What's New...

It's been a while. Here's what's new here:

• I have become a lazy reader. Every book I pick up is kicking my butt.
  
• I have become a lazy athlete. Played 3 hours of soccer for the first time in almost a month on Sunday...and my body hates me for it.
• After escaping the responsibility of coaching soccer for so many years, I've finally been volunteered to co-coach the summer league that Aidan & Becca play on.
• Got to lead worship on Sunday with 3 other talented musicians. Safe to say that it was the most fun I have ever had with a band since my Youth Conference days.
  
• Teaching our month long dating, relationship & sex series for our middle school and high school students. Hectic, but fascinating to see the questions being asked. Particularly by middle schoolers.
• Counting down 24 days to some much anticipated vacationing in the sun.
• Started conversations about a missions trip for our students. It's been 5+ years on the list of things to do, but it looks like this time it might just stick. Need to rally the parents & students together for a meeting now.
• Erin's almost done exams but then gears up for her practicum. That'll take life to whole new level of crazy for a few weeks.
• Got to do some prep work now for my May 1 sermon.

So...what's new with you?

Mo-vember Recap...

What have I been up to? Let's see...

I tried Movember, but I only made it 16 days until I had to shave what little fur I had on my face off because it was driving me bonkers. But I kept armpit that's growing on my chin. It's become like a third child to me.

Met my new niece. I will forever look at the pictures and wonder why I didn't listen to my wife and actually shave before we started snapping photos.

Hung out with some of my favorite people on the planet where we had to listen to a crabby guy tell our kids to shut up because they were laughing in a restaurant. The nerve of those kids! Laughing in a public place...how dare they! How. Dare. They.

Also got to see one of my favorite past-interns (there are so many, don't make me choose favorites).

Hung out in the hospital and at home with Erin as she recovered from surgery. If you can, remember to pray for her tomorrow when she sees the doctor to talk about options. We're asking God for an option that doesn't require waiting a long time.

Built some furniture. But only thanks to Ikea.

Stayed up all night to shop on Black Friday with my best friend. I hate shopping. I hate standing in lines. But we made Christmas a whole lot cheaper just by giving up sleep for an evening. And I got to have a burrito for breakfast, so that's always good too.

Preached. And promptly read from the wrong passage. (I also asked people to yell out what they love, and I swear someone shouted "polka".)

That's it in a nutshell.

Slowing down...

I've been officially "on vacation" this week. Where to? Nowhere. What have I been doing?

• We've set up the kid's pool in the backyard. (It'll take a month of 30 degrees to heat that thing up enough that I'll actually get in it though.)
  
• We finally replaced the old rusted out BBQ.
• I passed my knowledge test for my Class 4. (Sure, it was the 2nd try, but I still passed.)
• Watching football. (Sometimes I wish the World Cup was every year!)
• We had friends from Edmonton stay with us for a few days and we took in the Canada Day parade and the Aquarium.
• Reading about Abraham Lincoln, who was apparently a vampire hunter. Who knew!
• Playing some video games.
• Watching some summer TV.

Such a great start to the summer. Anyone want to come over for a BBQ?

2 weeks...

I made my last post two weeks ago?!?!

In the meantime...

• Montreal was finally ousted from the playoffs. And as a true fan I do not support either Chicago or Philly in the final series.
• I was led to a book by Anne Jackson called In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore that I am totally loving and I'm only 2 chapters in.
• Preached on Sunday. Oh...and completely obliterated the 20 minutes I was allowed. They might never let me preach again.
  
• Took off to Seattle with Erin & the kids for a couple of days. Had a great time reading, swimming, and wandering the Pike Place Market. But I was unable to convince Erin that buying me an iPad would be a good use of money. She's smart like that.
  
• Picked up Eric Clapton's 24 Nights at Easy Street Records. Always nice to find another addition for my Clapton collection. Always a kick in the teeth to find out it would have been cheaper on iTunes.
  
• Starting a new teaching series with our high schoolers tonight called "Stories". We're getting leaders & students to share what God is doing in their lives over the next 4 weeks.
• Bought some new soccer cleats. 6 studs. Bright yellow. And it's raining, so I'm itching to get on the field and give them a try.
• Had a great phone call with a skinny fat guy that made my day.

I do have some book reviews coming. And some freebies. Hang in there.

Where's the blog...

This month is turning out to be way crazier that I ever thought. Which doesn't bode well for May because I know that next month is supposed to be insane.

A few things that are looming/happening:

• A trip to the doctor. I'm just shy of being a wreck right now. I'll spare you the details, but it's enough to drive my mind crazy.
• Catalyst West trip with Jamie next week.
• Erin & I are joining forces with some of our favorite people in the world to head off into another part of the world. We're doing some marriage mentoring in what our denomination calls a Creative Access Nation. Stoked and nervous. Stay tuned.
  
• I need to catch up on some blogging about what I've been reading. I still owe a couple of reviews for free books I got in March. (And a couple of freebies to give out, so stick around.)
• Got "new" furniture. (New to us anyways.) Friends are great. And now the youth room has some "new" furniture too as it gets the hand-me-downs.
• What's playing for music? Mostly John Mark McMillan and The Avett Brothers.
• I have a few people inquiring about some of my Star Wars stuff. Hopefully I'll be able to free up some storage space in the next few days.
• Part of our summer vacation is officially booked and paid for! Woohoo!
  

Ok...heading back to the couch now.

Kelowna retreat...

I think January is a bad time for a retreat. After the Christmas break it seems too early to be getting away for 3 days. So, what does one do with all this time away from the office? Here's a taste of what I've been up to:

• Talking with friends. I get to see a pile of people who I don't regularly see throughout the year. It's great to reconnect and I enjoy the time just talking about life and ministry.
• Meeting new people. I'm not really good at this, but I've been able to meet a few new people, mostly new youth pastors in our district. It's been a year of changing faces for our youth pastors, which means more younger pastors, which makes me feel old.
• Sleeping.
• Reading. My Bible, a student ministry book, Class 4 Drivers Education manual, and a collection of short stories.
• Walking. I strolled around Kelowna trying to find a couple of things I could take home to my kids. And since I don't walk much, it was actually a nice change of pace to just spend some time by myself.
• Watching TV. I bring along some TV that I normally don't get to watch at home. X-Files. I'm now into season 2.
• Working. I have some prep work to do for some upcoming teaching stuff for church and for our youth. I haven't spent nearly enough time on it, but at least I'll get something done.

So, there you have it. And exciting week away.

Friday Recap...

What's been happening...or not happening:

• I'm ahead on my daily Bible reading plan.
  
• I didn't get out for a run this week.
• I'm working on #41 by Dave Matthews. I can play it...I just can't seem to do the lyric part yet.
  
• I've jumped on the Conan bandwagon. I don't think Leno is funny at all.
• Lots of things seem unimportant after what happened is Haiti.
• We have a Compassion kid in Haiti, who lives close to the hardest hit area. No word ye on how he is.
  
• I wouldn't mind it if my soccer game got rained out tomorrow.
• I'm off to District Staff Retreat in Kelowna on Monday. I do not like going when my wife does not come with me, thus I will not be a huge fan of this retreat.

How are you?

A Year in Review...

Editor's Note: Somehow I still haven't caught on to the fact that it is 2010. This showed up as a post for Jan 3, 2009. So, I'll put it back where it actually belongs.

Alright now, let's take a look back at some of the more memorable moments of 2009.

January: The beginning of "The Ballad of Robyn & Swarley" at our Student Ministry PROXIMITY Retreat. It's the only song I've written that exists on the internet. Bonus marks if you can find it.

February: I sold a bunch of my Star Wars collectibles (yeah, yeah, they're toys) and bought myself a guitar amp. A decision I have not regretted.

March: Headed out to Manitoba. Saw family, some friends, and drove in a convertible with the top down. (A big deal for being in the prairies in March!)

April: Headed off to Catalyst West in LA.

May: Took my first online sabbatical.

June: Took my first silent retreat out at Camp Kawkawa. Definitely need to do that again.

July: Vacation.

August: Received a new (at least to us) car.

September: Launched our new middle school ministry and then headed off to National Youth Workers Convention (one of my favorite places to be) with my wife (my favorite person to be with) and got had a few little road adventures that took us to some memorable California landmarks.

October: Saw David Crowder*Band and U2 in concert (separately, of course).

November: Talked porn in a Sunday morning service. (Audio here.)

December: Christmas. Vacation.

Favorite Album: Dave Matthews Band "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King"
Favorite New Artist: A toss up between Seabird & Vedera
Best Concert: U2
Best Book I Read: "Sustainable Youth Ministry" by Mark Devries.
Best Book I Haven't Finished: "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan
Biggest New Movie Letdown: Transformers 2 & I Love You Beth Cooper
Best New Movie: I didn't watch too many of the new releases, so I'll have to go with Up.
Best Date: A night out on the town with my beautiful wife with a meal at The Keg and tickets to Mat Kearney.
Best New TV: Another toss up with The Middle & Modern Family
Favorite Returning TV: How I Met Your Mother

It's Sunday...

This will be a ramble.

Erin is catching up on Amazing Race after an afternoon spent out with Becca.

Aidan and I hunkered down for some football and Star Wars Lego on the Gamecube.

I'm feeling a little worn out. I'm not sure if I'm coming down with something or if the gas tank is just about empty. And I'll be honest...I'm not sure which would be worse.

Erin and I spoke in church this morning. It was week #3 on a series called Rethink Love and the topic focused in on the subject of porn. We both shared from our own story and tried to offer some sort of hope for people that may find themselves consumed by it.

There were a bunch of firsts:

• The first time I had ever been in a service that talked about porn.
• The first time Erin and I shared our story in a public setting together.
• The first time Erin and I taught together on a Sunday morning.
• The first time I've been over the service "time limit" since we started the new service.

The most enlightening comment of the day was from a 75+ year old former pastor who came forward to commend us on talking about the subject at hand. He said that in 50 years of preaching he had never once talked about the issue. He agreed that it was way overdue.

I'm praying that lives and marriages will be changed and strengthened today and the week to come as a result of what people heard.

Weekend review...

I'm becoming more and more sporadic around here. I have a feeling that it's because I've given so many other people a hard time about not blogging. I'll call it Blogarma.

It's been a whirlwind this past weekend, so let's get you caught up:

• Tuesday & Wednesday were two of the best youth nights we had this year. I hope that the momentum carries forward in weeks to come.
• Thursday I jumped a plane for Manitoba and during a 2.5 hour layover had supper with a friend a I hadn't seen since college.
• Finally arrived in Winnipeg and then headed off to Portage where we got in around 1:30am.
  
• Hung out with family. My nephew is an absolute hoot.
  
• Officiated for a 50th wedding anniversary renewal ceremony for my aunt and uncle. It was so cool to see the family & friends that came out to support them and to celebrate with them all.
  
• Went to the Bombers/Tigercats game on Sunday. What a joke! You always hope your team will show up when a game really matters, but this was ridiculous. The biggest cheers came for Troy Westwood when he punted for SINGLE points.
• Although the game was a mess, it was great to hang out with my dad and brother-in-law for the day.
• Jumped a flight back to Abbotsford, but had to share the Winnipeg airport with the Hamilton Tigercats. Salt on an open wound.
  
• Spent a few minutes catching up with Josh and Brad via phone calls during my layover in Calgary.
• Arrived back home around 11:30pm...1:30pm Manitoba time.
• Now I'm home with a sick boy who is recovering from H1N1.
  

Concert review...

Last night the David Crowder*Band rocked out at Sevenoaks. Their only stop north of the border and we got to play host.

Let's not mention the fact that security was acting like they were guarding U2 and that one guy even tried to kick me out of the building for using my keys.

Anyways. The concert was loud, smelly and a little squishy, but it was fun. 14 of us got early admission and crammed ourselves into the front row just to prove how cool we are. (Unfortunately when the crowd rushed the stage, our front row seats quickly became fifth row seats.)

Highlight #1: "How He Loves" Sweet song. 'Nuf said.

Highlight #2: Erin becoming a Danyew groupie. (In reality she was just talking with the 2 man band and taking photos for a couple of our girls.)

Highlight #3: Seabird. Not only did their guitarist Ryan hook one of our middle school guys up with free tickets after they were talking in the parking lot after church, but they were great. Buy their album. You will not be disappointed.

Highlight #4: I'm in this photo that was taken by the band. Can you find me?

Turkey Day...

Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you're enjoying some decent time with family or friends.

I'm lacking the energy and creativity to do anything substantial here, so I'll just give you a little update.

• I've been listening to 2 albums regularly lately. Hope Rising by Fee and Church Music by David Crowder*Band. Both are worth buying.
  
• Preached about surrendering to Jesus in church yesterday.
• Erin baptized one of our high school girls during the service. She's scared to death of crowds and public speaking, she surrendered and went through with it.
  
• So cool to see a pile of paper at the foot of the cross representing the things people were surrendering to Jesus.
• Went out to play photographer's assistant while Erin took family pictures for some friends.
• Got shot by an airsoft gun. (Thanks Cheryl, for gifting Erin with a firearm.)
• We went to a late showing of Couples Retreat. Not phenomenal, but kind of funny. It contains some interesting conversation starters about marriage and relationships.
• Eating turkey tonight with the upstairs neighbors (Erin's parents, in case you didn't know).
• Leading worship in church next week.
• Planning on playing some guitar today.
• Anticipating the David Crowder*Band concert next Sunday night.
  

Sunday review...

Just a blur of a day today, but it was great.

• Surprised by 15 bodies in our new Sunday morning early morning...uh..."Sunday school"...class. It was suggested we call it Tangent because we're always on one.
• The traditional & contemporary services officially kicked off. I can't comment on the traditional because of being at the Tangent class, but Jamie (young adults pastor) knocked the preaching out of the park in the later service. A friend of mine, Brennan, co-led worship (a brand new experience for him in this setting) and he hit it out of the park. All our volunteers were cruising in their jobs. The energy and enthusiasm was great. And I think the whole theme set a tone for what we want to come. We want to be a church that is serious about people following Jesus and not just playing around with a plastic Jesus.
• Had lunch with the previously mentioned friend while my kids ripped around the McDonald's playland.
• Watched the Manchester derby. Oh. My. Goodness. Epic game, or what?!?! I'd be proud to wear Michael Owen's name and #7 on my next United shirt any day.
• Got a little grocery shopping done.
• Gearing up for the official opening of our new youth room on Tuesday night with our new middle school ministry.
• Counting down the days until NYWC in LA.
• Eagerly awaiting the new David Crowder*Band album. I hope it doesn't take 2 weeks to get my pre-order.

How was your day?

Midsummer Update...

A little bit of recap mixed with a little bit of looking ahead, here's my world in a nutshell (in no particular order):

• Got new (at least to us) wheels. It was a freebie from some AMAZING friends! I'll post some pics soon.
  
• Listening to Owl City
  
• Reading Looking Up by Michael J Fox
• Also reading Kurt & Scott's Junior High Adventure
• Gearing up for some student ministry changes for the fall. Stay tuned!
  
• Trying to get our events calendar and teaching schedule lined up.
  
• Gearing up for some Sunday morning service changes for fall.
• Celebrating 11 years with an amazing woman.
• Trying to fix my PC graphics card. Turns out I'll get a new one for free because of a recall.
• Awaiting the official start of a new EPL season.
• Heading out to speak at Camp Kawkawa for a couple of days early next week.
• Still washing and drying tents in my backyard.
• Preparing for the wedding of two of our friends that I'm residing over next weekend.
• Fixed a shower, even though I'm not entirely convinced that it's not leaking somewhere that I can't see.
• Heading out for a night on the town with some friends to watch some improv.
  

Who am I...

I haven't blogged since last month?!?!

And I apparently give everyone else a hard time for not blogging. Maybe I should do a little self reflection?

With family, friends, youth, reading, guitar playing , tent cleaning and watching Whale Wars, I've found little time left over for anything else.

Oh, and I'm on the hunt for some new TV, so I'd love to hear your recommendations of what's good.

Thursday afternoons...

I had a crappy night at youth last night. It was one of those occasions where it seems like little is going right. Everything from the setup to the worship to the message seemed to be off. And I have no explanation for it. I was more prepared than usual, and yet I was completely out of sync.

In order to not get caught up in the "woe is me" mentality, I have decided that I shall try to focus on the things that bring me joy on these cloudy Thursday afternoons.

The guacamole video from 2 weeks ago is still changing lives. Swarley Swift has "entered" the world. We have friends camping out with us. I'm a couple of weeks away from a California trip. And I finally have new glasses that are not disintegrating (sorry Nathan & Peter, but I couldn't go for the matching specs like you).

And since you have hopefully already shared in the joy that is the guacamole video, I will now present you with Swarley Swift's video debut:


Swarley Swift (The Medley) from knotter on Vimeo.

Catching up...

The week in review:

• Started a new teaching series for our students called Coffeehouse Theology. We based the idea on the book of the same name that I'm currently working my way through.
• Almost had a drunk homeless man take a swing at me 10 minutes after hugging me for finding him a way to stay out of the rain.
  
• The Habs have really turned things around and I'd like to think they could really make some progress in the post season if things keep clicking.
  
• Welcomed home some friends from their YWAM trip with a spaghetti supper. It's great to share some laughs and reconnect after not seeing them for so many months.
• Trying to buy some guitar pedals. I've got my eye on a few Craigslist leads, but we'll see if things work out.
• Watched my son completely break down in tears when he lost most of his money in last night's Monopoly game to his mom. To be honest, I almost cried 30 minutes earlier when she took all my money too.
• Where was Becca during the game? Washing the dishes. Sure, if I was her boss I would have fired her for not actually cleaning anything. But hey, she wanted to do it. You can't say no to that, right?
• Watched Liverpool score in the final minutes their game which keeps the pressure on United to keep winning. No more slip ups.
• Hung out with the soccer boys today and had a BBQ. I like these guys, and while I can get frustrated with our lack of skill at times, I do like hanging out with these guys.

The weekend update...

Friday
Erin's 31st birthday. Starbucks, blueberry muffin, shopping, The Keg.

Saturday
Soccer. Aidan's soccer: a 6-2 loss, but he had a blast. My soccer: we won 13-1 (the ref ended the game almost 15 minutes early!). I scored 3 (my first hat trick in some time. Ah, the good ole days.)

Sunday
First Sunday of the new worship model at church. I was skeptical coming in, but after one Sunday I'm thinking this just might work.

United draws 1-1 with Chelsea. At least it wasn't a loss...

Now, I shall make myself comfortable with some books on the couch.

Things I learned today...

I've lost count of what day I'm on in the vacation-count. I suppose that's a good thing. But it could be really bad too. As long as I don't start forgetting more things.

Now, where was I?

Anyone?!?!

Help...





Oh yeah...things I learned today:

• My kids refuse to sign a waiver so they can participate in father-child bonding moments like the "snake bite" and the "alligator bite". Hey, it's 2008 and I don't want them all of a sudden deciding that I have caused them trauma and then taking me to the cleaners.
  
• My daughter is stronger than me. She got her ears pierced (see the above photo for proof) and didn't make a peep. Not a cry, a whimper or even an "ow". When I pierced my ear in college, I almost passed out.
• I have developed a weakness for books. I have a desire to buy, peruse, read, skim, glance...the list goes on. I added 2 more to my shelf today. I may be addicted.

I've also been pondering this blog lately. I'm thinking that I might want to "add" to the content. I don't know if what I've been posting is really cutting it for me. Sure, it's great to keep track of my reading, but there's got to be something more to this, right?

Since you're my faithful following, what would you be interested in reading about?

Vacation week two...

Normally I abide by a "no screen policy" on Monday mornings. But since I'm not working I thought I'd make an exception and do a little online catch up.

It seems I didn't link Dr Horrrible's Sing-Along Blog properly yesterday. Or at least, it's not showing up properly for me. But hopefully you were able to track it down and watch it while it was free. If not, it's now up on iTunes for $1.99 and episode. I'd say it's worth it.

Here's the Reading Contest Update. Yes, I've reached my goal of 26 books in one year. I can now say that I am a better person because of my accomplishment. I can also say that Erin is not that far ahead of me in her reading, so bonus points to me!

Book #25 - Step On a Crack by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
This is going to have to rank up there as my favorite Patterson novel so far. Sure, a couple parts are a little far-fetched. And I also wasn't too keen on the secondary story that takes place with the main character's family, as I'd rather they stuck to the action and suspense. But all in all, good stuff.

Book #26 - Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd
If you're wondering why I read this then you probably don't know that Pattie Boyd was once married to Eric Clapton. The book itself is a little "all over the place". Pattie is very descriptive with many of her stories, but she also tends to be a little random and not so descriptive about other elements of he story. She changes topic so often that I was occasionally wondering if I had missed a page. However, I was intrigued to see a piece of Clapton's life from the "other side" and how the addictions he battled affected other people. If you're a fan of Pattie, George Harrison (her first husband) or of Clapton, then this book might be for you.