Winter Camp

Due to many complaints about my lack of posting, I am back even though I am not in a posting mood. But since I love all my readers, Ill do it just for you. You are welcome!

Just took my students up to Hume Lake for a great weekend of winter camp. It was my first Hume experience and I must say, it was pretty good. So good, that we are now going there for summer camp as well. (its also a lot closer) But here are some of my thoughts and highlights of the weekend.

The food was not what I expected it would be. I guess its probably hard to serve that many people great food. I was a little disappointed though.

Broom Hockey is amazing but can seriously hurt you at the same time.

The band that was there is called MOI. They are very talented but each song is literally 10 minutes. Once, they repeated the chorus 13 times.

The speaker connected well with the students by telling stories. Not much scripture though.

Dodge Ball - enough said.
One student who was with out legs played. At one point it was just him and me. The ball hit him in the face. I felt horrible.

3 of my students accepted Christ for the first time.
Makes everything all worth it.

That's it for this post. Keep tuning in for updates. I will be better, I promise.

Back to school, back to school to prove to daddy that I'm not a fool

This morning, I am applying to seminary. Why Eric? Dont you hate school with a passion? Wouldnt you rather have teeth pulled out than to sit through 3 hour classes and write 20 page papers?

To answer your questions, yes!
I never was a fan of school. I dont mind the learning, I just hate the pressure that comes with grades and tests. I have always been this way. High school wasnt too bad, I sometimes doubted if I would make it through college. But now its time for seminary. Wish me luck!

Im an Uncle (again)

This morning my Sister in Law gave birth to not one but two babies.
Their names are Andrew Wayne Putman and Taryn Joy Putman. Now I just have to fly to Arkansas and see them as soon as I can.
Its always good to have a couple more Putmans in the world.

My wallet

Last week, somebody stole my wallet. Here is the funny thing. They came into my office at my church and took it from my desk. At first, I thought I lost it, so I spent about 3 hours of the day searching the church up and down for it. While I am searching, my credit card company calls and tells me to stop using it because I am over. Thats when I knew.

After I knew someone took it, I became an investigator but had zero success. Here are the items the person purchased with my wallet.

155 dollars at wall Greens. (soap, diapers, sandals, carton of cigarettes, etc...)
95 dollars at Dennys.
50, 47, and 72 dollars at 3 different gas stations.
75 at a local luggage company
100 at local clothing store.

All of this in just a few hours before being cancelled.

Even if you work at church, watch your back.

Top 10 things I have learned this year in Youth Ministry

After 4 years of volunteering, 2 years as an intern, and 1 year as a Jr. High pastor, I am still struggling to learn how to be a successful youth pastor. I don't even really know what a "successful" youth pastor looks like, but here are some things I have learned the hard way.

1. Not everyone likes the way you run youth ministry

2. Have staff with you who can handle injuries and blood.

3. Check the intentions of potential volunteers. (some people are crazy)

4. Never mention Gold Bond to your students.

5. Some volunteers who are older and have been their a while will sometimes try to take control.

6. Have thick skin. Sometimes students will insult you for no reason.

7. Don't play favorites. Students get hurt by it.

8. DELEGATE, DELEGATE, DELEGATE. Don't be a one man show on Sunday Morning.

9. Build relationships. Some students are hurting way more than you will ever know.

10. Learn how to deal with awkwardness. ie. Parents and/or students who come to you crying, come to you angry, or want to talk to you about Gold Bond.)

There is much more that I have learned. This year has definitely had its ups and downs but the ups make it all worth it.

AMERICAN IDOL

ITS BACK.....
The television phenomenon that swept American and found amazing talent such as Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood starts back up tonight. Dont miss out!

No I am not getting paid by fox to say this, I just like the show.

Death

I understand that nobody wants to talk about or even think about the subject of death. Its uncomfortable and scary but I have been going through a quarter life crisis lately. I don't know what it is but I can not stop thinking about death. It seems that people are just dropping like flies. I have lost a couple friends that I know personally in the past few months but even celebrities, sports stars and every one else seems to be dying.

I know as Christians we are not suppose to be scared but to be honest, Im terrified. Not just the way I will die (which will be peacefully in my sleep) but of what comes next. I am terrified of the unknown. I do have faith that I will be with my Father in Heaven someday but sometimes that faith is a little shook up. I cant even imagine not having a relationship with Jesus and thinking what comes after death. It goes to show how important it is for us to go out and tell others. (especially those we love.)

I might only be 27 but you just never know. Its a scary but I guess its part of life.

Greatest t-shirt ever!

During Christmas I got a call from Josh Treece telling me that he sent me a gift in the mail. After many minutes of begging him to tell me what it was I gave up and had to wait patiently for a few days. He did however tell me that I would definitely like it, and he was right. Here is the shirt.

Although quite humorous and true, the question remains, should I attempt to wear this in public. My first reaction was "no way in you know where." Not sure if it would be funny or if people would think I am making a desperate attempt to hit on random girls.

Overall, kudos to Josh for the great gift and kudos to The Notebook for being a great movie.

Charger fans should be embarrassed!

This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. And I have heard a lot of dumb things.
The San Diego Chargers will not sell any tickets for this weeks game against the Patriots to people outside of Southern California.
that's right, I live in Central CA. If I want to buy a ticket off ticket master, I cant. Being from TX, if I was a huge fan of L.T (from TX) and wanted to go to the game, I couldn't. (not that I would want to)

I know the Patriots are good in January but I cant believe the Chargers are that worried about a few Patriots fans that would travel across the country.

This is discrimination!

Congratulations To Me!

Now, I am not one to usually brag, but I do have to say that I am a football genius. amERICa's Team, which is my fantasy football team in the Saddleback League, took home the championship trophy. It was a great year staying in touch and playing fake football against friends. I am guaranteeing a repeat for next year.

Why I love Valentines Day!

There have been only two Valentines day in my life where I had a significant other.
The first one was in 3rd grade and her name was April. I bought her a box of heart candy and she did not get me anything. I never forgot or forgave her.
The second one was in college with my girlfriend. I only had to fork out a hundred bucks, go on a terrifying hot air balloon ride, and get dumped a month later.

All the other 25 Valentines days have been wonderful. Why am I discussing this in Jan? 3 Words. Brachs Conversation Hearts. I know the majority think they taste like cough medicine, but I think they are delicious. (especially the yellow ones). I just bought 3 bags of them.

Do yourself a favor and go out and get a bag.

Back to blogging...

It has been a while since my last post, but for the sake of not wanting Allison Hibbard to kick me off her list, I am once again a blogger. So here is the latest.

I had a baby over Christmas. Not really, but I might as well of had one. It was Christmas day and my family just finished eating a delicious Christmas lunch that my grandmother cooked. I was getting ready to watch football when all of a sudden I had the worst pain in my back. It was horrible. I don't think I have ever felt that kind of pain before and I really don't have any tolerance for pain at all. It got to the point where I started throwing up and kept going for a couple hours. It turned out that I had a kidney stone. Now, I really don't know how you get one or even the best way to get rid of it, but here are some of the tips I learned from all my want to be doctor friends. Drink a lot of cranberry juice, drink 12 cokes at one time, get a massage on that spot, drink 2 liters of water daily, and drink coffee. Sad to say, I did not try them all. I did however save it. Now I just have to name it.