Chocolate Lava Cake and Stretching

I can't sleep and I'm not sure why. I think it might be the combination of the Key Lime Pie, Chocolate Lava Cake, and coffee, all consumed way after 8:00pm.

Also on my mind is the new year. I always spend time between Christmas and New Year's evaluating the past year and seeking direction from God for where He wants me to go in 2008. I seem to have a little restlessness as well as excitement about 2008. At the same time I have tons of gratitude for what He has done for me in 2007...

• Macy and I celebrated 20 years of incredible marriage. It just keeps getting better!
  
• God blessed me with a completed staff team. Huge praise and blessing!
  
• Time spent with family and friends. I am so blessed with so many incredible relationships in my life!
  
• Spiritual growth - greater dependency on God than ever before. God has taught me a lot this year about depending on Him more and more and less on self. These can often be some of the toughest lessons we have to learn.
  

What does He have in store for 2008 for Mark Bricker? I'm praying God will use me for His glory in ways I would never expect. I am praying I will be obedient and open to His will in my life, even when it stretches me. Where does the restlessness come from? Not exactly sure, other than God seems to be getting ready to stretch me in some new area. And sometimes stretching can be tough. 2007 was a stretching year in a lot of ways for me. Looking back, the stretching has made me stronger...stronger in my faith and stronger in my walk with God.

Instead of wishing you a Happy New Year I'm going to challenge you to seek God's stretching in 2008 in ways you've never been stretched before, even if it hurts some (it usually does).

Happy New Stretching in 2008!

A Sad Homecoming

Last night we arrived home back in southwest Florida. And while we're glad to be home, it was tough. This was the first time we came home from a trip that we did not have Sugar, our cat, meet us at the door and incessantly follow us around for the next 24 hours. It seems so different. Part of the healing.

Macy and I did have a wonderful trip. We enjoyed our time with the Harveys in B-ham and had a very relaxing time with my family in Russellville, AL. But it's good to be home and its good to sleep in your own bed.

It's also good to have to have my wi-fi again, although I am missing playing Guitar Hero with Michael. I think I'm hooked!

Christmas Photos

Everybody loves looking at the pictures we take during the holidays. The problem: sometimes we don't take very many photos.

I made a commitment this Christmas season to take more pictures and not be lazy when it comes to getting my camera out. So far I've been pretty good. To see a small sampling of some of the photos I've taken so far, click here. We had a lot of fun this afternoon looking through all the photos I have taken since getting to my brother's house. The candles photo here is my attempt at getting a little creative with the camera.

If you're taking lots of pictures this holiday season, I highly recommend uploading them to Picasa Web Albums. It make sharing your photos so very easy. And, if you're already using Picasa2 to organize and edit your photos, it only a couple of mouse clicks away.

And finally, Merry Christmas! I hope you are enjoying the season as much as I am. And keep snapping those photos.

Family Time

Macy and I are having an awesome time hanging out with our family. Since Wednesday evening we've been in Russellville, AL at my brother David's house (that's him and his wife Theresa and my nephew Michael in the pic). It's been a very casual and relaxing time so far. A few of the highlights...

• I'm getting pretty good on Guitar Hero, for a rookie.
• The food has been incredible - always is at David's house (and it's not even Christmas yet).
• I'm enjoying playing some ping-pong and pool with my nephew Michael and my dad.
• It's cold here today (36 with a wind chill of 26 when we left for church this morning).
• I have eaten more red meat in the past 3 days than I have in the past 3 months. We had the best fillets 2 nights ago! My brother knows how to grill!
  
• Set up a new home theater stereo system for my brother last night. This goes along with his brand new 65 in Mitsubishi HDTV. I'm loving watching football this week!
• Really enjoying time spent with my nephew Michael.
• I've run twice here at David's house and it almost killed me both times. In a word...hills! I'm not use to them and they make running a whole lot harder. Oh well, it's got to be good for me, especially with all the food I'm eating.
• Our whole family worshiped together this morning at David and Theresa's church.
• I'm looking forward to spending Christmas together with my family and continuing to hang out around the house.
  

Macy and I wish all of our friends and family a wonderful Christmas. Wish we could be there with you!

Wireless Frustrations

My brother has Wi-Fi in his house, but for some reason my laptop is not finding it!

I was able to get my mom's laptop setup on it, and my nephew's brand new Christmas present laptop setup on it, but mine will not recognize the network. I can see three of the neighbors secure networks. Talk about frustrating. I'm able to connect through a cable, but who wants to be tied down! I done trying...it just doesn't make sense.

Arghhhh!

Getting Away

Macy and I got a plane Monday afternoon and got away.

We spent a couple of days in Birmingham with some friends before heading on up to Russellville, Alabama to spend Christmas at my brother's house.

Man is it cold here in Alabama. Well, at least it seems cold to me. Nice change from the warm weather we had been experiencing in Ft Myers before we left. I've been looking forward to this little getaway for a while now. I'm planning on using the holiday time for a lot of relaxing and rejuvenating and getting ready for 2008.

We stayed in Birmingham with Gary and Jennifer Harvey until yesterday afternoon (that's them in the picture). We had a great time hanging out with them and their 2 kids - Madison and Gavin. Mom and Dad came and picked us up and now we're in Russellville, Alabama at my brother's house. I am looking forward to a nice relaxing holiday up here with family.

Right now it's raining and cold.

Tearful Goodbye

This past Friday, Macy and I said goodbye to Sugar, our 17 and a half year old cat.

That's her in the picture. I'll be honest, I don't think I've ever cried that much. It was the hardest thing to do and I'm still aching from the loss.

She has always been in the house with us and now she's not. She's always there in the morning with me and now she's not. She's always in my lap in the evening while we watch TV and now she's not. She's always in the kitchen with us when we sit down for a meal, and now she's not. She's always letting us know when she's hungry or wants loving, and now she's not.

I knew this would be hard, but not this hard.

Through the tears, I am reminded of the wonderful 17 and a half years we had with Sugar. She blessed me in so many ways and I will miss her presence in my life terribly.

Sugar, I love you.

(For anyone interested in seeing more photos of Sugar click here)

An Elvis Christmas?

We start back with the second round of Pageant performances tonight. Five down and five more to go. I mentioned last week that my favorite part of the Pageant this year is watching Gerald Malloy do his impersonation of Elvis. Well, I brought my camera last night to the dress rehearsal for the purpose of snapping a few shots of my man Gerald to have a more permanent record of his Elvis portrayal. If you would like to see all of these shots click here. Thanks Gerald!

What A Team!

I was reminded several times this week how blessed I am to serve with such an awesome team of men and women at McGregor.

For the first time in over a year and a half McGregor's Ed Team is fully staffed. And what an awesome staff it is. I am so excited about 2008 and how God is going to use this team to fulfill our mission of doing whatever it takes to make fully devoted followers of Christ. I'm currently working with each team member on goals for the upcoming year. Having already had a few preliminary meetings, I'm getting excited as they challenge themselves to go further in 2008 than ever before.

Last night our entire pastoral staff and spouses got together for our annual Christmas party over at Dr Powell and LuAnne's house. We had a blast. There is something special about this team. I am so grateful to serve with a senior pastor who places such a high value on team and relationships within the team. Thanks Doc for leading us and loving us!

Thank you God for allowing me to serve You here at McGregor. And thank you for allowing me to serve among men and women who love You and Your church and are willing to whatever it takes!

Weekend Download

This past weekend flew by. Here's my weekend download...

• Pageant is now at 50% complete. Most of my time this weekend was consumed with the 5 Pageant performances. With the exception of a couple of technical malfunctions, the performances all went very well. As always, the story is compelling and told with excellence. I'm having a great time serving behind the scenes with the media team.
• Denver and the Mile High Orchestra are still in it! They are now down to four bands in the Next Great American Band competition. I can't believe they made it his far. Keep on voting.
  
• Sunday morning we had Charles Lowery in to speak at McGregor. He did an awesome job preparing us for a RIGHT Christmas. As always, he had me laughing till my stomach hurt and at the same time had some powerful thoughts to challenge me with. Here's his outline on having a RIGHT Christmas...
• R - Be Realistic
• I - Ignore the little things
• G - Get over it
• H - Have a sense of humor
• T - Tell yourself who you are - a child of the King!
• We have our all-staff Christmas luncheon today. This is always a blast and this year our Children's Ministry team has come up with some fun awards. Can't wait to see who wins!
• Weekend Highlight - watching Gerald Malloy in each Pageant performance live out his "I want to be like Elvis" fantasy. This alone is worth the price of a ticket! Thanks Gerald!
  

This week's challenge - avoiding the distractions and staying focused on the Savior. This is always a huge challenge this time of year for me and I'm sure for others as well. I want every part of my life to be focused on what really counts - living for the Savior. And I know the world will send every possible distraction to divert my focused attention in doing that. What distracts you? I know I have tons of possible distraction every day. I'm going to try to recognize and avoid those distractions and have a "focus on the Savior" Christmas. How about you?

Opening Night

Tonight at 7:00pm the curtain goes up for McGregor's Annual Christmas Pageant. Actually, we don't have a curtain. I guess a better expression would be the baton drops at 7:00pm. I'm pretty sure we have a baton.

I mentioned in an earlier post my role in the Pageant is Click Track Operator. The question I often get is "what does a Click Track Operator do?" Let's see if I can I shed some light on this.

I have been doing this now for 4 Pageants, so I consider myself somewhat of a veteran in the Click Track field. So, what is it I do. I push buttons on the remote control device in the picture above. That's right, a lot of button pushing. This remote device controls another device called a Multi-Track Recorder (see pic below). The Multi-Track Recorder is the heart of the performance. It keeps the orchestra, singers, soloist, and even all the computerized lighting together among other things. Throughout the performance there are stop and start times and I have to be watching the director (Rob) very carefully to know when to stop and to start. Very precise work here.

So, I guess you could say the entire Pageant is riding on my ability to start and stop the show accurately. No pressure. Actually, it's a lot of fun. I'm sitting back in the booth between the audio operator (Austin) and the light operator (Pastor Russell). If you attend one of the performances this year, stop by the booth and say Hi, just not while I'm pushing buttons!

Thanks to Rusty for teaching me everything I know about Click Track Operating. I miss you this year!

Faster Pastor Video

I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago about the Faster Pastor Race and McGregor's own Shawn Bergen who represented McGregor in the race. Here's some video from that night if you're interested...

Middle of the Week Stuff

It's almost Wednesday and here's what's going on...

• We have our pre-dress rehearsal for our Christmas Pageant Wednesday night. Not sure why you have to pre-dress it, but hey, what do I know. I'll be there...pushing the button all night long. That's my job in the Pageant - Click Track Operator. I'll give you more info later on this "crucial" Pageant role.
• Hopefully if you're reading this post you're reading it in a blog reader. If you use Google Reader, here's a great Google Reader Guide with some nice little tips to speed up your blog reading. If you don't use a blog reader, as I have said before, don't waste another moment, setup Google Reader and then read the Newbie's Guide to Google Reader. You'll thank me later.
• Fascinating and fun flash animation found here. Graphic designers will really appreciate this one.
• Tivo and Picasa have made a deal where Tivo owners with a Picasa accounts can view their photos on their TV (also works with Photobucket). Very cool integration. I love Picasa, and wish I had Tivo to try this out. Still waiting on Comcast to roll out those Tivo boxes!!!!! I'm guessing the year 2020.
• Just finished an excellent bag of coffee - Graffeo Coffee. First time to try this and I was very impressed. I love the simplicity of their choices on their web site: Dark Roast, Mild Roast, Decaf, or Blend. 4 choices, that's it! Thanks Melissa for bringing me some back from California!
• Can anyone stop the Patriots?!
• I'm getting really excited about McGregor's new Mid-week Worship Service called Focus. It's going to be focused on worship and Bible teaching. A much simpler format with lots of "focus." We kick it off on Wednesday night, January 2, 2008.

Fantasy Football Update: It's official, the regular season is over and my team did not make the playoffs. I'm done!

Scandal on GodTube

Back about 4 years ago our Adult Ed Team here at McGregor made a video entitled Anatomy of A Sunday School Scandal. Somehow this video became very popular around the country as we sold approximately 100 copies to different churches over a period of a couple years. It actually went viral the old fashion way - word of mouth and people showing the video at conferences and convention settings. Well, it finally hit the internet. Yesterday at church someone told me they saw the video on GodTube (the Christian equivalent to YouTube).

So I went home, went to the GodTube site, did a search on "scandal" and there it was. Much to my surprise it had 3798 views! It felt a little funny seeing one of our videos having been posted by someone else and we didn't even know about it. But, hey, who cares, more people get to enjoy it. To be honest, we had no idea this video would be this popular. Read the comments that are posted and I think they explains it's popularity. People in churches all around America can relate to the issue of change.

What are you waiting for - go watch the Scandal video!

Catching Up

Has it been 4 days since I last posted?

So, what's been going on?

• Wednesday night I got to hang out with our Middle School Ministry for their Wednesday night program. I had a blast. I also got to draw the lucky winner of an iPod Touch.
• Denver and the Mile High made it through again. They are now in the final five! Could they be the "Next Great American Band?"
  
• Need a laugh - Macy and I got Elfed Friday night! I'm still laughing.
  
• Started working on Christmas shopping. Not laughing anymore. What will be the big, hot items this year that everybody wants?
  
• Mark & Miller are emceeing the Children's Night @ Christmas this Sunday night at McGregor. It should be a lot of fun. And always exciting with tons of children involved.
  
• I'm really enjoying my study for this week's lesson I'm teaching. The text is Isaiah 53. I'm calling it the Christmas Prequel.
• Macy made some awesome Crab Cakes tonight for dinner! Once again, the inspiration came from the Food Network. I love that channel.
• Still enjoying seeing Macy as an elf.
• Enjoyed dinner with my beautiful elf wife at PF Changs last night. We both love eating there. Saw several McGregor folks there.
• Still mad about the NFL Network and not being able to view the Cowboys and Packers game. Come on NFL, what's up with trying to broadcast games on your own network! Because of this, I spent 3 hours in front of my computer, squinting at a very small screen, just to see about half of the actual game NFL.com showed. At least Dallas won!!!
• Dallas is 11-1!
• Looking forward to a great weekend!
  

Denver Still Alive

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned in a post the show The Next Great American Band and that Denver and the Mile High Orchestra had made it to the last 8 bands. Well, DMHO is still on the show and they are now down to 6 bands! You gotta watch and you gotta vote this Friday night.

Check them out on the show...



Here's a video to get a little more feel for who DMHO is...

Eating at the Bear Rock

On occasion I like to pass on to you guys places I have found to eat that I really enjoy. This week I had the opportunity to eat twice at my friend Lou's new restaurant, the Bear Rock Cafe. Lou is the co-owner of this new franchise that is located on US41 just south of Six Mile Cypress in the Shops at Jamaica Bay.

My first impression in walking into the restaurant was extremely positive. It is well decorated and at the same time gives a very casual and comfortable feel. You place your order at a counter and the food is brought to your table. The menu has a lot of choices, but not so many you feel overwhelmed. Salads, soups, and sandwiched make up much of the menu. All prepared fresh, when you order.

Now to the most important part - the taste. Everything taste great at Bear Rock. I tried the Napa Valley Salad my first visit and it was best lunch salad I think I have ever had. Trip two I was with Macy and we tried some soups, and they were awesome. The Baked Potato Mountain Chowder was out of this world good. I had the Black Angus Melt with Steak Fries and it was delicious. Macy had the Mikonos Grilled Vegetable Salad and loved it. So much so she was calling a friend when we got in the car to tell her about Bear Rock and her salad!

I would encourage you yo give Bear Rock a try. Tell Lou I sent you.

Also, children eat free on Sundays!

Turkey Trot Update

Yesterday, Evan and I ran in the Turkey Trot 5K over in Cape Coral. What a great way to start off Thanksgiving Day! The race started at 7:30am and we were back home before 9:30am, and that includes a Starbucks stop on the way home.

I didn't get the time I wanted. My goals was 24 minutes or less and I ran 24:31. Oh well. It still felt good to run in another race. Out of 1049 entrants, I finished 248 overall and 19th place in my age division out of 54.

I think I'll take today off from running and from just about everything else.

Grateful

I'm going to have some fun and make my own list of things I am grateful for. If you don't care to know what I'm thankful for - then be grateful nobody is making you read this and go eat some more turkey. I am grateful for...

• My Espresso Machine - I don't get to Starbucks much anymore because of this machine. We use it (Saeco V'spresso) everyday and love it.
• Our new High School Pastor - Ben Fleming and his wife Maggie. God has blessed in such an awesome way in bringing Ben to the McGregor staff team. He will be starting December 9!
• Our incredible Education Staff Team. I get to serve alongside some of the most awesome men and women who have a passion for seeing the mission of McGregor fulfilled in their ministry areas. You guys rock! (Every position is filled now - another awesome blessing!)
  
• Friends. God has blessed me with so many awesome friends.
• A homemade double shot cappuccino. One of life's simple pleasures that I get to enjoy almost daily now since I have my own espresso machine.
  
• My health. I am so thankful for this and the ability to exercise. By the way, I'm running in a 5K race this (Thanksgiving) morning! This will give me the privilege of eating like a pig the rest of the day.
• Technology. I love gadgets and how they sometimes make my life easier. My DVR is probably at the top of my technology list along with my laptop.
• McGregor. I never want to take for granted what an incredible church I have the awesome privilege of serving and being a part of. It is such a joy to be around all the awesome people of McGregor. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of the McGregor family.
  
• Macy. I have the most incredible wife in the whole world. Every day with Macy is a joy and a true blessing. I am sooooo grateful for Macy and who she is!
• My relationship with Christ! The foundation of my life and the true source for all my joy and peace.
• Tons of other things...from the roof over my head to the air conditioning that keeps me cool. Thanks, thanks, thanks!
  

I wish each of you a very happy Thanksgiving.

Free Rice

filigree means:

1. self-evident truth
2. practical person
3. device
4. ornamentation

How good is your vocabulary? The above is a sample from the Free Rice website where you can test your vocabulary. And while you're wasting your time on the site, you can feel good about yourself because you're helping to feed the world. You gotta love the web!

Ornamentation is the answer to the above.

Motivation

What motivates you?

I had a great run this past Saturday, except I lost motivation near the end. The reason: I pressed the wrong button on my watch. Instead of hitting the lap button at the 2 mile mark, I hit the end stop button. So, when I glanced down at my watch at the 2 and a half mark, I saw the same time I had seen at the 2 mile mark. Now here's the really interesting part. At the 2 mile mark I was on a personal best pace. I ran the first mile in 7:30 and the second mile in 7:46. But knowing I would never know exactly what my 3 mile time would be, I begin to fade and ended up walking the last little bit.

I knew timing my runs motivated me some, but I did not realize how much. I begin to think of other things I do, and the motivation behind them. I sometime find my self more motivated by the externals - appearances and approvals. Then it hit me - this is exactly what Jesus was teaching about throughout the Sermon on the Mount. It's not about what's on the outside, it's a heart matter. Am I motivated to live in right relationship with God or am I more concerned about what others think about me? What is motivating you right now?

Thought: Success is being used by God for His glory.

Shawn, the Race Car Driver

This past Saturday night I drove up to Punta Gorda to watch Shawn Bergen race at the Charlotte Country Motor Speedway. He raced in the Faster Pastor race. This is a race that pits area pastors against each other. Let me say, this is a real auto race on a real race track. I also wish I could say that Shawn won his race. But, winning isn't everything. He had a blast and so did those from our church watching him. Thanks Shawn for putting it all on the line!

Creative Sometimes Means A Little Silly

How do you announce things without boring your audience to death? Steven, our Middle School Pastor, is giving announcements a new look. Why not make it fun, I mean funny? At least I thought it was funny. Almost fell out of my seat laughing the first time I watched it. Enjoy...

Branching Out with A New OS

I finally got the nerve up to install Linux on an older computer at the house (thanks Russell). I downloaded the newest version of Ubuntu 7.10 (a flavor of Linux) and set it up on the computer as a dual boot with Windows. Initial impressions...

• Pretty simple to install and setup.
• Came preloaded with tons of software apps.
• Installing linux programs is different than installing windows apps. This took a little time to figure out. Actually it's pretty easy, just different.
• Everything else is very similar to windows - very little learning curve.
• It's all free!
• Huge selection of apps for linux os.

If you happen to have an older, non-mission critical, computer laying around your house, give it a whirl. Linux isn't going to displace Windows anytime soon, but for anyone fed up with Windows, it's now a viable option for you.

What is Ubuntu? Ubuntu is a community developed, linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need - a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more.

Free and Ubiquitous Wi-Fi?

Yesterday I was eating lunch at the Ft Myers Ale House and noticed a gentlemen at a table by himself working on his laptop. I wondered, does the Ale House now have Wi-Fi? Well, as I was leaving I saw this sign posted outside the front door on a column. Pretty cool, for a restaurant to provide free Wi-Fi. I know Panera Bread also provides free Wi-Fi for their customers. I hope this becomes a trend. Not like McDonalds and Starbucks that hit you pretty hard for surfing off their signal.

Free wi-fi for everyone! (This one's for you Miller!)

What restaurants do you know of that provide FREE Wi-Fi?

Voting for Denver

Macy and I are enjoying watching the show The Next Great American Band. First of all, it's no American Idol, but, it has been fun watching. What got us watching in the first place was hearing that Denver and the Mile High Orchestra were going to be one of the bands on the show. We had this band at our church a couple of year's ago for a Valentine's Banquet and they were unbelievable! I have several of their CDs and love their big band/swing sound.

So, I was very interested to see how they would do on this contest/show. Well, Denver and the band are doing really good on the show. They have survived down to the last 8 bands. Watch them on Friday nights at 8pm and vote for Denver.

New Best Time With the New Shoes

Could it be the new shoes are faster?

This morning I ran my best ever 3 mile time: 23:31. The shoes did feel good, but I don't think they could have caused this. Maybe I was more motivated with new shoes? Maybe I was motivated because I was missing another 5K race and I wanted to prove something? Who knows. Maybe the new shoes are just faster.

Gotta go to the Preschool Ministry Fellowship in the Park now. Later.

New Shoes...No Race

I went this afternoon to Snyderman Shoes to pick out my new running shoes. It was time. They say 300 to 500 miles is what a new pair of shoes can get you. I'm in the middle of that, right around 400 miles and felt it was time. Now, a good pair of running shoe ain't cheap. But, I can also tell you it is worth every penny you spend, if you get a good pair for your feet. I'm partial to New Balance and I got a pair of their new 1223's. That's the new shoe part.

The "no race" part is, I'm backing out of the 5K race tomorrow morning. No excuse, just a very busy day. I will run tomorrow and try out my new shoes on my regular running course.

One thing I like about buying my New Balance from Snyderman Shoes is they give runners a 30 day period in which they can bring the shoe back if they have problems with it. They also are well trained in fitting shoes and know the product line very well. Always a pleasant experience at Snyderman Shoes.

On the agenda tomorrow, in addition to my normal morning 3 mile run, is a Preschool Ministry Fellowship giving volunteers and parents of preschoolers a chance to meet Cynthia Turner, our brand new Preschool Ministry Director. Also, later that afternoon my SS Class is having a party over at Stacy and Erik's house. Wow, lots of parties and fun on the docket for tomorrow!

Feeling Appreciated

Earlier today I posted about feeling blessed. Well, this morning I attended our school's annual Pastor Appreciation Breakfast. What was cool about this event was I say with several of our school's students who invited me to sit with them. It was so cool hanging out with them and eating breakfast together. Thank you Jordan and Luke McCann, Lindsey Leach, and Kaleb Hopkins for inviting me and having breakfast with me - it was a blast!

Feeling Blessed

Right now I am feeling especially blessed. Do you ever have those times in life when you realize all of God's goodness that is around you? I'm feeling it right now. Here are just of few of the ways I am feeling it...

• The addition of two new awesome staff - Cynthia & Arthur, I am so excited about serving with you!
  
• Being around young couples who have a desire to follow Christ more closely.
• Serving with some awesome pastors at McGregor.
• What God's Word has been teaching me in Matthew 5 & 6 - possibly more about this on a post in the future.
  
• Contentment in Christ - this isn't always easy, but it's God's way.
  
• The most incredible wife in the world - Macy I do not tell you enough just how incredible you are!
  
• The weekend is here for me!
  
• Joy in Him.

Are you feeling blessed? I sure am!

I'm Back On

This morning I ran my three miles in under 24 minutes. It's been a while since I have run a sub-24 minute, so it felt real good. The cooler weather I think brought a little motivation along with the fact that I have been back running more consistent the last couple of weeks.

I am planning on running in a 5K next Saturday - the Veteran's Day Midpoint Madness 5K. It will be my first 5K in about 5 months. I'm getting anxious for running in another race.

I also spent several hours today helping my brother-in-law and his family move into their new house. Pretty cool, they will now live 1.5 miles away from us. Hey, I could run to their house and back for my 3 mile run! Just a thought.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow at church. We will be introducing two new staff pastors in our AM services. Cynthia Turner and Arthur Keeley. Arthur is our new Single Adult Pastor. It was so cool to see how God open this door for us to bring on someone who was already at McGregor. He is going to do an awesome job! I am also very excited about Cynthia starting in her role as our Preschool Ministry Director. I have been praying for this position for over a year and a half. Praise God, He brought us someone incredible to fill this critical role at McGregor. God is so good.

Having Fun at Family Fest

I had a blast last night at McGregor's Family Fest!

Our church hosted our annual Family Fest (Halloween alternative) for the community last night. This year, in anticipation of more folks coming, we expanded the size of the event, adding more rides and activities. We partnered with Chik-fil-A in promoting the event to the community. And wow, did the people ever come (in spite of the potential for bad weather). No official count, but there were several thousand people there from all walks of like. It was truly a "community" event. And the cool thing - everyone was having a great time. Moms and dad as well as all the kids were enjoying the activities, the food and the festive atmosphere. It's hard for me to describe in this blog.

What makes an event like this so incredible? Two reasons. First, we had an incredible army of volunteers (several hundred) who gave of their time and talents to make this an awesome evening. McGregor has the best volunteers! Second, we had an incredible leadership team that puts months of planning and preparation into this event. Let me take a moment to recognize two incredible point people on this event. First, Dawn Garner, our Children's Ministry Director. Her vision for Family Fest and her administrative leadership is key in making this a phenomenal event. Second, Ed Harger, Assistant to Preschool Ministry. Ed's ability to make things happen and get more out of less continues to astound me. Way to go to Dawn & Ed!

I can't wait for next year, it will be even better!

Check on some pics from last night below...

Website of the Week

Now don't expect "Website of the Week" to become a regular weekly post, but who knows, it might.

TheThingsIWant.com - What do you want for Christmas? With the help of this website you can start making your own Christmas wish list and help your friends and family know what to get you this year. This cool site is like having your own universal registry for everything you want from any store. And by the way, it also lets you create your own shopping list.

Cool Firefox extension of the week: Snap Shots. Just found this last week and am loving it. It gives you a preview of the web page when you hover over the link. Extremely cool.

Fantasy Football Update: I finally won again! 2-6 is my record. Still terrible, but it was nice to win.

Exceeding Expectations

I love it when something or someone exceeds my expectations.

I experienced this when one of the lenses on my DSLR camera broke when it was dropped. I sent it back to Nikon to be repaired. In less than 2 weeks I received the repaired lens back, free of charge. The warranty covered it.

I experience this when the lens on a pair of Bolle sunglasses I owned became distorted from some pool water getting on them. I sent them back to Bolle and received a new pair! My expectations were exceeded.

The general expectations in our culture today are, you're lucky if you get what you deserve. But Jesus challenges this notion in a big way. As I have been preparing to teach this Sunday from Matthew 5:38-48, Jesus challenges the popular culture by saying his disciples should exceed the normal expectations. How?

• By not being vengeful and demanding our rights (turning the other cheek, going the second mile, etc...).
• By loving even those who are very hard to love (loving and praying for my enemies).
  

This is where it gets tough for me. Am I exceeding the expectations of those around me? Or am I more concerned about getting my way? Am I willing to give up my rights or love the person I can't stand? This is one way I can show the love of God - by exceeding expectations.

Question: Are you exceeding anyone's expectations?

This is going to be one of those lessons where I am so personally challenged. I can't wait for Sunday morning!

I Was Blessed Yesterday

Yesterday I had about 15 four year olds show up unexpectedly in my office...and it was a very good thing.

Here's what happened. Krissy Morgan, one of our Mother's Morning Out teachers surprised me real good. She made an appointment several weeks ago to meet with me on Tuesday morning. I was under the assumption this was a regular appointment and that she had something she needed to talk with me about. I was wrong. When she showed up yesterday, she wasn't alone.

When Krissy arrived for her appointment with me, she had about 15 little ones with her. The kids all followed her into my office and she had them crowd around me in my chair. They each gave me a coloring sheet of a pastor they had made. Then they sang a song about how they loved Pastor Mark! When they finished, they each gave me the red heart they were wearing that they had also made. The heart said on it "We love you Pastor Mark." The whole scene was awesome! Out of a sense of gratitude I attempted a group hug with all of them.

Thank you Krissy for providing a very special moment for me yesterday. Thank you also for leading your 4 years olds to love their pastors. You're awesome and so are your kids! It was the highlight of my week.

Sunday Recap

This past Sunday was another awesome day at McGregor.

• Celebrating the Lord's Supper during our AM services made for a very special time of worship. Awesome time of worship.
  
• I had a chance Sunday afternoon to meet with the parents who were going to be participating in our Parental Dedication on Sunday November 4. I love this time with the parents and their excitement about being a part of this special service.
• Another Sunday where we saw many decisions made in all of our services and lots of baptisms!
• An incredibly challenging message by David Miller Sunday PM on "Everything changes..." Very timely and very on target. Way to go Miller.
• I love being a part of the body of Christ at McGregor!

Looking forward to this coming Sunday when we have Gary Frazier speaking in all of our services.

The Great Debate

Recently on an episode of the Mark & Miller Show we hosted our very own debate between David Miller and Russell Howard. If you haven't listen to this yet, you got to. It's good stuff.

Full screen view

I'm Back

Sorry for the long period of blog inactivity. Being out this past week for our Staff Development Week left little time for blogging. However, it was an awesome week. One of the primary goals of our Development Week is to strengthen team relationships. We got pretty intentional this year with getting to know our team members. From time spent around meals asking each other questions and discovering how God has uniquely shaped others on the team to just laughing and playing games. I came away knowing and understanding better those I serve with. We also had a blast, doing some fun activities, hanging out together, and even learning and being challenged.

I came home feeling truly blessed to serve and minister with a such a team of godly men and women who have a passion for God and for McGregor.

Time with the Team

This week is our annual Staff Development Week. What does that mean? It's a time where our pastoral staff gets away together to build team, strengthen relationships, have a lot of fun, and be personally challenged. This year we will be doing this in Orlando.

I've mentioned this before, but it is awesome being part of a staff team that makes team a priority. Teamwork on a church staff does not happen naturally, you have to work at it with intentionality. This annual retreat is a big part of this. I am personally looking forward to this time away with our team.

I may be a little out of touch this week, so my postings may not be as frequent.

Fantasy Football Update: My team is going down. Another loss this weekend puts me at 1-5. And on top of that, my Cowboys loss to the Patriots. Ugh!

Friday Ramblings

The weatherperson is talking about the first front of the fall season coming through today. We won't see any drop in temperatures, just less humidity. And oh, this will only last a couple of days. I'm not against the warm, humid weather of SW Florida, but I sure am ready for some cooler and dryer to come our way. Enough about the weather, on to my ramblings...

• I am enjoying the first weekend in a long time with nothing scheduled.
  
• Had a chance earlier today to play with the new iPod Touch at the Apple Store. Wow. It's so thin, has an incredible display and you can surf the web with it's built in wi-fi. I've got it at the top of my Christmas wish list.
• Here's a really cool electric car I would love to have (so would David Miller). See photo below...
• I'm loving a new online word processor called Buzzword. Adobe recently bought the company Virtual Ubiquity that developed Buzzword. If you're familiar with Google Docs, it is like that, but only a lot better. It really acts and feels like a word processor and you still have the online collaboration and authoring capabilities. No spreadsheet or presentation app yet, but awesome start for the word processor.
• Macy made Chipotle Tamale Pie tonight for dinner. I love this dish. I am so blessed to be married to the best wife in the world who is also an incredible cook!
• I am enjoying listening to some smooth jazz right now and am getting ready to make a Cappuccino. Still loving the Espresso Machine.
• Looking forward to Sunday morning and teaching the next lesson in our series on the Sermon on the Mount. We're looking at Matthew 5:13-16 this week. Challenging stuff.
• Looking forward to my run tomorrow morning - will hopefully be enjoying the "less humidity."
  

Having A Little Fun

Last Thursday afternoon we held our annual Staff Golf Outing. This is my once a year time to play golf. This is actually a very fun afternoon, primarily because we make everyone participate. Our pastor has a high value on team. And while he expects us to work very hard, he also wants to provide opportunities for us to play a little together. I am so grateful to be a part of a church staff that emphasizes team and relationships. I love serving with the folks on our staff team!

Oh, and it doesn't hurt when you win - and that's exactly what my team did! That's a picture of the winning team - 7 under par!

My First Win!

It's a special moment - my very first win in Fantasy Football! So what if it took week 5 before I tasted victory. I persevered, stayed tough, kept my head in the game, didn't give up, etc...

Not really. My opponent this week had two of his starter with bye weeks and he didn't bother changing them. Who cares. A win is a win. It feels good to get that first one under my belt. Watch out, I'm on a roll!

A New Standard

I just got home from Hank and Dawn's wedding. Wow. I think they set the new standard for weddings.

Here's what I mean. First of all, the whole service was under 45 minutes. Now, when I heard they had three preachers, I thought to myself, "get comfortable, this thing is going to last a while." Much to my surprise, 45 minutes after it started we were heading over to the reception. By the way, the whole service was wonderful, from the music to the three pastors officiating - very nice.

Now, point number 2, and this one is really big. Within a few minutes of everyone getting over to the reception, the entire wedding party was making their grand entrance! When was the last time you saw that? Typically everyone goes over to the reception and waits about an hour for the wedding party to take all of their pictures while the guests sit around and sip punch and try to entertain themselves. (This may be the biggest reason I don't go to many weddings.) Way to get this one right Hank and Dawn!

Seriously, it was so cool to see this young couple who loves the Lord committing their lives to each other. I know God has incredible things in store for both of them as they begin their family together. It was a joy being a part of your wedding today Hank and Dawn. Not only was your wedding awesome, but both of you are too!

Cynthia

We have been praying and searching for a Preschool Minister for a year and a half and I am thrilled to let everyone know God has answered those prayers in an awesome way.

It is my pleasure to announce our new Preschool Ministry Director, Cynthia Turner. Let me give you some quick info on Cynthia.

• Cynthia comes to us from Prestonwood where she has been on staff at their new North Campus.
• Prior to serving at Prestonwood, she served as Preschool Minister at Shades Mountain in Birmingham, AL for 6 years.
• Cynthia has a passion for Preschool ministry in the local church.
• Cynthia is a Texas A&M graduate. (can you believe this - 3 Aggies on our staff now. We have definitely gone over the quota on Aggies!)
• Cynthia is also a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Forth Worth, TX.
• Cynthia is a newlywed! She got married last month to Keith Turner.
• Keith, Cynthia's new husband, is a pilot and has recently taken a position with American Eagle.

Cynthia will be officially starting with us the first Sunday in November. Thank you God, for bringing us this awesome team member!

Goodbye

Yesterday our church said goodbye to Jeremy & Sharon Emory. I will miss them both.

For the four years I have known Jeremy he has always been a man full of passion for ministry and for people. One of the things I noticed about him when he first arrived at McGregor was how students were immediately drawn to him and how he loved being around them. As our High School Pastor, Jeremy has left an indelible mark on so many students.

Jeremy brings so much creativity to ministry. His desire to create awesome experiences for students will not be forgotten. Jeremy was also a great team player on our Ed Team and a joy to serve alongside. His thirst to grow and learn was inspirational to me and others around him on the team. (How many books have you read this year Jeremy????) Jeremy's love for the Lord, coupled with his desire to see students become more like Christ, will leave an eternal impact on so many in our student ministry.

Jeremy - I'm going to miss you my friend. I am praying that God will use your extraordinary abilities in your next assignment for His glory. You have been a blessing to me personally. It truly has been a joy serving Jesus with you.

Sunday Recap

Today was an awesome day at McGregor. Let me share just a couple of the highlights.

It was a Sunday where we were in between series and our pastor, led by the Holy Spirit, addressed the issue that so many in our community are dealing with; an economy that has been drastically impacted by the faltering real estate market. It was powerful stuff.

It was exactly what our church family needed to hear. The central thought from his message was that even though our economy is struggling, none of this caught God off guard and He is still changing lives. Because of this, we need to keep our focus on the eternal, not on the temporal. Lots of decisions today, lots of life change.

This afternoon we had a great TEAMS Rally for all of our Adult Sunday School leaders. Our drama to kick it off was our own infomercial entitled "The Purposeless Life" with special guest Warren Ricks. Mr Ricks was trying to sell his newest stuff called "Purposeless Living." My favorite part was Wade Harmon, as Warren Ricks, lip syncing the song "Dancing Through Life" from the musical Wicked. Very funny stuff. The drama was a jumping off point for our equipping sessions that focused on knowing our purpose - why we do what we do in our classes. Purpose keeps us focused, gives us clarity, and keeps us moving in the right direction.

Enjoy a few of pics from the drama below.



It was another awesome Sunday at McGregor. Thanks God!

Innovate 2007, Pt 4

It's getting close to the end.

It's been another great day at Innovate 2007. But something just happen a few moments ago that may be the best part of today's sessions. While on break, sitting with David and Steven, I was identified by the Dream Team and was given an iTunes Gift Card! Yeah!!! The ironic part is that 2 minutes earlier I was complaining that someone else had just won an Nintendo Wii and that the Dream Team was profiling people they knew to win. I was wrong. I'm over it and glad to have my gift card.

The highlight today for me was Rob Wegner's talk first thing this morning on Communication. Most of his talk was wrapped around the book Made to Stick. (I have been pushing this book for over a month now.) Rob did a phenomenal job of making tons of ministry/church application from some of the principles in the book. He also showed us, through video, how Granger has implemented these "sticky" communication principles.

Oooh...I just noticed the guy that won the Wii is sitting at the table next to me. But I'm over it. Next time the lights go down I'm sending Steven over to nab it. Just kidding Macy.

That wraps up my in-conference update. Go to the Mark and Miller Show to hear our podcast we did up here in Indiana. Later.

Innovate 2007, Pt 3

Yesterday's sessions at Innovate were awesome and challenging.

It started with the opening session with Guy Kawasaki, CEO of garage.com, a Silicon Valley venture capital company. He was also the chief evangelist of Apple Computer back in the 80's. His talk was awesome. The title of his talk was the Art of Innovation and he gave us 10 steps to innovating. I think this talk with be the highlight of the conference for me. Guy challenged me with practical steps to think beyond the ordinary. He truly was able to combine inspiration with application. Very rare today in many speakers. Go here to check out Guy's blog.

My breakout session yesterday afternoon was another highlight. It was on Communication and was led by Kem Myers, Communications Director at Granger Community Church. Great session. She debunked 5 myths about communication for us. Example: Myth #2 - Advertising creates interest and reinforces the brand. Not true. Advertising at best creates awareness. Brands are built on experiences. So the question needs to be asked: what kind of experiences are people having when they show up at your church? Are they consistent experiences across the brand?

Last night after dinner we went back to GCC for their Mid-week Believer's service called New Community. Wonderful time of worship and Bible study. It was cool to be able to see the church with it's own people, not just all the people here for the conference.

Looking forward to more innovating today!

Macy - I miss you!

Innovate 2007, Pt 2

I'm sitting in the final session of the afternoon with Tim Stevens. He's talking about the key elements of worship planning/programming. Really good stuff. If you click on his name you can go to his blog and from there you can download his notes for this session. I think it's very cool be able to pull up his notes while I'm listening to him talk and while blogging. Granger is very wired!

I'll try to give some more observations from the earlier sessions with a different post later tonight. I can't wait to tell you about the session with Guy Kawasaki.

Innovate 2007

I love to learn!

And that's exactly what I'm looking forward to doing the next few days. I will be attending the Innovate 2007 Conference in Granger, Indiana (about 90 miles east of Chicago) this week with two other guys from our staff. I'm going with an open heart and and an open mind, wanting to learn.

I love the whole process of hearing new ideas and seeing how I can apply them to my life and ministry. And this is exactly what this conference is all about. Here's what the conference website says: "Innovate 2007 is not about creativity. It's about how to take action on creative inspiration to make a mark of greatness."

Let the inspiration and greatness begin!

Getting Excited

It has been approximately a year and a half since we started looking for a new Preschool Minister. And as of today, it seems we are very close in finding God's person for this position! I would ask that you pray for me and our church as we continue to seek God's will in this incredibly important position.

Two Great Restaurants on Marco Island

I'll say it again, I really love Marco Island.

Yesterday was a most relaxing day for Macy and myself. After our morning session we went looking for a new place for lunch. It took us a little while, but we eventually stumbled upon an incredible little Mexican restaurant called Cilantro Tamales. Some of the best Mexican food we have ever had. Macy got their sampler platter and I went my usual - enchiladas. Highly recommend. (Sorry, no web site to send you to for this one.)

For dinner we tried an Italian restaurants that is located right across the street from the hotel called Davinci Ristorante. When I saw on their web site they had a "pizza chef" along with a wood burning oven, I knew this was the place for us. Incredible! They had the best tomatoe basil soup I ever had and the pizzas lived up to my expectations. I would probably drive down to Marco just to eat here again. Everything was excellent, including the service.

This morning we finish up with our last session and Macy and I will be heading back home to the real world.

Day 2 on Marco

We arrived on the island mid afternoon, got checked in to our hotel, and settled in. I met the team a little later and we got setup for the nights opening session. The hotel we're staying is the same place we've coming to for 7 years. It provides the perfect setting for a marriage retreat/get-away.

Our theme for the retreat is "Have I Told You Lately..." In just a little while I'll be leading two of the teaching sessions this morning. I'll be talking about how important our words are and reminding the couples onces again how different men and women really are. We're going to start our time out this morning by playing "Don't Forget the Love Songs" based on the now popular "Don't Forget the Lyrics." Should be fun.

Heading to Marco Island

Macy and I are heading out in a few minutes to beautiful Marco Island for McGregor's annual Marriage Retreat. We love Marco Island and we love where we stay. It has a very sentimental value to us - it is where we spent part of our honeymoon.

I'm looking forward to this weekend and the opportunity to teach and encourage other couples in their marriage. Our theme is "Have I Told You Lately..." It's gonna be a blast. Hope the weather is good. I'll bring updates later.

By the way, my last post was #100! Hard to believe.

0-2

That's my fantasy football team's record. What a terrible start. I was all excited about my team, my draft, my players, until we started to play the games. Now it's not so much fun anymore. I got crushed this weekend (140-78). My opponent (Ed Harger) has Carson Palmer who produced 49 points! At the end of that game, my weekend was over. 49 stinkin points by one player.

Wait, I'm suppose to be doing this fantasy football thing for the "fun."

It's still hard to have a whole lot of fun when you're losing. But there's next weekend. Watch out Russell Howard!

The Race for the White House

Without trying to get too political here, I wanted to make sure my readers were aware of one of the lesser known presidential candidates. I am very impressed with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, even though I think his chances of winning this upcoming election are pretty slim. My hope is this campaign will allow him the exposure to be able to mount a great run in 4 years. Who knows, he might just surprise a lot of people this time around.

Check out this clip on see his awesome response to a question about creation vs. evolution in one of the debates....

Choices

I have been wanting to post about Apple's announcement last week about their new iPods, so here goes...

My current iPod is going to be three years old in December (I also have a new iPod Shuffle that I use for running) and I'm getting close to "needing" a new one. Three years for an electronic device is pretty old, so, I've been thinking this holiday season I'm due for an update. Much to my delight last week, Apple announces two completely new iPod models, in time for the holiday shopping season. Choices!

First, I am very excited about the new "Touch" iPod. It is basically the iPhone without the phone. Similar in size, only slimmer, it has the same large 3.5 inch screen. While not as small as the new Nano, it is still pretty light (4.2 oz) and very, very slim. The Touch comes in 8GB and 16GB editions and is priced $299 and $399 respectively.

My other option is the brand new Nano iPod, nicknamed the fatty. This is also a really cool new iPod that retains the basic look of the past generation iPods, but is drastically smaller in size. It is very, very small with a great screen, though small (2 inch). The Nano comes in 4GB and 8GB versions and is priced $149 and $199 respectively.

Choices. The good news is I have several months to decide.

I just heard that stores are already getting some of the new iPods in!

Washing Machine Update

We got a new machine installed late yesterday afternoon! I want to thank Rick, of Walters Appliance Service, for all the help and patience he gave us through this.

I Couldn't Believe It!

I came home last night from work to a sight I thought I would never, ever see - Macy had taken apart our washing machine!

For those of you who do not know my wife very well, this is sooooooo out of her character, and even more important, so out of her skill set! I had to just pause and take a mental picture of the whole thing when I walked in the door. So, you ask, "why was Macy taking apart the washing machine?"

We've been having problems with our washing machine lately, so, yesterday, Macy called our friend who has a local appliance company and described the problem. He was gracious enough to try and diagnosis the problem over the phone. He told her "Mark can do some things when he gets home and we can determine whether it's going to be worth fixing or we should replace it." By doing this step ourselves we would save a service call fee.

Well, Macy decided, through some coaxing of our friend, that she could do it right then and there and he proceeds to walk her through the process. The fact that Macy was willing to do this is huge in and of itself. The fact that she was able to pull it off is even more remarkable. Macy has no mechanical inclinations whatsoever. None.

So, my hat is off to Macy, who took apart our washing machine and saved us the cost of a service call, and who, after 20 years of marriage, is still able to surprise me!

Letting Go of My Baggage

God did some really cool stuff yesterday at McGregor.

• Our pastor's series "Baggage Claim" continues to challenge people where they are hurting. It's cool to see folks responding and making commitments to let go of their baggage and trust God. My favorite thought so far in the series: "when I'm in control is when I am most out of control." Good stuff.
• People making life-changing decisions in all of our worship services! God is doing some awesome stuff in people's lives.
  
• The lesson I taught in my class yesterday was "stop worrying...start trusting." Very cool how it went right along with the sermon series.
• God was/is challenging me to let go of something that I've been holding on to a little too tightly lately. Man, I hate when I have to make application. :)
• We had a great leadership meeting yesterday with about 80 of our adult SS leaders. I love being around our adult volunteer team. Lots of energy.
  
• I have the privilege of working with an incredible adult leadership staff team (Dan, Tod, Shawn, Wade). You guys are awesome and a joy to serve Jesus with!

It's going to be an awesome week!

Back to the Real World

Macy and I have enjoyed our time down here at Lover's Key.

• Last night we ate at Flipper's. Flipper's is next door to where we are staying and is located right on the bay. All seating is outdoors on the deck. We had a beautiful view and the seafood was scrumptious.
  
• Yesterday morning we spent several hours down by the pool. The weather was perfect and the sunshine and breeze was a perfect blend.
• I got my 3 mile run in this morning. Even running seemed more fun over here on the beach.
• Now we got to pack and head on home.

Back to the real world.

He's gunking up our nature!

Macy and I made our getaway yesterday to Lover's Key, just south of Ft Myers Beach.

We're staying on Lover's Key in a condo of some dear friends. How relaxing it's been so far. I was up in time this morning to watch a beautiful sunrise from our balcony. God's creation is so incredible. I spent an hour on the balcony reading my Bible and praising Him for His greatness.

Late yesterday afternoon we went over to Carl E Johnson park area and walked on the beach (until some lightning in the distance scared Macy). While leaving the beach area via the boardwalk, we noticed muddy footprints. They were left by a guy we passed as we were getting on the boardwalk. You could tell he had been fishing along some of the back bay areas. After realizing he was the one who left the muddy prints, Macy delivered my favorite quote yesterday by saying "He's gunking up our nature."

We decided to eat in last night so dinner was "gourmet" frozen pizzas just before the game kicked off. And speaking of the game...

People told me the games would take on a whole new meaning as a fantasy football team owner. And they were right! I was quite into the game last night with 3 of my players involved. Joseph Addai produced 19 points for me and I brought in a total of 26. That seems pretty good for 3 of my nine starter. We'll see. I'm playing against Gerald Malloy this weekend (the only one in our league who has done Fantasy Football before). It would be a pretty big upset if I beat him. You're going down Gerald!

Gotta go wake up Macy...

Lot's Going On...

The day is off to a great start...here's what's rumbling around in my brain on Thursday morning...

• Macy and I are getting a away today for a little 3 day, 2 night stay out at the beach. Yeah!!!!
• I just finished a sub 24 minute 3 mile run. Oooooh, that feels good!
• Alfred Peet, founder of Peet's Coffee, passed away last week. Peet's is my favorite coffee.
• The NFL kicks off tonight along with my first Fantasy Football weekend.
• I'm still thinking about those Shrimp & Grits. Sorry Kelly.
• I'm looking forward to finishing several books and maybe even starting a new one this weekend.
• Did you see the new iPods (touch & nano) announced yesterday!!! Oh my!!!!!!!
  
• I'm glad yesterday is over (I crammed 4+ days of work into 2, pretty intense).
• I am so looking forward to spending a ton of time with Macy this weekend!
  

Got to go pack and get out of here.