behind the scenes in the life of scott burks

check out the snow on those mountains!



























i spend a lot of time on a plane . . . thought you might want to know what it looks like . . . planes are cool

what to do

i don't know about you but there are moments in life when i find more questions than i do answers. and, at moments like that when questions seem to flood my mind, all i want is for them to go away. they drive me crazy!!!!!

but . . . just like yours, they don't. they hang around. they hang around. they nag away, and at least for me, they only get louder until i stop and listen to that still small voice that is God's. until i hurry up and stop, they nag. until i sit down and really list to God, they will drive me crazy!!!!!!

why does it take me so long to stop and listen? i am so stubborn.

anyway . . .tonight is a question filled night. so . . . what will i do? gripe. complain. call a friend. bug my wife. be short with my kids. all options . . . bad options

i'll try to go sit and listen!!

"call to me" . . . God says . . . "call to me and i will tell you great and might things you do not know."

maybe i will go call on God . . . i know . . . not maybe. i will go call on God!

peace

Compelled

Tonight I am getting ready to go down to Houston and interview a few students for ymnow. I can't wait!!

I can't wait for many reasons, but the biggest is I want to help people understand students so they can help those students know God!! My student pastor introduced God to me when I was 16 and my life was changed forever. The course of my entire existence throughout all of eternity was changed largely due to a youth pastors love and knowledge of me.

So, if you read this tonight, I would appreciate your prayers for the filming tomorrow . . . If you get this after tonight, look for our videos on ymnow soon!!!!!!

I pray you are compelled to know students — and that you can effectively play your part in getting their attention!

sb

PASSION 08

WOW. Not really sure how else to say it.

6000 mostly college students, they brought thousands and thousands of socks and towels for the dfw shelters to pass out, the students filled up a ryder truck with clothes (clothes they brought with them for the weekend) to give to the students at union university, they gave thousands of dollars to bloodwater mission and several other causes . . . the night was absolutely incredible. filled with great teaching, worship and prayer!!!! simple church.

this is the kind of church i want to be a part of. i want to be a part of a movement like this more than i ever have before. i have longed for it . . . tasted it a couple of times in my life . . . but this is what i want my girls and my family to be around.

it was a worship gathering focused on GOD. imagine that. please hear my heart in this. but i think churches should be known for what they say about GOD and nothing more.

Friends

I had the incredible chance to stop in and see some of my old friends from Muskogee last weekend. It was so much fun. We talked about how God packed in so much life into just a short period of time. I love you guys!

Bill and Steve! Its great to see the Pig champion runner-up. Thanks for stopping by! Bill, your kids are so cool. Steve, I can't wait to see where God takes you and your fam. Stacy, as always, you are fantastic! I am amazed at your kids and it was so much fun hanging out with you again. Andy — you are the best. I really want to buy your jeep and I want you to come see us in Arlington real soon! Shirley. What can I say? You are truly one of my favorite people. Hang in there, you look great. Betty, no doubt, one of the coolest people I know! Mark, I am so glad things are going so well for you right now.

I can't believe I got to teach in the Jefferson building again.

As I reflect, it makes me a little sad on one hand and excited on the other. God is in control!

Hope to see you guys again soon.

A new day and not so new dream

I dream about a day when God is first in my life. I long for the life that makes Him so far above every little petty thing that seems to consume so much of my time and energy. I long for a day when I am so far below Him . . . more often than not, I put myself first. I also long for a day when large groups of people run after God. I seek, often desire to see huge groups of people sprinting after God with everything they have. I want that for me. I want to run after Him.

He is so worthy! His glory is greater than anything, anywhere. He is truly the one who started everything in motion and he has no equal! May I praise Him and only HIm. He is the beginning. He has no no end. He is eternal!

Run after God. Lets run after God. Lets really run after God. I mean lets give it all we have and chase Him like He is life, because, He is the only life. He is the only life!

As Paul, the great lover of God once said, "He is the creator of all things. In Him all things hold together."

I pray its a new day for me. The dream is old. Realizing the dream will be new.

A great verse for the new year

“And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up” Galatians 6:9 Living Bible

Happy New Year

I love new beginnings. I've already made goals, started a new workout, organized the house, balanced the bank accounts, set a new direction for the year and started making plans for the Burks family trip this summer. I love new beginnings.

For some reason I find myself a little more excited about this new beginning than normal. I believe 2008 is going to be the beginning of a very exciting time in mine and my family's life. I pray we are much closer to God and each other as 2008 ends.

A Prayer :: Lord, let your will be done in my life this year. May you open my eyes to your great plan and may you please lead me through this year. I want, really more than anything, to be yours and only yours this year. You are so good to me. I love you.

GOD . . . not impact

The impact God has planned for us does not come when we are pursuing impact . . . it occurs when we are pursuing God.

The most important is not the work I can do for God . . .
The most important thing I can do to make God the most important thing.

I want to start each day on my knees and in His Word. I want to fear Him more than I fear man. I want to live a life that is focused on Him and not focused on the next ministry project I'm going to take on.

A Christmas to Remember

Its December and the Christmas pressure is here in full force! What do we do with all our lists, parties, and family trips? How do we stop long enough to get it? How do we really get what this time of year is all about? I want to. I want this year to be a Christmas to remember.

I want this year to rank up there with those year's where wonder filled my life. I clearly remember being told a story when I was a kid that at midnight all the animals around the world would bow before God in worship. I believed it. I wanted so bad to see it. I wanted go to a farm and see horses and cows on their knees!

I remember driving around the neighborhood looking for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Seeing Rudolph fly through the North Texas Sky was routine to me as I grew up.

I long for wonder! . . . I'll start with God and His Word.

So . . . with that simple little confession . . . I'm off. Not sure where I'm going, but the trip is to find what's worth remembering.

One more thing, feel free to jump in and help. A guide on this little trip would be great.

THINK

Click the picture if you have trouble reading it.

teenagers are cool

i love students. i love everything about them. i think they are funny. i think they are smart. the way they live life is awesome.

i love this pict.

Talk Less Do More

talking makes me tired. i made a decision that from this day on, i'm going to talk less and do more. i know what to do. i don't need to be reminded. i don't even want to be reminded any longer. i just want to do what i already know i'm supposed to do.

spider outside my window

i took this picture today . . . its outside my office. if you notice in the middle of the pict there is a large spider . . . look for the black dot. i think its the same spider that was with me last year. he's in the same place. do spiders live in one place year after year? if they do, i would like to be more like a spider :)

life

my dad passed away a few months ago. he was by far one of my biggest fans. he was married to my mom for 59 years, the father of 5 kids, a faithful follower of Christ and a good employee.

to say i miss him is the understatement of the year.

you know the hard thing for me is that i was just not ready for this. i thought i was. i expected it to be very different than it is. how do you prepare for the death of someone you love and care for? how? you have months to prepare for new life that enters your family. you see your wife's body change and then one day you go to the hospital and you have a new life in your life. but with death, it just happens.

i would love to hear my dad's voice again. i would love to go the lake and ski with him just one more time. i would love to walk on a baseball field one more time and look up into the stands and see him sitting there next to my mom. i try to hear his voice and i can't. oh how i want to hear my dad call out my name.

Broken Legs

my daughter bailey broke her leg a few weeks ago. i must say that seeing her walk through the house and struggle to get around is killing me. its one of those things that is a bit hard for me to understand about life.

i don't want her to be hurt. i don't want her to suffer. i would gladly switch places with her. it hurts me to see her hurt.

i am sure she will be fine. they tell me that's what trampolines are for.

Marko and Tic at YS St. Louis

checkout marko and tic at ys st louis . . . pretty fine cheerleaders . . . watch the video now, its loaded at the top right corner of my blog.

Parkour

You got to see this. . . i was watching E60 tonight on ESPN. this stuff is amazing.
Read the following slice taken from the american parkour website
The kid in the picture is jumping from one building to another . . . not on a board!

What is Parkour?


Parkour is the art of moving through your environment using only your body and the surroundings to propel yourself. It can include running, jumping, climbing, even crawling, if that is the most suitable movement for the situation. Parkour could be grasped by imagining a race through an obstacle course, the goal is to overcome obstacles quickly and efficiently, without using extraneous movement. Apply this line of thought to an urban environment, or even a run through the woods, and you're on the right path. Because individual movements could vary so greatly by the situation, it is better to consider Parkour as defined by the intention instead of the movements themselves. If the intention is to get somewhere using the most effective movements with the least loss of momentum, then it could probably be considered Parkour.

What isn't Parkour?

Parkour is not acrobatics, tricking, stunts, recklessness, or jumping off high objects for no reason. It is not any movement or activity that doesn't fit in the above description "What Parkour Is". It is also not "What you make of it" ... it is predefined and has a purpose, if something doesn't suit that purpose, it is not Parkour.

Fast

it's fast. life that is. i just got back from the national youth workers convention in st louis, spent a couple of days at home in arlington, and i'm off to birmingham in the morning. i love what i get to do, just wish i had a little more time to just sit still. a little more time with my wife and girls would be nice too.

i did read something really cool this morning. i found it in the little book of Amos. Amos 5. the message translates it like this, "so seek God and live! you don't want to end up with nothing to show for your life." i love it when i find stuff like this in scripture.

ok . . . i'm off . . . gotta get back to it