Have Camera Phone- Will Take Pictures

During my travels to Virginia a few weeks ago, I came across some interesting vehicles that I wanted to share with you.

1.  LFE SUKS-  I saw this plate at a Chic-Fil-A in Virginia. 
How bad does life have to be to have this vanity plate?  Is this really the type of person you want driving a 2,000 pound missle down the highway?

2.  Going Through Hell-  When I saw this custom paint work, I thought, what possesses a person to paint something like this on their vehicle?  Maybe they have gone through hell?  I've seen other ones like "Heaven doesn't want me and Hell can't hold me."  I'm trying to think about what I might put on my car when I save up some extra money!

3.  Creeper Van??  I saw this van in Delaware.  First, you may notice the sheet of plywood in the window.  But there was also a chain link fence kind of rigging in the opposite window.  Oh yeah, a couch in the back.  The cherry on top was that the roof was cut so the van was like a convertable.  Epic. 

Autistic Teen Has Perfect Sweet 16 Bracket

I will not spend a lot of time with this, but as a fan of college basketball and someone who fills out a bracket every year, this simply amazes me- especially with all the upsets there have been in this year's Men's Tournament.  Alex Herrmann has correctly picked all the upsets in the CBS Bracket Challenge he filled out.  He picked Norther Iowa over #1 Kansas.  He picked Ohio over Georgetown!  To put this in perspective, ESPN had 4 or 5 million people fill out a bracket on their bracket challenge.  After day 1 of the tourney only 64 people had a perfect bracket. After day 2, no one had a perfect bracket. 

Alex Herrmann's dowfall with his bracket is that he has Purdue winning the championship.  While I'm rooting for UK- it would be incredible if he was able to keep his perfect bracket!

Read here for more of the story!

Delanco Camp Blog

It's been awhile since I've really been able to blog.  I am doing my Clinical Pastoral Care for seminary- which is about 40 hours a week- plus my regular stuff at home and at church.  So in February, I should be back up and blogging again.  (I have some ideas in the works.)

In the meantime, I did a guest blog for the Delanco Camp Blog.  This is the camp where Andrea grew up attending and that I've had the opportunity to be a speaker and worship leader at.  This year, I am heading up one of the camps.  You can check out my post here.

Everything I Know I Learned From the Movies

This has the potential to be an epic fail.  Evidently, there is an asteroid floating around in space that is large enough to warrent the attention of the Russian Space Agency.  The asteroid is possibly on course to collide with Earth in 2032.  The Russias are considering a mission to send a rocket up to knock the asteroid off course- averting another ice age or really cool meteor shower.

Evidently, movies from 1998 are just getting to Russia.  Both Armageddon and Deep Impact came out in 1998 and feature storylines of an incoming meteor and humanities attempts to knock it off course.  Since it worked so well in the movies- it's worth a try to knock an 885 ft. asteroid off course as practice for when a larger asteroid or the moon attacks (Oh, we already bombed the moon this fall.).

At any rate, here's hoping that the Russians send the rocket up to space with Areosmith playing in the background!

A Few Random Links

It's the Christmas week rush, which means that there is a lot going on as we prepare for four Christmas Eve services and three more services on Sunday.  It's doubful that I'll get to write anything of substance this week, but I may try later on.  I wanted to pass a long a few articles to you for your reading enjoyment.

1.  Tiger Tales:  I've not written anything about Tiger Woods and the situation that he has put himself in.  We certainly don't need another person popping off about it.  But I want to suggest that you read Eric Park's entry about the whole ordeal.  It's certainly on point and written entirely better than I could have done!  You can read the entry here.  Also worth a read is Ben Witherington's blog on Tiger as well. 

2.  Christmas Is Here:  That means there are plenty of blogs to read and check out!  Start out with Ben Witherington's blog about the Christmas story (he's not paying me any money to link up!).  He's helping us re-think Christmas from our scene to what like happened.

3.  Just for Fun:  Check out http://www.nickkeyphotos.com/ .  Nick and I went to the same college and played baseball together.  His photos are great and his blog is humorous and filled with great pictures. 

That's about it for now.  Sometime over the holidays will come a real update!

Thank God for Answered Prayers

Yesterday, I was driving down towards the beach to stop at our local Comcast Cable office to pick up a HDTV cable box.  I have to admit, I was pretty excited.  The Steelers played last night and I was going to watch them in HD.  As I sat at the light, a block or so from the office, my car stops running.  Completely stops.  And it won't start back up.

I got out my car and motioned to the cars behind me that I the car wasn't moving.  Then I pushed my car off to the shoulder, more or less.  I tried starting the car again, but with no luck.  So I proceeded to call AAA to send out a tow truck because there was no where else I could push the car.  Within minutes, I had a State Trooper behind me.  Everyone was rubbernecking to see what kind of trouble I had gotten into.  Speeding?  Drug Bust?  Texting while driving? DUI?  Nope, just a boring breakdown.

The tow truck driver was very nice and helped me get my car back to my friends garage, and even drove me a mile back to my house.  Now we wait to hear what the damage is.  I guess there is a chance that the car is dead and that I might have to go find a new one.  This would be very sad for 2 reasons.  First, it would cost a lot of money that we were not planning on spending right now.  Second, I have had that car since the summer before my Senior Year of college.  We've been together for nine and a half years and nearly 160,000 miles.  It is my last surviving item from college that I regularly use.

I have to admit, when I first broke down and the car wouldn't start, I was truly thankful.  Sounds strange.  Each Tuesday morning, I leave the house early for a 98 mile trip up to my seminary.  I drive the ever busy I-95 as well as the Blue Route.  On Wednesday, I take the Skukyll, Blue Route, and I-95 back home.  Every once in a while I see a car that is disabled along the side of the road.  More than once, I have offered a prayer to God requesting that I would not break down while on a trip to Philly for school.  God answered my prayers!  Rather than breaking down in Philly, I broke down a day early in a place where it was easy to get off the road and a tow truck came in under 30 minutes.  That would not have happened in Philly. (As an added bonus, no one flipped me off or called me names that I can't repeat here like they would've in Philly).

Thank you God for you mercies which are new every morning!  Thank you that even though I dread the thought of replacing the car, that the car broke down in a place that was safe and less stressful than where I am going tonight.  Continue to provide safety on all my travels.  Your grateful child, Steve.  Amen.

Lessons Learned from Trick or Treating

Where I grew up in Pennsylvania, there were no neighborhoods to go trick or treating at.  Mom and Dad drove us in a car for 5-6 houses of people that we knew out in the country.  Even driving, this took quite a long time.  When Andrea and I moved to Delaware and purchased our home, we live in a large neighborhood.  In those first few years, we would see close to 250 kids come to our door.  This year, with Abbie being 2, we met up with a group of friends and went trick or treating together.  These are some lessons I have learned from the last six years that you should keep in mind.

1.  Trick or Treating With Friends is More Fun:  Like almost any other activity, a large group makes the evening more enjoyable. 

2.  Trick or Treating is not socialism:  While our group was fun- there was (a joking) suggestion of pooling all the loot and dividing it equally.  Trick or Treating is a winner takes all sport.  If you can get the better candy- more power to you. 

3.  Find the Young, Wealthy Neighborhood:  This may sound like social profiling, and it is.  Our neighborhood used to be the exciting neighborhood to visit on Halloween night.  But our numbers have continually decreased the last two years.  We found out why tonight.  The neighborhood behind us has bigger homes, and bigger candy.  I'm all for stopping in someone else's neighborhood, especially if you can get in 5 houses what normally takes 10 houses in your own neighborhood. 

4.  Shake the dust of your feet at those who don't participate:  Yeah, you could egg their home or toilet paper their trees...but shaking the dust of your feet as you leave their yard is the proper Biblical response.  These are the same people who say Ba-humbug at Christmas.

5.  No Double-Dipping Unless You Change Costumes:  Hitting up the same house twice (or three or four times) is just wrong.  but if you have the ingenuity to change costumes and hit the same houses again, I will gladly reward you with more candy.  I think all kids should be encouraged to think outside the box when it comes to Halloween.

6.  Speaking of Costumes- No Costumes, No Candy:  This is a hard and fast rule.  I was amazed in our neighborhood the amount of kids who would come up to the house without a costume.  Where is the creativity?  Even if money is tight, certainly there are things around the house that can be used for a costume.  One year, it was so bad that I told Andrea that I was going to put up a sign that said "No Costume, No Candy."  Lucky for some kids, I never did.

7.  Shame on Parents who collect candy for the baby in the "car."  Or maybe the baby is back home.  At least let me see the baby dressed up in some sort of costume.  You and I both know that you are the one who is going to eat the candy.  At least let me see your kids so I can give you the candy with a slightly clear conscience. 

What are some of your rules or lessons that you've learned from Halloween past?  What would you add to the list?

A Lot of Hot Air

Photo: Reuters/KUSA TV

I was in my office on Thursday when our church secretary called me in the see this story about a boy who was trapped inside of a run away helium filled ballon.  Yes, I tuned in on my computer just a few minutes before the balloon landed safely in a fied somewhere in Colorado.  Since then, the police involved in the investigation believe this to be a hoax- a publicity stunt with the hope of "better marketing themselves for a reality television show at some point in the future."  There will be a lot of talk about this in the days to come about how this happened, and who/what is to blame for this situation.  Let me add to the noise some thoughts on this instance.

1. Shame on parents who use their children to pursue their goals of celebrity and fame (Jon and Kate- are you listening?).  The Heenes put their children in a position where they would have to lie in order to keep up the hoax.  Falcon- the boy supposedly in the balloon, was so nervous/sick during interviews on Friday morning, that he threw up several times off camera.  What does say about parenting when children are used as a means to reach our goals?  What kind of emotional scarring might occuring in this case- and in the case of Jon and Kate's children?  Is not the job of parents to raise and protect their children so that they can grow into adulthood with the tools they need for life?
2. Shame on the media for continuing to air shows like Jon and Kate Plus 8 (or whatever it's called now), Wifeswap, and the other shows that invade families lives.  To me, Jon and Kate Plus 8 and TLC are the biggest violators here.  Why has TLC continued to air the shows while Jon and Kate headed to divorce?  If the executives cared about the people rather than the bottom line, they would have pulled the plug on this series.  What will happen to the children of the show once the cameras stop rolling?  What will happen to Jon and Kate once the show ends, the complimentary trips end, and money dries up?  For the Henne family- is it too hard to believe that a network would give them a series? (Sci-Fi Network??).  Network executives need to remember that the people in their reality shows are, in fact, people- not property.
3. Shame on you and me for continuing to watch shows like Jon and Kate Plus 8, 18 Kids and Counting, Table for 12, Wife Swap, Nannie911, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, etc.  Let's be honest here, we watch some of these shows because we are interested in the train wreck that often happens.  We want to see carnage.  We don't want to see a family that has it all together.  We want to see someone who is a mess and makes us feel better about ourselves. If we continue to watch these shows that the networks put on, the networks will continue to roll out family after family or person after person for us to watch implode. We are not that far from being the Hennes' ourselves as we want to feel connected with celebrities and the life they live.  That's why we tune in each week on the TV.  That's why we read US Weekly, Star Magazine, and Ok! Magazine rather than being engaged in what is happening in our own country and around the world.   

I have no clue what will happen to the Hennes' this week.  The authorities are talking about filing criminal charges of some sort.  Let's hope that no network will show up on their doorstep, and that the this incident can be put behind them as they continue life in the real world.

Congratulations on 5,000!

Just a quick note- Katy Durec informed me that she hit the magical number of 5,000 on her visit to the blog! Katy is married to a high school and college friend of mine, Mike Durec. You can check out Katy's blog here. It includes a lot of stories and pictures of their daughter Kendra- who is a little young than our Abbie. Congratulations Katy on 5,000! I'll have to figure out some give-away for the 10,000 visitor!

5,000!

Someone who views this blog next will be visitor number 5000 in the last year. That's pretty exciting! Thanks to everyone who reads what I write. Thanks to those of you who enter into dialogue with the post. It makes it worth writing when is births dialogue. There will be new post coming- hopefully one later this week. Thanks again for all your support!

Best Of??

**Updated @ 3:50- I changed the link below. It should work now!

I was bored the other day in front of my computer and I was looking at some statistical data for the blog...more specifically, I was checking out sites that are referring viewers to mine. Most of them made a lot of sense (like facebook and twitter). One stood out. The Wesley Report had directed traffic my way, so I decided to check it out. Wouldn't you know it, they featured my blog post on the Wednesdays Headlines and Links and right under "Best of Methodist Blogs." You can check out the page here.

I don't know what constitutes "best of..." anything, but it was cool to see a post linked. It's like the time during my freshman year of college that I found out I was an honorable mention for National Player of the Week for baseball by doing a google search on my name. I didn't hear it from the coach, but it was excited anyways.

With that said, check out The Wesley Report. It's a great source of links and thoughts as you go through your day.

It's Potty Time!

For a month or 2 now, Abbie has been really interested in the potty. In fact, she loves sitting on the potty. So when she wants up on the potty, we let her get up there...hoping she'll go potty and we can have a potty party! As we look towards potty training when Andrea gets out of school in a week- we are encouraged by Abbie's interest in the potty. So, here are two snapshots of Abbie on the potty...and yes, we're saving them for her Senior Yearbook!

Abbie picked up the latest edition of Newsweek on her own while she was sitting on the potty. She is one well-informed youngster!

Unlike some babies, Abbie likes to read about current affairs and foreign politics (Iranian president on the cover). This is certainly better than reading US Weekly or some other celebrity rag about the latest Jon & Kate mess or the latest on Brittany Spears.

The Wal-Mart Blessing...

On Friday, I experienced a true blessing from Wal-Mart...I truly got more than I paid for. I was finishing painting our addition and I needed a couple more items to complete the project. I purchased some edging pads which come with two in each package. I was quite surprised when I got home and saw three edging pads in the package! Score!

Abbie's newest thing this weekend is telling us she needs to go potty and then walking to the bathroom! Andrea let her sit on the potty today to see if she would go. She didn't, but it's the first step in potty training! And she's initiating it!

Tonight, Andrea and I are heading to Outback for a date night. It's been a busy past three months. We figured out that today was my first Saturday at home with no meetings, school, praise team since the beginning of December. Far too long.

Below is a picture of Abbie from a recent Spaghetti night.

Inauguration Day Randomness

Happy Inauguration Day to everyone! It's as good as any day to make a random catch up post, which is mostly what I have been doing since Greek started almost four weeks ago.

• First, thanks to everyone who asked about my hand. It is/was broken, and I waited almost 2 weeks to see a doctor. Thankfully the bone is set correctly, and so far, I have not needed a cast. I go back on Thursday to see if everything is still alright. Other than taping it, I can do pretty much anything I want with it (including typing!).
• There are three more days of Greek class left. It has been a positive experience, which is good because it is a required class. Hopefully I will be able to finish strong on the final three days.
• We ended class early today to watch the Inauguration of Barrack Obama. I will admit being excited about Obama in office. I believe that there needed to be a change of direction in the White House and in our government. I know that one person cannot change everything, but I am praying the Obama can be a catalyst of change and can inspire the American people and the world. We can often get a messiah-complex when we talk about our leaders, and I know Obama will not save us from anything. I pray that he will use wisdom while in office. I am committed to praying for him and the other leaders of our country.
• Ironically, Obama's Inaugural Address sounded a lot like a George W. Bush State of the Union speech. Obama talked about fighting against evil and ones who use terror, and how America will win that battle. He said that America is strong and that we'll overcome the obstacles in our path. There must be a template for all major presidential speeches. I know there are speech writers who get paid a lot of money for those things, but at times I would like to see a President speak from the heart rather than the teleprompter.
• I thought, on first listen, that Rick Warren gave an excellent invocation prayer. I know the liberals weren't thrilled about Warren giving the invocation, but I think Warren can be a positive voice/counselor for the President on certain matters. One of them, I hope, is the continuation of the AIDS Initiatives in Africa that George W. Bush began. I did read (although I can't provide a link) that Obama would like to continue that program, but with the economy in the toilet, one wonders which programs will get cut first.
• I watched the Inauguration (I have no clue if I am spelling this right) at Palmer Seminary, which is located south of Philadelphia and situated between the rich Main Line and a much, much, much poorer section of Philly. Many of my classmates are African-American and it was exciting to witness history being made with them. I think at least one classmate from my Greek class traveled to Washington to witness the events for herself.
• While they flubbed the Oath of Office a little, I enjoyed seeing Obama smile/laugh a little when he and the Chief Justice had a little difficulty. It was better than the stoic/presidential face.

Yawning Before Staff Planning

I have a staff planning meeting in a couple of minutes. It's too short of time to get any work done, so I'll just make a quick post.

Have you ever wondered why we yawn? Scientist evidently do. There are findings coming out about the reason or function for our yawnings. According to this article, yawns occur to cool our brains down. Which means yawning is like the little fan on the back of the computer keeping the motherboard cool. Our brains, like computers, work better when they are cool. Which explains why breathing through your nose when you are tired can reduce your yawning...you've just brough cool air near your brain, cooling it off.

Sure, kinda random. But it's Wednesday and I'm in need of some randomness!

Winter Driving

Sports Illustrated's website had this featured as it's video of the day. Watch the cars slide down the hill and play pinball with the other cars. Especially is the camera man yelling "heads up" as another car slides down the hill. Check it out!

The Catch Up Blog

I usually write up a blog on Monday, which I didn't do because of a 3 day staff training in Rehoboth Beach and now I am in seminary. I thought that I would just post a few quick thoughts as I am in between some work at school.

Sermon Series Update: The iWorship Series will conclude next Sunday (November 23rd). The message will be entitled Worship is Giving Thanks. If you missed the previous messages, they are available on Avenue's website. There is also a link there to our iTunes page.

The Dangerous Act of Worship: I have had several people ask about some of the resources that I used for last weeks sermon. I will be posting some books on here tomorrow with some worship and justice resources.

Pancake Dinner: One of our college students, Laura VanVorst, is heading to Romania in February for a four month long mission trip with Word Made Flesh. Avenue is hosting a fundraiser dinner this upcoming Monday (November 17th) from 5:30-7:00 p.m. The dinner is free (you can give donations toward the trip if you'd like). Laura will be on hand as a hostess. If you're in the Milford area, come out for a great meal, fellowship, and supporting one of our college students called by God to serve.

Thoughts On Thirty

Tomorrow has the potential to be a rough day. It is my 30th birthday. None of my birthdays in my 20's carried as much weight as this one. While I am certainly not entertaining the notion of jumping off a bridge, there is a strange stigma about hitting thirty in my mind.

Here is the reality of turning thirty...

• It's been 14 years since I started to drive.
• 12 years since going to college
• 8 years since getting married and graduating college
• In just 20 more years, I'll be 50.
• As I connect with college students, I worry about being the creepy old guy hanging around campus.
• Or being confused with a facebook stalker!
• My friend told me the other day that my hair was thinning out in the back (Thanks pal!)
• I was 14 years old the last time the Pirates had a winning season

So I turn 30. They say that age is just a number, and it is. I have been overwhelmingly been blessed by God throughout my life. That's the point, I think Andrea and I have tried to be where God wants us to be. That has been exciting for the past eight years together. As we do that into our thirties, I know that God will continue to use us beyond our wildest imagination. I just wish I could stay 29 or something!

Rob Bell Interview

Actually, I don't interview Rob Bell. It would be cool, but I don't have that kind of influence that I could call Rob up and interview him.

So Rob has come out with a new book, Jesus Wants to Save Christians. I think the title is genuis, but I know that others are offended by it. I have yet to read the book (it's not on my seminary reading list for some reason), but I heard a really good interview with Rob regarding the book. Relevant Magazine has a 2 part interview with Rob on their October 6 and October 13 podcast that is available on iTunes for free and from their website. The interview is pretty candid about the book and some of the criticism that Rob receives from many churches. Relevant also has a print interview up on their site with Rob.

I am personally looking forward to reading the book and being challenged in my understanding of our faith...especially in our American context.

So what are your thoughts? Do you agree/enjoy/grow from Rob Bell's teaching, writings, or nooma videos? Or are you ready to burn his books and call him a heretic? Somewhere in between? Talk back in the comments.

2 Steps Back

Natalie Dylan to sell virginity to pay for school:



This past week, a story came out about a San Diego college student who is willing to sell her virginity to help pay for her education. Natalie received a Bachelor degree in Women's Studies and wants to pursue a Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Counseling. This story is just sad in so many ways. Not only are feminist upset about this, but anyone with a shred of morality should be as well. Here's what Natalie had to say:


"I don’t think auctioning my virginity will solve all my problems, but it will create some financial stability"



"I’m not just looking for the highest bidder,” says Dylan. “I’m looking for someone who is a genuine, overall nice person.”



There are several things that are troubling about this story.



1. Our view of sex- As a Christian, I believe that God created sex as a gift between a husband and wife. It is something sacred...something to cherish and protect. This story is just another illustration of how sex is a commodity-something to be bought, sold, traded, or exchanged. Our society has cheapened sex to the point that we'll offer it to the highest bidder if it achieves our goal.



2. Empowerment- In an interview with Natlie, she discussed her decision and said that she has found the whole process of offering her virginity as "empowering." I understand that a person deciding how/when to have sex can be empowering...but real empowerment would be saving this sacred act for someone you have committed your life to rather than to someone who bought you for enjoyment like you'd by a pizza or new car. We need to consider "what is real empowerment?"

3. Our View of Ourselves: This is similar to our view of sex, but God has created each of us unique and in the image of God. We have more value and worth than something to be bought or sold. I think many secularist believe that Christianity denies our humanity and our natural sexual drive by seeking purity and monogamy within the boundaries of marraige. Yet I believe that we raise our view of human value when we cherish and protect what is beautiful in life rather than to offer it to the highest bidder, or to offer it to feel accepted, loved, etc.

I have so many more thoughts running around in my head about this story. It may need another post. In my heart, I pray that Natalie will cherish her virginity (that she has apparently protected for 22 years), and wait to share it with someone who has made a lifelong commitment to her.