Light headed...

Since we're heading off to Mexico this summer we have to get Hep A and B shots. You know what the kicker is? I can't stand getting shots. I almost pass out.

So today I thought I'd be ok. I was wrong and spent 30 minutes lying on the table in the DR's office sipping a juice box and feeling like a fool.

That can't be normal...

Got a car...(almost)

Well we traded our SUV in for a car. I know, pretty profound, eh? Well, I should say we have "almost" traded it in. We were supposed to pick it up today but then we found out that our current vehicle has a lien against it.

It appears that the person who owned it before us used it to take out a loan and the dealership that sold us the SUV back in 2003 never even bother to look into it. I was livid today. Let's just say that we're dealing with another dealership now. Hopefully this all gets sorted out in the morning.

So now the question may be, "What leads us to get a car?" Well, that leads us to some more interesting info which I'll save for another day.

What on earth...

I miss one year of outdoor soccer due to a torn ACL and I completely forget how to put the ball in the back of the net. It was a long night at practice tonight. Maybe I can figure out how to get my feet back before the season officially begins.

Here's to wishin'...

What a morning...

It was finally time for our annual "Youth Sunday". For the very first time in my 5 years here, the students completely led the worship with no help from me. I didn't even play in the band. And they did so well! And to think that most of these students have only started playing their instrumenst in the past 2 years!

I also had the privelage of preaching, baptizing one of our students and seeing 3 of out high schoolers welcomed into membership. One comment my wife recieved was, "Why can't church always be like that?"

The panic moment came last night when I tried to make a dvd of slides, video and music. The blasted program kept shutting down! So there I was at 2:30am trying to salvage the pictures and put them into a powerpoint presentation. What was originally 7 minutes long with great pictures, transitions, music, video clips and some other surprises ended up being a 3 minute slide show. But nobody knew the difference except for me.

I really need to find a decent dvd creating program. Any ideas?

Silence...

I just spent some time reflecting on our SR High Bible Study on Wednesday. We talked about silence. How ironic is that?

We watched a video called "Noise" which just went on to challenge all of us to be silent before God and to listen for His voice. I know that I'm always trying to listen for God in the noise. I listen for Him in music and movies. I look for Him in books and magazines. I can occasionally find Him in my truck or my office. But I rarely hear Him in the silence. Why is that? Because I'm never quiet.

I've taken on a challenge with my students. Find 15 minutes of quiet sometime in the next week where you just listen for God's voice. I guess I don't need to say that I haven't found the time yet. But hey, it's only Friday.

The tradition continues...

Tonight my son began his soccer career! I think I'm more proud of him now than when he watched the Star Wars trilogy for the first time. Unfortunately I missed his "try-out" due to youth events.

My wife said he did amazing. Apparently the coaches were impressed with his abilities which we've spent so much time working on in the past year. Now if only he can go on to make millions!

At least in weeks to come he plays on Tuesday's and Thursday's so I can make it to the games. I can't wait! This daddy's heart is so huge right now.

But let's not forget my baby girl (almost 3). She spent the evening with me at youth with the JR Highs playing dodgeball and basketball. So much fun! She's an absolute riot!

Snow again...

It's snowing...I hate snow...I hate the cold...I just wish it was warm and that I was somewhere fun...maybe Maui or Disneyland with my family...yeah, that sounds like the plan...now if only I could win the lotto!

And now back to The Amazing Race...

Running on fumes...

I feel like I'm running on empty. Not much else to it except I'm worn out, tired and just all around exhausted. My head is spinning and my heart aches. I wouldn't say i'm depressed, but I certainly am not impressed.

Oh yeah, and I need to fill the truck up with gas too.

Good soccer, bad soccer...

Well, it's a sad day to watch my Red Devils bow out of the Champions League. I honestly felt that they could pull it off at the San Siro. And while I must admit that I have had my doubts about Ruud's fitness, I really thought he'd make this game count. Although I will still hold to the dream that Smith would have netted one if he had been on earlier!

As for the good soccer, my team played their final indoor game of the season. We started the season with one win in nine and we've ended the season with 8 wins and 1 tie in the last 9.

It was also nice to put 2 in the net tonight. Since my ACL replacement in June I obviously haven't played much. But now I'm feeling more like myslef. I can't wait for the outdoor season to begin, although that isn't until May.

Either way, it's still a beautiful game!

Why...

Why do YP's get paid so little for doing so much work?
Why do so many people think I have ambitions to be an SP?
Why do I always get called an "apprentice"?
Why must I continually be looked at like I'm talking out of my butt?
Why are people who say they love Jesus, so hurtful?
Why do youth always get called "the church of tomorrow"?

Proud father...

I just have to say that it does this dad's heart proud when his boy is learning all about Star Wars. And not that new stuff...the good stuff. The originals.

It started at Christmas when he was sick. My wife mentioned that she had watched Star Wars when she was sick when growing up. Then my son asked, "Can I watch Star Wars?" We figured we'd give it a try.

He then proceeded to watch all three of them! And if we trace this story back one year earlier he got his first official Star Wars toys...the Galactic Battlegound Millenium Falcoln. and X-Wing Fighter and some figurines.

Then there was today. While wandering through Toys R Us we find more of these figurines. So now we own 10 more figurines..I mean, he owns...yeah, he... We probably spent way too much on toys, but I've always been a sucker for Star Wars. And now that my boy is playing with them and learning their names, I'm that much happier. Money well spent!

Kids are great!

(BTW, we didn't want our little girl left out so she got her very first Cabbage Patch kid! She even picked her out all be herself...well, kind of.)

Long time coming...

I must say it is about time that I got a Saturday off! Seems like the norm lately is to end up working at least half the day or more on church stuff which means less time with the family. We've been so crazy busy lately that I feel I hardly have the chance to have a decent conversation with my wife or hang out with the kids.

It's weeks like this that I seriously think "church life" tends to cause more harm to my family than good. Don't get me wrong, I try to be protective of my family time (like today when I didn't go to a worship seminar) but it still feels like "church" is always stealing me away. And when I'm not actually physically gone, I feel like I'm mentally missing. Sometimes I wish i could just leave work at the office.

It's been difficult these last few weeks. It's hard to gather my thoughts. It's even more difficult to come to any solid conclusions. Right now I'm just trying to make it through to holidays. Maybe that will give me some much needed time off to relax and gather my head and heart.

A quiet day...

Since we've been moving at such a hectic pace for the last few weeks, it was nice to just spend a quiet day at home. Since my wife works Mondays I get to hang with the kids. It would have been better if they slept in longer, but that's ok. That means I had more time to not do the things that I actually should be doing.

Eating breakfast and watching Aladdin seems to have been the highlight of the day for the 3 of us. Robin Williams always cracks me up!

Watched a little soccer when the kids went for their nap. And Man City gets away with 3 points in injury time off a lame Fowler goal. Good grief! And Norwich had a chance a few minutes earlier to take the lead. I would have rather seen the Canaries take the 3. Oh well, at least it doesn' affect us at the top of the table!

Busy week...

Lots going on around here lately.

Monday was board meeting and that was an experience. I don't think I have enough time to explain...except to say that it felt like I had the rug pulled out from under me. Time to heal now, but I'm not sure how.

Man Utd lost to AC Milan on Wednesday. We need a big win on March 9 to ensure we can have a chance at winning Champion's League. It's never fun to watch my team lose...especially when the only goal came after Carroll decided to not hold onto a shot fired at him. Good grief! And he wants a better contract?!?! Learn to hold on to the ball!

And then on Wednesday night it was all topped off by our Annual General Meeting. It never ceases to amaze me how trivial and tightwadded people can be. There were more questions/complaints about budget than I could process at one time. Lots of snotty comments and bad attitudes. And we call this the body of Christ?!?!

On a positive note, I get to bapatize 2 of my students on Sunday. That's always a blast. It always encourages me when only 1 adult wants to get dunked and we have twice as many students that want to. I actually had 3 other students take the Baptism class to prepare for the next one. So cool!

Feeling like...

I don't know if words can explain it. I'm feeling underappreciated these days...used and mistreated. I'm not sure if I'm just being selfish or if these feelings are legit. At what point do you stand up for yourself and your family? At what point do you stop being a doormat for everyone?

Lost the key...

So my wife and I (and the kids) just got back from a whirlwind tour of three provinces. Spending that much time in a vehicle with a 2 and 3 year old will drive anyone batty! I thank God for the invention of the portable dvd player. Can I hear a "hallelujah"?

But now my wife went to pick up my in-laws at the airport (they are flying in from a Hawaii vacation). The problem is that they left their vehicle at our house and I seem to have lost the key to their truck. We have one, but it only occasionally opens the rear hatch.

I'm just not too sure where the other key could be. If you've got any ideas, I'm open to suggestions.

Talk, talk, talk...

Well it all started last Saturday when I spoke at a youth retreat for another church. I had never done that before. In my 5 years at my current church I had only spoken to my youth, or at events where my youth were present.

Today the journey of "speakerman" continued as I spoke at a Christian school where I grew up. I had to give the same talk 4 times about how to find a church. That's also the first time I've ever had to give the same talk more than twice.

Anyway, this was an eye opening experience. I had forgotten about how nervous I get speaking to a group of strangers. I had forgotten how to start from scratch. I felt weird and out of place. I felt like the outsider. I knew very few people. And if I'm honest, I kind of liked it...

Is that normal?

Movie watching...

Well, it's been a relaxing weekend watching way too many movies. I like spending Sunday watching movies. It's great to get home from church, hop on the couch and throw on a DVD. If only I could remember to unplug the phone!

Yesterday it was finally time for Napoleon Dynamite. That movie was hilarious! I've actually heard mixed reviews lately and I was beginning to wonder if it would live up to all the hype...expecially from what I've been hearing on the YS forums. But, it did! I laughed myself stupid at some parts.

We also watched Dodgeball. As for that one, that's 90 minutes of my life that I won't get back. Ok, it wasn't horrible...but it still wasn't that good.

On the agenda today: King Arthur and Garden State.

Finally a night out...

It's been a while since I've been on a date. I've been joking that I'm not sure what a date is supposed to look like. Maybe it's not really a joke...it's been a long time.

But my wonderful wife made the plans with the babysitter last week. We haven't figured out where to eat or what movie to watch or where to go...but we're at least going to get away together! With 2 little ones running around at mach 13, it's hard sometimes for just the 2 of us to get away. We love our kids, but we aren't the people who like to drag our kids everywhere. We like to have time to ourselves. And I think the kids enjoy running wild with a babysitter!

Can I get a "woohoo" for dates?!?!

I procrastinate...

I know, I know...you're shocked. I'm the guy who returns phone calls late, who forgets to reply to emails, who forgets to blog...

But I'm trying to make a breakthrough. I think I returned all my emails this week. And now I've blogged. Woohoo! We'll get things rolling now. Now if only I could remember what else I was supposed to do...