Teen Repellent

In the UK some stores are using a high frequency sound that only teens can hear to keep them out of their retail stores. Apparently it is really annoying. I can't hear the sound. Can you? It's not the background sound it's the high pitched sound over the background noise.

Please listen to the sound here and comment on the following...

My age is ____
I can hear the sound ___yes ___no

tags: Mosquito Sound teens

X-Men III

I saw X-Men the other night. The best part was when one of the genetically altered mutants tied Babe Ruth's homerun record.

The Babe is Still King

Steroids aren't the only thing that helped Barry Bonds pass Babe Ruth on the all-time homerun list. When the Babe played a ball that went over the fence in fair territory but hooked and landed foul was called a foul ball. The rule was later changed so that the ball was fair or foul depending on where it was when it went over the fence. This is why the foul poles were added as well. Some estimate that had Ruth played under the current rules he would have had at least 80 additional homeruns to his credit. Of course had Barry played under the current steroid rules he would probably have a few less homers himself. So, Barry's got more in the books but the Babe is still the homerun king.


tags: Yankees Babe Ruth Barry Bonds

The Weekend

Great weekend. Here's some hightlights.

Seeing Calyn off at the airport...bittersweet but great to see her following God wherever he leads.

OOSBA (hopefully videos coming soon)
1) "Amy do you take Ethan to have and to hold 'til death do you part?" Amy: "Heck yeah!"
2) Paul: "does #2 count or does it have to pea?"
3) Some lady at Lake Ella, "I've fallen and I can't get up. I've fallen and I can't get up"
4) Scott and James spaking each other.
5) The Morrow boys leaping ability.

The 'Noles...won three straight to advance to the ACC semi-finals before losing by one run to NCState. Way to fight back out of the losers bracket. Hopefully they'll carry that into the regionals.

ROC...
Praying for Lori, Calyn, Daniel, Ethan & Shannon - all are going to be out for awhile why they go build the kingdom.

Eating ROCs...talking to Mr. Craig and hearing they made their baloon payment of $42,000. That's got to be a relief!

SCORE

Most of my family was watching some karaoke show on FOX Wednesday night so I decided to slip into the other room and see what else was on. I found some baseball game on ESPN. Neither team was from around here but I watched anyway. I think it was New York vs. Boston or some such thing. Anyway, I decided I go ahead and watch. You would be amazed at what you can learn watching baseball. For example...Some man named A-ROD (yes, I know it's an unusual name) came up to bat. From what I could gather he's some superhuman player who excels...except when the game is on the line. So the announcers begin talking about this sports therapist that A-ROD has been seeing to help him excel in clutch situations. Orel Hershiser was one of the announcers. Apparently he used to be one of the guys that throws the ball from the big hill in the middle of the field. He apparently used to visit this same therapist to help him excel so he gave the outline of his program. So if you would like to excel when the pressure is on but don't make the millions of dollars these guys do to go see a guru here is the five point plan.

Self Discipline
Concentration
Optimism
Relaxation (I've heard Zen gardens can help with this one)
Enjoyment


A-Rod Warms Up with Big Papi - Looks Like they have 'enjoyment' down.

tags: Yankees tags: baseball tags: A-Rod tags: jim Fannin

"a HAPPY time of rejoicing..."

Interesting day...

Stanley, my long lost stapler was returned today. He was kidnapped two years ago with demands as ransom for his return. I do not negotiate with terrorists so he was held in captivity for the last two years. Apparently his kidnapper is leaving the country and could no longer care for him. He was returned in good health and with a full load of blue staples. He seems to be fine. I think his captors cared for him well.

On a side note...I received a unique gift today. A Zen garden complete with Buddha head. Now for any of you Opus Dei types out there...I do not condone the worship of Buddha. But I have to admit it's a pretty unique gift.

Buddha does have something in common with Jesus...Nobody really knows what either looked like. So the debate today was whether my Buddha head actually was Buddha or not. Apparently it is. It is the skinny version as opposed to the one most of us are accustomed to.

My BuddhaBig Buddah

Basics...

"This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-and I was the worst of them all." 1 Timothy 1:15

Sometimes I beat myself up because I don't excel at being a developmental psychologist, motivator, planner, organizer, disciplinarian, promoter, Bible scholar, creative teacher, counselor, parent, life guard, church historian, travel agent, communicator, writer, website designer, video editor, entertainer and whatever other false expectations I put on myself that I'll never achieve. So for now I plan to rest in what I know and allow God to supply for the lack.


tags: God ministry

Rangers 13 Yankees.......

I got a text message last night. The subject read Rangers 13 Yankees........ I thought great the Yanks got smoked last night. I openeed it up to see just how bad they got beat. The complete message read Rangers 13 Yankees 14. The Yankees overcame a 9 - 0 defecit to comeback and win the games. Wow...sometimes life brings pleasant surprises. Brad Wilkerson (former Gator) went deep on Scott Proctor (former 'Nole) to give the Rangers a late lead but it didn't last when Jorge Posada hit a walk off two run homer in bottom of the ninth with two outs.

On a different note the 'Noles lost again. This time in extra innings. Here's Drew couting the K's (strikeouts for you soccer fans) on the post. If he could have counted one more the 'Noles would have won. As it is they gave up 5 runs with two outs in the top of the 11th to lose the game.


tags: Yankees

Church Shopping

tags: church

Passion

I'm trying to read a book called, "Practicing Passion: Youth and Quest for a Passionate Church" . Actually the book is pretty heady so I should just give it someone like Brandon and let him read it and then explain it to me. But there were a few quotes in there that jumped out and seemed to make sense.

"Adolescents are searching for something, for somone, 'to die for'...a cause worthy of their suffering, a love worthy of a lifetime and not just a Sunday night. In short, they are searching for passion"

"The Passion of Christ is good news to adolescents, not because Jesus suffers, but because Jesus loves them with such wild, passionate hope that even death on a cross cannot stop his determination to win them."

"Passion asks something of young people; in fact, it asks everything of them"

"salvation is at stake, for they will not give up on true love until they find it, or until consumer culture numbs them into a kind of lobotomized compliance, whichever comes first. Whether they discover the true source of passion - whether they ever connect their desire for love with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ or with the church at all, for the matter - largely depends on whether the church bears witness to a love more true than those available in popular culture. And that, of course, depends on whether the church practices the passion we preach"

Reading this book has made me grateful for the great examples of passionate selfless love that many of our leaders demonstrated for our youth. Some like Lori for moving to Ukraine and giving her life away because of her love for Christ and the people of Ukraine and also for the ones who stay here and give up so much in order to spend time discipling students.

But I also am very challenged by this book to think about the way we do ministry. We do so much for students. I'm not sure that we do enough to encourage them to do for others. All of the students we put in the category of 'getting it' seem to be the one's that find opportunities to serve and minister. We assume they serve and minister because they 'get it'. But maybe it's the opposite. Maybe they 'get it' because they serve and minister.

In process...

tags: God Youth Ministry Jesus Passion

STRIVE 2006

Barry Bonds in the News

Barry Bonds made the news this week when he missed a game because he took a foul ball off his head during batting practice. Shouldn't it make news every time a ball manages to miss Barry Bond's head?


tags: Barry Bonds

Jed, Ted & Johnny

Great job Calyn, Jenna, Christian, Brandon, Alicia, Kenley, Ian & Walker on the skit yesterday...



oh Johnny Damon returs to Fenway tonight. 7:00 on ESPN. You know you want to see it.

tags: Yankees humor