Camping

As we are on vacation, staying in a very nice hotel, I am reminded of how some people choose to spend their vacations. To some, camping is the greatest vacation there is. I would not be one of those people. I just don't understand why people love to go camping, yet, every summer, camp grounds are packed with people. I can understand the cost savings of camping. If you want to go somewhere and a hotel room is too expensive, camping can be that cost effective way to still go on that vacation. I get that. However, the people that their only reason to go camping is the enjoyment they get from camping, I don't understand. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Brilliant inventors have come up with things that give us comfort, things like air conditioning, indoor running water, a bed. Why would you purposefully give these things up? And, probably my most pressing question for you camping loving people is that, if you are the type that gets no greater joy then when you are camping, then why do you have a house? If camping and living that lifestyle are so awesome, why not live that way 365 days a year?

Do you enjoy camping? If so, please let me know why? I don't know that I would ever change my mind about camping, but would be interested in hearing your point of view on the subject.

Leaving, on a Jet Plane

This morning, we leave from Norfolk, Virginia headed for Los Angeles, California. I'm not looking forward to the 6 1/2 hour flight time, but I'm very excited to get to Hollywood. We are sad to leave the boys for 4 days, but they will be in very capable hands. And, I am a firm believer that a husband and wife need to, periodically, take a few days away from their children. It will strengthen our marriage in the long run. Besides, the boys could probably use a few days away from us as well.

So, were off to Hollywood

Chad Jarnagin

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I have recently started my own Facebook page. It has allowed me to reconnect with a lot of friends from my past. It is really cool.

One such person, I reconnected with, is a friend that we went to the same church and elementary school growing up. His name is Chad Jarnigan. What I knew about Chad was that he moved away to sing in a gospel quartet. They were really good. I knew they had put out a couple albums and toured around a bit. However, that was about all I had known about what happened to Chad.

After connecting through Facebook, I was happy to learn that Chad has done some awesome things. Check out his website, chadjarnigan.com. He is currently the Worship arts Pastor at Rolling Hills Community Church in Nashville, Tennessee. According to his site, he has toured over 1800 shows/events. He has performed in many sports stadiums and arenas. Needless to say, he has made a great life for himself. I am proud to say that I know him.

Facebook

Now that I am leading the College age Ministry, at Liberty Heights Church, I have been encouraged to start my very own Facebook page. Apparently, everyone who is anyone has a Facebook page. And now, that includes me.

Facebook is a great tool to reconnect with people you haven't talked to in years, as well as keeping up with the goings on of people that we do see frequently, but had no idea what their day to day life was like. Facebook is also a great tool to communicate things to large groups of people very quickly. That is my main hope for use with our College Ministry.

For those of you that haven't used it, Facebook allows two users to declare themselves "friends". So, when you first start using Facebook, you, kind of, feel like the kid sitting alone at the lunch table. You see everyone else with lots of "friends", but you don't have any. Slowly, but surely, people you know start "friending" you. I have to admit, it was a pretty good feeling to pass the 100 friend mark. Of course, I then took a look at some of the members of our College ministry and see that a few have well over 700 "friends". That puts me back in my place.

So, if you haven't signed up for Facebook, you should. It is pretty cool. Besides, I could always use another "friend".

What in the world did you say to me? III

Here is a recount of a "What in the world did you say to me?" moment I was a witness to. I was standing in line at Penn Station restaurant (For those of you that may not know, Penn Station is a east coast style sub shop). I had placed my order and was waiting on it to be cooked.

Through the restaurant entrance, I see a guy walk in and immediately realize that he knew one of the guys working behind the counter. The conversation went like this:

Customer: "Bill, man, I haven't seen you in forever. What have you been up to?"

Worker: "Not much. How about you? Where are you working?"

Customer: "I've been working at this store in the mall. I am now the assistant manager."

Worker: "Man, that is great to hear."

Then it happened. The "What in the world did you say to me?" moment.

Customer: "So, where are you working?"

The worker responded with some version of "What in the world did you say to me?" I think it may have been more like, "What kind of stupid question is that? You see me behind this counter with an apron and a spatula, don't you?"

The conversation ended with the worker turning around and never again acknowledging that the customer was still in the restaurant.

The Outsiders

One of my all time favorite movies, that was originally a best selling book, was "The Outsiders". This movie may have had the all time greatest cast, from top to bottom, of any movie. How about these names? Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Diane Lane, Leif Garret, and Matt Dillon.

The movie also has my favorite character name of all time, Sodapop Curtis. I just think it is a cool name. So cool, in fact, that I begged my wife to let us name a child Sodapop, but should wouldn't go for it. (She wanted S names and Sodapop is an S name) If you have seen the movie or read the book, you know that Sodapop was one of three brothers. His youngest brother (And the star of the movie/book) was named Ponyboy, another original name. Then there was the oldest brother, Darrell. Really? Darrell? Sodapop, Ponyboy, and then Darrell? I think the author must have gotten tired of coming up with really cool names. Not that Darrell isn't a fine name, but it is nothing compared to Sodapop or Ponyboy!

If you have never seen the movie or read the book, I would suggest doing so. Both are great. If you have read the book or seen the movie, I have 2 words for you, "Stay Golden".

Independence Day

One of the coolest perks of our new house happens on the 4th of July. In our town of Monroe, Ohio, each year they celebrate the 4th with a very nice fireworks display. Last year, with Slade only being a few months old, we decided that going to the park to watch the fireworks was in the "too hard" category. So, we chose to stay home. We happened to be upstairs when we heard the fireworks start and took a look outside to see if we could see anything. We discovered that we had a great view of the fireworks from our master bedroom. We opened the curtains, brought the boys to the window, and enjoyed a great fireworks show from the comfort of our own house. It was great. And, we didn't even have to fight the crowds to get back home after the fireworks, because we were already there!

This year, however, we are out of town for the 4th and will have to miss the Monroe fireworks. We are spending the week in Virginia with Sarah's parents and, I am sure, will be checking out a fireworks display in their town. They do have fireworks in Virginia, don't they?

Another Vacation

I'm on Vacation! Today we are leaving for a few days in Virginia, then we are off to Hollywood, California!

In Hollywood, we will be staying at the Renaissance Hotel, which is right next to Grauman's Chinese theatre (The one with all the star's hand prints) and the Walk of Fame. We plan on trying a world famous Pink's hot dog and I am trying to talk Sarah into a stop by Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles. We also have a lunch reservation at Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood. More about that in another post.

We have tickets to a sitcom taping and will do lots of other touristy things. We will also take these few days to sleep in! That might be one of the best parts of the whole trip. I will make sure to blog some of the highlights when we get back.

Packing

Tomorrow, we leave for another vacation. Being on vacation is wonderful. However, the day before vacation, is the worst. Why? Because I hate to pack.

The entire process of packing frustrates me. It starts with deciding what to take. Is it going to be cold or hot? Are we going to be casual or do we need to dress up some days? Do I need dress shoes or will tennis shoes do the trick?

Then, once I decide on what to take, cramming all my clean, wrinkle free clothes into a small suitcase, just knowing they will be wrinkled when I get them out, is maddening. Because of my indecisiveness, I tend to overpack. So, of course, overpacking means even more wrinkles.

Finally, after stuffing the suitcase full, the worry sets in. Did I pack everything? Do I need another shirt or another pair of pants? Will my mouthwash spill out all over my clothes. So frustrating!

But tomorrow, all the frustration will end. I will be on vacation! Anything I didn't pack, I'll either do without or buy another one when we reach our destination. I can't wait!

Be a Radical

When it comes to the big things in life, I tend to be very conservative. I don't really like to take chances. Sure, on small things, I can take a few chances, because, with small things, what I may lose by taking a chance is also small. I want to stop being so conservative and start being radical!

What I mean by that, is that I am challenging myself to step out and take a risk that is so radical that, as God calls me to take that risk, the only way to accomplish anything is for God to step in and intervene on my behalf. Something that is so out of my comfort zone that I can only be successful through and by Him. I want God to take someone like me, that may not be equipped or gifted for what He is calling me to do and for Him to lead me step by step through it, to bring Himself even greater glory.

What is it that God is calling you to today? What is it that, as we speak, you are not equipped to accomplish and only through God's grace and mercy will you have the tools to be successful? Whatever it is, I pray that we step up to become radical!