Im in love!

Thats right.
I went out today at lunch time and test drove a Toyota FJ Cruiser. Thats the kind of thing you do for fun in Visalia. I wasnt sure if I liked it or not when it first came out but now I have to say that it is the best suv out there at an affordable price. I asked the dealer if I could take if offroad, but he looked at me and said "funny question." I wasnt joking though.

The only thing is I have the worst timing ever. I bought an Xterra about 6 months ago. Oh well, maybe in 5 years Ill get the cruiser.

What is wrong with this guy?

Well, I am sure you have heard the news by now. Terrell Elderado Owens took about 100 painkillers and tried to kill himself. That is what the media is saying anyways.
We really dont have a clue of what really went on, but if I had to guess, T.O took a few pills, had an allergic reaction, couldnt respond, was taken to the hospital, and let out the next day and now is great and will play with the Cowboys this Sunday.

It amazes me how something so little can explode all across the country and can become the biggest and most important story of the day. Seriously, no matter what channel I turned to, they were talking about T.O.

He loves attention though, so Im sure he didnt mind all the publicity.
Glad he is okay though, the cowboys need him.

Superdome reopens for 1st time since Katrina.

If you are a football fanatic that watches several games all week long, or if you are just one that tolerates it and spends the whole time commenting on the colors of the uniforms, last nights Monday night game was fun to watch.
The New Orleans Saints hosted the Atlanta Falcons. IM sure it was pretty emotional for everyone who was their experiencing the city becoming somewhat normal again. Living across the country, I don't have a sense of reality of what really took place. You see the pictures of devastation and you feel bad, but to me it just seemed like another third world country. It was hard to believe that it was right here.

I didn't understand at first why they spent so much time and money on the dome when there are thousands of houses that have been destroyed, but after last night it is easy to see why. The Saints are a symbol for the city. They represent what New Orleans is and when people see the dome open, they see a little normalcy come back to their lives.

And the Saints stomped all over Atlanta, which wasn't good for me because I have Vick on my fantasy team.

Most dangerous city - my home town?

Just read a very sad article. Out of the 10 largest cities in the U.S. Dallas TX. ranked number 1 one as the city with the most crime in it. Who would of thought Texans were so cruel. Thats okay, I still think everyone should live in TX for at leat a year to experience life to the fullest. Yes, it is that amazing.

Single + Youth Pastor = People watching you

I am starting to find out the hard way what it is like to be single and in the ministry. There was a volunteer that I brought on thinking she would be great and her motives were right for joining the team. Man was I wrong. Believe it or not, some people might want to join your ministry to be closer to you. I know, I couldn't believe it either. At first I didn't even know how big of a problem it would be, but its amazing the accusations that people will come up with on the simple fact that they see you hanging out with someone from the opposite sex. Rumors were spread, integrity is questioned, and people get hurt.

Are single people in ministry allowed to have a life? Are we allowed to date, or even hangout as friends? I would think the simple answer would be yes but I am realizing that it comes with a price. If you are a youth pastor out there and are not married, I want you to know that some people are actually interested in watching your every move. Who knows what there reasons are? Writing all of this leads to a lot more questions than answers but it is something that I think a lot of youth pastors go through.

Swim at your own risk!

A local news crew in the Houston area noticed something moving in the water in Lake Conroe. They took pictures of this huge beast from above in a helicopter. The alligator is 13 feet long and you can see it has an entire deer in its mouth. Sad to say they had to shoot the thing. Here are some pictures.

ITS OVER!!!!

Last night, we had our Jr. High outrech allnighter. I had been putting this event together for a couple months now and being my first huge event at this church, I was pretty nervous and wanted to make sure that it was a success. And it was a success indeed. We had just under 300 students join us for this awesome event, no one got hurt, I didnt lose or leave any kids, and they had fun. To me, thats a success.

We started out at 7 with a pre rally. We just had some stage games and interviewed students as they came in. From 8 to 10:30 we had our rally. We had 2 bands, 2 videos, 2 games, giveaways, and s speeaker. Then the fun began. We stayed up allnight going to different venues. There was bowlng, roller skating, and Adventure Park. The kids loved it. And yes, I made it. I stayed up allnight. I didnt think it could be done.

Best part of the night: The Speaker
His name is Donny Burleson. He was recomended to me by Jonathan McKee. (source for youth ministry.) I didnt really know what to expect. He started off pretty serious and pointing out kids, telling them to be quiet. I got pretty nervous. But when he got into his talk, he was amazing. He was hillarious and the kids were laughing the whole time. At the end of the talk almost 100 students came to the front to pray. Almost 50 went to a room for counseling. God showed up and lives were changed.

It is over now, and I dont have to stay up allnight until next year. THANK GOD!

Getting through the crud.

I woke up early this morning. I went outside to get the paper and saw that the sun was coming up over the mountains. It would of been quite beautiful, however central CA. is known for having a bunch of crud in the air. Some days you can not even tell the mountains are there because there is so much smog. I had to look hard to notice the sunrise.
We always have crud in our life. There are going to be great days where Gods light is shining and everything is great, then there will be times where there is so much crud in our life, we have to look hard and even sometimes wonder if God is even there. I encourage you no matter what is going on, to try to see pass the mess. Know that He is bigger than any crud that can come into your life. Trust in Him, depend on Him, surrender to Him, and eventually the crud will eventually go away.

I'm getting gray hair.

This has literally been one of the most stressful weeks of my life. My hair already had some gray in it, but after this week I might look like Taylor Hicks.

I have always been one to be very laid back, go with the flow, it will all work out, kind of guy. I love working in the ministry and I knew that there would be plenty of tough times, but it just seems that all the tough times have come all in the past two weeks. Not only has there been normal ministry work. (ie. events, small groups, sunday mornings) but there has been a lot of unnecessary drama and conflict between some of my volunteers that I have had to try to work out.

What Im learning from all of this:
You would think being a leader at a church, you would automatically turn to God during these tough and busy times. Unfortunately, I am stubborn and have been trying to do everything on my own. Yes, I am stupid.

I am also learning that stressing out does not help anyone. It actually makes things worse. After prayer, you just have to do the best you can and trust God that everything will work out.

The last thing is that no matter how frustrated you are at certain people, no matter how immature, irrational, mean, emotional, or arrogant they are, you must be sensitive and watch your words carefully.

Im sure I will look back at all this sometime and realize that I am a stronger and better leader because of all of it.

Choosing a hobby.

Okay boys and girls,
Im trying to add some excitement in my life so I am going to choose a hobby and do my best to stick with it. Whatever I decide, I will keep an update on how it is going. Your suggestion is welcomed. Here is a list of potential hobbies.

1. Learn a new language
2. Cooking
3. Pottery
4. Take a class at a community college.
5. Line Dancing
6. Tae Kwon Do
7. Fishing
8. Hiking
7. Bird Watching
8. Mushroom Collecting
9. Photagraphy
10. Magic
11. Lip reading
12. Sign Language
13. Stamp Collecting

Thats it. Help me decide.

Why GOD Why????

My cousin called me up last night and asked if I was coming home for Christmas. She has connections with the Dallas Cowboys. She took me to a game last year and I even got to hangout afterwards at a VIP party with the media, some players, and the owner. She told me last night that if I come home for Christmas, I can go to the game on Christmas Day against the Eagles. But if you read my post from last week, we all know that I dont have vacation days left. Today officially sucks!

The end to another "True Comedy"

2 Questions about this video:
1. Where is Michael?
2. Where is the humor?

Yes this promo makes me cry.
Yes I will still watch and love the show. Thats because I am one of the rare guys that will admitt to enjoying a good television romance. But it looks like "The Office" is taking a serious turn for the worse when it comes to Comedy. Every show does it. (except one)

The Office is hillarious and had potential to become almost as good as Seinfeld.
Seinfeld is the greatest comedy in television history.
It is the greatest for 1 reason. It was a show about nothing. There was no storyline, no plot, no continuation from episode to episode. It was just funny. No drama.
Friends started that way. Thats why the first few seasons are the funniest. But the writers started to focus on the storylines. It was still a good show but not as funny.

With this said, I am looking forward to this season of the office, but I just hope every single episode will not be "the story of Jim and Pam.

Is it possible to pull a butt muscle?

In the unlikely hope of getting buff, I decided to join a gym today.
I always do this. I join, go for about a week and then never go back. I hate working out. Why put yourself through pain? It doesnt make sense.

I hopped on the calf machine, and within the first half hour, I got the worst pain in my butt and it wont go away. Not only did I waist money, I now walk funny.