Things I’m not:

Here’s a list of things I’m not:
Blogger
Web Designer
Video Editor
Motorcycle Mechanic
Boat Restorer
Candle Maker
Certified Red Cross First Aid/CPR Trainer

I, like my Dad, am what some might call “Jack of all trades, Master of none.”

Zane

We lost a friend tonight…

A man who loved Jesus.

A man who was crazy about his wife and kids.

A man who loved to point military kids to Jesus.

Zane Biddle is ok… he’s with Jesus.

Our hearts break for Julie and the kids.

There should be a link to make a financial contribution to help the Biddle family out on the MCYM website soon.

Lord, we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.

Halloween- A Socialist Holiday?

I have recently come to the realization that Halloween should he the Socialists favorite holiday.

1. Redistribution of wealth
Children receive massive quantities of candy in the ritual known as “trick-or-treat.”. These children typically have no means of paying for said candy. Sounds like the opposite of capitalism to me.

2. Wealth is accumulated in direct proportion to the amount of labor expended.
Those children who spend four haours going door to door will typically have significantly larger amounts of candy than those who only “trick-or-treat” for 15 minutes.

Is this the American way?

You decide.

My Response to MarkO’s release from YS by Zondervan

It. Sucks.

The “Official” Press Release

Been Kinda Quiet Around Here…

I have not been in a very bloggy mood lately. Not since July, in fact. I realized that my last post was while I was at DCLA09 at the L.A. Convention Center…
It just so happens that I’m on my way back to L.A. to work the National Youth Worker’s Convention. I’m excited about being around all my YS peeps again, ministering to fellow Youth Workers, and being spiritually & emotionally refreshed.
However….
It was hard to leave this time.
1. I never like leaving my family, but really didn’t want to this week.
2. We have some great momentum going in the ministry, and I hope the momentum happens in spite of me not because of me. I hope I get back and everything is rollin’ right along.
3. Travel isn’t cheap, and I question whether or not this trip was a wise decision financially.

When it’s all said and done, I committed to being a part of the YS team for this week. They’re even making me a lead for the Seminar Team. (I think that means I go get Michelle and Kelley coffee whenever they want it, but we’ll see.)

Regardless, L.A. here I come!

Wow! #dcla

I’m currently sitting in the lobby of the L.A. Convention Center. We brought a great group of nine students to this conference, and are taking 7 of them down to San Diego for camp tomorrow afternoon. (another 6 are coming straight from AZ to meet us there)

I’ll write more later, but let me say one thing: “Big Room” has been amazing.
-Worship with Starfield
-Francis Chan
-Shane Claiborne
-Skit Guys
-Kendall Payne
-Mandee What’shername

They are basically telling the story of the Bible from cover to cover in about 10 hours, using interactive/multimedia/storytelling. I’m impressed, and I’m not easy to impress when it comes to media/tech/”wow” factor.

I’ll break down more of my thoughts when I’m not so tired.

Be.

Love.

Serve.

Repeat.

Life together

I’m all about “doing life together” with students.  I want to be part of their lives in the good times and the bad. Right now it hurts to be so involved in some of their lives though.

Lately, Janelle and I have been looking at each other and saying “what were they thinking?” or “how can they be so boneheaded/stupid/clueless/rebellious?”  I’m all about loving kids where they are at.  When they continue to make stupid choices, it makes me crazy!  I guess now I know how God feels on a daily basis with me.

Vote, and feel free to discuss!

Miles

We are excited about our summer-

2 Camps (Hume San Diego)

1 Youth Conference (DCLA 09)

1 Service Project (Back to San Diego)

1 YFC Regional Conference

1 Trip back to SoCal to retrieve our kids

It is going to be a crazy, wonderful, wild, full, busy, hectic, fun, incredible summer.  I’m excited about all of it…

Except for the driving.

I just added up the mileage that I’ll cover between now and the end of July.

5,200

Yup. Five thousand, two hundred miles.  In under 60 days.  Some People Call Me Mom (my hot wife) will cover every bit of that minus 700 miles.

My butt hurts just thinking about it.  Thank you, Lord for iPods, coffee, and sunflower seeds.

Remember that scene in Scanners…

Lately, I’ve been feeling a little bit like Garth:

I’ve been dealing with so many moving details about our summer… I feel like my head is going to explode.  I couldn’t sleep last night, because I kept thinking about all the people I needed to call today, what forms I need to fill out, what emails need to be sent.

Thankfully, weeks like this don’t come around very often.  I should have most details nailed down by Friday, and then I can finalize details as they come up.

Do you ever over schedule yourself?  I know none of my fellow Youth Pastors have ever intentionally scheduled a week that  left them wondering when they found time to sleep.  I’m glad I only do it to myself once in a while. (NOT once a month!)

However, times like this make me think of this quote:

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body—but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow, what a ride!’ ” Melvin Trotter 1924-2006

Granola Head

If you didn’t know already, cooking is one of my loves in life.  Unfortunately, so is eating.

I’m not the heaviest I’ve ever been… that was back when Janelle was pregnant with Lachlan, and I was pushing 290+.  Now that I no longer wear the green suit, I’m not “encouraged” to do PT every morning.  Plus, as I’ve passed Thirty, the ol’ metabolism isn’t what it used to be.  That, coupled with some high cholesterol and Blood Pressure, and it’s time to get serious about watching what I eat, regular exercise, etc.

The point of all of that is that I’ve been trying to figure out a “healthy” breakfast that I could eat every morning that doesn’t taste like shredded cardboard.

I know there’s stuff in a box out there that fits the bill. (Kashi, Granola, etc)  The problem is simple though- eating healthy is expensive, and I’m a little cheap when it comes to spending money on myself at the grocery store.

I remember Mom making granola from scratch when I was a kid.  Of course back then I was always jonesin’ for Rice Krispies & Frosted Flakes, so in comparison granola DID taste like shredded cardboard.  Now that my tastebuds have matured a little, I can appreciate some things I didn’t when I was little.

This morning I made my first batch of granola, based loosely on a recipe I found on the interweb.  If I hadn’t left it in five minutes too long, it would have turned out awesome!  So tonight I made two more batches, assisted by #2. One is a honey/cinnamon recipe Liam can eat (no nuts).  The other has slivered almonds, dried fruit, and a little extra brown sugar.  That one’s for my yogurt in the morning.

They’re both tasty, and cost way less to make than a bag from the store that’s only half the size.

Tomorrow- “30 Day Shred”… stay tuned!