Post No. 36

Wow, 36 posts in a 31-day month. Sometimes I impress even myself.

Great night tonight. Lower numbers in some of our midweek programs because of Halloween, but a great turnout for our Trunk or Treat event for the kids. Our children's pastor and her team did a great job with an event we haven't tried before. Didn't really know if we'd have a good turnout, but we did.

And tomorrow, we move into November. Two months left in 2007. Wow.

The power of our senses.

I had lunch today at Baja Fresh. We don't have one in Antelope (or near my house in Sacramento, for that matter), so I went to my usual one up in Roseville. As I was sitting there enjoying my Baja burrito (chicken, with extra guacamole) and my chips with salsa, without the Spanish-language music in the background, I realized that the combination of sensory elements created a unique response. I was reading a ministry book, but I felt like I was reading a book from several months ago, which I primarily read at Baja Fresh. Just a weird experience.

Live weather update.

Just a few minutes ago, we had a nice thunderstorm roll over us here in Antelope, California. We don't get a whole lot of these puppies, and this was a nice one. Had one big thunderclap strike almost right over us, and a good amount of rain in just a few minutes. It's moved out, but here are some images from it.

Why have I blogged so much?

So I've finally broken the average of "one blog a day" for the month of October. This is the first time I've ever written more than 30/31 posts in a single month. Why?

1. Harvest Festival
This was a big event, had a lot of excitement and activity and involvement, so it was easy material

2. New job
I try to send one or two emails each week to our worship team, and I've started carrying over some of those thoughts into this space, too

3. More thinking and reading
I guess I've been doing a lot more thinking about ministry and writing and ideas and other stuff, so some of it is bound to spill over here

4. Greece trip
I didn't really do lots of blogging while in Greece, but I did lots of journaling, so I had plenty of material to share -- mostly funny stuff

5. Family inquiries
Last month, lots of friends and family were asking me what was up with the blog because I wasn't posting much

Sometimes, too much to do.

Ever feel a little overwhelmed? Not to the point of mental or emotional breakdown, but the sense that little things just aren't getting done because of all the bigger things on the schedule?

I feel that way today. I'm attempting to get some "thank you" notes written and sent to our Harvest Festival volunteers. This was an event that happened 12 days ago, and I'm just now getting around to it.

Maybe it's not a "huge" issue, but I just think it's important to thank the nearly 200 folks who volunteered and made the event a success. And the further out from the event, the odder it is to receive a "thanks" in the mail. Oh well.

Indiana Jones rocks.

This is awesome news:

"The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Volume One" was released on DVD Tuesday, the first of three boxed sets gathering all of his youthful exploits from the 1990s TV series.

Along with seven feature-length adventures, the 12-disc set packs 38 documentary segments offering historical insight into the eras, events and illustrious figures Indy encounters, including Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, T.E. Lawrence and Sigmund Freud.

"If Indy just touches on it, sees it or hears about a major historical character, there's a full half-hour documentary on every one of those people," said Rick McCallum, Lucas' producing partner on "Young Indiana Jones."

I remember the shows on TV, and they were well produced as far as TV shows of that era go. I bought many of the episodes on VHS, but now I need to go get my hands on the DVDs. And the second set is supposed to come out in time to make the annual Christmas list for family members...hmm...

Trivial knowledge inside my head.

Need an example of that trivial knowledge?

Twelve years ago today, I started by first job out of college, as a reporter for the Turlock Journal.

Why do I remember October 23? Why should I remember that date?

I don't know. I just do.

Oh, and October 28 is now the anniversary of when I moved into my first house. Again, moderately trivial knowledge.

Shared just for you. Enjoy.

All kinds of fires.

UPDATED BELOW

The weather is wonderful up here in Northern California, but the same can't be true for all of our friends down to the south. This morning I came across a bunch of news articles and blog posts about the wildfires in both the L.A. and San Diego areas.

From CNN:

Helping residents who ignored evacuation orders diverted fire crews away from firefighting efforts Monday as wildfires burned out of control in the San Diego area, officials said.

"We've been unable to do any suppression effort because, in most cases, the fire resources are being used ... to do rescues," said Bill Metcalf, chief of the North County Fire Protection District in Fallbrook.

Metcalf said the wildfire situation in the San Diego area "has gotten dramatically worse overnight."

From YSMarko (Mark Oestreicher from Youth Specialties):

weird morning here in san diego. there are two fires, burning somewhat out of control, in the hills to the east of san diego. one of the fires, overnight, moved into a neighborhood to the north and east of san diego and burned down some houses. i’m still watching the news and don’t know all the details. heard from one of our seminar speakers this morning that he stayed with a friend in north county and can’t get down to the convention, because the roads are closed. a few of our ys staff live in areas where there homes will likely be evacuated soon. i’m still trying to find out if there’s any sense that i should be worried about my home - i don’t think the fire is moving to my area at this point (the fire in the north east seems to be the one that’s much worse at this point; my home is closer to the fire that’s in the south east).

From Mike Lovato:

Be praying for those in SoCal who are affected by the wildfires. It's all over the news here. And if you go outside it smells like smoke (even though our house is a decent ways from the closest fire). Also, be praying for Malibu Presbyterian Church. Their church building burnt down today in the fires.

There is also more wire service coverage from MSNBC and SFGate, plus local coverage from the L.A. Times.

UPDATE: A woman in our church passed along this item this afternoon. "Please pass on a prayer request to the team. My parent's house and brother's condo are in the path of the fires in San Diego and they were evacuated today."

5 stories worth a read: Part 15

Hmm, things have been busy over the weekend, but still time to share a few of the best stories I've encountered online:

1. In many countries, cement is crucial for growth but an enemy of green from the International Herald-Tribune

2. In Europe, a growing fervor for Elvis Presley from the International Herald Tribune

3. As Apple gains PC market share, Jobs talks of a decade of upgrades from the International Herald Tribune

4. Children detach from natural world as they explore the virtual one from the San Francisco Chronicle

5. Colbert says presidential run is no joke from Reuters (on msnbc.com).

Enjoy.

Leading people into God's presence.

This was a thought I shared in an email earlier today to our worship team:

I spent some time the other day thinking and meditating on the principle of leading people into God's presence. That really is our most important role on Sunday mornings. We don't stand on the stage to entertain. We're up there because WE spend time regularly in God's presence each day, and our Sunday experience is simply an extension of our ongoing, intimate walk with God.

What we do on Sundays is just part of the leading, the going, the experiencing, the being in God's presence. Our job ISN'T to push or prod or cajole or manipulate people into His presence. If folks don't want to seek Him, we can't make them. Our role is to walk in each week eager to be in God's presence because we've been spending time with Him. That doesn't mean being perfect, but it means living a life that glorifies and honors Him.

5 stories worth a read: Part 14

Some random browsing brought these to light:

1. U.S. Southeast reaches most severe category of drought from the International Herald Tribune

2. French strike expected to affect travel elsewhere in Europe from the International Herald Tribune

3. Mutants or saviors? Rabbit genes create trees that eat poisons from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

4. Friction over weak dollar expected at G-7 meeting from McClatchy News Service

5. Stephen Colbert to run for president from The Associated Press (on mercurynews.com)

Enjoy!

Too many books?

I've been trying to reorganize the books in my office, to shift things away from my desk that are less relevant (i.e. youth ministry) and bring other books closer to my quick grab (i.e. worship, adult ministries, etc). I'm having mixed success. But really what occurs to me is that I own lots and lots of books. I've read many, but not sure if I can say I've read most of the ones I own.

Perhaps the best solution is to stop buying more books until I read every tome I already own.

Yea. Right.

5 stories worth a read: Part 13

Check these out. Maybe grab some popcorn, too. Or not. Your call.

1. Secret tunnels tell tale of gambling, prostitution (down in Fresno) from The Associated Press (on cnn.com)

2. Writers strike could pull plug on TV favorites on msnbc.com

3. Top secret no more, restored fort opens doors from the San Francisco Chronicle

4. U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear Modesto case from The Modesto Bee

5. NBC overhead camera falls onto field from The Associated Press (on modbee.com)

Enjoy.

Hmm, a new Harvest Festival event?

I wonder if my boss would approve of this feature at our church:

What can you do with pumpkins? The list is not all that long. You can make pumpkin pies and breads, carve jack-o'-lanterns or use them to decorate your front porch.

Or you can send them hurling into the autumn sky at 400 mph with a 30,000-pound cannon.

It's pumpkin-chucking season!

Probably not. But still a fun idea.

I like books.

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Literate Good Citizen
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Saw this quiz over on YSMarko's site and figured I'd give it a shot. I'd say it's pretty accurate. Anyone who's seen my stash of books knows it. But I think it's genetic, from both sides of my family. I blame, er, thank them.

Best news hour on TV.

If you're looking for a good one-hour news program that isn't filled with a bunch of idiots yelling at each other or non-significant news stories, check this out: Watch CNN each day at 9AM Pacific (noon Eastern), for "Your World Today." It's actually a broadcast from CNN International, which I've fallen in love with during my various trips to Europe. CNNI has a calmer tone than its American counterpart, which I find obnoxious (I also find Fox News and MSNBC obnoxious). Anyway, it's not quite as "serious" as the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" over on PBS, but "Your World Today" is a good, internationally focused program that helps Americans remember that we aren't the only country of significance in the world.

More pics from Harvest Festival.

Today I received some more photos from volunteers who were part of the team at our Harvest Festival yesterday. Thought I'd share some of the really cool pics.

My day just keeps gettin' better.

Sweet! I just checked YSMarko's blog, and I won his most recent "photo in need of a caption" contest. Awesome. Now I just gotta figure out which Youth Specialties book I want as my prize (quite ironic, now that my job description has changed).

It's 6PM, the day of Harvest Festival

Wow, it's all over. Our 6th annual Harvest Festival is done, in the can, finished, complete -- and man am I tired!

We don't keep an exact count of the number of guests each year, but here are some facts that I do know:

We had more volunteers than last year

Our construction work was nearly complete by Friday night, giving us lots of time this morning for decoration and atmosphere

Our men did an incredible job handling all the cars, with more volunteers in that area than the last few years

We had lots of new faces among our volunteers, always a healthy sign

We had plenty of veterans return to help, another healthy sign

We ran out of ministry brochures within the first 90 minutes and had to print more, which has never happened before

Our "Celebrate Recovery" and "Fired-Up Ministries" booths got lots of inquiries from people

It rained much of yesterday, but no one got stuck in mud here

We gave away at least 2,000 hot dogs

It's 6PM and I can go home!

This is an incredible event each year because it shows the power of a church coming together, all of its ministries and all of its leaders and all of its team members, focused on the single cause of creating a fun, free event that sends a positive message to our community.

And at the end of the day, isn't that what a church should be doing every week? Focusing on helping others and not fighting petty battles? Working together as a team and not defining territory? Looking out for others and not worrying about the sacrifices that must be made?

An awesome day indeed.

It's 9PM the night before Harvest Festival.

It's 9PM on Friday. A small crew of us is wrapping up some projects here at the church, getting ready for our Harvest Festival tommorow.

First volunteers arrive in 10 hours.

Main set-up crew arrives in 11 hours.

First early-bird cars arrive in 14 hours.

Gates open in 15 hours.

Cleanup begins in 19 hours.

Rob crashes hard in his bed to get a good night of sleep in 23 hours.

And we pray that whatever seeds God planted in people's lives will continue to grow and eventually produce a harvest. That's why we do this!