Reading contest update...

My wife and I have a friendly reading contest going on. I should point out that it originated when I decided to make a personal goal of finishing 26 books this year. I've never kept track of exactly how many books I've read in a year but I can assure you it's far fewer than 26.

Well, I now find myself a month and a half into this little reading blitz (yes, I will call it a blitz even while some other readers will refer to that number of books as a personal reading "lag") and I'm fairly proud of myself. Contrary to what others may believe (ahem...Erin and Brad) I am not allowing Dr. Seuss into this mix. However, I am trying to mix things up a little and I'm branching outside my usual reading material which 98% of the time deals with ministry in some way shape or form, and it's usually student ministry. There's nothing wrong with that. I just need some variety.

So here's a quick recap of some of the books I've been able to get through since January 1st:

Cross by James Patterson
This was a Christmas gift intended to introduce me to the world of fiction. I immensely enjoyed it and will definitely try to find another one of his books.

The Wooden Horse by Eric Williams
I loved The Great Escape and found that it mentioned another escape that happened from the same POW camp. This was the story. Although originally written as fiction, it's been adapted a bit over the years to more accurately reflect the actual escape as it occurred. I love escape stories so this was a good read although at times it was a bit slow going.

UnChristian by David Kinnaman
If you wonder what 20-30's who don't follow Jesus think about "Christians" this book will be good for you. And lest you think this is another "I'm young and the church sucks" book, I should try to point out that the author makes a genuine attempt at painting a picture of hope for the future of the church. My advice? Read this book.

The Making of Star Wars by J. W. Rinzler
I alluded to this book a few posts ago and how it would place me in the front running as the next mayor of Dorkville. Well, I'm a Star Wars geek and when this showed up under the tree at Christmas I was stoked. It tells the story of how Star Wars came to exist. The script writes and re-writes, the personal dynamics, Lucas' dreams, the characters, the studio...it leaves no rock unturned. An yes, it has pictures...my wife won't let me live this fact down.

The Dark Half by Stephen King
I've never read a King novel. This was another gift that was intended to introduce me to the world of fiction writing. I'm not sure what to say about this one, except that I'm not sure if King is going to stay on my reading list. Part of me thinks that if I let Ted Dekker (here) have 2 chances, then King should at least have another opportunity. So, if you have a recommendation, I'm open to it.

Stripped: Uncensored Grace on the Streets of Vegas by Jud Wilhite and Bill Taaffe
This was a quick read that contains some stories of people who experienced grace in...well...Las Vegas. Some very interesting life stories and perhaps some good illustration materials for future teaching opportunities.

Guess what...

I am officially the owner of 2 tickets to see Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds perform live in Seattle as part of Seeds of Compassion. There is no denying that this is one concert that is on my "must attend before I die" list. You may not be aware that such a list exists. Let me assure you that it does.

Did I mention that the Dalai Lama will be there? Before the concert begins there will be a "an intimate dialogue on the role of music in building culture, racial and religious bridges - how the emotions experienced through music unifies and ultimately serves to create global compassion." It should be fascinating.

And now, seeing as though it is Football Saturday, let me point out that I played a game today in which i scored a goal that would be worthy of Highlight of the Night honors. Yes...I shall remain humble while at the same time recognizing the sheer brilliance of my own scoring prowess.

In closing...Glory, Glory Man United! Goodbye Gooners!

End of Wednesday...

What a week. I was sick Monday and Tuesday and spent most of those two days on the couch battling a fever, feeling sorry for myself, reading and watching the first 2 Rambo movies. Today I headed back into the office to find that life still is going on outside my little world.

I met with a guy today who has become a friend over the last year and a half. He's made some poor decisions in the past and has really made an attempt to get things straightened out. But today it looked like the joy had been sucked right out of him. He went back to some old lifestyle choices and just isn't sure what to do.

I wish I could give him an answer but I don't have one. So instead I invited him to church. I don't know if that will help him. I know that in the ideal world it should...but I don't typically dwell in that world. If you think of it, can you pray for him?

It was student ministry night too. A blah night as far as Wednesdays go...at least for me. But go figure that the small group leaders are telling me their groups went great.

I'll spare you the other details. I just needed to get some of this off my chest before it collapsed.

Moments...

Random Grammy Moment:
The soundtrack of Once never stood a chance against The Beatles. Bah...

Random Amateur Football Moment:
I almost scored a goal yesterday. I put the ball past the keeper but before it crossed the line one of my teammates got pushed and fell into the ball to put it in the net. I have now been robbed of 3 goals these season.

Random Pro-Football Moment:
City 2 United 1

Random Movie Moment 1:
I watched Fido. That was weird...and a little funny.

Random Movie Moment 2:
Saw Fool's Gold on my date (despite me making a lackluster case for Rambo). We shared a few laughs and some popcorn.

Random Church Thought:
Let's occasionally get rid of all musical forms of worship on a Sunday morning and see what happens.

Random Health Note:
Everyone else in the house has been sick, so apparently it's my turn.

6 questions...

I'm wondering what you think...

1. What happens when you mix 40 people, 7 lbs of marshmallows and carpet?
2. How do you remove the remnants of the above concoction?
3. Does Ogopogo really exist?I have a date on Friday.
   
4. What does one do on a date?
5. If a rattlesnake fought a Smurf, who would win?
6. What movies should I rent tomorrow?
   

Enlarge your peer circle...

It's crazy this week. I'm in one of those stretches that sees me committed four nights in a row to church stuff. I should probably be committed to agreeing to this.

But I found some time this morning between filling out an email interview for one of my leaders and planning marshmallow games for my high schoolers (don't ask) to read a few blogs. And this one by Mr Crowder cracked me up.

It was his answer to a question (it's #6 of 15 if you're trying to find it) on his website as to why alcohol was being served at a concert they played in Cincinnati.

Here's part of his elaborate response:

i might add, both historically and currently, there are many people who love jesus, and follow him, that also enjoy alcohol regularly. if you have not encountered these people first hand, you should attempt to enlarge your peer circle and i think you’ll get a clearer picture of the diversity of the body of christ.

Fight night...

It's fight night at our house tonight. I should mention it's UFC 81 on high definition, and not the weekly family rumble. We tend not to rumble as a family anymore, ever since the kids figured out they could whoop their mom.

It was a momentous week for us here as we officially switched over to a new internet provider. I know that may not seem like a big deal, but we had been with the previous provider for almost 10 years. But alas, we discovered we could save some money while also getting faster service, so it was kind of a no-brainer.

Anyways, I've got nothing profound today, but here's a video that's worth a chuckle or two. Erin and I always get a laugh out of these guys (Flight of the Conchords):

My simple request...

"God give me patience...or a gun."

Yes, it's that time of the year again folks. The white stuff has started falling from the sky which ultimately means that most people out here who get behind the wheel end up forgetting how to drive. It's like the snow causes basic motor skills required for operating a vehicle to involuntarily shut down.

Seriously people, it's not that hard to drive in. If you could follow these few simple tips it would help me out a great deal:

1. Do not push the pedal all the way to the floor. If you find yourself slipping as you head uphill, it will not help you to floor it.
   
2. Do not drive 5 km/h. You're being paranoid and causing more of a problem to the rest of us on the road that can actually drive the speed limit.
3. You don't need chains just because there is a little snow on the road.
   
4. Do not refer to this as a blizzard. You are only bringing on the ridicule of everyone who has actually lived in the prairies at some time in their life.

Popcorn on the floor...

Yup...there's popcorn on the floor. And the flurries have begun. I've been up since 7:30am. Kids are watching Fraggle Rock. Erin is looking for the remnants of her lung. I'm half finished a Sprite with lime as I await the official start of NHL All-Star Weekend.

I was pondering a post about the core values discussion that I participated in this morning at our church, but then I started to second guessed myself. I always hesitate to write stuff about my own church. It's usually out of fear that someone will misconstrue what I say/write and it'll come back to bite me in the rear. (That couldn't possibly happen though, right?)

I also have a personal struggle with feelings of inadequacies...but that's for another post.

With that being said, I'm trying to process what the core values in a church should look like. My own personal feeling is that core values should be seen and known by every person (whether they know Jesus or not) that enters the presence of a particular church community. For that reason I feel core values need to be free of the Christian-ese lingo. They need to be simple and to the point. But they need to be tangible.

The few that have raced through my brains were these:

• Scripture - We teach it. We study it. We live it.
  
• People - Every person has value and worth, regardless of their economic, spiritual, ethnic, social or physical condition.
  
• Authenticity - We're all a mess, so let's get real about it. Let's admit our faults, mistakes and short-comings; let's forgive; let's accept and love each other as we are...and then repeat daily.
  
• Relevance - We speak the language of our community so they have a hope of understanding what we're saying.

I could probably add a dozen more. But I think these four hit at my current heartbeat. Thoughts? Additions?

Friday & stuff...

We got back late Wednesday night from Kelowna and our District Staff Retreat. All I will say is that Kelowna is definitely not Banff. But it was still nice to get away. It was a great opportunity to reconnect with some old friends, hang out with my network guys (and their wives), catch up on some sleep (I didn't attend a single morning session), and eat. I also spent a good portion of time with our new young adult's pastor (a good guy and fellow Manchester United fan).

And since our babysitting service was only available until Wednesday night we had to come back early (retreat usually ends Thursday morning) so we could drive the kids to school on Thursday morning. We also had an appointment to take the car in so it could get patched up from our latest incident involving negligent BC drivers. Incidentally we're now driving a Chrysler Sebring for the next week or two.

All in all I'll give the retreat one thumb up, 2 stars and a twinkie.

But back to real life now.

My goals for the wonderful Friday:

• Purchase coffee (accomplished)
  
• Read something
  
• Blog (almost accomplished)
  
• Play guitar
• Build Lego

And for a random photo, here's what I've been spending a fair bit of time playing with lately. I'm having some trouble getting the whole setup plugged into the PC though.

Any suggestions?

$0.88 Reviews...

Somehow I forgot to post this before I left for Kelowna and our District Staff Retreat. But these are from last week. I did rent another movie for tonight, but there won't be a review. But Bryce, you'd be proud of what I got for my $0.88 today!

Hairspray

Obviously I didn't choose this one. And I'll be honest and say that I'm not too sure what to even write about the film. I don't think I had ever watched a musical. So, maybe I was just confused as to why the characters were constantly breaking into song...

I'm sure that as far as musicals go it was probably a pretty good flick. But asking me for my thoughts would be like asking an armless man to carry your groceries for you.




Once

Now this musical I was prepared for. I had heard the soundtrack (and enjoyed it) and read of a number of people (Kerry, Marko, Zach) who raved about it. And after weeks of being unable to scoop up one of the 2 copies in the video store I lucked out.

If you're patient with trying to understand the accents, and if you're able to look past some of the shaky camera work, you're in for a good one. I'll admit that I found it a little slow to start but over time it won me over. It's definitely not your typical Hollywood love story, which is quite nice for a change of pace.

And the music is simply beautiful. Even is you have no desire to see the movie, at least give the soundtrack a listen.

Random recap...

No, I didn't fall off the face of the planet. And no, this isn't going to become a blog dedicated to my highly subjective movie reviews. In an attempt to get back on track, here's a little recap of recent events:

• Manchester United only needed one half to put 6 in the net against Newcastle. I am still in awe.
• Bought "Winter" by Jon Foreman, but it's not as good as "Fall"
  
• Succumbed to watching some American Idol...I know I've let some of you down, and for that I'm a little sorry. But have you seen some of the wackos out there?!?!
• My soccer team lost again. Oh why do I even bother to tell you that? I'll let you know when we actually win a game.
• I'm currently beating Erin in the "Knott Family Reading Contest".
• If I told you what I'm currently reading I would immediately be voted in as Mayor of Dorkville. I'll ponder telling you when I finish.
  
• I borrowed an effects pedal for my electric guitar (I'm unsure what it's called), and I am absolutely becoming enthralled with the sounds it will make. (Sorry Bryce, no banjo as of yet!)
• It's cheap movie night!

$0.88 Reviews...

The Kingdom

I had high hopes for this one, so maybe I let myself down. I found my head spinning trying to figure out who all the characters were throughout the first 15 minutes of the film. Even though they had names and job titles printed on the screen I often found myself trying to figure out who someone was and why they were even included in the story.

To me it seemed like too big of a build up. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the FBI team isn't free to make their journey overseas.

No big plot surprises or twists for the most part. Sometimes it was even a bit predictable. No deep character developments. In fact, I thought they could have done much better developing some of the the other players like Jennifer Garner's character.

The ending leaves you with one of those "hmmm" moments. You know, the moments where you take a few more seconds to process what you just heard/saw.

All in all I wasn't too thrilled. Mildly entertaining as far as Thursday night movie watching goes. I'm just glad I didn't spend big bucks to see it in the theatre.

For 2008...

Everyone seems to be making posts about their goals for 2008. I wouldn't want to feel left out, so here's a few of mine. There's even an opportunity for you to have some input into what you'd like to see in a few categories.

• Books - Let's shoot for 26. It seems to be a number that most people are shooting for, and I'm all for conformity.
  
• Blogs - I'd like to keep my Google Reader at a manageable number. I'm thinking under 50. That means a few more cuts are in order. As for my own blog I have decided to remain as random as ever in 2008.
  
• Music - Besides writing more of my own, I think I'd like to learn something new. Maybe I can actually learn to read music? Or maybe take some voice lessons? Or learn scales? Or learn to play electric guitar? Or maybe the banjo? I'm open to suggestions on this one.
  
• TV - This is simple: watch less. The Writer's Strike is already making me feel like I've accomplished this goal. But should TV start up again, I'm already making a decision to opt out of Lost.
  
• Movies - I'd like to do more blog reviews of what I'm watching. No big reason here, I just thought it'd be fun. And maybe you'll get a chuckle out of some of the junk I watch. Just don't judge me too harshly because I'm overly sensitive.
  
• Friends - I need some new ones as the old ones still haven't moved any closer to us. Don't worry, if you are currently listed under the category of "friends who live in another province", you can remain as friends. However, if you would like to remove yourself from the list, please contact the site administrator. In all seriousness, I need to spend more time developing some relationships with people.
  
• Finances - I need to become more "fiscally responsible" (yeah, I think that's what Erin called it).
  

You will notice an absence of ministry-related goals. There's a simple explanation for that. Those goals are developed in August and September, not in January. Duh. Either that or I don't have any significant ones. You decide.

$0.88 Reviews...

A local video store rents out new releases every Thursday for $0.88. How can you possibly go wrong for that price? So consider this the beginning of a new blogging series...at least until I grow bored with it, or forget that I started it in the first place. Here's what was playing last night:

Stardust

When this movie got released it wasn't even on my radar. In fact I had never even thought about watching it until I stumbled upon someone's list of favorite movies of 2007 (I can't even give props as I don't remember who it was...sorry). They listed it under a heading something like "Most Underrated Film of the Year" and even went as far as to compare it to The Princess Bride.

Wow. $0.88 well spent. Very entertaining, creative, and funny film with witches, pirates, falling stars, falling in love, and Robert DeNiro in a dress (I kid you not). I was splitting a gut at some parts while at other moments I was completely engrossed in the fantasy.

I'd be hesitant to show it to a younger audience and if you happen to be in the camp that considers the likes of Harry Potter and Halloween to be a tool of the devil, you may want to pass this one by. But if you haven't heard anything about this one, and you're looking for an evening of entertainment, you may be pleasantly surprised.


Waitress

This was another one of those films I hadn't heard much about, but Erin had mentioned something about wanting to see it. Since I've been choosing such terrible movies lately I decided to go with her suggestion. It was probably a good idea.

I really don't want to say anything that may ruin the movie, but it deals a great deal with relationships and infidelity. I constantly found myself wrestling with the question "who's to blame in all of this?"

My guess is that you'll likely be taken through a range of emotions that has you identifying with certain characters and feeling sorry for them while you feel complete disgust with others. You'll probably get a few laughs in along the way.

But my highlight of the movie was probably Andy Griffith. He alone made it worth the $0.88.

In other news...

Canada is currently up 2-0 over the USA. It's looking like a Canada-Sweden match up for the gold medal, provided they don't completely check their brains at the door. Which, I hate to say, is entirely possible with this year's team.

A bunch of stuff...

I'm still considering making a post about some of my goals for the upcoming year. I guess that will be Goal #1: write a post about my goals for 2008.

In the meantime, I'll stick to a recent summary of events.

• I ended up teaching in the service this last Sunday. It's kind of a long story of how that came about, but let's just say that I had no idea I would be doing it until Friday at about noon.
• I read "My Story" by Wayne Rooney. It won't be winning any literary awards, but it's got some interesting little tidbits about his life. I'm still flabbergasted that he was making so much money at such a young age.
• I finished reading "Growing Souls" by Mark Yaconelli. This was a follow up to Contemplative Youth Ministry" and it focuses more on how the contemplative aspects were (and can be) put to use in various youth ministry contexts. Both books have made myself ask some questions about our student ministry. I'll keep you posted on what may come out of this.
• A bunch of students are coming over to the house this afternoon for what we affectionately refer to as PROXIMITY.
• I absolutely am loving my new pedal for my guitar. I just wish I could find more time to play with it.

Year in review...

I think it's time to reflect on what I consider to be some of the finer points of the last year. You may notice that a few items with release dates in 2006 slip into the mix. Sometimes I'm slow catching on, so gimme a break.

Movies Worth Watching...
Reign Over Me
Wild Hogs
Meet the Robinsons
Live Free or Die Hard
Ratatouille
Transformers
Mr. Bean's Holiday
Enchanted

Music Worth a Listen...
The Cobalt Season "Unified Theory"
Dave Matthews & Time Reynolds "Live at Radio City"
David Crowder Band "Remedy"
Jon Foreman "Fall"
Raine Maida "The Hunters Lullaby"
"Once" Soundtrack

Concert I Attended That Was Worth Every Penny (and then some)...
Eric Clapton live in Seattle.

Books I Didn't Feel Like throwing Out...
Dan Kimball "They Like Jesus But Not The Church"
Christpher Moore "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal"
Sarah Cunningham "Dear Church: Letters From a Disillusioned Generation"
Andy Stanley "Communicating For A Change"

Blogs Additions...
Matthew Good
ASBO Jesus
Worship Guitarist
Dan Kimball

TV Shows That Must Return...(and return quickly please!)
24
The Office
Rules of Engagement
Chuck

Boxing Day deals...

The best discovery yesterday was to find Manchester United top of the EPL table thanks to Chelsea's 4-4 debacle with Aston Villa and Arsenal's failure to produce at Portsmouth.

As for the rest of the last few days, it's been great. Great times with family. Great laughs. Great food. Great gifts. Ah yes...the list goes on.

Yesterday Aidan played in his first official soccer tournament at BC Place. His team lost their first game on a goal scored by a kid who was definitely not onside (but hey, they are only 6 years old). Then they won their second game and making his semi-unprofessional debut as a keeper, Aidan recorded his first career clean sheet! I'm biased, but he was stellar!

Today there is snow on the ground and we need to head back for game 3 & 4 of the tournament before grabbing a bite to eat with the rest of the family.

Until then I will probably play with Lego, race cars and maybe my guitar...if I'm lucky!

The kids are excited...

My wife is too. Me? I'd like to go back to bed. How lazy am I?

And just in case you really want to have some fun with your kids, you may want to keep track of Santa's progress by visiting Norad's Santa Tracker. Apparently Santa just left Baghdad.

Here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas! May you enjoy time this season with friends and family!

Merry Christmas...

I'm still itching to find my way to the IMAX to watch "I Am Legend" for the primary reason that I would get to see a 6-8 minute clip of the Joker from the new Batman movie "The Dark Knight". But in case you've missed what's happening, here's trailer that apparently appeared along with it.

A better quality version can be found here.




And I'd be curious to hear what you think about the look of the new joker. I thought Nicholson did a good job but sometimes came across almost too goofy. I nearly choked when I heard they got Ledger, but what I've seen so far looks good.

Thoughts?

Online TV...

As you are well aware, most TV networks stream their shows online. And I think that's part of the problem that contributes to the writer's strike. (I don't attempt to understand all the issues so I won't even begin to write about it. But at this stage I'm all for writer's getting paid more. Anything, as long as it brings back Jack Bauer!)

Anyways, as I was doing some reading about the strike I learned about a site called Hulu. It turns out that, with the aid of an invitation, you can watch a pile of shows and movies from a few different networks like FOX, NBC and SCI-FI, to name a few.

Apparently the only catch was that the content was only viewable in the US. So, what did I do? Signed up anyway. I was pleasantly surprised. So if you happen to like your TV watching, why don't you give it a try and see what happens.

Go here to check it out.

If that doesn't work, you can always access a public site at OpenHulu. Someone figure out how to embed the videos from Hulu on their own site so everyone can play. But it's only a matter of time before they likely get shut down.

I have sinned...

You can't tell my wife about this next part. I broke a huge rule/law/commandment that exists in our house around Christmas time. The rule says something like "thous shalt not ever buyeth stuff for yourself under any circumstance in the time that cometh before Christmas". But I bought myself some music yesterday on iTunes.

I had seen this new album "Fall" by Jon Foreman (lead guy of Switchfoot) floating around on the web. I like Switchfoot but wasn't in a big hurry to buy this EP, as I'm not a huge fan of EP's. I tend to think I'm getting ripped off when theres anything less than 12 songs on a CD. I guess I'm a consumerist...

Then I started seeing the album mentioned in a few more places and then it showed up in a few emails. And then Kerry went and put it in his Best Albums of 2007. So I caved and bought it. And I am glad I did. It's a gooder.

And Erin, if you are reading this...it's Kerry's fault!

Tuesday...

It's a blah day. It could have something to do with the fact that I'm recovering from some bug that kept me on the couch all of yesterday. It could be because of the rain, which doesn't apparently ever stop. It could be that I have no "official" youth ministry responsibilities this week...which could also mean that I am bored.

So, here's a few random things:

• I'm two chapters into "An Emergent Manifesto of Hope" and immensely enjoying it. I'm considering doing some posts in the New Year about what I'm reading in it. If any of you have a copy and would be interested in conversing about it, let me know. Maybe we could cover a chapter a week or something.
• My greatest movie watching enjoyment lately has come from two G-rated movies: Mr. Bean's Holiday and Enchanted.
• I believe that my Christmas shopping was officially complete as of last Friday when I spent many hours in a car with nothing but my thoughts and a jazillion Christmas songs (none of which were N'Sync Brad!).
• This week is becoming busier than I originally imagined or intended. I believe that tonight was my only night completely free and that disappeared due to an email I received earlier this morning.
  
• I need to carve out an evening where I can wrap some gifts and watch one of my favorite Christmas movies ever. (Come on Bryce, you know you love this one too!)
• I think the current list of blogs on my Google Reader is going to go under the knife before the New Year. If you'd like to stay on my list, please do something memorable in the next couple of weeks! But, no pressure. ;)
  
• I'm feeling challenged lately to be more relational. I'm an introvert. People can drain me. My default is to stay home at night and watch TV. Jesus didn't call me to live like that, so I'm trying to think about what I'm going to do about this.

Ok, that's all for this Tuesday afternoon. I may see you around sometime this week. If not, then have a very Merry Christmas!

The one function of the church...

So I was strolling by Pagitt's blog and was directed towards this interview on Crosswalk.com between Paul Edwards and John MacArthur. It was the following quote by Monsieur (that's for my French friends) MacArthur that really struck me:

MacArthur: "I’m going to seem anachronistic if not an outright dinosaur at this point. I believe the church has one function, and that is to guard the truth, to proclaim the truth and to live the truth. So you take the Word of God, you teach it, you proclaim it, you protect it, you defend it, and you live it, and that’s a church. The Word of God rightly divided, rightly understood."

Teaching and proclaiming the Word? Yes.

Living it (or attempting to...hey, after all we're not perfect)? Yes.

But protecting it and defending it? It almost makes me seem like I'm some sort of gatekeeper that swings a sword to keep the evil forces of the world at bay.

Does God need me to defend Him? Does He need me to protect His Word? Am I charged with guarding the truth? Am I really the last line of defense? Am I really any line of defense?

It seems like there is a growing number of people who somehow believe that all of church history and every part of the Christian faith will get flushed down the toilet if they don't declare themselves the only true defenders of Truth and stomp out anyone voices that, by their own accord, are contrary.

Is it really the place of the church to protect and defend the Word of God?

It's worth it if...

I would imagine that most of you have heard this comment at one time or another about various church "outreach" events.

"Well, it will all be worth it if one person gives their life to Jesus"

Is that statement even accurate? Or is it just something people tell themselves so they can sleep better at night? Is it worth anything that we would or could do? Or is there sometimes a higher price (which is no doubt unseen by most) that gets paid out in the name of "numerical evangelism"?

Writer's strike...

I'm still hopeful for an end to this strike which will bring back my TV. Rules of Engagement, 24 and The Office...life just isn't the same without them.

It seems like the "in" thing to do is for the writer's to occasionally bombard YouTube with their current material. I'll admit that I'm getting a kick out of some of them. Anyways, here's one. Be warned that it's probably a PG-13 rating.

You gotta be kidding me...

I've been having nothing but problems on my home PC lately. It started with Mozilla Firefox which put me through endless headaches of uninstalls and reinstalls before I finally figured it out. Then a few weeks ago I had problems with iTunes. Now I'm having problems with Firefox again. But this time instead of not opening, it's only refusing to access certain sites, like my Google Reader. And to top it all off it won't play certain media files, which means I need to listen to my hockey games via Internet Explorer.

#@#&#!

I can say that here right?

Seriously, I like a great deal of stuff about Firefox, like it's ability to correct my spelling as I type and it's AdBlock feature. But this is becoming ridiculous.

I've tried some online help forums but i haven't found anything that helps. Any ideas? Is it time for me to head back to IE?

Official arrival of Christmas...

It's here. (Is it ok to decorate now Brad?)

The tree arrived last night. The snow arrived this morning. The annual purchase of some Christmas music on iTunes has begun...or maybe it has ended. Erin bought some music but I didn't get any. I'm not bitter. But I am playing one of her most favorite Christmas albums ever.

So, just what do you get a Wookie for Christmas when he already has a comb?

And what's your album(s) of choice for the Christmas season?

Looking for toys...

I apologize for the shameless advertising that will follow, but I've been nominated with the family task of finding new homes for some of the kids' toys. Apparently we need to make room for the new arrivals that will show up in our house next month.

Or maybe it has more to do with the fact that the kids just don't play with these anymore.

These things will likely end up on Craigslist or eBay later today but I thought I'd post it here first. If you're interested, or want some more info, let me know.

Read that blog...

Ok, so what makes you read a blog?
Do you appreciate random tidbits of a person's life?
Are you drawn to well articulated posts about the bigger issues in life?
What's your favorite topic to read about?
Do you prefer long posts or short posts?
Do you like pictures?
How many of you use an RSS feed to keep up to date?

That's a funny looking cat...

For months we've been under the impression that our neighbor's cat has been into our garbage. Tonight while watching TV we hear the garbage bin get knocked over. Upon looking out the window on the door what do I discover? That my neighbor has one of the funniest looking cats ever. And it's apparently hungry, and not entirely camera shy.

So, will an airsoft gun take care of this or will I have to upgrade my firearm of choice?

Nerd alert...

Ok, is this not one of the coolest things out there?

I believe I have fully nerdified myself.

What's that stuff on the ground...

I'm told it's called "snow". It's kind of cool looking. But it put the satellite out of commission, so now I'm watching a CNN special called "God's (Christian) Warriors" which has me swearing at the TV. I don't think that's healthy, so I may have to work on my student ministries retreat video. At least until the power goes out.

Go Blue...

The time is here! Go Bombers!

How about a guitarism...

It's been a while since I added some guitar stuff, so check this guy out. It's just plain cool.



And if you want to see some crazy capo usage, check this one out.

Soundtrack of my life...

I got tagged by Kerry so I shall comply. I shall also retroactively tag Ben as he already did this. And I shall tag Bryce and Brad. I'm staying with the letter "B" today.

Here it is, The soundtrack of my life. * As decided by my iTunes. * The Rules:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button

*Editor's Note: Because I just added a bazillion Christmas songs this week and I share the iTunes with my wife, I decided that I may opt out of any Christmas tunes and anything that obviously "belongs" to my lovely wife.

Opening Credits
Kim Carnes "Bette Davis Eyes" (Too funny. I love this song but it makes me feel like my life story is going to be based in the 80's.)

Waking Up
Goo Goo Dolls "Slide" ("I wanna wake up where you are")

First Day of School
Riley Armstrong "A Lot Can Happen in a Year" (No kidding!)

Falling in Love
U2 "Walk On"("And love is not the easy thing")

Fight Song
Gin Blossoms "California Sun" (If the fight was with a girl, this might work)

Breaking Up
Toby Mac "Ignition" (This one was a swing and a miss.)

Prom
Red Jump Suit Apparatus "Cat and Mouse" (Fitting if I consider the "cat and mouse" I played with my date at my grad. She spent the whole evening with my best friend.)

Life
Toby Mac "Suddenly" ("And suddenly all of it's behind you/ And I'm here to remind you/
That yesterday is gone so say goodbye")

Mental Breakdown
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam "Lost in Emotion" (Yup...I'm having a mental breakdown as we speak)

Driving
Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds "Lie in Our Graves" (I'll admit that there are better Dave songs out there for driving, but I'll take it)

Flashback
Skillet "Your Love (Keeps Me Alive)" (With those creepy, whispery vocals, I could envision a flashback to college days when this song came out)

Getting Back Together
Mat Kearney "Walking Away" (I was thinking it was another miss until I pondered the chorus and the phrase of "walking away from yesterday". It could fit.)

Wedding
Sarah McLachlan "Building a Mystery" (Ummm...she can sing at my wedding, but not this song!)

Birth of Child
U2 "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (If we're talking about peace and quiet, then yes.)

Final Battle
Audio Adrenaline "Clap Your Hands" (Repetitive. It's got some kick.)

Death Scene:
Matt Costa "Wash Away" ("Sun sinks out of view/ Stars they shine changing hue")

Funeral Song
Spirit of the West "Home for a Rest" (Hilarious! Please play this at my funeral!)

End Credits
Dashboard Confessional "These Bones" (Hmmm...I'll take Dashboard for a closing song. Not my first choice of songs, but it's workable.)

The pains of students...

The death of a high school senior this week in a car accident has really hit the students hard. Some of my students knew him as he used to attend our church. Others would have graduated with him this year. Others were friends with him.

We had to throw away all our original plans for the evening. Instead we sat together. We read John 11. We wept together. Many tears were shed and many hugs were given and received. It was tough. But it was real.

How do you look a group of students in the eye and tell them it will be ok? You can't. Even with the hope of being in the presence of Jesus one day, it still sucks to say goodbye. It doesn't make the pain any less real for these kids.

I drove by the accident scene this morning and saw a group of students huddled over flowers while others embraced and my heart sank. This isn't the way things should be.

These last few days and weeks have hit me square in the face with some of the monumental life issues that students these days are dealing with. It's at times overwhelming. My only hope is that God will reach into their lives in these darkened moments and overwhelm them with His love, grace and mercy.

If you have a moment, could you pray for the students of our community?

Life's little reminders...

As a parent sat and shared their family life with me I was reminded this afternoon of why I work with students.

In the midst of all my other frustrations, God is at work.

Surfacing...

Why is it that everything seems to come to the surface around the same time?

This week a student in the community (not currently from our church, but has connections in the past to our church) was killed in a car accident. We have a number of students who attended the same school, so we're trying to figure out how they're doing with all of this.

Wednesday night is our typical ministry night, but I don't know if we should change things up because of the latest events. I would imagine that 60-70% of our students would have no clue about what happened and would have no idea who the student was.

My wife and I are also meeting with some parents today to talk about their teenager. They're looking for ideas as to what to do. I'm unsure what to tell them.

Our student worship team has been missing band members lately and it's kind of a crucial time as we've got some upcoming ministry events that we have to lead at.

I am currently at day #9 without a day off. With a funeral, baptisms and leading worship this Sunday for the kid's ministry the long awaited day or should I say "days" off are not coming anytime soon.

Now we'll top this all off with a healthy dose of disillusionment and frustration.

I know, I know...I'm singing the same old tune. But how do you stop when everything keeps piling up? Is this just me being oversensitive and uncooperative? Is this my pessimistic tendencies sneaking through? Or am I being real and authentic?

Should I change? Do I need to change? How would I even change?

Monday hangovers...

Maybe that was a poor title choice. Not "hangover" in the typical sense, but "hangover" in the sense of I just spent close to 45 hours trapped in close quarters with a group of teenagers and student ministry leaders.

Driving time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Sleep time: 11 hours
Silence: 35 minutes
Time spent in frigid lake water: 15 seconds
Amount of video: 2 hours
Board Game time: 4 hours 15 minutes
Swinging socks full of flour: 45 minutes

I wrestle with how to answer the question "How was the weekend?"

It was fun. It was tiring. It was frustrating. I was disappointed. I was moved. I was taught. It was long. It was short. It was exciting. It was burdensome. It was random. It was flexible.

I dunno. It just WAS.

My current point of mental processing had me weighing the long term spiritual merits of these weekends away. I don't think there's anything bad to say, but I wonder if we could do things better.

I really tried to design a weekend around the concept of "retreat". Withdraw from the usual routine. Take time for solitude and silence.

We tried not to over schedule with a billion things to do. We were flexible and had to change stuff on the fly. Our teaching times consisted of reading the Bible and listening to each other. We tried to carve out time to just play together and have fun. We unplugged the instruments and let our voices sing about who God is and what He means to us.

But...the questions still haunts me. Did every student have an opportunity to connect with their Creator this weekend? Did every student have a chance to hear that they are loved and valued? Did every student have time to not just hear about God, but to experience Him? What work did God do "behind the scenes" that we may never know about?

I probably shouldn't be in the office or working today. I'm hitting the wall and running on fumes...use whatever metaphor you would like. I just now that this current pace is not sustainable.

Extinction...

I think that's where I'm headed.

I've been shuffling some stuff around in life lately. Some of it has been an active choice on my part and some of it has been reactive and due to everything that's coming down the pipe.

I tend to get like this every once in a while. When you combine budget time with our upcoming student retreat and then mix in all the regular daily details, you will start to see my head spinning.

So, my open letter to you is that you have not been forgotten. Who do I mean by "you". You can decide!

My world is crumbling...

And there is not a thing I can do about it.

Apparently season 7 of 24 has been put on hold indefinitely due to the writers strike. And no, it's not just FOX, it seems to be everyone and everything except for reality TV shows. As if we needed any more of those.

With great sadness in my soul (hey, I'm a shallow person) and in memory of this horrible news I post this following video. It contains spoilers. And if you don't have any idea about what season 7 has in store and who the bad guy is...brace yourself...this will blow your mind.

It's alive...

It's November 7th and this is my first post of the month?!?! Yikes! I'm becoming a hermit.

Thanks to all your music suggestions from last week. When I finally find some time to listen I'll let you know about my likes and dislikes. If I end up buying any of the CD's that you suggested I will award you with 10,000 points. I will also send you an invoice for $9.99 from iTunes.

In random news this past week:

• Our PROXIMITY Retreat is coming up and our t-shirts arrived last week. I was able to convince most of our worship team (no, not the youth team) to wear a shirt for last Sunday's worship service.
• Halloween did not provide an adequate supply of Tootsie Rolls
• My soccer team lost. Big surprise there, eh?
  
• People need to lighten up. This applies at so many levels that I can't even start to explain.
  
• I enjoyed an evening of driving, burritos and Mars Hill with my small group this past Sunday. It never ceases to amaze me how surprised the border agents look when they ask you where you are going and you say "church".
• Our new teaching series called "My Life" has us camped out in Psalms. Tonight we're talking about how God matters in our loneliness.
• I am excited for some of my friends. New jobs, more kids, first kids...and other exciting news that I'm not allowed to speak of yet.
• The Millennium Falcon is currently under construction at our house.
  

Suggestions needed...

I haven't been satisfied with music releases lately. Part of my Tuesday morning ritual is always to swing over to the music store on iTunes and fin out what has just been released. Apparently Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys just released new albums this week. Huh?!?! Did I just flashback to the 90's and someone forgot to tell me? Who lets these people make music?

I could use some help. I need some new tunes. It doesn't have to necessarily be current. It could be obscure. I just need something good. And I know that's such a subjective thing, but I promise I will try to give all suggestions a legitimate listen.

Your suggestions?

Mondays are for...

This is what this Monday exists for:

• drinking french vanilla coffee (and wondering why I have a "children's pastors conference" mug)
  
• catching up on a weekend's worth of email (yes, I occasionally ignore work emails some weekends...I'm told that it's good for me)
• discovering that there's too much to read and too little time to read it in
• thinking "I should clean my desk" (I've had this thought every Monday for the better part of 6-8 months)
• trying to figure out if my body aches and pains are due to my soccer game on Saturday or due to old age which officially arrived yesterday
• contemplating what our next teaching series will be (I'm officially open to suggestions!)
• being a good youth pastor and voting for the only youth ministry question over at "Ask Anything" (my ten votes for the day have now been used up)
• approving a t-shirt design for our upcoming retreat (I'm of mixed opinions of how it will turn out...I'll keep you posted)
  
• music practice
• soccer practice
• eating lunch with Ryan, our student ministry intern (we always solve the world's problems on Monday's, so if you'd like us to solve yours please feel free to send it to me)
  

Anyways, that's probably going to be my day in a nutshell. I'm sure it'll look different by 2:00pm because my coffee is already getting cold.

Without a title...

I can't come up with something smart. Lately I feel like every post is just more of the same and I'm tempted to reuse old titles.

Today I am ponder the abnormalities of a Wednesday night youth event. Everything was squirrelly. Students were off the wall for the second straight week. Leaders were having a tough time. We were missing leaders. I forgot lyrics to songs. The speaker seemed out to lunch. (oh...and I should probably mention that I was the speaker)

It was one of those nights where you get in the door, plop down on the couch and wonder what the heck just happened.

But then I thumbed through some cards that we asked our students to fill out and guess what? One of our high school girls gave her life to Jesus! Woohoo!

I just sent an email to my leaders with a reminder of these words found in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. It's the comments that transpire after Paul asks God to remove the thorn from his flesh.

But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Ain't that the truth.

The sun actually shines...

The sun actually came out. Oh, how I've missed it. I feel like a vampire most days...not that I really know what a vampire feels like.

I'm currently still trying to recover from the weekend. My team came out with a 2-2 draw on Saturday, in which I was finally able to get on the scoresheet. There was even a red card and some high tensions as the player who was sent off stuck around to "see" the ref after the game. I guess cooler heads prevailed and there was no need for me to step in and use any of the moves I've been learning from watch UFC.

But somehow I also managed to wreck my back. I spent all of Saturday night in some level of discomfort or agony. Sunday consisted of a major "faux pas" on my part from the stage (I won't say much about this except that I announced someone as being dead who wasn't even dead...it's a long story) before heading home to fade in and out of sleep all afternoon on the couch.

Monday I slept in and tried to recover. I was feeling better and even made it through worship practice with some of my students. I thought I was getting better, but as of noon today I'm still sore. And sitting at this desk isn't helping much.

I guess this is what it feels like to turn 30, eh?

Ask Anything...

Mark Driscoll's taking a page out of the "How To Be A Youth Pastor" manual and is letting the general public dictate what an upcoming sermon series will be about. (I think I poll my own students about what would be relevant to them a couple times each year.)

It's rather simple. Go here and ask your question. Then vote for your favorite questions. Then listen to Mark preach in January about the nine most popular questions (and likely their answers). Then he'll write a book about it. Neat idea. I hope he credits youth workers everywhere for this idea.

Here's a clip:

Procrastination...

I'm currently avoiding doing a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test.

Mike Yaconelli once said something funny about Myers-Briggs that made me laugh. It's in this clip. Start at the 2:34 mark if you can't afford to watch the whole thing.

I like this video. But it makes me miss Mike.

Bueller...Bueller...Bueller...

You remember that clip from Ferris Bueller's Day Off right?

Don't ask me how my message is coming along for tonight's student ministry event. Instead, allow me to indulge in a little late morning activity in which you can also be involved.

I'd like to do a little roll call. If you're here, could you let the rest of the class know. Just hit the "comment" link and say a little something. Come on now...don't be shy.

Blessings on ya...

Be blessed.
Bless you.
Have a blessed day.
Blessings.

I'm officially no longer sure what a "blessing" actually is. What does it mean to have someone wish you a blessed day? What does it mean when someone thinks that a free magazine they get for signing up for a mailing list is a blessing? What does it mean when we hope that people will be blessed?

I think the word is overused and losing all meaning. Your thoughts?

Great cartoon from ASBO Jesus:

Random recaps are fun...

Sorry. I have a blog post about "online relationships" that I still need to get around to, but I'm just not feeling it these days. So I'm opting for something way more mind-numbing and highlight a few things. There is no specific reason for any of this except that it is worthy of a Monday morning mention.

• Radiohead is giving their new album away for whatever price you want to pay.
• Visit "The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus" for some thought provoking cartoons.
• Lots of free images and graphics at this site (although we could probably engage in a discussion on how exactly a photo can be "Christian").
• Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize and my wife is....well...she's....(insert your word here)
  
• I read "Three" by Ted Dekker and I'm ticked off that I spent the time reading it. I'd ask for my money back on this book, except I got it as a freebie at some outlet book store.
• We had someone candidate for a pastoral position here this past weekend. And he's a Manchester United fan!
• You can now be an "emerging parent" (h/t to EV)
• I've taken to watching the NFL. I wondered why they had a green dot on the back of the QB's helmet, and now I know thanks to Scot McKnight's ability to ask the question on his blog.
• My coffee is now finished and I have 15 things to do today...I should get on it.
  

Saturday...

Looking back, this was a day of ups and downs.

• Up: I noticed I was alive when the alarm clock went off
• Down: The alarm clock brings my sleep to an end
• Up: Watching Aidan play soccer
• Down: I played soccer and my team blew a 2-0 first half lead to lose 3-2
• Up: Catching a nap while watching the Leafs lose
• Down: My Habs lost
• Up: Discovering that we now get RDS HD on the satellite which means I can watch my Habs play
• Down: Finding nothing good on TV
• Up: Eating hot wings
• Down: You should see what my wife is watching on TV right now...
  

Ok, that's enough pointlessness for one evening.

Giving up...

We've been walking our students through Jonah over the last few weeks and we've been trying to challenge them with some important questions each week.

The first week we had them think about what God was asking them to do that they were running away from (you can probably see how that fits with Jonah 1).

Then last week we had them reflect on a dark or lonely place they may be in and how they may be able to see God in the midst of that (similar to Jonah's cry out to God from the darkness of the belly of a fish).

Last night we had the students ask themselves "what is God asking you to give up or turn away from?" We looked at the city of Ninevah and their response to Jonah's warning that they would be overthrown in 40 days if they didn't turn from their evil ways. They completely gave up their way (those Assyrians really were psycho, weren't they?) to call out to God.

Well, we decided to give the students something tangible to do. So my wife took the time to cut some strips of cloth (we were going for a "sackcloth" kind of feel) about an inch wide and a foot long. Then the students were asked to write one each piece of cloth what it was that they felt God was asking them to turn away from or give up.

They were then supposed to take the cloth and tie it to the cross as a way of saying to God, "I'm giving this up to You." Then they took a smaller piece of the same cloth an tucked it in their pocket. They were to keep this smaller piece nearby to remind them throughout the rest of the week of what they were giving up to God, and to also serve as a reminder that God would help them with it. (I wouldn't dare think that any of us has the strength in and of ourselves to give up some of the things we wrestle with.)

I'm not doing justice to this through a blog post, but it gives you the overview. Anyway it was quite something to watch as our students took these little pieces of cloth and tied them to the cross. Here's photo of what it looked like when we were done.

Last night my wife and I sat down to read what the students wrote and all I can say is that it makes my heart heavy to see the things that these students are wrestling with. My prayer is that Jesus will provide comfort for many of them this week; that He will give them the strength they need to leave this parts of their "old lives" behind so they can continue to live their "new life" in Him.

If you wouldn't mind, could you pray for our students?

We won...

We finally had a game where we scored more combined goals than the opposing team. 4-2 was the final against a team that hadn't scored a goal in the league so far. I think some of our guys expected an easy run, especially after we scored 2 quick goals. But they gave us a run for our money. Apparently we're weak in the air and poor defenders. Both of their goals were scrappy and I believe they came from inside the 6 yard box.

I'm really sore today after being run down by their keeper while on a breakaway in the first half. I know he didn't have much of a choice, but I'm thinking that he could have been sent off. Intent to injure (he had no intent on playing the ball), the last man back (I was well clear of the entire defense), and he prevented a clear scoring opportunity. Instead he received a yellow and we got a free kick from outside the area, which produced nothing.

I was also dragged down in the area later in the game which led to a shot from the spot. Lacking any confidence on my ability to put a ball in the net I opted for one of the other guys to take it which he proceeded to put in the back of the net. I was have visions of my falling on my rear or launching it over the net.

There was a day when I regularly got clobbered and tackled from behind. I never had phenomenal ball control (like a "crazy legs" Coutts) or a powerful shot. I wasn't a solid defender or a quality tackler. But I could run. And I had a tendency to draw some crazy tackles which from time to time led to cards and penalty shots.

I'm not as young as I once was. I'm not as fit. I'm not completely healthy. So this latest venture into the wonderful world of rec football is somewhat disheartening at times. I'm having to come to grips that my abilities have changed and therefore my style of play needs to change.

I imagine that I'll be constantly playing with sore or strained muscles. I likely won't see the back of the net as often. I'll probably spend more time on my side of half. But maybe I can develop a new skill, like shooting from outside the 18 yard box. That'd be nice.

Friday Randomness...

I did squat all today besides biking up a mountain. Which, if I'm truthful, should really be described as "walking up a mountain" and "sliding down trails in between wiping out". And now, here's a summary of all things important (or not so important) to me:

• Go welcome Brad to the blogging world...and wish him a happy birthday
  
• My blog poll showed that 3 out of 9 of you want me to post about online relationships
• I'm currently working on previously mentioned blog post
• Turkey dinner is tomorrow
• I dropped my iPod and now it's slow
• I'm on the hunt for soft ground football boots...which do you recommend? (maybe a poll is necessary)
  
• My Habs are on a winning streak
• The Red Devils play tomorrow
• Watched my Bombers get beat by BC...blah

Free Burma...

I'll admit that I had no clue what was going on. Then Derek did some posting. Then some other posts started turning up (here, here and here, amongst others). Then I read this and paid a visit to Wikipedia to read a bit more. You can swing by and catch up here. Or you can stop by FreeBurma.org.

With all that being said...

Your choice...

Today I feel like doing a poll. There's a number of things I could post about, so I'd like you to choose. Lame, eh? Yeah...but it is my blog.

Topics you may choose from:

• Global Warming
  
• Mark Driscoll's Ranting
  
• Soccer/football
• Music
  
• Online Relationships
• TV

You may now vote by looking over here in the margins --------->

I'll tally the results sometime this week and respond accordingly.

Pessimism...

I'm somewhat pessimistic by nature. Or maybe just by choice. Either way, it means that I tend to rant more than I dream and I tend to question more that I encourage. It also means I tend to look for flaws rather than looking for opportunities.

I'm trying to work on being more hopeful and visionary. I'm not saying that I'm going to try and become an optimist. But I do recognize the need for me to change my outlook about certain things.

Why this confession? There's been too many rants and complaints lately in my writing. That means this blog is becoming too "one sided" and not as random as I would like it to be. Therefore an apology is in order and an overhaul is needed, just like it was in my real life.

Thanks for reading. We shall now get back to trying to find normal in the randomness of life.