Joy and Travis circa 1985

It was 80s Night at The Pipeline.
We had no choice!






Luke and me in our 80s bad boy look.




And then we went to McDonalds!


Evan has more pics of the entire night.

church, men, and painted warriors

Who says a men's ministry at church has to be old boring guys sitting around sipping coffee. Ours is great. Today we grabbed the guns and shot at each other.

Today we finished the book, "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge.
Then, to be men of adventure, we played paint ball.

I was ready for war-like action. Ready to run, dodge fire, shoot to kill.
A hunter on the prowl to destroy his enemy. My paint was gonna be plastered all across their masks. I couldn't wait.



This first game was about to begin.
The ref was counting to three and then releasing us into battle.
I had my strategy. I was ready to run, shoot, and destroy.

1...2...3...GO!

Three seconds later...bam...bam...bam...

MY BACK gets lit up from a guy behind me.
My teammate shoots me in the back three times from about eight feet away.

Here's the back of my sweatshirt.



Below is most of the guys that played paintball today.
The guy in the orange hat in the center is the friend that shot me in the back.
No hard feelings at all....just a great day of adrenaline rush with the guys.

(click pic for better quality)

May we be men who share life together.

Any other great ideas for men to do?

What are your podcast favorites?

Podcasts. Anyone can get their message out there.


I listen to Mosiac, North Point Ministries, Rob Bell, Imago Dei and a few others. I've just cleaned out a ton I have never listened to. (I had 288 unheard podcasts) I also just deleted about 10 subscriptions to podcasts that we not doing anything for me.

Will You Help Me?

Give me your favorite podcasts you listen to.
Also tell me the genre so I have a clue what I'm dealing with.

Good Morning Pizza Party

(A creative way to bring 'em back after Easter.)
See more Creative Chaos Ideas Here.

By The Numbers

Before I throw out a bunch of numbers, I just want to say we had an incredible Easter service. We, as a church, was a huge team rowing a boat together. All the prep, prayer, and dedication resulted in a great return on our investment.

Here's the numbers:

299 - number of people in our service. (I think one person was hiding)
119 - number of people over our average attendance.
70 - number of adults involved on a ministry team in some way to make Easter a success.
63 - number of children who participated in musical ministry in the service.
336 - number of glow sticks cracked open at 9:25 a.m.
3 - number of free gallons of coffee donated by Common Grounds.
7 - number of additional pots of coffee we made to serve to people
288 - number of muffins we made available to everyone
2 - number of small paint spills on the stage after a drama
2- number of air fragrance dispensers we had plugged in to create an attractive environment
3 - number of incredible real stories we shared to illustrate the power of God's Help
10 - number of minutes we were ahead of schedule and ended early.
2 - number of times a band played Help by the Beatles during the service.
26 - number of people declaring they need Jesus to Help them in life.
49 - number of people asking for God's help on behalf of another person.
14 - number of people who decided to follow Jesus.

God is impacting lives in our community.
We are excited to join in on the ride.
May we anticipate greater days in the future!

Add to my list of #s if you think of something...

Hot or Not?

The shirt....

YES or NO

Hats: Day 16 (The Final Hat)

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."

DAY 16

IT'S OVER!
Day 1 was a fuzzy hat. Day 8 was a fuzzy hat.
And now Day 16 wraps up the journey with a fuzzy hat.

Things I've learned from the 16-day photo adventure:
1. Never do a 16-day series of anything on your blog.
2. There are a plethora of seed hats in this corner of the world.
3. Hat pictures bring no comments.
4. Never try this at home.
5. You lose readers by wearing stupid hats.

See All 16 hats

Hats: Day 15

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."

Day 15

This is ANOTHER seed hat.
These things are a dime a dozen around here.
Want to buy one on ebay?

see previous hats

Hats: Day 14

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."


HAPPY EASTER!

see previous hats

We prayed for you!

A prayer team walked through the auditorium Thursday night and prayed for every person who would be sitting in the chairs on Sunday morning.

I call it chair prayer.

We placed our Easter promo cards on each chair as a symbol of prayer for each person.
We spent time walking and praying for everyone. God really spoke to me during this time that we are beginning a time where our community will come to know Jesus!

I believe God will begin to do wonderful things in less that 24 hours!
Sunday is almost here!

You live near Mattoon, IL? Then come join us.

Hats: Day 13

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."

Day 13

Another seed hat. Yes, this looks much like Day 3.
This is a mesh summer hat. The other was the winter edition.
Seed hats are plentiful in my little corner of the world.

See previous hats

Hats: Day 12

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."

Day 12

This is the THIRD bright yellow hat.
As I type this, I remember my father-in-law loving to wear these bright hats during his youngest daughter's track season. He would encourage his daughter from the sidelines, wave the bright hat, and yelling for her to keep running hard. You wouldn't miss him.

previous hats

Eternal Impressions

A Slice of Creative Chaos

{RSS readers: pics and video embedded in this post}
I got an opportunity to speak this week to students from Meadowbrook Community Church during their Spring Break retreat. I challenged them to leave a lasting imprint on thier world.

I opened the talk with a conversation and video about Carbon Footprints and how we leave some type of imprint on our world through the resources we use.

I then transitioned into why we need to leave a lasting impression on people's lives.

I explained that God wants us to leave positive impressions on people, and that we should move from being a self-focussed person to a people-focussed person. I used Acts 20:24 as my main verse.

We concluded by dreaming about ways we can leave a positive lasting impression that leaves God's incredible impression on people's lives. They wrote their ideas on a large white sheet of paper on the wall.

After the ideas were written and shared, they painted their hand and left a print on theor hand on the paper as a commitment to make a positive difference. They prayed a quick prayer as they pressed their hand to the wall.

Pics and video below:

Hats: Day 11

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."

Day 11

This is my father-in-law's favorite stocking cap.
It's 20+ years old. He loves it!

previous hats

What did you do today?

Dad: What did you do today at grandmas?
Riley (2-year-old son): Grandma picked boogers out of my nose.

What did you do today?

Hats: Day 10

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."


Seed hat #2. Lovin' the seed hats in East Central Illinois!

What's your favorite hat so far?
previous hats

I met Saint Santa Bunny

Joy and I met with another family last night to meet about Easter preps, a summer outreach we're planning, and just to connect over some coffee (and pizza).

What was going to be a peaceful meeting without kids, turned into a night of rare, unique, live St. Patrick's Day entertainment that will be etched into my memory banks for some time.

Meet the entertainer


Last night he dressed in a green costume of sorts and played.. well...he played some weird gospel/anti-Buddha song. Then he played some other Protestant vs. Catholic fight song. Then his wife read a poem....and I seriously tried to pay attention to my meeting, but couldn't stop listening and watching his performance.

It was live from a local family-style dining restaurant that has never had live music to my knowledge. A rare specialty of sorts for a boring Monday night in Mattoon. Better than TV.

As I was leaving, we saw that he would be back in a week in a easter bunny costume. I asked the cashier about it. He said, "Yeah, and I think he does Santa Claus, too."

Odd.

Hats: Day 9

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."

Day 9

This is the SECOND bright yellow hat I found.
I guess you need more than one of these bad boys.
They have three! The third BRIGHT YELLOW HAT
will be posted in a few days.

previous hats

No Grumpy Greeters Here!

I sat in a First Impressions meeting at church on Sunday. It was exciting to see. We have a great team ready to rock on Easter. Everyone is ready to make a lasting impression on the people joining us for Easter.

We're ready to make you feel welcome.
Driving in, we're there. Front entrance, we're there. Lobby and coffee, we're there. Children's check-in station, we're there. Entrance of auditorium, we're there.

We want to make a lasting first impression.

As the team was discussing the importance of being a friendly greeter and a smiling face, there was mention of a greeter at a local store that is a "Grumpy Greeter." As this was mentioned, many people around the circle knew who they were talking about.

This guy has made a lasting impression--just not a positive one.

We will make a positive impression on Sunday.
Come join us for Easter. You'll be met by an incredible First Impressions team that will make you feel welcome.

Hats: Day 8

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."

Day 8

Yes, this is another black furry hat.
Somewhat similar to Day 1.
And the funny thing...there is still one more coming!

previous hats

Hats: Day 7

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."

Day 7

Since Sunday is a big work day, I thought I'd wear this.

previous hats

Hats: Day 6

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."

Day 6


Everyone needs a solid orange hat to go with that one outfit.
(And this is not even a hunting hat.)

previous hats

Insights from a High Profile Sex Scandal

There is a lot of sleaze, sex and scandal in the media. This week's breaking story of New York Gov. Spitzer's prostitution involvement has claimed all the airtime on cable media and tabloid print journalism.

The story, which I recommend no one dive too deep into because of the immoral content, is quite sad. Especially when I begin to think of the young woman involved in this.

Her name is Ashley.
This was is portion of her MySpace Bio before is was taken down a few days ago.

I live in New York and am on top of the world. Been here since 2004 and I love this city, I love my life here. But, my path has not been easy. When I was 17, I left home. It was my decision and I’ve never looked back. Left my hometown. Left a broken family. Left abuse. Left an older brother who had already split. Left and learned what it was like to have everything, and lose it, again and again. Learned what it was like to wake up one day and have the people you care about most gone. I have been alone. I have abused drugs. I have been broke and homeless. But, I survived, on my own.

Here's some thoughts based on her bio:

• She told everyone she was on top of the world. We never really know the inner hurts of people. The outside can appear much different from inner reality. There are so many people who are hurting, confused, searching for answers, and needing approval. People want attention. People want to matter. It's a deep longing of humanity. The question...where will they find approval and acceptance?
• When I was 17, I left home. It was my decision and I’ve never looked back. Left my hometown. Running away from problems doesn't fix the problems. Cutting away from contacts and changing locations doesn't heal the root hurts and wounds. People need to look deeper into their lives to find the WHY of the problems.
• Left a broken family. Left abuse. Left an older brother who had already split. Family is so important. Parents need to understand that ALL their decisions, choices, habits, and attitudes will always impact their kids. Kids are sponges when it comes to taking on the attributed of their parents. Parents MUST think about their kids before they think about themselves. Parents PLEASE think of your kids first before wrecking their world.
  
• I have been alone. I have abused drugs. I have been broke and homeless. But, I survived, on my own. What does it mean to "survive"? We need to lives our lives to thrive and be significant, not just survive. Living to be significant is important. Finding a cause is crucial. Serving others and improving someone else's world are great ways to become significant. Can anyone really survive on their own. We were created to be with people. We are created for community. We must surround ourselves around people who love us and will give us Godly counsel.
  

There are always life lessons in tragedy. The New York Governor situation is a human tragedy--not a political story. Its a story of people searching. People wanting to be accepted, loved and fulfilled. It's a story of hurting people looking for answers.

May we learn from these stories. May we draw on God's wisdom to live the life he designed for us to live. And may we influence others to do the same.

Hats: Day 5

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."

Day 5


Some hats are better not worn.

...thinking about wearing this on Easter...

Previous Hats

Creative Chaos 2

Here's my quick contribution to the Creative Chaos idea exchange.

Our theme for Easter this year is HELP: I Need Somebody.
We have a live band playing Help by the Beatles at the intro of the message.
We have video-driven stories of people who needed help, reached out to God, and experienced His awesome power in their lives. (That's all I can share. We have tons of other creative elements, but you'll have to come here and experience the rest.)




Also check out my current Hats in Their Closet Photo adventure.

Hats: Day 4

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."

Day 4

A big, fluffy, very white stocking cap.

Previous Hats

a gift?

I got a tract shoved in my door today.

I opened the front door to see if i got anything good in the mail.
Nope.
Any thoughts?

Hats: Day 3

I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found several hats.
Being the nice guy that I am, I want to share the treasure.
Welcome to a 16-day photo adventure of "Hats in Their Closet."

Day 3


For all you non-rural folk out there, this is known as a seed hat.
This won't be the only seed hat you see over the next several days.

Day 1 Day 2

grabbed my heart

Romans 15:1-2 (The Message)

Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, "How can I help?"

How can we help others? Your turn to talk...

Hats: Day 2

So I was snooping in my in-laws closet and found a few very interesting hats. Thus, we take a 16-day photo journey of the hats on my head.

Day 2


Take notice that it's bright yellow, it has the Joy dish washing soap logo on it..and yes, that is a fishing bobber attached to the top of it.

Bad Dad

My son goes to preschool at 12:30 p.m.
I am his ride.

At 1:45 p.m. I was eating at a Mexican restaurant.
At 1:46 p.m. I realized I forgot to take him to school.

I hang my head...

Hats in their Closet: Day 1

I discovered several interesting hats at my in-laws house the other day when we were over there for dinner. It would only be appropriate for me to share my findings. Welcome to "Hats in their Closet: a 16-day photo adventure.
(I will post other things on the blog during the next 16 days. But I will begin the morning with a new hat on my head.)

Day 1

This is the first of a few black furry hats I found.
I wanted to begin the 16-day adventure with this particular hat because of the nice feather.

Q & A with 4-year-old Son (part 2)

Me: what are you dong this morning?
Dakota: I was eating waffles.

Me: What have you helped me do today?
Dakota: Nothing.

Me: Did we do any chores?
Dakota: Change light bulbs. And we lost light bulbs. Oh...we forgot that one.

Me: Do you know what music are we listening to? (U2)
Dakota: No. But I like it. ...Dad, I want to play pbskids.org

Me: If you could do anything today, what would you do?
Dakota: play pbskids.org. I wanna play it. Dad...dad....please...

Me: Where did you learn about pbskids.org?
Dakota: Its on TV at your mother's house.

Then he got up and left. Interview over.

see interview part 1
see MYboys episode 1.1 video interview

Heart Melting...

priceless.
{video}

Kids Creative Easter Element

We're excited about Easter. This Sunday we are working on the Kids Factory contribution to the Easter Service at our church.

Let me just paint the picture:

1. Lights in auditorium go all the way down.
2. Music begins. (Hillsong Kids: Let Your Light Shine)
   
3. Video and motion lyrics roll on the screen.
   
4. All the kids (1st-5th) go running through the auditorium like ants at a picnic handing EVERYONE a glow stick.
5. A small team of kids are on the stage dancing with glow sticks while the others are passing them out.
6. Half way through the song the entire group of kids run to the stage and finish singing the song with glow-stick choreographed motions.
7. The entire crowd joins in singing and waving their glow sticks.

Let Your Light Shine...


Just a Little Creative Chaos!