Dan Gould

Category: Dan Gould

  • Road Trip

    Last night the family made a trip to Dallas to hang out with Tyler and Jenn.  Tyler serves as our Student Worship Coordinator and Jenn is a first year teacher.  It has been fun getting to know them.  Tyler is doing such a good job at Fusion.

    After the long drive, (I respect what Tyler does even more knowing how far he drives to invest in our students) we had dinner at Royal Thai.  I must say, that the food was amazing!  Probably the best Chicken Fried Rice I have ever eaten.  The place reminded us of our favorite restaurant in Warrensburg called Siam. I ordered the Pad Thai Chicken and Stephanie had the Mongolian Beef.  The food was great, the company was awesome, the boys behaved, and it was fun just to get away and have dinner with family and friends!

    Now we just have to find a Thai food place this good closer to us, any suggestions?

  • Bust a Move – Jackson Style

    Jackson has been working on his dance skilz.  We happened to catch a short clip on video of it this weekend.  Here is his debut, enjoy!!!

  • 32 oh man!!!! (not old man)

    Yep, its official . . . today I turn 32!  Hard to believe I know!  So I thought I would do 32 random facts about me:

    1. My wife is my best friend!
    2. I love my boys and they teach me so much about life and God!
    3. I have never craved Ice Cream.  I will eat it but don’t really like it that much!
    4. I like warm weather!
    5. It excites me to see people come to know Christ and then experience Him regularly!
    6. I love working with teenagers, and Believe God can do great things through them!
    7. I have a black belt in Taekwondo, so you better watch out!
    8. I use to play the drums and thought I was going to be a band teacher!
    9. Football is my favorite sport!  However I like playing Volleyball and Softball also!
    10. I don’t understand soccer but am learning it because of Josiah!
    11. Ephesians 3:20 is one of my many favorite verses in the Bible along with James 1:22, Romans 12:1-2, Hebrews 12:1-2, Psalm 37:4
    12. Romans 8 has become my new favorite passage of Scripture and the book of James kicks my butt, but is still my favorite!
    13. I like to play racing games at the arcade (Dave and Busters)  My wife tries to win but . . .
    14. I like riding dirt bikes and look forward to doing that with my boys!
    15. Stephanie says I am no fun to play Volleyball with because I am so good and competitive! (that’s the way I interpreted it)
    16. I like to watch baseball at the field not on TV. Go Cardinals!
    17. I still watch Wrestling on TV! (sad i know)
    18. LOST and The Office are our favorite TV shows with Friday Night Lights and American Idol being close behind!
    19. If I had a million dollars . . . don’t have the first clue how I would spend it.  Would definitely pay off debt, save, and make sure my family is taken care of!
    20. My first car was a red Firebird!
    21. My first job as a teenager was as a Painter, Mowing Yards, Mechanic, and working at McDonald’s!
    22. If I had more time I would, read more, write more, spend more time with family and friends!
    23. One of my favorite memories as a kid was going to Disney World and riding dirt bikes with my dad and brother!
    24. Jamaica still holds a special place in my heart!  Have been there for 4 mission trips and Honeymoon!
    25. Blue is my favorite color!
    26. I have become a Mizzou football fan and will always like the KC Chiefs!
    27. Springfield MO has the best Chinese Restaurants.
    28. I like to be on the water! (wave runners are my favorite, but boats are cool also)
    29. Stephanie and I went on a 7 day cruise on our honeymoon!
    30. I drive a jeep and wish I had the money to deck it out more than just the tires!
    31. I use to Golf, it’s been awhile but want to play again soon!
    32. I love my life! Everyday is a gift and an opportunity to experience God through the challenges and victories that each day brings!

    Wow, I made it.  I got stuck at about number 8 but was able to pull it through!

  • Josiah aka Womanizer

    So, today was valentine party day at MDO where Josiah goes to school.  On Tuesday Night Stephanie had Josiah put his name on all of his classmates Valentine cards.  As he was filling them out he asked if he could give one to Dani “his girlfriend”.  Dani was the girl that Joe played with all last year.  They were in the same class but this year they are not.  So this morning, he went to the other class and gave her the Valentine present that he had picked out for her.  Her eyes got real big when she saw him and saw the little heart shaped box of chocolates, Josiah got ready to walk away and she gave him a hug! It was a proud moment for the Gould boys.  Josiah was on cloud 9 and I was so proud of him!

    When I picked him up, Dani came into his classroom and gave him a special valentine.  Again it ended with a hug.  At this age it really cute and so innocent . . . I just hope I am not training him to be the womanizer that Brittany Spears describes in her song but a young man that will treat girls and women like a daughter of the King.

    Here are some pics of him putting his classmates gifts together!

  • You’re my Father

    Today as I was getting Joe ready for school (he was complaining about going, he’s only 4, we have a long way to go at this rate) he asked if I could give him a piggyback ride up to his room to get some clothes.  I was going to say no but instead, I asked him why?  He answered without hesitation and said, “Because you are my Father!”

    The moment he said that my heart was filled with joy and instantly my mind changed from saying, “no” to saying, “get on and lets go!”

    At first I thought it was no big deal.   But as I drove to the church today, I couldn’t stop thinking about how big that statement was and how it relates to my relationship with God.

    Josiah had no reservation about asking me for what he wanted.  In his world I am his dad and why wouldn’t I give him a piggyback ride?  It’s kinda a no brain-er.  But then when I heard him acknowledge me as his father it made my heart swell with joy and I wanted to give him what he was asking for!

    So here’s the lesson.  I have a Heavenly Father that wants to bless me more than I could ever try to bless my son, all I need to do is ask.

    Why ask . . . Because He is my Father!!

  • What a Day – Family Fun, Cussing, and a Seizure

    Yesterday started as any normal Friday does, everyone sleeping in a little, before the day get off to a start.  Stephanie had the pleasure of having lunch with Kristy who has been a huge encouragement and blessing to our family, while I had the pleasure of hanging out with the boys at Chick-fil-A FOREVER.  No it wasn’t that bad.  The boys had so much fun!

    From there we went to visit one of our students in the hospital.  If you will join us in praying for Brittany Stene, that would be awesome.  Brittany for the last year has been battling cancer and now has to battle a blood clot in/near her heart.  Praying with and hearing their story made Jackson seem very healthy.  Just reemphasizes that everyday is a gift from God, and one that should be cherished, enjoyed, and put to good use making the most of the opportunities presented.  I don’t know all that is in store for Brittany, but i do know that God is growing her faith and using her to grow the faith of her mother as well.

    Since we were in North Dallas, we decided to make our 2nd visit to North-park Mall.  This time was much different than the first visit in the fact that you could park, and walk through the mall peacefully.  We ate at PF Changs which has become one of our families favorite restaurant.  The boys love the chicken fried rice.  As we walked the mall, we did hit up some stores.  I found a good deal on some sweat pants that I wanted to try on before I bought them.  I take Josiah to the dressing room with me and as we are talking I am trying on the sweat pants, without missing a beat Josiah looks at my sweat pants and says, “Dad, you can’t buy those they are to f****** long!” . . . . . . . . yeah, that’s what I did also.  I thought maybe I had not heard him correctly so I asked him to repeat what he said!  Yep, he said exactly what I thought he said.  I know what you’re thinking, Yes, I am a pastor, and yes, he is a pastors kid.  I told him that’s a bad word and we don’t talk like that.  I tried to get him to tell me where he heard that but he couldn’t answer.  So, we are in the process of evaluating how and where he could be picking up language like this!

    Once we got home, we put the boys down for bed and then Jackson decided to have a seizure.  This is the first time that I felt like I knew what to do.  Jackson’s seizure only lasted for 3-4 minutes, it’s still 3-4 minutes to long.  After his seizure was over we took him to the ER at Centennial where he had another smaller seizure as we were walking in.  The doctors were great.  They put him on oxygen and gave him some Valium.  After 3 hours we were able to go home.  We don’t know what the nexts steps are.  Jackson has had a seizure every month at the first of the month now the last three months.  We thought we were one the up and up, but I guess we now have more questions that still need to be answered.  The Good news, Jackson is back to his normal self and already getting in to things he is not supposed to.  Please continue to pray for us as we continue the journey of finding out why he is having repeated seizures and/or get his medication under control!

  • Jesus Loves ME this I know . . .

    Do you remember the song?  When Josiah was real little, this is the song that I would sing to him as I was putting him to sleep, or trying to calm him down.  Last night Jackson was having a terrible time trying to go to sleep.  I think he has some teeth coming in that is really causing him to be fussy.  So as I laid in bed holding him I started singing Jesus loves me. Within seconds, Josiah who was laying next to us, started singing also.  We must have sung the song several times and each time I was reminded of how deep and true those word are.  It made me think of the random text that a student sent me and others last night that said , Jesus love you!  Not only did I sing the song to Jackson to calm him down, I needed those words and the reminder yesterday also and it brought peace and comfort to me as well!

    Today is a new day, remember that Jesus love YOU!

  • Lessons for a 4 year old: Stealing is Wrong

    Today, we took Jackson to get some test run and while we were there Josiah played with the toys in the waiting room like always.   No big deal right!  Well when we got home I happened to notice that Josiah had a car from the doctors office.  When I saw the car I asked him how it got home with us?  He said, “I put it in my pocket because I wanted it.”  As I looked at him, I was saddened that he would do this, but knew it was a teaching moment.  We talked through why it was wrong for him to take the car and how we needed to take the car back after Christmas.  I know there will need to be some follow up conversations because after he figured out we weren’t taking the car back until after Christmas his next question was, “well can I play with it until we give it back?”

    Being a Dad is a big responsibility.  As our boys grow up it is going to cause us to really watch how we raise them by what we model, and teach with our actions and words.  I don’t believe Josiah thought anything was wrong with him taking the car, but the lesson is one that I would rather teach earlier than later.

  • Friday Frenzy

    After a rough start we ended up having a great day yesterday as a family.  We took Jackson to an allergist to rule out or find out if he was allergic to anything that could be causing him to have pneumonia so often.  If you have never taken your child to an allergist be thankful, after the pokes were finally done he did ok!  We found out the he has no allergies but the things that were high were dogs and cats.  We have both!  The doctor said we didn’t have to get rid of them though, that was was good news.

    The rest of the afternoon was filled with lunch, a little shopping (very little praise Jesus), a haircut for Stephanie (is that what women call it) and then off to see Santa.

    I have to say, the Village at Allen has the best place for  Santa, filled with, real reindeer, elves and a large fake Christmas tree!  There are several place to take other photos also.  Next year we will go here to take Christmas Card pics unless we use the tree at Grace.  Lucky for us it was in the 70’s yesterday so it was perfect to be outside and wait in line to have pictures taken with the Jolly old Man.  If we were to do it again, we would go a night so you don’t see the cars in the background through the fireplace.  You probably don’t notice it but that what happens when you have a perfectionist mentality!   We ended the day at Pete Pipers Pizza, which is like Chuck E Cheese and got home to open a package full of Christmas Gifts for the boys from my MOM, Grandma Sheila!

    We are getting ready for Christmas, family coming in, and Christmas less than a week away.  I have been asked to be Joseph for the Nativity this year so I have been growing out the facial hair, (I hate it).  I have my first rehearsal today at 1pm.  Hate the beard but excited to do it!

    Here are some pics from our adventures.

  • A Sad Celebration

    Today was Josiah’s Christmas Party at Grace.  This year has been a hard year for him given all the things that have been happening around him.  The party was filled with Cake, juice, presents and parents.  The kids had such a good time.  Afterward, Mrs. Janet passed out gifts, I expected a little gift but Josiah walked away with a little Bible, a transformer, and a snow globe Manger.  Mrs. Janet and Mrs. Erin really went out of their way to make this party special for each kid.  Thank you so much!!!!

    However, today marked the last day that Josiah will have Mrs. Janet as his teacher.  He has taken it really well so far, and even though she was dying on the inside she held her composure today.  It had to be hard for her because her love for these kids oozes out of her.  As a parent, I have seen Josiah learn so much just from Mrs. Janet’s way of teaching, especially the Bible Stories!  The next teacher has some big shoes to fill.  Mrs. Janet will be greatly missed!

    Thank you Mrs. Janet for your faithful service to Grace Community Church and the “Funky Frogs”!!!