T.O. plus Fresh Prince song = Brilliance

Click

here

to watch this hillarious video.

I wont be home for Christmas

Today I received the saddest news in the history of news.
Today, I was informed that my vacation days for the year are up.
I honestly was misinformed when I was hired. I was told I had numerous weeks but today they said something different. Here is the sad thing. I was getting ready to book my flight to Texas for Christmas. Now it looks like I will be stuck in central CA. by myself. Im going to be a 26 year old Macaulay Culkin from Home Alone. You can feel sorry for me. I give you permission.

Jr. High Lake day begins with a bang. (literally)

We went to the lake this weekend for a day of skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, and whatever else you can do on a boat. This past week, I received a phone call from a mom wanting to plug her student into the Jr. High ministry. His name is Britton. He had never been to church before. I invited him to lake day. Sure enough, he was the first one to show up and he brought a friend. I was excited to see two new students at an event.

We loaded up the boats and he was the first one to wakeboard. He was actually really good. He caught a wake, started flying through the air like superman and sure enough the board pops up behind him and catches him right in the head. We pulled him into the boat and saw that he was bleeding like crazy. Now, I really had to step up in this moment, because I am horrible when it comes to blood or injuries or anything like that. We took him to the hospital and he ended up having to get 10 stitches.
It was horrible that this happend to a first time visitor, but I was trying to think of what good could come from this.
1. His parents were extremely cool about it.
2. He has a memory now that will last a lifetime.
3. Chicks dig scars.
4. We got the entire thing on video.

How do I get on this show?

Now, I am not a huge fan of Summer television. 99% of the shows are not worth even being on the air. I have however been addicted to one show. (Big Brother Allstars)
This is the first time I have ever seen this show. From what I hear, there have been 6 other seasons. To me, it is real world mixed with survivor.

I need someone to tell me how to apply for this show. I believe that not only would this show be fun, but I think that I would be decent at it. And I could always use the half million dollars.

I will admit, I could not make it out alive in Survivor, and I could not do all the stunts on Fear Factor, but I could easily stay in a house with strangers competing in ridiculous competitions. Sign me up!

I'm LOST!

I am putting together a Jr. High Allnighter outreach program on Sept. 15. Our them is LOST.
This event consist of a rally, all you can eat pizza, and then rotation from bowling to skating to Adventure Park. (go karts, arcade, ect...)

I am freaking out for two reasons.
1) I have no idea how many students are going to show up. This is suppose to be a huge event with hundreds of students but for some reason Im thinking that about 18 will show up.
2) The rally is 2 and a half hours long. I am struggling to fill the time with jam packed entertainment. For all you ministry programing experts out there, this is your time to help a brother out. Any suggestions would be wonderful!!!

I am half way joking and half way concerned. I am trying my best to make sure that this event is great but I am my own worst critic when it comes to this stuff.
You might be far away, but feel free to fly your Jr. High ministry out here for this great event.

Japanese TV game

Not sure what Japanese TV is like or what the premise is for this, but try not to laugh with these TV Game Show contestants!

Book Club Tag

Wow, I have never been in a book club before. I feel nerdy.
Mike Lovato tagged me so here is my list of books.


1. One book that changed your life: The Persuit of God by A.W. Tozer. My brother gave it to me in high school. Helps you see "Grace" in a whole new way.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: The Shining by Stephen King. Thanks to the influence of Joey on friends.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island: Building boats for dummies. Makes sense to me.

4. One book that made you laugh: Motherhood and Hollywood by Patricia Heaton. Absolutely hillarious.

5. One book that made you cry: The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks.
Actually any book by Nicholas Sparks.

6. One book you wish had been written: Fun things to do in Central CA. Havnt found much yet.

7. One book you wish had never been written: Tale of two cities by Charles Dickens. I failed an english class in 9th grade because of this dumb book.

8. One book you’re currently reading: Controlled Chaos by Kurt Johnston. Its about time I read this book.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: He-Motions by T.D. Jakes. One of my favorite speakers to listen to, so Im sure his book is good.

10. One book you’d like to write: 101 reasons why Texas is the best place on earth. Should not take long to write.

There is my list. I guess I am suppose to tag someone now. Isnt that how this works? Okay, I tag Brian Schwanbeck, Courtney Gause, and Stephen Perry.

My trip to L.V.

I know they say "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" but I didnt do anything bad, so therefore I am writing about my trip. I met up with my cousin and aunt and uncle in Vegas for a few days of fun. Now I had never been to Vegas before, so I wasnt even sure if I was going to have fun. I will admitt that the only things I wanted to do were see David Copperfield, (thats been a dream since I was a kid) and yes, Celine Deion. Say what you want, that would be a great show. However, tickets were way too high.
Now,I rarely have a drink, I never gamble, and I definitily dont do the other things that go on there. It shocks me to think of how accepting and okay it is there to live a sinful life style. The people just seemed lost. It was actually quite sad. I guess they dont call it sin city for nothing.
We did have fun however. It wasnt until I started gambling a little that I realized how cheap I really am. I would lose 10 dollars and act like I lost 1000. Its the worst feeling. The last night there, I decided to play 3 card poker at a table. I would lose, then lose, then lose again. I got down to 2 chips. Sure enough, I hit 3 of a kind and won big. (well big for me anyways.) Overall, good trip. I dont think its a place that I would choose for an annual vacation but it was fun.

I'm always in trouble...

I was setting up for the Jr. High service on Sunday Morning. Now, I like my church. There are a lot of great people in my church, but there are some very, very, very, very, conservative people as well. I thought I was conservative.
I set up the game, dance dance revolution for jr. high and one of the volunteer staff who was leading worship got up in front of the students and said "I would never allow that game in my house." Now I was stunned. Its one thing to say it to me in private, but not from the stage. And unfortunately, if I get upset I sometimes respond with a smart elic comment. After he said that, I responded with "Well its a good thing we are in Gods house then. He loves dancing."

Looks like I might of lost a great volunteer.

I must live with the guilt.

After church, I went and played golf and then turned on the tv for a relaxing Sunday afternoon. I turned the channel to the Bengals, Redskins preseason game.
Being a huge cowboy fan, the first thing that came out of my mouth was "man, I hope someone on the redskins gets hurt" (competely joking of course.) But sure enough, there star running back, Clinton Portis dislocates his shoulder within the first 10 minutes of the game and might miss some of the regular season. Be careful with what you say!

Shuffle up and deal

My good friend, Josh Treece used me this week for his "Shuffle up and deal" blog.
He takes the first 5 songs that pops up on your ipod when you put it on shuffle. I will gladly admitt that I like all of these artists. Now some of you might be embarassed by artists such as Carrie Underwood or Bon Jovi, but not I.
Click here to check it out.

His Amazing Grace

I was reading through Luke and came upon the story of the crucifixion.
Jesus was hanging on the cross. There were two criminals hanging on a cross. One to the left, one to the right. One criminal started hurling insults and asked "Arent you the Christ? Save yourself and us."
But the other criminal rebuked him. and said "Dont you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are getting what we deserve but He has done nothing wrong."
Then he said "Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom."

Jesus showed the ultimate example of Grace by saying "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.

There are some things that boggle my mind. Some things that just dont make sense to me. This criminal had nothing to offer. He was about to die and could not make up for his past. But Jesus just wiped his sins aways and said, you will enter my kingdom. Unbelievable!

I guess we dont have to understand it, we just get to accept it.

Help make my choice easier

I have a very tough choice to make.
Being a youth pastor, it is completely neceserry to keep myself up to date with the students.
With that said, I must invest in a new video game system. (That is how I am justifying the money I am blowing.) Even if you know nothing about video games, feel free to give your opinion on what I should do.
Option A - Xbox 360. I have heard mixed reviews but somewhat affordable.
Option B - PS3 - Heard great things. Must wait until Nov. Definitily not affordable.
Option C - Get a life, save my money, but not be a cool youth pastor.

Tough Choice. Help me out.

I saw a bright light...

For some strange reason, I decided today to go running.
My goal was to start with a mile and work my way up everyday from now on.
Here was the problem though...
A. I Dont run. (ever)
B. I decided to go at 3 in the afternoon, and it gets hot.
C. I Dont run. (ever)

After a mile I was feeling pretty good, so the stupidity in me spoke up and said "Go for two". I am proud to say I made it. I had to lay on the track for about 20 minutes when I was done though. I thought it was time to see Jesus.

Im going for three tomorrow. Plan the funeral now.

Reminds me of Home...

Last night, I went to see Carrie Underwood in concert at a theater in Fresno.
Being from Texas, I am use to seeing people with Cowboy hats, tight wranglers, and a can of chewing tobacco in their hands. However, I never thought I would see this in CA. It was good to see country people. It made me miss home.
Now being a huge American Idol fan, I was very excited about this concert but was not sure how well she would be live.
The setting was pretty cool. It only seated about 3000 people, and was very laid back. She did the songs from her album but also did a sweet version of "Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns and Roses. It was actually really good. Her band was very talented.

Its hard to compare the show with Kelly Clarkson. Two very different shows.
But they are both great, and I would marry either one. (preferably Kelly; she's a Texas girl.)

Get Your Popcorn Ready.

Football season is almost here. I can already taste it. It is going to be a great year for America's Team.

For the past three years, the Dallas Cowboys have their training camp in Oxnard, CA.
The past couple of years, me and whoever would come with me would drive up to Oxnard, watch one practice, try to get a few autographs and come back home.
This year was different. The high school ministry at my church was having their beach camp in Oxnard. So I got to go to the practice, sleep at the beach camp and then watch two more practices. It was like God organized the whole thing just for me.

It was a fun trip watching them run plays, crazy fans yelling at the players, and Coach Parcells cussing them out when they mess up. And of course, the most hated player in the NFL, El Derado Terrell Owens, is now a Cowboy. Hopefully he is a changed man.

Here are a few pics that I took at the camp. Most of the day consist of getting shoved into a fence and elbowed in the face while waiting for autographs. It was brutal.



T.O. running a Route



Roy Williams siging autographs for the fans.



Team Stretches



Pitch to the left for Tyson Thompson



Crazy Fans trying to get autographs. (including me)

Are you ready to be jealous?

Are you sitting down? If not, take a few seconds really quick and find a seat.
Okay, are you ready? Get ready to envy my life...
Here we go. This Thursday, August 3rd, I am going to see Carrie Underwood in concert.

I was hesitant to post this because I am sure I will get made fun of quite a bit. But i compared it to being a Christian. You see, the Bible says that a Christian will go through many trials and persecution. But the end result makes it all worth it. Its the same with Carrie. The concert will be so great, you can say whatever you want. Afterall, she was the season 4 AMERICAN IDOL!

I have seen Kelly Clarkson in concert, so I will give all of you a great comparison of which girl puts on a better show.