• Instant Summer

    SunIn typical Michigan form, it got hot in an instant. Last week was very mild and I think I even wore long sleeves on Monday to mow the yard. Today, I’m having to stop and take water breaks!

    Today’s high is expected to be about 93. That’s quite unseasonable for these parts. Generally, we don’t see temps like that until late June. I hope it’s just a fluke and that we get back into the 70s for the rest of the summer.

    Apparently Memorial Day means work.     While I’ve taken on some serious yard duties… Kristen is hard at work cleaning upstairs. We’ve still got some work to do on the Aloha Suite (our guest room) before Dave comes at the end of June. Obviously, we have to buy all the furniture but we also have to finish stripping woodwork and painting before we can get the furniture in there. 30 days and counting!

    Maybe a condo wasn’t such a bad thing afterall?

  • Changing of the guard

    OK, I can now mention this since it’s "public."

    Today was a changing of the guards within the worship department of Romeo. For the last year Stephen Lancaster has done a tremendous job leading us on Sunday mornings. He’s been integral to helping the worship team develop and form an identity. Of course, he brought his own extraordinary gifts and talents as well. It’s been a real privilege to have someone so "outclassed" to us. On a personal level, there is nothing that makes me more excited than seeing a disciple of Christ boldly follow his calling… and that’s what Stephen is up to as he leaves Romeo. I look forward to hearing from him as he chases his calling.

    Beginning this week, Jason Brady comes to Romeo to fill a new position at the church. He’ll be a combined worship leader/office administrator. (Let’s admit this is a weird position!) I think it will be great to have a new person on staff who will be here full time. Bob and I are geeked about this… if 2 wasn’t fun enough… how about 3?

  • myspace.com article a joke

    I saw this quote in the Romeo Observer, "Cikota said he has only been able to find about 60 kids in Macomb County who have accounts on MySpace.com"

    I guarantee that if you gave me 30 minutes I could find 60 myspace accounts at Romeo Middle School. This guy is an "expert?" Give me a break.

  • Last day for seniors

    We have 4 seniors walking the halls of Romeo High School today for the last time.

    Flashback about 16 months ago when the leaders were talking about this class… I just remember the tear-filled "Let’s not talk about that." That just about sums up how I feel.

    I’m happy that they’ve completed this step of their lives, and I know they are looking at it as just the beginning, yet this doesn’t make it easy.

    Let’s not talk about that too much.

  • I need this on my laptop!

  • The Beginning

    Thebeginning_titleLast night I used this image to go along with my talk, the last in the Luke: Tell me your story series. Though I didn’t explain it very well, this is what the image was supposed to be about.

    The beginning of life outside of a structured life is hard. Imagine life without school, without mom waking you up, without anyone… anywhere… telling you what to do and where to go. Imagine your alarm went off in the morning and you woke up in the desert and you had to start a brand new life. What would be your purpose and your goals?In reality this day is coming sooner than you think. There will be a day, sooner than you think, that you will wake up in a brand new life. You will have to decide what you will do with yourself… not to please anyone or to keep people off your back… you will need to determine What are my goals, what is my purpose? How you answer that question will determine the rest of your life.

  • Learning some lessons

    The last few days have been pretty tense in some areas, even amid the celebration of the end of the year.

    Blogging_1
    One of my favorite students of all time (Yes, I have favorites… I mean, that’s just the way life is, eh?) has been learning the hard way how powerful a blog can be. She broke a couple of my rules for blogging and some of her friends gave her the bad-girl slap for it. I think she was just blowing off steam and didn’t expect anyone to read it… or if they did I don’t think that they would care. Well, they cared… and shared… and what was one student’s steam turned into some hurt feelings. Whoops! Now we see why rule #1 is so important.

    Rule #1 Don’t ever write something you wouldn’t want your mother to read.
    Rule #2     Opinions are like…. bellybuttons… everyone has one.
    Rule #3 Don’t throw gasoline on a fire.
    Rule #4     Beware of Trolls, learn to love Lurkers.

  • How much sound?

    DecibelmeterI’ve been wanting to do this for the past several months, so I finally headed over to the local Radio Shack and picked up this wonder.

    Now I just have to do a little research about "condusive decibel levels for modern worship." The aim here is that our sound guys would use the meter to balance the sound on Sunday morning. This will help us get away from people competing against one another and instead mixing the house sound to a specific number.

  • More softball woes

    This is about the time in the softball season where I begin asking myself, "Why am I doing this again?" Obviously, I stink at softball. I’m not going to but I really wish I would just quit. It makes me feel really stupid doing something I am so terrible at. (Yes, this brings back all sorts of 7th grade memories!)

    Last night was a new low. We only had 7 players show up and the team we played was really good and prepared… again. Not only did we get thumped but the team we played determined that they were going to both take advantage of our short-handedness and attempt to humiliate us. Tempers flared a bit… but just a bit.

    Is it August yet?

  • LaShish owner hooked into Terrorism?

    Towerpic
    For several months now it’s been known that LaShish ownership has been accused of some shady stuff. There is a news report out today that suggests that they may also be connected to terrorist funding.

    Does that mean it shouldn’t be my favorite Detroit area place to eat? If so… that stinks because I really like LaShish. I doubt that things are as described in the news story, so I’m not worried about our annual flaming tower dinner on June 24th.