Caden the Jet ski man


Had a blast at our Middle School beach party! Huge thanks to the Fisk's for allowing us to crash at their cabin for a few hours! It was a blast, but the highlight of the night was taking Caden out on the Jet ski. Not sure he knew what was happening, but it was a fun time! I had to make sure that Uncle Kevin wasn't the first to get him out on the Jet Ski :)

Good times! Good times!

Crazy Sky


Saw these amazing clouds this am. As always, the picture doesn't do it justice. But check it out anyway. Did anyone else see them? CRAZY

Chris

I'm not dead


Just a quick post to tell you that I am not Dead...

In the past 7 days I have been to 3 Twins games, Valleyfair, been the only pastor in the office, hung out with the family, prepared a sermon, worked on messages for a wedding and Big Sandy, and prepared a sermon for Sunday. Whew! I can't wait for Sunday afternoon!

In my "spare time" I did make up this promo picture for our Biker Sunday coming up in August. It started out as a joke, but I actually like it...

My new workout plan

Watch This video and get a sneak peak into my new workout plan.

Think it will work?

Do Hard Things


I just started reading a book called Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris. They are twin 19 year olds who are challenging teenagers to "rebel against low expectations." I've made it through the first couple chapters and have to say that I am impressed.

Here are some early impressions:
1. The authors think highly of themselves (not necessarily cocky)
2. The authors are motivated and have great ideas
3. They think for themselves
4. They had solid parents who expected great things from them

I think that this book would be a great book for any teenager (or parent of one) to read. Teenagers are too often just tossed into a meaningless age grouping. Too old to be children, but not good enough to be an adult. The Harris' fight that stereotype. They want more to be expected of them, and of other young people their age. I think more people should think this way! (both teens and adults about teens)

Quote from the book:
In the chapters that follow, we want to show you that deep down you want to do hard things, and what's more, you can do hard things. What you'll discover is a whole new way of living your teen years and of living the rest of your life. God's Word and all of history demonstrates that we are far more capable than we think. This world is trying to trap you by tying its pathetic piece of twine around your ankle. We want to help you break the twine.
As I said, I've only read the first 3 chapters of the book. From what I have read, I am impressed. These are things that teenagers, and young people (like myself) need to hear. What's the best part about the book? It doesn't come from a 50 year old that has forgotten what its like to be a teenager. (no offense intended) It comes straight from two 19 year olds who have been Doing Hard Things for a while now.

Go check it out. Have you read it? I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.

Caption Needed...


This picture was just too awesome! Do you have a caption for it? I wanna be like this when I am old.

And you thought you had a big mouth!

Next week at youth group, we'll be talking about how our mouths sometimes get us in trouble. So, today I was searching through the internet for examples/illustrations. I found this video that absolutely blew me away! Check it out!

That is ONE BIG MOUTH!

For what it's worth
Chris

Not your normal delivery



Found this clip over at my buddy's blog. This might just be the craziest delivery in the history of baseball! Although I don't agree with the umpire's call at the end, it does confirm my that umpires are blind, no matter what country they work in.

field of dreams

 
We just created a sweet softball field at chuch! We always had the field, it just didn't have an infield. So, we ordered some dirt, got a sod cutter, and all of the sudden, we got a nice field to play on. Should be fun to break it in against the old guys from church.

Some day, I'll have one of these of my own for wiffleball! That would be amazing!
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My Son The Rock Star


Caden was enjoying a free concert thanks to LT and the Hillsong cd that was playing. Who cares if you are the only one in the room! The front row is the front row! I think LT has his first fan! Fun stuff! LT is a great person for Caden to look up to!

Busy...

AAAHHHHHHHH! It's busy!

district conference

So I am spending a couple days in Wausau for district conference. Its always good to connect with some good friends from around the district. The highlight so far... TV's in the bathroom of each room. Is this excessive? YES! But is it great to brush your teeth and watch sportscenter.

I'll be back soon. I miss my Caden! (and Katie too)

First Twins game of the year

 

Sure hope last night's Twins game isn't indicitive of what is going to take place for the rest of the year! We simply couldn't get anything going! 2 hits? Crazy! Oh well... it was a great night at the dome with Caden and Katie. Decided after work to run down and see a game. Bought some cheap seats on the street and spent a fun night with the family. Caden LOVED all the lights and the jumbotron. I can't wait to take him to more games as he starts to understand what's going on. He's going to love baseball (I hope).

I am sure he'll post about his experience on his blog too.

Chris
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I better let you in on the secret...

I just wanted to let you in on the secret to my recent drop in weight. I feel like I owe it to the world to share how I was able to/and continue to drop pounds. Well... Here it is... You can thank me later.

life's pleasures


I seem to have gotten a nice little cold. Not fun! Caden and Katie were nice enough to pick up some Simply Orange Juice from the store for me. They even left me a message to tell me they got it so I could feel better soon. I must admit, this is the greatest OJ ever! If you ever feel the need to fill my refrig with Simply Orange, feel free!

preaching on Sunday

Its been a busy week. Sometimes vacations are more work than rest. Sure it was nice to be away in the frozen tundra of northern Minnesota (Brad, you got the shovel working again?) but getting back to quickly prepare for youth group on Wednesday, drop kids off at Crown, and now get ready to preach on Sunday make for a busy couple days.
I'm excited for Sunday. I'm doing a first person narrative, which is way out of my comfort zone but I think its going to be fun. I've written it, now I just got to finish memorizing the 8 pages of transcript. Should be fun though.
I'm excited to take a 30 minute break and watch the office tonight. Gotta love that the show is back! Speaking of the office, its about that time. Gotta run!

chipolte....yum!


Just got done with a great weekend with or adult leaders. It was great to get away and spend time hanging out. We got to eat at Famous Dave's (3 feasts) and lunch at Chipolte. Gotta love both places. I was very excited about Chipolte until April informed me that one burrito is nearly 2000 calaries. Normally that wouldn't faze me, but I on the home stretch for this "biggest loser" deal. It wasn't enough to stop me from eating about half though! Tasty stuff!

In all it was a very productive weekend. We built some great memories and friendships, talked about what we are/aren't doing well, and made some big decisions about who we are and where we are going as a ministry. I have a great group of adults who do an awesome job! Now we just need to find a few more for next year.

I am really excited about what the summer is going to bring! Big Sandy Camp, Valleyfair, Beach Parties and the 5 dollar mystery night are going to be amazing! Should be good times!

Wanna join the team?

Caption This...

My son is running a little contest over at his blog. He's seeing who can come up with the best caption to this Easter photo of he and his cousin. Why not click over there and join in the fun. :)
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NOTICE: Stop talking about my bald head or else!

Will Penner, a popular youth speaker reminded me of a very important passage of Scripture this week. I love it! Read it, internalize it, memorize it and REMEMBER it next time you make a comment about my bald head! I've now been to the school of Elisha and am ready to unleash the power of the she-bears! The Bible is a fun book to read, I hope you don't just see it as boring words that were recorded way too many years ago. Give it a chance, not only is it a fun book to read, its life changing if you allow it to be!

2 Kings 2:23-24
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

Good stuff!

We have NO LIFE

So, thanks to our friend Josh Mann, Katie and I spent my day off sitting on the couch trying to type faster than eachother. Currently, as you can see below, I am the speed typer in this family. Although compared to Josh's 98, I got nothing. Go ahead, try it, and let us know what your best time is. A good way to spend a day off (yeah not really, Josh find something better for us to do for next Monday please!)

70 words

Speed test