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.

Again..

Today we lost 6-0.

One comment at half-time was "I'm not seeing much bad stuff guys. Keep it up.". I think I must have been attending a different game or something. I watched from the sidelines as the other team scored 3 goals in 10 minutes. I don't think that's good soccer.

Stop me if you've heard this before...but this is beyond frustrating!

Do not disturb...

It's my day off. I got to sleep in. It's raining. And now I just might eat Timbits for lunch and sit down in front of the TV this afternoon to watch my $0.88 rental while the 3 other members of the family are at the school.

To top that all off I may be on the verge of a rather monumental blog post. If you disturb me, it may be ruined.

Tuesday randomness...

I lack anything super profound as it seems to be a day/week/month full of a hundred different things. So here's a sample:

• I'm listening to Mark Driscoll's podcast from the Convergent Conference. He lays into guys like Doug Pagitt, Brian McLaren and Rob Bell and some of their teachings. Sure, I think some of them have some goofy (how's that for an accurate theological explanation?) beliefs, but I wonder if it needs to be Mark's job to constantly refute everything they say. I've enjoyed Mark's books and his teaching. I've even visited his church. But I'm not sure where I'm going to settle down on some of his more recent rants.
  
• Am I over-reacting when I see my son's struggles with school and friends?
• I think my wife is more beautiful at 30 than she was at 29.
• Fall TV has returned. I am breathing a sigh of relief.
• My recent admission to watching UFC has raised eyebrows.
  
• My team beat the team in blue 2-0.
• My other team probably won't win this weekend.
  
• What's the one main thing we can take away from Jonah 1?
• The new CD Remedy by the David Crowder Band was released today. Buy it.
• My soccer cleats don't fit properly. Anyone want to by a pair of slightly used size 9.5 Nike Zoom's? They're a couple years old but hardly used due to all the knee injuries.
  
• I'm struck by the memory of my kids as we've currently taken to reading through the book of Daniel.
  
• I'm struck by the memory of my students as we pick up our study of the book of Mark in our Sunday morning LifeStage class. They remembered a lot from last year.
• We are now once again a one car family. If you would like to contribute to the "Knott Family Sanity Fund" which will facilitate the purchase of another set of wheels, let me know.
  

How's my speaking...

My buddy Brad told me that it was a great book, so I went with his advice. And you know what? Brad's a pretty smart guy. I have absolutely soaked up this book that was written by Andy Stanley.

I wasn't too keen on the first half of the book which takes place in story mode (which so many leadership books tend to be doing lately), but I do know that some people can resonate better with seeing something fleshed out in that form. So, if you just want the goods, skip right to page 91.

As I've been reading this book and jotting notes in my journal I've also been able to see the effect on my own message preparation. It has me asking more questions about what I'm saying, what I'm not saying, and how I say it or, in some cases, not saying it. It has me rethinking how I prepare outlines and how I engage my students. It's pushing me to me more specific with what I'm trying to communicate.

The whole point? I'm not communicating just for the sake of getting information from 'Point A' to 'Point B'. I'm not communicating to show how smart I am. I'm communicating to see life change in each and every one of my students.

My advice: this book is $25ish that is well spent.

From Vegas to the Pews...

I'm sorry. I tried to go for a witty title.

I just finished reading Mark Driscoll's blog post about his recent trip to Las Vegas where he got to watch UFC 74 and even got to meet Randy Couture. I don't care who you are, that's just plain cool.

But what struck me about his post was one on the last things he did on his time in Vegas. He and Mars Hill's worship pastor made the rounds of some of the hotel clubs on the strip to see how they set up their lights, sound and video because they are currently doing some renovating at one of their own buildings (the Ballard campus).

Then I start to ponder. Most churches I've been in look like churches, not clubs. Many churches have bad color, horrible seating, bad lighting, questionable acoustics and lackluster video. I'm not saying that we need to go for some "wow factor" or some dazzling pyrotechnics but could we at least make the room aesthetically pleasing? Isn't it ok to make people feel comfortable and relaxed in a room?

Look around the room this week in which you worship. How many people just look uptight? And how many of them could be set at ease if we were more proactive about the way that we set up our buildings?

Sure, comfort isn't our number one priority. But if we want to engage people for extended periods of time, shouldn't we do everything to remove physical distractions?

So, what do you think? Is it a good idea to be getting some ideas about our church decor and layout from clubs?

When Saturday Comes...

...it'll likely be another loss.

We're now 0-3. Today we were on the receiving end of 6 goals. And I think it would have been higher if the other team hadn't taken their foot off the pedal. We got 2...but they weren't good goals. Sure, one came from almost 30 yards out, but it wasn't a Beckham-esque (see here). There was no reading the keeper. It was more of a "I'll fire this toward the net because I have no clue what else to do".

I'm more than a little frustrated. There's no rhythm for passing the ball. There's no movement off the ball...or on the ball. There's no creativity in the plays. Every forward rush consists of "dump-and-chase" or the other classic "I'll run straight at the goal with this ball without looking for a passing option". I'm not a fan of either.

To top it all off, I had to send my wife and kids home early because the language on the sidelines was getting ridiculous. It's like a bunch of middle school boys who just learned some new words and don't have a clue what they're saying. Yeah...maybe if you just say more of them in a sentence you'll make more sense. (Please insert a very sarcastic tone in that last sentence.)

Now I'm just ranting. I understand that heated words and colorful language happens from time to time. I just don't appreciate it when some other "adults" can't be responsible enough and considerate enough to notice that there are little ears all over the sidelines as well.

Am I out of line?

No Way Jose...

Chelsea got rid of their manager, Jose Mourinho. Sure, it took me until today to find out because of teh chaos that was yesterday, but this almost made me do a little dance when I found out. And while he was arrogant to level unattainable by most, he did provide some laughs during his stay at Stamford Bridge. His departure couldn't come at a better time since they meet United in the Premier League on Sunday.

Just for kicks, this video made me chuckle. (ht to Derek)

The morning after...

Night one is officially under our belts...whatever that means. Our students and leaders came out last night with a level of enthusiasm that made for a very enjoyable evening. I think all our plans, prayers, discussions have paid off. We still have some minor details to work on as well as having some question marks about some parts of the evening, but all in all I think it's good because it will help us evaluate things more regularly.

Highlights of the night:

• the middle school demolished the high school at the Wii challenge
• one ice cream cake, puffed wheat squares, two trays of cookies and a thermos of juice were consumed in almost record breaking time
• having the entire group singing "Happy Birthday" to Erin
• seeing video of middle school students running into each other while wearing fridge boxes
• seeing students out that have not previously been to any of our student ministry events even though they call this their home church
• seeing the enthusiasm of one high school guy at the mention of hosting a UFC (watching, not fighting) night

In other news...United beating Sporting Lisbon 1-0 in the beginning game of the Champion's League. It was nice to see a spring in their step and a little more creativity than they have shown in their previous league games. But it's probably helpful that both Rooney and Ronaldo were back in the line up.

As for my own team, we lost our opening game. I still ache. I'm frustrated. But at least I'm playing again. This week we play another of the top teams. I don't expect much from it. Although I'm itching to put one in the back of the net...if I still can.

30...

Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife. She turns 30...ummm...I mean 29.

These are 30 things that we (Yes, the kids spoke into this as well. You can try to figure out who said each one.) love/appreciate/enjoy/admire about this amazing woman:

1. I love her 'cuz she loves me so much!
2. She wears nice clothes and shoes.
3. Her tickles (and her ability to receive tickles)
4. Sunflowers!
5. Her snack making.
6. She gets me pizza.
7. She willingly chauffeurs us everywhere.
8. She helps us (all three of us) with schoolwork.
9. Her hugs and kisses.
10. She always has the best ideas for what to do on our days off.
11. Her patience with 3 of the most stubborn people on the planet.
12. I love playing soccer with her.
13. Her socks!
14. Her ability to dress all three of us!
15. She lets us cuddle into bed with her.
16. She takes us to the beach.
17. I love her because she plays with me.
18. Her addiction to all things numerical (Sudoku, accounting, math tutoring, banking...)
20. Because she reads books to us.
21. She makes us good supper and bakes well.
22. Her crazy Nintendo skills.
23. She colors pictures with us.
24. She builds Lego with me.
25. She takes pictures of us.
26. She puts up with the "Truck Got Stuck" song.
27. I love her so much because she tucks me into bed.
28. Her taste in food...mmmm....Azteca...
29. Her creativity and scrapbooking abilities.
30. She's a hottie at 30! (ok, that was from me, not the kids)