• Tuckered Out

    Kid’s Kamp started today. (Lots of kids, that’s fun) Then afterwards we rushed over to McDonald’s and then to the theater to see Cars.

    It was a good movie… of course since I love Larry the Cable guy it was perfect for me.

    The story here wasn’t with the movie. It was that we all were konking out during the movie. Paul made it about 30 minutes into the movie. Megan climbed on my lap shortly later but managed to stay away. If it wasn’t for her on my lap… I wouldn’t have made it.

    It’s been a great 10-14 days for us here… but we’re ready for some REST.

  • We’re all set

    Andread
    I am very excited about Andrea’s party tomorrow.

    Not sure how to explain it, but hosting her party has really turned into a big honor for us. Doing all kinds of yard work and all that stuff has been pleasurable knowing that so many people will be here to celebrate her life and this step.

    Think about it. When is the next time Andrea is likely to have a party like this? College graduation. Probably not…  Engagement/wedding? Well, maybe… but even that isn’t about just her life as it’s about the couple. Big birthday? Maybe.

    Maybe I’m over-thinking this… but we’re looking at this as a great opportunity to bless a young woman we really have learned to love. It’s not like she (OK, and LisaB) is one of our own… she is one of our own.

    I have been thinking about this a lot lately… it’s especially important as our "tenure" at Romeo continues. Graduation is not the end of the relationship. That may seem simple, but it isn’t. I hope/pray/say/repeat that as graduates leave Light Force that they really know that Kristen and I will always want to be a part of their lives. We want to celebrate with them. We want to be there when the crap hits the fan. We want to continue to hear their dreams. We want to continue to share their disappointments. On and on and on. Life on life stuff rarely experiences "the end."

    I’ve said this over and over and it applies tomorrow as well. This isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning.

  • When was the last time?

    I’ve been a Notre Dame Football fan my whole life. And it’s been a long time since we’ve been truly good. Perhaps 1990? That was the last time when I can think of a bench full of stars… well, it is finally happening again.

    This is on the ESPN football page, Brady Quinn is the #1 rated QB in college football.

    1. Brady Quinn, Notre Dame, SR, 6-4, 228
    The light finally came on under first-year head coach Charlie Weis last
    season. Quinn completed nearly 65 percent of his passes for nearly
    4,000 yards, while throwing 25 more touchdowns (32) than interceptions
    (seven). Another strong campaign as a senior could land Quinn the
    Heisman Trophy, not to mention the top spot in next year’s NFL draft.

    I hope that’s a good sign for a good year to come.

  • School’s Out

    Today is the much "counted down" day. As of 11:00 am this morning, all of the kids at Romeo Schools are free until Labor Day.

    Bob, Jason, and I were in a staff meeting when we heard a yellow school bus rumble down Campground Road. It was followed by the roar of happy screams that interupted our meeting. I just looked at the guys and told them "school got out today." We all knew exactly what that meant.

  • Completely Roasted

    Last night I had oodles of fun playing my role in The Senior Roast.

    Amazingly, all 5 of our seniors showed up. In fact, it was Sam’s very first time at Light Force and we roasted him anyway. It went really long and yet most of the students seemed to be really into it. The idea of the roast continues to get clearer to our students… though I saw a few of them get stage fright and slam up in a way I never expected.

    It’s no secret that I had an "especially hard time" with the roasting of Andrea/LisaB. There is so much to say and so much that has been said already. As I told them, they have been more than students to Kristen and I… they are our family. There have been so many powerful and amazing times share with both of them… it’s just hard to deal with the reality that they are headed off to something bigger and better.

    Here’s the video from last night.

  • Folks getting excited about soccer

    Here’s a great little promo associated with the World Cup… which starts this week. Gotta love the kick.

  • Happy Birthday Baby

    If you see my wife, Kristen Elisabeth, today. Wish her a happy birthday. I don’t have a birthday party scheduled for her… so if you didn’t get invited… that’s why. Since we have company in town now and we have oodles of graduation parties this weekend… we’ll just celebrate next week.

  • Imlay City Graduation

    For the second time in three years, I’ll be heading up to ICCS for their 8th grade graduation.

    They’ve asked me to talk to them from Psalm 5:11-12:

    11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;

           let them ever sing for joy.
           Spread your protection over them,
           that those who love your name may rejoice
    in you.

    12 For surely, O
    LORD, you bless the righteous;
           you surround them with your favor as with
    a shield.

     

    (more…)

  • DaVinci Code and the Bible

    Last night I was charged with leading our DVC small group. Here’s a snapshot of the notes. Go to the extended version of this post to get the FULL MONTY.

    What’s at stake? If the world is convinced that the Bible is
    not reliable, than the core beliefs of Christianity can be ignored.

    1. Did

      Constantine

      influence the New Testament Canon?

    2. Are the Gnostic documents discovered
           at Nag Hammadi historically accurate?
    3. Who are Gnostics and what do they
           believe?

    (more…)

  • We’ve Got to Come Together, Part 1

    Together_mainSunday was a day I was really looking forward to for a lot of reasons. I knew that we had a lot of things going on. Nicole E. got baptized. We started our new series on hospitality. We launched a fun summer initiative called the "Let’s Get Together" card where I’m using my first ever external motivator in church. We had a cool hotdog suprise for everyone after church. (Would you believe that cost us less than $60 to pull off?)

    But I was also excited to see a whole new level of teamwork. Bob, Jason, and I really talked a lot about what we wanted church to look/feel like this week. And, my opinion, I think it all worked.

    Sidenote: The images we used today turned out great. I was looking at them and had to remind myself a few times that I had made them. They just reminded me of stuff I have previously paid for. Kind of cool, eh?