Be inspired my friends… be inspired…
“Sunday’s Coming” Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.
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OK, so I haven’t posted in a while (and I am working on one to explain in a bit more detail some changes to our curriculum) but here is another great video on youth ministry! Makes me giggle…
Let me explain. There has been a bit of a long running debate with my friends as to which is the best “slap your ice cream on the counter and mash in some stuff” ice cream place. My friends (who apparently have poor taste) seem to like Cold Stone better. I don’t know why.
Now, I’ve never been a huge CS fan. (other than their cakes…) I’ve had bad experiences that invovled small amounts of candy and/or lack of mixtatude when it comes to said candy. But, when it comes to ice cream, I am kind and forgiving and also will eat almost anything has chocolate and peanut butter in it.
Two nights ago we went to Maggie Moo’s and had another wonderful ice cream experience. I got my usual. The “Peanut Butter Galaxy” but with dark chocolate ice cream. Amazing. I almost wept. It was that good. Then, last night we had a coupon, so we went to CS. Big mistake. I had dark chocolate ice cream with peanut butter cup in it. I figured this would be a good comparison and I would give CS another chance. Plus, I’m cheap and we had a coupon!
So, lets break it down in a head to head comparison of the three things that matter in a “slap your ice cream on the counter and mash in some stuff” ice cream place. The iced cream itself, amount of mixins and proper mashedupedness.
Ice Cream…
MM - Maybe the best dark chocolate ice cream on the planet. Rivaled only by Handel’s Chocoholic Chunk. But they don’t beat it up on the counter, so let’s leave them out of the discussion for now.
CS – It was gray in color. Gray! And it tasted weird. I don’t know what they used to make try to make it dark and chocolately, but they need to use something else maybe.
Amount of of mixins…
MM – Always a nice quanitity. And the more ice cream you get, the more they mix in. To make it consistent, they use little scoops and you get one scoop for a small, two for a medium, etc. So, the ratio is the same every time no matter how much you get.
CS – I had a medium and I think it was less than MM puts in a small. It was a sad little cup of gray ice cream.
Mashedupedness…
MM – Always consistent and well mixed. This makes for an enjoyable experience each and every time. The workers seem well trained, too. I think it’s based on some form of ancient lactose martial art. They are like dairy ninjas.
CS – One of my past bad experiences involved a kit kat that was only broken in half and jutting out of the ice cream. This time was a little better, but not great. When you are already starting with a small amount of candy leaving it in a few large chunks makes you feel like you have even less. Plus, when you are paying $5 for the mix and mash you’d like to see a little more effort and commitment to their craft.
So, Maggie Moo’s wins in all three catagories in a landslide victory!
If you were expecting to hear my political views… you’ll have to take me out for ice cream for that!
So I took Vinnie to his 18 month doctors appointment. (the little guy is doing great, btw!) Anyway, as I was talking with his doctor about stuff he was going over all the developmental and safety things to watch out for and his main point was “He is his own worst enemy right now.”
For example, he learned how to climb up on one of our couches, but he only knows how to get off head first… He likes to grab random spray bottles and run around the house making spraying noises… Every now and again he throws a blanket over his head end runs around yelling “night, night!”
As I was thinking about this (and trying to teach the boy how to get down from the couch!) I thought that this is really true for all of us. It can be easy to over-spiritualize every bad thing that happens to us as an attach from “the enemy” when in reality, many times it’s my own actions in the first place. Things like being lazy, not being careful with my words, impatience and a selfish attitude seems to lead to many of the bad situations I find myself in.
Not that there aren’t spiritual forces at work in our world, or that other other people’s actions don’t impact my life… but in the end, if I am willing to take an honest look at my life, I come to realize that many of the problems I face start with me. I can definately be my own worst enemy.
Though, I stopped running around with a blanket over my head years ago!
My friend Seth just posted about a very cool new online web site – YourVersion.com
I use Biblegateway.com quite a bit, but in some quick testing I think I already like YouVersion better. It’s got easy places for you to save notes and things, but it also has a very cool community aspect as you can share thoughts, pictures and weblinks that are connected to passages. Sure, you could get some nutty or goofy stuff in there, but it could also make for a very cool resource.
Check it out and let me know what you think!
My good friend Seth has a great post and link about the whole issue of Christian subculture. From religious apparel to only using Christian businesses and organizations, it’s a really interesting and important topic for all of us to wrestle with.
Check it out at http://helduphigh.blogspot.com/2007/10/this-sub-culture-must-die.html
For a funny look at some of the worst of the trinkets for sale, head on over to Marko’s blog and look at “Jesus Junk of the Month.”
So, I got a surprise on Friday night. It was getting late and Heather kept putting off getting dinner and I was getting hungry. Finally, around 7, I was getting Vinnie ready for bed and I convinced her to get pick up Qdoba. (I offered to go, but she wanted to.) So, I hear her leave and few minutes later she comes back in, takes Vinnie and says she has a better dinner plan for me in the living room. I was confused… I went in the living room and there were 7 of my buddies from the middle school ministry come to steal me for a night and go out!
It wasn’t my birthday or anything, but most of them knew that life has been a bit stressful at church for me lately and Craig (who is an awesome friend!) organized the whole deal. They figured I needed a night out, and I did. We ate BW’s, watched Transformers and had a great time. But, the most touching and moving part for me was knowing that these guys all have different stresses in their lives as well, but they put them aside to care for me.
It’s humbling and powerful and I don’t even know how to respond. I tend to want to be the strong stubborn one who can make it through anything, but the truth is… we all need help and love and encouragement.
So… Craig, Jason, Noah, Aaron, Chris, Adam and Wes… if you are reading this… thanks! I love you guys! You’re the best!
YS had a link to this website in their newsletter. Pretty cool and very humbling. You just enter how much you make and then see where that places you on the global list.
Here’s a hint, odds are if you are reading this you are at least in the top 10% of the world and if you make $50,000 a year in the top 1%!
http://www.globalrichlist.com/
