The great car debacle (part 1)...

Ok, so I was in an accident last month that saw my car completely written off. I was in a south-bound lane waiting in the intersection to make a left hand turn. The light turned yellow and the two other cars that were traveling towards me in the north bound lane appeared to be slowing down to stop, so I looked left and proceeded to make my turn. The next thing I know there's a red car in front of me, followed by the airbag exploding and then by my horn going off.

I was helped out of the car by some kind strangers and then waited for the police, fire, ambulance and tow trucks to arrive. I was pretty shaken up and everyone was concerned that I had hit my head. In reality I was just shaken up.

To make a long story a little bit shorter, I received a letter from my insurance company stating that I was 100% at fault (apparently the person making a left turn is always at fault). They couldn't find the witness to verify my story. So, that means I lose my $500 deductible and my insurance goes up.

Fast forward to August 15th. I had just arrived home from my knee surgery and we received a phone call from our claims adjuster. Apparently she wasn't feeling right about the way things turned out, so she decided to phone the police and double check some info. The officer then provided my adjuster with a new phone number for the witness (who had been in the process of moving), so she called to get the facts. The witness stated that the other car ran a red light!

My wife and I were stunned. Just like that I was innocent! And just like that I got $500 back and was able to tear up the letter saying that I was at fault. Suffice to say that we will no longer have to fork over an extra $2000 during my next 7 years of driving. Everything stays the same.

Ah yes...but this is only part 1 of the great car debacle. Please stay tuned for part 2.

Recap...

Short of words, so here it is...

1. Woke up with very little pain...this is very good!
2. Had my first physio appointment today. $10 later I have a little more mobility and a little more pain.
3. We finally got a call saying our car is in...I'll post more on this debacle later.
4. Found out that Soul Asylum & the Gin Blossoms both released new cds lately...now I have to spend more money...shhh, don't tell my wife.
5. The house is getting drywall put up this week!
6. After a recent bath, my daughter dumped a whole bottle of liquid hand soap on her head and then tried to brush it out...apparently she was trying to be like mom and Auntie Jo and "do her hair".
7. Kids are about to turn 4 & 5 within the next week.
8. The football season is well underway and Manchester United are top of the table...this will be the year!

Ok, that's all for now. Time to watch Poseidon.

Coherent again...

Well, the surgery went well according to Dr M. It was an ACL revision that saw them remove part of my right hamstring and use it as the ACL in the left knee. They also had to clean things up a bit and trim the meniscus.

With my Dr telling me that this procedure was more invasive than a "reconstruction", I'm amazed that I can apply weight to both legs, and I'm actually encouraged to move them as much as possible. My last ACL reconstruction had me on crutches for almost a month, then using a cane for a week. At this rate I should be without crutches within a week or two. The only reason I have them now is in case one of the legs (particularly my thighs) decide to give out.

Pain is more tolerable now. I can sleep most of the night. The swelling is down. The "sexy stockings" are off...these stockings look like white nylons that go from toe to thigh on each leg that help reduce swelling and prevent clotting...they're nasty. Most of the major bandages are also now off.

All that being said, I'm more than happy with the progress and I'm actually beginning to believe that I may get to kick a football again someday in the near future.

Anyway, I thought about putting a pic or two up, but I'm not sure anyone wants to see a swollen knee! But if you'd like me to...I would be happy to appease my 3 readers!

Happy 8th...

It's our 8th anniversary tomorrow. We spent our 7th anniversary in Mexico with 30 youth. This year we chose to celebrate it with me undergoing knee surgery. Talk about memories, eh? Maybe one day we'll celebrate our anniversary as just the 2 of us.

Update on the car: we found one we like, but we're currently waiting for it to show up at the dealership so we can give it a view and a drive. Think that'll happen before 7:30am tomorrow? Yeah...me neither.

Update on the knee: apparently they are calling it an "ACL revision" because I previously had an ACL reconstruction and now he's not sure what may be left (or not left) in my knee. But I'm thinking that I'll have a new ACL by this time tomorrow. They also made me (ok, they "highly recommended") spend $200 on an item that looks like nothing more than a water cooler with tubes running into a knee brace. But apparently it's supposed to work wonders for keeping the swelling down. I'll let you know if it was worth it.

All things leadership...

I had the opportunity this week to attend Willow Creek's Leadership Summit with most of our pastoral staff and it surpassed my expectations. I've had a tendency to look for events where I can enhance my youth ministry skills, but I've never really done anything specifically related to leadership development in a larger sense. For some reason I have a hard time sometimes seeing myself as a leader outside of the youth ministry.

This conference was an eye-opening experience for me. It reminded me that I'm not on the youth ministry island within our church. I'm also part of the bigger picture. I have a voice that I need to use. I have passion...some of which still needs to be focused. I have skills that need to be developed. I have a role within the entire church, not just with the youth or the youth leaders.

Thanks to an interview with Bono, I've also had my eyes and heart opened to the AIDS crisis within the world, and all I need to say is "What rock have I (and the rest of North American churches) been living under?!?!" I'm not sure where this will lead, but I know we've got to do something.

And while I could go on for pages about what challenged me and inspired me, I was also awakened to how close I came to burning out once upon a time. That could be an entire post on it's own, so I'll spare the details. I was just reminded this week of the fact that I need to work harder on filling my tank, so I don't run dry.

If you haven't had a chance to take this conference in, try to make room for it next year. It'll be good for you!

Words on a page...

I'm feeling proud of myself. I just knocked another book of my list. I was able to finish reading Donald Miller's "Blue Like Jazz" and I should say that I was impressed. He's got a very simple writing style that I found refreshing and captivating. He just simply talks about his life. It kind of reminded me of episodes of "The Wonder Years".

The entire book seemed so genuine to me, as Miller focused in on the many different aspects of life. He is open about his struggles, honest about his discoveries and candid about his beliefs.

I wish I could write more about what read, but I always have trouble summing up what I've read. I guess I figure that there's no way I could possibly do justice to it. In fact, I'd probably just deter people from reading it. With that said, go buy the book and read it!

Toy of the day...

I'm always on the lookout for a new addition to my office shelves. Please keep in mind that I am aware that most shelves contain books and other literature, but as I have previously mentioned I have an annoying habit of buying more books than I can possibly read in a year.

With that being said, I have managed to accumulate some nifty-neato toys...I mean, collectibles...for my office.

I'm thinking this should be the next addition. Yes, a Dwight Schrute bobblehead!

The 15th is looming...

I've still got about a week left before surgery. I may have mentioned this before, but I'm not looking forward to it. You see, it's painful...and I'm a wimp. That's a bad combination. I already know that I'll be lying on the OR table shaking like a leaf as they lay out all their instruments on my chest. Then I'll awake and begin yet another terrible 6-8 month recovery.

And sometime before then I need to get all my August/September events planned up, attend a leadership conference, buy a new car, pick out cabinets for the house, and recruit a couple more youth leaders.

Not only am I behind on my reading...although I am currently just one chapter away from finishing my latest project...but I'm also behind on my movie watching. I still haven't seen Pirates or Superman. I'm thoroughly disappointed in myself.

The hunt continues...

Since the car was a write off that means we're looking for a new vehicle. I hate this part. I thought it was supposed to be fun and exciting...an adventure. Instead it seems to be frustrating, annoying and just an all around pain in the butt.

I must have test drove 2 dozen vehicles (new and used) in the past week and a half, and do you think we're any closer? Nope. The only thing we know is that a scooter will likely be in the mix after I heal from the knee surgery. Other than that...I guess we'll wait and see.

Oh, and here's a pic of the house from a few weeks ago.

This picture was taken from the master bedroom in the basement and you can see our living room window (on the right), our patio door and our kitchen window on the far side of the room.

Give me a break...

Here's the aftermath of yet another lunch hour experience for me. I'm considering staying at work for lunch from now on. Just a few bruises, but otherwise still intact. The other driver was ok too, but I think I took the worst of it. I'll spare you the details though as it's too long and I don't feel like typing that much. Very frustrated right now...

Happiest place on earth...

My kids are at that age where a trip to Disneyland was certainly an interesting adventure. It was great to see their innocence as my daughter's eyes lit up at seeing Belle or Ariel or Jasmine. It was exciting to see my son take risks by riding Space Mountain.

And I wonder how much counseling I'll have to pay for after taking both my kids on Splash mountain (they truly had no idea what they were getting into...does that make me a bad parent?).






My daughter had her moments of meltdowns as she cried all the way through the line for Peter Pan (see pic) and proceeded to tell us she didn't want to go on any rides unless it was the Carousel.

But then there were the moments that her face lit up when she helped Alice hunt for the White Rabbit, or she walked hand-in-hand with Jasmine or when she met Belle. And let's not forget her dancing at the Block Party!



As for my son, he gave a grumpy face for a number of pictures, but he still found lots of time to enjoy himself by dressing up like a pirate one night or meeting Buzz or taking mom and dad on Space Mountain.

We tried to break each day up by starting early and taking an afternoon nap before heading back for the evening. They even made it through the fireworks twice and Fantasmic once.

Was it worth it? Absolutely! Would I do it again? Sure...but not for another year or two. But I will be looking forward to a trip back in November with my wife (sans kids). We really do find this to be the Happiest Place on Earth.

Next time though, I'd love to fly there instead of driving. However, I'll post a few pictures later of our drive back home. Just getting out of Southern California was an adventure!

If I never drive again...

We crossed 4 provinces, 9 states, ate more fast food than I would normally eat in 6 months (mmmm...can you say "Del Taco"?) and took 785 pictures (just gotta love technology!). But we arrived safe and sound back home yesterday at 3:20pm and now it's time to get some clean clothes and finally sleep in my own bed. Here's some pics from week #1 of the vacation...


First, my wife and I bought a new toy for our trip.




Yeah right! Actually, after the rehearsal, my wife and I stole...I mean, borrowed the wedding vehicle.

Here we are at my sister's wedding. You should note that my son has the "cheezy grin" down to an art form.

Fairly self-explanatory...bride & groom, bride's parents (which are incidently mine too), along with the officiating pastor (yours truly), my beautiful wife and the 2 munchkins (who did really well considering they had about 100,000 pictures taken of them that day).

There's always vacation...

Stupid soccer results today, so at least I can rejoice in the fact that as of noonish tomorrow (depending on what time church lets out), we'll be on vacation. You can expect that I'll do very little blogging during that time since I'm still one of those guys who is living in the dark ages...you know, the guy with no laptop!

Anyway, the countdown is on. This week we'll travel across 4 provinces so I can perform the ceremony at my sister's wedding. Then we make our longest family trip ever as we head off to... (insert drumroll here)....DISNEYLAND!!!

It should be an adventure. We're all very excited about this trip too (go figure!). My wife and I have loved the place and can't wait to see the look on our kids faces when they experience the magic of the happiest place on earth for their very first time.
See you in a few weeks!

So diligent...

Yes, it has actually happened! I finished a book the same month that I started reading it...at least I think I started reading it this month. Just the same, I'm going to take credit for it because it just made my "stack-of-books-to-read" little bit shorter!

It was a simple, practical read and a book that every youth pastor should give to their volunteers. It gives lots of straight forward advice for how to deal with students who may be hurting in wide variety of ways. And let's face it, not only are kids hurting, but lots of adults (including those that volunteer in our youth ministries) don't have the next clue what to do or say to a student who is struggling with cutting, or suicide or an eating disorder.

Frankly, I'm not sure that I have the next clue what to do or say in some of these situations and I've been working with students in some capacity for almost a decade. This book will probably come in handy more than once in the months and years to come.

Oh deer...

First of all, I will apologize for the terrible pun. With that said, here's the details...

I was on my way home from church at lunch today when suddenly there was a giant thud against the drivers side of my car. I had my window down and felt a little spray on my neck and I wondered what the heck just happened. I looked back to see a deer stumbling around the road. Yes, you read that right, a deer hit me.

And since I had no clue what a person is supposed to do when they hit a deer in the middle of noon hour traffic in the middle of the city, I drove up a block so I could turn around. By the time I got back, the deer had made its way to a field where 4 other strangers were attending to it and a police officer had arrived at the scene.

I'll spare you all the boring details because the whole event took almost 90 minutes before the city police were finally able to shoot the deer. Poor guy...I just wish he hadn't done this to my car 5 days before I leave for vacation.

Vacation countdown...

It's my last week of work until vacation... Woohoo!

In about 144 hours we'll be on the road. Where to? Well, our first stop will be Manitoba where I have the privilage of performing the wedding ceremony of my little sister. From there we head south. Way south. Way, way south...and kind of west. You know...that place with the stuff and the things...yeah, the fun place...

This will be our first major vacation with our kids. And I may be a litle crazy, but I'm totally excited about it!

Just so you know...

I'm not usually the one to break the latest news event, but there's always a first for eveything....

I actually took this photo last summer with the intent of passing it along but apparently I didn't take it seriously enough back then.

Well I stumbled upon it again and figured that I didn't want to hold precious information like this back from the rest of you.

So, consider yourself warned.

P.S. - visit the website listed on the sign!

House work...

Here's a few of the latest pictures from the house developments. The first picture was taken on June 9th while the second picture was taken this past Friday (June 16). I think they start framing this week.

World Cup's stupidest hair...

Look closely at the Swedish player, Christian Wilhelmsson (#21 in yellow). Forget the mullet, apparently the "rattail" is making a comeback.

Quick, who else wants to join me in jumping on the bandwagon?

One down, lots to go...

So I'm hard at work on my pile of books and since it's been a busy couple of weeks, I thought today would be a great day to try and catch up on some of my reading. I decided that "Simplicity" would be my first project.

I've actually been reading it for almost 2 months now and the book itself reads like an autobiography. Mark Salomon gives an honest and simple outlook on what his life is like and how being a Christian musician has affected his life. For those of you who don't know about Mark, he was the lead singer of a band called The Crucified and is now the lead singer of a band called Stavesacre.

Reading Mark's story gave me new insight into the world of "Christian fame" and to what sometimes goes on behind the scenes of a Christian artist. I honestly thought the book was going to be a rant against the entire Contemporary Christian Music industry, but instead I found myself reading someone's personal testimony.

Mark takes time to explain some of the dark and empty moments of his life, his struggles and his failures without going into nitty gritty details. But he also takes time to show what God has taught him through those experience and how they have shaped him into who he is now as a child of God.

I have never cared for his music. And to be honest with you, I don't know why I even bought the book. But I'm glad I did. And now I feel like I should go out and buy one of their CDs.