daily photos
"the annual framily Christmas party"
Sunday, December 21, 2008
tonight, we got
together with the Corks, Chandlers and our family to
celebrate Christmas. as always, a fun time was had by
all!
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"the big Fashion Island tree"
Friday, December 19, 2008
"beautiful pics and Keving too"
Thursday, December 18, 2008
"just when you thought it was over..."
Monday, December 15, 2008
"you'll shoot your eye out, kid!"
Sunday, December 14, 2008
"well intended messages for God"
Sunday, December 14, 2008
"beautiful clouds and hosting the Christmas show"
Friday, December 12, 2008
i was out for a walk
today and noticed that the clouds were amazing... so
i went back and got my camera.
tonight, i hosted our annual “Twas the Night Before Christmas” family event. it’s actually an event put on by the Arts department for our families. (we just support it.) but, this year, i hosted... and it was awesome! the families are all supposed to come in their pajamas and watch Christmas stories acted out for them. check out my PJ’s!
tonight, i hosted our annual “Twas the Night Before Christmas” family event. it’s actually an event put on by the Arts department for our families. (we just support it.) but, this year, i hosted... and it was awesome! the families are all supposed to come in their pajamas and watch Christmas stories acted out for them. check out my PJ’s!
"the RH leaders Christmas potluck... 50s style!"
Thursday, December 11, 2008
what do you do when the budget is running low and you
have a giant party to throw for all of your leaders?
apparently, you make it a potluck and give it a 50s
theme for extra measure!
i can’t believe it’s been a year since the last one i was at (as a volunteer!). what a great year!
Tammi tries to shoot a gun... entertaining.
she looks like she’s singing, but she’s not... she’s talking about her amazing volunteers.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
ah... they’re goofy.
Pete wins.
again...
i think Pete loses here.
an excellent look for Keving.
i guess she asked “what needs to be done?”
i can’t believe it’s been a year since the last one i was at (as a volunteer!). what a great year!
Tammi tries to shoot a gun... entertaining.
she looks like she’s singing, but she’s not... she’s talking about her amazing volunteers.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
ah... they’re goofy.
Pete wins.
again...
i think Pete loses here.
an excellent look for Keving.
i guess she asked “what needs to be done?”
"families Christmas lunch and irvine @ night"
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
"a piñata for 'question of the month'"
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
"say goodbye to the interns"
Monday, December 08, 2008
"Tommy in the Hub and my own ugly Christmas sweater party"
Sunday, December 07, 2008
"DCC trip... day three"
Saturday, December 06, 2008
this morning, we met
over at Leigh’s house for our last meetings. it was
actually kinda interesting. some of the preschool
curriculum discussion got a bit heated. (a sentence
that makes me laugh out loud just now that i read
it.)
but it was good. it lead to some great discoveries about our team and the dynamics we’re working with. in any case, the meeting was a little more relaxed than the others!
Janet wanted to be comfortable.
Cristi is passionate about preschool scope and sequence!
Tori really wants to care but the blanket makes her want to take a nap.
Leigh just observes. i think we’re fascinating to her. like a case study.
when Cristi really gets passionate, she stands up.
(the previous pictures of me were posed in order to convince people that i made some positive contributions to the meeting. i did not.)
later, we headed into town for some lunch and had a lot of great conversations about personality and shared great stories and laughed a lot! (also, we debated the under or over use of the word “love.”)
also, Michelle accused me of not giving good hugs. so then, everyone had to rate my hugs and, in the end, it was decided that my hugs were, in fact, amazing. (thank you very much.)
on the way out of town, we drove through this amazing place called “The Garden of the Gods.” it was really beautiful and there were all these amazing naturally occurring formations.
unfortunately, we didn’t really have time for the whole “Garden of the Gods” thing so we had to haul ass to the airport from there. we barely made it!
all in all, a great trip... though i’m glad to be home!
by the way, Leigh... we LOVE you! ;-)
but it was good. it lead to some great discoveries about our team and the dynamics we’re working with. in any case, the meeting was a little more relaxed than the others!
Janet wanted to be comfortable.
Cristi is passionate about preschool scope and sequence!
Tori really wants to care but the blanket makes her want to take a nap.
Leigh just observes. i think we’re fascinating to her. like a case study.
when Cristi really gets passionate, she stands up.
(the previous pictures of me were posed in order to convince people that i made some positive contributions to the meeting. i did not.)
later, we headed into town for some lunch and had a lot of great conversations about personality and shared great stories and laughed a lot! (also, we debated the under or over use of the word “love.”)
also, Michelle accused me of not giving good hugs. so then, everyone had to rate my hugs and, in the end, it was decided that my hugs were, in fact, amazing. (thank you very much.)
on the way out of town, we drove through this amazing place called “The Garden of the Gods.” it was really beautiful and there were all these amazing naturally occurring formations.
unfortunately, we didn’t really have time for the whole “Garden of the Gods” thing so we had to haul ass to the airport from there. we barely made it!
all in all, a great trip... though i’m glad to be home!
by the way, Leigh... we LOVE you! ;-)
"DCC trip... day two"
Friday, December 05, 2008
so, today was pretty
much meetings all day.
but these are pictures i took from our drive on the way into the office.
beautiful.
anyway, i had a meeting with Janet this morning over breakfast to talk about what leadership would look like in the curriculum. then it was meetings all day to talk about branding and components and content and on and on.
it was very productive though and... the really beautiful thing about this company... they have Mountain Dew in their cafeteria in ALL THREE FORMS!!! (bottled, canned and fountain dew.) amazing.
that night, we had the DCC company Christmas party. this is where i really saw the cultural differences between DCC and RH. if you saw the pictures from the RH Christmas party, you got the idea of what that was like. well, this was as opposite as you can get.
people in formals in a banquet room at a hotel. a speaker. a full dinner with appetizers, salad (which i didn’t eat, of course... being a meat-a-tarian and all), a main course and dessert. worship.
well, you get the idea. it was different. and i’m not sure if we fit in. we were laughing a lot and having fun. people kept looking at our table. (i’m not sure if they were annoyed at us or jealous that they weren’t sitting with us. probably a little of both.) ;-)
anyway, here are the pics...
but these are pictures i took from our drive on the way into the office.
beautiful.
anyway, i had a meeting with Janet this morning over breakfast to talk about what leadership would look like in the curriculum. then it was meetings all day to talk about branding and components and content and on and on.
it was very productive though and... the really beautiful thing about this company... they have Mountain Dew in their cafeteria in ALL THREE FORMS!!! (bottled, canned and fountain dew.) amazing.
that night, we had the DCC company Christmas party. this is where i really saw the cultural differences between DCC and RH. if you saw the pictures from the RH Christmas party, you got the idea of what that was like. well, this was as opposite as you can get.
people in formals in a banquet room at a hotel. a speaker. a full dinner with appetizers, salad (which i didn’t eat, of course... being a meat-a-tarian and all), a main course and dessert. worship.
well, you get the idea. it was different. and i’m not sure if we fit in. we were laughing a lot and having fun. people kept looking at our table. (i’m not sure if they were annoyed at us or jealous that they weren’t sitting with us. probably a little of both.) ;-)
anyway, here are the pics...
"DCC trip... day one"
Thursday, December 04, 2008
today, Michelle, Tori,
Cristi and i headed out for Colorado Springs for a
three day trip to meet our Colorado counterparts!
the flight was a little hairy. we got about ten feet above the runway when the pilot pulled back up because it was too icy to land. we flew around for 45 minutes while they somehow de-iced the runway. (i’m not sure what this consists of. i picture hundreds of men out there scraping away at the tarmac with giant ice-scrapers.)
then, after we landed, Michelle broke her heel while we were getting the rental car. (really, Michelle? high heels in the snow?)
so, by the time we got on the road, we were already running late (because of the 45 minutes extra in the air) and we were really hungry! so, we decided that even though we had meetings to go to, our stomachs had to come first. we found a Chili’s that had a Kohl’s in the same parking lot and we got lunch and new shoes for Michelle all in one stop.
and then it was on to the David C. Cook fortress (it’s seriously this intimidating looking building that can only be described as a fortress).
when we got there, we were welcomed by Janet and Leigh and the entire company. (we were kinda treated like celebrities. i think it’s the California thing.) we had a meeting or two and headed off to a great dinner.
more tomorrow!
oh... when we were getting a tour of the DCC building, we saw this and thought it was pretty cool. (minus the unfortunate location of the fire alarm.)
the flight was a little hairy. we got about ten feet above the runway when the pilot pulled back up because it was too icy to land. we flew around for 45 minutes while they somehow de-iced the runway. (i’m not sure what this consists of. i picture hundreds of men out there scraping away at the tarmac with giant ice-scrapers.)
then, after we landed, Michelle broke her heel while we were getting the rental car. (really, Michelle? high heels in the snow?)
so, by the time we got on the road, we were already running late (because of the 45 minutes extra in the air) and we were really hungry! so, we decided that even though we had meetings to go to, our stomachs had to come first. we found a Chili’s that had a Kohl’s in the same parking lot and we got lunch and new shoes for Michelle all in one stop.
and then it was on to the David C. Cook fortress (it’s seriously this intimidating looking building that can only be described as a fortress).
when we got there, we were welcomed by Janet and Leigh and the entire company. (we were kinda treated like celebrities. i think it’s the California thing.) we had a meeting or two and headed off to a great dinner.
more tomorrow!
oh... when we were getting a tour of the DCC building, we saw this and thought it was pretty cool. (minus the unfortunate location of the fire alarm.)
"the first ever ROCKHARBOR ugly Christmas sweater staff party"
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
i think the title says
it all. normally, the RH
staff goes to Disneyland for the Christmas party, but
this year... well, we have budget issues. so, we
stayed in and made a party of it all!
enjoy the ugly sweaters and know that i got 3rd place for the guys. (not bad out of like 30 or so guys!)
um... yeah. we look good.
a few sizes too small there, Mike.
Aida won it all!
Lexie actually made Tim’s sweater for him!
there are now two Basix cd’s floating around out there. watch out, Tommy!
not an ugly sweater... SHAME!!!!
ugly sweaters and ugly couches.
the finalists.
waiting in line for TK Burger
Doug Berry tries to hide his Starbucks in his pocket before he goes into the movie theater. (it didn’t work!)
enjoy the ugly sweaters and know that i got 3rd place for the guys. (not bad out of like 30 or so guys!)
um... yeah. we look good.
a few sizes too small there, Mike.
Aida won it all!
Lexie actually made Tim’s sweater for him!
there are now two Basix cd’s floating around out there. watch out, Tommy!
not an ugly sweater... SHAME!!!!
ugly sweaters and ugly couches.
the finalists.
waiting in line for TK Burger
Doug Berry tries to hide his Starbucks in his pocket before he goes into the movie theater. (it didn’t work!)
"isn't Noah and the Ark such a cute story about death and destruction?"
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
we’ve been talking a
lot lately (both at RH
and in my internship class at Biola) about how we
tell stories. mostly, we’ve been talking about how we
tend to tell them wrong.
for instance, we make Noah and the Ark this cute little story we tell kids about animals and boats. we make it so cute that people make little cartoon pictures about it and put them up in nurseries and whatnot. this is jacked up.
Noah’s story is about God’s vengeance on a world that had forsaken Him and His covenant with all of creation thereafter. He destroyed the world. i totally understand why we would celebrate this with our youngest children. (that’s called sarcasm... there’s no really good way to denote that in text.)
anyway, i was out shopping tonight for ugly Christmas sweaters (for our staff party tomorrow) and i saw this and it made me laugh because it’s EXACTLY what i’ve been talking about. enjoy.
for instance, we make Noah and the Ark this cute little story we tell kids about animals and boats. we make it so cute that people make little cartoon pictures about it and put them up in nurseries and whatnot. this is jacked up.
Noah’s story is about God’s vengeance on a world that had forsaken Him and His covenant with all of creation thereafter. He destroyed the world. i totally understand why we would celebrate this with our youngest children. (that’s called sarcasm... there’s no really good way to denote that in text.)
anyway, i was out shopping tonight for ugly Christmas sweaters (for our staff party tomorrow) and i saw this and it made me laugh because it’s EXACTLY what i’ve been talking about. enjoy.
"self-indulgence on account of my earliness"
Monday, December 01, 2008
"a little bit of Christmas"
Sunday, November 30, 2008
"inappropriate Santa"
Saturday, November 29, 2008
our family has a
tradition that we usually set up Christmas the day
after Thanksgiving. somehow, this year, that got
pushed off to the day after the day after
Thanksgiving.
anyway, we met up at the house along with Brett and Dakota and began to take Christmas out of storage. another tradition me and my sisters have is to put Santa and Mrs. Claus in inappropriate (read sexually compromising) positions in order to freak my mom out. of course, at this point, she doesn’t freak out as much anymore but she does still get a little ruffled and it’s entertaining.
Dakota looked ridiculously cute today... especially after she found this crown somewhere in the house.
we went to see Scout again, and (though it’s hard to tell here), he actually looked much better. they say he’ll be able to come home in a few days. (which is a bit hard to believe.)
anyway, we met up at the house along with Brett and Dakota and began to take Christmas out of storage. another tradition me and my sisters have is to put Santa and Mrs. Claus in inappropriate (read sexually compromising) positions in order to freak my mom out. of course, at this point, she doesn’t freak out as much anymore but she does still get a little ruffled and it’s entertaining.
Dakota looked ridiculously cute today... especially after she found this crown somewhere in the house.
we went to see Scout again, and (though it’s hard to tell here), he actually looked much better. they say he’ll be able to come home in a few days. (which is a bit hard to believe.)
"giving thanks with friends and family"
Thursday, November 27, 2008
it’s Thanksgiving!
we headed up to my parent’s house. we didn’t have as many family members there as usual since Amie was in Indiana and Andy moved to Australia. but Megan brought Ryan (more on that in a moment) and Stacy brought her mom, sister and the kids.
after dinner, Ryan decided to get my dad by smashing his face in a plate of whipped cream... it was pretty awesome! (anyone that ballsy is more than welcome in our house!)
dad was shocked and got him back in very unoriginal style.
we had originally planned on going to a movie after dinner. but this is what happens every year. we decide to see a movie. the time comes to go. we debate whether we should really go or not. and then it’s about an 80% chance that we won’t end up going. we didn’t go this year. instead, we watched “As Good As It Gets” at home.
(Meri loves it when i take pictures of her.)
finally, Scout had a bad week. yesterday, he got out and was attacked by a bobcat. he’s in the hospital and they’re not totally sure he’s going to make it. so, we decided to end the night by going to visit him. he did not look good.
we headed up to my parent’s house. we didn’t have as many family members there as usual since Amie was in Indiana and Andy moved to Australia. but Megan brought Ryan (more on that in a moment) and Stacy brought her mom, sister and the kids.
after dinner, Ryan decided to get my dad by smashing his face in a plate of whipped cream... it was pretty awesome! (anyone that ballsy is more than welcome in our house!)
dad was shocked and got him back in very unoriginal style.
we had originally planned on going to a movie after dinner. but this is what happens every year. we decide to see a movie. the time comes to go. we debate whether we should really go or not. and then it’s about an 80% chance that we won’t end up going. we didn’t go this year. instead, we watched “As Good As It Gets” at home.
(Meri loves it when i take pictures of her.)
finally, Scout had a bad week. yesterday, he got out and was attacked by a bobcat. he’s in the hospital and they’re not totally sure he’s going to make it. so, we decided to end the night by going to visit him. he did not look good.
"purpose driven football"
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
today was our annual
staff football game. we always face off against
another church staff the day before Thanksgiving.
usually, it’s called the TurkeyBowl. however, since
it was just us and Saddleback today, we called it
Purpose-Driven Football.
unfortunately, we lost in OT. it was really close though and our team did a great job! of course, since i am athletically useless for such a competition, i brought my camera and took pictures for everyone.
unfortunately, we lost in OT. it was really close though and our team did a great job! of course, since i am athletically useless for such a competition, i brought my camera and took pictures for everyone.
"playing in the cold"
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
there are two bands
that i will see every time they come through town if
i can...
U2 and Coldplay.
Coldplay was at the Pond (Honda Center) tonight, so... of course... so was i!
it was great. they have seriously gotten better every time i’ve seen them. so talented.
on top of that, it was POURING rain outside and we parked about 1/2 a mile away and had no umbrella. so, we really were playing in the cold as we ran to the concert and back.
U2 and Coldplay.
Coldplay was at the Pond (Honda Center) tonight, so... of course... so was i!
it was great. they have seriously gotten better every time i’ve seen them. so talented.
on top of that, it was POURING rain outside and we parked about 1/2 a mile away and had no umbrella. so, we really were playing in the cold as we ran to the concert and back.
"a little peace"
Monday, November 24, 2008
"a day in the Outlet"
Sunday, November 23, 2008
"family ichat"
Saturday, November 22, 2008
"thanksgiving comes early!"
Friday, November 21, 2008
"early morning beach trip and reading to little ones"
Thursday, November 20, 2008
this morning, i went
down to the beach to watch Stacy surf. however, by
the time i got there, she was out of the water
because it was so foggy and the waves weren’t great.
oh well. i like it down there in the mornings. very
peaceful.
later, we went up and saw the kids and i read to them for a bit. they don’t care what the words are... they make up their own stories to go along with the pictures.
later, we went up and saw the kids and i read to them for a bit. they don’t care what the words are... they make up their own stories to go along with the pictures.
"an impromptu haircut"
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
after work today, Stacy and i were hanging out at my
place when i decided i needed a nap. before i went in
to lay down for 20 minutes or so, i told Stacy that
i’d been thinking about buzzing my head again. she
said “cool” and that was that.
about 10 minutes into my nap i woke up. when i walked out 10 minutes later, i had no hair.
about 10 minutes into my nap i woke up. when i walked out 10 minutes later, i had no hair.
"Nani throws a tantrum"
Sunday, November 16, 2008
since the fires were so
close to Erin’s house, she and the kids came and
stayed with Stacy. so, this morning they came to
church.
only about 15 minutes into service, Nani’s pager goes off meaning that Erin needs to come and get her because something’s wrong. being that Erin’s already on edge because of the fires, i took the pager and went to see what was going on. Nani was throwing a huge tantrum. (normally she’s really good, but today she did not want to be alone.)
so, i took her and we went over to the Lab service kids rooms and hung out. she was fine once i was there, but i’m still not sure what was up with that.
only about 15 minutes into service, Nani’s pager goes off meaning that Erin needs to come and get her because something’s wrong. being that Erin’s already on edge because of the fires, i took the pager and went to see what was going on. Nani was throwing a huge tantrum. (normally she’s really good, but today she did not want to be alone.)
so, i took her and we went over to the Lab service kids rooms and hung out. she was fine once i was there, but i’m still not sure what was up with that.
"eating sushi while the world burns down"
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Stacy and i met up with
Megan at Koji’s for lunch today.
of course, we knew about the fires that were burning behind Yorba Linda, but we didn’t realize how bad they were. by the time we came out of the restaurant, this is what the sky looked like.
the weird thing was, the smoke never made its way down to South County. in fact, it was beautiful and really clear in Irvine. tonight, it was so clear, i took this picture from my balcony.
of course, we knew about the fires that were burning behind Yorba Linda, but we didn’t realize how bad they were. by the time we came out of the restaurant, this is what the sky looked like.
the weird thing was, the smoke never made its way down to South County. in fact, it was beautiful and really clear in Irvine. tonight, it was so clear, i took this picture from my balcony.
"Nani goes to D-Land"
Friday, November 14, 2008
"the ultimate man night"
Thursday, November 13, 2008
every year, the girls
of the ROCKHARBOR
staff have a “Girls Day Away” where they go and do
whatever girls do when they all get together. (i
think it was a spa day.) apparently, for years, the
guys have been talking about doing one for themselves
but, as Stacy Scott pointed out, they could never get
one of the girls to organize it for them.
all that has changed.
tonight was the men’s night.
we started at ROCKHARBOR (behind 3080) with a gaming truck. this thing was pretty cool. basically, it was a big trailer with about 15 XBox stations in it. the guys piled in and we played Halo 3 for about three hours straight.
(by the way, Mike Erre is ridiculously good at Halo. Pete Shambrook gets incredibly intense when he plays. to the point that he doesn’t hear you if you try to talk to him. Shawn Scott and i sucked and spent most of the time talking.)
after that, it was off to the movies for the midnight screening of “The Quantum of Solace.” (it wasn’t great.)
but, we had a great night and it was really good to get to know some of the guys a bit better.
all that has changed.
tonight was the men’s night.
we started at ROCKHARBOR (behind 3080) with a gaming truck. this thing was pretty cool. basically, it was a big trailer with about 15 XBox stations in it. the guys piled in and we played Halo 3 for about three hours straight.
(by the way, Mike Erre is ridiculously good at Halo. Pete Shambrook gets incredibly intense when he plays. to the point that he doesn’t hear you if you try to talk to him. Shawn Scott and i sucked and spent most of the time talking.)
after that, it was off to the movies for the midnight screening of “The Quantum of Solace.” (it wasn’t great.)
but, we had a great night and it was really good to get to know some of the guys a bit better.
"saying goodbye"
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
last week, our extended
family suffered a loss.
as some of you know, my cousin, Jordan, has been living with my parents for the past few months. we’ve become pretty close to him over the past years as he and Megan graduated from Pepperdine together. aside from Jordan, we’re not very close with his family or that side of the family. he’s kind of a more distant cousin and we only got connected with him because of he and Megan going to Pepperdine together.
anyway, Jordan’s brother, Jared, passed away last week. today was the funeral. i went up with Bekie and met Megan and my parents there.
it was a bit awkward for a few reasons. first, we aren’t very close to that side of the family. second, it was kind of like a family reunion, but under horrible circumstances. (those are always awkward anyway.) third, they asked Matthew Cork to do the message and i think that trying to give hope and peace to a family you don’t know of a person who took their own life is a difficult thing. (Matthew did a great job and i don’t envy him that task.)
Jordan and his family are, of course, a wreck right now. it’s hard to see anyone going through that kind of pain. i wasn’t sure if i should be there at first, but i’m glad i went now. i know Jordan appreciated it.
obviously, it would have been highly inappropriate to be snapping pictures during the service, but i did take one quick one from the car as we were leaving the graveside service. at least it was a very beautiful day.
on a more positive note, Bekie and i had a great time catching up on the rides up and back. also, she made me go to the Urgent Care to get my foot looked at because i had refused to do so. (it was a little infected.)
as some of you know, my cousin, Jordan, has been living with my parents for the past few months. we’ve become pretty close to him over the past years as he and Megan graduated from Pepperdine together. aside from Jordan, we’re not very close with his family or that side of the family. he’s kind of a more distant cousin and we only got connected with him because of he and Megan going to Pepperdine together.
anyway, Jordan’s brother, Jared, passed away last week. today was the funeral. i went up with Bekie and met Megan and my parents there.
it was a bit awkward for a few reasons. first, we aren’t very close to that side of the family. second, it was kind of like a family reunion, but under horrible circumstances. (those are always awkward anyway.) third, they asked Matthew Cork to do the message and i think that trying to give hope and peace to a family you don’t know of a person who took their own life is a difficult thing. (Matthew did a great job and i don’t envy him that task.)
Jordan and his family are, of course, a wreck right now. it’s hard to see anyone going through that kind of pain. i wasn’t sure if i should be there at first, but i’m glad i went now. i know Jordan appreciated it.
obviously, it would have been highly inappropriate to be snapping pictures during the service, but i did take one quick one from the car as we were leaving the graveside service. at least it was a very beautiful day.
on a more positive note, Bekie and i had a great time catching up on the rides up and back. also, she made me go to the Urgent Care to get my foot looked at because i had refused to do so. (it was a little infected.)
"the big God story in class"
Monday, November 10, 2008
tonight, i taught the
Big God Story in my evangelism and discipleship
class. but, before i did, i wanted to see how much
these Bible school kids knew. so, i had them put the
events of the Bible in order from beginning to end.
they did alright! (of course, with 39 kids, you should be able to do that.)
they did alright! (of course, with 39 kids, you should be able to do that.)
"stacy teaches and mom gets older"
Sunday, November 09, 2008
"cars, coffee and kids"
Saturday, November 08, 2008
"ouch!!!!"
Friday, November 07, 2008
so, tonight we were
supposed to go to Disneyland with a bunch of people
from work. i was very excited about this.
Stacy was on her way over to my house so we could go when disaster struck. as i was opening the door to my bedroom, my foot got in the way (bad foot!) and the door (with a metal strip running down the side of it) went over the top of my foot and the metal strip cut it pretty badly.
i didn’t feel it at first. i wasn’t looking that way, but just from the way the door felt as i pushed it open, i knew something wasn’t right. then i looked down.
mucho blood.
i knew that the shock of it would wear off pretty quickly so i took advantage of the lack of pain that i was experiencing. i started to think about whether i had any large bandages or not... just as i began to realize that i didn’t, the pain kicked in.
HOLY CRAP ON A STICK!!!! (it was painful.)
all i could come up with to stop the bleeding was wrapping my foot in paper towels and painters tape. so, that’s what i did.
and then i called Stacy and said “so... i think we’re probably not going to Disneyland, but if you could pick up some large bandages on your way over, that would be awesome!”
she was a little confused at first, but then i explained the situation and the level of pain i was experiencing. she came quickly with bandages.
we didn’t go to Disneyland.
we watched “Across the Universe” instead. (a descent but too long movie that made some obvious plot sacrifices to fit in particular songs.)
good night!
Stacy was on her way over to my house so we could go when disaster struck. as i was opening the door to my bedroom, my foot got in the way (bad foot!) and the door (with a metal strip running down the side of it) went over the top of my foot and the metal strip cut it pretty badly.
i didn’t feel it at first. i wasn’t looking that way, but just from the way the door felt as i pushed it open, i knew something wasn’t right. then i looked down.
mucho blood.
i knew that the shock of it would wear off pretty quickly so i took advantage of the lack of pain that i was experiencing. i started to think about whether i had any large bandages or not... just as i began to realize that i didn’t, the pain kicked in.
HOLY CRAP ON A STICK!!!! (it was painful.)
all i could come up with to stop the bleeding was wrapping my foot in paper towels and painters tape. so, that’s what i did.
and then i called Stacy and said “so... i think we’re probably not going to Disneyland, but if you could pick up some large bandages on your way over, that would be awesome!”
she was a little confused at first, but then i explained the situation and the level of pain i was experiencing. she came quickly with bandages.
we didn’t go to Disneyland.
we watched “Across the Universe” instead. (a descent but too long movie that made some obvious plot sacrifices to fit in particular songs.)
good night!
"our first date... take two"
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
"a morning of worship"
Sunday, November 02, 2008
"a very cool night"
Saturday, November 01, 2008
tonight, Megan and
Carly Manarelli got baptized in the service at
ROCKHARBOR.
Megan is a 5th grader who i’ve known for a year and a
half now and Carly is her 1st grade sister who is,
clearly, my best friend. anyway, when you’re getting
baptized, you can ask for anyone you want to actually
do it and Megan asked me. (Carly asked Stacy.) this
was a very cool honor.
now, if you’ve never been to a baptism at ROCKHARBOR, let me set the stage for you. it’s just about the end of the service and there is an inflatable pool on stage. as each person is brought up to be baptized, the worship team is playing and the whole place is singing. each time a person goes under, the place goes nuts. i mean... yelling and cheering like the home team just scored a touchdown. (the first, and probably last sports analogy you’ll ever read on this blog.) it’s a pretty cool experience and i try to make it to all of them.
i’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. (look for Poison guitarist, CeCe Deville in one of the pictures. i guess he became a Christian and has been coming to ROCKHARBOR for a while now.)
now, if you’ve never been to a baptism at ROCKHARBOR, let me set the stage for you. it’s just about the end of the service and there is an inflatable pool on stage. as each person is brought up to be baptized, the worship team is playing and the whole place is singing. each time a person goes under, the place goes nuts. i mean... yelling and cheering like the home team just scored a touchdown. (the first, and probably last sports analogy you’ll ever read on this blog.) it’s a pretty cool experience and i try to make it to all of them.
i’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. (look for Poison guitarist, CeCe Deville in one of the pictures. i guess he became a Christian and has been coming to ROCKHARBOR for a while now.)
"cars and coffee for a cause"
Saturday, November 01, 2008
"the ultimate costumes for the ultimate costume party"
Friday, October 31, 2008
part of my costume
required me to be clean-shaven and have a mustache.
unfortunately, i hadn’t let mine grow long enough
yet. (but i tried it out first anyway.)
(Stacy hates that.)
tonight was the Anthony’s Costume Party. the costumes were pretty amazing. let me take you through them.
first, we have Camille and her husband, John as Pam and Jim from The Office.
next, we have our lovely host, Michelle Anthony, as Cleopatra.
Gabe came as a nerd who got beat up. (might not have been a costume.)
Tom Swogger came as some video game character. (i don’t know who he was supposed to be, but supposedly, he was dead on.)
Sharron’s husband, Jimmy, came as Tiger Woods.
Ang and Alex were Velma and Shaggy from Scooby Do.
Tyler and Allison were, of course, Dwight and Angela. (amazing.)
Kit and Gina were Bleeker and Juno from the movie Juno.
Tommy came as.... um... some sort of cheese... thing. and Keri came as Ugly Betty.
Cristi came as a black-jack dealing cat. (“come on, cat!”)
and Ashley and Tori came as the season of Fall and a butterfly (respectively).
there were some others as well (who you’ll see in the group shots), but i didn’t get individual shots of them. however, the winners of the costume contest were, of course, Stacy and i as Michael and Michelle Anthony.
it was pretty awesome. people literally kept thinking we were them all night. (yes... Stacy cut a Styrofoam ball in half to create giant boobs.) here are the pictures from the rest of the night.
(Stacy hates that.)
tonight was the Anthony’s Costume Party. the costumes were pretty amazing. let me take you through them.
first, we have Camille and her husband, John as Pam and Jim from The Office.
next, we have our lovely host, Michelle Anthony, as Cleopatra.
Gabe came as a nerd who got beat up. (might not have been a costume.)
Tom Swogger came as some video game character. (i don’t know who he was supposed to be, but supposedly, he was dead on.)
Sharron’s husband, Jimmy, came as Tiger Woods.
Ang and Alex were Velma and Shaggy from Scooby Do.
Tyler and Allison were, of course, Dwight and Angela. (amazing.)
Kit and Gina were Bleeker and Juno from the movie Juno.
Tommy came as.... um... some sort of cheese... thing. and Keri came as Ugly Betty.
Cristi came as a black-jack dealing cat. (“come on, cat!”)
and Ashley and Tori came as the season of Fall and a butterfly (respectively).
there were some others as well (who you’ll see in the group shots), but i didn’t get individual shots of them. however, the winners of the costume contest were, of course, Stacy and i as Michael and Michelle Anthony.
it was pretty awesome. people literally kept thinking we were them all night. (yes... Stacy cut a Styrofoam ball in half to create giant boobs.) here are the pictures from the rest of the night.
"sunrise and costume check"
Thursday, October 30, 2008
"trying on new pants"
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
"happy birthday, Ella!"
Sunday, October 26, 2008
"VBS wrap party... three months later"
Friday, October 24, 2008
"kids, dogs and cars"
Friday, October 24, 2008
"the state of my desk"
Thursday, October 23, 2008
"Tori's birthday @ the gypsy den"
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
"YOU know who!"
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
today we had a pretty
heated conversation in our lead team meeting. it
ended up being very helpful and productive, but it
was heated nonetheless.
at one point, Michelle asked a question (“who does a good job of shepherding parents?”) that nobody was sure they knew the answer to. (she obviously had a particular “right” answer in mind, but nobody knew what she wanted us to say.)
she said “come on you guys! you know who!” (which was a reference to the movie “What Happens in Vegas.”)
we sorta laughed about that but still didn’t know the answer. what happened next is captured below.
fortunately, this broke the tension and everybody laughed. (even though Michelle doesn’t look like it in the picture.)
at one point, Michelle asked a question (“who does a good job of shepherding parents?”) that nobody was sure they knew the answer to. (she obviously had a particular “right” answer in mind, but nobody knew what she wanted us to say.)
she said “come on you guys! you know who!” (which was a reference to the movie “What Happens in Vegas.”)
we sorta laughed about that but still didn’t know the answer. what happened next is captured below.
fortunately, this broke the tension and everybody laughed. (even though Michelle doesn’t look like it in the picture.)
"the two Jordans"
Sunday, October 19, 2008
okay... so there are
these two kids named Jordan in our fourth grade class
at RH.
but they look a lot alike. for a long time, i thought
it was one person... and then i saw them together.
sure... there are differences, but come on! they look
a lot alike AND they have the same name AND they’re
in the same class. not related at all.
that’s weird.
that’s weird.
NAPCE... day three
Saturday, October 18, 2008
today was the last day
of NAPCE. Michelle was the keynote and knocked it out
of the park!
she usually talks to practitioners and does well. but to get academics to embrace the families philosophy that we’re talking about is a serious feat and she did it. (they were literally lined up to talk to her afterward!) it was pretty cool.
before she spoke though, i needed a caffeine boost. unfortunately, no Mountain Dew in the hotel. so, i had to walk to the gas station on the corner.
there must be an airbase or something near by because the entire time we were in Atlanta, there were fighter jets flying overhead. i don’t know what that was about.
oh... and i saw this really weird ad in the airport. (those are hands.)
when we got home, church was happening so Stacy couldn’t pick me up. i walked home from the airport which was actually kinda nice. (it’s only like a mile.)
she usually talks to practitioners and does well. but to get academics to embrace the families philosophy that we’re talking about is a serious feat and she did it. (they were literally lined up to talk to her afterward!) it was pretty cool.
before she spoke though, i needed a caffeine boost. unfortunately, no Mountain Dew in the hotel. so, i had to walk to the gas station on the corner.
there must be an airbase or something near by because the entire time we were in Atlanta, there were fighter jets flying overhead. i don’t know what that was about.
oh... and i saw this really weird ad in the airport. (those are hands.)
when we got home, church was happening so Stacy couldn’t pick me up. i walked home from the airport which was actually kinda nice. (it’s only like a mile.)
NAPCE... day two
Friday, October 17, 2008
Jim Burns kicked off
the conference last night with sort of “state of the
families” talk. he continued it this morning but did
a great job of setting up Michelle who is the keynote
speaker for tomorrow.
it’s an interesting crowd. i’m probably the youngest here by 10 years. it’s been fun though.
the last one is me in my hotel room. i was bored.
it’s an interesting crowd. i’m probably the youngest here by 10 years. it’s been fun though.
the last one is me in my hotel room. i was bored.
"a beautiful sunrise and a trip to the east coast"
Thursday, October 16, 2008
this morning, i had to
go to the airport at a very early time to catch a
plane to Atlanta. Michelle and i were meeting Michael
and Janet out there for the NAPCE conference. (i
think it’s National Association of Professors of
Christian Education... but i could be wrong.)
the sunrise was beautiful before i left.
fortunately, Michelle and i were able to orchestrate some seating changes on the plane and sit next to each other. we talked the entire way. seemed like the shortest flight ever!
note to self: if you want long trips to seem short, bring Michelle.
the sunrise was beautiful before i left.
fortunately, Michelle and i were able to orchestrate some seating changes on the plane and sit next to each other. we talked the entire way. seemed like the shortest flight ever!
note to self: if you want long trips to seem short, bring Michelle.
"macbooks, the wind and 3rd wednesdays"
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
today was the day...
NEW MACBOOKS!!!
i went and got one. so pretty.
it was really windy today which provided for a beautiful view outside.
tonight was the second 3rd Wednesday at ROCKHARBOR. we’re taking the 3rd wednesday of every month to set aside for prayer. we don’t work but have prayer meetings in the morning, at noon and in the evening. (the morning ones are optional.) we’ve been having around 1,000 people show up for these and that’s pretty amazing!
i went and got one. so pretty.
it was really windy today which provided for a beautiful view outside.
tonight was the second 3rd Wednesday at ROCKHARBOR. we’re taking the 3rd wednesday of every month to set aside for prayer. we don’t work but have prayer meetings in the morning, at noon and in the evening. (the morning ones are optional.) we’ve been having around 1,000 people show up for these and that’s pretty amazing!
"writing on rocks in meetings"
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
"24 hours of Corks (part two)"
Sunday, October 12, 2008
this morning, i didn’t
have a clue how long it would take for three kids to
get ready for church. so, i woke them up at 7 (Nolan
was already playing Wii when i woke up at 6.30) and
had them start getting ready. i needed to be at
church by 8.45, so i figured that would give them an
hour and a half to get up, eat breakfast, take
showers, get dressed, etc...
they were ready to go by 7.30. now we had an hour to kill before we needed to leave. i really need to figure this kids thing out.
unfortunately for them, they had to sit through two services since i was teaching at the second service and had to be there for the first. of course, since i had The Conversation all week and then was trying to keep up with the Corks all weekend, my lesson in The Hub sucked. bad. what are you going to do?
after church was out, i took them back to my parent’s house, but not before we had a large disagreement in the car about where we might go for lunch. (Burger King ended up being the winner.)
one at a time is good. three is a bit much.
they were ready to go by 7.30. now we had an hour to kill before we needed to leave. i really need to figure this kids thing out.
unfortunately for them, they had to sit through two services since i was teaching at the second service and had to be there for the first. of course, since i had The Conversation all week and then was trying to keep up with the Corks all weekend, my lesson in The Hub sucked. bad. what are you going to do?
after church was out, i took them back to my parent’s house, but not before we had a large disagreement in the car about where we might go for lunch. (Burger King ended up being the winner.)
one at a time is good. three is a bit much.
"24 hours of Corks (part one)"
Saturday, October 11, 2008
so, today i did
something that might be considered monumentally
stupid. the Cork’s (Matthew and Mardi) are in India
and my parents and the Chandlers have been taking
turns taking care of the kids. however, both of them
were busy tonight and they asked me if i’d take them.
i said yes. i’m not sure why.
i mean, to go from having zero kids to having three kids under the age of 9 in one day is a little overwhelming. especially after The Conversation being this week and with me teaching in The Hub (high school group) tomorrow.
first, i picked them up from my parent’s around 1. i decided to keep the entertained by taking them to Boomers for some mini golf. (good call!)
after Boomers we went and grabbed some pizza at Roundtable. i forgot how good Roundtable is!
after that, i had promised a friend of mine from church that i’d come and check out his art exhibit at the Costa Mesa City Art Show at Triangle Square. the kids actually seemed to like it. unfortunately, Ella fell on the escalator and cut herself. she was okay after a few minutes, but she wanted me to carry her, which i couldn’t do for very long. (she’s not two anymore!)
after that, we went home and played Guitar Hero. but i wasn’t sure what to do with them at this point, so i called Stacy (who was working the Saturday night service) and left a one word voicemail... “HELP!”
she came over around 8.30 and we all walked to Cherry On Top for some yogurt and then watched some of “Elf” before hitting the sack.
all-in-all... a good, but exhausting, day. but we’re not done yet!
i mean, to go from having zero kids to having three kids under the age of 9 in one day is a little overwhelming. especially after The Conversation being this week and with me teaching in The Hub (high school group) tomorrow.
first, i picked them up from my parent’s around 1. i decided to keep the entertained by taking them to Boomers for some mini golf. (good call!)
after Boomers we went and grabbed some pizza at Roundtable. i forgot how good Roundtable is!
after that, i had promised a friend of mine from church that i’d come and check out his art exhibit at the Costa Mesa City Art Show at Triangle Square. the kids actually seemed to like it. unfortunately, Ella fell on the escalator and cut herself. she was okay after a few minutes, but she wanted me to carry her, which i couldn’t do for very long. (she’s not two anymore!)
after that, we went home and played Guitar Hero. but i wasn’t sure what to do with them at this point, so i called Stacy (who was working the Saturday night service) and left a one word voicemail... “HELP!”
she came over around 8.30 and we all walked to Cherry On Top for some yogurt and then watched some of “Elf” before hitting the sack.
all-in-all... a good, but exhausting, day. but we’re not done yet!
"The Conversation... day two"
Friday, October 10, 2008
so, these last two days
were pretty much amazing. i mean, even though i was a
van driver and a session leader for our little summit
here, it was pretty great.
this conference was the culmination of everything we’ve been working for since i came onboard back in January. (for Michelle, it’s the culmination of over four years of work.) today, Michelle got to present our philosophy of family ministries and people were eating it up. this project could be HUGE. it’s the end of the beginning and the beginning of something big.
the picture below is of the president of Cook (Chris) opening the day for us this morning.
later today i was driving along and i saw this truck. i wonder if he’s a relative?
this conference was the culmination of everything we’ve been working for since i came onboard back in January. (for Michelle, it’s the culmination of over four years of work.) today, Michelle got to present our philosophy of family ministries and people were eating it up. this project could be HUGE. it’s the end of the beginning and the beginning of something big.
the picture below is of the president of Cook (Chris) opening the day for us this morning.
later today i was driving along and i saw this truck. i wonder if he’s a relative?
"The Conversation... day one"
Thursday, October 09, 2008
"preparing for The Conversation"
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
"party at Kit's!"
Sunday, October 05, 2008
today, we had a BBQ at
Kit’s house for the families team. we played Bocci
Ball and had some great food. for some reason, i was
a little out of it and didn’t enjoy being there even
though it was a great party. Stacy’s been out of town
for the past few days and came back tonight after the
party. it was good to have her back.
"october family time curriculum day!"
Saturday, October 04, 2008
"Traci on Friends"
Thursday, October 02, 2008
"puppets and drugs"
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
"the Cooks are all in the kitchen"
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
"another stalled out weigh-in"
Monday, September 29, 2008
"another wedding... but this one had In N' Out!"
Sunday, September 28, 2008
today was Joe and
Tammy’s wedding. they met on our Romania trip last
year and fast-tracked it to the altar. (though there
was no altar.)
there was, however, In N’ Out for dinner! (my kinda wedding!) the whole thing was more of a Ro-Union for our old team and we had a great time.
(we got a little tired after dinner)
there was, however, In N’ Out for dinner! (my kinda wedding!) the whole thing was more of a Ro-Union for our old team and we had a great time.
(we got a little tired after dinner)
"playing all night (part two)"
Saturday, September 27, 2008
the rest of these were
after midnight and, therefore, were from a different
day!
we had a HUGE inflatable obstacle course in The Hangar.
then we all stayed up forever just hanging out and talking after the kids all fell asleep.
since i had no responsibilities this year, i actually got to go home and sleep around 4.30 am.
we had a HUGE inflatable obstacle course in The Hangar.
then we all stayed up forever just hanging out and talking after the kids all fell asleep.
since i had no responsibilities this year, i actually got to go home and sleep around 4.30 am.
"real Scout, fake Scout and playing all night (part one)"
Friday, September 26, 2008
i was at my parent’s
today. they have a little statue of a dog just like
Scout. when i saw this, i had to take a picture.
(which one is real?)
awesome.
tonight was the annual elementary all-nighter. it’s a pretty amazing all night long craziness type event. last year i was in charge. this year, i’m just a spectator. i like that.
crazy kids, including Cori Cruze.
Ashley got us Yogurtland!
to be continued...
awesome.
tonight was the annual elementary all-nighter. it’s a pretty amazing all night long craziness type event. last year i was in charge. this year, i’m just a spectator. i like that.
crazy kids, including Cori Cruze.
Ashley got us Yogurtland!
to be continued...
"costume shopping and The Office premiere"
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Stacy and i went
shopping for Halloween costumes today. i won’t show
you what we decided on but they are pretty amazing
and i’m pretty sure we’re going to be the hit of
Michelle’s party. i tried this on for fun.
afterward, we went back to The H for The Office season premiere party. in the evite, we told everyone to dress up like an Office character. then i e-mailed everyone except for Tyler and told them not to.
i just wanted to see Tyler and Allison as Dwight and Angela.
totally worth it.
afterward, we went back to The H for The Office season premiere party. in the evite, we told everyone to dress up like an Office character. then i e-mailed everyone except for Tyler and told them not to.
i just wanted to see Tyler and Allison as Dwight and Angela.
totally worth it.
"grab the kids and run for the border"
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
"a torn up yard!"
Monday, September 22, 2008
"more teaching and baked potatoes"
Sunday, September 21, 2008
"teaching at church and Snakes on a Plane"
Saturday, September 20, 2008
"a RO-Union for another RO"
Friday, September 19, 2008
"editing my life away"
Thursday, September 18, 2008
"staff not-away day"
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
today was the day i’d
been waiting for since i came on staff nine months
ago. i’d heard all about it last year before i came
on and i couldn’t wait to see what we were going to
do this year.
it was Staff Day Away.
every year, the staff gets a fun day away in the fall as a sort of kick off for the next ministry year. it’s a RH tradition that last year had the staff running all over Orange County on a scavenger hunt that ended with a boat ride in Newport Harbor. that was before i was on staff. so, i’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.
well... whenever you look forward to something like that, you’re bound to be let down one way or another. Michelle tried to warn us ahead of time, but we didn’t really listen. you see, our staff day away, really wasn’t.
we showed up in the morning and were told that we would be meeting with our sabbatical groups to catch up and spend some time together. not quite what i had in mind, but i thought “well, we’ll do this and then the fun will start, i’m sure.”
so, our group went to this little place called “Milk and Honey” and hung out.
it was nice to catch up with Laura and Andrew and i’m glad we got the chance to do that since our sabbaticals were so long ago. but as our hour came to a close, we rushed back to RH with anticipation for what would be next.
next was sharing time. reflecting on the past year. reflecting on our sabbaticals. reflecting on our ministries.
again... not what we were expecting.
the Taco Man came for lunch, which everyone seemed pretty excited about. (even though i’m not a huge Mexican food fan, i did enjoy the Taco Man.)
after lunch, we were told to get into our sabbatical groups for a little contest. ROCKHARBOR has a tradition (usually at Christmas) where they play Human Shuffleboard on office chairs in the hallway. this was another tradition i’d been looking forward to participating in. turns out, today would be my chance!
however, as Erre began to announce the game, he also announced some changes in the rules. usually, no one is allowed to touch the walls under any circumstances. if you do, you’re disqualified. this means that if you get near a wall, you have to stop yourself so that you can at least keep your distance. furthermore, they would normally line the walls of hall with people to ensure that nobody would go crashing into a wall. not this year though.
this year, Erre and Todd decided (as they were announcing this, i think) that you would be disqualified if you stopped yourself in any way. if you put out an arm or leg to stop yourself from hitting a wall, you were out. everybody thought something didn’t sound right about this, but we went along with it anyway.
i grabbed my chair and my team nominated me to ride down the hallway. we were fourth to go. we were also the first injury.
as i was hurled down the hallway at breakneck speeds, things were going pretty well. i was traveling quickly and in a straight line. as i began to approach The Commons, things changed. i began to veer to the left.... straight toward an outward sticking corner where Angelina had stopped before me. i was sitting cross-legged on the chair and my knees were sticking out just a bit. there was nothing i could do.
i crashed HARD into the corner and banged up my upper-shin pretty good. in fact, i’m not sure i’ve ever been in that kind of pain before. the wall’s corner was reinforced with metal and my shin indented in by about an inch. there was blood. there was pain. and i was laughing harder than i’ve laughed in a long time. (it was a bit confusing!)
did this stop the game? of course not! and being that i was 4th out of 11 (i think) i got to sit in the hallway as others came hurtling toward me, blood dripping down my leg and all. at one point, Amy Burdick was flying toward me. at the last second, Stacy (who apparently didn’t want to see me injured any further) pulled me out of the way. unfortunately, i was the only thing in between Burdick and the win. she went almost all the way to the main entrance doors and won the whole thing.
the pictures don’t do it justice. the wound is much worse than it looks. you can’t hear 1/2 of the people excited about the game and the other 1/2 pleading for someone to stop it all so that there wouldn’t be any more injuries. (i wasn’t the only one. turns out Tracy Close broke her thumb and will need a cast and surgery and others got slammed into as they sat like lame ducks in the hallway.) poor Carlos (our facilities guy) was pleading for someone to stop this as the hallway was getting torn up from chairs and body parts slamming into it.
yeah... probably wasn’t the best idea. but it was memorable!!!
afterward, we went across the street and watched “Napoleon Dynamite” in The Box.
not sure why.
so, all-in-all, Staff Day Away wasn’t away and wasn’t what we’d hoped for. i forgot what Janet and i learned in India... keep your expectations low and you won’t be let down. :-)
oh... and later, Stacy and i went and test drove an M3 for fun. it was pretty awesome!
it was Staff Day Away.
every year, the staff gets a fun day away in the fall as a sort of kick off for the next ministry year. it’s a RH tradition that last year had the staff running all over Orange County on a scavenger hunt that ended with a boat ride in Newport Harbor. that was before i was on staff. so, i’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.
well... whenever you look forward to something like that, you’re bound to be let down one way or another. Michelle tried to warn us ahead of time, but we didn’t really listen. you see, our staff day away, really wasn’t.
we showed up in the morning and were told that we would be meeting with our sabbatical groups to catch up and spend some time together. not quite what i had in mind, but i thought “well, we’ll do this and then the fun will start, i’m sure.”
so, our group went to this little place called “Milk and Honey” and hung out.
it was nice to catch up with Laura and Andrew and i’m glad we got the chance to do that since our sabbaticals were so long ago. but as our hour came to a close, we rushed back to RH with anticipation for what would be next.
next was sharing time. reflecting on the past year. reflecting on our sabbaticals. reflecting on our ministries.
again... not what we were expecting.
the Taco Man came for lunch, which everyone seemed pretty excited about. (even though i’m not a huge Mexican food fan, i did enjoy the Taco Man.)
after lunch, we were told to get into our sabbatical groups for a little contest. ROCKHARBOR has a tradition (usually at Christmas) where they play Human Shuffleboard on office chairs in the hallway. this was another tradition i’d been looking forward to participating in. turns out, today would be my chance!
however, as Erre began to announce the game, he also announced some changes in the rules. usually, no one is allowed to touch the walls under any circumstances. if you do, you’re disqualified. this means that if you get near a wall, you have to stop yourself so that you can at least keep your distance. furthermore, they would normally line the walls of hall with people to ensure that nobody would go crashing into a wall. not this year though.
this year, Erre and Todd decided (as they were announcing this, i think) that you would be disqualified if you stopped yourself in any way. if you put out an arm or leg to stop yourself from hitting a wall, you were out. everybody thought something didn’t sound right about this, but we went along with it anyway.
i grabbed my chair and my team nominated me to ride down the hallway. we were fourth to go. we were also the first injury.
as i was hurled down the hallway at breakneck speeds, things were going pretty well. i was traveling quickly and in a straight line. as i began to approach The Commons, things changed. i began to veer to the left.... straight toward an outward sticking corner where Angelina had stopped before me. i was sitting cross-legged on the chair and my knees were sticking out just a bit. there was nothing i could do.
i crashed HARD into the corner and banged up my upper-shin pretty good. in fact, i’m not sure i’ve ever been in that kind of pain before. the wall’s corner was reinforced with metal and my shin indented in by about an inch. there was blood. there was pain. and i was laughing harder than i’ve laughed in a long time. (it was a bit confusing!)
did this stop the game? of course not! and being that i was 4th out of 11 (i think) i got to sit in the hallway as others came hurtling toward me, blood dripping down my leg and all. at one point, Amy Burdick was flying toward me. at the last second, Stacy (who apparently didn’t want to see me injured any further) pulled me out of the way. unfortunately, i was the only thing in between Burdick and the win. she went almost all the way to the main entrance doors and won the whole thing.
the pictures don’t do it justice. the wound is much worse than it looks. you can’t hear 1/2 of the people excited about the game and the other 1/2 pleading for someone to stop it all so that there wouldn’t be any more injuries. (i wasn’t the only one. turns out Tracy Close broke her thumb and will need a cast and surgery and others got slammed into as they sat like lame ducks in the hallway.) poor Carlos (our facilities guy) was pleading for someone to stop this as the hallway was getting torn up from chairs and body parts slamming into it.
yeah... probably wasn’t the best idea. but it was memorable!!!
afterward, we went across the street and watched “Napoleon Dynamite” in The Box.
not sure why.
so, all-in-all, Staff Day Away wasn’t away and wasn’t what we’d hoped for. i forgot what Janet and i learned in India... keep your expectations low and you won’t be let down. :-)
oh... and later, Stacy and i went and test drove an M3 for fun. it was pretty awesome!
"is that Ruby?"
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
today, the Families Team took me to lunch at Pei Wei
for my birthday. it was crazy trying to get 18 people
sitting together in there, but somehow, we made it
happen! unfortunately, there were no pictures to
document this feat.
however... as we were leaving, i saw this poster for a place called “Wonderland Bakery.” there’s a little girl on the poster and i said “wow... she looks a lot like Ruby!” (Debbie Guinn’s granddaughter.) this led to a bit of a disagreement as some believed Ruby to be MUCH cuter than this girl in the poster. we ended up going into the bakery and someone decided to ask the girl behind the counter what the girl in the poster’s name is. “Ruby,” was the answer!
who knew???
however... as we were leaving, i saw this poster for a place called “Wonderland Bakery.” there’s a little girl on the poster and i said “wow... she looks a lot like Ruby!” (Debbie Guinn’s granddaughter.) this led to a bit of a disagreement as some believed Ruby to be MUCH cuter than this girl in the poster. we ended up going into the bakery and someone decided to ask the girl behind the counter what the girl in the poster’s name is. “Ruby,” was the answer!
who knew???
"second week on the job"
Monday, September 15, 2008
"one last birthday celebration (or a good ending to a sad weekend)"
Sunday, September 14, 2008
i didn’t take any
pictures yesterday at the memorial service because...
i guess i was a little distracted and forgot.
today, everyone came over and had dinner and hung out for Brett, Lisa and my birthdays. it was fun to do that with Jody here and everything. it was like old times and was comforting.
today, everyone came over and had dinner and hung out for Brett, Lisa and my birthdays. it was fun to do that with Jody here and everything. it was like old times and was comforting.
"saying goodbye... part one"
Friday, September 12, 2008
today’s word was
supposed to be “test.” we were going to still try to
work it in to the day to create a brighter spot, but
Stacy got called in to work (which caused untold
chaos with the family anyway) and so we didn’t get to
do that.
this morning was the graveside service for grandma. mom and dad had asked me to do the service. it was just us so it was a little odd. but with our family, it was, of course, interesting! :-)
Stacy, Megan and i got there before everyone else. Aunt Pam showed up next and my parents, Meri, Martha and Virginia were about 10 minutes late. so, as they walked up, Stacy, Megan, and Pam stood in a line while i held up my Bible and pretended to be finishing the service. as they got closer, i said “amen!” and we all started walking away. we all laughed a bit and then we had to do the service.
i talked about how for us, this was the beginning of a weekend of celebrating who Grandma was to us. i read some verses and we said goodbye. it was short and to the point.
after, we all went to Mimi’s for lunch. later, i picked up Jody up from the airport and we all went up to my parent’s to hang out with the fam, the Corks and the Chandlers. it was exactly what we needed to celebrate who Grandma was.
tomorrow is the memorial service at the house.
here’s the puzzle clue for today that we didnt’ get to do yet.
this morning was the graveside service for grandma. mom and dad had asked me to do the service. it was just us so it was a little odd. but with our family, it was, of course, interesting! :-)
Stacy, Megan and i got there before everyone else. Aunt Pam showed up next and my parents, Meri, Martha and Virginia were about 10 minutes late. so, as they walked up, Stacy, Megan, and Pam stood in a line while i held up my Bible and pretended to be finishing the service. as they got closer, i said “amen!” and we all started walking away. we all laughed a bit and then we had to do the service.
i talked about how for us, this was the beginning of a weekend of celebrating who Grandma was to us. i read some verses and we said goodbye. it was short and to the point.
after, we all went to Mimi’s for lunch. later, i picked up Jody up from the airport and we all went up to my parent’s to hang out with the fam, the Corks and the Chandlers. it was exactly what we needed to celebrate who Grandma was.
tomorrow is the memorial service at the house.
here’s the puzzle clue for today that we didnt’ get to do yet.
"relax"
Thursday, September 11, 2008
word of the day ::
“relax”
i had to do a video shoot for Michael at Biola today, so Stacy came up and picked me up there when i was done. she wouldn’t tell me where we were going, but she said it fit in with the theme of “relax.”
we drove for a while and pulled up at this small strip mall in San Gabriel. at first i was a bit confused... and then i saw it. the sign for a Chinese Foot Massage place. i freakin’ love foot massages!
and this place only cost $15 for an hour! they soak your feet in tea water for a half hour (whilst they massage your back, arms, shoulders and scalp) and then massage your feet for a half hour. yeah... it was pretty amazing. and all for $15!!!!
unfortunately, it was so relaxing that we forgot to take pictures of the place. (crap!)
anyway, when we got back tonight, Stacy made me try on the Biola sweatshirt she got me on Monday. i hung my head in shame for betraying Pepperdine and allowed her to take a picture.
i had to do a video shoot for Michael at Biola today, so Stacy came up and picked me up there when i was done. she wouldn’t tell me where we were going, but she said it fit in with the theme of “relax.”
we drove for a while and pulled up at this small strip mall in San Gabriel. at first i was a bit confused... and then i saw it. the sign for a Chinese Foot Massage place. i freakin’ love foot massages!
and this place only cost $15 for an hour! they soak your feet in tea water for a half hour (whilst they massage your back, arms, shoulders and scalp) and then massage your feet for a half hour. yeah... it was pretty amazing. and all for $15!!!!
unfortunately, it was so relaxing that we forgot to take pictures of the place. (crap!)
anyway, when we got back tonight, Stacy made me try on the Biola sweatshirt she got me on Monday. i hung my head in shame for betraying Pepperdine and allowed her to take a picture.
"simple"
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
today’s word was
“simple.” it was a relaxing day and Stacy gave me a
picture frame.
aside from this week being my birthday week, at ROCKHARBOR it’s also been what we’ve been calling “seek week.” you see, this weekend we’re launching the new “awakening” vision for the next year. but a few weeks ago, Todd felt like God was saying that we needed to really hand the new vision over to Him in prayer. so, he and the Strat Team called for a week of prayer. everyone on staff was asked to do the bare minimum this week as far as work is concerned. prayer meetings were called every day at 6 am, noon and 7 pm. the entire community was invited to the prayer meetings. also, we had people in The Centre all day every day for anyone who needed prayer.
to be honest, i didn’t think people were going to get into it. i couldn’t have been more wrong. i haven’t made it to any of the 6 am meetings, but the noon meetings have had a couple hundred people at them (people coming on their lunch breaks) and the evening meetings have all had around 1,000 people! it’s been pretty amazing. and we’ve seen some pretty amazing stuff.
tonight was the highlight of the week (so far) for me. the theme of tonight was prayer for our families. Michelle and Roger led a time of directed prayer for the families of our nation, community and church. but the best was when Michelle led the parents in a time of praying blessings over their children. parents all over the room were looking their children in the eyes, telling them how much they loved them and praying for them. it was incredible.
i prayed with one family where the mom was looking her 9 year old in the eyes and telling her she loved her and praying over her. as she finished, her seven year old daughter (who was adopted from Iran last year) looked at her mom and said “mommy, bless me... bless me now!” the mom was crying. the daughters experienced the love of their mother and the love of God. and this was happening with dozens of families all over The Centre.
one thing that happens quite often with our Families team is that was have to “afterglow” (as Michelle calls it). basically, it just means that when we have an event or a cool experience, our team just feels the need to sit around and talk about it and revel in the greatness of the moment. tonight, some of us decided to do this at Norm’s. so, we all headed down to Norm’s and had some late night greasy food and laughed a lot.
it was perfect.
it was simple.
oh... and for some reason, as we were leaving, there were two middle-aged men playing football in the parking lot of Norm’s at 1.00 am. weird.
aside from this week being my birthday week, at ROCKHARBOR it’s also been what we’ve been calling “seek week.” you see, this weekend we’re launching the new “awakening” vision for the next year. but a few weeks ago, Todd felt like God was saying that we needed to really hand the new vision over to Him in prayer. so, he and the Strat Team called for a week of prayer. everyone on staff was asked to do the bare minimum this week as far as work is concerned. prayer meetings were called every day at 6 am, noon and 7 pm. the entire community was invited to the prayer meetings. also, we had people in The Centre all day every day for anyone who needed prayer.
to be honest, i didn’t think people were going to get into it. i couldn’t have been more wrong. i haven’t made it to any of the 6 am meetings, but the noon meetings have had a couple hundred people at them (people coming on their lunch breaks) and the evening meetings have all had around 1,000 people! it’s been pretty amazing. and we’ve seen some pretty amazing stuff.
tonight was the highlight of the week (so far) for me. the theme of tonight was prayer for our families. Michelle and Roger led a time of directed prayer for the families of our nation, community and church. but the best was when Michelle led the parents in a time of praying blessings over their children. parents all over the room were looking their children in the eyes, telling them how much they loved them and praying for them. it was incredible.
i prayed with one family where the mom was looking her 9 year old in the eyes and telling her she loved her and praying over her. as she finished, her seven year old daughter (who was adopted from Iran last year) looked at her mom and said “mommy, bless me... bless me now!” the mom was crying. the daughters experienced the love of their mother and the love of God. and this was happening with dozens of families all over The Centre.
one thing that happens quite often with our Families team is that was have to “afterglow” (as Michelle calls it). basically, it just means that when we have an event or a cool experience, our team just feels the need to sit around and talk about it and revel in the greatness of the moment. tonight, some of us decided to do this at Norm’s. so, we all headed down to Norm’s and had some late night greasy food and laughed a lot.
it was perfect.
it was simple.
oh... and for some reason, as we were leaving, there were two middle-aged men playing football in the parking lot of Norm’s at 1.00 am. weird.
"memories"
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
today was my
birthday... 30 years! holy old.
today’s word was “memories” and this was the puzzle i got...
when i got to work, she’d decorated my workspace. as you probably know, i have been collecting the Mountain Dew Green Label Art bottles. Stacy passed out cans of Dew to a bunch of people in the office and asked them to decorate them and creat our own ROCKHARBOR Label Art collection. it was a pretty cool idea and i got some fairly creative entries.
after work, we got in Stacy’s car and drove for a while not knowing where we were going. in the end, we found ourselves in Santa Monica where we met Megan for dinner at Houston’s on 3rd Street. i’d never been there before, so i was pretty excited. (and the food was excellent!)
after dinner, we walked around 3rd Street and saw the coolest dog tricks i’ve ever seen. (check out the Jack Russell on the skateboard!)
while we were walking around 3rd Street, i got a text from Katie saying “Happy Birthday.” when i texted back that we were here, she asked if she and Alec could come and see us. i said, “of course!” and so we got to hang out with them too!
all-in-all... an excellent birthday!
today’s word was “memories” and this was the puzzle i got...
when i got to work, she’d decorated my workspace. as you probably know, i have been collecting the Mountain Dew Green Label Art bottles. Stacy passed out cans of Dew to a bunch of people in the office and asked them to decorate them and creat our own ROCKHARBOR Label Art collection. it was a pretty cool idea and i got some fairly creative entries.
after work, we got in Stacy’s car and drove for a while not knowing where we were going. in the end, we found ourselves in Santa Monica where we met Megan for dinner at Houston’s on 3rd Street. i’d never been there before, so i was pretty excited. (and the food was excellent!)
after dinner, we walked around 3rd Street and saw the coolest dog tricks i’ve ever seen. (check out the Jack Russell on the skateboard!)
while we were walking around 3rd Street, i got a text from Katie saying “Happy Birthday.” when i texted back that we were here, she asked if she and Alec could come and see us. i said, “of course!” and so we got to hang out with them too!
all-in-all... an excellent birthday!
"starting new"
Monday, September 08, 2008
first, i weighed in
this morning.
today’s words from Stacy were “Starting New.” i found this puzzle in my car. at the front desk was a Biola Sweatshirt as today was my first day teaching at Biola University.
i’m teaching two classes at Biola this semester. the first is an internship class and the second is an evangelism and discipleship class. today was my first day and it was pretty freakin’ awesome!
today’s words from Stacy were “Starting New.” i found this puzzle in my car. at the front desk was a Biola Sweatshirt as today was my first day teaching at Biola University.
i’m teaching two classes at Biola this semester. the first is an internship class and the second is an evangelism and discipleship class. today was my first day and it was pretty freakin’ awesome!
"starting bad and ending well"
Sunday, September 07, 2008
i woke up this morning
to the ringing of my phone. before i answered,
somehow i just knew...
Grandma Jeanne had passed away.
now, it’s not like we didn’t see it coming... we did. in fact, over the past few years, we’d gotten used to being told “she’s only got a day or two left,” but then she’d always make some miraculous recovery and be home in a day or two.
fortunately, this wasn’t like any of those times. there was no traumatic episode or rush to the hospital. she simply went peacefully in the night.
after i got the news, i still had to go and work at church. after church, i was supposed to go sailing with Michael Anthony, Kit and Tommy. however, given the events of the day, i headed up to the house to be with my family. we spent the afternoon eating (a lot) and talking and laughing. it was good to be together.
Stacy stayed home today because she had planned something for tonight to kick off my birthday week. when i got back to my place around 5.30, she was in the kitchen preparing a dinner for me. i took a quick nap and when i got up she had finished cooking. but then things got a little weird.
dinner was ready, but she just kept talking instead of serving the food. then the doorbell rang. it was Tommy. he said that he was driving back from the marina (they went sailing without me) and had a birthday present he wanted to drop off. (a signed copy of his old Basix cd... best present ever!) he gave it to me... we laughed... he said he didn’t want to interrupt our “romantic dinner”... and then he kept talking. then the doorbell rang again. it was Timmy.
i knew that Timmy had taken my place on the sailing trip and so, i assumed that he must have been parking the car or waiting in the car for Tommy and had gotten sick of waiting. but as we’re talking, Stacy reaches into a cabinet and pulls out a whole bowl of popcorn. this confused me a bit. just then, the front door opened again and in came more people. it was a reverse surprise party! (very creative)
the title of the party was “the one where matt turns 30” (just like the “Friends” episode) and was mostly like a kid’s birthday party. we had hats, toys and even a piñata! it was pretty awesome.
at the end of the night, Stacy gave me a gift that it took me a while to understand. (i’m slow like that.) it was a series of picture frames each with a word for each day of the coming week. these were to be hints of what that day would hold. the words were “surprise” (for today), “starting new,” “memories,” “simple,” “relax,” and “test.” i’m excited to see what she’s got planned!
here are the pictures from the party...
Grandma Jeanne had passed away.
now, it’s not like we didn’t see it coming... we did. in fact, over the past few years, we’d gotten used to being told “she’s only got a day or two left,” but then she’d always make some miraculous recovery and be home in a day or two.
fortunately, this wasn’t like any of those times. there was no traumatic episode or rush to the hospital. she simply went peacefully in the night.
after i got the news, i still had to go and work at church. after church, i was supposed to go sailing with Michael Anthony, Kit and Tommy. however, given the events of the day, i headed up to the house to be with my family. we spent the afternoon eating (a lot) and talking and laughing. it was good to be together.
Stacy stayed home today because she had planned something for tonight to kick off my birthday week. when i got back to my place around 5.30, she was in the kitchen preparing a dinner for me. i took a quick nap and when i got up she had finished cooking. but then things got a little weird.
dinner was ready, but she just kept talking instead of serving the food. then the doorbell rang. it was Tommy. he said that he was driving back from the marina (they went sailing without me) and had a birthday present he wanted to drop off. (a signed copy of his old Basix cd... best present ever!) he gave it to me... we laughed... he said he didn’t want to interrupt our “romantic dinner”... and then he kept talking. then the doorbell rang again. it was Timmy.
i knew that Timmy had taken my place on the sailing trip and so, i assumed that he must have been parking the car or waiting in the car for Tommy and had gotten sick of waiting. but as we’re talking, Stacy reaches into a cabinet and pulls out a whole bowl of popcorn. this confused me a bit. just then, the front door opened again and in came more people. it was a reverse surprise party! (very creative)
the title of the party was “the one where matt turns 30” (just like the “Friends” episode) and was mostly like a kid’s birthday party. we had hats, toys and even a piñata! it was pretty awesome.
at the end of the night, Stacy gave me a gift that it took me a while to understand. (i’m slow like that.) it was a series of picture frames each with a word for each day of the coming week. these were to be hints of what that day would hold. the words were “surprise” (for today), “starting new,” “memories,” “simple,” “relax,” and “test.” i’m excited to see what she’s got planned!
here are the pictures from the party...
"stacy's back..."
Saturday, September 06, 2008
"a new photo"
Friday, September 05, 2008
as you probably know, i
edit our Family Time Curriculum at
ROCKHARBOR.
as i was doing this month’s edition, i realized that
the picture of me that we’ve been using in it was
from my pre-weight watchers days. it was time for a
new headshot for a thinner matt. this is it. (though
in the curriculum it’s cropped down to just a
headshot.)
also, today i accepted a job as an editor/writer for David C. Cook on the project between ROCKHARBOR and Cook. so, now i have three jobs! crazy!
also, today i accepted a job as an editor/writer for David C. Cook on the project between ROCKHARBOR and Cook. so, now i have three jobs! crazy!
"a night at home with Rambo"
Thursday, September 04, 2008
"another birthday celebration and a sleepover"
Monday, September 01, 2008
"a birthday bash and a tour of the 3000 building"
Sunday, August 31, 2008
"construction update and my video library"
Saturday, August 30, 2008
it’s been a while since i’ve shown you all the
progress on the construction downstairs. it’s all
coming along pretty amazingly. almost done actually!
also, you may (or may not) be aware of my movie collecting fetish. the closet of my guest bedroom/office is pretty much my video library and it needed to be sorted a bit today.
also, you may (or may not) be aware of my movie collecting fetish. the closet of my guest bedroom/office is pretty much my video library and it needed to be sorted a bit today.
"RA with Kirscher and Wii Fit with Stacy"
Friday, August 29, 2008
tonight, Kirsch came
down and went to dinner with us at RA. i love that
place! (sushi and Mountain Dew™... great combo!)
then, Stacy and i went back and had a little Wii Fit workout. (i’m not very good at the heading soccer balls game... but i’m really good at the hoola-hoop game. and that’s a little weird because in reality, i can’t hoola-hoop to save my life.)
then, Stacy and i went back and had a little Wii Fit workout. (i’m not very good at the heading soccer balls game... but i’m really good at the hoola-hoop game. and that’s a little weird because in reality, i can’t hoola-hoop to save my life.)
"dinner with Nani and my parents at Islands"
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
tonight, we took
Leilani from Erin so she could have one night with
one kid and get a little break. i picked her up and
met everyone at Islands for dinner. she was so
freakin’ cute! we were singing songs in the car
together based on the names of people that she can
say and she was trying to read to me from some
picture book she had in the back seat.
at dinner, as you’ll see, my dad tried on my sunglasses. i’m not sure why.
at dinner, as you’ll see, my dad tried on my sunglasses. i’m not sure why.
"Disneyland disappointments and 31 sized jeans"
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
we really wanted to go
on the new Toy Story ride at DCA tonight... but by
the time we go there, DCA was closed. very
disappointing.
we started to wait in line for Space Mountain, but it was ridiculously long and slow so we bailed, hit up Astro Blasters and went shopping.
i bought a new pair of jeans at Quiksilver. they were 32s which is pretty amazing. but the crazier thing is, i fit into the 31s! however, they weren’t really practical as they were cutting off the blood supply to my legs. but i got in them and i got them buttoned and everything!
we started to wait in line for Space Mountain, but it was ridiculously long and slow so we bailed, hit up Astro Blasters and went shopping.
i bought a new pair of jeans at Quiksilver. they were 32s which is pretty amazing. but the crazier thing is, i fit into the 31s! however, they weren’t really practical as they were cutting off the blood supply to my legs. but i got in them and i got them buttoned and everything!
"weighing in and visiting Ted"
Monday, August 25, 2008
if you know me, you
know that i do two things every week.
i weigh-in as part of my weight watchers experiment...
and i go to counseling with Ted. people sometimes ask me, “what does Ted look like?” well, today we were doing some scheduling for the coming month and i had my phone out so that i could check my calendar and i snuck a quick shot of Ted. shhh... don’t tell!
i weigh-in as part of my weight watchers experiment...
and i go to counseling with Ted. people sometimes ask me, “what does Ted look like?” well, today we were doing some scheduling for the coming month and i had my phone out so that i could check my calendar and i snuck a quick shot of Ted. shhh... don’t tell!
"on stage with Stacy"
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Stacy was teaching in
Studio K today. she had the kids drawing the story as
she told it. it was pretty cool. i took some pics.
these are the celebrate stations i designed this summer. we have them in every area of family ministries. the idea is, when God’s been doing something that you want to celebrate, you grab a rock out of the basket on the side, write something on the rock and place it on top of the station. it’s been really cool to see our families doing this together.
oh... and the Joker got Stacy.
these are the celebrate stations i designed this summer. we have them in every area of family ministries. the idea is, when God’s been doing something that you want to celebrate, you grab a rock out of the basket on the side, write something on the rock and place it on top of the station. it’s been really cool to see our families doing this together.
oh... and the Joker got Stacy.
"the annual YLFC car show"
Saturday, August 23, 2008
there was something
that, for some odd reason, drew me back to the car
show this year. i don’t know if it’s because i
planned it one year or i’ve been going for several
years now, but for some reason, it’s the one Friends
event i keep going back to. fortunately, i’ve been
lucky and have only been running into people that i
wanted to see. (yes... there are those that i’d
rather not see.)
anyway, it ended up being a really fun night and i got to hang out with Letty and Savana a bit more. plus, i got to see Stuart, Jay, Victoria, Tori, Kaysie, the Service Team, Sabrina, Bri, the Hambright’s, the Haines’, the Lockard’s and a bunch of other people i don’t get to see enough of anymore.
anyway, it ended up being a really fun night and i got to hang out with Letty and Savana a bit more. plus, i got to see Stuart, Jay, Victoria, Tori, Kaysie, the Service Team, Sabrina, Bri, the Hambright’s, the Haines’, the Lockard’s and a bunch of other people i don’t get to see enough of anymore.
"naps, nose rings and birthdays"
Friday, August 22, 2008
so, since we were
celebrating my dad and sister’s birthdays today (even
though their birthdays are on Sunday), we decided
we’d get my dad something that he keeps saying he
wants. see, he always makes fun of Stacy’s nose ring
and jokes that my mom should get one. so we got her a
fake one. (i tried it on too.)
he laughed, though not as much as i’d hoped for.
he laughed, though not as much as i’d hoped for.
"last days and helium sticks"
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
so, as you may or may
not know, i’m going to be teaching a few classes at
Biola in the fall. of course, the irony of this is
not lost on anyone who knows me and knows that i’ve
always made fun of Biola. but there are two reasons
that i’ve decided to do this.
first, i’ve been asked to help change some of the very things i’ve made fun of. (not all of them... but some of them.)
second, the classes that i’m teaching are in areas that i’ve been personally exploring. the first class is an Evangelism and Discipleship class where we’re going to look at what it even means to be a Christian and what kind of response we can have to a God who loves us the way He does. of course, this relates directly to my blog from last month (“my significant insignificance and maybe too much information”).
anyway, the reason i bring this up is that it became the subject of our entire retreat here. i got to test out some of my ideas and thoughts on these kids and they loved it and we had some great conversations. i’m excited to get into the classroom and give this stuff a go. it’ll be cool because we’ll all be on a journey together discovering the same things instead of my simply standing and lecturing and giving the “right answers.”
today was the last day of the retreat here and we looked at ourselves in the context of history and God’s big story. it was a great sendoff for all of us. but before we go, we had to complete the annual tradition of playing Helium Stick.
if you don’t know what Helium Stick is, you have to try it some time. get some thin bamboo sticks (you can get a bag of 5 at Home Depot for like a buck) and have 4-6 people get in a group. hold the stick out at about shoulder level and have them gather on both sides. they can use one finger (their pointer) which must be facing up with the stick laying on top of it and must be straight out (not crooked). the group has to lower the stick to the ground without letting anyone’s fingers come off the stick at any point. if someone’s finger comes off even for a second, the group must start over.
lower a stick to the ground together. sounds easy! ha ha. sadly, nobody succeeded this year.
first, i’ve been asked to help change some of the very things i’ve made fun of. (not all of them... but some of them.)
second, the classes that i’m teaching are in areas that i’ve been personally exploring. the first class is an Evangelism and Discipleship class where we’re going to look at what it even means to be a Christian and what kind of response we can have to a God who loves us the way He does. of course, this relates directly to my blog from last month (“my significant insignificance and maybe too much information”).
anyway, the reason i bring this up is that it became the subject of our entire retreat here. i got to test out some of my ideas and thoughts on these kids and they loved it and we had some great conversations. i’m excited to get into the classroom and give this stuff a go. it’ll be cool because we’ll all be on a journey together discovering the same things instead of my simply standing and lecturing and giving the “right answers.”
today was the last day of the retreat here and we looked at ourselves in the context of history and God’s big story. it was a great sendoff for all of us. but before we go, we had to complete the annual tradition of playing Helium Stick.
if you don’t know what Helium Stick is, you have to try it some time. get some thin bamboo sticks (you can get a bag of 5 at Home Depot for like a buck) and have 4-6 people get in a group. hold the stick out at about shoulder level and have them gather on both sides. they can use one finger (their pointer) which must be facing up with the stick laying on top of it and must be straight out (not crooked). the group has to lower the stick to the ground without letting anyone’s fingers come off the stick at any point. if someone’s finger comes off even for a second, the group must start over.
lower a stick to the ground together. sounds easy! ha ha. sadly, nobody succeeded this year.
"talent show?"
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
"going back to Ari"
Sunday, August 17, 2008
"a new store and a new building"
Saturday, August 16, 2008
while we were in
Havasu, the Urban Ranch Market
opened downstairs
and they began giving tours of the new tower that
was just finished. (it has the first rooftop pool
in Orange County.)
okay, so it has the first rooftop pool. it’s small and disappointing but has a nice view. and the market is a great idea, but it’s all organic and fancy and doesn’t really have stuff that i would want (including Mountain Dew).
okay, so it has the first rooftop pool. it’s small and disappointing but has a nice view. and the market is a great idea, but it’s all organic and fancy and doesn’t really have stuff that i would want (including Mountain Dew).
"in the land of hot dirt"
Thursday, August 14, 2008
we have decided that
the state motto for Arizona should be “Arizona... the
land of hot dirt.”
what do you think? catchy huh?
anyway... we’re here in Havasu for a couple of days. i’m doing the annual Service Team Leadership Retreat up here next week and wanted to come up here and get things ready. (also, i wanted to play on the sweet new Sea-Doos.)
this morning, i was hungry and wanted an Uncrustable sandwich. i didn’t, however, want to wait 20-30 minutes for the thing to defrost. fortunately, when it’s 110 degrees outside, 3 minutes on the driveway will do it!
we had to apply the identification numbers to the Sea Doos before we could take them out. Alex did the ones in the first picture and i did the ones in the second. i think mine look better, but he disagrees.
it may be hot dirt... but it is beautiful hot dirt sometimes.
tonight, we went to Mudsharks for dinner and then discovered something new in Havasu. a few months ago, the WalMart here shut down. now, i hate WalMart. i hate it with a passion. it’s trashy and dirty and.... i just don’t like it. anyway, when the WalMart shut down it was because they were opening a WalMart SuperCenter down the road. tonight, we dropped by and i was a little surprised to find that it’s freaking amazing!!! of course, it’s brand new and a year from now it will probably be crap, but this place is nice and huge and has everything.
while we were at WalMart... i found that someone figured out how to bottle me!
what do you think? catchy huh?
anyway... we’re here in Havasu for a couple of days. i’m doing the annual Service Team Leadership Retreat up here next week and wanted to come up here and get things ready. (also, i wanted to play on the sweet new Sea-Doos.)
this morning, i was hungry and wanted an Uncrustable sandwich. i didn’t, however, want to wait 20-30 minutes for the thing to defrost. fortunately, when it’s 110 degrees outside, 3 minutes on the driveway will do it!
we had to apply the identification numbers to the Sea Doos before we could take them out. Alex did the ones in the first picture and i did the ones in the second. i think mine look better, but he disagrees.
it may be hot dirt... but it is beautiful hot dirt sometimes.
tonight, we went to Mudsharks for dinner and then discovered something new in Havasu. a few months ago, the WalMart here shut down. now, i hate WalMart. i hate it with a passion. it’s trashy and dirty and.... i just don’t like it. anyway, when the WalMart shut down it was because they were opening a WalMart SuperCenter down the road. tonight, we dropped by and i was a little surprised to find that it’s freaking amazing!!! of course, it’s brand new and a year from now it will probably be crap, but this place is nice and huge and has everything.
while we were at WalMart... i found that someone figured out how to bottle me!
"visiting the cousins"
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
"comic books and the end of the world"
Monday, August 11, 2008
so, Phil Hotsenpiller
and Rob Liefeld have been working on their graphic
novel about the end of the world. today, i spent a
few hours proofing it.
check it out at www.armageddonnow.net
check it out at www.armageddonnow.net
"weigh-in and game night"
Monday, August 11, 2008
"a baby shower at my house?"
Sunday, August 10, 2008
yeah... i’m not sure
either. somehow, Cori Cook ended up being in charge
of throwing Brandi a baby shower and somehow that
shower ended up at my house today.
i let them in, took some pictures (to document the odd, ridiculousness of the event) and got the hell out before the thing started.
note to self... no more baby showers at The H.
i let them in, took some pictures (to document the odd, ridiculousness of the event) and got the hell out before the thing started.
note to self... no more baby showers at The H.
"kids, scout and RA"
Friday, August 08, 2008
"and today we head home"
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
"Cheeseburgers for the last night"
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
"breakfast at Castaways, a walk to the Whaler and dinner at Outback"
Sunday, August 03, 2008
"the day we've been waiting for for 23 years!"
Saturday, August 02, 2008
it’s true. i saw it for
myself with my very own eyes. it happened.
Megan is working.
no... seriously. like a real job.
tonight we went to Leilani’s and Megan was our waitress. just imagine the fun we had bossing her around. (and she didn’t even spill anything!)
Stephanie works there too.
Ashley is clearly outraged by the sub-par service we’re receiving.
Megan is working.
no... seriously. like a real job.
tonight we went to Leilani’s and Megan was our waitress. just imagine the fun we had bossing her around. (and she didn’t even spill anything!)
Stephanie works there too.
Ashley is clearly outraged by the sub-par service we’re receiving.
"i wish the food was as good as the view"
Friday, August 01, 2008
we tried a new
restaurant tonight. amazing view and beautiful place!
too bad the food was really expensive and not very
good. (i think that’s how they cover the cost of the
real estate.) oh... and our old friend Charly
(Megan’s friend who was a student when i was teaching
at Lutheran High) came to stay for a few days.
there’s a good one!
there’s a good one!
"Whaler construction and dinner at Kimo's"
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
"weighing in and i hate United Airlines!"
Monday, July 28, 2008
first things first...
so, a few months back, my favorite airline for flying to Maui went out of business. because of this, i was forced to find a new one and ended up on United out of LAX. this was a mistake.
first, they have a 45 minute before boarding check-in policy and i missed it by two minutes because i had been waiting in their ridiculously long lines for 40 minutes. not only would they not let me on, but they were incredibly rude to me about it.
second, when i talked to the United rep on the phone a few days ago, he told me that i needed to be “as close to 50 lbs. as possible” with my luggage. apparently my bag was 56 lbs. and so they charged me $100 and basically told me i was stupid. when i told them what the man on the phone had said, the lady called me a liar. awesome.
anyway, after dealing with all of that, i finally got to get on the next plane and deal with their equally rude flight attendants.
i hate United. i will NEVER be using them again. (you shouldn’t either.)
at least i had a really cute and funny two year old sitting next to me on the flight. he was either talking to me or sleeping the whole time and he never cried once. the perfect child. (of course, he did crap himself while he slept and mom didn’t want to wake him up so i got to deal with that smell for an hour or so, but it was already a pretty crappy flight so what was a little more?)
oh, by the way... gas in Hawaii... mucho expensivo.
so, a few months back, my favorite airline for flying to Maui went out of business. because of this, i was forced to find a new one and ended up on United out of LAX. this was a mistake.
first, they have a 45 minute before boarding check-in policy and i missed it by two minutes because i had been waiting in their ridiculously long lines for 40 minutes. not only would they not let me on, but they were incredibly rude to me about it.
second, when i talked to the United rep on the phone a few days ago, he told me that i needed to be “as close to 50 lbs. as possible” with my luggage. apparently my bag was 56 lbs. and so they charged me $100 and basically told me i was stupid. when i told them what the man on the phone had said, the lady called me a liar. awesome.
anyway, after dealing with all of that, i finally got to get on the next plane and deal with their equally rude flight attendants.
i hate United. i will NEVER be using them again. (you shouldn’t either.)
at least i had a really cute and funny two year old sitting next to me on the flight. he was either talking to me or sleeping the whole time and he never cried once. the perfect child. (of course, he did crap himself while he slept and mom didn’t want to wake him up so i got to deal with that smell for an hour or so, but it was already a pretty crappy flight so what was a little more?)
oh, by the way... gas in Hawaii... mucho expensivo.
"autistic kids, goodbye lunches and the cutest three year old ever"
Sunday, July 27, 2008
we had an autistic four
year old at church today who could read and write
better than most second graders! it was pretty
impressive. and then he used the magnets to spell the
word “gay” and went around yelling it. we’re not sure
why. eventually, i convinced him to spell something
else and he changed “gay” into “guys.” i don’t think
he put the two words together in his mind.
after church, we had a goodbye lunch for one of our interns, Brianna. sad to say goodbye... good to eat at Haus of Pizza!
finally, it was off to Lori Root’s house for a get-together with our old (and soon to be returning to Orange County) friend, Debbie Guinn. her grand daughter, Ruby was there and she is ADORABLE!
after church, we had a goodbye lunch for one of our interns, Brianna. sad to say goodbye... good to eat at Haus of Pizza!
finally, it was off to Lori Root’s house for a get-together with our old (and soon to be returning to Orange County) friend, Debbie Guinn. her grand daughter, Ruby was there and she is ADORABLE!
"i wanted to believe"
Saturday, July 26, 2008
"new laws and cute kids"
Friday, July 25, 2008
"meetings and a departure"
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
today, we had more
meetings with Janet and Sharron (they’re here to meet
with us for two weeks) and then i had to take Stacy
to the airport to send her off to Romania.
(strangely, we forgot to take pictures of this....
but i took a picture of the terminal on the way out
because i thought of it as i was leaving!)
"the family meets the Cook people"
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
"where a kid can be a kid"
Monday, July 21, 2008
today was Leilani’s
second birthday. well, actually it wasn’t quite yet,
but we went to Chuck E. Cheese’s to celebrate her
upcoming birthday since Stacy will be in Romania.
also, i stopped by Fashion Island today and was shocked to see the the line for the iPhone was still going strong!!! (the people in line were, i’m sure, thrilled that i was taking pictures of them waiting for the very thing i was taking pictures of them with!)
oh yeah... and i weighed in today.
also, i stopped by Fashion Island today and was shocked to see the the line for the iPhone was still going strong!!! (the people in line were, i’m sure, thrilled that i was taking pictures of them waiting for the very thing i was taking pictures of them with!)
oh yeah... and i weighed in today.
"back for more"
Sunday, July 20, 2008
"an early morning and a Dark Knight"
Saturday, July 19, 2008
"the quest... day five! (and a celebration)"
Friday, July 18, 2008
today was the last day
of The Quest VBS. it was awesome!
for those of you who don’t know, VBS (Vacation Bible School) is what churches traditionally do for kids for one week during the summer. pretty much every church in America does it, and we’re no exception. (next year we might be, but that’s another story.) but this year, we decided that VBS needed a little bit of an overhaul.
typically, a VBS will have a variety of stations for kids to go to all within the theme of the week. so, the theme might be something tropical and cliche like “Living in the Son” (did you catch the ever-so-clever play on words there? Christians can be so ridiculously lame sometimes.) and each station (Bible story, crafts, worship, rec, memory verse, etc...) will have something to do with the theme. and... that’s pretty much it. not too exciting.
we decided to take it further. yeah... we have a theme (“The Quest” in case you haven’t been paying attention. it’s sorta a hybrid of “Lost,” “Indiana Jones,” and “The Goonies.”). but the theme isn’t what ties everything together (though it does play out in every area too.) we start each day with a skit (written by Stacy and acted to perfection by myself and my fellow actors). the skit sorta sets up a question or idea for the day in very broad strokes. next, at the Treasure Trove of Truth (Bible Story Station), my character gives the kids a little behind the scenes look at the quest that the skit characters are on. (i do my whole part for that station on video and we tell the kids that i’m video podcasting each night on the island. they love it.) during this time, i reveal the “ancient truth” for that day. (this is like our “bottom line” on the weekends. it’s the one thing we want to make sure they walk away knowing, understanding and remembering.) as soon as they learn the ancient truth, they get a chance to respond to it in a unique way. (some days it might be through worship or prayer or sharing stories... they actually get to decide how they want to respond.) after that, they head to small groups where Erika put together and awesome small group booklet that gives them some things to discuss about applying the ancient truth to their lives. the “Artifact Creation Station” (crafts) lets them create something (usually straight out of the skit) that they can take home to remind them of the ancient truth. the “Station of Mystery” gives them a chance to discover a Bible verse that reinforces the ancient truth. (this station is new and was completely different every day. it was awesome!) admittedly, the games station was pretty much just fun games that didn’t tie in too much. but that’s okay... fun is important too.
anyway, today was awesome because we got to see the kids really responding to what they’d discovered this week. they knew all the ancient truths and some of them even shared stories of how they were applying them to their lives already.
then, to celebrate the past year in the lives of our families, we ended the week with our annual Family Celebrate Experience. we had TK Burger, dancing, etc... and it was awesome. but holy crap... i did a lot of walking today. (i try to get 10,000 steps on a normal day. check out my pedometer for today!)
for those of you who don’t know, VBS (Vacation Bible School) is what churches traditionally do for kids for one week during the summer. pretty much every church in America does it, and we’re no exception. (next year we might be, but that’s another story.) but this year, we decided that VBS needed a little bit of an overhaul.
typically, a VBS will have a variety of stations for kids to go to all within the theme of the week. so, the theme might be something tropical and cliche like “Living in the Son” (did you catch the ever-so-clever play on words there? Christians can be so ridiculously lame sometimes.) and each station (Bible story, crafts, worship, rec, memory verse, etc...) will have something to do with the theme. and... that’s pretty much it. not too exciting.
we decided to take it further. yeah... we have a theme (“The Quest” in case you haven’t been paying attention. it’s sorta a hybrid of “Lost,” “Indiana Jones,” and “The Goonies.”). but the theme isn’t what ties everything together (though it does play out in every area too.) we start each day with a skit (written by Stacy and acted to perfection by myself and my fellow actors). the skit sorta sets up a question or idea for the day in very broad strokes. next, at the Treasure Trove of Truth (Bible Story Station), my character gives the kids a little behind the scenes look at the quest that the skit characters are on. (i do my whole part for that station on video and we tell the kids that i’m video podcasting each night on the island. they love it.) during this time, i reveal the “ancient truth” for that day. (this is like our “bottom line” on the weekends. it’s the one thing we want to make sure they walk away knowing, understanding and remembering.) as soon as they learn the ancient truth, they get a chance to respond to it in a unique way. (some days it might be through worship or prayer or sharing stories... they actually get to decide how they want to respond.) after that, they head to small groups where Erika put together and awesome small group booklet that gives them some things to discuss about applying the ancient truth to their lives. the “Artifact Creation Station” (crafts) lets them create something (usually straight out of the skit) that they can take home to remind them of the ancient truth. the “Station of Mystery” gives them a chance to discover a Bible verse that reinforces the ancient truth. (this station is new and was completely different every day. it was awesome!) admittedly, the games station was pretty much just fun games that didn’t tie in too much. but that’s okay... fun is important too.
anyway, today was awesome because we got to see the kids really responding to what they’d discovered this week. they knew all the ancient truths and some of them even shared stories of how they were applying them to their lives already.
then, to celebrate the past year in the lives of our families, we ended the week with our annual Family Celebrate Experience. we had TK Burger, dancing, etc... and it was awesome. but holy crap... i did a lot of walking today. (i try to get 10,000 steps on a normal day. check out my pedometer for today!)
"the quest... day three!"
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
here’s a group of kids
crossing the street to go to the Artifact Creation
Station (aka- crafts). now, what you don’t see here,
is that right after i took this picture, the kids
noticed me and started to get excited. all of us from
the morning skits became instant celebrities with
these kids. (it was really funny actually.) my
character’s name is Jack, so everywhere i go i hear
“Jack! sign my shirt!” or “Jack! did you really crash
the plane?” or “Jack, let me wear your hat!” it’s
been a lot of fun!
then, tonight we went and had dinner with the kids.
then, tonight we went and had dinner with the kids.
"the quest... day two!"
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
"the quest begins!"
Monday, July 14, 2008
"small chairs and late nights at Denny's™"
Sunday, July 13, 2008
tonight we finished
setting up the Centre for VBS after the last service.
we used these little chairs from the Preschool
Playhouse to mark off the different areas. i like
sitting in them.
afterwards, we were exhausted and we had to be back in just a few short hours. so what did we do? we went to Denny’s™! in hindsight, not the best choice, but it was still fun (even though the service was awful and so was the bacon).
afterwards, we were exhausted and we had to be back in just a few short hours. so what did we do? we went to Denny’s™! in hindsight, not the best choice, but it was still fun (even though the service was awful and so was the bacon).
"a swim with the kiddies and getting my iPhone!"
Saturday, July 12, 2008
"iPhone day... the sequel (and a funny-raiser)"
Friday, July 11, 2008
i went to get my iPhone
3G today (of course i did!). the line was almost as
long as last year, but this year they’re making you
activate in-store and they’re having some real
problems. they let the first people in at 8.00 am and
by 8.45, those people hadn’t left the store and
nobody else had been let it.
so, then i went to the AT&T store and they were already sold out.
tonight was the Team RO “funny-raiser” (a fundraiser featuring an improv comedy group). it was fun!
so, then i went to the AT&T store and they were already sold out.
tonight was the Team RO “funny-raiser” (a fundraiser featuring an improv comedy group). it was fun!
"VBS video shoot"
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
"a new haircut and building a temple"
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
today, i got a new
haircut. but not just another haircut... my stylist
(Laurel) wanted to have some fun, so i let her. she
called it a complete hair makeover. anyway, it’s
totally different for me but i love it!
and then i went over to ROCKHARBOR to check out the set Kit is building for VBS. check out the size of that temple!
and then i went over to ROCKHARBOR to check out the set Kit is building for VBS. check out the size of that temple!
"VBS skit rehearsal"
Sunday, July 06, 2008
"a different kind of 4th"
Friday, July 04, 2008
normally, on the 4th of July, we have our annual
Barnez Family Extravaganza at either my uncle’s house
or my parent’s. however, this year, everyone was out
of town so we had to improvise.
somehow, that meant spaghetti at my parent’s. anyway, afterward we went back to my place to watch the fireworks from my balcony.
somehow, that meant spaghetti at my parent’s. anyway, afterward we went back to my place to watch the fireworks from my balcony.
"a new guitar hero and a trip to the d-land"
Thursday, July 03, 2008
"on the phone again"
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
"filling in for Liz"
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
"grad party delayed"
Saturday, June 28, 2008
so, even though i
graduated over a month ago, we had a little grad open
house today.
it was fun and i was really glad that the people who came, came... but there were a lot of people who RSVP’d that they were coming and didn’t. that kinda sucked cuz the party was pretty much just an excuse to see people i don’t get to see a lot and most of the people who came i see pretty often. (except for Darci and Summer and Jess and Chad, of course!)
anyway, thanks to those who came!
it was fun and i was really glad that the people who came, came... but there were a lot of people who RSVP’d that they were coming and didn’t. that kinda sucked cuz the party was pretty much just an excuse to see people i don’t get to see a lot and most of the people who came i see pretty often. (except for Darci and Summer and Jess and Chad, of course!)
anyway, thanks to those who came!
"i love LA... though i'm not sure why"
Thursday, June 26, 2008
today i had to run some
errands up in LA. i haven’t been up there in a while,
but there’s something about LA that i really do just
love. i have no idea why though. i mean... it’s dirty
and trashy and everything’s old and falling apart.
but there’s something about it that i love!
unfortunately, right after i took this picture, i dropped my iPhone and the glass shattered. lame!
unfortunately, right after i took this picture, i dropped my iPhone and the glass shattered. lame!
"a shanty in the office and a table read"
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
our graphic designer,
Tyler, has been out of town for a bit. apparently, up
in Cele-Com, they like to do things to each others
offices when they’re gone. well, Keith Huckaby took
that to a new level by actually building a
shanty/office around Tyler’s desk while he was gone.
it’s pretty freakin’ amazing!
i guess that’s what it takes to get a door around here!
then, tonight, we a had a table-read for the skits for VBS.
i guess that’s what it takes to get a door around here!
then, tonight, we a had a table-read for the skits for VBS.
"an early morning at the Pacific Whey"
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
"white doves and birthday parties"
Sunday, June 22, 2008
"games at church"
Saturday, June 21, 2008
"double date"
Thursday, June 19, 2008
"finishing my independent study"
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
"puppets and a grad party"
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
"where people come from"
Sunday, June 15, 2008
"a big meeting and a reunion of friends"
Friday, June 13, 2008
so, today was a
long-awaited day for a few reasons.
first, this morning was our meeting with the people from David C. Cook publishing. Michelle has been talking with them for a bit about them publishing some of our stuff. well, last month she went out to meet with them in Colorado and it couldn’t have gone better. they want to partner with us to create their new curriculum and focus. today, we got to meet with Janet from Cook and hear about some of the details. to sum it up, it was AMAZING. they actually want to send a team of writers to live in California and work with us. we’d be providing the vision and feedback as they write the curriculum. i mean... this is huge.
at the beginning of the meeting, Janet was explaining what they were wanting to do (team up with a church, etc...). however, she was being very vague about whether or not they’d decided it was us or if they were still looking. so, Michelle finally asked the question, “so, are you courting us or are you asking us to marry you?” this picture is of Janet in her response to that question. she immediately got down on one knee and we all started laughing.
needless to say, we were (and are) all very excited about what this means for us. it’s gonna be pretty freakin’ amazing!
the second thing that made today a day worth waiting for, was that today was our “formerly friends” reunion at my place.
David and Angela Robles (and their little girl, Rylee), Jennifer Stowell, Melissa Kirscher, Kit and Gina Rae, Dana Van Egdom (her husband Jeff couldn’t make it), Stacy and i all got together for the first time since my birthday last year (September 9th, if you were wondering). it was so great to catch up and find out what everyone’s been up to. it’s amazing to see how God is using us all in different, but awesome ways all over California and the world.
tonight, we ate, caught up, played, ate, swam, ate and talked about what an amazing group of friends God brought together and how we need to be intentional about/open to how God might use us together in the future. it was a great night and i don’t remember the last time i laughed so hard!
first, this morning was our meeting with the people from David C. Cook publishing. Michelle has been talking with them for a bit about them publishing some of our stuff. well, last month she went out to meet with them in Colorado and it couldn’t have gone better. they want to partner with us to create their new curriculum and focus. today, we got to meet with Janet from Cook and hear about some of the details. to sum it up, it was AMAZING. they actually want to send a team of writers to live in California and work with us. we’d be providing the vision and feedback as they write the curriculum. i mean... this is huge.
at the beginning of the meeting, Janet was explaining what they were wanting to do (team up with a church, etc...). however, she was being very vague about whether or not they’d decided it was us or if they were still looking. so, Michelle finally asked the question, “so, are you courting us or are you asking us to marry you?” this picture is of Janet in her response to that question. she immediately got down on one knee and we all started laughing.
needless to say, we were (and are) all very excited about what this means for us. it’s gonna be pretty freakin’ amazing!
the second thing that made today a day worth waiting for, was that today was our “formerly friends” reunion at my place.
David and Angela Robles (and their little girl, Rylee), Jennifer Stowell, Melissa Kirscher, Kit and Gina Rae, Dana Van Egdom (her husband Jeff couldn’t make it), Stacy and i all got together for the first time since my birthday last year (September 9th, if you were wondering). it was so great to catch up and find out what everyone’s been up to. it’s amazing to see how God is using us all in different, but awesome ways all over California and the world.
tonight, we ate, caught up, played, ate, swam, ate and talked about what an amazing group of friends God brought together and how we need to be intentional about/open to how God might use us together in the future. it was a great night and i don’t remember the last time i laughed so hard!
"a playdate in the park and 2nd one-year anniversary, part two"
Thursday, June 12, 2008
"matching shoes and a trip to Target™"
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
"our second, first anniversary"
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
today, Stacy and i
celebrated one year together... again. (this is the
second time we made it one year. we just haven’t done
it twice consecutively!)
since i’ve got so much going on, Stacy planned our date for tonight. i’m planning one for Thursday night. she took me to a sushi place down on the water in Newport and then to The Melting Pot for dessert. amazing!
since i’ve got so much going on, Stacy planned our date for tonight. i’m planning one for Thursday night. she took me to a sushi place down on the water in Newport and then to The Melting Pot for dessert. amazing!
"a cool car at church"
Sunday, June 08, 2008
"balloon poppin' fun"
Saturday, June 07, 2008
"a cousin's graduation"
Friday, June 06, 2008
"planning to celebrate"
Thursday, June 05, 2008
"team lunch at Cosi"
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
"construction update, dinner with the Chandlers and a cold Vespa ride"
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
"another weigh-in and a visit with the Corks"
Monday, June 02, 2008
"more kids responding"
Sunday, June 01, 2008
"kids at church and comedy night"
Saturday, May 31, 2008
"some consulting and a wedding"
Friday, May 30, 2008
this morning, Michelle
and i met with a group of about 25 leaders from
Portland who want to know about RH
and what we do in Families. it was a lot of fun and
they were really into it.
and then we had Angelina and Alex’s wedding this afternoon...
even though weddings aren’t my favorite, we had a great night!
and then we had Angelina and Alex’s wedding this afternoon...
even though weddings aren’t my favorite, we had a great night!
"a chance for change"
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Michael Anthony
(Michelle’s husband) was recently made the Department
Chair of the Christian Education department at Biola.
the awesome part is that he’s completely redesigning
the program from the ground up and he’s asked me to
be involved and to teach some classes next year.
so, today we had our first meeting with a bunch of people to talk about the future of the department and it was pretty awesome.
so, today we had our first meeting with a bunch of people to talk about the future of the department and it was pretty awesome.
"a birthday get together"
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
"racing and walking"
Monday, May 26, 2008
"Michelle teaches and Gina and Brianna drink juice boxes"
Sunday, May 25, 2008
"construction, a beautiful day and a trip to Yogurtland™"
Saturday, May 24, 2008
so, it's been pretty
cool/interesting to watch the construction going on
outside my building. the third tower is almost done
and the shops down below are as well. so, today i
took some pictures. (besides, it was BEAUTIFUL today.
nice and cool.)
and tonight, after church, Erica, Stacy and i went to Yogurtland™ for a little post-church snack.
and tonight, after church, Erica, Stacy and i went to Yogurtland™ for a little post-church snack.
"a day in without pictures"
Friday, May 23, 2008
"the return of a childhood hero"
Thursday, May 22, 2008
today was the day i've
been waiting for for 19 years.... the return of Dr.
Jones.
unfortunately, it was good, but great. kinda like Indiana Jones meets the X-Files. (i kept waiting for Mulder and Scully to show up.)
after that, we stopped by the mall so Stacy could buy some shorts. (this is me waiting at the Quiksilver/Roxy store.)
unfortunately, it was good, but great. kinda like Indiana Jones meets the X-Files. (i kept waiting for Mulder and Scully to show up.)
after that, we stopped by the mall so Stacy could buy some shorts. (this is me waiting at the Quiksilver/Roxy store.)
"RA for skit writing"
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
"an evening with a murderous barber"
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
today was a rough day
in the office. so, as Stacy was out with a friend
tonight, Tyler came over and we watched Sweeney Todd:
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. it's the romantic
and beautiful story of a wronged barber who decides
to get his revenge by slicing the throats of his
clients and allowing the woman who lives downstairs
to use the bodies to sell mincemeat pies. (it's a
tragedy.)
ah... the romance.
ah... the romance.
"a weigh in... early breakfast... and service team time!"
Monday, May 19, 2008
"dinner on the beach"
Sunday, May 18, 2008
"the return of the Hero"
Saturday, May 17, 2008
"a great t-shirt and hanging out with Kirscher... without pictures :-("
Friday, May 16, 2008
"office finale"
Thursday, May 15, 2008
"dinner at Lucille's"
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
"capstone day!"
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
today was a day better
than graduation... it was the day of my capstone
presentation.
in our program, the capstone project and presentation is the culmination of all the work we've done. mine is a project called "Reflections of Leadership on Popular Culture" and is an instructional resource on using popular culture to teach leadership concepts. (you can download it here if you'd like to see it.)
anyway, today was my presentation and it went really well! plus, my parents, Stacy, Michelle and some of my other friends got to see what i've been doing for the last two years.
(Rob Liefeld, Emily Cartaya, Michelle Anthony, Stacy Igarashi, me, Carrie Domen, mom, dad and Dave McIntire)
in our program, the capstone project and presentation is the culmination of all the work we've done. mine is a project called "Reflections of Leadership on Popular Culture" and is an instructional resource on using popular culture to teach leadership concepts. (you can download it here if you'd like to see it.)
anyway, today was my presentation and it went really well! plus, my parents, Stacy, Michelle and some of my other friends got to see what i've been doing for the last two years.
(Rob Liefeld, Emily Cartaya, Michelle Anthony, Stacy Igarashi, me, Carrie Domen, mom, dad and Dave McIntire)
"mother's day on stage!"
Sunday, May 11, 2008
"AIDS walk 2008"
Saturday, May 10, 2008
"a baby and a bonfire"
Friday, May 09, 2008
"a very early morning"
Thursday, May 08, 2008
"RETREAT!!!"
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
today was our main day
at staff retreat. we were up at Ponderosa Pines Camp
in Running Springs. i didn't really know what to
expect, but it was very cool to hear about how we're
going to be approaching the vision of the church
("give yourself away") for the next year. also, we
spent some really intentional guided time in prayer.
plus, i got to hang out with a lot of people i didn't know very well before and even play a little volleyball.
and then we played spoons (with granola bars instead of spoons) until like 1 am. (and i kicked Michelle's ass at some game called Rubbish.)
plus, i got to hang out with a lot of people i didn't know very well before and even play a little volleyball.
and then we played spoons (with granola bars instead of spoons) until like 1 am. (and i kicked Michelle's ass at some game called Rubbish.)
"my desk"
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
i finished my desk
today. and then we left for staff retreat.
(that's a mountain dew bottle collection, mountain dew truck, jack-in-the-box bobble head, mountain dew license plate, Buddy Christ, MacBook, keyboard and mouse, Dunder Mifflin Mousepad, monitor, Office magnets and Ikea magnetic pen holders.)
(that's a mountain dew bottle collection, mountain dew truck, jack-in-the-box bobble head, mountain dew license plate, Buddy Christ, MacBook, keyboard and mouse, Dunder Mifflin Mousepad, monitor, Office magnets and Ikea magnetic pen holders.)
"weigh-in and business cards"
Monday, May 05, 2008
today... i hit the 18
pound mark! only 22 pounds to go.
also, i got my new business cards and my profile was (finally!) posted on the ROCKHARBOR website. (click here to check it out... a bit entertaining.)
also, i got my new business cards and my profile was (finally!) posted on the ROCKHARBOR website. (click here to check it out... a bit entertaining.)
"exhausted"
Sunday, May 04, 2008
"in progress... no more!"
Saturday, May 03, 2008
"a presentation and a hooding"
Friday, May 02, 2008
today was Emily's
thesis presentation. she did a great job. amazingly
enough, it fit in perfectly with what we've been
doing at RH
and what the Orange Conference is about. very cool.
that night, we had our hooding ceremony and banquet. it was great to be able to be there with my friends from the program as well as Stacy and my parents.
that night, we had our hooding ceremony and banquet. it was great to be able to be there with my friends from the program as well as Stacy and my parents.
"dirty south adventures - day four"
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
"dirty south adventures - day three"
Monday, April 28, 2008
today was another great
day at the conference. Donald Miller ("Blue Like
Jazz") spoke tonight and was fantastic and
entertaining. the whole conference so far has been a
great confirmation of everything that we're doing
at ROCKHARBOR.
but the best part of the day was lunch. i met up with David and Jen for lunch and had a great time eating pizza and catching up. in many ways, i think that our lunch was an answer to prayer. we talked a bit about our old team from Yorba Linda for a while. we had an AMAZING team that was, unfortunately, never allowed to find it's potential. (honestly, if things had gone a little differently, that dream team would, absolutely and unquestionably, be setting the standard for children's and family ministries in this country.) anyway, we realized that we have an amazing resource in each other and that the fact that we all met and got a glimpse of our potential as a team may allow us to do some incredible things together in the future. so, we decided today to be intentional about that and get the team together again sometime to brainstorm for the future. (watch out... there's a good chance we'll be taking over the world soon!)
Michelle's pretty excited that we're probably going to be having lunch with Reggie ("Reg" if you know him) Joyner tomorrow. actually, we all are. it could be a great opportunity for our team.
off to bed!
but the best part of the day was lunch. i met up with David and Jen for lunch and had a great time eating pizza and catching up. in many ways, i think that our lunch was an answer to prayer. we talked a bit about our old team from Yorba Linda for a while. we had an AMAZING team that was, unfortunately, never allowed to find it's potential. (honestly, if things had gone a little differently, that dream team would, absolutely and unquestionably, be setting the standard for children's and family ministries in this country.) anyway, we realized that we have an amazing resource in each other and that the fact that we all met and got a glimpse of our potential as a team may allow us to do some incredible things together in the future. so, we decided today to be intentional about that and get the team together again sometime to brainstorm for the future. (watch out... there's a good chance we'll be taking over the world soon!)
Michelle's pretty excited that we're probably going to be having lunch with Reggie ("Reg" if you know him) Joyner tomorrow. actually, we all are. it could be a great opportunity for our team.
off to bed!
"dirty south adventures - day two"
Sunday, April 27, 2008
the conference didn't
start until tonight, so today we went on some
adventures through Atlanta. first, we headed out to
Coca-Cola™ World. (don't worry... i felt conflicted
about the whole thing and am still a devoted Pepsi™
fan since they make the Dew™.) nevertheless, it was
pretty cool! after that, we went for a walk through
the Centennial Olympic Park (and it's fountains!) and
then went to visit the CNN building. after that, we
hit up happy hour at McCormick and Schmick's (or
something like that) where a 1/2 pound burger was
only $1.95!!!! (amazing!)
after that, we headed back to the convention for the opening session. it was pretty freakin' amazing! i mean... the A/V setup alone was as cool as almost any concert (except U2) that i've been to in the past few years. the worship was great and Reggie Joyner (Reg if you know him!) gave a fantastic new application of the prodigal son parable. (i'm sure i'll be blogging about that at a later date.)
afterward, i met up with Jen Stowell in the lobby of the hotel and we made plans for lunch tomorrow with our old friend, David Robles.
overall... a fantastic day! check out the pics below...
-mb
after that, we headed back to the convention for the opening session. it was pretty freakin' amazing! i mean... the A/V setup alone was as cool as almost any concert (except U2) that i've been to in the past few years. the worship was great and Reggie Joyner (Reg if you know him!) gave a fantastic new application of the prodigal son parable. (i'm sure i'll be blogging about that at a later date.)
afterward, i met up with Jen Stowell in the lobby of the hotel and we made plans for lunch tomorrow with our old friend, David Robles.
overall... a fantastic day! check out the pics below...
-mb
"dirty south adventures - day one"
Saturday, April 26, 2008
"hospital visit for dad"
Friday, April 25, 2008
"chapel time!"
Thursday, April 24, 2008
"where's my picture?"
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
"my new printer"
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
"a day on my back"
Monday, April 21, 2008
"back to work and a birthday party!"
Saturday, April 19, 2008
"new jeans"
Friday, April 18, 2008
"sabbatical - day tweleve... the final day"
Thursday, April 17, 2008
today was the last day
of sabbatical. we met with Stacy Scott and debriefed
our sabbatical. at the end of the meeting, she gave
us our final envelope with our last assignment. the
assignment was to take the $20 bill inside our
envelopes and go do something for ourselves. the
rules were that we had to do it today and turn in our
receipts on Monday.
so, Stacy decided to surprise me and took me up to the Huntington in Pasadena. it was beautiful! even with my back in the pain that it's been in (i hurt it on the retreat), it was a pretty awesome day.
so, Stacy decided to surprise me and took me up to the Huntington in Pasadena. it was beautiful! even with my back in the pain that it's been in (i hurt it on the retreat), it was a pretty awesome day.
"sabbatical - day eleven at APU and Disneyland"
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
i went to my final
capstone class tonight and then to dinner with Katie
and Emily afterward.
on the way home, Stacy called and let me know that she was with Chino and some friends at Disneyland. i wasn't going to go, but then i decided to surprise her. she had said that she was going on Pirates and so when she go there, i was waiting for her.
on the way home, Stacy called and let me know that she was with Chino and some friends at Disneyland. i wasn't going to go, but then i decided to surprise her. she had said that she was going on Pirates and so when she go there, i was waiting for her.
"sabbatical - day ten and the stations of the cross"
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
it's been interesting
having this retreat at a Catholic mission. obviously,
i'm not Catholic and have never been able to
understand Catholicism much. out of curiosity, i
looked into it at one time. i wanted to understand
where all of the rituals, rules and traditions of the
Catholic church had come from. (since i couldn't find
them anywhere in the Bible.) it was interesting to
find that many of them were adapted from other
mystical religions because Constantine (who adopted
Christianity for the Roman Empire) didn't want to
make it too hard for people to convert. so, they kept
things like rosary beads, a hierarchy with bishops
and a pope and certain prayers and just changed the
names and meanings to fit Christianity. (obviously,
the very simplified version... but still pretty
accurate.) anyway, that was always hard for me to
swallow as it seems like the perfect example of
taking a simple relationship and offering of
salvation and turning it into religion with rules and
traditions that actually have nothing to do with the
relationship that was originally offered. however,
it's true that God can take anything and use it for
good. i've seen that in the last day here.
one thing that the Catholic church loves is its iconography. this is where we get the prevalent image of the cross. (we don't even question it. but we don't put up little electric chairs or bullets to remember others who have died. for some reason, displaying the method of torture and death when it involves Christ is considered normal and even spiritual.) the Catholic church took this instrument of death and turned it into a symbol of sacrifice and beauty. it's also a symbol of remembrance.
this morning, we were given a piece of paper with the 14 stations of the cross listed on it. each one had a short description and something to think and pray about. around a field, behind the mission, there is a road with the 14 stations of the cross. we were asked to walk the road, stopping at each station to read and pray. i was a little averse to this at first. i was wrong to be.
God took something out of someone else's religious background and used it in my life in a real way. the stations of the cross had/have me dealing with and processing issues of sacrifice, forgiveness, loss, injustice, failure, the needs of others, kindness and selfishness. it really became a time of intense self-reflection. it also highlighted a few things in my life that i need to deal with and work through with Him.
anyway, if you get a chance to do something like that... something that feels out of the ordinary or a little unfamiliar, don't pass it up. God can use it to change you in amazing ways.
also, we had breakfast and saw the largest rose i've ever seen in my life.
one thing that the Catholic church loves is its iconography. this is where we get the prevalent image of the cross. (we don't even question it. but we don't put up little electric chairs or bullets to remember others who have died. for some reason, displaying the method of torture and death when it involves Christ is considered normal and even spiritual.) the Catholic church took this instrument of death and turned it into a symbol of sacrifice and beauty. it's also a symbol of remembrance.
this morning, we were given a piece of paper with the 14 stations of the cross listed on it. each one had a short description and something to think and pray about. around a field, behind the mission, there is a road with the 14 stations of the cross. we were asked to walk the road, stopping at each station to read and pray. i was a little averse to this at first. i was wrong to be.
God took something out of someone else's religious background and used it in my life in a real way. the stations of the cross had/have me dealing with and processing issues of sacrifice, forgiveness, loss, injustice, failure, the needs of others, kindness and selfishness. it really became a time of intense self-reflection. it also highlighted a few things in my life that i need to deal with and work through with Him.
anyway, if you get a chance to do something like that... something that feels out of the ordinary or a little unfamiliar, don't pass it up. God can use it to change you in amazing ways.
also, we had breakfast and saw the largest rose i've ever seen in my life.
"sabbatical - day nine and a retreat"
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
today we started on a retreat for our sabbatical.
Stacy, Laura, Mike, Andrew and i met Nick Taylor down
at Mission San Luis Rey for a great day of spiritual
guidance and free time. it was an awesome time of
getting to know each other, share our lives with one
another, pray and have some solitude. in the
afternoon, Nick led us through a great spiritual
direction exercise.
in the evening, we were told that we could do whatever we wanted, but we had to do it as a group. so, we decided to go into downtown Oceanside. we walked on the pier and had dessert at the DQ.
the cool thing was, we had the entire mission to ourselves at night. (and it's a pretty big place.) it felt pretty spooky, so we went for a midnight walk in the graveyard where a black cat followed us around the entire time. it was awesome.
in the evening, we were told that we could do whatever we wanted, but we had to do it as a group. so, we decided to go into downtown Oceanside. we walked on the pier and had dessert at the DQ.
the cool thing was, we had the entire mission to ourselves at night. (and it's a pretty big place.) it felt pretty spooky, so we went for a midnight walk in the graveyard where a black cat followed us around the entire time. it was awesome.
"sabbatical - day eight with a weigh-in, a visit from the kids and a walk in the park"
Monday, April 14, 2008
"sabbatical - day seven at a new church with an old friend"
Sunday, April 13, 2008
each sabbatical group
is being assigned another church to visit on during
their sabbatical. we were assigned the Crystal
Cathedral's contemporary service. however, by the
time i picked Stacy up, two of the other members of
our group had cancelled on us. so, we decided to
drive up to Simi Valley and visit our friend Jen at
Discovery Church.
we had a lot of fun getting to see Jen in her new job up there and hang out with her all day. (that's her on stage there.)
we had a lot of fun getting to see Jen in her new job up there and hang out with her all day. (that's her on stage there.)
"sabbatical -day six and strangely curly hair"
Saturday, April 12, 2008
"sabbatical - day five and a windy day in Havasu"
Friday, April 11, 2008
"sabbatical - day four and completing the corner"
Thursday, April 10, 2008
one thing you have to
understand about the sabbaticals is that they've
given us some great ideas and structure for our two
weeks. however, Nick (our pastor in charge of the
sabbaticals) made it clear that he wanted us to make
the most of our sabbatical time and that some days,
that might mean doing our own thing. i say this only
to say that if i don't follow a theme for a day or
something, it's okay!
anyway, today was a day of rest for us. we were encouraged to really rest... whatever that means for us. well, i ended up doing a little shopping and then some housework. but, in all honesty, for me it was restful.
i have this corner in my place that had two benches to sit on and nothing else. i've been looking for some stuff to fill out the corner and, today, i found what i was looking for.
after i put up the shelves and the painting... we met Michael and Michelle for dinner at The Chophouse. Michael had a really good week that is going to work out well for me as well. he was promoted to the position of Department Chair for the Christian Education department at Biola. (the part that is good for me is that he wants me to teach and help him design a few classes next year!) pretty sweet!
anyway, today was a day of rest for us. we were encouraged to really rest... whatever that means for us. well, i ended up doing a little shopping and then some housework. but, in all honesty, for me it was restful.
i have this corner in my place that had two benches to sit on and nothing else. i've been looking for some stuff to fill out the corner and, today, i found what i was looking for.
after i put up the shelves and the painting... we met Michael and Michelle for dinner at The Chophouse. Michael had a really good week that is going to work out well for me as well. he was promoted to the position of Department Chair for the Christian Education department at Biola. (the part that is good for me is that he wants me to teach and help him design a few classes next year!) pretty sweet!
"sabbatical - day three and shopping for a bedspread"
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
today had me worried. our assignment was to meet in the green room at RH today at 10.30am. i thought it was going to be some stupid icebreaker games or a project to work on. but i was really wrong.
when we got there, our Lead Pastor, Todd and two of our Elders were there. they simply wanted to pray for us and anoint us and our sabbaticals. it was pretty awesome. then, our group went to lunch together at Boudins.
afterwards, i went to the mall and looked for bedspreads. liked a few. didn't buy any.
"sabbatical - day two and completion of the collection"
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
day two was all about
getting things in order so we can rest for our
sabbatical. so, i did laundry and cleaned the house.
also, i've been collecting these special edition Mountain Dew™ aluminum cans. they had famous artists do their own designs and they're kinda hard to find. anyway, i started collecting them a few weeks ago and completed my collection today. (check them all out at www.greenlabelart.com)
also, i've been collecting these special edition Mountain Dew™ aluminum cans. they had famous artists do their own designs and they're kinda hard to find. anyway, i started collecting them a few weeks ago and completed my collection today. (check them all out at www.greenlabelart.com)
"it's a sabbatical - day one"
Monday, April 07, 2008
today was day one of my two week sabbatical. people have been asking me a lot about this sabbatical and what it's about. so, here's the deal...
one thing that ROCKHARBOR is really intentional about is their traditions. of course, everyone has traditions and they can often become traditions simply for tradition's sake. however, in the case of RH, their traditions are always very purposeful. one strong tradition that RH holds is pouring into their employees (and volunteers for that matter) and making sure that they know that they are valued. this comes out in a number of ways. some of those are traditions in themselves. for instance, every year at Christmas, the staff is taken to Disneyland and given either a deluxe annual pass or the cash equivalent as a Christmas bonus. last Thursday, the girls went on their annual girls retreat. this year, a limo picked them up and took them all to a day spa. (apparently, the guys have never had one only because, from what i'm told, they haven't had a girl to plan it for them. i'm told that we will be breaking that tradition this year!)
anyway, one opportunity RH has created in the vein of this tradition of valuing the staff is our sabbaticals this year. over the course of the next few months, everyone on staff (from the top down to the receptionist) will get a two week guided sabbatical. now, at first, i was kinda skeptical. (i think it was the word "guided" that did it.) stuff like this tends to have ulterior motives. but i was mistaken. from what i've already seen (and heard from others who have already completed their sabbaticals) it's a very intentional time of rest and growth.
here's what i know so far...
today we met at ROCKHARBOR for our sabbatical orientation meeting. there are five people in our group including myself and Stacy. we were told that we will have 8 free days and four group days during the sabbatical. we are not allowed to step foot on campus, respond to e-mails or phone calls that are RH related or work in any way that would be considered RH related.
each day, we have an envelope that we open. the envelope will have our instructions for that day. most of them will be a simple scripture reading, a focus for the day and a small reading in the book we were all given. on our group days, our envelopes will tell us where we will meet and what we will do. the sabbatical will end with a two-day retreat next week.
the great thing though is that the structure that they've provided is loose enough to make it our own time but structured enough that it won't simply be a vacation. (after all, we are still be payed for this!) i'm excited about it and i'll keep you updated on what we've been up to every day.
- barnes
ps... here's my weigh in for this week...
"sticky notes on the screen"
Sunday, April 06, 2008
"a time for retirement"
Saturday, April 05, 2008
this morning was my
friend Larry Bender's surprise retirement party.
Larry and i went to India together in 2005 and really
helped to launch the India campaign that Yorba Linda
Friends is still pushing hard. (i think they've built
over 15 schools and sponsored around 1,000 kids or
more. it's a pretty cool deal.) anyway, Larry has
really been instrumental in keeping that going and
he's a pretty cool guy.
also, my friend Jay Hoff brought his baby who i've never had the opportunity to see. so, it was nice to finally meet her.
also, my friend Jay Hoff brought his baby who i've never had the opportunity to see. so, it was nice to finally meet her.
"the return of Battlestar"
Friday, April 04, 2008
make fun of me all you
want, but i frakkin' love Battlestar Galactica! and
i'm not the only one. Friday night was the 4th (and
final) season premiere and we had a little
get-together. so, after Jonas' 30th birthday party,
Stacy and i headed back to my place to meet Tommy,
Keri, Timmy, Amber, Trevor and Tyler for the show.
and it was awesome. and Tyler dressed as Dwight from
The Office. that was awesome too.
"the long awaited M3 sedan"
Thursday, April 03, 2008
"a prayer for the elders and time with the kids"
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
our Elder board goes on retreat this weekend to cast
vision for the next few years. today, everybody got a
paper with the name of an Elder couple to pray for
this week leading up to the retreat. it put mine up
in my cubical with my fortune cookie fortunes (and my
"Office" quote magnets).
the kids came over with Erin tonight. so cute. just love them.
the kids came over with Erin tonight. so cute. just love them.
"walking to work"
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
"a sad day indeed"
Monday, March 31, 2008
last night, dad called
and let me know. our family dog, Baby, who we've had
for 14 years, was in bad shape. she couldn't stand up
on her own. so, this morning, i went up and we all
said goodbye. it was really sad.
we got Baby in 1995 because Megan (who, i think, was in the 5th grade at the time) made a bet with my parents that if she could get 100% on a test, we would get a dog. Megan had been having trouble in whatever particular subject it was and so they made the bet. well, Megan got 100%. (of course, later we found out that she had told her teacher about the bet and might have had a little help!) a few months later, we got Baby.
we didn't get to name her. she was already 2 1/2 years old. we got her from a kennel where somebody paid for her to be for 6 months. nobody ever claimed her later and they were going to put her to sleep. she's been a fantastic dog. and we all loved her very much.
in more happy news, i lost a few more pounds! (i'm down 11 now!)
we got Baby in 1995 because Megan (who, i think, was in the 5th grade at the time) made a bet with my parents that if she could get 100% on a test, we would get a dog. Megan had been having trouble in whatever particular subject it was and so they made the bet. well, Megan got 100%. (of course, later we found out that she had told her teacher about the bet and might have had a little help!) a few months later, we got Baby.
we didn't get to name her. she was already 2 1/2 years old. we got her from a kennel where somebody paid for her to be for 6 months. nobody ever claimed her later and they were going to put her to sleep. she's been a fantastic dog. and we all loved her very much.
in more happy news, i lost a few more pounds! (i'm down 11 now!)
"flippin church"
Sunday, March 30, 2008
"a porsche in the desert"
Saturday, March 29, 2008
"a day on the lake"
Thursday, March 27, 2008
"unloading Easter and playing Operation"
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
"spiritual parenting"
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
"monday... the day of rest (and a weigh-in)"
Monday, March 24, 2008
"Easter with the fam"
Sunday, March 23, 2008
"a hot and amazing Easter"
Sunday, March 23, 2008
so, Easter was
a-freakin'-mazing. i'm pretty much going to let the
pictures tell the story. what i will say is this...
- it was REALLY hot
- we had over 9,000 people show up (that's 2000 more than last year)
- the name ROCKHARBOR wasn't mentioned once from any stage (as we simply promote it as "OC Easter," it's not meant to promote us. we gave any visitors a list of local churches to choose from. ROCKHARBOR wasn't even first on that list. this was impressive to me.)
- we had nearly 1,000 kids
- the main service had an amazing "stomp" style number that told the story of salvation using no words (it was very moving)
- the kids service was held in a tent (we had stages on three sides and had a skit and worship on one stage, hosts on one and i taught on the other)
- we handed out thousands of free bottles of water and Krispy Kreme doughnuts
- services ended at 12.30 pm and, due to our ridiculously amazing staff and volunteers, we had the entire place torn down (including the main stages and the kid's tents) and packed up by 1.30 pm!!!
- these are just a few of the over 300 pictures i took
here are the pictures...
- it was REALLY hot
- we had over 9,000 people show up (that's 2000 more than last year)
- the name ROCKHARBOR wasn't mentioned once from any stage (as we simply promote it as "OC Easter," it's not meant to promote us. we gave any visitors a list of local churches to choose from. ROCKHARBOR wasn't even first on that list. this was impressive to me.)
- we had nearly 1,000 kids
- the main service had an amazing "stomp" style number that told the story of salvation using no words (it was very moving)
- the kids service was held in a tent (we had stages on three sides and had a skit and worship on one stage, hosts on one and i taught on the other)
- we handed out thousands of free bottles of water and Krispy Kreme doughnuts
- services ended at 12.30 pm and, due to our ridiculously amazing staff and volunteers, we had the entire place torn down (including the main stages and the kid's tents) and packed up by 1.30 pm!!!
- these are just a few of the over 300 pictures i took
here are the pictures...
"the day between"
Saturday, March 22, 2008
one of the really cool
things about Easter at ROCKHARBOR
is that starting at the first Good Friday service,
and going through the end of the Sunday services, the
fairgrounds are constantly covered in prayer. for
three days straight, staff and church members alike
signed up for hour-long prayer walks for every hour.
each hour (even the ones in the middle of the night)
had anywhere from 2 to 20 people. well, today, at
5.00 pm, i had my hour.
when i got there, i found the prayer walk tent. each of us took a rock out of a jar and our instructions for the walk. they told us where to go and ideas of things to pray for. after we got back, we added our rocks to the pile of all the people who had been praying over the past day and a half. it was cool to see that symbolic representation of all the people who came together in prayer for this weekend.
after it was over, we had rehearsal for the next day's kid's services.
when i got there, i found the prayer walk tent. each of us took a rock out of a jar and our instructions for the walk. they told us where to go and ideas of things to pray for. after we got back, we added our rocks to the pile of all the people who had been praying over the past day and a half. it was cool to see that symbolic representation of all the people who came together in prayer for this weekend.
after it was over, we had rehearsal for the next day's kid's services.
"a good friday"
Friday, March 21, 2008
well, first we went to
lunch. (the Larson's love their cell phones!)
after that, we had three Good Friday services for kids (i think 6 services overall). it was pretty awesome to see these kids totally getting emotional and really worshipping as we talked about what Jesus did for us. Tommy and Timmy and Ashley took turns leading worship, Stacy gave a message tying some video clips together and giving the Good Friday story and i wrapped it up with a message about how it applies to us. the kids seemed really into it.
after the service, we had to load up everything that hadn't been taken to the fairgrounds. again, i was amazed at how many volunteers just showed up and made it happen. we were done in no time.
after that, we had three Good Friday services for kids (i think 6 services overall). it was pretty awesome to see these kids totally getting emotional and really worshipping as we talked about what Jesus did for us. Tommy and Timmy and Ashley took turns leading worship, Stacy gave a message tying some video clips together and giving the Good Friday story and i wrapped it up with a message about how it applies to us. the kids seemed really into it.
after the service, we had to load up everything that hadn't been taken to the fairgrounds. again, i was amazed at how many volunteers just showed up and made it happen. we were done in no time.
"Easter setup"
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
every year,
ROCKHARBOR
does Easter at the Orange County Fairgrounds. it's a
big deal. we basically advertise it all over the
county and invite anyone to come. (you can check out
the website at www.oceaster.com) we put it on though we don't
advertise it as a ROCKHARBOR
event. we offer newcomers a list of OC churches to
check out including ROCKHARBOR,
Newport Mesa, The Crossing, Mariners, Yorba Linda
Friends and others. anyway, this has been going on
for years now and has quite a few traditions
associated with it.
the first tradition is that our Wednesday staff meeting is held in the Pacific Amphitheater where the services will be held. the entire meeting consists of two things. the first is storytelling.
this was actually really cool. Todd (our Lead Pastor) opened up by asking people to share stories of Easter's past. however, he made a very intentional effort to say that "even for those of you who weren't here for these stories, you're part of the family now and our history is your history." and somehow, it was. even though i wasn't there for any of these stories, i felt like i was. i felt like i was apart of them. and one by one, people began sharing stories from Easter's past. some of them were hysterically funny. some of them were seriously moving. but it was a great time of storytelling and sharing.
the second part of the meeting consists of each staff member being assigned a seating section. then we were sent off to march around our section seven times (like Joshua at Jericho) all the while praying for the people who would be sitting there this weekend. at the end of that time, we all came back to the front of the amphitheater where Mike (our Teaching Pastor) read the story of Joshua. then Pete Shambrook (one of our pastors) blew on a trumpet and we all yelled at the top of our lungs for a good 30 seconds to a minute. (check out the video clip at the end of this entry.) maybe kinda dumb... but somehow, it was an awesome thing to be apart of.
the cool thing is, it's a shared experience. it's one that happens every year. so for the 10-15 of us who just joined the staff this year, we felt like we were a part of it even though we hadn't experienced it before.
the rest of the day was spent eating free Chick-Fil-A and setting up the children's tents. we had SO many volunteers show up to help put this on. our church really knows how important this outreach opportunity is and they were there in total support. so much so, that we actually were done by 8pm (way earlier than we thought or has ever been done before!) not only that, but the tents came out awesome!
it's crazy to think that so much work goes into one day... but i'm really excited about it. if you don't have a place to go for Easter, come to the fairgrounds at either 9 or 11 am. it's gonna be great!
- barnes
the first tradition is that our Wednesday staff meeting is held in the Pacific Amphitheater where the services will be held. the entire meeting consists of two things. the first is storytelling.
this was actually really cool. Todd (our Lead Pastor) opened up by asking people to share stories of Easter's past. however, he made a very intentional effort to say that "even for those of you who weren't here for these stories, you're part of the family now and our history is your history." and somehow, it was. even though i wasn't there for any of these stories, i felt like i was. i felt like i was apart of them. and one by one, people began sharing stories from Easter's past. some of them were hysterically funny. some of them were seriously moving. but it was a great time of storytelling and sharing.
the second part of the meeting consists of each staff member being assigned a seating section. then we were sent off to march around our section seven times (like Joshua at Jericho) all the while praying for the people who would be sitting there this weekend. at the end of that time, we all came back to the front of the amphitheater where Mike (our Teaching Pastor) read the story of Joshua. then Pete Shambrook (one of our pastors) blew on a trumpet and we all yelled at the top of our lungs for a good 30 seconds to a minute. (check out the video clip at the end of this entry.) maybe kinda dumb... but somehow, it was an awesome thing to be apart of.
the cool thing is, it's a shared experience. it's one that happens every year. so for the 10-15 of us who just joined the staff this year, we felt like we were a part of it even though we hadn't experienced it before.
the rest of the day was spent eating free Chick-Fil-A and setting up the children's tents. we had SO many volunteers show up to help put this on. our church really knows how important this outreach opportunity is and they were there in total support. so much so, that we actually were done by 8pm (way earlier than we thought or has ever been done before!) not only that, but the tents came out awesome!
it's crazy to think that so much work goes into one day... but i'm really excited about it. if you don't have a place to go for Easter, come to the fairgrounds at either 9 or 11 am. it's gonna be great!
- barnes
:-(
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
"weigh in and some construction"
Monday, March 17, 2008
so, this morning was my
one week weigh in. yup... i lost five pounds!!! on my
way!
while i was doing some work, i looked out the window to where they are doing construction across the way and i saw this guy single-handedly dismantling the scaffolding. he was up there, not tied to anything, and using his feet to move these boards. i watched the whole thing and can't believe he didn't fall. i know it's just a parking structure and some stores, but it's really been quite fascinating to watch the whole thing go up.
while i was doing some work, i looked out the window to where they are doing construction across the way and i saw this guy single-handedly dismantling the scaffolding. he was up there, not tied to anything, and using his feet to move these boards. i watched the whole thing and can't believe he didn't fall. i know it's just a parking structure and some stores, but it's really been quite fascinating to watch the whole thing go up.
"team ro 2"
Sunday, March 16, 2008
"the new old house"
Saturday, March 15, 2008
"new camera, a trip to the island and macbook twins"
Thursday, March 13, 2008
"yesterday's flowers... today"
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
"photoshoot!"
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
"projects all around!"
Monday, March 10, 2008
here are pictures of
two projects that began today....
the first is one that Stacy and i began today that will, hopefully, last a long time. we joined the Weight Watchers Points Program. (i'm gonna get thin again!!!) it's actually pretty cool cuz you can eat whatever you want, but just in limited amounts. it really just makes you think about your food choices and "budget" them just like you would with money. i'll be weighing in every Monday. i started off today at 223 lbs. (i'm sad to say). but i'm headed toward my goal of 185 lbs!
the second project was not one of mine, although i assigned it. at ROCKHARBOR, we're doing Family Ministries in a very non-traditional way, but in a way that makes a whole lot more sense when you look at it. the basic idea is that parents should be the primary nurturers of their children's faith... not us. we play a supportive role. the goal, overall, is to not "create" good, Christian kids. that's never successful. the goal is for parents to be creating environments in which the Holy Spirit can work and grow within their kids as He chooses.
anyway, once people get passed their preconceived notions of "how church should be," it's clear that this makes way more sense. but, sometimes it's difficult to communicate this to people and get them past those preconceived notions and previous paradigms. the project i gave our team was to come up with some creative ways to approach that. tomorrow is the due date and today i got to see some of the groups in our team working on their projects. it was pretty cool.
the first is one that Stacy and i began today that will, hopefully, last a long time. we joined the Weight Watchers Points Program. (i'm gonna get thin again!!!) it's actually pretty cool cuz you can eat whatever you want, but just in limited amounts. it really just makes you think about your food choices and "budget" them just like you would with money. i'll be weighing in every Monday. i started off today at 223 lbs. (i'm sad to say). but i'm headed toward my goal of 185 lbs!
the second project was not one of mine, although i assigned it. at ROCKHARBOR, we're doing Family Ministries in a very non-traditional way, but in a way that makes a whole lot more sense when you look at it. the basic idea is that parents should be the primary nurturers of their children's faith... not us. we play a supportive role. the goal, overall, is to not "create" good, Christian kids. that's never successful. the goal is for parents to be creating environments in which the Holy Spirit can work and grow within their kids as He chooses.
anyway, once people get passed their preconceived notions of "how church should be," it's clear that this makes way more sense. but, sometimes it's difficult to communicate this to people and get them past those preconceived notions and previous paradigms. the project i gave our team was to come up with some creative ways to approach that. tomorrow is the due date and today i got to see some of the groups in our team working on their projects. it was pretty cool.
"a beautiful sunset and a fun meeting"
Sunday, March 09, 2008
"kaela's birthday dinner of chaos"
Saturday, March 08, 2008
tonight was my cousin
Kaela's 14th birthday party.
it started by going to Beau's baseball game (her little brother). the game was going long and so my uncle started to get antsy and wanting to go to dinner. so he took grandma and went to Benihanas (where Kaela wanted to go for dinner for her birthday). he got there and called us to say that the wait was an hour and a half and he didn't want to wait. so we met him at another Japanese restaurant. when we got there, we found that the wait was 2 hours. well, this did not go over well with anyone.
Uncle Vaughn wasn't happy... his wife Erin pulled up right then and was trying to calm him down. Amie (my cousin who was in town with her little daughter Tillie from Indiana) was getting hungry and just wanted someone to make a decision. Kaela suggested California Pizza Kitchen and everyone kinda brushed her off. (which was funny because it is HER birthday party.) after a 15 minute discussion on everywhere we could go... making calls... everything... Uncle Vaughn said "how about California Pizza Kitchen?" everyone was like "okay!" and Kaela said "i said that 15 minutes ago!!!"
so, then we went to CPK which was fine... but just chaos with four kids under 10 and a restaurant full of people. anyway, we went back to Bekie's and had ice cream from Baskin-Robbins (which was amazing!). anyway, here's a pic of Kaela with our little cousin, Kate.
it started by going to Beau's baseball game (her little brother). the game was going long and so my uncle started to get antsy and wanting to go to dinner. so he took grandma and went to Benihanas (where Kaela wanted to go for dinner for her birthday). he got there and called us to say that the wait was an hour and a half and he didn't want to wait. so we met him at another Japanese restaurant. when we got there, we found that the wait was 2 hours. well, this did not go over well with anyone.
Uncle Vaughn wasn't happy... his wife Erin pulled up right then and was trying to calm him down. Amie (my cousin who was in town with her little daughter Tillie from Indiana) was getting hungry and just wanted someone to make a decision. Kaela suggested California Pizza Kitchen and everyone kinda brushed her off. (which was funny because it is HER birthday party.) after a 15 minute discussion on everywhere we could go... making calls... everything... Uncle Vaughn said "how about California Pizza Kitchen?" everyone was like "okay!" and Kaela said "i said that 15 minutes ago!!!"
so, then we went to CPK which was fine... but just chaos with four kids under 10 and a restaurant full of people. anyway, we went back to Bekie's and had ice cream from Baskin-Robbins (which was amazing!). anyway, here's a pic of Kaela with our little cousin, Kate.
"kids and dogs"
Friday, March 07, 2008
"scope and sequence"
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
"crap... no pics"
Monday, March 03, 2008
"dinner at Mastro's"
Sunday, March 02, 2008
"ROunion with Emese"
Saturday, March 01, 2008
"new york... day three"
Friday, February 29, 2008
"new york... day two"
Thursday, February 28, 2008
"new york... day one"
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
"suprise!!!"
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
today, i got to do what
i've been planning to do for weeks. tomorrow is
Stacy's 30th birthday and i wanted to do something
big for her. so, last night, when i dropped her off,
i said "you need to go inside and pack a bag for four
days. it's going to be cold. i'll pick you up at 7.00
am." she was like, "what?!?!?!"
so, this morning i picked her up at 7. we loaded up my car and got on the freeway. she had no idea where we were going. i made little comments like "you should get comfortable... it's going to be a long ride" and "i hope we can make it there today!" she was even more confused. she thought we were going on some ridiculously long road trip or something.
then, i pulled off the 405 at Century and she realized that we were going to the airport. we parked the car and hopped on a shuttle for LAX. then there was a little hickup in the plan.
when we got to the terminal, i realized that i had left my wallet in the car. we didn't have a lot of time, so i had to quickly find another shuttle, rush back, get my wallet and get back to the terminal. fortunately, i was able to do this in about 15 minutes. unfortunately, i had to have Stacy check us in when i wasn't there so i didn't get to be there when she found out that we were going to New York.
anyway, it was all pretty cool. we flew on the new Virgin America ($129 each way and direct from LAX to JFK!) and it was awesome! each seat has a touchscreen where you can watch live tv, listen to music, watch movies and even order your food that they bring to you when you want it.
when we got into New York, we realized that the airline had lost Stacy's bag. lame! (it worked out though. it was waiting for us at my sister's place when we woke up the next morning.) anyway, we went to Meri's place (it's actually our family's place... she just lives there) and got settled in. then we went walking looking for dinner and found this noodle place called Ollie's. i wouldn't recommend it.
by that time, it was getting late so we went back and watched some episodes of The Office and played with Meri's dog, Kona. all in all... a great day!
so, this morning i picked her up at 7. we loaded up my car and got on the freeway. she had no idea where we were going. i made little comments like "you should get comfortable... it's going to be a long ride" and "i hope we can make it there today!" she was even more confused. she thought we were going on some ridiculously long road trip or something.
then, i pulled off the 405 at Century and she realized that we were going to the airport. we parked the car and hopped on a shuttle for LAX. then there was a little hickup in the plan.
when we got to the terminal, i realized that i had left my wallet in the car. we didn't have a lot of time, so i had to quickly find another shuttle, rush back, get my wallet and get back to the terminal. fortunately, i was able to do this in about 15 minutes. unfortunately, i had to have Stacy check us in when i wasn't there so i didn't get to be there when she found out that we were going to New York.
anyway, it was all pretty cool. we flew on the new Virgin America ($129 each way and direct from LAX to JFK!) and it was awesome! each seat has a touchscreen where you can watch live tv, listen to music, watch movies and even order your food that they bring to you when you want it.
when we got into New York, we realized that the airline had lost Stacy's bag. lame! (it worked out though. it was waiting for us at my sister's place when we woke up the next morning.) anyway, we went to Meri's place (it's actually our family's place... she just lives there) and got settled in. then we went walking looking for dinner and found this noodle place called Ollie's. i wouldn't recommend it.
by that time, it was getting late so we went back and watched some episodes of The Office and played with Meri's dog, Kona. all in all... a great day!
"visiting Ella"
Monday, February 25, 2008
"prayer boards"
Sunday, February 24, 2008
"mustaches and hospice kids"
Saturday, February 23, 2008
so, today i woke up and
decided to shave off my goatee. but, since Stacy
hates mustaches, i stopped 1/2 way through just to
take this picture.
anyway, the main part of my day was spent taking a bunch of our ROCKHARBOR kids down to a children's hospital called "Healthbridge." we went down and spent time singing for and reading to these kids who have all kinds of disabilities and disorders. it was pretty amazing.
anyway, the main part of my day was spent taking a bunch of our ROCKHARBOR kids down to a children's hospital called "Healthbridge." we went down and spent time singing for and reading to these kids who have all kinds of disabilities and disorders. it was pretty amazing.
"sweeping, mopping, guitar hero and fur balls"
Friday, February 22, 2008
the title pretty much
sums up my day. sometimes i don't realize how much
floorspace i have... that was a lot of mopping! also,
i have this stupid rug that sheds fur balls and makes
it look like i have a cat or something. (and you all
know how much i HATE cats!)
oh yeah... and tonight i went to see U2 3D again. more amazing the second time than the first! (i also like it better in regular theaters than the IMAX because they use the higher quality digital projectors... it was awesome!) here's a picture i took. (blurry because of the 3D!)
oh yeah... and tonight i went to see U2 3D again. more amazing the second time than the first! (i also like it better in regular theaters than the IMAX because they use the higher quality digital projectors... it was awesome!) here's a picture i took. (blurry because of the 3D!)
"chick-fil-a and a trip to the Hurley store"
Thursday, February 21, 2008
"more tv"
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
"i miss The Office!"
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
"we do chicken right!"
Monday, February 18, 2008
today was President's
Day. this means... NO WORK!!! so what did we do? i
cleaned up the house, did laundry, paid bills,
visited grandma and stopped by to see Erin and the
kids. the most exciting part of my day off was... KFC
dinner! (haven't visited the Colonel in a long time.)
nothin' like some extra crispy legs and thighs.
(this is, in no way, anything like the KFC we visited.)
(this is, in no way, anything like the KFC we visited.)
"lunch and yogurt"
Sunday, February 17, 2008
after church today, we
went out to lunch at Corner Bakery™ with Breanna and
Ashley. (i LOVE the grilled ham and swiss panini...
no tomatoes and pesto mayo instead of mustard
mayo.)
then, tonight Ashley took us to her favorite yogurt place called Yogurtland™. the line was freakin' 45 minutes long! (it was good, but it wasn't that good.)
then, tonight Ashley took us to her favorite yogurt place called Yogurtland™. the line was freakin' 45 minutes long! (it was good, but it wasn't that good.)
"picnic in the park"
Saturday, February 16, 2008
"flying helicopters and potty training"
Friday, February 15, 2008
the other event of the evening was when Leilani (age 19 months) ran to the bathroom and started taking off her diaper in front of the toilet. can't hardly talk, but wants to use the toilet. so, she gets on there and i go out to the dinner table where Chino is playing and tell him that she's on the toilet. Chino (who is a year and a half older) has yet to be potty trained, so he gets this look on his face. he's not about to let her show him up. so he runs in there and as soon as she's off, he jumps on and pees. hysterical. so we were doing double potty training! awesome.
we also had fun dancing around and having them jump all over me. it was a fun night!
"the hallmark/sees candy conspiracy"
Thursday, February 14, 2008
i mean... Valentine's
Day. we had a pretty good one, i'd say!
this year, V-Day fell on a Thursday, which means no work for Stacy or i. (we work weekends and have Thursdays and Fridays off.)
so, we grabbed lunch after meeting up at her house and exchanging gifts. (she got me the Friends Deluxe Edition of SceneIt™ (which is awesome because somebody stole my old version. i have my suspicions as to who, but i won't name names here.) after lunch we headed back to my place where we took these pictures on the balcony.
that night, we headed out to LA to see Aretha Franklin in concert at the new Nokia Theatre. (we'd bought the tickets for my parents to use, but my dad didn't realize that he'd be out of town. so, we used them ourselves.) what an experience that was! lots of middle aged white people trying to dance and sing along. lots of middle aged black people actually dancing and singing along. it was quite the night.
barnes
this year, V-Day fell on a Thursday, which means no work for Stacy or i. (we work weekends and have Thursdays and Fridays off.)
so, we grabbed lunch after meeting up at her house and exchanging gifts. (she got me the Friends Deluxe Edition of SceneIt™ (which is awesome because somebody stole my old version. i have my suspicions as to who, but i won't name names here.) after lunch we headed back to my place where we took these pictures on the balcony.
that night, we headed out to LA to see Aretha Franklin in concert at the new Nokia Theatre. (we'd bought the tickets for my parents to use, but my dad didn't realize that he'd be out of town. so, we used them ourselves.) what an experience that was! lots of middle aged white people trying to dance and sing along. lots of middle aged black people actually dancing and singing along. it was quite the night.
barnes
"Kathy's birthday lunch"
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
"back in the classroom"
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
"wrestling family members and Mika"
Monday, February 11, 2008
so, i stopped by my
parent's house this morning and got to witness Megan
and dad in a wrestling match. i've never laughed so
hard in my life. (neither had they.)
and yes... Megan did grab her bat for protection. (for those who don't know my family... well, this is fairly common and is just how we show our love for one another. that and deep sarcasm.)
tonight, we went to see the most fun concert i've ever seen. Megan, Alex, Bekie, Kaela, Stacy and i went to see Mika up at the Wiltern.
that is the opening act.... a rap group that, i think, Mika found performing out on 3rd street. (they were just that good.)
and yes... Megan did grab her bat for protection. (for those who don't know my family... well, this is fairly common and is just how we show our love for one another. that and deep sarcasm.)
tonight, we went to see the most fun concert i've ever seen. Megan, Alex, Bekie, Kaela, Stacy and i went to see Mika up at the Wiltern.
that is the opening act.... a rap group that, i think, Mika found performing out on 3rd street. (they were just that good.)
"talkin' bout love"
Sunday, February 10, 2008
today, i spoke in "The
Hub" (our high school group at ROCKHARBOR).
i spoke on love. since i couldn't take a picture of
myself as i spoke, here's a picture of Eric and the
other guy (don't know his name) leading worship after
i spoke.
i'll also throw in this picture of my parents. this is their prom picture! i used it in my talk.
i'll also throw in this picture of my parents. this is their prom picture! i used it in my talk.
"looking for towels"
Saturday, February 09, 2008
"flight of the conchords"
Friday, February 08, 2008
"waiting on the dmv to change"
Thursday, February 07, 2008
"an office bike ride and dinner with the kids"
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
"a birthday lunch"
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
"run away!"
Monday, February 04, 2008
"superbowl Sunday at the h"
Sunday, February 03, 2008
i'm sure you all know
that i don't care about professional (or
unprofessional for that matter) sports at all really.
but, when we realized that our Family Ministries
Staff Retreat was planned on the superbowl, i offered
to have a party at my place before we left. it was a
lot of fun.
watching the game
from left to right... Michelle (the boss lady), Ashley (awesome do everything girl), the top of Tyler's head (Middle School guy and Dwight Schrute impersonator), Raelynn (new Middle School staffer), Brandi (in charge of the Nursery), Eric (Middle/High School worship guy), Tommy (all Families production stuff), Kit (Children's director) and Cori (High School staffer and superbowl ignorer).
Cori still doesn't care.
Angelina (Pre School director), Kathy (amazing admin) and Stacy (girlfriend/Elementary director) care so much about the game, that they're laying on my bed watching old episodes of "Arrested Development."
this is what the person with the best and most direct view of the tv during the game chooses to do with it.
watching the game
from left to right... Michelle (the boss lady), Ashley (awesome do everything girl), the top of Tyler's head (Middle School guy and Dwight Schrute impersonator), Raelynn (new Middle School staffer), Brandi (in charge of the Nursery), Eric (Middle/High School worship guy), Tommy (all Families production stuff), Kit (Children's director) and Cori (High School staffer and superbowl ignorer).
Cori still doesn't care.
Angelina (Pre School director), Kathy (amazing admin) and Stacy (girlfriend/Elementary director) care so much about the game, that they're laying on my bed watching old episodes of "Arrested Development."
this is what the person with the best and most direct view of the tv during the game chooses to do with it.
"a very long service"
Saturday, February 02, 2008
i love
ROCKHARBOR,
but sometimes...
anyway, tonight was one of those "sometimes" as our promised hour and a half service hit a full two hours!!! i heard the service was amazing, but you try handling several hundred kids for two hours straight when you've only planned an hour and a half worth of programming. anyway, here are the pics!
(the front doors)
(the 6.00pm service lets out at 8.00 pm)
(the mad dash to pick up the kids in Studio K)
(some quick shopping in the Bible Bucks Store)
(me and my little friend, Ella.. Ella... Ella...)
anyway, tonight was one of those "sometimes" as our promised hour and a half service hit a full two hours!!! i heard the service was amazing, but you try handling several hundred kids for two hours straight when you've only planned an hour and a half worth of programming. anyway, here are the pics!
(the front doors)
(the 6.00pm service lets out at 8.00 pm)
(the mad dash to pick up the kids in Studio K)
(some quick shopping in the Bible Bucks Store)
(me and my little friend, Ella.. Ella... Ella...)
"the wonder of Whole Foods™"
Friday, February 01, 2008
today, we took Stacy's car to get new tires at
Costco™ and then walked around The District
shopping center for a long while. we ended up
having dinner at Whole Foods™ which is a pretty
amazing place. (you should check it out if you get
the chance.) they have pretty much every food in
the world available there for your immediate
consumption. it's very impressive. but the most
impressive thing to me, from the viewpoint of an
org. leadership guy, was the feedback board at the
front of the store. they have a bulletin board at
the front of the store where anyone can leave a
comment card asking a question, making a comment or
even giving a complaint or suggestion. the cool
thing is, the cards have a place for your comment
and then a place for a response. the manager reads
all the cards and responds to each one individually
and then reposts them on the board so you can see
that your comments have been heard and taken into
consideration. it's really pretty impressive. i was
impressed anyway.
"getting Lost all over again"
Thursday, January 31, 2008
i know this is two
entries for one day, but it was too much for just
one!
one of the things that's kinda been hard for both Stacy and i since we've moved down here has been losing our old group of friends.
there were a lot
of things that we were happy to leave behind when we
both chose to move down here, but one of the things
that kept us there for so long was our really tight
group of friends. we've sorta been mourning the loss
of our group lately.
anyway, it's fun to reconnect with them from time to time and when we realized that today was going to be the season premiere of Lost, we thought it might be time again. of course, everybody being scattered around the state, not everyone could make it. (Kit couldn't come and, as always, we missed Dana and Jen.) but, we had fun nonetheless. plus, the new season of Lost looks like it's going to freakin' ROCK! (check out the free 8:15 recap on iTunes... it's awesome! it recaps three seasons of lost in 8 minutes and 15 seconds and is hysterical. a good reminder of where we've been for longtime fans and a good way to catch new fans up to speed.)
anyway, so Kirsch, Amanda, Brianne, Erica, Ashley, Stacy and i gathered here in "the h" for the premiere. but, i thought it was a little girl-heavy, so i invited Tyler to come to. impressively, Tyler totally held his own with our sarcastic group full of girls he didn't know.
as usual, Kirsch made cake (yum!) and we all watched the premiere and were blown away. then, because you just have to, we all played Guitar Hero III™ for an hour or two. the perfect ending to a perfect night. (actually, the perfect ending came when i got to go to bed. after the doctor, carrying a three year old around Disneyland™ all day and then a little party, i was exhausted!)
(Ashley rockin' the Guitar Hero)
(Erica watching the Guitar Hero... up close!)
(Stacy and Amanda chillin on the couch)
(Ashley lost. sad.)
(Erica's into it)
(couch dwellers)
(catching Tyler mid-rock)
one of the things that's kinda been hard for both Stacy and i since we've moved down here has been losing our old group of friends.
anyway, it's fun to reconnect with them from time to time and when we realized that today was going to be the season premiere of Lost, we thought it might be time again. of course, everybody being scattered around the state, not everyone could make it. (Kit couldn't come and, as always, we missed Dana and Jen.) but, we had fun nonetheless. plus, the new season of Lost looks like it's going to freakin' ROCK! (check out the free 8:15 recap on iTunes... it's awesome! it recaps three seasons of lost in 8 minutes and 15 seconds and is hysterical. a good reminder of where we've been for longtime fans and a good way to catch new fans up to speed.)
anyway, so Kirsch, Amanda, Brianne, Erica, Ashley, Stacy and i gathered here in "the h" for the premiere. but, i thought it was a little girl-heavy, so i invited Tyler to come to. impressively, Tyler totally held his own with our sarcastic group full of girls he didn't know.
as usual, Kirsch made cake (yum!) and we all watched the premiere and were blown away. then, because you just have to, we all played Guitar Hero III™ for an hour or two. the perfect ending to a perfect night. (actually, the perfect ending came when i got to go to bed. after the doctor, carrying a three year old around Disneyland™ all day and then a little party, i was exhausted!)
(Ashley rockin' the Guitar Hero)
(Erica watching the Guitar Hero... up close!)
(Stacy and Amanda chillin on the couch)
(Ashley lost. sad.)
(Erica's into it)
(couch dwellers)
(catching Tyler mid-rock)
"the doctor and Disneyland™"
Thursday, January 31, 2008
if you've been around
me any time in the past month, you know that i have
this annoyingly persistent cough that just won't go
away. finally, i went to the doctor today. he gave me
drugs. i hope i get better.
(the Mountain Dew™ was not prescribed by the doctor but is my own drug of choice.)
after that, Stacy and i took her nephew, Chino to Disneyland™ for his 3rd birthday. here are the crappy pics i took on my iPhone™. Stacy has the good ones on her camera.
(the Mountain Dew™ was not prescribed by the doctor but is my own drug of choice.)
after that, Stacy and i took her nephew, Chino to Disneyland™ for his 3rd birthday. here are the crappy pics i took on my iPhone™. Stacy has the good ones on her camera.
"seeing Scout (and Baby)"
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
"funny cards at Target™"
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
as usual, Tuesday is
Target™ day. tomorrow is Ashley Otani's birthday
(happy birthday, Ash!) so, i needed to get her a card
and whatnot. we found this new line of cards by a guy
named Jim Benton that's pretty entertaining. (some of
the phrases on the cards included "nobody's
perfect... but i'm as close as it gets," "it's cute
how you think i'm listening," "exercise hard... eat
right... die anyway," "don't blame me... i was born
awesome," "please put all criticisms in the form of a
compliment," "i'm not saying i'm cool... that's your
job," and "i sincerely want you to genuinely worship
me.")
- barnes
- barnes
"service and a haircut"
Monday, January 28, 2008
when i woke up this
morning, i just felt like the mohawk had lived its
life.
for a few years now, i've been doing leadership development with the high school service team at Yorba Linda Friends. even though i'm not there anymore, i've continued my work with them because they're awesome and i love working with them. tonight was my first time back with them since September.
(that's Emily, Vicente, Jeremy, Alex and Kaysie from left to right. Daniel's in the back.)
for a few years now, i've been doing leadership development with the high school service team at Yorba Linda Friends. even though i'm not there anymore, i've continued my work with them because they're awesome and i love working with them. tonight was my first time back with them since September.
(that's Emily, Vicente, Jeremy, Alex and Kaysie from left to right. Daniel's in the back.)
"snow in orange county"
Saturday, January 26, 2008
okay... so there wasn't
really snow in Orange County. but after several
crappy weather days, from a brief period of time
today, the clouds parted and the mountains in the
distance were revealed. and though they are not in
Orange County, the snow on them could be seen from
Orange County. it was beautiful.
of course, by 4.00pm, the clouds were back and by 7.00pm, it was raining once again.
tomorrow... thunderstorms! :-(
barnes
of course, by 4.00pm, the clouds were back and by 7.00pm, it was raining once again.
tomorrow... thunderstorms! :-(
barnes
"more... just... more"
Friday, January 25, 2008
"brainstorming on glass"
Thursday, January 24, 2008
"you too need to see it!"
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
holy crap on a
stick!*
i've been waiting for this day for over a year now. i heard about it. i read about it. i even saw pictures and clips. but nothing could do justice to describe how awesome U2 3D actually is
of course, you all know how big of a U2 fan i am. i've seen them live 8 times (once on the PopMart Tour, three times on the Elevation Tour and four times on the Vertigo Tour). i have all their music, bootlegs, dvds, rare cds and b-sides. so, one would think that, no matter what, i would absolutely love this. this may not be true.
i mean... i've seen them a lot. i've seen (and own) all the dvds and everything.
so, if there's
something new, it had better be pretty good.
honestly, there was a part of me that was worried
that i might not like this at all or might get bored
seeing something i've seen so many times. i couldn't
have been more wrong.
even if you're not a U2 fan, you need to see this movie. the use of 3D is AMAZING. it really redefines the movie entertainment experience. it's not over-the-top, in-your-face 3D like you'd probably expect. it's way more subtle than that most of the time. simply put, it feels like you've been given an all access pass to walk around stage, through the audience and into the amazing graphics during a U2 show. when Bono looks you straight in the eye and sings "Beautiful Day," you feel like he's literally standing right in front of you, making eye contact and singing to you.
when the crowd
jumps up and down and undulates like the sea, you
feel like you're right in the middle of it. when the
guy in the row in front of you pulls out a joint and
lights up, you can smell it. (oh wait... that might
just have been in our theater.**)
my only complaints are that they could have done more with the interactive graphics. during songs like "The Fly" and "Love and Peace," the graphics people do some pretty cool stuff to immerse you in the song. however, it seems like this could have been done a bit more for consistency and just because it's pretty freakin' cool. also, i wish they'd have done a few more songs. as it stands, it's slightly under an hour and a half. U2 shows generally run around two and a half hours. not that they should have done the entire setlist, but it would have been cool to see songs like "City of Blinding Lights" or "Mysterious Ways." however, these are minor quibbles in comparison with how amazing this thing really is.
this film will set a new standard for how movies will be made.
in fact, it
already is. the company who made it (3ality Digital)
has studied and perfected the 3D process. they've
eliminated the aspects of 3D that made you get
headaches or feel seasick before. it really is nearly
perfect. and, in the past few months, as people have
been experiencing this within the movie industry, the
studios have announced a large number of 3D films for
the next two years. so seriously, check it out. right
now, it's showing at IMAX theaters only. starting on
February 13th, you can see it in regular theaters as
well. oh... and if you do go and see it, make sure to
stay through the credits for one last song and an
amazing 3D graphics display.
check out www.u23dmovie.com for more info and online ticket buying too.
-barnes
* this quote stolen from my old friend, Tracy Cynaumon who now has some other last name that i can't quite remember right now.
** seriously. he lit up right there in the movie theater.
i've been waiting for this day for over a year now. i heard about it. i read about it. i even saw pictures and clips. but nothing could do justice to describe how awesome U2 3D actually is
of course, you all know how big of a U2 fan i am. i've seen them live 8 times (once on the PopMart Tour, three times on the Elevation Tour and four times on the Vertigo Tour). i have all their music, bootlegs, dvds, rare cds and b-sides. so, one would think that, no matter what, i would absolutely love this. this may not be true.
i mean... i've seen them a lot. i've seen (and own) all the dvds and everything.
even if you're not a U2 fan, you need to see this movie. the use of 3D is AMAZING. it really redefines the movie entertainment experience. it's not over-the-top, in-your-face 3D like you'd probably expect. it's way more subtle than that most of the time. simply put, it feels like you've been given an all access pass to walk around stage, through the audience and into the amazing graphics during a U2 show. when Bono looks you straight in the eye and sings "Beautiful Day," you feel like he's literally standing right in front of you, making eye contact and singing to you.
my only complaints are that they could have done more with the interactive graphics. during songs like "The Fly" and "Love and Peace," the graphics people do some pretty cool stuff to immerse you in the song. however, it seems like this could have been done a bit more for consistency and just because it's pretty freakin' cool. also, i wish they'd have done a few more songs. as it stands, it's slightly under an hour and a half. U2 shows generally run around two and a half hours. not that they should have done the entire setlist, but it would have been cool to see songs like "City of Blinding Lights" or "Mysterious Ways." however, these are minor quibbles in comparison with how amazing this thing really is.
this film will set a new standard for how movies will be made.
check out www.u23dmovie.com for more info and online ticket buying too.
-barnes
* this quote stolen from my old friend, Tracy Cynaumon who now has some other last name that i can't quite remember right now.
** seriously. he lit up right there in the movie theater.
"morning people, guy's nights and mourning people"
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
morning
people
so, i've never been a morning person. never claimed to be. never was willing to put in the effort to be. i'd rather sleep in or be grumpy in the mornings and then be a perfectly pleasant person in the afternoon, evenings and into the night. lately, i've been feeling the need to change.
i would never have admitted it before, but i've always envied morning people. they're so bright and cheery and i feel like they get so much more out of their days than i do. a week or two ago, i decided that i would make myself over i would become a morning person. i mean, i like mornings. they're beautiful (sometimes) and seem like a very useful time in the day. i've just never been able to enjoy them due to my penchant for late nights. Sunday, i decided that today would be the day i began my transformation.
this morning, my alarm went off at 6.30 am. (VERY early for me.) i immediately hit snooze.
at 6.40 am, again
it went off. again i hit snooze. 6.50 am... snooze.
7.00 am... snooze. but then, before i could fall back
asleep, i felt guilty and got my sorry ass out of
bed. (just because i work at a church now, doesn't
mean that i'm not going to say "ass" anymore. sorry
if that offends your sensibilities. also, keep your
eyes open for "damn" and "hell.") anyway, i threw on
some clothes, grabbed my MacBook™ and my morning
Mountain Dew™ and headed out to the cold of the
balcony for a little morning alone time
it was a
beautiful morning (as you can see from the pictures i
took). as if God were saying "see? this is what
you've been missing, you idiot!" anyway, because i
snoozed so long, my time was cut a bit short. (stupid
having to go to work.) but i got a chance to catch up
on the news, drink my Dew™, read Isaiah 40, talk to
God and take some pictures before heading off to the
shower. could i be a morning person? perhaps. but it
will take some effort and dedication. i hope that you
all will support me on my quest to find the morning
person within.
guy's night
if you know me, chances are that you know that most of my closest friends are not of the male variety. it's not intentional (or maybe it is on some subconscious level) but i always seem to end up with more friends that are girls. lately, that has been changing a bit. so, tonight we had a guy's night here at "the h." (by the way, in case i've never mentioned it, my new place is referred to as "the h." this started because it is the "H" model and when we were looking at places down here we referred to it by its model designation to differentiate between it and the other units we looked at. now it seems to stand for "hell yeah!" or something like that.) anyway, so guy's night.
Kit, Tommy, Jer, Tyler and Timmy came over and we had pizza and played Guitar Hero™ and watched Swingers. doesn't sound too crazy or out there exciting. but you know, it was pretty cool. as we were talking, i realized that i'm not the only one who has trouble just "getting together with the guys." so, it was pretty nice to be able to do that. i think we'll have to do it again soon. (i'd post pictures.... but it's a guy's night... you really think we took pictures? what... for our scrapbooks? please.)
mourning people
of course, the big news today was that actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment. first, i want to acknowledge that this is indeed a tragedy. i liked Heath's movies (never saw Brokeback... but i liked the ones that i saw), i think he was incredibly talented and i am still very much looking forward to seeing him as The Joker in the upcoming The Dark Knight. having said all of that, watching the reactions of the people at work today as they found out was priceless.
our office area (which we refer to as "the bullpen") houses about 30 desks surrounded by offices. somehow, nobody shouted out "oh my gosh... Heath Ledger died!" at any point. instead, each area of desks seemed to find out on their own in various ways and have a variety of reactions. from the guys, it usually was something like "wow... bummer" or "ah man... that sucks!" but from the girls, it was a whole other ballgame. Stacy was quite distraught. mostly because (and i just realized this) i think she thought she actually might have had a chance with him or something. (not that i'm worried about it. i mean, she knows that if Penelope Cruz comes along... ) anyway, other girls reactions varied from near tears, to looks of befuddlement. however, my favorite, by far, was from Raelyn, our middle school intern. though the news had been circulating for nearly two hours, i was sitting at my desk when i heard Raelyn shout "NO!!!!" (it was actually more of a shriek.) i looked over at Ashley and we both said... "she just found out." she immediately stopped doing whatever she was doing so that she could get online and get details. Tyler was trying to meet with her and finally just gave up. when he came over for guy's night he told me that she ended up being useless for the rest of the day. (considering that she only interns one day a week, that's a bummer.)
well, that's all for today. tune in tomorrow to find out how amazing U2 3D the movie turns out to be!
barnes
so, i've never been a morning person. never claimed to be. never was willing to put in the effort to be. i'd rather sleep in or be grumpy in the mornings and then be a perfectly pleasant person in the afternoon, evenings and into the night. lately, i've been feeling the need to change.
i would never have admitted it before, but i've always envied morning people. they're so bright and cheery and i feel like they get so much more out of their days than i do. a week or two ago, i decided that i would make myself over i would become a morning person. i mean, i like mornings. they're beautiful (sometimes) and seem like a very useful time in the day. i've just never been able to enjoy them due to my penchant for late nights. Sunday, i decided that today would be the day i began my transformation.
this morning, my alarm went off at 6.30 am. (VERY early for me.) i immediately hit snooze.
guy's night
if you know me, chances are that you know that most of my closest friends are not of the male variety. it's not intentional (or maybe it is on some subconscious level) but i always seem to end up with more friends that are girls. lately, that has been changing a bit. so, tonight we had a guy's night here at "the h." (by the way, in case i've never mentioned it, my new place is referred to as "the h." this started because it is the "H" model and when we were looking at places down here we referred to it by its model designation to differentiate between it and the other units we looked at. now it seems to stand for "hell yeah!" or something like that.) anyway, so guy's night.
Kit, Tommy, Jer, Tyler and Timmy came over and we had pizza and played Guitar Hero™ and watched Swingers. doesn't sound too crazy or out there exciting. but you know, it was pretty cool. as we were talking, i realized that i'm not the only one who has trouble just "getting together with the guys." so, it was pretty nice to be able to do that. i think we'll have to do it again soon. (i'd post pictures.... but it's a guy's night... you really think we took pictures? what... for our scrapbooks? please.)
mourning people
of course, the big news today was that actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment. first, i want to acknowledge that this is indeed a tragedy. i liked Heath's movies (never saw Brokeback... but i liked the ones that i saw), i think he was incredibly talented and i am still very much looking forward to seeing him as The Joker in the upcoming The Dark Knight. having said all of that, watching the reactions of the people at work today as they found out was priceless.
our office area (which we refer to as "the bullpen") houses about 30 desks surrounded by offices. somehow, nobody shouted out "oh my gosh... Heath Ledger died!" at any point. instead, each area of desks seemed to find out on their own in various ways and have a variety of reactions. from the guys, it usually was something like "wow... bummer" or "ah man... that sucks!" but from the girls, it was a whole other ballgame. Stacy was quite distraught. mostly because (and i just realized this) i think she thought she actually might have had a chance with him or something. (not that i'm worried about it. i mean, she knows that if Penelope Cruz comes along... ) anyway, other girls reactions varied from near tears, to looks of befuddlement. however, my favorite, by far, was from Raelyn, our middle school intern. though the news had been circulating for nearly two hours, i was sitting at my desk when i heard Raelyn shout "NO!!!!" (it was actually more of a shriek.) i looked over at Ashley and we both said... "she just found out." she immediately stopped doing whatever she was doing so that she could get online and get details. Tyler was trying to meet with her and finally just gave up. when he came over for guy's night he told me that she ended up being useless for the rest of the day. (considering that she only interns one day a week, that's a bummer.)
well, that's all for today. tune in tomorrow to find out how amazing U2 3D the movie turns out to be!
barnes
"weird weather day"
Monday, January 21, 2008
today was weird because
it would be beautiful and sunny one minute, raining
the next and then beautiful and sunny again the next.
who can keep up? here's a picture outside
ROCKHARBOR
tonight. i just love the streets when they've been
recently rained on. (that smell of rain on asphalt is
almost intoxicating.)
"teaching the teachers"
Sunday, January 20, 2008
this weekend, we had
leader training for kidsROCK
(our Children's
Ministry). Stacy and i developed and co-led a class
on creative teaching and classroom management and it
was pretty much awesome. we have amazing
leaders/teachers/volunteers.
a group doing the "human knot"
good discussion
they were very excited
a group doing the "human knot"
good discussion
they were very excited
"i am a hero" and "Christmas coming down"
Saturday, January 19, 2008
"motion sickness standing still"
Friday, January 18, 2008
i went and saw
Cloverfield
today. i don't know if
it was because i hadn't eaten, or what, but the whole
shaky-cam thing made me almost throw up several
times. i mean, i almost had to leave the theater a
few times. as far as the movie goes, it was pretty
much exactly what i expected. i liked it, but it
wasn't the end all that everyone has been making it
out to be. anyway, i enjoy going to the movies alone,
so this was a nice morning escape for me. (except for
the near-vomit experience.) and yes... i know this
isn't a picture i took. but it'll have to do.
"sister Mardi"
Thursday, January 17, 2008
"balancing the budget"
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
"apple day!"
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
it only comes a few
times a year. when it does, i count down the days, go
in late to work and sit up and pay attention. it's
Apple Day. the day when Apple decides to unleash some
new awesome products on the all too suspecting
public. pretty much... when i think of today... this
is what i'll remember.
the macbook air. www.apple.com/macbookair
the macbook air. www.apple.com/macbookair
"a day of rest"
Monday, January 14, 2008
"shell burgers for everyone!"
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Ralph (the guy who runs
the camp in Idyllwild) told us that his wife is a
"burger connoisseur" and that she said that the best
burger in town was to be found at the Shell station.
what? i know. but they even had a sign... "best
burger on the hill." hmmm... we had to find out!
they weren't that good.
barnes
they weren't that good.
barnes
"winter camp fun"
Saturday, January 12, 2008
so, in case you hadn't
figured it out, this weekend was Winter Camp
for ROCKHARBOR.
we joined forces with some old friends at Mariners
Church (Jen Epperson) and at High Desert Church
(David Robles) that we'd worked with at Yorba Linda
and it was amazing! (i was the speaker and the mohawk
went along with my talks.) it was such an amazing
time and the kids were fantastic. i'm so proud of
Stacy for it all. she came up with the idea to do it,
decided that we should plan our own camp (even though
it's WAY more work), put the whole thing together
with our team and made it awesome. as far as me being
a camp speaker, it was a great experience. i'd been
wanting to speak at a camp for a long time, so this
was very cool for me.
(Stacy, me and Ashley hanging out during freetime)
(me speaking on stage)
anyway, camp was really cool, but i'm also really glad to be back in my own bed and out of the freezing cold.
barnes
(Stacy, me and Ashley hanging out during freetime)
(me speaking on stage)
anyway, camp was really cool, but i'm also really glad to be back in my own bed and out of the freezing cold.
barnes
"an impromtu haircut"
Friday, January 11, 2008
"when everything goes wrong"
Friday, January 11, 2008
when we got to camp and
started setting up, about a million things went wrong
at one time. it was pretty amazing. the biggest (for
me) was that everything for the entire weekend was
going to be run through my computer and i'd brought
up the wrong adapter for the projector. (the one in
the picture.) i called people... i googled the area
for an Apple Store... i tried it all. then i stopped,
closed my eyes and asked God to just help me relax
and present a solution to the problem. i'm not
kidding when i say it was less than a minute later
that the camp host/manager guy showed up and had the
exact thing i needed. and just in case that wasn't
enough, right as he showed up, i got a call from my
friend David who was on his way up and said that he
had found the part at a Best Buy. amazing!
"a time for dogs"
Thursday, January 10, 2008
in the chaos of
preparing for Winter Camp, i took a few minutes to
visit my dogs. the german shepherd/chow mix is Baby.
we've had her for 13 years or so. she's very old and
not doing so well. Scout (the jack russell terrier)
was an impulse buy a few years back. i saw him in the
mall and had to have him. (note to self: research
dogs BEFORE you buy them) anyway, it was nice to take
a few minutes out of a hectic day and run around with
the dogs.
"prepping for Winter Camp"
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
