Last Week of Condo Living

Today we begin the last week of condo living. We've been in escrow for two months on a house and will finally close on Friday. We can't wait. I'll post pics of the new place once we're there, but here are a few pics of where we've spent the last year and a half. This is where we brought Lukas home from the hospital to... Where we completely remodled to make our own... Where we've watched countless movies by the fire... Where we've had two Christmas mornings... Where grandma lives right down the drive... Where Uncle Keat and Aunt Judy live even closer... and where we still REALLY NEED TO SELL.

Good Job Dad!

Slim Jim on MSNBC Tonight

My dad is scheduled to be on MSNBC's Scarbourough Country tonight.
Thought you might want to know.
We'll see if it happens.

The World Baseball Classic (and a couple of P.S.'s)

Just got back from the championship game of the World Baseball Classic where we watched Japan defeat Cuba. I'd never been to a game of such magnitude. What a thrill to watch Team Japan rush the field with their giant flags after the final out. The confetti fell, the fireworks exploded, the crowd went wild. Words can't describe and camera's with dead batteries can't take pictures.

P.S. My dad and Brock are both off of probation for not posting. Their links on my page were going to go away if they didn't post within the next 10 days.

P.S.S. The whole link thing is kind of silly, isn't it? I mean, what if you want to UN-link someone? Sidenote: I don't. I'm very happy with my link list. But what if one day you realize that you're no longer friends or even care about someone in your link collum? What if their site no longer interests you? What if you only put them in your link list because you found your link on their site and you felt obligated? How do you get out of that relationship? Do you talk about it? Do you have a mutual friend let them know? Do you go to linked couples theropy? Do you do it and hope they don't notice. Do you get rid of ALL links ala Nate and Julie Lamb? Do you say, "It's not you, it's your blog?" I WANNA KNOW!!

P.S.S.S If your'e in my link list and worried that you're not welcome, DON'T. You'll know when you're time is up :)

This is like That...

My relationship with the alarm clock is comparable to a boxing match featuring Mohammed Ali and Bugs Bunny (I'm Ali and the clock is Bugs).

Every morning Ali (me) toys with Bugs (the alarm) with a repetitive left jab (pressing the snooze button over and over again) when all of the sudden Bugs (the clock) breaks out the toxic cartoon explosives (the realization that I'm late) and blows Ali (me) out of the ring (bed).

Jake and Josie Stay The Night (or two)

With my parents in Phoenix for a few days, Jake and Josie need a place to crash at night. Enter our house. It's been brief, but fun.

Tomorrow Won't Be The Same

For years now, I've been saying "I dread the day I have to play without Paul Bleifuss." Paul is a rock in our band. His skills behind the kit are unmatched, and his heart is irreplaceable. When I came on as Skyline's band director, there were a group of guys, "THE GUYS", who had been doing this gig forever without me, and doing just fine without me. They didn't have to welcome me in. I was just a punk kid who thought he was better than everyone. But they did take me in, and to this day, they're all still here, and they're all still better than me. I remain the weakest link. But I'm fine with that. I consider myself blessed. These guys mean the world to me.
Tomorrow I'll get up at 6am, take a quick shower, get in my frozen car and drive to work with the windows down because my defrost isn't fast enough. This is the same routine that I follow every Sunday Morning. Tomorrow will be different, though. When 7am rolls around and THE GUYS show up, Paul won't be there. He'll be at home working on getting better. We've known this day was coming for a few months now, but I'm still not ready for it. Tomorrow won't be the same. My thoughts will be with my friend who is not there.
Tomorrow I start a new job, a job without Paul. We have drummers who can and will fill in, and this isn't meant to take anything away from their skill. They're great. But the guy who has laid down the back-beat to my career thus far will be sadly missed. My wife and I love him dearly,
Paul, We're praying hard for you.

This is Like That...

Going to bed before midnight is like leaving a bad party early.
You're afraid you'll miss something good, but deep down you know that it will only digress to falling asleep on the couch and waking up 3 hours later to an abnoxious episode of The Golden Girls.
(It's 12:19am. I'm officially in harms way)

Walking Man

This blog is normally an adult swim couples skate only zone, but I broke the rules for this.

click HERE to watch

I'm a proud dad.
Can you tell?

my week in .com

sunday morning: church
sunday afternoon: drove to victorville with lacy & the benoits
sunday night: 7 service @ High Desert church
monday morning/afternoon: snowboarding @ bear mountain
monday night: drove home (arriving at 10:45 pm)
tuesday morning: drove back to the mountains for our district’s “minister and mates” retreat @ Forest Home camp
wednesday afternoon: drove back to SD
wednesday night - friday morning: attended National Pastor’s Conference
friday afternoon: ran into Jared in the Target parking lot
friday night: play in College Area Pregnancy Service’s charity basketball game
saturday night: church with special guest Tim La Haye

This is Like That...

Listening to music in your home is like going downtown.
You never do it, but when you do, you ask yourself:
"Why don't I do this ALL the time?"
Then you go on with your life and don't do it again for a long, long time.
So sad.

to my friends spouses...

Nice job Nate.






























Way to go Esther.






























Karen... um...






























Thanks for sticking with em Cammie and Rosie.

Ideas

A thought has been haunting me for months, no years.
The thought is this: What if all the good ideas run out?
Scary, huh. Well maybe not for some, but for those of us who depend on new ideas on a weekly or monthly basis in order to earn a paycheck, it’s terrifying.
This question, or horrible panic in my gut when I give it time, has lead me down a road of analyzing where ideas come from. The results of my studies are conclusive...
I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE IDEAS COME FROM.
I’ve sought council on this topic from people who are praised for having great ideas on a regular basis, and they say not to worry about it, as long as there’s a desire to improve, the ideas will come.
I’m not buying it. I currently have NO new ideas and I have no reliable proof that I’ll ever have a good idea again. I don’t know where it will come from or what subject it will address. I do know where I was when my last good idea struck me, but there’s absolutely no rhyme or reason as to why it came or why I deserved to have it. It just showed up, and I went with it.
OK. I know that things are God-inspired and we have to rely on Him to guide us, even if it means doing it blindly. So I really do know who the source of ALL ideas is. But it’s still an interesting thought and my lack of faith keeps me in a terrified state.

Ever Had Someone Sit TOO Close in Church?

I Did

Click on image below to watch video.

If I Smoked Cigars...

If I were a smoker, I'd go to Cig's-R-Us and buy a box of "Itsaboys" and share them with my friends.
But I'm not a smoker, so I'll settle for a cheezy balloon.

Click on image below to watch the video!


Thanks Marybeth Meek for the help today!
You're the best!

Back to the Norm

After more than a month of craziness, tomorrow begins MY new year. I'll head to work and conduct business as usual for the first time in who knows how long. With the prep and production of Night of Light, Christmas Eve services, one Christmas Day service, and a weekend of Comedy for New Year's Eve, along with all the family celebrations and get together's, business as usual is a welcome sight for me. It's been a great month. One of the most rewarding months I've ever experienced, but I'm glad it's finished.
Lacy and I spent the better part of last week watching movies every night and sleeping in every morning. Lukas was kind enough to sleep in with us (in the other room, of course). I feel refreshed and recharged and ready to go back to what I really love, preparing quality worship experiences on a weekly basis.
As far as pics of our season, check Lukas's blog. Lacy's been kind enough to put some work into it.
Well, on that note, I'll leave you with one of the funniest inventions I've ever seen. Apparently Apple and Kohler have merged to create the world's first...
artwork compliments of nick beniot

A Season of Light

So sorry it's been so long. We've been busy. Beyond Busy. WAY past busy!
Tonight kicks off the last weekend of Night of Light, and the response has been overwhelming. I'll post better pictures when it's over and I can collect them from better photographers than myself, and even some video (we'll do a 4 camera shoot of the show tonight and tomorrow night)

Here are the 2 quick facts:
-Already over 11,000 people have seen the show
-500 have raised their hands to accept Christ

Nick Benoit's blog has a much better description of the show than I could ever put together, so go to his page if you care to learn more about the show.

Click HERE to view an article in the San Diego Union Tribune, a very secular paper, which brings to life some pros and cons of the show (the "cons" are all pros in our minds, but never the less, they can have their opinions). I hesitate posting this, but it shows the local attention we're generating. Kind of cool.

Opening Night!

Night of Light opened tonight. After a year of planning and a month of no sleep, we launched one of the coolest Christmas experiences I have ever seen.
The most important thing is this: 25 people accepted Christ tonight, and we have 16 more opportunities to reach the lost.
I'll post more pictures later, and I'll share more about the show soon, but here are a few of my favorite shots. There's no way to do the event justice from a still shot camera, but I'll do my best describing over the next few weeks.
Thanks to all who have been praying for this event. Keep it up!

The Red Light

So...
We played Roxanne in church today.

A Week in Review

Christmas is here!

OK, not for the rest of the world, yet. But here in San D., it's smothering us.

We're producing an outdoor Christmas Show, Night of Light, and we're less than 3 weeks from opening night (18 shows over 3 weekends).

This week has been full of light installations, thus the name, Night of Light.
From over ten thousand Christmas lights throughout the property, to the giant light grid that hangs above Bethlehem on the side of a cliff (By giant, I mean 6 stories high, and 64 feet across. 3600 lights, each a foot apart).
Today and yesterday we hoisted the grid up the cliff face and tried not to die in the process.
TONIGHT, we turned it on, and it... was... AWESOME!!!!
You can see it from the freeway. In-freakin-credible!
So tomorrow, we'll work out some of the bugs, and I'll post pictures soon (even though they won't do it justice).

Aside from Christmas this week, I bought U2's Vertigo Tour DVD, Live from Chicago, and relived the show. Lacy and I went to opening night of this tour, and I went to the second show two nights later. It's great to see how the show has progressed. It's also great to have a wife who can sing along to every song, especially since she knew nothing about U2 before we met. She's the best!

That's all for now.
I may not see you till after Christmas, but I'll try.
If you can get out to see the show, we'd love to see you.