DannyHesterly

No Words...

I guess for whatever reason(s) I haven't felt like writing anything of...well anything lately. I guess I've been focused on building relationships with my students and have been pouring nuggets of wisdom in them that I have nothing to share on here. So here's a quick rundown of Oct and whats happening in the next week: 

• This past month has been a crazy and, I think, productive month. 
• From going to Catalyst, to finishing up a series looking at 4 Hebrew names of God found in the Old Testament. What really stuck out to me in that series was the idea of understanding who God is enables us to know what God does (not my idea, but I said it like it was...hehe). 
• Last week I spoke in the Central Auditorium and thought things went well. I always have a blast when I get to teach. 
• Next week the Lead Team at City Church will get together and have some great hangout time and talk about..well I'm not really sure, but i'll be there to find out.
• And then that weekend is our High School Retreat: FEARLESS (which by the way is going to blow the minds of our High Schoolers. I can't wait!).

The video below was made yesterday with my friend, Ryan Donoho, in Wal-Mart. I had a phone conversation with a friend last week who asked if I would be willing to help her on the project...like I have time to commit to anything else...but I listened to what she had to say and it was something that I wanted to be involved with (knowing my students at NUNATION will get on board with this as well). So here it is. I'm no oscar winning performer, but I think this is a good thing. So here's a sneak peak. We'll be showing this at City Church in the next week or so.

Unity in the Community: Drop Your Drawers for the Homeless from Danny Hesterly on Vimeo.

Fun Investigator

Part of my responsibilities at church is to hang out with kids, students, well....everyone I guess. But especially kids and students (now that I think about it I do have a pretty sweet job). Today was Friend Day at City Church and I'm making my rounds checking on things. For some reason I'm needing to ask my sister, Nani, a question and I eventually find her talking to this little Hispanic boy down the Elementary hallway. 

For whatever reason, you could tell he didn't want to go in the classroom. Nani looked at me and then went on to do something else. Thinking back to the scientific method, I finally gathered that the "look" meant that I needed to help out here. So I bent down, asked him his name, and asked why he didn't want to go in. Come to find out it was his first day and he was scared. I'm thinking....thinking...what to say to get this reluctant kid into the classroom. I asked him if he has ever heard of a "Fun Investigator?" He shook his head "No." A Fun Investigator goes around and tests things to see if they are fun or not and if they aren't he/she makes a note of it and tells someone. I asked him to be my Fun Investigator for the day and anything he sees that isn't fun he was to let me know. I also told him there might be a good chance some fun could sneak in and to be on the look out if it does. After all that, he walked right on in the classroom. 

I saw him after church and yelled across the parking lot..."You have fun today?" With a big smile he said, " YES!" 

Flower

One of my most favorite poems I have written, which by the way isn't that many now as I think about it, was inspired by one of my favorite poets...Shel Silverstein. Some of you have heard me read this, but I'm especially posting this so one little boy would have this read to him in hopes that his creativity will be abundant this week. Enjoy!

FLOWER

Flower, Flower on the hill got trampled on by Jack and Jill.
It laid there flat without a smell,
Until there came a slimely snail,
Who put it on its shiny shell,
And carried it home to Canyon Coves,
Where he put the flower on the stove.
The snail seasoned it with some of this and some of that,
A dash of vinegar,
And part of a leather hat.
Garlic,
Chives,
Chopped up liver,
Basil,
Goat hair (only a sliver).
Brought it to a boil,
Then poured it into a brown bowl,
And ate the flower that afternoon.
He had a sip of ale,
When he heard 2 monkeys
No, 2 funky monkeys
No, 2 funky, chunky monkeys bickering over a tale.
When all of a sudden he felt a grumble in his tummy,
And a funky, chunky monkey thought it sounded like he needed some money,
So the monkey gave him a dime,
But a doctor came just in time,
And took out his magic wand,
That looked like a purple swan.
Waved it in the air and said, “My dear friend, its sad but true, there’s a flower growing inside of you.
So you ask me the meaning of this tale…
It’s to never, neVER, NEVER eat anything cooked by a snail!

Blog Stealing

So...I have a few blogs I keep up with and thought this video was pretty cool. Enjoy.

Ben Rector - Free from TK McKamy on Vimeo.

How Glorious

Tonight, NUNATION was a little crazy! Our hazer we use to make the lights in the Student Center pop with color was working better than ever (a little too much better than ever).  When we got back in the Student Center from Round 3 of DodgeBall the auditorium was so thick with haze it caused the fire alarm go off, which in turn caused the fire department to get suited up and makes it way onto our campus to make sure nothing was burning down. I was totally flustered at this point and asked God to help the students and especially me to refocus on tonight. I can look back at tonight and chuckle about it, but at the moment I was more concerned about making sure nothing majorly wrong happened than allowing God to take this time and do what he wanted. 

We always have a choice when the unexpected occurs. We can let it ruin our night and blame the Devil for his mischievousness or look at it from a different perspective and realize that God has it under control. The key is, we need to actually let Him have control of what we're doing so what He wants can be accomplished. Now, I might have certain things I want to see happen during any particular service, but overall...it's about God. It always has been and will always be. All i can say is I'm honored to be a part of what's He's doing at NUNATION.

During our Link Groups a student reminded me just how awesome God's Love is (he wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know, but for what ever reason it impacted me). It moved him to tears when we sang this line from Paul Baloche tune "you gave your life away." It goes like this...

"How glorious is your love. If I could sing forever it's not enough"

Popcorn Breath chapter 1

Chapter 1

For a 6th grader, trying to make it to Mr. Leon's English class from the gymnasium before the 2nd bell rang was near impossible. But Sammy Hendricks was determined he would not be late again. He raced down the 6th grade hallway bumping into students, lockers, knocking lunch menus off bulletin boards and slammed his elbow on Mr. Leon's classroom door. As the 2nd bell rang a very proud and sore Sammy Hendricks took his seat making sure the others around knew he made it on time. He especially made sure Mr. Leon would notice by being the last one in class to sit down. 

As Mr. Leon asked the class to turn to page 37 in their text book a flash of fear came over Sammy Hendricks. He had been in such a hurry to make it to class on time that he had left his English book in the boy's locker room. Now, the thought of a 6th grader going into the boy's locker room when the 8th grade boys were getting ready was classified as crazy, insane and detrimental to a 6th grader's health. Still rubbing his sore elbow, Sammy Hendricks raised his hand and Mr. Leon called on him asking what he needed. Sammy Hendricks explained the problem and the entire class gasped for they knew the chances of poor Sammy Hendricks being seen again after visiting the locker room full of 8th grade boys was pretty slim. Mr. Leon shook his head and pointed to the clock and told him he had five minutes to get back to class with his English book or he would be spending his lunch time learning about prepositional phrases. With this, Sammy Hendricks bursted out of the classroom and into the hallway where he stopped and stared up at the ceiling. He had to quickly think of a way to get his English book without being seen by the merciless 8th graders.

Of all the 8th grade boys, one in particular made it his life's mission to see that Sammy Hendricks' 6th grade year would be a complete disaster. His name... Angler Maddox. No one knew what his real first name was. Even the teachers didn't know. It was a nickname given to him because he was as mean and tough as the angler fish. 

As Sammy stood in the hallway trying to figure out what to do he reached into his front left pocket and pulled out a few kernels of popcorn. This always seemed to help him relax and think a little straighter. He didn't have much time to think so he did what he does best in any situation. Sammy Hendricks was just going to wing it. He stood outside of the locker room doors trying to muster up the courage to quietly go in and get his English book and quickly leave before anyone would notice. As Sammy was about to go in he heard Angler's say, "Well well well. I guess Popcorn Breath forgot his English book. It looks a little dry. I think it needs a drink. What do you say we throw it in the toilet?" Anyone who values their life knows to never disagree with Angler. So, with a S-P-A-L-O-O-S-H Sammy's English book became the property of Angler Maddox. Sammy thought to himself, "What am I going to do now? I can't go back to class without my English book and I can't go in there because Angler will pound my face in. Besides, it's still a bit tender from the egg roll he threw at my nose last week in the cafeteria. What am I going to do?"

Something New

So...for those who know me know that I love to write children's stories. And have been trying to get a children's book published for some time now. All I can say is that the journey has not been easy, but I have learned quite a bit along the way. I had this thought the other day in the shower and thought, "Hmmm, not a bad idea Danny." What I would like to do for the next few weeks, months, how ever long it takes is write a story right here on my blog. This will serve 2 purposes....1) keep me writing so I don't get rusty and 2) to give you a very personal look into how I process my world of imagination. Don't expect a perfectly written story. I'm sure you'll find errors along the way and spots where things are missing, but I do hope you enjoy reading the story and learning a little something new about me. So let's begin with the first few lines of the story "Popcorn Breath"

Chapter 1

For a 6th grader, trying to make it to Mr. Leon's English class from the gymnasium before the 2nd bell rang was near impossible. But Sammy Hendricks was determined he would not be late again. He raced down the 6th grade hallway bumping into other students, lockers, knocking lunch menus off bulletin boards and even banged his elbow on the water fountain. As the 2nd bell rang a very proud Sammy Hendricks slowly took his sit making sure the others around knew he made it on time... especially Mr. Leon....

The Story

Every month I get to hang out with preschoolers and tell them a Bible Story at Abba Street, City Church's preschool ministry. I love getting to share simple, yet meaningful stories from God's Word and watch the kids lean in to hear what is going to happen next (well a few preschoolers are, but most are interested in the piece of fuzz on the floor or making their cool shoes light up by punching the bottom of them, but hey they're preschoolers). This past Sunday, as I was leaving Abba Street, a little blonde headed girl came up to me and said, "Pastor Danny, I liked that story a lot." That made my day!

So I began thinking...

What makes a good storyteller? These are just rough, off the cuff thoughts...

1. Be familiar with the story. In other words, know what's going on.  
2. Make the story come alive. A good storyteller knows how to get into character. 
3. Connect the story. The audience needs to be able to relate and make a connection with the character(s).
4. Have Fun! (no explanation needed)

Some of the stories I remember were ones when my Great Grandma Johnson would talk about the old days and being able to buy candy for a penny, my dad telling me how he used to play baseball card games with his Mickey Mantel cards (he now wishes he would have been a little more gentle on them), when my mom kicked a couple of girls in the face who were holding a newspaper and it left ink prints on their face, my grandpa making up these crazy, funny stores about E.T., and the list can go on forever. 

Stories allow people to get a glimpse of who you are and the things you've experienced. So here it is...share a story with someone this week and watch them lean in waiting to hear what is going to happen next.

Chasing Your Red Rubber Ball Pt3

Picking up from the last entry on the RRB and strength let's continue with the final ingredient when it comes to chasing your RRB. KC says,"Finding your red rubber ball is only half the battle. Once you find it, you must follow it and that takes courage, strength, and imagination (Rules of the Red Rubber Ball p.40-44)." 

[Imagination] I have heard it said, "The world is full of color. It's our imagination the enables us to see them." Well....I actually said that, but it's true. Right? If a person doesn't possess this final ingredient then chasing their goal, dream, or passion is near impossible. It's the imagination that helps a person see beyond their boundaries or limitations. Look at Picasso's paintings...what if he stayed within the lines? 

I'm finding out that the pursuit of the RRB is a life long journey that should be shared with those who love, support, and encourage your chase. It's amazing to watch someone doing the very thing God created them to do. They're happy and full of energy. Sure they get tired, but it's that feel good tired when you lay your head on your pillow at night thinking to yourself, "I just can't wait to get up in the morning!" Sure they get frustrated and wonder why things happened this way and not another, but they bounce right back up taking an opportunity to learn and move forward.

With all that said...discover the courage, strength, and imagination that you already possess and chase your Red Rubber Ball!

Daily Monster 01 by StefanBucher

I love it when you find someone who has an outstanding gift and shares it with the world. If you haven't heard of StefanBucher now you have! Check him out and enjoy the Monsters!!!