TOPIC: Summer's almost over...

Yeah, it's true...summer's almost over...I can't believe it's already here...it seems like only yesterday that I thought that I had plenty of time to prepare for the new school year, to get all my youth teaching squared away, to get all my calendars put together, and so on...but school starts next week, which means so does the youth programming at church...it was an insane first part of the summer, but the last couple of weeks have been laid back...maybe a little too much so...I think I got a little complacent and am now feeling a little behind the 8-ball...it will be O.K., though...as a wise man once said, "If you wait until the last minute to do everything, it only takes you a minute to do everything."...now there's some true wisdom...

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)! 

Cool stained glass of Jesus crucified at YS Convention 

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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?...

TOPIC: Shielding my eyes from the light...

Had an interesting "A-ha!" moment at the Ichthus Music Festival...it occurred while we were standing listening to one of the speakers (we couldn't sit - too muddy)...as usual, I was located on the left side of the field as I faced the stage, which meant that the late afternoon sun was in my eyes (I haven't yet learned to go to the other side of the field)...and as I was trying to listen to and watch the speaker, I had to shield my eyes from the sun, because it was getting quite uncomfortable glaring in my eyes...made me think about the fact that Jesus said that he was the light of the world...I wondered how many times I had "shielded my eyes" from Jesus because his presence was making me uncomfortable...the closer and closer we get to Jesus, the more and more aware we become of the darkness in our own lives, and it is tempting to try and shy away from that light shining in trying to remove the darkness...try to not shield your eyes from the light...the outcome is worth the uncomfortableness...

TOPIC: Ichthus, continued...

More Fitzie Awards to dole out...

Thankless Job Award: tie, between the police officers who did their best to keep traffic moving and to keep people from getting hit by cars, and the guys who were sucking poo out of the porta-pots..."We're Number One in the Number Two Business"...

Coolest Merch Available: Trucker cap sold by John Rueben that said, "Oh look, another trucker cap...John Rueben"...not to mention the fact that it was in the hottest pink imaginable...

Biggest Surprise: The 35th Anniversary Celebration was way cool...they started by showing a banner from the very first Ichthus and introducing the wife of the recently departed founder of Ichthus, Bob Lyons...then they shot off fireworks while playing lots of great music over the sound system...very exciting, and surprisingly, very worshipful...

Must go put together a talk for tonight's junior high youth meeting...have a great day...

TOPIC: Ichthus Music Festival...

Well, it's day 1 1/2 of recuperation time from the Ichthus Music Festival...I feel sorry for the six kids that went with us that had to go to school the next day...but not so sorry that I'm not enjoying my time off...this morning, I ate Pop-Tarts, drank coffee, and watched Malcolm in the Middle and Arrested Development that I taped on Sunday...I don't know why Arrested Development is getting horrible ratings...very funny show...anyway, back to Ichthus...it's nice that it's not raining outside and that there is no mud on my feet...it's nice that I don't have to put garbage bags on my feet before getting in a car...needless to say, it was a little messy in Kentucky over the weekend...cars were getting stuck all over the festival; people were mudsliding; and the traffic got so bad that the state threatened to shut the festival down because cars were lining the streets heading into the campground...I just hope that it doesn't give the festival a black eye...they do a great job and the only negative feedback I have ever heard about Ichthus is the weather (unlike Cornerstone)...

It's time to give out the first annual Fitzie Awards for Ichthus:

Show of the Year: tobyMac, hands down...I was telling my wife that one of the things I really like about tobyMac's shows is that it never sounds like one of his albums...you know what I'm talking about; some bands in concert, well, you could have heard the same thing if you had just listened to their CD...not tobyMac...he really mixes things up, and his concerts are just as creative as his CDs...as always, lots of energy, including a breakdancing male backup singer/dancer who did a backflip off of the speaker stack...they did a great medley of old school funk/disco/r&b stuff...the other male backup singer dancer did an amazing human beatbox...the female singer had pipes like you wouldn't believe...all in all a great show...

Runner-Up: For All The Drifters...not only are they better musicians than many of the other bigger bands - like Relient K and Pillar (sorry Emily) - but they also mentioned me on stage...very cool...thanks JT...

Most Deafening Performance: tie between Pillar (for whatever reason, they were about 20 decibels louder than the other hardcore band Kutless) and Mike Bickle, the speaker on Saturday night...I guess he didn't realize that you don't have to yell to have your voice amplified; that's what a microphone is for...

Biggest Disappointment: tie between the weather (lots of rain and mud) and Hannah puking and having to miss her fave band, Switchfoot...poor thing...

Funniest Moment: had to be Emily getting her finger stuck in a bottle of spicy water, Ale-8-1...

Best Speaker: Big Poppa, Rick Grigsby (heh-heh-heh...)...he made us laugh, he made us cry, but more importantly, he showed us how we could worship God even when we don't understand or like what God is allowing to happen to us...

I'm sure more awards will come to me, but I must go bake bread now...do me a favor and look around to see where you see God today...

TOPIC: March Madness...I'm mad...

Already my March Madness bracket is suspect...I picked Charlotte to upset Texas Tech - wrong...I picked Southern Illinois to bump off Alabama - wrong by one point...and I contemplated long and hard about picking Manhattan to knock off Florida, but I ended up going with Florida - again, wrong...must learn to go with the first instinct...thank goodness for Maryland and St. Joe's so far...it has the making for a rough March for me...it's a good thing it's only for fun and that there is no money involved...otherwise, it would be hard to pay the mortgage this month...

TOPIC: Professional athletes...

Man, professional sports are really starting to annoy me...actually, I should say that professional athletes are really starting to annoy me...first there is Jason Kidd...the New Jersey Nets sucked until they got rid of Byron Scott as their head coach...was he that bad of a coach?...I think not...it's pretty obvious that Kidd and the cronies that followed him were tanking games until they got their way and got Scott fired...then there was Allen Iverson pouting and refusing to suit up for a game because he wasn't going to start...baby...and finally, Terrell Owens gets his way by saying that he doesn't want to play for the Ravens - who I can't stand, by the way - so he gets the 49ers to trade him to the Eagles instead...since when were the players the ones who dictated what happens and what doesn't?...I guess we don't need head coaches or general managers anymore...professional sports are declining, but since I have been a sports fan for 34 years, it's hard to break the habit...they are like drugs to me; I would like to kick the habit, but I just don't see it happening...

Thank God for March Madness and other collegiate sports stuff...except the BCS...but that's another post altogether...

TOPIC: My cousin, Tylenol PM, and recent viewings...

So I got a phone call this morning...it was my cousin saying that he saw my blogger online...I thought, "Crud! It's been a while since I have updated it."...he also implied that it was cheesy...jerk...just kidding...it probably is cheesy, but I've never claimed to not be cheesy...it's just a part of being me, I guess...

I'm pretty tired this morning...haven't finished my coffee yet, and not sleeping very well...got a lot of stuff on my mind: planning activities for the youth group, visitors coming, etc....when lots of stuff is going on, I don't sleep well...thank God for Tylenol PM...it is my friend, and I anticipate that we will be getting together tonight...

Saw a great movie the other night: Runaway Jury with John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz (yama-yama!)...great stuff!...I knew it would be because my dad recommended it to me, and if he made it through a whole movie, it must be good...he usually loses interest after 30 minutes or so...rent it if you haven't seen it...

Was glad to see that Jon Peter Whatever-his-last-name-is made it through on American Idol...I don't think he has the talent to make it through to the end, but he sure is quirky and fun to watch...we'll see if he gets through tonight...if he weren't in it, I wouldn't be nearly as interested...

Ummmm, so have a great day...