i was okay with the writers striking until i saw this. why do they have to go and mess up the premiere of “24?” that’s just not right. they really should consider such matters before they go on strike.
ht steve mccoy
i like this strategy
i busted my butt
tonight was my first curling bonspiel. i think i smiled the whole evening. of course, i also sucked. i was awful. out of 16 rocks i think i actually had 4 that were in play and that is probably being generous. in the midst of throwing the stones either too hard or too soft i also managed to fall on the ice twice. one of the falls was so hard that it even stopped the game next too us. my whole body had to have been at least s 1/2 feet off the ice on that fall. it was truly remarkable and i am already very sore (and i know it will just be worse tomorrow). i’m not sure why it never hit me that running across a sheet of ice while trying to sweep in front of a fast moving stone might be a little difficult.
after we finished the bonspiel (we lost by three stones) several people came up tell me where to get sticker shoes. they were real concerned that i wouldn’t come back again. apparently they loose a good number of beginners after a fall. i just told them that i was a kltuz and nothing but a broken bone would keep me from playing. the whole evening was a blast and the people were great fun to be around.
i practicing again thursday morning & maybe friday morning as well.
so proud of my wife, enjoying the snow, and hoping it's a joke but knowing its not
first, i’m so stinking proud of my wife. today she defended her dissertation and she is finished with all the requirements for her ph.d. she’s a cool chick.
second, today it snowed for the first time since we moved to wisconsin. it was just a flurry but it was still the most snow we’ve seen in seven years.
finally, i know there are head hunters for ministers but the concept sill makes me want to puke. i received an email from another head hunter today. here’s the email (with the church blocked out because i don’t desire to help these people in any way):
robert,
i am with ministersearch a consulting firm based in dallas, tx. we assist churches as they search to find ministers for key staff positions. we also coach pastors and ministers like you as you determine if you are in the most effective ministry role and/or position.
we have partnered with XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX church in sumter, sc http://www.XXXc.org/ in their search for a coaching pastor. The coaching pastor will be the chief leader and strategist for adult discipleship along with a coach to the youth and children’s pastors.
this is an excellent opportunity for someone who has the right mix of leadership and ministry experience.
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX church is a contemporary church that has had a great impact on the community. XXXX XXXXX, the lead pastor, is looking to add this person to the church’s senior management team which cast’s the vision for the church.
the right person will have several years of ministry experience in a growing environment. this is not a church that gets hung up on legalism so staunch fundamentalist will not be a fit. You should also have a desire to serve on a team instead of independent ministries.
the compensation and benefits are outstanding and the cost of living in this quaint community is very reasonable.
if you have an interest this position, please forward a copy of your resume for confidential review – I will get it to the search consultant handling this search.
also, please forward this email to anyone you think may be interested in hearing more.
thank you for your consideration.
sincerely,
XXXX XXXX
every time i see or get one of these i get sad. what does a letter like this have to do with JESUS or ministry? i know some of my other ministerial friends have seen these same letters. thankfully my friends think these ministerial head hunters are sad also.
i emailed him back the following:
stan,
you’re kidding right? please be kidding. i so hope you’re kidding because i can’t see JESUS in any of this.
robert
defense
for those of you who know and love my wife (and lets face it – if you know pam then you love her – she’s just that type of woman) you probably want to know that she defends her dissertation tomorrow at 1 p.m. i know she would appreciate your prayers.
after she defends her dissertation she will head from baton rouge to be one of two speech pathologist on the hondurian operation smile project. that means she is gone from home for two weeks. i’m not sure the boys and i can survive off of my cooking for two weeks.
SIDE NOTE – i think one of things i am going to have a hard time adjusting to will be how much sooner it gets dark in wisconsin. being further north means less daylight in the winter. now that day light savings time has ended it is completely dark at 5:06. in alabama & louisiana that would have happened around the time of the solstice.
a new low
i am presently watching the replay of the u.s. olympic marathon trials and enjoying it. something is definitely wrong with me. i can’t believe that Ryan Shay died during it.
SIDE NOTE – ryan hall is a beast. 2:09:02 is faster than i ran my half maraton. crap.
my run for the day
distance – 3 miles
time – 29:32
pace – 9:50/mile
engage me
engage me in the loss of control call trust
this was the tattoo that wrapped around the arm of the young lady who served my coffee today. it thought it was an interesting and mostly accurate way of defining “trust.” the problem is that i’m not sure how often i am really ready to give up control in the name of trust. i enjoy having control. i feel better when things are within my control. of course, i probably grow better when i’m willing to give up that control but growth is risky. sometimes i would rather not risk anything.
of course, other times i just jump. i hope the jumping times out weight the controlling times.
left behind vbs
i love lark news. today they posted an fun little ditty on vbs material based off of the “left behind” junk. here’s part of it.
When Sandy Durant learned her church was going to host a Left Behind vacation Bible school, she was overjoyed. Her children loved the Left Behind Kids series, and she and her husband had read the entire adult series.
But when she arrived to find her children gone on the last day of VBS she “absolutely flipped out.”
It didn’t help to learn that it was all a ruse designed to show people what it would feel like to have a loved one snatched away in the Rapture.
you can read the rest of it here. i think my favorite part is when one of the fathers picks up a welcome desk and throws it into the wall trying to get his chilcdren back.
eye fi
this is cool. it’s the eye fi which is an sd card that has wifi capability built into it. you tell the eye fi where you want it to send your photos (i.e your computer, flickr, snapfish, dacebook, etc.) it will then sit in a waiting state until you walk by an open wifi connection. then it sends you photos automatically. how cool is that?
i think it would be great for semi-realtime photos of a church function, event, etc. pam wishes she had it for her “operation smile project. all she would have to do is turn the camera on near a “hot spot” and BINGO the boys and i could see photos. no need for a computer, miniusb cable to hook up your camera to the computer, or any software for uploading the photos. i just keep thinking of what i could have done with this at youth camps and mission trips. could you imagine telling the youth ministry parents that they can go to your flickr account and see photos from what their child is doing? so are just so many possibilities for this thing.
i just think it’s fascinating and it offers intriguing opportunities for using with tapestry (once we start doing things) and family. i’ll have to get me one of these after i take care of the other things on my plate.
photojojo describes even more about this freaky thing.
my run for the day
distance – 2.0 miles
time – 19:05
pace – 9:32/mile