Tuesday, May 25, 2004

TOPIC: Idol...

Who will it be? Fantasia or Diana? We'll find out tonight...my buddy thinks it's all about Fantasia, but her attitude drives me a little batty...sure, Diana is all bubbly and bubble-gum, but man does she have pipes!...anyway, we'll see what happens...

I love this town (Cleveland)! Posted by Hello

Cool stained glass of Jesus crucified at YS Convention Posted by Hello

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

TOPIC: Fun game...

Here's a fun game if you are looking for some time to kill and are with some music-literate friends...it's called The Band Game, for lack of a better name...how to play it: one person comes up with the name of a band or recording artist...the next person has to come up with another band or recording artist whose name starts with the last letter of the previous one...so if someone said Brian Setzer, the next person could say Ray Charles, to which the next person could respond with Sly and the Family Stone, etc...the word 'The' does not count as a 'T' name, so The Beatles would be a 'B' band...the 'Y' Rule may need to go into effect after a while...after exhausting the few 'Y' names that there are (Yo-Yo Ma, Yoko Ono, etc.), you can then start using the next to last letter in the name to start the next one...you may need to use it also with 'X'...just played it for two days straight with some co-workers...much fun...

Friday, May 14, 2004

TOPIC: Lazy days...

It's nice to just have some lazy days...my wife is at work, and today is my day off...I got up late (8:30am - not too late) and cooked a huge breakfast...then I got online to send an e-mail and pay some bills...I have ESPN Radio on in the background and I'm still in my PJs...it's lovely...I have some chores to do today, but they will still be there in a little while when I get to them...

Thursday, May 13, 2004

TOPIC: New yummy food...

Have you tried French Toast Crunch cereal?...how about French Toast Pop-Tarts?...wow, both are really yummy...and when you toast the Pop-Tarts, it makes the whole house smell really tasty...
TOPIC: Kick in the stomach...

Ever have one of those days...man, I had one yesterday...I was majorly bummed because not as many kids signed up as I wanted for some events we had planned...it put me in a funk...then I had some computer issues and lost some of a document I had put a couple of hours into...it was not a good day at all and I was feeling it...then I went to our midweek worship service...that went a long way toward straightening my attitude out...it reminded me that I am always teaching our kids to not look at your problems but to look at Jesus...I was so not doing that...it feels like a kick in the stomach when you realize that you were not listening to your own words...the worship time was awesome, especially the part led by the little kiddos...and as always, communion focused me...it was great to again focus on Jesus after that...felt much better on the way home...

Sunday, May 09, 2004

TOPIC: Great worship...

The music in our church service this morning was awesome!...one group song and one special song had the same theme...Forever by Chris Tomlin was one song, and Emmanuel was the other...both have the theme of God being with us...it's good to be reminded that God didn't just create us and leave us to fend for ourselves...He also didn't create us and simply abandon us when we screwed up...instead, He loves us even though we screw up all the time, and He wants to be involved in our lives on a daily, minute-by-minute basis...all we have to do is let Him...He won't force Himself on us, but if we call on Him, He will respond and be a part of our lives...now that's good news!...
TOPIC: Garage(less) Sale...

Just had a fundraiser yesterday for our youth group...it was a Garage(less) Sale (since we don't have a garage)...people from the church donated all sorts of crud and we sold it, with the proceeds going to the mission trips we will take this summer...went quite well...made over $2,500.00...I'm not gonna' complain about that...I do have to say that garage salers are absolute nuts!...we weren't going to start the sale until 8:00am, but we had people scoping stuff out and claiming it as early as 6:30am...the truck wasn't unloaded and the stuff didn't even have prices on it yet!...finally, by 7:30am, I was kneeling in our parking lot with a line of 20-30 people making up prices and just selling stuff...it was insane!...but it made money, so that's all that matters...

Thursday, May 06, 2004

TOPIC: Best series finale ever...

They had a web poll on ESPNRadio.com today...might still be there...the question was, "What was the best season finale ever on TV?"...not surprisingly, they didn't have my fave listed...it was a little-watched show in the 80's called Sledgehammer...I say little-watched because my best friend, Joe, and I were the only ones who watched it, I think...anyway, in the season finale - the season that they were in danger of cancellation - Hammer accidentally set off a nuclear bomb...the caption read "To be continued?" since they didn't know if they would be renewed...they were...the following season, they recapped by showing what happened at the end of the previous season...then they said, "Tonight's episode took place three years prior to these events," so you never found out what happened to Hammer of his cohorts...absolutely hilarious and clever...nice way to get renewed...

Runner-up would have to be Newhart or M*A*S*H*...
TOPIC: Youth ministry...

Just finished yet another book on youth ministry...good one by Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall called The Seven Checkpoints...it was a good read and very practical...here is the problem I am having...there are so many books out there telling you how to do youth ministry that's its hard to know which one is right...they don't generally give you a specific gameplan, but they tell you things like:

-You need a purpose statement
-There are seven things that each student needs to get out of your ministry
-You need this curriculum that will span the Bible and relevant topics over the six years you have them
-Today's youth ministry should be about postmodernism and should reflect vintage Christianity

Which is right?...or maybe the question should be, how much of each is right?...I would love to find the best way to reach the youth in my area...and I know there is no silver bullet that will guarantee 'success,' but it would help if they all got on the same page...I guess it's a matter of trial and error and finding out what works for the kids I get...I'll let you know how it turns out...

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

TOPIC: Friends...

On Thursday night, Friends will air it's last episode...quite frankly, it's about time...don't get me wrong; I was once a big fan of Friends and still watch it occasionally...but it seems to have run its course...I haven't watched religiously in several years now, but every time I turn it on or see a commercial for it, it seems that Ross and Rachel have some sort of romantic / sexual tension thing going on...enough already!...move on and get healthy, for goodness sakes...and how in the world can these people work not very good paying jobs and afford an awesome apartment in NYC?...the average apartment goes for a million dollars!!!...and the show probably has done more harm for the morals in America than shows like The Sopranos and Sex in the City...why?...because their relativistic morals and sexuality is seen as funny and acceptable, rather than over the top like the other shows...if you can get someone to laugh at immorality and make it look normal and O.K., it's a slippery slope after that...I won't be too sad to see Friends go...but I will be watching on Thursday just to see how everything turns out...

Monday, May 03, 2004

TOPIC: Heroes...

You want a hero?...look no further than Pat Tillman...here's a stud who stood up for his convictions...a pro football player who left a LOT of money on the table so he could go serve our country in the war against terrorism...he had been playing for the Arizona Cardinals when 9/11 happened...he was so moved by this tragedy that he gave up his career in football to serve in the military...how easy would it have been to live the good life while playing a game he had loved?...very...but he chose the hard road and ultimately paid the price of his life, dying last week...the thing that most stood out to me in the life of this man was the fact that he never talked about what he was doing...he could have gotten on his soapbox and said, "Hey! Look at me! I'm a great American because I'm giving up millions of dollars to join the military. What a great guy I am!"...but he didn't...he did it quietly...he just served and gave his life for something he believed in...are you?...