Archives for April 2008

1. Was watching Cinderella Man the other day with Karen. I totally love this movie. Is there a better movie to watch when you’re a little down? Karen was out of town when I saw it in the theaters. I was the only person in there so I basically rented the place for $6. It was a great experience and its a movie I never grow tired of. The best part is when Lasky uppercuts him and Braddock smiles at him after he staggers a bit.
2. Karate Kid was on AMC last night. Had to stop and watch a bit. How did the song “you’re the best around” not get any radio play? Again, I say Pat Morita was robbed of an Oscar.
3. We are waiting to hear back from some churches and pastors about job opportunities. Nothing concrete yet.
4. Chi United is having our first Missions Conference this weekend with Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, Sin Cadenas, and Dan and Joy Irvine.
5. Matt sent me an amazingly encouraging text message last night. He thinks I’ve got a lot more primal yells left in me.
6. Does anyone know how to track readers in blogger? I just want to make sure no one is stalking me.
7. Finally, Breakout was awesome. Everyday Sunday was there and were very friendly, even to the middle school girls from my church who could only make high pitched screaming sounds in their presence. Did you know they have two new(different) band members. The drummer and bass player are different than the guys on the cover of their last CD. The only bad thing was my 3 guys got robbed in the 3 on 3 tourney. I had to be a mature leader while there and just get them to walk away, but between us, it was a travesty. The score got changed mid-game, the timer buzzed to end the game while we were ahead, and there was a horrible call at the end. It seemed shady cause we got beat by a team from the host church. I know it’s just a game, but I’m more angry about how it affected my boys than anything.
There’s a new poll so check it out and vote.

Many of you have been praying about a job opportunity we had in North Carolina. We found out yesterday(how we found out is a whole other story) that we did not get the job. So, we are continuing to seek the Lord’s will. We know that He has brought us to this place and are open to anything. This is an important step for us as our kids will be starting school soon. We have other options at this point, but no clear leading from the Lord. I’ve got to go home and take a nap before the big lock-in tonight so have a great weekend.

I’m one of those people who hates Facebook applications. They annoy me. Tony Morgan and Cody Thomas(links at right) have both blogged on the subject. However, yesterday I received an invite for the Wrestler application. Being the mark(that’s wrestling fan lingo) that I am I immediately joined and created my wrestler and invited many of my friends to join. This is actually a fun, cool app. I’ve created my wrestler, Hot Lips Heath Hannity, and even started a stable, Elite, Inc. So, I’m looking for wrestlers to fight and to join my stable. Yes, I am a geek. No, I really don’t have time to do all of this, but it is too dang fun to pass up.
1. Still waiting and praying.
2. Yesterday marked a year since this whole journey/moving/third circle deal started. I thought about it a lot more a month ago, but kinda forgot about it since we were awaiting news a job. God has an amazing sense of humor. Never thought I’d go to bed on the same day two years in a row wondering what our next move was. However, I serve a God who loves me and my family. He wants what is best for us. It’s confusing at times, but so is watching your walking stick turn into a snake.
3. With all that in mind, I remember Psalm 118:5-“In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and He answered by setting me free.” Sign me up for that.
4. Hope everyone is having a great week, the Sixers play better tomorrow than they did last night, and that God directs, blesses, and uses us all.

Added blog links for Cody Thomas, Dustin Ahkuoi, Dustin Wilson, and Abram Rampey. Check these guys out. Dustin moonlights with Dem Playa Haterz who you can check out here.
1. These guys have switched to wordpress. I’d love to hear why. I’m slow to change, but my ears are open.
2. Matt told me to check out Twitter. I did and I’m not doing it. I don’t need another site to have to update daily and with Twitter it appears I’ll need to update every time I leave the room. No thanks. And frankly, I don’t care what anyone else is doing every five minutes either.
3. Still waiting on God to open doors and give direction.
4. I don’t use Internet Explorer anymore(Firefox baby!), but some things you have to open good ole IE. Here’s the thing, every time I try to close it I get an error message saying that IE tried to shut down. Then it won’t close and I have to minimize it until I reboot. Even task manager won’t help. So, anyone else having problems like this with Vista or is it my HP laptop(which has it’s own issues)?
5. Have you heard that there will be some crossover between the Hulk and Iron Man movies this summer leading up to a possible Avengers movie in 3 or 4 years? Sounds pretty cool. Iron Man kicks off the summer movie craze next weekend. Then it’s on with Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones, and leading up to July’s The Dark Knight. Check out comingsoon.net for all the latest news.
6. Dude, this video is too funny. I sure am gonna miss her.
7. I’ve got two weeks left to check out this exhibit at the Franklin Institute.
8. I went to bed at 8 pm last night and I’m still tired.
Hope everyone has a happy April 22nd!

1. If one of an employer’s priorities is employee productivity then who invented the “smoke break?” It’s basically employers giving their workers 15 minutes(9 or 10 times a shift maybe) to harm their bodies. Nothing kills employee productivity like death!
2. I got two texts in the past 3 days that lifted my spirits because they were from people I had invested in. Thankfully, God is helping those investments to pay off and I see two people on their way to a life of fulfilling service.
3. I can’t speak for every youth pastor, but nothing discourages me more than getting on facebook or myspace and seeing people from my past or current church engaging in stupid behavior. Whether it’s the inability to express themselves without bad language or the need to take pictures of themselves getting drunk it crushes me.
4. To all you bloggers out there, send me your links so I can check em out and post your stuff.
5. Just read about this. Very interesting stuff. If you’re in ministry and haven’t visited Willow Creek yet then put it on your calendar.
6. Saw Leatherheads with Karen on my birthday. Pretty good, but not $10 a ticket good.
7. The Pennsylvania primary is tomorrow. And then the TV ads will stop. At least until October.
8. We have our district lock-in, Breakout, Friday with close to 30 kids from ChiUnited going. Should be awesome but I need some sleep starting now….

Well today is the big day and for some reason I was thinking about all the jobs I had ever had. So, in no particular order here they are…by the way this will probably be a multi-post day as things come to my mind…
1. Grass cutter
2. Hardee’s cook
3. Tropical Snow southeast distribution
4. Pendleton Tropical Sno Cone Booth Owner/Operator
5. Church janitor-two different churches
6. Youth Pastor-Mauldin, Central First, and Chichester United Wesleyan
7. Summer Intern-Langley Free Baptist Church-Slough, England
8. Summer Intern-Corinth No. 2 Baptist Church(now Bishop Branch Baptist Church)
9. Seminar Room Host-Cincy ’98(Wesleyan Youth Convention)
10. I-Zone Director-LOGOS5(Southern Area Wesleyan Youth Convention)
11. Director of Interactive Activities and Events-Set Apart 07
12. Maximus Graphics co-owner
13. Computer Lab Assistant-SWU
14. Computer Lab coordinator-SWU
15. SWU Ministry Team Member
16. Transportation Coordinator-C3(Wesleyan Youth Convention)
17. Devotional Writer
18. Camp Speaker
19. District Youth President
20. Guest speaker at various churches
21. Grapevine