~following Him!!!~

Moving Things Over to thesnuffy.com

2007-11-06T19:21:00.000-05:00

I have moved my blog over to thesnuffy.com. I still have all of my blogs archived here, but they have also been moved over there. I have also moved all of the comments from the last to posts over there as well. So if you have engaged in a recent discussion you will want to go over there and check it out and further comment if you want.

I am still fixing things up around there, but I have enough done that I am just going to start blogging there. See you there!

Michigan Beats the Spartans and the Lions pound the Broncos

2007-11-04T22:30:00.000-05:00

This weekend was a great weekend for football in my house. My Michigan Wolverines beat up on the Spartans in their 100th meeting to bring their record to 67-25-8 over our little brother's to the north. I was at a wedding during the game, so unfortunately I missed it but I had some friends updating me on the scores.

The best part was when I was at the reception and a guy saw my Michigan tie and said that he was so sorry. That was at the point when Michigan was losing 24-14. Too bad I didn't see that same guy when the Wolverines pulled it out and beat the Sparty's 28-24. HAIL TO THE VICTORS!!!

And the Detroit Lions pounded the Denver Broncos 44-7. What the heck is wrong with the Lions? They are playing great! Even Shaun Rogers was getting in on the fun by returning an interception for a 66 yard TD.

I just find it nice that for the most part, the idiots at firemillen.com are silenced. But I doubt even the Lions making the Super Bowl will silence them. All I know is the Lions are playing great football and Matt Millen is probably breathing a sigh of relief that things are finally working out. He has good coach and the players that were drafted that ended up being busts are gone, and some of them are even cut from the teams they went to. GO LIONS!!!

Michigan vs. MSU

2007-11-02T08:24:00.000-04:00

This weekend is the big Michigan vs. MSU college football game (and people think the Patriots vs. the Colts is big. BAH!) Well, I am sitting here at work listening to the radio as I work and they are having people call in with Michigan/MSU jokes. And the best one by far is this one....

Why should O.J. have hidden out at MSU's campus? Read More Here

10-20-30 Tag

2007-11-01T18:10:00.000-04:00

Adam tagged me on this one and I must have missed that post, but I just recently saw it. So I am doing it now.

November 1997
Kimmy and I were approaching our 2 year anniversary and enjoying our almost 4 month old baby. What an exciting time and adventure that was! We lived in a trailer in Washington Township, MI and were just starting to attend a new church that would eventually become the first church I would be a youth pastor at, even if it was for only 6 months.

November 1987
I was 14 years old and in 9th grade at Carter Junior High School, it is now a middle school. I played football in 9th grade but was pretty sure it would be the last time I would play, because I wanted to get into theater when I got to Cousino Senior High School the next year.

November 1977
I was 4 years old and do not remember much. But I know I was a cute kid and captivated everyone's attention.

Now I tag Kimmy, Derek, Kent and Dale.

Pumpkin Carving Fun

2007-10-30T21:26:00.000-04:00

Today, Kimmy, myself and the kids went and got our pumpkins. (Yes, we are slackers!) We went to Van's Valley in Romeo, MI, because I know the family from the church that I first served as youth pastor.

So we came home and everyone picked out their own design and we carved them up. Kimmy did Caleb's for him and I cheated and found a design online. Kimmy's is the bat next to Caleb's Dracula Spongebob. Then you see Hannah's smiley face in the small pumpkin next to mine with the sinister smile.

Heading Up to Springhill

2007-10-26T18:18:00.001-04:00

Here is Dave and myself in our very own van to take up to Springhill for Revolution: United, which is Rockpointe Student Ministries fall retreat. We are driving up there now. Should be a blast. I will update from up there if I can.

Gignormous Full Moon

2007-10-26T06:46:00.001-04:00

This was the full moon from last night. It is supposed to be the largest full moon of the year. Since the moon's orbit is elliptical, there is a period when it is closer to the earth and this is that time. It was a really cool sight to see.

Dumbledore is Gay

2007-10-24T22:13:00.000-04:00

Not that there is anything wrong with that! (Seinfeld fans should get that joke)

It was recently revealed by J.K. Rowling that Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy in the fictional world of Harry Potter, is gay. You can read a transcript of the entire question and answer session from Carnegie Hall here.

I have already been asked by one of my friends, who is a christian, how I can still think that the book series is okay. But besides that, I wanted to express my views on this anyway. Read More Here

Apple Picking

2007-10-20T13:26:00.001-04:00

Not exactly the kind of apple I was hoping to get, but there are delicious McIntish's. And apple picking with the family is always a great time.

Trip Pictures

2007-10-16T23:17:00.000-04:00

Bill and Shannon posted some pics on the Pacific Catalyst website. You can go directly to them here.

We will be getting some up on our family website soon.

HOME!!!

2007-10-15T18:33:00.001-04:00

YAY!!! We are back in Michigan!

Keeping My Sanity

2007-10-15T16:23:00.000-04:00

This picture has helped me stay sane through all of thi crazy travel delays.

Closer to Home

2007-10-15T16:22:00.001-04:00

Here we are sitting in the Chicago airport wishing we were home. Instead we will be home 13 hours than we should have been. But at least we are out of Sidney, B.C. (no offense to B.C.'ers) and much closer to home.

Still in Sidney....

2007-10-15T08:01:00.000-04:00

Our adventure continues. We got to the airport in Sidney, B.C. and checked in our baggage about 7.5 hours early, because there was only one ferry from Friday Harbor, WA to Sidney, B.C. which was no big deal. So we went back into Sidney to hang out for a few hours.

We got back to the airport about 3 hours before our flight and waited here at the airport. Then decided with 1.5 hours left that we would go through security and wait at the gate. I saw the flight before us boarding and was going to ask the lady at the counter if we could get bumped onto that flight and just as I walked up there they flashed on the screen that our 7:30p flight was cancelled.

So we went back through the security gate to go back to the main Horizon desk and find out what to do. Of course that was last flight and only flight to Seattle, WA. So we would miss our connecting flight to Detroit, MI. After standing in line for 3 hours we got a free hotel, 3 meals and a new flight that would get us home 13 hours later than we had originally planned. So now we are back in the airport awaiting our Air Canada flight to Vancouver, B.C. which will then take us on United to Chicago, IL and then on United again to Detroit. But we will be home today!

We love this part of the country, but home is where we want to be. Who knows maybe it was a sign we should have gone back to Friday Harbor, WA and stayed?

'Til We Meet Again

2007-10-14T12:30:00.000-04:00

Here we are on the ferry getting ready to leave. And you can see our "Love Boat", the Pacific Catalyst, over my shoulder. We will miss her.

Leaving Friday Harbor :'(

2007-10-14T11:38:00.001-04:00

This is our goodbye to Friday Harbor and the Pacific Catalyst, until we meet again. And we WILL meet again.

So now we sit and wait for our ferry to come to take us to Sidney, B.C. where our plane awaits us. Well, we will be waiting for it, since we get there about 11:00a and the plane leaves at 7:00p.

Friday Harbor

2007-10-13T18:02:00.001-04:00

Here we are at our final destination, Friday Harbor, WA. We are staying at Friday's Historic Inn. What a beautiful place to live.

We hope to explore more of San Juan Island today and maybe see some orcas, which we have not seen yet.

Our Last Morning

2007-10-13T14:00:00.001-04:00

As I sit here early in the morning and look at all that God has blessed me with, I am in awe. And suddenly all of the "stuff" in my life seems to not matter anymore. All of the drama with friends and those things means nothing in light of the amazing grace of God. All of the tensions of waiting for God to open that door for a full-time job in ministry pales in comparison to the amazing grace of God.

I hope that I will never forget to look at life through the lens of this beautiful morning and realize the awesome and amazing grace of God. If I forget I will simply close my eyes and remember this place. Thank you, God, for giving Kimmy and I the opportunity to experience you awesome creation aboard the Pacific Catalyst. And thank you for blessing my friends Bill and Shannon with this boat, and for them blessing us.

You really are awesome, God!

Last Night :'(

2007-10-12T22:49:00.000-04:00

We went ashore on Jones Island for a late night campfire. And Bill sang us some Irish songs.

Strange Signs of Wildlife

2007-10-12T19:11:00.001-04:00

Wonder what kind of animal lives here?

2007-10-12T19:05:00.001-04:00

Have not found any Jones Soda here on Jones Island, but we have found a lot of beauty.

Jones Island

2007-10-12T18:51:00.000-04:00

Hiking on Jones Island. We have seen some deer already and I am hoping we can get some close ups.

Small Island Home

2007-10-12T16:08:00.001-04:00

There is a home on that small island. What a beautiful place to live or vacation at, not to mention a wonderful backyard! :D

Pirate Captain Todd

2007-10-12T13:35:00.000-04:00

Here I am after taking over the Pacific Catalyst. The ship is now in the hands of Pirate Captain Todd! ARRRR!

Leaving Sucia Island

2007-10-12T13:17:00.001-04:00

We are heading out of Sucia Island to go to Jones Island, but we are taking the 3 hour way to get there instead of the 15 minute way. Should be fun!

Mount Baker

2007-10-11T21:42:00.001-04:00

That is Mount Baker in the center of the picture.

Leaving Matia

2007-10-11T15:41:00.000-04:00

Here we are leaving Matia Island.

Matia Island Cove

2007-10-11T14:37:00.001-04:00

I can only hope that this picture can help you see the beauty of God's creation that we are witnessing.

2007-10-11T14:31:00.001-04:00

Just so you know, we are both still alive. :)

Matia Island Hike

2007-10-11T14:26:00.001-04:00

We went in the skiff over to Matia Island.

We are now hiking on Matia Island. Check out this huge tree!

Sucia Island Hiking

2007-10-10T18:50:00.001-04:00

Here we are hiking on Sucia Island. It is so beautiful.

Sucia Island

2007-10-10T17:09:00.001-04:00

This is the bay where we will be staying for a night or two. It is Sucia Island. Currently, we are looking at a bald eagle.

Leaving Stuart Island

2007-10-10T14:47:00.000-04:00

Here we are leaving Stuart Island and on our way to Sucia Island. When we get there we plan on going hiking. Yesterday we went kayaking, which I did pretty good for my first time.

Stuart Island

2007-10-09T15:34:00.000-04:00

Here we are going into the bay of Stuart Island to stay for the night. We might do some kayaking or hiking again. Do not know, but I know we will enjoy it. This place is beautiful!

Mount Young

2007-10-08T20:34:00.001-04:00

Bill and Shannon made it up Mount Young just fine.

Mount Young Summit

2007-10-08T20:32:00.000-04:00

We made it up Mount Young on San Juan Island. Well, Adam didn't make it up so well.

Our Cook

2007-10-08T18:24:00.001-04:00

This is Shannon. She is Bill's trusty side kick and beautiful wife.

Captain Bill

2007-10-08T18:20:00.001-04:00

This is our trusty captain aboard the Pacific Catalyst, Bill.

Our First Meal

2007-10-08T16:53:00.001-04:00

Here we are eating our first meal aboard the Pacific Catalyst. What a beautiful boat.

Ferrying To the Pacific Catalyst

2007-10-08T15:20:00.001-04:00

We are on the ferry to Friday Harbor, WA. Soon we will be aboard the Pacific Catalyst.

Ferrying to Sidney, B.C.

2007-10-07T15:17:00.000-04:00

We are on the ferry to Sidney, B.C. where we will stay the night and then catch the ferry to Friday Harbor, WA.

There was a person with a car that had the alarm going on and off for about an hour, so they just made an announcement for the owner to go shut it off. And everyone clapped. LOL

So far everything has gone smoothly for us.

Mobile Blogger Test

2007-10-06T18:07:00.000-04:00

Just trying out this mobile blogger, so I can update y'all with it on my cruise.

Feeling Great!

2007-10-05T22:27:00.000-04:00

For the past two months Kimmy and I have been going to our local World Gym and I have been feeling great. I stop by 4 days a week on my way home from work for about an hour and a half (I play softball on Mondays or else it would be 5 days a week). I ride the stationary bike, lift weights and then sometimes hit the treadmill. My energy level has been great! I wake up almost immediately as soon as my alarm goes off at 4:30a for work.

The other good side of this is that extra large shirts used to be kind of loose on me and now large shirts are loose on me. I used to wear size 38 jeans that were a bit snug, but comfortable, and now size 36 jeans are loose on me. And I am getting a bit more muscular. I am really looking forward to see how I look next summer after working out like this. It is so nice to be getting into shape and feeling healthier.

The other thing I am feeling great about is that in 32 hours Kimmy and I will be on our way for our cruise aboard the Pacific Catalyst. I am really looking for a nice relaxing vacation with my wife and some friends. it may be a bit chilly and rainy, but I know I am going to enjoy it anyway. I will be posting pictures when we get back. I am so glad that we got that Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi camera.

FREE BURMA!!!

2007-10-04T05:53:00.000-04:00

I, sadly, have not been following the news of what has been going on in Burma, but I am aware of what is going on and have been praying. What the government is doing there is horrible and we as citizens of this planet should be outraged and we who are citizens of the United States should demand that our government should be doing something about this.

So join with me and many other bloggers and post a simple message on your blog. You can get graphics and more info at FreeBurma.org.

My friend, Derek, has been posting some regular updates on his blog and you can it by clicking on his name.

Why?

2007-10-03T22:19:00.000-04:00

As I was thinking about the tragedy the Amish faced a year ago, which I blogged about yesterday, I realized that my Bible reading for that day was the Sermon on the Mount. Which when you think about it the principles taught by Jesus there was exactly what the Amish demonstrated. And that is exactly the kind of image the Church should portray. Read more here.

Amish Grace

2007-10-02T22:16:00.000-04:00

One year ago was the tragedy at the West Nickel Mines Amish School where a man entered into this peaceful community, and killed five children and traumatized the other five. He then killed himself. But even more amazing then all of that was the Amish communities response to this horrible tragedy. Did they demand justice or retribution? No. Instead they did something completely unfathomable. They decided to forgive this man and embrace his family.

When money came in from around the world to support the families of these dead girls, the Amish community chose to give the family of the man who created this tragedy some of the money. And a man named Steve Nolt co-wrote a book entitled, Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy. The USA Today had an article about the book in todays newspaper that you can read here. It looks like a very good read.

But it got me to thinking about something.... Maybe our country should have taken a page from the Amish on 11 September 2001 and instead of demanding revenge and retribution for that horrible tragedy and instead offered grace and forgiveness. What if we had done that and instead of sending troops around the world, we beefed up or security here at home to protect us from any further terrorist attack, but made a public declaration of forgiveness to the people who committed this crime against our nation and offered a hand of grace, by offering humanitarian aid? I don't know, it just got me to thinking that maybe our American way of life is getting in the way of our Christian way of life.

Just something to think about. Feel free to comment with your own ideas and thoughts.

The Final Countdown....

2007-09-27T20:47:00.001-04:00

It is only 9 days away until Kimmy and I leave for our cruise aboard the Pacific Catalyst! I am really excited. The captain of the ship is a fellow forumite over at YMX and ever since the days on the Youth Specialties forums, I have dreamed of going on a cruise aboard Bill's boat. And that day is only a little over a week away.

There has been a few hurdles we had to jump to get everything in place, but it is all set. I have my passport, so we can fly into Canada, which will make it a little bit easier to get to Friday Harbor, which is where we will catch the Pacific Catalyst.

The other countdown is for 17 February 2009. Without looking it up, does anyone know what is so significant about that date?

Getting the Train Back on the Tracks

2007-09-22T20:43:00.000-04:00

It looks like Michigan is getting things back on track after their first two disappointing losses. Of course not playing a team that deploys the spread offense has helped. But they do look like they have gotten some of their defensive problems worked out. And the offense is looking pretty good even with a freshman quarterback in there.

And let me add that with the way Ryan Mallett is playing, the future of Michigan football looks pretty good. He is a big kid at 6'7" and 252 pounds. I would hate to be a defensive player trying to take him down.

Next two weeks should be fairly easy games and then it will be Purdue and since they play pretty much a spread offense, I am a bit nervous. But hopefully Michigan can do it. For now I am happy though.

Let's just hope that tomorrow the Detroit Lions can make a large portion of the state of Pennsylvania sad. If the Lions go 3-0 that will be the first time since Billy Sims was the Lions running back.

Softball Fun Update

2007-09-19T21:23:00.000-04:00

Last week I posted about my softball accident where I had taken a softball off of the knee while pitching. Well, I wanted to give an update. The picture I had originally posted was taken about an hour after I had gotten hit. Here is the one from the next day....

As you can see it looked much nastier a day later. My mom told me to start taking arnica, which is supposed to help with the bruising and as you can tell from the picture I took today that it is working pretty darn good.

I did not pitch this past Monday, because I did not want to take the chance of getting it hit again. And I am glad that I made that choice because this team was hitting several up the middle. And my brother, who pitched in my place got a bruised thumb and bicep, along with catching one ball right in front of his face. And that was on two successive plays. YIKES! I doubt that I will be pitching anytime soon, but when I do I have a knee pad that I will be wearing to protect that area.

And because of the injury I also have not been doing much more leg-wise than riding the bike when I go to the gym. No weight lifting with my legs, but I have been doing upper body with the weights. But this week I decided to up the intensity on my bike riding and my legs are sore! But the good kind of sore.

:-) is 25 Years Old

2007-09-19T11:44:00.000-04:00

Today at 11:44a the electronic smile :-) and all emoticons was born 25 years ago. And the world has never smiled the same since. So today I sent out a whole bunch of text messages letting them know and giving them a :-) in honor of the man who started it all.

Story Here

So why don't you send a :-) onto someone today.

9/11 Tribute

2007-09-16T08:55:00.001-04:00

I made this video for the church that I was a youth pastor at back on the one year anniversary of 9/11 and finally got around to uploading it to YouTube. I hope you enjoy it as you reflect on and remember what happened a little over 6 years ago on that tragic day.

MICHIGAN WINS!!! MICHIGAN WINS!!! MICHIGAN WINS!!!

2007-09-15T20:47:00.000-04:00

The University of Michigan won a game today! And now I get a free slurpee from my friend Ron. And I also got to watch the game with a friend from over at YMX, who is a Notre Dame fan, Adam. It was really hard to sit there and watch a grown man cry like that. But I did laugh at him, because we all know that it takes a big man to cry, but it takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man.

Just kidding, Adam. Thanks for having us over and feeding me and my family.

Now I am watching the "Brain Bowl". Duke vs. Northwestern. I love having the Big Ten Network.

Oh yeah, and this is my 300th post.

Extremely Random Thoughts

2007-09-15T09:41:00.000-04:00

So many thoughts in my head today....

First one, of course, is whether or not Michigan an win a football game today after starting this season 0-2. Fortunately, we are playing a team that is having a worst time than we are. Notre Dame has not scored an offensive touchdown yet and has scored a total of 13 points this season, whereas Michigan has at least scored 39. So hopefully that will bode well for the team in maize and blue today.

Starting the season 0-3 would not be good. I do not believe that Lloyd Carr's job is in jeopardy at all, nor do I believe that it should be. If you look at his history as a head coach he has one of the top winning percentages of active head coaches, he has a higher winning percentage than the Wolverines have overall, and in all his year's as a head coach he has never had a scandal or problem. Lloyd has kept up the Michigan tradition of making Michigan Men. He deserves the respect of the university and the fans to choose to retire, if that is what he wants to do and I think he will at the end of this season, which I think he has planned all along.

Some of my other thoughts are in regards to politics and religion....

The USA Today has had a couple of articles talking about it and it has got me thinking a couple of things that I commonly hear from Christians. The first thought I had was is it possible for a "real" Christian to vote for a democrat? Seriously, I have heard twice recently from people about this, because of this post I had someone ask my wife if we were going to vote for a democrat now. The funny thing is that if you look at the comments on that post you will see two different people that have said they felt that my list was leaning more like a democrat and another that said it was leaning more like a republican.

Then I had another friend, who saw me taking some recyclables out to my car from work, ask me why I was putting trash in my car and I told him that it was not trash, but recyclables. I then kiddingly said that I was just doing my part to leave more space in our Michigan landfills for all of that Canadian trash we are importing. (For those of you who do not know, there is a big controversy because we are importing Canadian trash into our state.) And then I added seriously that I was just doing my part as a Christ-follower to make sure that we took care of our environment, which I believe every Christ-follower should do. He then said to me, "the next thing your going to tell me is that you are going to now be a democrat". (insert a note of disdain in his voice)

Seriously, why do Christians think that Jesus would only ever vote for a democrat? I used to think this way, but I have seriously begun to wonder about this.

The other thought that I have had that is tied to this, is can a person who calls themselves a Christian vote for someone who does not have a pro-life stance politically? What if they had a list that they went into the voting booth and they voted for the person who best met that list. Wouldn't that make sense? But it seems like most churches and Christians believe that that list should only consist of one or possibly two things. Do not get me wrong, I believe that abortion is wrong and horrible. But I do not believe that that is the only issue, nor do I believe that gay marriage should be the only thing either, especially when you see so much injustice in the world and many other issues that I believe are just as close to God's heart.

So feel free to comment and leave me your thoughts.

Softball Fun!

2007-09-10T20:17:00.000-04:00

I am playing in a fall league for softball. I love playing softball it is so much fun! The only problem is that I am a pitcher and often times the pitcher can get some serious line drives hit back at him. Especially since I am the closest to the batter. Well, today I took a shot off of the thigh in the first inning from the third batter, so needless to say it made for an interesting rest of the game. I could feel it tightening up and swelling throughout the game.

The guy who hit me did come up and apologize and he also got out because I threw the ball to third to try and get that guy out (he was safe) and then the guy whop hit me tried for second and he got out. So there was some vindication. But now I have the nice bruise that you see below.

The Bad and The Good....

2007-09-09T22:47:00.000-04:00

So my boys in blue got their butts handed to them by those stupid Ducks. Which when you think about it is a really dumb name for a football team, not as dumb as choosing a nut for your mascot, but almost as dumb. I have no idea what is happening over in Ann Arbor, but I hope they get it figured out for this weekend because those stinkin' Irish are coming to town. But it is nice knowing that they are playing just as bad as we are, so it should make for an extremely boring game between to nobody teams that though they sit atop the records for winningest programs they sure can't seem to find a win this season. GO BLUE!!!

But on a positive note....

THE LIONS ARE UNDEFEATED!

We are headed to the Super Bowl now, bab..... Awww, who am I kidding?

What A Start To College Football!

2007-09-03T22:45:00.000-04:00

Many of those of you that know me know that I am an avid University of Michigan fan. And after this past Saturday I can honestly say that I am still a big fan of UofM. Appalachian (App-a-la-chin) State University is one heck of a football team and has pulled off what is being called one of the greatest upsets in college football history and as much as I agree, I think that that takes away from a great football team. ASU deserves credit for being a great team that has won two national championships in a row and to think of them as a sub par team pulling off an upset on a vastly greater team. Instead of a great football team playing much better than another great team.

So please, give credit to ASU's football team as a great team. And UofM fans don't worry, it is a long seasona nd our boys will come back and learn from this. But more importantly, don't worry because we will beat those Buckeyes this year!

Chilling Words From 1994

2007-08-20T22:43:00.000-04:00

In 1994 Dick Cheney had the following to say on C-SPAN about going into Baghdad and overthrowing Saddam Hussein....

Where those prophetic words or what? I personally believe that Saddam Hussein needed to be taken out of power and punished for his crimes and I support the President's decision in going into Iraq to do that. But I have a problem with the fact that it seems that we have gone into this war without some plan on how we can get out.

I really do not have any ideas on a solution for this problem that we are facing over there, but I honestly have to say that I am seriously beginning to wonder like Vice-President Dick Cheney said back then is the cost of American lives worth all of this? I am beginning to think that it is not worth it.

I do not know how we can leave and I depending on which Presidential candidate that you talk with, you will get varying opinions on that as well. But I think that we need to find a way out and do it soon, because I am tiring of hearing about more and more casualties of these young, brave men who have sworn to defend our nation. And for that I salute and support them, but you need to begin to ask yourself if the cost has succeeded the reward.

Okay, comment away....

From Childhood Memories To Adulthood Memories

2007-08-20T22:12:00.000-04:00

Kimmy and I decided on the camera that we wanted to get from the sale of my childhood memories. We purchased from eBay a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. We are really looking forward to getting it and getting some really cool pictures of Caleb's soccer games, Hannah's dance stuff, our trip on the Pacific Catalyst in October and wherever else life leads us. I know that Kimmy will be really happy capturing all of our families memories and I will be happy knowing she is happy.

I will post our first picture here when we get the new camera, so stay tuned.

How Much Are Your Childhood Memories Worth?

2007-08-14T21:02:00.000-04:00

Mine were worth $552! I sold three of my Transformers today on eBay: Devastator, Omega Supreme and Jetfire. They were in mint condition and, yes, I did play with them. I just took extremely good care of them. We did not have a lot of money growing up so my parents always told us to take very good care of our stuff. So I would play with them and then put them back into their styrofoam cases and then into their boxes.

Yes, I know that means that I am a little crazy, but I am also the one laughing now because I was able to sell them! So Kimmy and I decided that we would buy a Digital SLR camera with the money. Especially since we will be going to Washington state in October for a cruise on the Pacific Catalyst, we wanted a really good camera to capture those memories with. Now I need to decide between a Nikon or a Canon. (Feel free to give me your personal opinion.)

I posted pics below of my old Transformers.

This Beautiful Mess (Book Review)

2007-08-09T20:27:00.000-04:00

Rick Mckinley, who is the Lead Pastor at Imago Dei Community, wrote a book titled This Beautiful Mess: Practicing the Presence of the Kingdom of God. This book seemed to me to almost be the sequel to Mike Yaconelli's book Messy Spirituality. And reading those two books back to back really only seemed to enhance that thought with me.

Where Mike Yaconelli's book talks about how our spirituality is messy and that is okay, Rick Mckinley's book talks about how we can take our messy spirituality and enhance the mess we find ourselves in here on planet earth and bring some beauty to it all. Mike talks about fixing ourselves and Rick talks about fixing the world around us.

There are so many points that Rick makes that I could point out, but I will just point to one part that I really liked in Chapter 6 "Already, Not Yet". Rick talks about how the Jesus says that the Kingdom is already here and also not yet here, and how there is a tension that exists in that. And Rick shares a story about when his son came down with a mysterious illness and had to be hospitalized and through that Rick learned a lot about what that tension means and you will have to read that book to get it, but I want to share one part of the story about his son being in the hospital that stuck out to me....

During those weeks, some well-meaning people gave us the right answers. "God knows what's happening," they said. Or, "Josh will be fine because we're praying." The right answers seem right to say, of course, and seem right when you hear them, but they don't help much. To be honest, the right answers began to make us angry. Somehow Christians have a hard time saying things like, "I don't know why the hell this is happening or how this will end. You guys must be scared to death." I guess we all need to be able to explain life down to every last detail even when the answers don't mean anything to us. We just can't stand the questions. But in the kingdom of God, I have come to believe, it is all right not to have all the answers, and I think Jesus likes it even more when we don't make up ones that are safe and but hollow.

A big heart "AMEN!!!" on that one.

So if you are looking for ways that you can practice the presence of the kingdom of God where you are at, I recommend this book to you. It is a very easy read and filled with good practical advice.

Young Adults Aren't Sticking With Church

2007-08-07T21:17:00.000-04:00

At least that is what an article in the USA Today is claiming and I would have to agree from what I am seeing.

Protestant churches are losing young adults in "sobering" numbers, a survey finds.

Seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30 — both evangelical and mainline — who went to church regularly in high school said they quit attending by age 23, according to the survey by LifeWay Research. And 34% of those said they had not returned, even sporadically, by age 30. That means about one in four Protestant young people have left the church.

"This is sobering news that the church needs to change the way it does ministry," says Ed Stetzer.

That may not seem like major numbers, but in my opinion any loss is bad and the church needs to look at why that is happening, and then turn around and figure out what they can do to stop the bleeding. And here are a few things that the article points out that I think are keys.

"Too many youth groups are holding tanks with pizza. There's no life transformation taking place," Stetzer says. "People are looking for a faith that can change them and to be a part of changing the world."

I think that that is a big problem. Youth groups have become not much more than entertainment venues. We orchestrate our services to have the feel of a concert, music festival, amusement park, some big major event, etc. and there is so much time spent on that, that it is hard to delve into the life on life ministry that is much more important, in my opinion. But I am not the big show kind of guy anyway. And that is what Chris Folmsbee is getting at in his book A New Kind of Youth Ministry.

"Unless religious leaders take younger adults more seriously, the future of American religion is in doubt," says Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow in After the Baby Boomers, due in stores in September.

The proportion of young adults identifying with mainline churches, he says, is "about half the size it was a generation ago. Evangelical Protestants have barely held their own."

That is another problem that I see. A lot of churches do not take young adults seriously and unfortunately that is reflected by the fact that they do not have ministries geared towards and for them. Instead they think that the main service is good enough for them, because after all "they are adults now". But the reality is that the main adult service is primarily geared towards people who are in their 30's and above, and have families. And so most young adults are getting lost in the mix.

Now I know that some churches just do not have the resources to have a separate ministry geared towards young adults, but there are always ways around that. Take for example what a friend of mine's church is doing, they are pooling together resources with other churches in the area to start a ministry to young adults. It is called Elevate North. What a great idea! And it gives me such great hope for the church, because if we keep losing the young adults, we may lose the church.

Messy Spirituality (Book Review)

2007-08-07T20:11:00.000-04:00

I have no idea why I took so long to read Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli, but I am glad that I finally did. This book was amazing and has seriously changed my life! I loved the part on the back cover where Mike says....

"I Guess I’m Not a Very Good Christian . . ."

Do you feel like:
I don’t pray enough
I don’t read my Bible enough
I don’t share my faith enough
I don’t love God enough
I’m not committed enough
I’m not spiritual enough

Because that is how I often feel as well. Mike's book is raw and real. He pulls no punches and tells it like it is, which is what I like in a person. I never really knew much of him unfortunately until after his death, but I can only pray that I can live my life with half the passion that he had.

Much like Jesus, Mike does not care about what you are or do but is more concerned with where your heart is. And mike teaches us that we need to look beyond the superficial things and look at our own heart and the hearts of others and not just judge them based on what we see. Such a simple thing, but it is something that most Christ followers do not get, I know that I do not always.

If you find yourself in the category of not always feeling like you are a very good Christian, I encourage you to read this book. Mike will help you realize that your spirituality, no matter how messy it is (and I hope it is messy), is real and genuine and that Jesus meets you just where you are at.

Serve God, Save the Planet (Book Review)

2007-08-05T22:31:00.000-04:00

I heard a podcast from Mars Hill Bible Church where they had a guest speaker named J. Matthw Sleeth and he was a doctor who authored a book titled, "Serve God, Save the Planet", share during their "God is Green" teaching series. Matthew had encountered so many people that were dealing with cancer and other things that he started doing research and found that there were many things that pointed toward environmental issues that was causing so many of the cancer causes in our country that he decided that the solution was not to search for the cure for cancer, but to search for ways to prevent it. In other words he believed the old adage that an ounce of prevention is more important than a pound of cure.

Read More Here

Harry Potter is Evil?

2007-07-26T21:02:00.000-04:00

Well, at least according to the article I received in the mail (yes, snail mail) from an "anonymous" friend. It was a copy of an online article from One News Now.com by Ed Thomas titled "Evangelist says Bible speaks to Potter series 'white magic'" . But unfortunately this friend who typed out my address on the envelop and left no return address had his name and email listed on one of the pages that he printed out in the comment section of this online article. So I am assuming that he agrees with the "facts" and opinions in this article and wanted to left me know how bad the Harry Potter series is. READ MORE HERE

Separation of Church and State

2007-07-25T22:36:00.000-04:00

I am starting to think that the idea of the separation of the church and the state is a good idea. But before I go into my reasons why let me first state that I do not believe that the separation of church and state is a Constitutional issue. Those words are not found anywhere in the U.S. Constitution nor are they alluded to anywhere in that document. And so I still loathe it when people refer to it as a Constitutional issue when it can not be, because it is not even Constitutional.

Now let me explain why I think that there should be a separation of church and state. I was reading an article in the USA Today entitled, Does the religious majority rule? (The USA Today does an article regarding faith every Monday called On Religion. They are very good and I recommend reading them.) In which the author wrote about how there are Christians that are challenging things like the Ten Commandments on walls in courthouses, prayer at high school football games, etc. It isn't just atheists doing this anymore. And this was the saddest part of the whole article...

Debbie Mason had long been active as a volunteer in the school attended by three of her daughters in Santa Fe, Texas. But she quickly became an outsider after she challenged the football game prayers in the town's high school stadium. Debbie endured ostracism, even threats of drive-by shootings. One of her daughters, Jenni, left church in tears one Sunday morning after a school board member denounced her family from the pulpit.

And so that is how we are showing the world God's love? I think that we need to read this verse as churches more often....

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35 (TNIV)

Were those people shown love? Did that pastor model the Bible for that family when he spoke against them from the pulpit? The answer is no. And that is why the church needs to separate itself from the state.

The other reason why I believe in the separation of the church and state is because the church has become so filled with political affairs that I believe we have lost sight of our mission here on earth. For some reason it seems like the gospel in our churches today is more about changing the government and less about changing lives. Examine the messages in your church and see if they speak more against political issues or if they are about the Gospel. Personally, I think that if there are any speaking out against whatever political agendas are current instead of being encouraged to go out and touch lives then i think there is a problem.

Yes, I do know that Jesus was a political revolutionary, but He did that by talking about how we need to live differently. How we need to reach out and take care of the poor, widows, orphans or those who are suffering injustices at the hands of the government. That is how He told us to revolutionize the government. The church needs to be taking care of their needs and going out into the world and tell people about the love and grace of God.

And so that is another reason why I believe the church needs to separate from the state. The church needs to worry more about changing lives and worry less about changing the government. Because the reality is that when we change the lives of people in our community and country, we will naturally see a change in our government. I believe that the church today has an opportunity to really shine, but the question is if we have our focus in the right place.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book Review)

2007-07-23T19:53:00.000-04:00

I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Monday morning at 1:00a and I must say that J. K. Rowling ended the series perfectly. I can not think of any other way to end the series and to leave the fans satisfied with how it ended.

My favorite book has always been Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but this one may supplant that one. Kimmy and I went to the midnight release party at Borders to get our books. It was fun! Then we spent the next day reading it while our kids were at the air show with my parents.

And now for the....

***SPOILERS***

My favorite part had to be in the epilogue when Harry said to Albus Severus that he was named after two of the greatest headmasters at Hogwarts, and that one of them was a Slytherin and one of the bravest men he knew. I cried. I know it was a fairly meaningless scene, but to me it was the perfect way to end that. I always felt that Snape was good.

As far as Harry being a horcrux, that was something that only a few HP fans suggested and most disputed it. But I had a feeling that that was the case. I am looking forward to listening to the next Pottercast, because John Noe (one of the co-hosts) took beatings over his theory on that. And his theory that Voldemort and Harry shared the same blood. He is going to punish Sue and Melissa for teasing him about that at least I hope he does!

I had a feeling that Harry would have to sacrifice himself to have to fully eliminate Voldemort and when he walked into the forest willingly to die, I wondered if his act of love would have some kind of effect.

I was happy that Hagrid did not die, he is my favorite character in the series. I was sad when Fred died, because he and George were such cool characters. I hated to see Lupin and Tonks die, because they had just had a son and were two cool characters.

I loved the one liners during the battle in Hogwarts. Percy saying, "Hey minister, did I mention I quit?" Or Mrs. Weasly, "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" Just goes to show you that you never mess with a woman's kids.

Rowling made these characters so real that you couldn't help but developing a love for them. It is sad to see the series end, but I get to relive it again as my daughter reads them and then when the two movies come out.

R.I.P. Tammy Faye Bakker Messner

2007-07-23T19:26:00.000-04:00

In a recent blog post about Jay Bakker's book, Son of a Preacher Man, I had mentioned that we need to be praying for Tammy Faye. Sadly, she lost her battle with cancer the next day. I did not find out until Sunday morning and I must say that I was very sad. Her was a woman who was albeit a bit on the wild side, at least when it came to make-up, but you could not question her love for God. And her desire for others to find that same love in their own lives.

So please pray for her husband and kids as they mourn the loss of Tammy Faye. I pray that her life will be remember more for her love for God than the infamous PTL scandal.

Son of a Preacher Man (Book Review)

2007-07-19T22:37:00.000-04:00

I also finished reading Son of a Preacher Man: My Search for Grace in the Shadows by Jay Bakker, who is the son of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. And for those of you that know me, you probably are in shock over the fact that I have so many book reviews lately. Well, I just can't stop reading and I recently ordered some more books, because I needed more to read and you can keep up to date on what I am currently reading in the right column. Of course there is a really good one coming out this Saturday that I plan on reading when I pick it up at midnight.

Now back to Jay's book.....

My mom had given me this book back when it first came out and it has sat on the shelf for a while. I started reading it, but then put it down. Well, after I finished my most recent book I grabbed this one to read and I finished it in three days. As I sat and read this book I found myself going through so many emotions. I even found myself crying at times.

Jay's book gave me insights into what really went on with the PTL Club that Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker had formed. And also the inner turmoil that went on with the family during the whole mess and during Jim's incarceration. I could really sense the pain in Jay's heart at watching his dad and mom's hearts being torn out, and then watching his dad spend time in prison.

But Jay's book is not just about the turmoil that he felt, but about how God used all of it to show Jay how his life would be devoted to reaching out to those who live out on the edge that he ended up in. Jay's view of God's love and grace is amazing, but unfortunately he had to go through a lot of crap to get it. His story is one of hope as you see how he has turned all of this around and has seen God restore his family.

I have to admit that I was one of those people who thought bad things about the Bakker's and believed what I was seeing on the TV and hearing from other Christians about them. And for that I am deeply sorry. I have no idea if Jay will ever read this blog post or not, but if he does I hope that he will find one more person who is sorry about his attitudes and actions towards his family. I really believe that the Bakker's were railroaded and shafted during this whole thing. Don't get me wrong, I know that they did do things wrong, but they were punished more severely than they deserved.

I would recommend that anyone who wants to know more about what happend during the whole "PTL scandal" and wants to find out how one man found grace in the midst of that dark shadow I would encourage you to pick up this book.

On a related side note, please pray for Tammy Faye as she continues her battle with cancer.

**EDIT (23 July 2007)** Sadly, Tammy Faye lost her battle with cancer on Friday, 21 July 2007.

They Like Jesus but Not the Church (Book Review)

2007-07-19T21:07:00.000-04:00

I finished reading They Like Jesus but Not the Church by Dan Kimball this week and I was thoroughly impressed. Dan's approach is not only a radical one, but I believe that it is one that is done with grace and humility. This book is written for leaders who are wanting to know hoe they can best reach the emerging generation. He has written a similar book geared towards those who are in the emerging generation and who would say, "I Like Jesus but Not the Church".

Dan tackles six of the biggest problems that the emerging generation has with the church in America today. The emerging generations believe that the church (1) is an organized religion with a political agenda; (2) is judgmental and negative; (3) is dominated by males and oppresses females; (4) is homophobic; (5) arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong; (6) is full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally. He went around and interviewed twenty and thirty-somethings in coffee shops and wherever he found them. This isn't just what is going on solely in Santa Cruz, CA. But is truly a cross-section of what is going on in this country.

I know that with the people in my area that it is something that many of them have said. There are even quite a few guys that I work with that have expressed the same things and they are 40+.

Dan does not come off as some arrogant church leader who has the latest and greatest way to do church, but as a humble fellow Christ-follower who is trying to do his best to see the world impacted with the good news of God's love for them. I encourage you to read it with an open mind and heart. As Lee Strobel is quoted on the front cover, "A powerful and passionate wake-up call for the American church." Are you and your church sleeping?

Random Facts Meme

2007-07-19T19:35:00.000-04:00

Well, I have been tagged in this by the big guy over at YMX.

Rules to play

1. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
2. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
3. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

My 8 random factoids:

1. Like Marko my first job was illegal. I worked for a guy who owned some greenhouses and a farm. It was really tough work, but fun.

2. The month my wife was due to have our daughter, there was a tornado that ripped through the trailer park we were living in. Two years later, when she was pregnant with our son, she was in OK and they were surrounded with tornado sightings. Both times everyone was safe.

3. I had a 1981 'Vette as my first car. I got it when I turned 16 and it was a manual transmission. The day after getting it, I stalled it our as I was leaving a parking lot and kept stalling it out. Frustrated I got out and called my dad and told him to come pick me up. BTW, it was a Chevette.

4. My wife and I have known each other our whole lives, but did not start dating until 1994. But we did go to her high school prom together. It is really fun to see videos of us in the children's choir sitting next to one another.

5. I am ashamed to admit this, but I really liked the Newlyweds show.

6. My wife and I both do not like scary movies and once while watching Signs, which wasn't really that scary, we were sitting on opposite ends of the couch and Kimmy said, "Don't sit so far away come hold me, I am scared." To which I replied, "Come hold me, I'm scared."

7. Once when I was cutting my grandma's grass, two guys pulled up in a car and asked if I wanted any grass and I said that I already had a big bag of it.

8. My favorite movie of all time is Somewhere In Time and Kimmy and I used the music in our wedding.

Now I tag:
Derek
KT
Kent
Kathy
Dirk
Bryan (who thinks MySpace blogging counts)
Brian
Jason

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Movie Review)

2007-07-14T16:17:00.000-04:00

Order of the Phoenix (Year 5) is my favorite book in the series. And I loved the movie. I think that they did the best with the crappy time frame that Warner Brothers gave them. This movie deserved 3+ hours.

I saw it at the IMAX in 3D and that was WAY cool! If you get a chance to see it at one it is worth the cost of admission. I think that Imelda Staunton nailed Dolores Umbridge! She made you hate the character even more than in the books. And Evanna Lynch nailed Luna Lovegood. Not bad for a girl who was just a fan of the serious and won the open casted role! She was amazing, IMO.

I loved Kreacher and I think that they captured his mood very well. Would have liked to seen more of his mutterings. I am glad J.K. Rowling told them to put him in the movie.

I was disappointed in the way they handled the scene with Sirius Black dying. First, I always pictured that gate with an actual curtain, not some hazy thing. Second, he dodged her first shot and then got hit with the second which knocked him backwards into the veil. In the movie it appeared that he was dead as he fell back into the veil. According to the book Bellatrix Lestrange shot one curse at him that emitted a streak of red light that Sirius dodged and then she hit him with another one that knocks him through the veil, but the color is never mentioned. The Avada Kedavra emits a green light. The red one is unknown, so far but his commonly known as the stupefy curse, in the Potter world. To me that was quite a bit different between the movie and the book.

I did not like the way they did Fred and George's exit. They left out their challenge to the students to get rid of Umbridge and the swamp. Everything else was great about it though!

The kiss scene was a waste of time, in my opinion, and that time could have been used towards other much more important things. They should have done it just like Rowling had written it in the books.

I like how Harry went into the DA lessons with not too much confidence, but gained it over time. Which is like how it was in the book. So I thought that that was okay.

I missed the brain scene in the Ministry of Magic.

All in all it was a great movie and the best of the bunch, IMO.

Next week I get to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! I am looking forward to spending the evening at Borders with my wife for the midnight book release party. Yes, I am that geeky!

Looking For Free Stuff?

2007-07-10T21:37:00.000-04:00

Are you someone who is in youth/student ministry and looking for some free resources to help you out at your church? Then head on over to YMExchange.com and check out the Monday Exchange. A new resource will be added every Monday. You can also subscribe the YMX RSS Feed and get updated on your favorite feed reader about what is new at YMX.

R.I.P. "N" Word

2007-07-10T21:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday in Detroit the NAACP held their 98th annual meeting. And they decided to symbolically bury the "N" word. And not because they believe that white people or people of other races should not be able to use that word. They did this because they believe that no one should use that word. The sad reality is that the word is probably used more often in rap songs then it is anywhere else. I applaud the NAACP for taking this bold step and calling out rappers and other black artists and telling them to stop using the word. I think that this is a bold move and I hope the message is heard and followed.

There are some other words that I believe need to be buried as well. One of them is the word "retard". It sickens me every time I hear people use this word so flippantly. Do they realize how they are not just calling someone a name, but they are degrading mentally handicapped people and their families? I seriously cringe every time I hear it used and for the most part have had people that I normally interact with stop using the word, but this past week while I was camping I heard my cousin use the word and then turn around and talk about how we should not use the next word on my list of words to be buried.

I think we also need to bury the word "fag". I believe that this word is on the same level as the "N" word and I even hesitated using it here, but I wanted to use it just to name the word exactly. Not only do I cringe when I hear it, but it literally sickens me when I hear christians use that word. And what is even more sad is that there is a church in Topeka, Kansas that uses that word in the name of the their churches website. The church is Westboro Baptist Church and the pastor there is a man named Fred Phelps. Sadly, you can see a picture of him on the right.

This man and his church sickens me. The message of Jesus is one of love and grace, not hatred. I look at that picture and I honestly wonder what Bible he is reading. How can he honestly believe that God would laugh when a human being dies and possibly goes to hell? That is not the God of the Bible that I know and serve. That was never Jesus' message and I would dare sya that I believe Jesus would have some very harsh words for this man and his church.
Okay, back to the burial of the "F" word....

I think that the "F" word is just has evil and hateful as the "N" word. And the "R" word as well. I believe that Christ-followers every where needs to stop using these words and eliminate them from our speech. They are not loving words and I do not believe that Jesus wants us to use such hateful language. But not only should the church not use the word, but I believe all humans need to stop using them.

Okay, I will get off of my soapbox now....

Manistee Update (07/07/07)

2007-07-07T09:56:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we went to the Sleeping Bear Dunes, which I have not been to since I was a kid. It was a lot of fun. We went on a 1.5 mile nature walk through the dunes. And then went to Lake Michigan and swam. It was frickin' cold! But we went all the way out to a sand bar. Despite the cold, it was fun.

Then on the way home, since we were in the cherry captial, we stopped by the Cherry Hut Restaurant and got my parents a cherry pie and some cherry jelly. And we even got the dog some cherry treats. All in all it was a great vacation and I am not looking forward to having to come home tomorrow and get back to the real world.

But I am looking forward to getting home.

Manistee Update (3 July 2007)

2007-07-03T22:32:00.000-04:00

Today, was really great. It started off a little overcast and rainy, but then the sun came out and it was beautiful. A little chilly (mid 70's or so) and then we had my whole family (about 30 or so, spanning 4 generations) all together for lunch and then a family picture. I will have to post the pic later.

But sadly, the big fireworks show was cancelled due to wind and rain. I am sitting here in my tent staying mostly dry. But the rest of the week should be nice. Rain ends tomorrow (hopefully, the parade won't be cancelled) and it should be almost 80! And then Thursday we are going to Michigan Adventure!

A Generous Orthodoxy (Book Review)

2007-06-30T22:42:00.001-04:00

I finally got a chance to read Brian McLaren's book A Generous Orthodoxy. I can't understand why I waited to so long to get it and then read it! This book is the basic handbook if you want to learn what Emergent's think or what they are really about. Brian is one of the people that brought the whole idea of the Emergent Church into more of a formal organization. Every so often the church has gone through a reformation of sorts and I believe (along with Brian) that the Emergent Church is a part of that reformation.

As I read his book I found myself several times stopping and thinking about how much of this are things I have thought or said. There were many other times where I would stop and re-read what I had just read and then re-read it again. Here is one such statement....

How many children in Sunday school learn that radical sense of Christian servant identity as opposed to Christians are nice people who know the truth and do good. Non-Christians are bad people who don't. Therefore we need to avoid Non-Christians or convert them as fast as possible or try to pass laws to keep them under control and protect ourselves from them-until we can escape them forever in heaven?

All I can say is WOW!!! That is so true of the church in America today and that is a very sad fact. One of the things that I really liked about what Brian had to say was how we as a church need to be reaching ahead of us, to be mentored, and reaching behind us, to mentor others.

In Chapter 3 Brian asks that question, "Would Jesus be a Christian?" That is a very provocative question, but one that I think we need to ask ourselves. He answers it with three points....

1. The more I study the Bible and reflect on the life and teachings of Jesus, the more I think most of Christianity as practiced today has very little to do with the real Jesus found there.

2. Often I don't think Jesus would be caught dead as a Christian, were he physically here today.

3. Generally, I don't think Christians would like Jesus if he showed up today as he did 2,000 years ago. In fact, I think we'd call him a heretic and plot to kill him, too.

If Brian is correct in his assessment (and I believe that he is) than the church in America really needs to examine itself. Just as Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenburg, I believe Brian has done the same thing with this book, but instead this is to the door of the American Church. I encourage every church leader and Christian to read this book. Brian's humble approach is refreshing and enlightening. I know that I am changed by reading this and I hope you will be as well.

Have You Ever Googled Yourself?

2007-06-27T17:32:00.000-04:00

Has anyone ever heard of googlism.com? This is a really funny thing where you type in your name (or other things) and then it will give you what appears to be little short parts of what is found online regarding your name. Here is what it had for my name....

todd porter is a jerk of the first order
todd porter is more of a self
todd porter is married
todd porter is confident in his team’s ability get the job done once
todd porter is doing the lion's share of the asset calculation and setting up the whole thing in microsoft project
todd porter is having employee e
todd porter is?
todd porter is both the owner of porter apple and the director of operations for applebee's
todd porter is the man in charge of leading the way
todd porter is the new man in charge at clear creek after tammy laurence left to take the head gig at cinco ranch
todd porter is interviewed about ion's upcoming dominion release on computer games online
todd porter is now ceo
todd porter is a consultant
todd porter is in charge now
todd porter is currently the webmaster for the corporate and legal affairs group at microsoft
todd porter is here to talk to all of you about dominion
todd porter is better
todd porter is an ass who slags anyone against him and has never finished a game in his life

I like the "jerk of the first order", "todd porter is?", and that I am the owner of porter apple and work for microsoft.

And remember that I am in charge and that I am better!

And I do not mean this....

A New Kind of Youth Ministry (Book Review)

2007-06-26T21:39:00.000-04:00

I recently finished the book A New Kind of Youth Ministry by Chris Folmsbee and I am beginning to realize that I need to stop reading, because the books I have been reading lately are messing me up (in a good way). Chris did not write this book because he feels that everyone else out there is doing it wrong and his way is the right way. He wrote it because he believes that youth ministry has not sufficiently changed to adapt to the current culture. And I whole-heartedly agree with him.

Chris' ideas for re-culturing the youth ministries in our churches is revolutionary, but yet so simple. In many ways his ideas are to take youth ministry from a point where we entertain, lecture, teach, do mission trips and meet others needs; to where help them learn how to live missional lives, learn about God in an environment that is centered around them and not a curriculum, and where it is not about how big and flashy our programs can be but instead how deep.

I do not believe that this book should be limited to just people in youth ministry, but a valuable tool for all ministries in the church. I think that the more the church realizes that we can learn from one another the better the church can and will be. So whether you are in youth ministry, children's ministry, adult ministry, small group ministry, etc. I recommend this book for you. Chris' humility in this book is refreshing and I hope you will get as much out of it as I did.

My Wife Is Amazing!

2007-06-25T23:05:00.000-04:00

Our church had a leadership conference recently were our pastor used the analogy of a french press coffee maker and how the process of brewing coffee in that is often like how God does things in our lives. There is the process of being ground, and then brewing, which takes about 4 minutes and can seem like forever (especially for coffee addicts). And if you end that brewing process too early then the coffee is weak and if you wait too long then it turns bitter. Then there is the process as you press down on the plunger and squeeze the coffee grounds down and get the pure coffee brew.

Well, as a result of that and with all of the stuff that Kimmy and I have been going through, inspired her to write a song. The song you can hear by pressing play on the player below is that song and I posted the lyrics as well. It is titled, "Satisfy You". And major kudos goes to Colin Harfield our Music Pastor who took the music from Kim's lips to create a beautiful guitar piece as back-up. Thanks, Colin! Read More Here

Want To See Something Really Cool?

2007-06-17T23:49:00.000-04:00

We came home from our in-laws today to find this in our back yard. This is one of the reasons why my wife and I fell in love with our neighborhood.

The funny part about all of this is that when I was clearing out that part of our yard yesterday, I thought that it might make it easier for us to see a deer. And look at what God did for us! What a great Father's Day gift from my Father in heaven.

And if you look in front of the deer you can see the new fire pit I built in that area of our yard. And here is a pic from the first fire we did in it!

A Ray of Sunshine

2007-06-12T21:57:00.000-04:00

Today the world received a ray of sunshine from our friends in Cupertino, CA. People who work on Windows can now use what I consider to be the best browser out there. Apple's Safari web browser. Try it out. But be warned that it is in it's beta version right now. But I suspect by October it will get it's final release when Leopard comes out.

Now if only they could come out with Apple's Mail program. But at least I can use Thunderbird on my home PC. And that is WAY better than Outlook.

Banging My Head.....

2007-06-12T19:50:00.000-04:00

Recently, the governor, legislators of our state, and some business people met up on Mackinac Island and stayed at the Grand Hotel, which is one of the most beautiful places in our state and the hotel happens to be one of the most expensive in the state (about $400-700). And why did they meet? Because they needed to discuss our state's current budget crisis. Isn't that amazing?

Our state is having serious financial problems. Business are either closing up or moving out of state, left and right. But yet our legislature and governor can find the money to pamper themselves for about a week at one fo the nicest resort. Our kids elementary school had to lay off two teachers recently because the money is not there to pay them, but yet Jennifer Granholm is living the good life up on Mackinac Island.

I got a great idea on how we can help our state's economy. How about we not take these luxurious vacations on the tax payer's dime? How about taking back that raise that you legislator's just voted yourselves? How about making yourselves part-time like many other states? Somehow I am thinking there are better options than hurting our children's educational system.

And then not long after our local news reported all of that grim news on the state of state's economy they announced that a local church had just finished off their $15 million dollar church building. Mind you, this was a renovation of what used to be a large home improvement store. I just sat there thinking of ways that they may have been able to cut back on some of the extra things and use some of that money to help some of these people in our community that are having their homes foreclosed on. Since we are the number one county in the nation with home foreclosures.

I just think that this is the time when the Church can really shine and show God's love in some very practical ways. Instead we build palaces to honor ourselves and we somehow think that God is actually pleased with this.

Maybe, just maybe God wants us to sacrifice some of the niceties that we have become accustomed to in this country and sacrifice a little. Every 15 seconds a child dies because they do not have access to clean drinking water and we are building $15 million dollar palaces called churches. What is wrong with this picture?

No Longer Riding Topless

2007-05-28T21:19:00.000-04:00

You may be puzzled by the title of this post, but for those of you that know me you know that that means that I no longer have my Jeep Wrangler. I loved my Jeep. And it is not just because Jeep's are the coolest vehicles on the planet, but because this Jeep was special. I special ordered it. When it came in to the dealer on 22 May 2003, it looked so beautiful on the lot with the Jeep bike sitting on the bike rack. My dealer told me that he had several offers for it, but he would just point at the sticker on the window that said "Built especially for Todd D. Porter".

The problem is that the Jeep got horrible gas mileage and with the price of gas about $3.50 a gallon, I couldn't afford to keep it anymore. The MPG on the Jeep was about 17 city and 19 highway. So we decided that would look for a car that was better for family trips, better on gas, more environmentally friendly, and was American made. So we started searching and through much research we decided that we would get a hybrid. We ultimately decided to get a Toyota Prius. Yes, I know that it is not American made, but I decided that just like the Marine Corps has the motto of "God, Corps, Country". I have a similar type motto, but mine is "God, Family, Country". And I felt that the first two outweighed the last one. And the Prius would be the best option for my faith and my family. Being environmentally friendly and better economically is better for me and my faith, because I believe it helps me to be a better Christ-follower. Being better economically and a good sized family car is better for my family. And honestly being environmentally friendly and using less gas is better for our country. Sure it doesn't provide more American jobs, but it does help us reduce our dependency on foreign oil and help the environment in our country. And I wish the Big 3 actually cared about these things like Toyota and Honda seem to care.

So we went to Victory Toyota of Canton, because they were having some great deals this weekend. And for those of you who have seen the commercials, yes, we did get to meet Rockin' Rick Hodges. After finding out that there is a HUGE demand for hybrids right now and so they have been marked up and there are no deals, we decided to get a Toyota Camry instead (You can see the pic of it below). The gas mileage is good (24 city and 33 highway), it has low emissions, is a great family-sized car and it is made here in America. The deal on the Camry was great and Rick Hodges helped get us the great deal that we did get on the car. If anyone is in the Detroit area and in the market for a Toyota (or Scion, Honda, Nissan) I would highly recommend going to any of them. Great dealership to deal with and their sales people seem to be very well trained and highly knowledgeable.

While I am sad at losing my Jeep, I am happy with the new car for our family. Plus, Kimmy looks really hot driving it! Of course she always looks hot!

What's Your Theological Worldview?

2007-05-27T16:13:00.000-04:00

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern, You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.

Emergent/Postmodern

75%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

68%

Modern Liberal

50%

Classical Liberal

50%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

50%

Fundamentalist

46%

Reformed Evangelical

46%

Neo orthodox

46%

Roman Catholic

39%

What's your theological worldview?
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The Detroit Zoo

2007-05-26T23:14:00.000-04:00

Anyone who old enough and lived in the Metro Detroit area in the 1980's should remember the following commercial....

The best part about this commercial besides just how stinkin' good it was, is that they are planning on recreating it this year. Ahhhh, nostalgia!

Windoze Most Basic Application....

2007-05-25T15:13:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has worked on a Microshaft computer knows about CTRL+ALT+DEL, but do you know the history behind it? Well, now you do!

R.I.P. Jerry Falwell & "Moral Majority" Musings

2007-05-16T22:30:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, 15 May 2007, Jerry Falwell passed away and entered into eternity. Jerry founded the Thomas Road Baptist Church, Liberty University, and the Moral Majority.

I never really knew the man, but I have heard stories from people who have attended Liberty University and they have some great stories about him. They told stories of how he would race kids on campus in their cars. How he would support students on his own dime to be able to attend the University. It really made this man who was basically a Christian celebrity a real human being to me.

I know that over the years there was many people whose lives were profoundly effected by this man's ministry and many people got to know Jesus as their own personal savior because of him. And because of his church and university there will be many more lives that will still be able to be affected by his ministry. That to me is one of the best things we as Christ followers can do.

But sadly one of the things that he will be known for is as a uniter and a divider.

"We will always remember him as a founder and leader of America's anti-gay industry, someone who exacerbated the nation's appalling response to the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic, someone who demonized and vilified us for political gain and someone who used religion to divide rather than unite our nation," said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, an advocacy group.

To me the line that says, "someone who used religion to divide rather than unite our nation," is one of the saddest lines. I hope that that can never be said about me. Christ never called us to condemn the world, but to love people and to bring heaven to earth. The Church has not been doing a good job of this, especially when it comes to the homosexual community. Jesus ate with sinners and associated more with them then he did with the religious people of his day, but unfortunately we have that totally wrong today.

Falwell is credited with launching the effort that has put issues such as the teaching of evolution, same-sex marriage, abortion rights and stem cell research near the top of the mainstream political agenda. "Values voters" were viewed as a prize, the group that helped elect George W. Bush president in 2000 and 2004.

I find it absolutely amusing that the Moral Majority has been convincing us in the Church for years that those are basically the only issues that matter to God. But yet they totally neglect things like environmental concerns, which are things we are told to care about back in Genesis 1, and also things like non-violence, which is what Jesus taught. Don't get me wrong, I believe that those are other things are just as important, but I think we have negelected some important things just because they were not a part of the Republican agenda. In my opinion, I think the biggest problem with the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition is that they are more Republican than they are Christian.

But I want to bring this back around to Jerry's life. I may not agree with everything that he has done or said, but I will have to agree with one of his public statements.

"The solution to America's serious moral and spiritual problem is not political. We're in need of a religious awakening."

— at a Christian rally outside the U.S. Capitol in 1996.

He is right. The solution is for Christian's to care more about the lives of their neighbors and less about who gets into whatever political office. That is the real way to bring about change in our country. Thank you, Mr. Falwell, for living your life for God the best way you knew how.

Settlers of Catan

2007-05-15T19:56:00.000-04:00

I just picked up this beauty on eBay.....

I played it for the first time a few weeks ago and love it! Can't wait for it to come in! Very fun game and great for social interaction with friends. Every game is totally different because the board is always changing.

You can also buy it here for a good price.

More Info about Settlers of Catan

Has anyone ever played it?

Question.....

2007-05-13T16:11:00.000-04:00

So if you post a blog for the first time in a month and no one is there to read it, did you post something?

So, yeah, it has been almost a month since I blogged and people who know me know that it is not because I have a lack of things to say. It is just that since we came back from Florida, I feel like we have been running like mad. A lot has been going on, so I will give a few updates here.

First one is that we reduced the number of trees in our yard from 11 to 6. Here are pics of our yard with arrows pointing to the trees that were ash trees and had to be removed because of this guy....

Yep, the infamous Emerald ash borer! So here are the yard pics.....

And here is a video showing the transformation.....

Remembering Virginia Tech

2007-04-17T23:07:00.000-04:00

Praying for the families of the victims from the massacre at Virginia Tech. This picture was the most amazing one that I have seen. I hope the students can somehow find a way to carry on.

Spring Break Trip Update #1

2007-04-08T18:10:00.000-04:00

Some observances from a northerner....

1) As we traveled south and made our first stop in Cincinnati, I have to say that you people in the south are lucky. When we left everything was brown and dead. The grass was brown, the trees were just barely budding, and we actually had some snow. But in Cinci the grass was green and getting ready to be cut, the trees had leaves and flowers were blooming. And the further south we got the more this became the case. You people in the south are so lucky because your spring comes so much earlier. In Michigan it is still pretty dead, but I am enjoying being amongst the palm trees and flowers now.

2) Though I may have been born and raised in the north, my heart and body are definitely southern. It was 56 degrees here today, but 34 and snowing back home , and we ventured out to the beach in jeans and jackets. It was cold to us, but there were many people swimming and walking around in shorts and I bet a lot of them were northerners who thought that it was warm. While it is warmer, me and my family found it a touch cold. But never fear, it will be warming up soon enough down here and be close to the 80's!

That is it for now from Florida....

Soul Cravings

2007-04-02T20:52:00.000-04:00

I finished reading Erwin Raphael McManus' latest book entitled Soul Cravings. He breaks the book down into three main sections: Intimacy, Destiny, and Meaning, he then wraps it up with one last section called Seek. Erwin breaks down the three basic cravings that all humans have deep in their souls and then in the final chapter he wraps it up with how we all seek it and that it is within our grasp if we look in the right place.

Here is the book description from Amazon.com...

We can spend our whole lives trying to satisfy the one insatiable part of our being, our soul craving. Our capacity for spiritual experience both proves our need for something greater than ourselves and leaves us wanting when we fill it with anything but God.

Soul Cravings is a powerful, down-to-earth exposition that interprets our need for intimacy, meaning, and destiny as common sense apologetics pointing to the existence of and our need for God. The book will deeply stir the reader to consider and chase after the spiritual implications of their soul's deepest longings.

Intimacy is something that we all crave. Everyone longs to be known and loved. And if you look at many people and the way that they live their lives, it is very apparent that they are searching for love and wanting to be known. But sadly what they fail to realize is that they won't find that in the things they are looking at to bring what is essentially and artificial intimacy.

What is your Destiny? That is another fundamental thing that we all crave. We talk about legacies that President's leave after they leave office and many President's are very concerned about this. And sadly far too many people fail to think about their own legacy or think too much about it and live their lives revolved around it. But instead we need to think about what we are doing know and look for the things that we can can do know that will give us a destiny. Because there is so much more to this life than living and dying and paying taxes.

Meaning is the basic question of every human on planet earth. Everyone wants to know what on earth they are here for and what is their purpose. It has been said that you need to find out what you love to do and then find a way to get paid for doing it. As a man, I know that we primarily find our identities not in how much money we make, but in what we do for our career. And I think in many ways that that is the case for women as well. The basic part of meaning is hope and if we lose hope then we often times lose meaning, because we are no longer striving towards finding meaning.

What do you Seek? Are you seeking anything? To seek you must actually put forth an effort. I can sit on the couch and think about how hungry I am or else I can actually do something about it. But what is even more amazing is that people who starve to death will actually towards the end of their lives begin to no longer feel hungry, but actually feel full. Sadly, that is the state of many people in the world. They have been hungry for so long and haven't bothered to try to find what it is that they are hungry for. And the reality is that God has the food for them and he has been looking for them, so He can give it to them. But instead we sit around doing nothing and just complaining about our situation and God is just wanting to meet those cravings in us and all we need to do is turn to him.

Erwin's has once again broken it down into terms that make it easy for Christ-followers and people who are not Christ-followers to understand our own basic needs, which in reality can only be found in God. I recommend getting this book and examining where your own soul cravings are and how you can meet them.

Spring Break 2007

2007-03-31T14:53:00.000-04:00

This coming Thursday my family and I will be going on our first big trip as a family. We are heading to Florida, you can see the map of our trip above. I am really looking forward to getting a week away in a warmer climate and spending some time with my family. We are going to be staying at Marina Bay Resort in Fort Walton Beach, FL. This is where my parent's have a timeshare and so they are letting us have one of the weeks to use.

And what is going to make this trip even better is that we will get a chance to meet some fellow YMXer's on the way down. Our first stop is going to be on Thursday, April 5th, in Cincinnati, OH where we will meet Angie and her family. Unfortunately, her husband is a Buckeye, but we can't all be perfect.

Then on Friday, April 6th, we will be stopping in Nashville, TN and meeting Brian and his family. And after having to spend an evening with some Buckeyes, I will get to spend and evening with some Wolverines!

And then on the way back home on Saturday, April 14th, we will be stopping in Nashville, TN again and getting a chance to meet another fellow YMXer, EXVOL. I am really looking forward to getting a chance to meet some of the friends that I have made on the YMExchange.com forums. And despite what one of my fellow co-workers says, I am pretty sure none of them are axe murders or will cut me up with a chainsaw. At least I hope not.

I am getting really excited and counting down the days until we are actually in Florida! One week from today!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Cover Art

2007-03-29T20:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the cover art for book 7 was released.

And here is the full book jacket.

(You can click on both pics for the full size.)

Read more about it here.

You can watch the unveiling here or below on the YouTube video.

Here are the UK adult and children versions. There is lots of interesting information on these jacket covers.

How Can Churches Keep People Away?

2007-03-21T20:03:00.000-04:00

I ran across the following blog that had a list of 10 Ways to Keep Me from Discovering Your Church, you can read all of the authors comments by following that link. I found it pretty interesting and I will add my comments below.

Don’t have a website: This is the information age, even 107 year old women have blogs, but not your church.

Be completely inactive in the community: In fact it's really just best if you stay completely inward-focused and don't do anything missional in your city.

Don’t answer your phone: ....and don't ever answer the phone on Sunday mornings. That way when I'm lost en route to service, I'll have no choice but to drive around aimlessly until I give up and go home.

Allow misinformation

Lack clear signage

Have insufficient parking/seating

Ignore Visitors

Respond half-heartedly to inquiries

Be evasive about your beliefs: When I ask a direct question about the church's beliefs, ignore the question or act like you don't understand and then start telling me about your denomination or church programs.

Lie to me: When all else fails, simply lie to me about your church. You might just get a few weeks of attendance out of me before I learn the truth.

I really believe that having a website in this day and age is extremely important. There really is no reason for a church to not have one. Especially with there being many low cost options out there to create one. I am not sure how necessary it is to have an rss feed, but keeping it up to date is a must.
This one goes with out saying and is the sad state of far too many churches today.
It is amazing to think that a church would not have an answering machine and that they would not leave pertinent information on there for people who call. The idea of answering the phone on a Sunday morning is a very interesting idea that I never thought about. HMMMM
Sadly sometimes churches and denominations can be so slow to update information on their websites. It is honestly not that hard to change things on a website to get it up to date.
I disagree with the sign thing to some degree. Rob Bell's church Mars Hill Bible Church has grown to over 11,000 people and they have no sign on the road. And Rob is adamant that they will never have a sign out front as long as he his the pastor there, because he wants people to understand that the church is not a building, but people. On the other hand, if people can't find the place how can the attend? I guess that is why you need your people to help reach into the community and bring their friends. Makes that all the more important.
People who visit a church will not stop if they can not easily find a place to park. I have always encouraged people at the churches where I have been a pastor to makes sure they save the prime parking spots for visitors. Visitors should find spaces to park really easily, because they are all up front and close.

Seating is another thing will cause people to walk out of your building. If visitors can not find a place to sit easily they will just walk right out the door and not come back. Ushers should be trained to help everyone find a seat, even if they are regulars, but especially if they are visitors. And ushers shouldn't be afraid to ask people to scoot into the middle of the row to make room for the visitors on the ends.
Greeting people at the doors and noticing that if they are new and helping them find their way around. That is why there should be multiple greeters so one can leave their post and help a visitor find the bathrooms, children's area, welcome desk, etc. They should be their personal guides until they feel comfortable. My wife and I attended a church that was horrible in this area. We went to the check in desk to register our kids and they knew that we were new because we had to fill out info to get them registered for the first time. And the people behind the desk merely pointed down a hallway and told us to go down there to drop our kids off at their classes. We found my son's and then got to the end of the hall and couldn't find where my daughter's class was. The guy at the end of the hall didn't even know where she was supposed to go. Needless to say we never went back there.
There is no excuse for any church to do any of that.
If you believe it state it. Don't try to be vague just to get people in the door. That is deception and somehow I don't think that belongs in churches.
Churches will do anything to boost their numbers and lying is one of the most despicable ways to do it. No wonder why so many people stop going to church.

All in all I think this person has made some excellent points and that churches need to seriously look at what they are doing and strive to improve. Or else they are destined to keep people away.

Apple Presents The "iRack"

2007-03-20T16:58:00.000-04:00

Now this is funny, I don't care who you are!

One Year Ago Today.....

2007-03-19T23:14:00.000-04:00

It was one year ago today that Kimmy and I came home from church and found that the dog that we had since the very beginning of our marriage had died. You can read the story of it all here. I loved my dog and still miss her. As much as I love Zoey and I am so glad we got her, I will always miss my Haley.

My Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...

2007-03-18T23:09:00.000-04:00

You scored as Albus Dumbledore. Strong and powerful you admirably defend your world and your charges against those who would seek to harm them. However sometimes you can fail to do what you must because you care too much to cause suffering.

Albus Dumbledore

80%

Hermione Granger

70%

Ron Weasley

70%

Harry Potter

65%

Remus Lupin

65%

Sirius Black

60%

Draco Malfoy

60%

Ginny Weasley

50%

Severus Snape

40%

Lord Voldemort

Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...?
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Random Funnities

2007-03-17T20:28:00.000-04:00

I do not like email forwards and most people know that, so I tend to no get a lot of them. Which makes me very happy, but occasionally I do get some and they tend to be some of the better ones. I recently received the following from a friend and wanted to share it here. The first one is a mind bender, because the letters are all mixed up. See if you can read what it says. The last one is just a funny list of current life oddities.

Most of my recent posts have been pretty serious so this is a nice break from that. I hope that you can LOL.

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I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig, huh?

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YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2007 when...

1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. :)

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message. (That is if I was one of those annoying friends who forwarded things on like this to everyone in my address book.)

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.

Hurting Youth Workers Fund

2007-03-15T16:20:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately not only is the world of youth workers fairly small, but it also tends to be a very wounded group of people. Over 2 years ago I stumbled upon a forum for youth worker's that was hosted by Youth Specialties, which has since been essentially moved onto Youth Ministry Exchange, it was the first time that I had ever been on a forum or posted on one either. I had always felt alone in the youth ministry world, because I was part-time at my church which made it hard for me to connect with other youth workers in my area. But this forum gave me that opportunity. And as I went through my painful departure at my church these new friends of mine where there to support me.

I was fortunate in many ways than some of my other youth worker friends, because though my church didn't live up to their promise of the 3 month severance package that I was told I would receive when I left, I had a good job to turn to. But many youth workers do not and so they are left stranded. When me and my friends started up YMX we had a dream of a place where hurting youth workers could find a place of refuge and comfort, so we started a special area in the forums for them called "The Oasis", it is a place where they can vent and get some advice while they heal but is safe from everyone's eyes. We also wanted to find ways to help hurting youth workers in other tangible ways, so when a family lost their house on Christmas Eve a few years ago, we had that person set up a Amazon Wish List so we could all buy the family things. And we have done that for other people who have gone through tough times.

Recently, one of our own was let go from his church very poorly. This person is newly married and his wife is 2 months pregnant and the circumstances surrounded his dismissal are not good. Originally, they were but on the end it wasn't. So Adam and Derek decided it was time to do something. So the ball got rolling for a "Hurting Youth Workers Fund". This will become a separate part of the YMX Community, but be very much so the heart of YMX. It will be a charitable organization that will help youth workers who have either been hosed by their churches, which is far too common, or are just having a tough time for whatever reason. Youth workers are unfortunately seen as a dispensable commodity in a church, instead of as an integral, indispensable asset to the churches community.

So we at YMX want to step in and be a help to them. A board is being assembled to assess the needs and dispense the funds as necessary, but for now we need the funds and that is where you come in. We need your help. You will notice on the right sidebar of my blog a widget that will link you to the PayPal account where you can make a donation to help hurting youth workers. So please pray and ask God what it is that you may want to give to help contribute. But I want to first list the rules that Adam posted on his blog....

The rules

I want to be really blunt. We don't want anyone to give $1 to this fund if they are not giving biblically to their local church. We're not doing this to circumvent any church, nor are we encouraging anyone to sin and withhold from their local church to help us. We're serious about that, please... if you aren't giving to your local church, please don't give a dime to this fund. Seriously.

If you can't contribute but would like to post the widget on your blog or Myspace all you need to do is click where it says "copy" and it will give you the code so you can copy the html code to use on your blog or Myspace. Thanks!