Trade deadline...

Today was the NHL trade deadline and I'm one of those guys that is constantly checking the web throughout the day to see who got traded. I was really hoping that Gainey would pull off something significant to strengthen up heading into the playoffs. But when the dust settled the most startling news was to hear that the Oilers had traded Ryan Smyth to the Islanders.

This is indeed a sad say for every Oiler fan. That guy was the heart and soul of the organization. Should be interesting to see if they will have what it takes to make the playoffs. A team that relies on grit needs Smyth in the lineup. I don't think they have a chance this year.

In the words of Riley...

"Sleep, no I never get enough
Always waking up tired"
-"Sleep" by Riley Armstrong

I spent the weekend with 18 of my students and 4 leaders at a retreat. I think it goes without saying that sleep did not come often enough during our time away. In fact the only time that sleep tried to make an appearance was while I was behind the wheel on the return trip. And since I feel an obligation to return students in the shape that I receive them, sleep was not allowed to overtake my activities.

It was a great weekend though. The highlight for me being listening to Shane Claiborne. I've heard him before and I have a great level of respect for him. His heart for Jesus and his heart for people shines through in everything he says and he is just as genuine to those who he meets in person.

I watched a group of my students & leaders stand around after the final session and just talk with Shane. It was obvious that they were processing what he said. What isn't as obvious is what they are going to do with what they heard. I know they were challenged. I just wonder how it will all flesh itself out. I'm grateful for a guy like Shane who takes the time to talk students through some of this stuff.

My prayer is that they will not just forget the challenge, but that they will be moved to action. We'll see what happens.

WWJBP...

What Would Jack Bauer Play?

How about everything Gibson! I personally prefer the sound of an acoustic, but I'd be tempted to buy one of these. It's Gibson's Kiefer KS-336. I was impressed by "Jack's" knowledge of music, and especially of Gibson guitars. He knows his stuff!

It turns out he's quite the musician and has amassed a sweet collection of guitars over the years. Which is sad in a way because I could definitely put one of those guitars on his shelf to use.

Who am I kidding? I don't even have time to play the guitars that I've got.

Anyways, it's not normal to own this many guitars is it?

Hurting...

Today I saw students with broken hearts. Kids who are very obviously aching and hurting and in pain. Suffering with life issues, parent issues, friend issues and a host of other issues that most people never see or take the time to ask about.

Tonight I was very much aware of how much our students need to be loved. Loved by me. Loved by my wife. Loved by others. Loved by our church. Loved by Jesus.

Dwight highlight...

I love The Office. No, I haven't seen the original British version and yes, I do have a Dwight bobblehead on my desk.

Jim's practical jokes on Dwight are by far the highlight for me, so I thought I'd share the joy with one of my favorite moments from the show. Enjoy...

Grammy's highlight...

I finally got around to watching the Grammy's the other night (just like everything I tend to be a little bit behind the times). I'll be honest, I mostly flipped through to watch the musical performances. And while most people seemed to be talking so much about The Police reuniting for the evening, I was absolutely enthralled by the 3 song performance by John Mayer, Corrine Bailey Rae and John Legend. In order to share the experience, here it is...

Outsider...

I've never really fit. I'm not sure if that's just because I primarily work with students, but I have always felt like somewhat of an outsider when it comes to relating to adults. In fact, this past year was the first time since college that I have been in a small group of peers where some of the members are many years older than me and I've felt connected to a group of adults.

Last night my wife and I attended an appreciation dinner that was put on for our pastoral staff by our elders board. I'm grateful for a group like this who is doing what they can to show their support and appreciation of the pastoral staff.

My only addendum is that I was the youngest one there by 5-6 years, and I'm sure that the overall average age was likely around 50. Most of the people in the room could have probably been my parents. Yikes!

Let's face it...I'm young. I just wish that I didn't always feel like an outsider of sorts. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in a hurry to age, nor do I want to change positions with anyone. It's just moments like last night that remind me of how different I am from most of the world...and how different I am from many in our church.

YM frustrations...

I love my job. I know I'm doing what God has called me to do, but I'll be honest and say that there are just some things I don't like about youth ministry anymore. Ok, so it's just one thing: arranging outside events. You know, those ones where students and parents have to sign their lives away so you can cram them into minivans for a weekend.

I'm currently in a pickle trying to re-arrange (yes, in the sense that it was at one point already "arranged") transportation for a youth conference we are going to be attending. Yeah...this part of the job irks me. I'd rather be teaching or thinking big picture or studying or hanging with the students, not phoning and begging and pleading and pulling what little hair I have left from my head.

I hate trying to arrange transportation. I hate the insurance details and the fine print. I know it's there for a reason, but it sure makes life a nightmare for me. If I had my way I would never plan an outside event again.

(*editor's note - this may have been written in the heat of the moment)

Doggin it...

I'm blitzed. It probably doesn't help that it sounds like a smoker is living in my bedroom these past few nights (love ya Erin!), but I'm halfway to blitzville today. It's 4pm and I'm looking at a hundred things I could do (and probably SHOULD do) and I'm trying to come up with 200 hundred ways to avoid doing them.

In other news...I'm having a music crisis lately. Maybe you've noticed the dichotomy in my "tunesworthy" section lately. Matt Redman, Switchfoot and Ben Folds?!?! I've also found a way to find some time this week for Amanda Marshall, Kenny Chesney, Diamond Rio and Matthew Good. Yeah...it's enough change and variation to make your head spin.

Is this normal?

In the news...

I'm not a big fan on posting about the news, unless it involves Manchester United or the Montreal Canadiens, but this has been building for a while. In fact, I think I've reworded this post about 4 or 5 times. Here it goes...

I am officially sick of hearing about this whole Ted Haggard saga. The final straw was hearing on Jon Stewart the other night (or maybe it was Colbert...either way, it's also been in major news as well, lest I appear like one who relies on Stewart & Colbert for my world news reports) that Haggard is now "completely heterosexual" after 3 weeks in counselling.

Here's a few issues I have...

1. James Dobson wouldn't agree to help counsel Haggard when this whole thing blew up. the smart-alec in me wants to say, "What?!?! It's too much for you to give 3 weeks to a friend in need?" Come on.


2. Is it really possible to become "ungay" in 3 weeks? To me this seems to rank up there with every other celebrities attempt at a quick fix (Miss USA, Lindsey Lohan and the guy from "Grey's Anatomy").


3. All this talk about restoration makes me wonder what restoration really means? Is it just removing someone from leadership, forcing them into counselling and then letting them walk away on their own? Apparently the oversight board recommended that Haggard go into "secular work". Is this restoration?

I don't profess to know all the details of this. Some of these reactions may be of the knee-jerk type, but I can't help but want to shake my head. Is this normal?

Oops I did it again...

I apologize for the Brittney Spears reference, but it's all my tiny brain can come up with after a weekend stuffed in our Versa with my wife and kids while we made our way to and from Calgary for my brother-in-law's wedding.

Yes, the wedding was great. All went well. But my Spears-esque reference has more to do with a trip to Christian Publications that my wife and made on Monday morning. You see, they offer pastors a 20% discount. Add to that the fact that Alberta has no sales tax and you can figure out what happened next.

I bought books. Do you think I'm any closer to finishing the last stack of books I bought back in June? Or the ones I bought in November at NYWC? Ummm...not really. Actually, I'm nowhere close.

But how could I pass up this deal? So now I've got these to read...

• No Perfect People Allowed by John Burke
• The Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll
• Dear Church... by Sarah Cunningham
• This Beautiful Mess by Rick McKinley
• Confessions of a Pastor by Craig Groeschel

When will I ever learn?

Fire alarms, laptops & YM...

Let me preface this by telling you about my current group of students. They apparently love any event that we hold inside the church. They aren't keen on sporting events or going to the waterslides, but they'll come out in droves for a night of Mission Impossible.

So we booked the entire building. The plan was to have leaders with Nerf guns roaming the hallways. All the lights would be out and students were going to be everywhere. The plan was also to do a little skit to introduce the evening and explain the "mission" and the rules. So we decided to go for ambiance. So try to picture this...

Lights are out. Spotlight is on. Mission Impossible theme music is blasting. Fogger is going. Yup...you can see this one coming. Yeah, apparently too much fog sets of fire alarms. And I don't have a clue how to shut anything off or even who I should call. And the custodians are on their dinner break.

The next thing I know I can hear the fire truck. Then I see it. Then I have to explain myself. Then all our student and leaders have to wait in the parking lot for the firemen to clear the fog out of the building.

We started our game over an hour late. But we now have a memory that none of our student will forget. And I doubt I'll ever live this down once the rest of the staff hears about it. I wonder what kind of bill I'm going to get from the fire department?

Saving...

I heard they were releasing a phone but it never crossed my mind that I'd be interested in it. I own an iPod but don't really see the point of having songs on my phone. And while I've always been curious about Apple, I've never jumped on the bandwagon.

But I sat down the other night and was reading an article in TIME about the new iPhone and all I need to say now is that I want one. It's that simple. I will not attempt to explain it. Read the article yourself and tell me why this isn't the coolest thing since the invention of the salad-spinner.

But I'll have to start saving now because it won't be cheap. And I'll have to come up with a good excuse why this will have to be my phone. Sorry Erin!

5 things...

Ok, so I noticed this was going around on a few blogs that I was reading a while back. Apparently if you are "tagged" by someone who has posted it, you are also required to post on the given subject.

I will admit that I was not tagged. But I don't like feeling left out, so here goes. Here are 5 things you probably didn't know about me.

1. I once appeared on 2 episodes of "The Great Canadian Spelling Bee" which would have aired on CKND (the old version of Global) back in the late 80's. I was part of a 5-6 person team who competed on behalf of our school against other schools in the Manitoba area
2. I once cried at an episode of "Boy Meets World". To this day my wife will not let me live this down. But if you watch Topanga leaving without Cory so much as saying goodbye (season 4, I think) and you don't cry, you don't have a heart at all.
3. I played in a band after high school and we actually played a "gig" at a high school graduation after-party. Ok, so we didn't get paid and we were only the "opening act", but this still counts. I distinctly remember playing a song by Matchbox20 called "Push", a song by the Gin Blossoms called "Competition Smile" (where we changed the a phrase about being high to "being dry") and an original song called "Tell Me Why"(written about a failed relationship between a band member and his former grad date).
4. I have collected Star Wars memorabilia since the early 90's. I have 3 giant Rubbermaid tubs of various toys, calendars, pens, lego, masks, lightsabers, cards and magazines. Close to 90 of my figurines are in their original packages (but none are from the 1970-1980's).
5. I enjoy country music. This is something I picked up from some friends in high school. I've alwasy used country music when I need a break from everything else I've been listening to. There's something about being able to tell a story in a song that catches my attention.
   

I'm tagging the 4 people I know that read this on a regular basis. Erin, Bryce, Kelly & Jon. If you're someone else, don't feel left out. Consider yourself tagged!

Online...

We have been depending on dial-up for our interent access for almost 2 months. And after weeks of phone calls and waiting...and more phone calls...and more waiting...Telus got their act in gear and finally solved the problem. So, it was an exciting moment when we arrived home last night from District Retreat to find that little green "ready" light blinking on the DSL modem.

I really have a hard time remembering what it was like to have to rely on the phone line on a regular basis. These last couple of months have been torcherous at times.

Anyways, it kind of feels like I can get back to normal now. But where do I begin?

Snowfall warning...

I awoke to find white fluff covering the lawn. And you already know what that means...

1. People are parked on the hill up to our neighborhood because their car can't make it up.
2. Schools are canceled.
3. I'll be fielding phone calls all day that ask "Is there still youth tonight?"
4. I'll be fielding emails all day that ask "Is there still youth tonight?"
5. People forget how to drive.

Yeah, this seems to be the usual response around here when the frozen stuff falls from the heavens. After last time this is starting to seem normal though.

Someone please press "play"...

I think I hit the pause button in my head and now I can't get it started again. Everything seems to have frozen up. And this is not the best time for it. I have a message to finish preparing for tomorrow night, a parents meeting to prepare for on Thursday night and a youth leader meeting to prepare for on Sunday afternoon.

And then next week I'm off to District Retreat. So I have to have everything prepared for me to not be around. Ad like I said, this isn't the best time for my brain to drift into "stand-by mode".

Life by dial-up...

Yeah...still no broadband at our place. Apparently Telus is in nor hurry to hook it up either because we aren't getting broadband through them. But this is just getting ridiculous.

Anyways, here's a quick look at a few things that happened over my blogging hiatus...

I rescued 3 Clapton tickets from the bottom of a full garbage bag at 2am.

• I had one of those "sit straight up in bed and suddenly realize that you haven't seen the tickets for 3 days since you opened them and left them on the counter" moments. A mild panic attack, and 25 minutes later...and at the bottom of a bag of old spaghetti, other leftovers and miscellaneous crap...they were rescued.

Our youth worship team led in church this past Sunday.

• I can honestly say that this ranks up there with my experiences playing with "Acoustic Skyline". I've missed the days of leading worship on a Sunday morning. And this gave the youth ministry some much needed exposure.

Retreat/conference season is upon us.

• It's that time of the year that everyone who is anyone is trying to convince me to bring my students to their conference. YC Generation, Legacy, Rush, Dare2Share have all been on the radar and I think I've narrowed it down...almost.

Goals for the New Year.

• I have a large list. That way I am sure to accomplish something, right? Actually this one could be a post all it's own, but I wonder if there's any point in putting down on paper what I'll probably forget about in a week's time. Hey, but isn't it the thought that counts? Stay tuned...maybe.

Apologies...

No, I didn't fall off the face of the planet. All though some days I wish it was possible to just drift away into the galaxy...but that's another thought for another day.

As I have noted before not everything was finished in the house before we moved in. And while that didn't seem like the end of the world at the time, it has now become a major form of aggravation and frustration. Sure, the phone line has been fixed and the security system has been installed, but we still have wires hanging out all over the place. After 5 phone calls and almost a week of waiting we find out the guy won't show up until Tuesday to do work that his boss should have done the first time he was at our place.

And then there's the internet access, of which we currently only have dial-up. I know, I know...we're spoiled. But I just don't have the patience for dial-up, especially when I'm wondering if I'll miss a phone call from someone who is actually planning to come and finish up something in the house. This would therefore explain my lack of presence on the web.

Ok, that's enough of my ranting. I should be in a good mood. We have a 3 week break from our crazy student ministry schedule, I'm helping making gingerbread houses in Aidan's class tomorrow, I see my surgeon on Monday about my knee, my Red Devils are 5 points clear at the top of the table, and The Office is an hour long tonight.

And now it's back to work for me.

Too much junk...

I'm beginning to wonder why I didn't get rid of more stuff before we moved out here last year. Now that all our earthly possessions have been crammed in our basement, we are beginning to realize we may not have enough space for everything. I think eBay may be calling...

And while I'm loving the fact that we actually have our own space now, it's a little frustrating to see how much stuff is yet unfinished. The vacuum isn't working, speaker outlets aren't connected, phone jacks aren't even on the walls, coat hooks are missing. And don't get me started on the 60 plus minutes I spent trying to hook up our washer and dryer. (I still think that's the appliance guys job.)

But, it's our home. And by tomorrow most things should be connected or installed. Now we can get our family back to normal. Whatever that looks like!