Yesterday and today have been uneventful overall. Yesterday I called up Dave Wirgau to catch up on things. I hadn’t talked to him since April (besides a couple of quick emails) so it was good to talk to him again. But mostly what I’ve been doing is preparing for Soul Fest.
Speaking of which, tomorrow I leave for Soul Fest 2004. Who’s going to be at Soul Fest? I’m glad you asked: Jars Of Clay, Steven Curtis Chapman, Audio Adrenaline, Newsboys, OC Supertones, Third Day, Relient K, Petra, Kevin Max, Rebecca St James, Jeremy Camp, John Reuben, Pillar, Ginny Owens, Paul Colman, and many many more. I have to admit that I am a little sad that Seventh Day Slumber won’t be there this year. They’ve been one of my favorite non-headliners over the past few years.
Continue reading ‘You Have Another Chance To Do Your Homework’
Before I say anything let me wish Jessica Goldfin a happy birthday. She joins the ranks of the old today as she turns 20. That’s halfway to 40 you know. 
Today has been a day of anticipation for me. I called up Pastor Tom early this morning to try to get the day of the youth event for the week changed to Wednesday. He’s got jury duty that day but he said it would be okay if it were alright with our hosts (part of the day we’re swimming at someone’s house). He needed to call that family up, but they both work all day so I won’t find out until tonight what the verdict is. I think I’m going to Soul Fest either way, but I don’t want to skip out on my kids.
Continue reading ‘Comments For Everyone!’
So I’ve got a few complaints to voice today. First of all, no one did their homework. I asked people to give me some ideas for a website URL for my homepage and I didn’t get any. You’re all no help at all.
Second, as I’m getting ready for church this morning I turn on ESPN News only to find that Ricky Williams, the 27-year-old Heisman Trophy winning running back for the Miami Dolphins is retiring! What kind of crap is that? The Dolphins are going to be awful this season now. If he had told us even a few days earlier we could have signed Eddie George, but the Cowbows got to him first. UGH!
Third, today at church Pastor Tom announces that there’s a youth event on Thursday. Thursday? That’s when Soul Fest starts! I thought it was going to be on Wednesday. Now I have to either talk Pastor Tom into switching it to Wednesday, miss the first part of Soul Fest (which would mean that I had another way to get there, which at present I don’t have), or skip Soul Fest all together.
Continue reading ‘I Am Not A Ricky Williams Fan’
U.M. Army was awesome, but not for the reasons I thought it would be. I thought I would make some amazing spiritual connections while there. That didn’t happen for me. But it did happen for a lot of other people. I feel as though personally I’ve been on a kind of plateau with God for a while now. I’m not really sure why. But just seeing that God is still moving in the lives of people and is still making breakthroughs is enough to keep me happy and to give me cause to rejoice. I feel like I’ve grown in vision; mission trips can make a strong impact even if they’re not evangelical in nature.
I have to say that there were times this week when I was bored. I signed up late so I got a crappy job (I was one of two guys in charge of tools). Because I’m not 21 I couldn’t drive according to U.M. Army rules, so I was stuck at base camp a lot of the time doing odd jobs. So a lot of the time I had to suck it up and just do the work no one else wanted to do.
I make it sound like I had an awful time. That’s not the case at all. I had a great time, mostly because I met a lot of cool people. This kid named Dennis came because Ken Barse had asked him to, not because he really wanted to. I can tell you that this kid’s life has been changed dramatically because he saw God at work throughout the week.
Continue reading ‘U.M. Army’
Today was spent preparing for UM Army. I got up early to load up tools into trucks and trailers at church. During the day I packed my bag and found all the little things that I needed for the week ahead. This will be my last post until next Saturday. It’s ironic. When I was in Italy I never went more than a couple of days (never a week) without updating my blog. Now I’m going to a different part of Connecticut and it’ll be a week before another post hits this page.
I am leaving you with a homework assignment. I am pondering the possibility of acquiring a domain (i.e. www._____.com). But to be honest with you, I have no idea what the address should be. So I’m asking for your opinion. Just leave it in a comment on this post and I’ll look at them when I get back. This is not just open to people who know me personally. I would appreciate it if you made an informed suggestion (which means take a look at the rest of my website, especially those who don’t know me). I look forward to reading your ideas when I get back. Have a great week!
First things first: I want to wish a happy birthday to Kristen. She’s 20 and therefore she’s old, just like me. 
So get this. There’s this dude over at LiveJournal who doesn’t appreciate the way I respond in a comment box. And that’s the not worst of it: it’s not even his Journal! He’s sticking up for his friend’s journal! He says I’m too aggressive and over-bearing. I tell you, some internet folk are funny.
I spent the better part of today shopping for the last things my sister and I would need for UM Army. It’s going to be awesome. I’m starting to get excited about it. It’s about time! Tomorrow morning I have to help load the tools into the trucks. The program doesn’t begin until Sunday, but they want this bit taken care of first.
I’m amazed that the Shaq deal actually went through. I’m actually starting to warm up to the idea of trading away our team’s future for a shot at the present. It’s taken a couple of days, but I think I like the deal now. I still want to see him play a little before I pronounce final judgment, but I like it better now than I did a few days ago. Still, seeing him in a Miami Heat uniform is going to be weird, probably forever.
Today for me kind of sucked. Yet another of my youth group events was canceled for lack of participation. Only two kids, two of the Dowd brothers, were going to attend. I have to say that for the better part of the morning I was mad. I’m frustrated and discouraged. I feel like I’m good for nothing. Maybe a week away at UM Army is just what I need. Maybe being able to work with these kids and get to know them better will help bring them out to the stuff I plan. I don’t know. It’s worth a shot I guess.
I spent the rest of the day playing piano and watching TV. I really was in no mood to be around people after my event got canned. I did clean my room, so I guess I got something accomplished. To be honest, I’m getting sick of being in Connecticut. I would really like to get back to Tallahassee, even if it means more classes. At least then I can get back to planning events that people will show up for.
So my pick for the Home Run Derby sucked. Sosa didn’t even make it out of the first round. My pick for his opponent (Bonds) didn’t make it to the final. Miguel Tejada put on quite a show. He hit 15 in one round and 27 overall, both records. I felt bad for Lance Berkman. The home fans deserved to see him win.
Today I went shopping for hours. I had a lot of stuff to pick up, most of it for UM Army next week. I wanted to make sure I had things for all of the themes of the week. I did a little window shopping at Circuit City too. I’ve had my eye on this Samsung digital camera that’s got two lenses: one for still photography and one for videos. I’ve been considering making videos a major part of my website, but I would need a good camera first. This one is looking like more and more of a possibility.
Tonight I’ve got to call my youth group kids and let them know about tomorrow’s event. We’re going to play some mini golf in Berlin. It’s going to start at 1 PM, later than things usually start. This is good though because it’ll give the kids who are in summer school a chance to get there.
Well, it’s the MLB All-Star Break. It’s time to take a look at my preseason predictions to see how I’m doing.
Continue reading ‘The Mid-Summer Classic’
Quote of the Day: “Having a mission is kind of like fishing. It’s hard work and it’s smelly. Some people want that fish scaled, gutted, cleaned, and cooked. But it just doesn’t work that way.” — Pastor Tom Vencuss
So yeah, I went to go see Dodgeball with Kristen tonight. It was a pretty good movie. Now, just so we understand, no movie is worth $9.25. But the company I kept made it worth it. “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” Classic.
Continue reading ‘Kind Of Like Fishing’
