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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

I wanted to get some of these thoughts posted before Matt could steal my copyrights…
1. Cracker Barrel ain’t nothin but a flea market that serves breakfast.
2. I have never almost gotten into a fight. I’ve been in a few shoving matches and have determined that many times a confrontation doesn’t escalate until someone steps in to hold someone back. In my shoving match, I had no intentions of doing anything after the first shove. Then another stepped in to hold me back, so I felt obligated to make a lunge at the other guy since someone was there to hold me back. Otherwise, we would have just stared at each other. Watch a baseball fight. A guy may take a few steps toward a pitcher who has just beaned him, but if the catcher steps in then the guy will make a real effort to go after the pitcher.
3. Matt informs me that me being George has nothing to do with my wallet. This coming from a guy who went to a Hanson concert last night with his wife. I actually respect him for this because his wife is a huge Hanson fan and he definitely took one for the team on that one. Fortunately for us, both of our wives love Hootie. At least we agreed on who Susan was.
4. If one of your goals is for your children to not be subjected to bad language then don’t take them to Phillies games. Wow. The beer only makes it worse. I guess it’s like that in lots of places. Philly fan had to be disappointed cause when the Phillies game ended Friday night the Flyers were up 4-2 and had lost 5-4 by the time we got to the car.
5. I am about two hours from where the Pope is today, but I still prefer Virgil Mitchell.
6. Look for a post on Ric Flair’s career next week.
7. Speaking of careers, no word yet on our next step.
8. Once again, I want to thank everyone for their support and kind words of encouragement. They are uplifting. That’s all for today.

Can’t wait until we enact the Fair Tax and April 15 loses it’s aura and aprehension. I’m not holding my breath though.
1. Thanks to everyone who have left encouraging comments about our transition. They are greatly appreciated.
2. Here’s a pic of me and Anthony at the Phillies game Friday night. Going to order a few prints for us.
3. Being gone I missed some of Deborah’s recent posts. She’s seen the light on Oprah and I’ve already taunted her about only being two hours away from a NKOTB concert in Jersey. Stubhub has tickets for $47. A girl broke up with me once over those guys. She was obsessed. Like many other guys, I came around after they were big and now dig their music and am not at all threatened by them.
4. Talked to my boy G-Rich up in Newport News. He’s been pastoring up there for 7 or 8 years now. He’s trying to get us tickets to the prison football league where Michael Vick is playing(actually prison officials have said he is not playing in the league but one can hope).
5. Did I mention Wes and Amanda Boyd had their baby? Grayson James Boyd. Now both of our sons share a name with a Robin.
6. Chi United lost the first softball game of the season last night. I contributed a few wise cracks from the stands and helped eat some chocolate covered peanuts and raisins. These people are not helping my weight loss program.
7. Have you ever been talking to someone when it hits you,”This person is crazy. Legitimatily crazy. Needs to be locked up away from us all crazy. Yet they are here with me sharing their “insights” on life.”
8. One correction-I was not sick as a dog yesterday by definition. I assume from Deb’s definition(comments page) that being sick as a dog only refers to vomiting and stomach issues. In that case, I guess I was sick as a cat with a sinus infection.
9. I need to ask Matt if I can be Kramer instead of George if I give up my Constanza wallet. If he votes no then I’m nominating him for Banya.
10. Is there anything worse than the waiting game when it involves your family’s future?

Well, if you’ve been wondering why my posts have been few and far between the last few weeks it’s because I had some things on my heart that I couldn’t share in a public forum. Until today that is. After much prayer, Karen and I announced to our church yesterday that we would be leaving this summer. I had been talking to my Senior Pastor about it for a while as we prayed through the matter. I informed the local board of administration last week and told most of the teens after we went to the Phillies-Cubs game Friday night. It was a decision Karen and I had been praying about and both clearly felt God was directing us to make. There’s no conspiracy, no one made us mad, Pastor Mike and I don’t hate each other-Karen and I both felt the Lord releasing us from our ministry here and that He would open other doors. We have one opportunity that we are waiting to hear back from. I can’t say much about it because their church is still in the process of interviewing candidates. The people of Chi United have been wonderful. They have helped us move three times since we’ve been here. I love and respect Pastor Mike tremendously because of his friendship and the opportunities he has given me here. God is moving at Chi United and the church is growing. Our middle school group has almost tripled in the last 2 weeks since we split the Middle and High School groups and “jumpstarted” the 5th graders. So, now you know that these things have been weighing heavily on my heart these past 3 to 4 weeks. It’s hard to blog when you can’t share what’s on your heart. The congregation was wonderful yesterday with words of encouragement and wisdom. It is hard to leave such good people. The teens have been great too and I will always cherish my relationships with them. Our work here is not finished and I know God will bring to completion what He has begun. So, pray for my family that God will open the right doors for us and that God will bring the right person to Chi United. That’s all for today. I am sick as a dog(I have nooo idea what that means so I’d love for a little help on the origin of that saying) and I’m heading home to sleep.

Well, we were on vacation for the past week and a half down south. It was good to see family and friends. Thanks to the bankruptcy of Skybus, we had to change our plans and drive back with the whole family. Karen and the kids were going to spend a few more weeks in NC and SC, but now we are all back safe and sound in PA. Please pray for Wes and Amanda Boyd who are expecting their first child this week and Matt and Ashley Smith who are expecting twins and experiencing some complications. These people are great friends and will be great parents. Well, I am so tired and will have a lot more to say later, but I’ve got some catch up work to do.