There are some who call me … Tim

So, the last weekend I had the opportunity to speak at a retreat for my friend Jason’s ministry and two other churches that join together for their Winter Retreat.

And let me tell you how awesome it was for me and why!

• It was awesome because I love Middle Schoolers and getting to share Christ’s love with them is always a joy, honor and priviledge.
• It was awesome because I love Middle School (or Junior High) youth pastors and Jason, Aaron and Erik are totally cool. There’s not a lot of us out there in the world who choose this and it’s just the best thing ever to get to know them.
• It was awesome because I love Middle School teams of volunteers and these guys had some totally crazy teams of leaders who loved the students.
• It was awesome becasue the band was awesome and did a great job leading worship.
• It was awesome becaus the band guys made some hysterical videos! Jason Strode!!!!
• It was awesome because there are now even more folks out there convinced I’m kinda different.
• It was awesome to be able to focus on teaching and sharing God’s Word in what I hope were fresh and exciting ways. PLus, I wasn’t in charge. That was awesome.
• It was awesome because I got to use Lionel Ritchie as part of a message. Seriously.
• It was awesome because my wife and son got to stay with family and have a great time while I was away.
• I was awesome because I had my own room. A winter retreat with my own room. Wow.
• It was awesome because the students really seemed to connect with God and grow in their faith.

So yeah, it was awesome!

Maggie Moo’s!!

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 haven’t had a lot of time to blog recently, thought I do have one brewing on my dual roles in unleashing and controlling creativity… but until then, here is a wonderful post by my friend Seth as he reads through Leviticus and Romans at the same time. Great thoughts and musings as he thinks about what it would have been like to live that way. My favorite quote…

I’m pretty sure the would have either stoned me pretty quick or at the least banished me to live outside the community.

http://helduphigh.blogspot.com/2008/06/something-better.html

Our friends Jason and Michelle (Jason is a small group leader and plays drums in the band) just adopted a baby boy and he is one cute kid! Adoption is such a beauticul expression of God’s love and Grace. We got to meet the handsome new guy the other night and he is just great!