This could be a long list, and I always feel a tad bit awkward bragging about the Living Stones Church.  I’m not sure why that is.  It is sort of like bragging on your children.  They deserve it; what you are saying is totally sincere; you really do think they are the best…but it risks irritating those around you (come on…who hasn’t been around the parent who WON’T stop bragging about their little “honor roll” who said and did the “cutest”…blah, blah, blah).

Plus, I remember what it was like (in the not too distant past) when church life was bad.  And I mean real bad.  Bad bad.  Like…I want to “quit and move to Bald Knob, Arkansas bad” (no offense to Bald Knob, Arkansas…and yes, there really is a Bald Knob, Arkansas).  And I remember in that discouragement how I received the “MY CHURCH IS AWESOME AND GOD IS GREAT AND EVERYTHING IS PEACHY” sentiments of those who were not in my place (I’m not saying this is the right spirit to have, I’m just saying it was my spirit.).  If this is where you are…I know what that feels like…and I can now say with confidence God not only rescues, but he does more than you ever hoped or imagined…and even in the bad times…He is at work (even though in the midst of it…you feel totally abandoned).  Maybe that will be good new for someone.

Anyhow…at the risk of irritating…here is my list:

• I love all the new people who are walking into the Living Stones Church for the first time.  There are a lot of them. And when I hear their stories (which usually entails suffering), I love them all the more.
• I think most who do walk in find a church that is down-to-earth and receptive no matter where you are, or what you’ve done, as you walk in.
• I love watching my children’s excitement and enthusiasm about our church.
• I love that I got to share the stage with my wife over the past two weeks and talk about BEAUTIFUL:  A message series directed towards women.  You can listen to them on the podcast here.
• A few weeks ago we baptized 14 people.  That makes 52 this year…and still counting.
• We had a baby dedication a week ago.
• We wrapped up a retreat yesterday where we planned out the message series for 2010.
• Along with that is the excitement and anticipation for if God simply repeated next year what he has done this year…WOW!!
• At the baptism we broke a non-Easter attendance record.  The following week we broke another.  And then last week (when the “big events” were finished) we still had an attendance that breaks through another church growth barrier.
• Every Sunday afternoon I meet with our current elders and three other men on their way to serving as shepherds at the Living Stones Church.  I’m exhausted before we start (Sundays are a long day).  But when I’m finished, I couldn’t be more excited.
• Last night I concluded my Beginner’s Guide to Christianity Growth Group.  I love telling the stories of the Bible.  And I loved the people who were in the group as they brought notebooks, took notes, asked questions, left the group to drink coffee, etc. and really examine everything we talked about.
• We had 23 4th & 5th graders just at 11:30 a.m. last week.  Throw in the number from 9:30 a.m. and we have a 4th & 5th grade group that is bursting.  I’ve heard great things about the class and I’ve enjoyed watching all the 4th & 5th graders walking around with their Bibles in hand.  I only asked MEN to teach the class (not that I mind if a woman teaches, I just wanted to see how many men I could get involved).  I have enough men to cover two services (one month at a time) until February!!
• We begin a new series, Elf:  Finding Your Place in the World, in two weeks.  It is going to be a lot of fun.
• I love our paid staff – Ann Lynn & Jennae Gee.  They work REALLY hard.  They SACRIFICE a lot.  And we would be no where close to where we are today had it not been for God working in and through them.
• I love our ENTIRE leadership team.  We meet the second Wednesday of the month.  I love their discernment.  I feel confident I could bring any issue to the table and they will adjudicate it well and with wisdom.
• I’m excited about what is happening in our Kids Kanyon.  I love the roles – Conservation Officers, Rangers, Scouts, Guides, and Trailbuddies.  Love it!!
• About a week ago the church received a $2500 gift from a family who used to go to our church and has since moved to Washington.  They listen to the podcast and felt like blessing us.  WOW!
• We have new babies born every week.  We need a separate building/facility just for our nursery.
• This past Sunday we put 54 “snowflakes” (a “snowflake” represents a child in whom we intend to help for Christmas this year) on our Giving Tree.  ALL 54 snowflakes were gone by the end of the 9:30 service.  When 11:30 showed up – it was just an empty Christmas tree!!  WOW!!  To 11:30ers…as we mentioned on Sunday, if you want to buy a gift card from Target or Wal-Mart…we’ll either find more children…or supplement the gifts for the families that could use it.
• I love the spirit of our church.  As I listen to the stories of conflict in other churches or the issues that they are fighting over…I can’t tell you how awesome it is to think, “I’m so glad we don’t fight over those sorts of things.”

I can go on…

Before you think, “Sounds like everything in your church is just honky dory” – let me tell you…we have issues…OH MAN do we have issues…

I can offer my “Dear God…Help Us Because…” list -

And I will.  After Thanksgiving.

 

Today is Kelly’s birthday.  She turns 40.  I’m still in my 30s.  (Yes…I am going to rub it in).  But, even while I’m still in my 30s (barely)…she is far more beautiful at 40.  Happy Birthday Kelly.  I love you.  May this be the best year of life…ever.

Jimmy Clausen was punched in the face at 2:00 a.m. at C.J.’s Pub in downtown South Bend Sunday morning.  Apparently it was an altercation that involved someone mistreating his girlfriend.  The result…two black eyes for Jimmy Clausen.  In Charlie Weis’s Tuesday press conference he refused to answer questions about the altercation and in practice Jimmy was wearing a tinted visor on his helmet to keep anyone from seeing his two black eyes.  Come on Jimmy…could it have really looked worse than what we witnessed on Saturday?

My first thought – why would you be in downtown South Bend eating a cheeseburger at 2:00 a.m. if you are the starting quarterback at Notre Dame and you just lost a game to Connecticut?!?!  Then again, have you ever had a C.J. Pub cheeseburger?!?!  If you were looking for consolation food...it is a most excellent choice!!  They are my second favorite cheeseburgers.

And what was he supposed to do?!  He was defending his girlfriend’s honor!

Yesterday my blog lit up looking for information on Jimmy Clausen’s girlfriend!  Apparently my blog post in regards to his hair (from last year) seems to have captured the attention of “Jimmy Clausen girlfriend seekers.”  If he still had this hair style, then I can understand why someone punched him.

OR – if he showed up to CJ’s Pub like this:

I can understand why someone punched him.

But come on South Bend.  Take a chill pill. Don’t be punching the 4th ranked quarterback in college football.

It could have been my mood, but I entered in and out of boredom a lot during this episode.  Felt like a hodge-podge of different elements trying to be crammed into the last week on the ranch.

What I can say is:  I’m glad Bob & Amanda and Liz & Danny didn’t make out on this episode.  I must confess there were several moments when I was getting concerned by it.

During the episode my wife thanked me for not crying as much as Danny. You’re welcome.

This was the last week on the ranch!!  It kind of snuck up on me.  The season is nearly over!

During the episode they had a challenge where they were strapped to a barrel full of footballs weighted to the exact amount of weight they lost per week.  With their total weight loss strapped to their backs, they had to one-by-one run to markers to remove a football for each week of their time on the Biggest Loser campus.  Allen won. Rod Woodson of the Pittsburg Steelers was on the show (I wonder how many of the contestants knew who Rod was).  And what did Allen win…tickets to the Pro Bowl!  As Allison Sweeney was setting it up I think everyone was thinking tickets to the…”Super Bowl.”  And when she said “Pro Bowl” I think I heard a deflation in enthusiasm.

One moment that I wondered how it must have felt was at the end of the challenge.  Once they placed all of their footballs on the markers and were released from their barrel they then had to run and tackle a massive cutout poster (glued to a foam backing) of their “old selves.”  I wonder what they thought and felt.  I would imagine that would be quite a perspective.  The “new me” versus the “old me.”  Would the new me feel angry, hurt, ticked off, etc. with the old me…or would it be pity, sympathy, regret, etc.  I would think it could be a collision of emotions.  I would have danced with my cutout, and then punched his lights out!

Falling below the yellow line on tonight’s episode – Allen & Liz.

In a surprise (to me) move, Amanda actually sided with Liz (I guess they bonded…didn’t Liz just write your name several weeks ago?).  Allen’s attempt to persuade Amanda by rational game play backfired.  And he ended up going home.  Good-bye Allen.  Nuts.  I was hoping it would be Liz.

Four people moving to the finals – Amanda, Rudy, Danny, and Liz.

Are you serious?  Did you really think I went to see New Moon?  This is a joke.

I am not going to see New Moon.  Do you know why?  Because I have testes.

And, let me once again give a little guidance to my guy friends:

DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE OR WE WILL NO LONGER BE FRIENDS.

There are only two exceptions to this:

1.  You agreed to go with your wife because there was the promise of a “reward” (if you know what I mean) for you at the end.  In this case, we can justify it as a simple transaction based on a cost/benefit analysis for you.  Having said that, in your negotiations, you should try offering up:  a) washing the dishes; b) bathing and putting the kids to bed; or c) running to the grocery store and buying her necessary “feminine products”, etc. before agreeing to go see this movie.

2.  Your teenage daughter and her friends want to go and chaperoning this trip will lead to the language and sentiment of “my dad is a hero” in future conversations your daughter might have with a therapist or on the Oprah Winfrey’s show (which I understand to be coming to an end in 2011…just shy of the end of the world as we know (see 2012 movie review).

I saw this at www.preachermike.com.  Love it.

A year ago today Miranda Mayes, a GREATLY loved sister in Christ passed away.  It was such an incredibly sad day.  As a church, as friends, as a family we prayed.  We hoped.  And in the end, she still went on to be with the Lord.  It was so sad.  In the midst of it I had some questions for God (which, by the way, I’m still waiting for His response).

I had never seen such an affect in regards to an entire community of faith as what I saw take place at Miranda’s passing.  It was an entire community of faith mourning the loss of a sister and hurting for a brother.  A year later, our prayers are still with Jason as well as Miranda’s family and friends.

So…before Miranda passed away, she had given me two bags of coffee.  I never opened them.  I’m really not even sure why.  But today, on this one year anniversary, I decided to open a bag, make a cup…and remember.

Today I had the honor of being treated to some lunch at Five Guys for a delicious bacon-burger and fries by Jeff Hammett (Jeff…I’m sorry if the fry distribution was unbalanced).  I’d never been there.  Delicious.  It was also the first time that I had been to the new Eddy Street Commons.  Wow.  Very nice.  Loved the look of the place.  That area REALLY looks different.

But, now I’m back on the South Side.  I like it here (even if we don’t have a Chipotle, Outpost Sports, Five Guys, blah, blah, blah).  [By the way, I saw another Pastor friend from the West Side hanging out at the same Five Guys.  I don’t want to blow his cover, so I’ll call him by a cryptic pseudonym – bRyan Yazel.

Sidenote:  Last night Alex (my 8 year old daughter) and Kelly were having a conversation and in the conversation Alex asked a question about a woman that Kelly had done some work for.  In the conversation, Kelly told Alex this woman whom Alex was asking about had moved to Granger.  After telling Alex this, she squinted her eyes, bunched up her nose and said, “mmm…Granger…nope…never heard of it.”  South side baby.  South side.

Last night in our growth group I talked about the end times (yea…about the 2nd coming of Jesus, Revelation, death, afterlife, resurrection, etc.).  I described in detail the mysteries of the end, exactly how it was going down, the date in which you could expect it to take place, and how to prepare yourself for the climactic ending.  Yea…it was that good!  I’m sorry you missed it.  If you would like a copy of my notes with these answers, just send me $29.99 and it can all by yours

Which leads me to review a movie out now called 2012.  It is about the end of the world that is supposedly going to take place on December 21, 2012.  This movie was, in a word…RIDICULOUS.

There might be something to be said for the special effects, but the overall script was LAME!! Very cheesy dialogue (e.g., a couple having problems in their relationship and just as the boyfriend says, “I feel like there is something tearing us a part” the ground opens up underneath them from an earthquake.)

It focuses on one family (John Cusack is the lead) who defies death A MILLION TIMES which is ridiculous.  I totally get the suspension of belief to move a story forward, but when it so ridiculous over and over again for 2 hours and 38  minutes (which is how long it is!) it moves from suspense and tension to slap-stick comedy.  In the end, the dialogue is full of trite and comedic statements while at the same time 6 BILLION PEOPLE ON THE PLANET EARTH PERISH!!  It is absurd.

But…my wife liked it.

MAKEOVER WEEK!! I love makeover week (don’t tell my guy friends I said that).

Me:  ”I need a makeover.”

Isaac (my 13 year old son):  ”They can’t do anything with your hair.”

Me: “You’re grounded…for life.”

Rudy – much better shaved and shorter hair and dude…your wife is gorgeous.  Liz – MUCH better.  Get rid of the “grandma” persona and stick with the new look!!

Great speeches!

• Danny – lost 12 lbs. double digits six weeks in a row! (3.80%)
• Rudy – lost 16 lbs. [12 of it was from his beard] (4.94%)
• Allen – lost 5 lbs. (2.06%)
• Rebecca – lost 3 lbs. (1.44%)
• Liz – lost 3 lbs. (1.46%)
• Amanda – lost 9 lbs. (4.46%)

Rudy, why send Rebecca out like that?  Dude…just vote for Rebecca, but air it now?  Not cool dude.

Good-bye Rebecca.

Holy cow!!  She is skinny.  She looks totally different.  Definitely in contention for home Biggest Loser prize!!

FOLLOW UP FROM JAY LENO SHOW:

Rebecca has lost 122 lbs.  She looks great.  And she is in love with a fellow Biggest Loser contestant….DANIEL!!! They have walked through common experiences, spent 5-6 hours talking, and “she fell in love with her best friend.”  Wow.

See the clip here.