Bottle Rockets

Paquito

I know it's been a little slow on the blog lately but I found a free second while I was staring out the window at the ocean here in Panama City Beach, FL. I'm on family vacation with Laura and 13 other family members. It's our first time to vacation with family as a married couple and so far it's been great. We got in town last night about 4am. Mom and Dad were gracious enough to wait for us to return from our youth conference (CIY) trip so we could travel together (and so Dad could drive, I was not in a driving condition).

The conference was incredible. Several students made some major decisions and we left feeling a great sense of community and family. It was an awesome week, but one of my favorite parts was a comedian named Taylor Mason. Now, I'll be the first to admit that when I heard there was going to be a comedian there I wasn't real excited. I love comedy, but Christian comedians don't have a great track record. Little did I know how pleasantly surprised I would be. Not only was he hilarious, but he made my wife's night when he pulled out a little pink pig puppet named Paquito. Laura has a strange affinity for small pink pigs. To be honest she wants one and will name it "Piggy," but only if it stays small and clean.

The first clip is Paquito. The second is his audition for Last Comic Standing.

Is it really mid July?

Okay, have you ever been driving and you show up somewhere but you don't remember driving. You can remember leaving and you know where you are but the time in between seems to be a blur. You can't remember passing the gas station or the bank. It's just gone. Well, apparently that just happened to me. I've seemed to have lost my entire week! Things have been extremely busy so the blog has taken the brunt of it. I wish I had time to share more about Panama. I'm sure a couple of videos will be up on the web soon so stay tuned for that. I'm leaving for CIY in the morning and leave for vacation the week after that so the blog may end up getting neglected for awhile. We'll see what happens.

In other news, I almost got an Iphone yesterday, but they were sold out. Looks like that's going to have to wait as well. For a great story about the chaos of buying one on opening day check out my friend Brad's blog.

Back at last...thanks to Indiana Dan

After traveling by boat, bus and five flights the Panama team finally made it back home to Noblesville Sunday. We are pretty much exhausted but excited about what God is doing in Panama. Instead of trying to cram in a thousand ideas into one blog entry I thought I'd spend this week highlighting a few of the more memorable moments. Thanks so much for everyone that prayed for us during our trip. God was definitely working in and through our time there.

Although God taught me a lot this week one of the most eye opening experiences was to really get to know our mission's pastor, Dan. Growing up in the church Paul was always a hero of mine. He was a guy that went through it all just to spread the gospel. The only problem was that I had never really met anyone that I could picture in my mind while reading through Paul's letters, until now. Dan is truly a modern day Paul to me. Multiple times a year he sacrifices the comforts of the US to travel abroad into the hidden villages of Panama to help spread the gospel into the dark places of the world. His experiences are more like Indiana Jones than some tame vacation bible school. After sharing stories with me for a week I've come to see Dan in a whole new light. I had always respected him but this week he became a hero for me. Dan, thanks so much for teaching me what it means to truly sacrifice yourself for the sake of Christ. You were a great leader on our trip, an awesome example and a blast to hang out with. Thank you for your years of devotion.

P.S. Kathy is also amazing. Any woman who is willing to let her husband go out into such a dangerous place time and time again is a saint in my book. Kathy, you're awesome!

End of the Rainbow

I've always heard that there's treasure at the end of the rainbow. Ever since I was a child I've tried to find my pot of gold but apparently that wasn't the true treasure. Thankfully it wasn't knowledge either (sorry Indiana Jones). This week the mystery ended. I was driving home after it rained and I saw the treasure at the end of the rainbow, it was Best Buy and it was beautiful.

Panama

Today Laura and I leave with nine students and a few other adults for a week in a village somewhere in Panama. We are going to be building two houses for the community there. One house will go to a local pastor there and the other for a group of orphan siblings. We'll get back late next Saturday. Over the next week will you please pray for our trip. Here are a few things that we could use prayer for...
.
.
.

• Pray that God will open our hearts and minds to see the people of Panama the way He does.
• Pray that God will give us opportunities to share the Gospel and that it will be fruitful.
• Pray for our safety as we give teenagers power tools, hammers and saws.
• Pray that God's kingdom will advance in the country of Panama.

I can't wait to get back and tell of what God is doing in another part of the world.

New Hero

His name is Bill Rabe. He was the public relations director for Lake Superior State University. I've always had a love/hate relationship with cliches so when I stumbled across the "Banished Words List," I was in heaven. I couldn't stop laughing at how many of them I also hate and more embarrassingly how many I still use. But after reading threw the list and blogging about my organic experience curiosity started to mount and I had to learn more about the man behind the list.

Born in Detroit, Rabe was a World War II veteran and a newsman. But more than that he was a creative genius. Who's ever heard of Lake Superior State University? It sounds more like a name of college on a low-grade sitcom than an actually degree granting institution. And yet, you've now heard of it. Besides the Banished Words List, Rabe also created the Unicorn Hunters. Although the group is no longer active it's legend lives on. He also instituted the annual snowman burning to issue in the first day of spring.

While there wasn't extreme purpose in these ventures it proves that people love creativity and people love fun. I hearing about people that are good at both. Rabe is a new hero of mine. Here's to thinking outside of the box and having fun doing it.

Organic Sheets?

Last night I was walking around Meijer trying to finish some last minute shopping for our Panama trip (we leave on Saturday!) when something jumped out of me, organic sheets. The phrase stopped me right in my tracks. I couldn't help but wonder in what far off village in some country I can't pronounce is there a community of organic sheet growers? I don't remember anything about "on the eighth day God created organic sheets." The real irony is that even if these so called organic sheets haven't been tainted by our demon chemicals they will be soon when we have to wash them. Was there really an out cry for all organic sheets? Has chemically altered cotton been an increasing under the radar issue?

It is a strange phenomenon in the human psyche, we take a good idea or phrase and totally run it into the mud. By the time we are finished obliterating it's meaning and usefulness the word is left devoid of meaning and value. Organic has certainly run its course and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Every year Lake Superior State University banishes a list of words from the English vernacular. Organic made the 2008 list along with other worn out phrases such as "perfect storm," "back in the day," and one of my personal favorites "it is what it is." If you want the full list you can check it out here. Every year they take suggestions for the next years banishment. If you have any suggestions leave them here. I'm sure my wife will submit "tight" which I say all the time and it drives her crazy.

Yesterday

It started early. I got up at 6 to get to church and start practice for the main services. It was our new worship pastor Jay's first morning to lead. He did a fantastic job. I wish people could see him behind the scenes. He's got a great heart and is a solid leader. I had a blast worshiping with him.

After a quick lunch with some friends I headed back to church to get ready for a special Awake. It was an all worship night with multiple avenues of giving glory to God. One option was a room where students could draw or write. You never know what you'll get when you give students a blank page but it was incredible. This is one of the pictures one student drew. God's Spirit is at work in our ministry and I can't wait to see where He'll take us next.
.
.
.

.
The night ended in an unexpected way. I was walking up the stairs to my apartment door and found this!

I couldn't help but crack up. Finally a prank that made me laugh and didn't cost me $10 to clean up. It was a great day.

Replacement Player

Our youth ministry is a foosball ministry. We have a motto around here  "foos it or lose it." Unfortunately, due to the high intensity of the matches one of our foos men suffered the loss, he snapped in half. With a few weeks out of commission, a replacement player has finally arrived. What was cool was he showed up with his own personalized jersey!

Father's Day

10 Ten Reasons I Have the Best Dad Ever

.
.

.

.

.

1. He's one of the godliest men I've ever met.
2. He taught me about important things like fixing a car window, chess and the importance of things being level.
3. He's never seen a problem he couldn't find a solution to.
4. He taught me how to work hard.
5. He's a great friend and mentor.
6. He's a great husband.
7. He 's my second biggest fan (Laura will always edge him out on that one)
8. He never "let" me win but he was proud of me when I did.
9. He IS Macgyver.
10. He is what I think of when I think of Integrity.

I love ya Dad.