• 47

    That’s how high Paul (not quite 4) counts. he used to get stuck in the 15 range but it seems like numbers and letters are starting to click for him.

    Kids say funny things.     Paul has been telling us he’s going to be a mountain climber when he grows up and I believe him. He is fearless and brave to a fault. He also told us that he only wants to climb mountains with snow on them and that what he likes most about mountain climbing is that you don’t have to do it everyday. Some days you can just lay in bed and not go to work. (If it weren’t for the heights, I’d have the same goal.)

    Megan doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up. She doesn’t want to be a gardener or a farmer. Nor does she want to be a vet like I would guess. She just knows she wants to get married and have kids in a house of her own where she can make the rules. If I had to put money on what Megan is going to do when she grows up, I’d put her in the education field. She loves school, she loves her teachers, and she really loves learning and reading and being around other kids.

    One thing I try not to do is paint my kids into a corner. I want them to be whomever God creates them to be. It wasn’t like Megan popped out and I said "Megan, my doctor!" And Paul popped out and I said, "Paul the police officer!" I just want them to serve God in whatever they do. I want them to love who they are and to love their life as much as Kristen and I love ours.

    One frustration I see a lot of in youth ministry is parents who are unwilling to allow their children to grow into who God is creating them to be. It’s as if mom/dad are God and they get to decide what their children will do with their lives. It’s an odd thing to be a third party to as well.

    I wonder how much of that I’ll do.

  • Steve Jobs on Youth Ministry

    Saw this over at Tim Schmoyer’s site, thought it applied to more than youth ministry… what do you think?

  • Ratatouille

    RatatouilleI just got back from taking Bradley, Paul, and Megan to see the new Disney/Pixar movie, Ratatouille.

    Film synopsis:
    Remy is a sophisticated rat with a high dollar palate. In other words, he doesn’t like to eat garbage like the rest of his family. His pursuit of quality food leads him into an adventure which lands him in Paris at the kitchen of famous chef, Gusteau. The rat befriends an emerging cook Linguine. The friendship gets both of them into trouble… and great fun ensues.

    My thoughts:
    Both the kids and I liked the movie a lot. In typical Disney style, they did shove a bit of their philosophy down your throat as "anyone can do anything they want." Beyond that… it’s a fantastically fun story with the characters we all have come to expect in a Disney flick. The kids loved the mayhem scenes, but got a little lost in the dialogue. It was also a little long for kids under 6… they started to wiggle and get ready for a nap at points. It was also clearly a Pixar film as it didn’t have the characteristic musical elements of a Disney movie. (Would have been too much like American Tale if that had happened.) Also in Pixar form, there were a few adult innuendos in there but not too many to distract.

    Over all, I enjoyed it. The kids enjoyed it. That makes it worth 4 prices of admission, 3 sodas, 2 tubs of popcorn, 2 bags of skittles, and a box of snow caps. (Paul originally got Sour Skittles but asked if I would go get him regular ones… I think he thought they were the tropical ones.) Thank goodness for the awesome matinee price at the Romeo theater. It was a summer sized treat.

  • My next 10 songs

    Top10_2
    Been about 6 months since I’ve done this. Here are the next 10 songs shuffling through my ears on my Nano. No cheating, ratings included.

    1. Consuming Fire (Hillsong United) *****
    2. Sing to the King (Passion: Sacred Revolution) *****
    3. Mercedes Baby (House of Heroes) *****
    4. Waking Up (Charlie Hall) ****
    5. Grace Like Rain (Todd Agnew) ****
    6. You Are My Joy (DCB) *****
    7. Clocks (Coldplay) ****
    8. What Have I Done (Adie) ****
    9. Lightning (Eric Church) ****
    10. Surrender (Dave Lueben) ****

    How about you? What are you listening to? No cheating. I’m tagging some readers on this one… Jason, Gerrard, Knotter,  Brian, and Jeremy.

  • 4 years ago

    I didn’t expect anyone to notice. Today celebrated 4 years of ministry at Romeo. In a lot of ways it feels like a lot longer than 4 years. It feels like I’ve always been a part of the church. That’s one thing this church is super good at, taking in new people and making them feel welcome.

    I couldn’t find a blog post from July 2003, but here is one from late May 2004- the close of my first school year- that I thought was noteworthy enough to republish:

    Another round- Last night was pretty small, but a good youth group night. It’s kind of
    funny, but we played perhaps the simplest youth group game in the
    history of youth group, volleyball, and everyone loved it. What a
    reminder that the simplest way is often the best way.

    It was a pleasure and an honor to talk about legacies and mention
    great names last night. More than that, it was amazing to talk about
    Mr. Wendt and his "already evident" legacy exhibited by his sons. It’s
    hard to believe it’s already been 3 weeks since Larry passed away.

    In the golf world. What a tale of 2 halves of a round. 6
    consecutive bogies. But went birdie, par, par on the last 3 holes for
    an ugly 41. Best part about it though, I’m hitting some fairways again.
    Been a long time since I found the short stuff.

    Last lunch with my students at Romeo HS today. It’s amazing that
    most people are still shocked that I go. I love my job… and there is
    no finer time then spending quality time with Americus Highschoolucus
    in their native environment. I am constantly praying that the 2 junior
    highs will allow me on campus for lunches in the fall.

    God has been good to us here in ‘lil Romeo. We’ve got a job we love, we are loved by people, and our kids are growing up in a place they’ll be proud to call home. I pray I will be able to continue to live a legacy of love for another four years and beyond.

  • My only iPhone post this month

    Iphone_and_jobs
    I promise to not talk too much about the iPhone. It’s got some pluses and minuses. And the simple fact is that while I would love one if it were free, I will never make enough money to justify getting one. (Unless it were for resale alone.) That said, I do know one person in my life who is desperate to get one. He will remain nameless. Wink wink.

    Here’s a funny iPhone diary that came from the New York Times. Yes, the New York Times did something funny. Write that down.

    Seth Godin has an excellent post on how Verizon screwed up the marketing of the iPhone release as well as what they should have done. I like the fact that Seth isn’t just smart enough to articulate why a marketing campaign sucks, he also takes the time to let Verizon know how they should have turned this into a positive.

    Here’s the best argument I can make against lining up to buy a $600 cell phone:
    – I already have a smartphone that I like. It’s too big, but so is the iPhone
    – I already have an iPod nano that I like. It’s not like I want my big old phone strapped around my neck when I’m moving the lawn!
    – I already have a laptop. It’s not like I could use the iPhone to do web administration or open up PhotoShop or upload via an FTP client to my web server.

    With those 3 factors, there is no sensible reason to get a phone like that.     I do predict that it will be good for Apple and it will be good for the cell phone industry. But in 12 months, AT&T will still suck because they always have.
    I also predict that the first generation iPhone will look like a massive brick in 12 months compared to the new, smaller, colored iPhone to come up Christmas 2008.

    That said, when people do buy the iPhone and it breaks. I suggest sending it to PodDrop and not Apple. You’ll get faster service and it’ll be reasonable… and it’ll get done faster.

    HT to Billy for the video

  • Light Force was fun!

    Last night was fun. The students who came were playful and engaging. We played a couple new games that went well. The new series kicked off just fine.

    Just proof that summer in Romeo can work.

  • Girlfriends Unlimited

    Gf_unlimitedI was surfing a website this morning and came across an ad that said "Need Girlfriends?" Since the ad was appearing on a popular Christian site I thought… "Uh, that’s weird enough to click on. That’s out of place!"

    Here’s what I found:

    Imagine a place where women find friendships, relaxation, and just plain fun.
                
    Okay, now imagine that place being your church!

    Girlfriends Unlimited is
    a fresh approach to women’s ministry that casts a new vision for
    reaching and connecting women — one that is filled with fun and energy.
    It adds another dimension to your current women’s ministry program — or
    guides you in launching one

    I’m not judging this ministry one way or the other. But I’ll document what I see based purely on their website.

    1. A cool marketing idea, but your one click away from just another Group "thing."
    2. This is obviously marketed to women in their 40s. (Graphically)
    3. This is selling a program, not changing a church.
    4. The first thing I thought of when the page opened was "Jesus Junk."

    Gf_unlimited1
    I’m sure it’s a lovely program. And I am sure they’ll have many happy customers. And I am positive this was just too weird for me before some coffee.

    I just can’t wait to start seeing their slogan on church signs.

  • Summer Series at Light Force

    Our summer series kicks off tomorrow night. It’s called "What were they thinking?" We’ll be looking at examples like this one and looking at some equal evidence from the Bible to see that everyone and anyone can be used by God.

    Not sure how that’s going to fit together? You’ll just have to come and find out.

  • Lappy go poo poo

    It finally broke. The little connector thing that connects my laptop to the wall busted. I tried to repair it and it ended up shattered in several large chunks. $42 dollars later at the Dell.com store and I’ll have a new one in the next 24-48 hours.

    And yes, I said this to Paul and he politely told me, "Daddy grow up."