our key strategy: climbing trees.

You'll notice there's one child in particular who stands out from the rest: Dylan (the one with the paintball mask, in case you hadn't figured it out). Dylan had the hot hand on the afternoon of Nerf War. Dylan is also one of my son's best friends. Lately, Dylan has been coming over to the house more; knocking out homework, helping Seth with chores, and hanging out. He's an absolute pleasure to be around. He definitely takes after his mom, Victoria. 

Yesterday afternoon, Dylan suffered a great accident in Port Isabel. And while I rather not get into all of the details of the story, Dylan suffered severe head trauma and is currently being treated in a hospital in Corpus Christi. Many of our friends and family have gathered in prayer and support and the beauty of community has been seeing people rise up to serve in addition to seeing God clearly at work throughout this incident.

Upon Dylan's accident, a retired respiratory therapist was on-site to administer CPR, one of the Valley's best neurosurgeons was on staff at the local hospital for Dylan, and with hurricane weather still diminishing the skies cleared up for an EVAC team from San Antonio to fly in to safely transport Dylan out to Corpus, and I watched Victoria hold fast to what she knows to be true about Jesus in order to be at Dylan's side. These are clear evidences of God's grace. The most common verse in the bible is God telling us that He will not leave or forsake us and while this incident is difficult, His word proves true. 

I'm writing this because Dylan's accident is very personal for me. I have had the honor of hanging out with this young man and his quirky personality is one of his greatest qualities. I was able to spend some time alone with Dylan yesterday in the hospital and though he was unresponsive, I prayed over him, had a few laughs, and shed many tears. Dylan means a great deal to me and I know that Jesus will be glorified throughout all of this, despite the outcome. I suppose, I felt I needed to write this to encourage you on a few things: (1) Please pray for Dylan and Victoria. Victoria loves Jesus, is a wonderful mom, hard working, and is a joy to be around. Dylan is funny, quirky, enjoys Pop-Tarts (not toasted), and is extremely bright and very attentive. (2) Consider donating funds to support this family during this time. Funds can be allocated for lodging, food, gas, and other expenses. Below is a link should you be moved to give. (3) Share this post wherever you can. 

At some point I know that Dylan will read this and my final thoughts:

Dylan, as you have been a part of our lives and have grown closer to Seth this year as a friend and brother, I have grown closer to you, seeing you as a son. I want you to know that I love you dearly and despite anything that may come our way, I am here. Dylan, one of my favorite verses in the Bible is when God tells Joshua (farmer turned warrior), "I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9)."

Be strong and courageous, son.

If you would like to give, please visit the following link: Dylan and Victoria

It's been nearly a month since I returned from my trip to California. The experience was friendly, the weather was stellar, and returning to Texas was a relief. During our time, we visited San Diego which was exciting because I wanted to see what the border culture was like in another state.

I had a great time in San Diego, visiting several coffee shops, friends, and observing the people in their city. However, I soon felt that, to me, it lacked identity. I felt as if San Diego was a city that housed so much diversity that it would be difficult for one to properly identify. I don't think it is a bad thing at all, but different. 

Thirty minutes south of San Diego rests San Ysidro, CA. A city located on the U.S./Mexico border. As we drove in, advertisements that were once in English transition over to Spanish and a city that is broad in its culture and diversity is now immensely populated and influenced by one culture. 

Living on the Texas/Mexico border, San Ysidro was not a culture shock. In fact, that's not the point of this post rather, interestingly the border town culture, where the United States and Mexico combine, started and ended in San Isidro. In the Rio Grande Valley, the city of Hidalgo is the gatekeeper of the culmination of the two countries, eloquently combining culture and tradition that stretches to the outskirts of Falfurrias, TX and beyond. 

I was surprised to see a border town's culture start and end in the same location. I suppose California is diverse enough to be identified as a state housing much diversity. Or maybe California is a state that has worked hard at keeping the border at bay.

I suppose, I am also looking for clarity regarding the culture of our state. After living in central and north Texas and spending time in west Texas, it is apparent that the Hispanic population has great influence in their cities. I am not saying Texas is better, but what makes our people different than others? 

Is it pride versus a lack of support or awareness? Does it even matter? California played a significant role during the time of the civil rights movement, was the success baton passed on to other states? 

Raza, what, if anything, are we missing? 

 In case you haven't caught on, the Valley is a beautiful culmination of the United States and Mexico; both nations collide and form what we call a border town. Border Towns have their own rules and the community is united under commonality. 

I understand the Valley is different and it has its quirks and to outsiders, these quirks can come across as inconvenient and frustrating, at times. However, my attempt is not to persuade you to accept the Valley or Border Towns, but to help you understand the culture. I want to begin with one central message: dialects.

While it sounds like something made up, I can assure you, "Tex-Mex" is a legitimate dialect. Below are brief examples of dialects that many have a misunderstanding of and here is my attempt to help bring it all together. 

CHICANO ENGLISH

It's not uncommon to travel to southern California and hear Mexican-Americans (or people of Mexican heritage) refer to themselves as Chicanos. Similar to the Valley, California's border towns provide a unique sense of culture and language. While we have a lot in common, the choice of words for certain things are different. 

Tacos are burritos while in Texas a burrito is fried or an enormous tortilla filled with meat, rice, beans, and cheese; a taco is a soft tortilla wrapped in a delicious delicacy. Additionally, in SoCal, fajitas is carne asada, but in Texas carne asada refers to meat that is grilled over fire; fajitas is a type of meat. 

My wife is from California and we have this argument often. 

In any case, California and Texas share common interests, but it's simply communicated differently- this includes slang. 

POCHO

"Pocho" refers to broken Spanish. It's taking words from the English language and making them sound Spanish. It can be hilarious. It can be insulting. But at the end of the day, if you walk into a barrio and do not speak Pocho, but formal Spanish, you might as well be a rich white boy from Harvard- you're not welcomed. 

Words in Pocho include "lonche" which means "lunch," "chorts" which mean "shorts (yes, the kind you wear," or "tochar" meaning "to touch." Get it? Pocho. 

I could give this large sociological excerpt on Pocho, but this is a blog, not a journal. 

SPANGLISH

This is a serious debate for many because often it can be confused for Tex-Mex or Chicano English, but quite frankly, it isn't. 

Spanglish is its own dialect and it refers to the unity of two languages in order to paint one picture. In short, starting a sentence in English is the beginning of a thought and what brings color and life to that thought, idea, or conversation is finishing it in proper Spanish.

"The people needed to be led; they needed orgullo, animo."

TEX-MEX

Tex-Mex is very similar to Pocho, much like many forms of Chicano English. In fact, the separation in both dialects is geographical location. If Pocho is broken Spanish, then Tex-Mex is broken Spanglish.

For example: 

"I'm going to the store." | "Voy a ir a la tienda." | "Voy 'pa la store."

"Why?" | "¿Porque?" | "Por why?"

"Stop." | "Alto." | "Estop." 

Additionally, whistling is a form of communication. How one whistles will determine their feelings or thoughts. If one whistles before finishing their sentence, it is because the whistle conveys the remainder of the thought or feeling. Whistling is also used to grab one's attention (No you're not a dog, get over yourself. If you think that, then you take yourself way to seriously). 

CONCLUSION

I wish to end by saying that this brief introduction into border language is an attempt to help you (or make you laugh) understand border culture. Please, do not be offended when you step on border soil and the majority population doesn't speak English, it's an insult when you speak louder or display irritation. 

Remember, this is a country of immigrants with a ridiculous amount of cultures, dialects, and beliefs. And, no where in the constitution or declaration does it state that English is the official language of the United States. It's the most common, estuped. 

I normally do not write about the weightlifting side of my life on Puro Valluco, but this post isn't exactly about weightlifting.

I (Marco) am very excited about this January as I look to launch a small business where we specialize in olympic weightlifting along with other power sports. The name of our company is called Bear Stout Strength Training.  

I started thinking through the process and purpose of this company well over a year ago and as I have been coaching athletes, my passion to help others better themselves as athletes or someone looking to become healthy has grown.

The real reason for this post is to encourage you about the reality of time: it's never convenient. If you're passionate about something and desire others to experience that same passion, the question is going to be whether you launch or not. 

I'm not saying that you shouldn't have a plan, finances in order, and a purpose. I am, however, encouraging movement. I have sat with many who wish to get involved in the world of business and have valuable ideas, passion, and desire, but never doing anything. 

Maybe they're afraid of failing? Or are intimidated by other businesses with similar values? I have struggled with similar fears and what continues to drive me toward my goal is passion. People will follow passion.

In the end, let me encourage you to develop the idea you have in the back of your mind and run with it. I promise, upon launching, you will have forgotten something or will eventually find a more thought-out and efficient process that you wish you knew six months ago. But that's the whole point of trying something!

Be wise with your finances, but be prepared for a few fails. Lead those around you well and they will show you compassion. Build relationships and you will be encouraged. Be faithful and patient, stay on the grind, and have fun. 

Enjoy your future endeavor, amigos.