For anyone who still reads this:

	One of the things I seem to do for Stacy for birthdays are to not get her gifts she can touch or use. Last year i took her up to an indians game opening weekend with seats right behind home plate. This year we went to chicago on saturday to see this guy and his two friends.
The show was absolutely awesome. Very, very cool. And after the concert wouldn't you know it - remember that husband store I told you about a while ago - Stacy saw it and went inside. Little did she know that they changed their policy and put the most awesomest guy on the 6th floor. She happened to be the first one there, so she got my ring.

(Isn't that the coolest pic ever?)

We are officially engaged which means she will finally start commenting here!

Becoming a Spiritual Poser

I'm hosting a Jr. High lockin at my church this week. I'm hopefully going to get students to connect with the idea that if they are thankless, put themselves first, fake it with God, and be only hearers, not doers they will become spiritual posers... ineffective Christians. We'll see how it goes, I'm sure I'll be worn out by saturday morning 8am. Do not bother trying to call me after that - i'll be in bed!

Plane Tickets

FareCast is my favorite discovery in a while (thanks Knep!) I just bought tickets from Chicago to Dallas for about $185. After 50 dollars in bus fare, I'll have a 3 day trip for a wedding for about $230. If you ever plan on flying, check it out. It's a very cool site! I'm even tempted to fly home for thanksgiving and Christmas. Each trip could get me into Canton Akron for about $250 out of madison. I'll probably still drive for thanks for sure though.

Movies

After seeing the Prestige, which really is a decent movie even thought it left me feeling a little dissatisfied when I left, I had a thought confirmed for me. After seeing Batman Begins, which i also enjoyed, I thought, "Christian Bale may be able to be this generations Keanu Reeves." He has the blank stare and emotionless acting down pat. I think he has another movie coming out this year, and I'll decide after that one whether or not it is worth seeing his movies.

What do you think of him?

Defining Ourselves

"But it's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you."
- Rachel Dawes (Batman Begins 2005)

Is there a better modern quote that puts the American Dream in perspective? Work hard and provide what your family need, and you will matter. Provide more than what your family needs and you will become influencial. Become incredibly rich and you become untouchable. A legend of our own time. I know a lot of people who are living this out. In fact, I would be lying if I told you I didn't want to be rich.

Another way to look at it, is to say that literally what you do defines you. I don't think it is difficult to imagine this conversation:

[Two guys meet at a party of a common friend]
Guy 1: Hi, I don't think we've met yet. I'm Guy 1, I know Common Friend because I am his CPA. He comes to me for all his financial needs. Who are you?

Guy 2: I'm his gardener, I make his home look good enough to have these parties.

Guy 1:

No real information has been exchanged. Neither of them even thought of telling the other who they are. Instead they spoke of what they do. You have done that too. I have. I think the reason we default to our jobs when someone asks who we are, is because we have no clue who we really are.

I think it is sad that what we do defines us. God is so much more concerned about who we are instead of what we do. In fact, we struggle so much with finding God's Will because we are confused about this issue. I truly believe God cares very little about what you do for a living - yet that is what we really are asking for when we seek his will. He cares more that we are joyful, thankful and prayerful (1 Thess 5:16-18). In fact, his great commission (Matt 28:18-20) that explains what we are to do, is general. "While you are going, baptize those you meet in the name of the F, S, HS, teaching them everything i have commanded you (my paraphrase)." You can fulfill that by doing pretty much anything, because you will always be engaged with people.

Thats my rant for tonight...

"It is not what you do that defines you, but who you are that really matters."

Sr High...

I feel like I'm finding my groove in the Sr. High ministry now. I have a couple of kids who have volunteered to start the student leadership team. My hope is that these guys will use their influence with others to help students really own this ministry.

This past sunday, I hit the topic "How far is too far physically?" in relationships. I attempted to shift their perspective on this from "Is this ok?" to "Is this Wise" I left them with a few key points that i'll leave for you too.

So let’s get practical. How far is too far?

• It is too far when you use someone just to meet your needs or wants.

• It is too far when you run the danger of being overwhelmed by an avalanche of forces bigger than your strengths.

• It is too far when you cause the person you’re dating to compromise his or her personal convictions.

• And while we cannot draw lines in the sand for everyone in every situation, it is too far when what you do is not the wise thing to do.

There are a couple of other principles that may help as you make these decisions.

• First, retreating physically is difficult and sometimes impossible to do in a relationship.

• Also, the more serious a relationship is, the more the physical relationship can grow with it. In other words, an engagement should carry different physical standards than a relationship in its first week.

• Third, our natural tendency in the heat of the moment is to make decisions based on self-deception instead of honesty. In other words, Wise Choices are often made on the front end when we are not dating anyone.

• Lastly, all this should be done as we listen to what the Spirit of God is telling us.

What do you think?

Jr. High...

Some things are just hard. One of the hardest things for me right now is to feel like I'm doing anything right in the Jr High ministry. It cover grades 6-8, and while that seems reasonable, there is a huge difference of maturity between those grades. To make it more awkward, there are three main school districts I work with, and in one of them 6th grade is still considered elementary school. That means half the sixth graders haven't made the mental jump to being in middle school. I guess my frustration stems from the fact that if I aim messages and activities for the 6th graders, I miss those who are more mature. If I aim for the more mature, which is certainly a smaller number (maybe 4ish out of 15), I will go over the heads of the others. Any suggestions?

My hope is that I will be able to separate the 6th graders out and meet with them separately. Possibly on a Sunday Morning. We are probably a year from that point now, so it's probably time to start thinking about that transition.

Mentor

Well, I spoke to a man at church today who agree to mentor me over the next few months. He is a VP with a company based somewhere around Madison. He was actually one of the guys who conducted a phone interview with me before I took my current job. He deals with personnel decisions with his company, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what I pick up and learn from him. I'm really looking forward to picking up tips on how to place volunteers in positions to thrive based on their skill sets and gifts.

Eventful Day...

It seems this would have to be the case. I was at band practice today, and during one of the songs the group was having a very difficult time with, we had some external help that derailed practice. I ended up standing up for the band, and in turn I'm pretty sure I upset the person trying to help. However, I really don't think I did anything wrong. Here is the question: Am I willing to be right (and I believe I am), even if it makes this person upset and sets back our relationship as leader and volunteer?

I think I already know that answer. I need to call her and talk to her tomorrow. Being right never seems to be more important than maintaining unity in relationships with other believers.

I had my first leaders meeting before Fusion tonight. I basically shared that my vision for this ministry is one where students who graduate from it have:

• a really big view of God
  
• learned how to discover what God has to say about life for themselves
  
• experienced the thrill of using their gifts as a ministry to others.

Then I asked them to consider how they think they can best fit in the ministry as I talked through a variety of positions I know are available in the ministry. I'll be setting up one on ones as a follow up to this meeting.

Welcome

Yet another attempt at blogging has begun. Hopefully you will find some beneficial thoughts of everyday life, ministry, and life in the ministry here.