The Main non-Event

I know I live in the south and I have no right to complain about the lack of the wintry white stuff, but I have a major issue with South Carolina weather-people. Come On Guys! Get it right for once. I think I'm going on a news weather boycott. Let me explain. Up until this past Thursday, it was supposed to be a normal rainy cold weekend. The weather-people left it alone, just rain and cold. I start thinking, "They aren't predicting it, they don't expect it! It's going to snow!!!" I held out hopes until Friday afternoon when they started talking about a "severe" ice storm. At that moment, all my hopes were crushed and shattered. I knew it wouldn't snow, it wouldn't ice, and we'd just be wet and cold. If they say it will happen, IT WON'T!! To beat all this, it happens over a weekend where nobody gets out of work or school. There were, however, a great number of churches who believed the hype and canceled services for Sunday by Saturday night. I believe there will be a severe judgment of God on weather-people for hyping this up and taking away from HIS day of worship. Sunday Morning: NO SNOW (I blame this on the weather-people b/c they jinxed it), no ice, nobody in church b/c they believed these wretched fear-monger weather people, and no days off of work or school. It gets worse! It's Monday morning and the same bad ol' weather-people are saying, "We're getting away from this terrible cold. It will be so nice to get back to warm temperatures." BULL SNOT!!! Maybe I like it cold. Maybe I like to wear my new $30 jacket from American Eagle Outfitters. I'm FAT. Maybe I like NOT SWEATING when I walk outside. I think I need to move to Alaska! Have a nice day.

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Photo Friday: Youth 

To The Slopes

I'll be leaving today at lunch to SKI Beech Mountain. Check out the webcam after 6 tonite and I'll be the goofy one waving like an idiot. L8r

WOW

104 hits yesterday and 38 already today. Man, this Blog Explosion thing is great. Thanks for all the comments. I've enjoyed surfing some of your sites. As I type, I'm eating warmed over pizza that spent the last 14 hours unrefrigerated. I'm doing it to prove a point. Well, I'm really doing it b/c I'm broke and it was left over from last night's college Bible Study and I'm about to starve, But if it'll prove a point, so be it. We are an anti-bacterial society. Let's wipe out all the germs. Let's stifle our immune systems. Make it to where they don't ever have to fight anything. We give antibiotics to any kind of illness even if it's not germ related and our society has become immuned to its effects. Real germ and bacteria strains are getting stronger and our systems are getting weeker. While talking to a nurse friend of mine about anti-bacterial body wash, he told me we need some germs around. He'll do the hand thing, but let regular soap take care of the rest of him. He's around sickness all day long and he hardly ever gets sick. SO, I eat this old, unrefridgerated pizza withold cheese and soy product meat look-a-like thingies to prove a point. If I get sick and die, you can say, "I told you so." My tombstone can read "The pizza did him in." Man, that would really be ironic for a dead youth pastor. l8r

Welcome Blog Explosion

I just signed up with blog explosion so I wanted to say hey to everyone surfing past for the first time. I'm glad you're here, and please feel free to stick around longer than the 30 seconds it takes to get your point thingies. I'm 33 years old, a real child of the 80's. Yes, I had a mullet. I love Jesus, not the way people on the movie "Saved" do. I'm a student pastor in the buckle of the bible belt and I am trying to poor my life into people who will change the world. I like long walks on the beach, horseback riding, and a cup of hot mocha cap....ah, who am I kidding. I'm fat and bald, I like cheetos and a good flick. I do like to snow ski. I hate the beach but love the mountains. I have Adult A.D.D. I found out as an adult, I was not one of the over medicated ritulin sniffin' punks who's parents were too afraid of a little discipline. I'm fairly new to blogging, but feel free to stick around, take a look into my life, and comment where ever you wish. Have a great visit, oh and BTW, if you just want the points, you can probably click that little # thing and go to the next blog. l8r!

What was she thinkin?

I took the long way to work this morning b/c the short way would have been longer with traffic and I was puttin' along in my big o'l hooptie suburban about 60 when a little old lady in a ford escort whipped right out in front of me. I did the best I could to screech my beast of a vehicle to a slow down to keep from running over her. A.D.D. STORY BREAK: I use to drive small cars and when someone was going slow in the fast lane, I could pull up behind them trying to get the message across that I wanted to go faster than them. You know, kind of like making my presence known. They would just smile, smirk, laugh, tell me I'm #1 with the wrong finger and stuff. But NOW, with the suburban, I guess I'm much more intimidating. They quickly move out of the way. I try not to let the power go to my head and pray for humility but it's nice to be respected on the road. NOW THE REST OF THE STORY: SO this lady pulls out in front of me and RIGHT before I plow into the back of her, she SLAMS on breaks. She also had 1 breaklight out BTW. It's all I can do to keep my monster car/ truck from hitting her, then I see it from her review and side mirrors. With a scowl on her face, she begins to cuss and scream. She shook her fist at me. I'm half deaf so I read lips very well, and I wouldn't dare repeat her monologue, but needless to say, I was offended, momentarily mind you, but very offended. I responded with a loud, "You pulled out in front of me!!!" She didn't stop yelling. She sped up as fast as she could, in anger I guess, which wasnt very fast. Come on, it's a ford and it's an escort. I was quickly diffused of my frustration and let it all go thanking God I didn't kill anyone. I didn't want to be the talk of the SUV haters, and I really did not want to dent my suburban. I stayed behind her a few miles until the road widened into 4 lanes. As I pulled up beside her, she was still shaking her fist and cussing me up and down. I rolled my window down (only because it is very darkly tinted), smiled, waved, and mouthed, "Have a nice day. Jesus Loves You." It made for a very interesting commute.

What A Deal

I just got a killer ski jacket from American Eagle and got a great deal to boot. Original price was $98 and I got it for $29. I love a good deal. That's not the end of story. As I was looking for the bargain coats, I walked past a young female store employee stripping this guy naked behind the clearance rack. A male employee was enjoying the show. A few very awkward seconds went by until I noticed the half naked guy was an amputee. NO LEGS. I think, "THIS IS SICK. YOU TWO ARE SICK!!!" An old guy who works there, about 50 with hip AE clothes on and an earring offers some suggestions on how to redress this poor soul. It was then that I realized it was one of those half maniquins. OK, You probably figured that one out, but for the 15 seconds my brain was accumilating all this information, I was EXTREMELY traumatized. Oh well, I did get a real good deal on the jacket.

Started off good

So what turns a good day into a bad one? Somebody cutting in front of you to steel a down town parking place? When a co-worker says something you don't really want to hear? Being on a diet and not being able to eat fries with that? Losing weight so that your butt doesn't hold up your boxers, and they bunch somewhere half way down your crack? Medication wearing off in the middle of the afternoon? A meeting planned "for" you by someone else? The fact that you know all these are just circumstances and the choice to have a bad day is completely and totally your own? Yeah, that's it. That's enough to make it bad. In that case, I've succeeded. Have a nice day!

All New American Idol

It's finally here!!! The time of year I glue myself to the tube night after night to watch American Idol. I Love to see the first several weeks of auditions as I sit and ponder, "What are they thinking?!" So many who can't sing but think they can. OUCH. I usually watch the audition phase just to see who makes it. I drop it for a while unitl the final 3 are left, then pick it back up only to complain that Americans are idiots and Simon is almost always right. I am stoked that a youth minister from Texas made it to the next round. He actually sounded pretty good. When I heard he was a YM, I hoped he wouldn't suck. We'll see how he does. I got a special surprise tonight. Kim got me hooked up with Gevalia Coffee. I got a nice coffee pot, 2 travel mugs to lose in my car, half a pound of vanilla nut and a half pound of breakfast blend. As I was looking online, I found out we could have gotten the deal where we get the stainless steel timer coffee pot for only $5 more. Oh, well. I brewed the vanilla nut and enjoyed it as I laughed through Simon trashing all the horrible wannabe's. Well, it's nypd blue then off to bed. Busy day tomorrow but I'm looking forward to it.

Oops, I may have been mistaken.

Remember the other day when I wrote nothing was broke. Well, I may have ben mistaken. I have been fighting with a sore wrist since the ski trip. I thought it was just an arthritis flair up, but it may be more. Most arthritis goes away after about a week of Alieve, but not this one. IT HURTS when I do this. I know, You're thinking, "Well don't do that." But if you were to have eyes in your monitor, pretty much any movement of my left hand causes tremendous pain. I have a Dr. appointment this morning and hopefully it's nothing major. Nothing will stop me from finishing out the ski season accept maybe death or dismemberment. After 2 weeks of 70 + degrees, winter has finally made it back to the south. High today is 38 with teens tonight. I love it. I also means the NC mountain ski slopes are blowin snow like crazy. My day is coming. I hope your day is wonderful and bundled up. Electric Fire Places, no real fire, I don't think it even gives heat. I don't underrstand it, but hey, sounds interesting. I'm going to make a special trip to Lowe's just to check it out. Gotta go to staff meeting. l8r. Later on in the day... I just got back from the Dr. and good news. Nothing is broken. I have tenditinitus. What is that you ask? I did to. Tendons on the edge of the wrist between the thumb and forearm get irritated and inflamed causing pain during stretching and gripping. What causes it? Heavy lifting, hard gripping...and yes too much XBox. I have XBox Thumb. Has anybody else ever heard of this. My Dr. put 2 and 2 together and mentioned several teenagers have been in since Christmas with the same delimma. I think we need to file a class action suit against XBox for the production of a more ergonomic controller. He put me in a thumb / wrist brace thingy and said take 2 alieve and call me in the morning. Well, in a couple of weeks. We also discussed my ongoing battle with ADD. As of late, I have been losing the medication wars. I'm trying something new. I told him a little ADD is ok and actually helpful to my job, but full blown, it's a horrific foe that must be contained. We'll see over the next few days if my new medication does any good. In the mean time, I'll just use it as an excuse to get away with stupid stuff. buh bye for now, i have to chase the gnat that's been flying around my head for the last few minutes. l8r

$4 cup of coffee

I can't believe I paid $4 for a cup of coffee @ starbucks last night. I'm thinking what would possess me to pay that much for bean water. I was even called a "Sellout" by one of my former students. I've heard from different people before that Starbucks is trying to take over the world, but I have come to admire the company. Not only do they put out a great coffee, but they are a marketing genius. So what do I get for my $4. Good coffee, good atmosphere, and the feeling I am some kind of elite intellectual who enjoys sitting around sipping $4 coffee. I can't believe I bought into it, but I actually enjoyed myself. Sellout? Maybe. I just call it entertainment ...(thoughtful pause) and a darn good cup of coffee.

Back to the funk

It's amazing what 13 hours will do. We had a great bible study last night with 10 highschoolers. Lord, I can't do this without You. I need your strength, creativity, and direction spiritually and mentally. I'm waitng for You.

Outta the Funk and Into the Fire

OK, Purpose defined, struggling still but tired of the funk of it all. Tonight I'll see my students. Some for the first time in weeks. We're talking about "Me-ism" and how that is NOT God's plan for us. Phil. 2:3-11 is the focus. Put others before yourself. Christ is our example, but even with the visual it goes against all we are. I'm really into the self preservation thing. Look out for me. It's completely unnatural for me to NOT put me first. That's why I need the supernatural to change my whole attitude. Good stuff and I can't wait.

Random Thought: Today, I pray for MOTIVATION. It's a little before 7AM and I'm enjoying some christmas blend and a little wis news. I need to get up and start the day, but I am enjoying the moment. I could turn on the tree (yeah, we plan on taking it down today) but it's becoming quite the fire hazzard. A little droopy and dry. I feel it will be a busy day, mostly because I will attempt to get a majority of work done before my lunch meeting in Lexington so I can come home and do some much needed clean up around the house. I have taught students about their ultimate purpose on earth. We were created to worship, honor, and love God. He desires intamacy with us. It's funny. When we're not on board with that purpose, it seems we have no purpose at all. We attempt to figure out and interpret events of our lives, make our plans, and live our lives in frustration. The answer is to get back to the original purpose. I'm tired of trying to figure it all out when I know the answer.

Nothing Broke

I just got back from Winterplace a 2nd time with no broken ones or hurts. At least no more than I started with. Conditions were terrible but we had a great time. I did a lot of thinking this weekend and if ou are one of my students reading this, please don't think I'm planning on leaving. I AM NOT. I just want to put down the thoughts. I have always wondered what kind of impact I can make on students. I often think someone else could do a better job. More excitement, more momentum, more pizzazz, more "buzz" with the community. It seems we have reached a stagnant point in our student ministry growth and it puzzles me. I know there are a million different reasons and I can't blame it on any 1 except maybe myself. I look at the students who are growing but it doesn't seem to build excitement or any long term commitment to God or the group. Maybe it's too early to see the long term. This is all stuff I've struggled with before. Seeing no impact, no fruit, only expectaions of something better than what we have and then those expectations become the criteria by which we are judged. Effective? That's a subjective word. Anyway, I know the answer lies in my life growing in Christ to the glory of God. He brings the results, I just bring the obedience. Yada yada, it's tough to know the answer. I'll continue to step it up with Him. That's the exciting part for me. We'll see what happens. Until then, I'm praying for sme dedicated leaders, student and adult, to step up to God's call and be what He's called them to be. I guess I'll be first.

MONDAY!!!!!

So i went into a convenience store yesterday to get some gum, pM&M's and some sweet tarts for the missus. As I got ready to pay the clerk asked me if I had gas. I couldn't resist. I answered, "Man, that must have been a good one, I let it go all the way across the store. Excuse me." He responded with a rude sneer and I said, "My gas didn't come from here, but thanks for asking." I really don't want to be here today. I've had a great time NOT WORKING the past several weeks. There are times I really enjoy my job as a youth pastor. I just went skiing with another church and had a blast, spent some good time with kids yesterday, and really had the last 2 weeks with almost nothing to do work related. It was nice. But today, it's back to the grind. Paper work, planning, check requests, staff meeting, yada yada... I could have slept in today. I could have played xbox. I could have rode the dirt bike, I could have gone to see the Incredibles, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I gotta be at work!!!!!!!!!!!!! OK, now that's out of my system, I'll be OK. I'm getting ready for our ski trip to WV. If you are a youth pastor, maybe you've learned your lesson. Just because a kid is excited about a trip and tells you I'll pay you next week doesn't mea they'll actually carry through with it. While you want to curse them with bad hair and zits for the next month or so, you just smile and say, "You're gonna miss a lot of good stuff." 45 turns into 25 real quick, no matter how early you ask for deposits. Oh well. We'll have a great time anyway. New year resolutions I'll probably NOT kepp after a week or 2. 1. Lose weight 2. break my addiction to p-nut M&M's 3. Stop playing so much XBox 4. Get out of debt I'm going to leave it at 4. No more. I also want to pump up the walk with God. More practicing what I preach. More accountability with the kids. More focus on developing adult and student leaders. These are the ones I WILL do. The others, eh, I'll take 'em or leave 'em, but these are solid. Happy new year!

Extremes

Last Sunday, services were cancelled because of ice. It got up to about 40 degrees. Today, it's supposed to make it up to 75. Welcome to the south. Now, normally I don't mind the extremes we see in SC on a weekly basis, but I am rather egocentric when it come to skiing. I went last week to Winterplace, WV, and am going back Thursday. I don't mind the warm weather here, but in WV, it needs to get cold. If not, they can't make snow, and the skiing sucks. We're heading out Thursday so I guess I'm dreaming of a white cinco de Mayo in WV.