Fighting City Hall Tonight

Well, not exactly. But we did make our presence known in somewhat of a community protest.

That's right. Macy has gotten me involved in the politics of our neighborhood. We attended, or at least we attempted to attend, a Gateway Services CDD meeting this evening (this was Macy 2nd "protest" meeting this week). You see, the board has decided that Gateway (the subdivision we live in) needs a 7.5 million dollar park. Now that's a pretty fancy park! Well, we arrived early to the meeting tonight, but because about 200 other people showed up in protest we couldn't get inside the building. So we stood outside with our "Stop the Park" buttons on, hoping to do something, anything.

Finally we heard over a speaker placed outside someone from the opposition reading a statement of concern. We then heard one of the board members addressing the issue. This is the only time it even felt like a protest, when there were a few boos while he spoke. The whole thing lasted about 20 minutes, the board closed the meeting and the crowd began to disperse. (FYI-This made the local news tonight. Must be a very slow night for local news.)

Finally - congrats to Sabra for winning "So You Think You Can Dance." She was my pick to win starting back about 4 weeks ago.

It's Happening To Me...

I never thought I would say this, but, I'm becoming a NASCAR fan.

It's been building over the last couple of months. I can't really explain it, but I find myself watching more and more racing each weekend. I knew I was crossing a line when I recorded the end of the race a few weeks so I wouldn't miss it. I've actually done that twice now!

Macy cannot believe I'm watching NASCAR. She sees no appeal in watching cars go round and round a track. I'm not sure if I'm getting into it because there is really nothing else sports related on right now or if I'm developing a true love for the sport. I'll have to wait and see.

Can any NASCAR fans out there tell me why I'm getting pulled in?

I'm Doing It Again

One of my own self-imposed rule is "read only one book at a time."

Currently, I am reading three books. So much for following my own rules. My best intentions cannot stand up under the lure and temptation of another enticing book. I love books and love reading. But I struggle with the pull of having more than one book in process at a time.

So what I am reading right now?

I started with Seth Godin's Small Is the New Big a month ago. Seth is a business thinker, marketer, and an idea person. I love reading his blog and his books. The book is a compilation of 183 of Seth's rants, raves, and remarkable business ideas.

I'm also reading Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Fascinating book on how to better communicate your ideas and how to make them "stick" with your listeners. Highly recommended for those who communicate ideas on a regular basis.

The final book I have started and just could not wait to read is Emerson Eggerich's new book entitled
Cracking the Communication Code: The Secret to Speaking Your Mate's Language. This is the sequel to their incredible book on marriage entitled Love and Respect. If you're only going to read one book on marriage, Love and Respect is the one you need to pick up (Both of these are available in the McGregor Book Store).

There's what I'm reading. What are you reading?

Needed Saturday Rest

It has been a busy week and I needed a low key, non-eventful Saturday. And I got it.

I started off the day with my normal 3 mile run. This heat is killing me. It took me a couple of hours after running before I felt like doing much of anything. Later I spent some time working on my SS Lesson for tomorrow and watched some golf. Nothing says relaxing like watching a little PGA on TV.

The Fosters stopped by the house later in the afternoon and we spent several hours with them. We had not seen Gray, their 7 week old daughter, in a couple of weeks (pictured). It was so nice hanging out with them.

Now Macy and I are spending a quiet evening together. Ah, a much needed Saturday rest.

Staying up until 5am...

That's exactly what one group of girls did last night who were part of our Middle School Camp Spasm.

Last night our Middle School Ministry kicked off McGregor's first ever Middle School only summer camp. Today, David Miller and myself ate lunch with some of the students and leaders and then recorded our podcast onsite. It's awesome to see our new Studio G facility being used like this! Steven Anderson and his incredible team of staff and volunteers are doing an awesome job. Way to go guys. It's going to be cool to see what God is going to do in the lives of those middle school student during camp. This has to be the coolest "camp rules" I've ever seen!

Oh, by the way, they also have one cool worship leader lined up for Camp Spasm. Click here to go and check out his ultra upgraded web site/blog. Gerald, you have definitely out done me this time. Let's hope the content can keep with the look.

An All Day Meeting

For most people, the very thought of sitting in a meeting for 8 hours would send chills down their spine.

Guess what? I was in one of those "most of the day meetings" today.

Someone the other day told me "you must love going to meetings." That's not necessarily true. It depends big time on the meeting. I do believe our best work should get done in meetings (you know, the whole teamwork thing). Instead, most people see meetings as a distraction from getting their real work done.

Well, back to my all day meeting today. It was awesome. We got a ton done. We covered multiple issues, dealt with questions, made assignments, formulated plans, and had a great time doing it. Thank you God for allowing me to serve with these men. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy an all day meeting!

The Perfect Vanilla Latte

I am on a quest to make the perfect vanilla latte.

It's been two weeks since I got my espresso machine. And I have to say, I can already make one awesome vanilla latte. In my own humble opinion, I think I've even surpassed Starbuck's own version of the latte. That's right. Now the scope of my espresso based drink menu is very limited right now, but if you stop by and want a vanilla latte, I can hook you up real good.

The next drink I'm working on is a caramel machiatto [mock-e-AH-toe]. I have been asking folks what their favorite espresso based drink is, and this one comes to the top a lot, so it's next on my list.

Gotta go, more "testing" to do...

Exciting Time of the Year

I love this time of the year. There is always so much anticipation at McGregor as we prepare for the fall and the start of a new school year.

But I'm really excited about this Friday night. We have invited all of our Sunday School leadership to be a part of our annual leadership conference. Our theme this year is all about "team," and I can get real passionate talking about teamwork. To illustrate our theme, we put together a video entitled Cubicles. Actually, it's the opposite of what we hope to see on our ministry teams here at McGregor. It should provide a few laughs, especially since many of our Ed Team are the stars in the video. Click here to see the promo for Cubicles.

Hopefully I can get the video posted some time next week for all to see and enjoy.