There's a song by Tim McGraw that's called "Live Like you were Dying". It's a WONDERFUL song... and a great reminder to live everyday to the fullest.

Recent events in my life have really made me think extra hard about this. It's amazing how God can use the worst of circumstances to remind you of how blessed you really are. It's also amazing how sometimes we have to think about death in order to remember life.

I have decided to really actively work at this list. There are things on here that I may never accomplish in my life, but there are things that I most definitely will. There are other things that I quite possibly could accomplish but it is going to take really working at it to do it.

Ive been keeping a list for quite a while, but I've decided to work on it again after all this time. I think EVERYONE should have a life list! It's a great thing to have goals! So here is my life list. I'd love to hear what is on yours!

-scuba dive the great barrier reef COMPLETED

-run a 5k

-run a 10k

-catch a fish

-live in a foreign country for 3 months or more

-write "Mr. Pearson's Pumpkins" with my mom

-run a marathon

-Go to Greece

-own a shootsac and a canon 5d

-go on a hot air balloon ride

-Make it on a jury

-go deep sea fishing

-Invest in someone's life COMPLETED

-Learn to play the guitar

-audition for the Amazing Race IN PROGRESS

-Write a book

-take a road trip and camp... no hotels and no destination

-Go to Israel

-go on a safari in Africa

-Finish Photography project

-Get one of my photos published (or win a contest)

-go sailing on a sail boat

-Fix up an old house

-Go to Denmark

-Learn to ballroom dance

-Do a photoshoot with Jasmine StarIN PROGRESS

-Go to Italy

-Start a family

-Go to Australia COMPLETED

-make a documentary

-Get my BA IN PROGRESS

-Go to New York

-buy a house

-Learn to speak Spanish fluently IN PROGRESS

-Write a children’s book

-Photograph something spectacular on every continent IN PROGRESS

-Start a new scrapbook of my life

-Go skydiving

-Name a star

-sleep on the beach

-see a volcano

-Coach a volleyball team

-Go to Panama

-trash my dressIN PROGRESS

-Get a puppy

-Get my masters

-Get ordained IN PROGRESS

-Go on a missions trip to another country COMPLETED

-Be in a Movie as an extra

-Go to Brazil

-Change someone's life

-Go to Hawaii

-Read the Bible from Beginning to end IN PROGRESS

-Be in a musical

-ride a camel

-visit all 50 states IN PROGRESS

-Go to Chile

-Write a play

-Write a screenplay

-Go rock climbing (on a real mountain)

-Get my website up and running IN PROGRESS

-Write in a journal every day for a year

-Go to Haiti

-visit the White house

-Photograph a wedding COMPLETED

-Make a living doing something I love COMPLETED

Just because I think EVERYONE should hear this song.... (and maybe it will inspire you)

Some of you know my dad is also my senior pastor (and one of my very best friends). It is amazing and I LOVE working with him.

He's been teaching Church 101 to the teens in Sunday school the last few weeks. This is basically a class that teaches what our church believes. We ask that people take it before becoming members of the church so that they know what they are choosing to associate with :) So this week was the last week of the class. He opened it up for questions... I was expecting some good ones, but I did NOT expect what he got.

As soon as he asked if anyone had any questions, one of the boys raised his hand. My dad called on him.

Teen: Do you ever wish Diandra was a boy?
Dad: No.
Teen: Really? Cuz sometimes I do.
(keep in mind I am an only child)

Next question.

Teen: Why didn't you have any other kids?

Next question.

Teen: If you'd had another kid, would you have wished it was a boy?

Next question.

Teen: How old are you?

I really didn't expect that.

I don't think my dad did either.

But in the midst of all of the silly questions, we had 10 teens that decided they want to join our church and be official members. I think that is a pretty cool thing!

We have a service called TNT (the Next Thing). It is our alternative service, and while it is not a TEEN service, a lot of the people in it are teens. The whole point is to "come as you are"... for people off the street to walk in and feel comfortable however they come. This is what I saw on Sunday:

To some people... that may be offensive.

Personally, I think its awesome :)

...The 80's came back! (these kids crack me up!)

Yes, that is a neon colored fanny pack...

Saturday we went to Mexico.

I've posted about these trips before, even though it isn't TECHNICALLY stories about the teens... the trips have made such an impact on me, and so I want to remember them and share them.

The trip went well and pretty smoothly other than getting stopped at the border going in. See we have several car loads of stuff and technically you aren't supposed to do what we're doing. So they stopped us at the border (which has never happened before). I didn't really know what was going on, because they were speaking in Spanish.

Luckily, Sam translated: We're going to jail.

The good news is he was joking (of course I didn't know that, and I panicked just a little bit). The bad news is we had to pay a small fine. But then we went through the border and continued on our way.

Here are just a few of the hundreds of pictures we took:


Pastor Orlando and a little girl that we have gotten to know from repeated trips, Carla. (more of her from another trip here)
David, Sam, Pastor Orlando, Me and Javier
Patty (one of my teens) and me
Sam and some of the kids in the background... and me laughing at him trying to take the picture of himself.
Me and Carla and another little girl.
Helping the kids with backpacks... that was the main thing we took this time... school supplies.
Waiting in line.
Mango and me... you may remember him from a previous post
Mango and me again...
One of Pastor Moises' twins and me.
We raffled a bike that was donated and here are all the little boys with the winner (he's the one in the middle smiling)
Me and Javier handing out backpacks.
Me and David (he's one of our Spanish pastors, and my friend)
George and Mango in the car on the way to the next stop.

It was a successful trip. It's so much fun to see the kids' faces... They woke up thinking it was going to be like any other day, and then suddenly we show up with all these things for them. There's something so cool about that. And yet, when we leave, it always feels like we haven't done enough. It's hard for me to understand why I have a roof over my head, food to eat, clothes to wear, a car to drive, and a job to go to, when these people have almost nothing.... and it's just because of where I was born. I was born here and they were born there. So I continue to pray for them, and love them and do what I can... I don't know if I will ever understand why... but I am so blessed every time I go... I think sometimes more than we bless them, THEY bless US!

I've mentioned before that I keep finding that people read my blog. I originally started writing it as a way to track funny things that happen for my own encouragement, but I am finding that a lot of other people have found encouragement from my stories also. But one of the complaints I've gotten is that it was really hard to leave a comment.

I fixed that problem!

You can now easily leave me comments. I'd love to see who reads my blog... so leave me a comment if you'd like!

Just thought I'd let you all know the update! :)

...here is quite possibly one of the funniest/coolest things EVER!

Wednesday night was AMAZING! But before I can tell you that story... I need to give you some background information (which is a little bit funny too :).

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in the Spanish service on Sunday night when my phone rang. It was a blocked number so I excused myself and answered it (oftentimes parents will call wondering when things are over, or teens will call wondering about something, so if it's blocked I answer). The following is the conversation that took place:

Diandra: Hello?
Teen on phone: Diandra... is Crystal (one of my teens) with you?
Diandra: Yes
Teen: Can you drop her off at Ralph's? (a grocery store down the street)
Diandra: Right now?
Teen: Yeah
Diandra: (knowing full well I was not going to drop her off at Ralph's in the middle of a service but now very curious why they wanted her there) Why?
Teen: Because we're going to go evangelize and we need a singer...

As I continued talking to him, I realized that he and another boy had been going to the grocery store and standing outside with a guitar singing and handing out my business cards and inviting people to church. There was a little part of me that really thought this was a hilarious picture. See... these are the two boys that started the whole "your face" movement (see previous post). I pictured their evangelism going something like this:

Teen 1: Hey God loves you!
Teen 2: Your face is God

Teen 1: You should accept Jesus...
Teen 2: Your face should accept Jesus

and so on...

But there was another, bigger part of me that was incredibly proud of them, and thankful for these two boys that have come such a long way from where they were the first time they came. They saw a need for reaching out and they decided to do something about it!

So last Wednesday (still not the main point of this post), a boy came to our youth group. He'd never been there before, and he kind of stood out. But our kids included him right away... in fact I wasn't even sure who he'd originally come with because he was with several different people. He sat near the back and when we started worship and some of the kids stood up... he stood up too.

I watched from the back and started to get kind of excited thinking "hey, maybe he's getting it!"
Just then, something changed my thought.

He pulled out a lighter.

And then he started waving it back and forth in the air like they do at concerts.

There is rarely a time when I have no IDEA what to do... but this was one of those times. I was so caught off guard. I didn't know if I should laugh, or yell, or tackle him and hope the church didn't catch on fire.

So I just stood there and watched.

A couple minutes later, he put it away and the service carried on as usual.

This leads me to this last Wednesday night.

He came back! We had a smaller group than usual, but we had several new teens that I hadn't seen before. I looked around the gym a few minutes before we were going to start the service and realized we were missing quite a few teens... and our intern. So I wandered into the teen room and found them all in there... including this teen that had come the week before. Our intern, Sarah, was sitting with them and talking to them about God. Answering their questions and talking them through things. Javier and I decided that rather than stop what was happening, we'd allow this teen and one other one that is still fairly new, to stay in the teen room and talk with Sarah. In the mean time, we started the service.

I spoke about John 4:1-26... the story of the Samaritan woman. At the end of the lesson, I started talking to the kids about the importance of making a choice, and the fact that not making a choice... IS actually making a choice. Then I said, "the fact is, if you haven't accepted Jesus, you're going to hell. I know that seems harsh, but that's the truth. The good news is, it's not too late." We ended the service with worship and a chance for the kids to go to the alter. Many of the kids did. And two of the kids that came with friends ACCEPTED JESUS!!!

***Side note*** Since Javier joined us... I have learned a lot of things and I have changed the way I do a lot of things. One of the things that has made the biggest difference is simply ASKING if anyone wants to accept Jesus. We have kids saved every month just because we ask if they want to... a lot of teens are just waiting for an invitation.

After the service, the teen that had been invited from Ralph's came out of the youth room... he still has a lot of questions, but things are starting to be more clear to him. I realized he'd been carrying around a plastic grocery bag full of something.

Then he announced that he'd brought 48 lighters to share "for the concert"!!!

But when he realized it was over, he said, "what am I going to do with 48 lighters???"

I found out later, that this kid had gone to Ralph's looking for nutmeg. he'd been told that if you smoke it, you can get high. Just because two of our boys got an idea in their heads to do something... and they DID it... this life is being changed.

I know this post was longer than usual, but there were so many parts of this story that were both funny and touching and simply amazing, that I wanted to make sure to share the whole thing!

We all have good days and bad days. But at the end of the day, God is good, regardless of how our day was. For me, Wednesday was a bad day... but God had other plans :)

Right now life is hard.

I am so blessed to be where I am and serving God and working with amazing teens at a wonderful church, but my personal life has really been taking some blows. It's been difficult at times to be normal with the kids (and not be short with them) and to make it through Wednesday night youth group.

So on Wednesday, we were giving the kids a chance to just meet with God. We opened up the cross (our alter) and told them that if they wanted prayer to come to us, that we were not going to go to them that night... we wanted them to have the time they needed with God. The kids responded. We had many at the cross and several that came and asked for prayer.

I had just gotten done praying with one of my teens, and one of my other girls came up, stood next to me and put her arm around me.... and was silent. I asked her if there was something she wanted prayer for and she said, "No, I just wanted to give you a hug and tell you that I love you."

I just about lost it.

Its my job to minister to my teens.... but sometimes, they are really the ones blessing me.

This same girl posted this on her myspace page:
Talk about feeling loved and appreciated. I think its a very rare thing for a youth pastor to feel real appreciation from their teens... often times teenagers take things for granted, but this week, I am blessed to have teens that genuinely love me.

... a teen absolutely blows me away...

I have a girl in my youth group that takes 3 buses to get to church because her dad wont bring her.

She is the girl that cries because she sees people hurting and she hurts with them.

She is the girl that will see someone sitting alone and decide to make a new friend because "No one should have to sit alone".

She is the girl that will do EVERYTHING she can think of to get you to laugh, even when she's hurting more than anyone will ever know.

She is the girl that doesn't care what people think of her... so everyone LOVES her.

She is the girl that sits in the front row... or the back... or the middle... or wherever she needs to to make the most of youth group.

She is the girl that thinks through things you say, and comes back later to ask questions.

She is amazing and I am so glad that girls like her still exist.

I live in a land of dead legs, 2 day relationships, hot cheetos, texting the person you're standing next to, 2nd grade humor, and drama drama drama!

That's cuz I work with teenagers :)

My kids are in this thing right now of saying "your face is...." and completing the sentence with whatever the person just said. For example:

Me: Can you move that chair for me?
Teen: Your face is a chair.

Me: Are you going to the overnighter?
Teen: Your face is an overnighter.

And so on...

I have to admit that as lame as it sounds, it sometimes makes me laugh... occasionally it makes sense and sometimes it is completely bizarre, but once in a while I just have to laugh.

...I've noticed that I've had some new readers (I really dont always even know how people find my blog... Ive tried googling it and I cant find it... so how do you find me?)...

So I thought I'd link you to my very first post to give you a little bit of background on me... Im still kind of new to the whole blogging thing, so Im not sure how to make that post stay at the top of the blog (if anyone knows, please let me know!). But in the mean time, if you are just reading my blog, start there. There are a lot of funny stories, pictures and videos all over it, but if you dont want to read the whole thing (cuz its kinda long!) here is a good starting place!

I'll leave you with a picture from youth group last Wed. This is me, Katy, and Javi in the background :) Some of my fav pictures are the ones where kids sneak into the background!

Sunday morning... after the service was over... you cant tell from the picture, but a few of the kids were actually jumping and dancing... it was pretty cool :)

Yep... my kids wrote "wash me" on my car...

In 2 different languages.

Here is the official camp video from summer camp this year... I know it's a few weeks late, but I wanted to put it up here :)

So we're gearing up for another Mexico trip. I realized that I never shared pictures from the last trip. So here are some pictures from our last Mexico trip. It was pretty cool to realize that we have actually formed relationships. Like we recognize the people and they know us too... it was fun to just get to hang out with them and share life while sharing Jesus' love. We BBQ'd hot dogs and chicken and ate with them and played with them and just hung out. We also brought some clothes and toys and things as usual.

I'll be sure to post more and maybe even some stories from the next trip :)


This is what happens when you eat licorice without your hands and Javier has the camera...
Me and Ameroni
Two of the kids there
Our team heading into the town square
Me and a cute little kid
A couple of the girls...
Olga and Gabriel
Pastor Gabriel, a couple of kids and the spider (its in the hole)...
Javi and Ameroni
Me and Ameroni
Ameroni trying to figure out what was on Javier's necklace (its Cuba)
Talking to the kids
Me and some of the boys
Javier and Pastor Gabriel with the kids
This kid was so good with that yo-yo thing... It was pretty cool to watch!
My favorite!
Some of the kids with Javier
This kid kind of got attached to me... but I kind of got attached to him too :)
Me trying to BBQ... mostly it was just for the picture because right after this it burned me and I didn't want to do it anymore :)
loved this kid!!!
Pastor Gabriel and me hanging out with some of the kids
Chivas #1!!! (that's a soccer team I'm pretty sure...)
This little boy was so cute...

In Sunday school right now, we are doing something called church 101. Basically its the basics of what we believe and we ask that people take it before becoming members of the church. So my dad (who is the senior pastor) has been coming in and teaching the teens. It is really kind of funny because sometimes he doesn't know if they're serious or making a joke (sorry dad :)

Sunday was no exception...

We were talking about people waiting for Jesus' return and one of my boys was getting all excited about seeing Jesus and all of God's glory... he was trying to figure out if the people who had already died would know when Jesus was coming back... and he says,

"so is there like a countdown for all the people who already died? Like a clock that counts down so they know when Jesus is coming back?"

and I say, "You mean like New Years?"

To which he replies, "Yeah, you know, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, JESUS!!!!"

So funny :)

But also really cool that he is that excited to see Jesus.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how amazing God is and how cool it is when we sit back and just let him work. I try really hard as a youth pastor not to get caught up in numbers. It's great to have a big youth group and everything, but what matters most is individual teens and their individual lives...

But I was sitting in youth group Wednesday night and realizing how much God has blessed us with numbers too. When I started almost 4 years ago, we had less than 10 teens that came. Now we're close to 100 active teens.

I got our picture back from summer camp this summer... the one of just our teens. And I couldn't help but think back to the first year I took teens to camp. I think we had 5 that went. We had few enough that they fit in 2 cars (with all of their luggage). This year, we had to rent a school bus. We had almost 40 teens that went.

In addition to the great growth in numbers, God has done some amazing things in the lives of our individual teens. We've had many teens accept Jesus for the first time (about 10 in the last month or so), and we've had many that have re-dedicated their lives, been called to ministry, started leadership roles, encouraged others students (and their youth pastors), taken a stand for their faith with family and friends, gone to Bible clubs at school, invited their friends to church, fought HUGE spiritual battles, and made a difference for Christ in the world.

Wow, God is amazing.

I'll leave you with this picture of our teens at camp.

I'm not really sure who reads my blog.

Occasionally someone will comment to me about something I've written in it... or mention that they read it, but I really don't have a clue who actually reads it (or if anyone does...). I know my mom does :)

But I've had a couple of my other youth pastor friends mention that they've read it, so today I'm hoping they are cuz this is for YOU!

This is a video from the skit guys. They're AMAZING and hilarious! I saw this today on another blog that I occasionally read for ideas... and I was cracking up. I think I literally can name a kid from my youth group that is like each of these characters! If you're a youth pastor, you probably can too :) Even if you arent a youth pastor, this is pretty funny... its kind of long, but stick it out.

***And if you read my blog... I'd really like to know. I know its hard to leave comments, but shoot me an email or something... I'd be interested to know who actually checks it out :)

We recently started a youth worship band.

We are sooo blessed to have wonderful volunteers because neither me or Javier is musical. So every Tuesday night our volunteers run our youth band practice.

We walked into the gym the other night and watched for a few minutes as the kids practiced. I realized that there were like 10 teens hanging out on a Tuesday night doing band practice. It hit me that when I started as the youth pastor here, I didn't even have that many on a Wednesday night... and now here on a Tuesday are these kids practicing for the youth band!!! It absolutely blew me away and I was once again reminded of how INCREDIBLY blessed I am!

Here is what we saw:



Here is part of the band playing on Wednesday night (we were missing our drummer):

Have you ever wondered what happens to all of the snacks and drinks that are left over from overnighters?

Some of our boys found some 2-liters of sodas that were left in a cooler from an overnighter a couple months ago.

This is what they did:
(by the way, one of my teens grabbed my phone and taped it... its not me you hear egging them on... at least not this time :)