Category: hmm… thoughts

  • Dinner with the Bailey’s

    Kristen and I are having one of those fun weeks that is also really busy. Other than Dave, we’ve not had many visitors since our moving to San Diego. That has been both good and bad. Good in that we’ve been forced to find new friends… and we’ve been doing that. Bad in that we miss so many of our friends.

    Yesterday we had a chance to catch up with Bill and Shannon Bailey. Back in fall 2007, Kristen and I had the chance to spend a week on their boat, the Pacific Catalyst. It was a great week of fun and relaxation for us as we explored the San Juan Islands. The San Juan’s are a group of islands that create the border between Canada and the United States in northern Washington. During summers they lead adventure cruises in Alaska but in the spring and fall they like to lead trips near their home in Friday Harbor. We shared hilarious memories, including Shannon’s attempt to get me into a sea kayak. I fit, barely. As Bill described, my belly formed a perfect seal which didn’t need the kayaks skirt to keep out water. And I’m pretty sure you could hear a suction “pop” when I got out a couple hours later.

    Bill and Shannon are some of the most hospitible people I’ve ever met. You know someone has the gift of hospitality when they make you feel completely comfortable in their space without effort. Within an hour on their boat you feel at home.

    We felt at home in their company about 8 seconds after they came to the YS offices yesterday. We tooled around the offices (They’ve been youth workers forever and have known YS and the conventions for about two forevers.) then we headed out for an early dinner at Casa de Pico in La Mesa. It was fun to re-connect with them and linger over dinner, not wanting it to end. We caught up on life, ministry, YMX, and shared some stories. We even connected their lives to the life of a staff member at our church. (I love that small world feeling in the Christian world!) It was one of those nights that Kristen and I really needed.

    We came home feeling very normal when we’ve not felt normal in a while. There are times when we feel like we’ve been in San Diego for a while and everything seems routine and as if we fit in. But the last few weeks we’ve felt very much like foreigners on a vacation that lasted too long. Tough to explain that emotion. But if you’ve ever moved and had to start over in life… I think you’ll understand. San Diego seems like home at the end of a long trip when we come home. But we have a long way to go until we can comfortbly declare “we’re from San Diego.”

    Perhaps that what was so odd living in Romeo? We felt like we were “from Romeo” almost immediately and maintained that small town pride as long as we lived there.

    At the end of our time with Bill and Shannon we said our goodbyes and made plans to meet up again this fall in Washington. I hope we get to spend more time with them on the Catalyst and I hope we get to see orcas this time!

  • PETA Rebrands Fish as Sea Kittens

    Yes, PETA is trying to rebrand fish as sea kittens. You can’t make this stuff up! It seems that kids game sites have gotten so out-of-hand that one of the kookiest of leftist bunches decided they needed one too. What’s next, KKKids.com? (Uh, that seems to be a movie site in Japan or something!)

    Here are some sea kittens we made.

    I kid you not. Paul wanted to be a Tuna because they taste so good. I have to admit, I like some tuna sea kitten just as much as I like Tuna fish.

  • Holiday Break redux

    After a refreshingly long break I head back to the office today. The grind. The gig. Workski. The ole j-o-b. OK, none of those really apply since I enjoy my job quite a bit. It’s also a day when I crank it all back up. I’ve got blog posts to publish, the podcast to push out, Facebook messages to send, emails to reply to, and a lot more.

    So what did I do with my two weeks off?

    – Lots of rest. I think I went to bed early and tried my best to sleep in every day.

    – Plenty of reading. I’m about halfway done with my third novel, The Hour I First Believed. About 175 pages into it I finally got hooked. I’m hoping to get that one done soon.

    – Took a serious look at our money situation. I think it’s always good to start off the New Year with a clear look at what we need to do in that department.

    – Kristen and I worked together a lot. I got a taste of her life as she headed off to work and I stayed home with the kiddos. That was awesome. We built and launched Beyond The Zoo, and yesterday I get a good jump on her blog redesign.

    – We hosted Dave for a week. It was a good visit. We did a lot, we didn’t do a lot.

    – Watched a lot of football and TV. The surprise came a few nights ago when we watched Michael Douglass in King of California.

    That’s really about it! It was nice to slow down. It was awesome to spend so much time with the kids.

    And now, it’s time to get ready for work. Gotta go.

  • Yoshimoto Cube: I want one!

    For only $50 you can buy me one.

  • Congrats to Notre Dame

    On December 24th Notre Dame Football brought home their first bowl victory since January 1st, 1994. After checking the record books… I was a senior at Clay High School in South Bend the last time the won a bowl game.

    It was an impressive waxing of an offensive heavy Hawaii team. This team of freshmen and sophomore players gave a glimmer of hope for next season. Jimmy Clausen was unstoppable. He had 300 yards  and 3 TDs in the first half. At Notre Dame that is unheard of. Without touching the ball in the 4th quarter he finished the day with 5 TD passes and 401 yards. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that Hawaii’s pass defense ranked 118 out of 119 Division 1 teams.

    For fans, there were some reasons to be excited about this game.

    #1 Not a word about the Charlie Weis death watch. With this win, you won’t hear that again until their first loss of the 2009 season.

    #2 The team had fun. In Weis’s early years he relished in having his team wound tight and nervous. I think we finally are seeing a new philosophy breaking in. These are college kids in Hawaii so let them have fun!

    #3 Jimmy Clausen proved he wasn’t Ron Paulus. (Notre Dame’s Quarterback coach) Like Paulus, Clausen was highly recruited and everyone assumed he was the next Joe Montana. Paulus was extremely talented but never lived up to the hype. Clausen finally showcased his talents in a big way. Now we need to know if he can do that next year at Michigan or at home against USC?

    #4 They broke the losing streak. Sure, it was against lowly Hawaii. But the Warriors were favored to win in their home stadium. Notre Dame not only won but they completely dominated this game. This is a great lead in to 2009. And when they get to a big bowl next year they won’t have the record over their heads.

    #5 It was clear they needed to get better in the secondary. The defensive front four and linebackers are very solid for next year. They’ve long struggled to have a decent secondary… maybe it’s time to convert some tall offensive players?

    #6 I love how exciting the special teams have been. Blocked punts, long kickoff returns, ridiculous speed returning punts. Let’s hope Weis keeps putting first string players out there on special teams.

    #7 Keep Weis in the box. Just like Lou Holtz was a better coach without the headset on, Charlie Weis is a better play caller from the press box.

    #8 The tide is turning in South Bend on Charlie Weis. I’ve heard that Weis is doing some things in the area to endear himself to the locals. The Bend is still a small town… if you don’t manage the politics the politics will manage you.

    #9 Great for recruiting. I’ll presume that some high school kids, sitting in their living rooms, could envision themselves having fun at a bowl game and scoring lots of touchdowns for Notre Dame. Playing on Christmas eve had few advantages… but being the only game on during a terrible TV night was one big one.

    #10 I think the coaching staff should stick with the Rick Warren costumes. Hawaiian shirts at the opener against Nevada?

    Bonus: Looking at the 2009 schedule two things pop out. First, they have a favorable schedule. Second, until October 31st they don’t go more than 4 hours from home.

  • If Santa were a Calvinist

    If Santa were a Calvinist, we’d all be on the naughty list!

    For non-church folks, here is a link to help you understand the Calvinism joke. [Total depravity] Seeing that we now go to a Presbyterian church, this seemed to fit right in.

    HT to Paul R. for the idea

  • The Anticipation of Christmas

    A shared experience most of us have is waiting for Christmas morning. Wait? Waiting sucks! Christmas may be the one last great place we all wait for something… in a “now” culture, to have something to wait for is a lesson waiting to be taught.

    I remember that my family wasn’t very consistent with Christmas morning. Some years we woke up at the buttcrack of dawn to tear all of our presents open before collapsing for an 8 AM nap. Other years we woke up and had to stay in our rooms while my dad and stepmom made breakfast and made us eat a big breakfast before opening presents. Pure evil torture! My mom only seems to remember one Christmas in relationship to growing up. Her first year as a single mom… she refers to this Christmas a lot as the tree with one strand of lights. We had nothing. I think it broke her heart to know that we had almost nothing to open. But as a kid it wasn’t a big deal! Even as a young married couple, there was a time when the anticipation of Christmas was too much and our “just one” present on Christmas eve turned into opening everything under the tree. We totally ruined Christmas morning in a moment of guilty tearing! Something tells me, as a newlywed couple, that we’d had enough waiting that year! “Forget waiting… we’re free!”

    But I think having kids finally has helped me understand gift giving as anticipation.

    Two thousand years ago the people of the earth yearned in anticipation for the Messiah. Paul captured this feeling of waiting vs. anticipation quite well in Romans 8:

    We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

    Christmas and gift giving are integrally tied to the anticipation of the moment we discover what we’re receiving. It’s emotional and it’s physical, isn’t it?

    Everyday our kids ask me, “How much more (sic) longer until I get to open my gifts?” and “Tell me what my gifts are!” This is our kids groaning in anticipation of present time!

    The anticipation of Christmas is really a flashback physical experience of the anticipation of 2,000 years ago. The earth groaned for a Messiah… they waited in anticipation. They longed for the Chosen One. The moment of his arrival was precious.

    Silent night, holy night
    All is calm, all is bright
    Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
    Holy Infant so tender and mild
    Sleep in heavenly peace
    Sleep in heavenly peace

    Silent night, holy night!
    Shepherds quake at the sight
    Glories stream from heaven afar
    Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
    Christ, the Saviour is born
    Christ, the Saviour is born

    Silent night, holy night
    Son of God, love’s pure light
    Radiant beams from Thy holy face
    With the dawn of redeeming grace
    Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
    Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

    I love experiencing Christmas through the eyes of a 5 and 7 year old. Each day they wake up and carefully examine the tree and their stockings to see if anything new has appeared. They each count how many gifts have their name on them. Their anticipation is more than mental, it is physical! They literally groan. “Is it here yet?” On Wednesday night they won’t be able to sleep as the anticipation will be too much! On Thursday morning we will torture them by making them lay in bed while we prepare the living room. In those last few moments it will be real, emotional, PHYSICAL anticipation.

    It’s our job as parents to remind them of that moment. That moment is the real meaning of Christmas. God answered the earth physical anticipation and groaning with the Child.

  • More than a web guy, a lesson for church staff

    There are times when I realize that I’m not showing a ton of depth. Or maybe, it is that I get so pigeon-holed into being the person someone needs that I don’t get to exhibit depth.

    I feel that way right now.

    I’ve gotten ingrained here in San Diego as a social media geek. Within my world that may be true. But I recognize that within that skill is a tie to lifelong passion. But the passion itself is much more important than the method I’m trying to master. At work this is perfectly natural. I have no doubt that people there value me beyond my skills because I know that, in turn, I value their friendship beyond their skills or positions.

    Let me restate what I’m saying. I care a lot about building community online. I care deeply about networking people and ideas. I have learned best practices, nuance, and supporting skills to make it easier to convey my passion in more effective ways. Ultimately, that’s a skill set that could be applied to a lot of genres and businesses. But my passion is for working with middle and high schoolers and encouraging/networking/sharing life with those who do the same thing.

    Take the passion out of what I do and I don’t want to do it. I may be able to give some sage advice or share a few things about what works… but if you’re out there trying to network with me so I can help you build a social networking strategy, I’m probably not going to be that useful to you. I know you are just using me.

    At the end of the day, I’m good at social media only because I care so much about the message I’m trying to convey.

    The frustrating thing is that I think I am only interesting to some of the new people I’ve been getting to know in San Diego because of those auxiliary skills and not because of what I’m passionate about. It’s as if my only value is tied into some skills I’ve learned and that feels really, really shallow. It’s a slight that I see right through. Asking me about my kids or my hobbies to try to get me to share some tricks of the trade is lame. I don’t ever want to tie my value as a human being into the fact that I can build a website, or develop a brand, or tie that into a social media strategy. Lame. Lame. Lame!

    I don’t think this is unlike people who become fake friends when you work at a church. You kind of know they are fake but you’re so desperate for friendship that a fake friend is better than no friend at all. When we worked at churches there were plenty of people who valued our friendship because of a socialogical positional thing. 24 months ago if I had written down a list of people who would be our friends if we stopped being their pastor and I would have have been 100% correct. Not to sound emo, but the shocking thing is how sincere people pretended to be all those years. You’d be surprised by how few people we hear from after nearly 10 years of full time ministry friendships. 10? 15? 20 tops.

    For church staff, this is one shallow nature of relationship that makes the job so hard.

    But, now that we aren’t there anymore we have no value to them and we’ll never hear from them again.

    The flip side for church staff is simple. Open your lives up to those who are legitimately sincere in their friendship. Trust your gut. Just like Kristen and I have found real friendship over the years… a couple of bad apples shouldn’t catapult you into a life of keeping people at a distance.

  • Two fantastic videos from NYWC

    I am a huge fan of the stories told at NYWC. Even before I came to work at YS, I always thought they managed to tell the right stories at every event to warm the heart and encourage the soul to keep going.

    These are two great short films produced by Ian, our maven of media.

    Christopher Yanov

    Becky Russell

  • How to Fix the Auto Industry: Kill “Made in America”

    If the former Big 3 are going to get our federal bailout dollars, they need to hear the ideas of the people writing them the checks. And I don’t mean the lobbyist-friendly politicians actually making the decisions in Washington. I mean people like you and I… those of us who work every day and foot the bill for these bail out plans.

    This is my third idea for fixing the auto industry. (idea #1 | idea #2)

    If Ford, GM, and Chrysler want to survive for the next 100 years, they need to stop perpetrating the lie that they are Made in America.

    Living in Michigan and driving a Toyota Camry for 5 years taught me something about the culture… most Michigan residents are blind to some facts.

    Fact #1: Toyota and Honda are largely American car manufacturers. They employ Americans. They produce cars in America. Their stock is traded on our stock exchanges. Their parts come from America. Toyota and Honda are just as American made as Ford, GM, and Chrysler. All automakers are multinational corporations including Ford, GM, and Chrysler. The rhetoric of “but the profits go back to Japan” is just silly! It may have been true 25 years ago… but follow the money and you’ll see most of those dollars are now spent right here in the United States.

    Fact #2: The Big 3 have outsourced more auto manufacturing than Toyota or Honda. In late May I was filling up my Camry in Shelby Township, Michigan and a man started yelling at me. “That f–king Toyota is the reason our community is in the the toilet! Why don’t you buy an American car!!!” After hearing this for 5 years I finally snapped. “The Toyota Camry as been the #1 selling sedan for 15+ years. It is made in Kentucky… which is a state in case you didn’t know. And that car you are driving was made in Canada. And that Ford over there was made in Mexico. Your car may say Chevy but you and I both know it was made somewhere else so why don’t you buy yourself an American made car and get yourself a Toyota?” He cussed at me some more and drove off. The fact is that the Big 3 have outsourced almost all of the car making process overseas. Ask any engineer and they will tell you. Korea. Mexico. India. Canada. Russia. China. That’s where Ford, GM, and Chrysler get their parts and build their cars.

    Fact #3: Made in America is just a union slogan. I hate to say it but it is true. The concept of a “foreign car” or an “American car” is really just code language for “union made” or “non-union made.” While quality has increased a lot in the past few years, the union name is shot in car-making. Very few people I know consider whether a car was built by union autoworkers when they buy a car. They are looking at quality, gas mileage, style, etc.

    If the former Big 3 are going to make it for the next 100 years, they are going to have to make it on their own. We live in a free market system. At the end of the day the consumer will decide what to buy, which in turn should decide if a company lives or dies. Hiding behind labels like “American car maker” just won’t cut it anymore. Especially when it isn’t true. Even if it were true I don’t think consumers care enough to change their minds. I heard a CEO say, “If we want an American car manufacturer left we will need a bailout.” What a load of garbage! I thought we were a free market country? If we want an American car manufacturer than they better make some money!

    Instead, they should build their brand as independent brands. This worked well with the truck buying public as you have “Ford Men,” “Dodge Men,” and “Jeep Men.” Let’s see if they can build a brand of loyal customers in the small to mid-sized car.

    It would be easy to read these ideas and think that I hate the former Big 3. Not the case. I just don’t think that we should support broken systems and companies that can’t make money with our tax dollars. I believe that if they can start living in the reality that people don’t like to go to a dealership, forced unions are bad for business, and they shouldn’t lie to consumers about being American car builders… that the former Big 3 can recover.

    That is, if they can cope with my idea #4.

    What about you? Do you have ideas for the former Big 3? Share them by leaving a comment.