Tears at Culvers

I had to go buy some new basketball shoes last night, so we decided to go out shopping as a family and then surprise the kids with dinner at Culvers - one of their favorite places to eat. After buying the shoes, Ethan was trying to guess what the surprise was. He guessed various foods that Mom might be making for dinner and even mentioned eating out at one point.

He even asked if the surprise was that HE was going to make dinner. All of a sudden, he got really excited about making dinner for us. (Remember...he's six!) So we told him, "If you are still hungry when we get home, you can make dinner."

When we got to Culvers, he was all confused. "What are we doing here? I thought I was going to make dinner?" He actually got so upset that he broke down in tears in the lobby of the restaurant. He was evidently really looking forward to making dinner for us.

I picked him up, held him close and told him that he could make dinner for us tomorrow night. He calmed down and over the course of the rest of the evening, he began planning out what he was going to make. We eventually settled on him making lunch for us today, so when he gets home from Kindergarten, he is going to make us all specialty sandwiches, side dishes (potato chips & carrot sticks), and drinks.

I love my little boy!

Morgan's Thoughts

Morgan was invited to a My Little Pony birthday party today for a little girl who happens to have two older brothers. At one point during the party, Karen asked Morgan if she would like to have two big brothers.

After a long pause, Morgan replied, "One be 'nuff!"

Working Out

One of the commitments I made when I moved to Peoria was to start working out again. I overloaded my schedule while in Chicago to the point that I didn't take any time for myself.

I've been doing a routine of cardio and weights, and I've noticed a big difference. I'm not sure how much actual weight I've lost, but I know I have made some progress because...

I can't balance a bowl of cereal on my gut anymore while I'm watching TV! (What a sad way to measure progress.)

Something in my Room

Morgan came downstairs last night to tell Karen that "there's something in my room..." (Imagine a little 3-year old girl with big eyes and a look of fear on her face.)

Karen smiled and said, "Is it a dragon?"

"No!"

"Is it an elephant?" Karen inquired.

"No...I think it's a ladybug!" Morgan whispered fearfully.

Karen went up to Morgan's room and sure enough there was a ladybug on the ceiling. After Karen saved the day, Morgan fell right to sleep. You've got to hate those killer ladybugs!

Super Bowl Sadness

My small group gathered tonight at the home of Kevin & Debbie Rauh for a Super Bowl Fiesta. The food and fellowship were great! The football...not so much.

I almost fell asleep several times during the game. I like high-scoring games, so the first three quarters were agony. The ending was fantastic, but the wrong team won. I really wanted the Patriots to have the perfect season.

Early in the evening, I called the final score 31-17 in favor of the Patriots. McKenna, the 7th grade daughter of Todd & Trisha King, had a good laugh at my expense when she said, "Well, Chris...at least you got the 17 right!"

Family Fun

Here's a peek inside my family from the last 24 hours...

• Family Day at School - I had the joy of observing Ethan in his Kindergarten class on Tuesday. It was fun to see him in his classroom with his teacher and friends.
  
• Parking Lot - After loading Ethan into the car at school, I managed to back into the car behind me. I hopped out to look at the damage (license plate holder bent a little) and talk with the owner who was walking towards their car when I hit it. Her response after I apologized? "Life's too short to worry about something like this." I hit the right person!
• Crayon in the Laundry - We missed a crayon in Ethan's pocket when we did laundry. It melted in the dryer all over an entire load of clean clothes. Know what gets crayon out of clothes? Goop Multipurpose Handcleaner...it works awesome!
• Dentist Visit - Karen, Ethan & Morgan all had dentist appointments yesterday afternoon. It was Morgan's first visit, and she did great. She was calm, comfortable, no resistance, no crying. Ethan did great, too! Somebody did have a cavity, though...Mommy!
  
• American Idol - We rushed home from the dentist and dinner at the in-laws to catch American Idol. During the drive home, Morgan begins singing and then says, "I'm going to Hollywood!"
  

Birthday Weekend

After we celebrated Morgan's birthday earlier today, we headed over to the home of our good friends, Mark & Lynne Batts for a Hawaiian-themed birthday party for their 6-year old daughter, Audrey. (FYI - Mark was my co-hort in the hayride incident I mentioned in my sermon last Sunday. Listen here...)

Audrey was born just six weeks after Ethan, and we frequently joke that they both arrived in this world already married to each other. We've got some great pictures from the last six years for their wedding slideshow! Here are some pics from the party...

[Morgan on the left; Audrey in the middle]

[Ethan's all set to limbo...]

[Audrey really got into the "Happy Birthday" song!]

Waiting for a Thud

I'm sitting downstairs in my family room waiting to hear a big THUD from above me...

Ethan has outgrown his bed, so we moved in a "big kid" bed we purchased at a garage sale this summer. It has legs ("Hey, I can put stuff under my bed!") and includes a box-spring and mattress. As a result it is about 2.5 times taller than his previous bed.

The problem lies with the fact that Ethan has a tendency to fall out of his bed about once a week. Sometimes he doesn't even wake up; we find him lying there on the floor with one leg still up on the bed. He'll definitely wake up if he falls out of this bed!

On a side note, I have one more coat of white paint to put on Ethan's old bed before we move it into Morgan's room tomorrow night. This is her last night in her crib!!!

American Gladiators...again

Evidently my good friend and former ministry partner, Jim Clark, doesn't agree with my sentiment for the new American Gladiator show. Check out his comments here...

The Year of Living Biblically

Since finishing the Bible in a Year challenge, I have been in the mood to read. I just polished off A.J. Jacobs' latest book - The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. Jacobs is officially Jewish, but as he puts it, "Jewish in the same way Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant. Which is to say: not very." The description from the jacket cover is an apt one...

"Jacobs's extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges. A book that will charm readers both secular and religious, The Year of Living Biblically is part CliffsNotes to the Bible, part memoir, and part look into worlds unimaginable. Thou shalt not be able to put it down."

As a pastor, I found the book to be one man's authentic pursuit of Biblical comprehension and application. It was an interesting - and much appreciated - view of the Bible and religion in general through his eyes. He has a keen awareness of his behavioral, emotional, and spiritual perceptions during the experiment. He is also well-aware of his own preconceived notions (this became painfully clear in the section on the New Testament).

I think the most unexpected aspect of this book was how much I laughed audibly while reading it - much to the amusement of my wife! Of course...many of these laughable sections involved his wife's sarcastic and not-so-amused responses to this undertaking. Reactions that Karen and I both agreed she would have if I were to pursue something similar.

My favorite episode was the time his wife sat in all the chairs in their apartment knowing that according to Leviticus 15:19-23 he would not be able sit in any of them. (Click on the link if you want to know the specifics...) In the same chapter, he shared some rabbinical teaching on this passage that I found extremely intriguing. I won't post that teaching here as I need to do some more research before stating my opinion on the teaching.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. I am confident that I am going to read his previous book - The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World. For that book, he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z - or more specifically, from a-ak (East Asian music) to Zywiec (a town in southern Poland known for its beer).

God's Sense of Humor

Ethan and I were on a recent road-trip. He was flipping through a copy of Ranger Rick when the following conversation occurred...

"Hey, Dad...why does a centipede have, like, a million legs?"

"I'm not really sure...I guess because that's how God wanted to make them."

Ethan replies, "Well I know why a tarantula has four eyes."

"Oh yeah," I reply, "Why is that?"

"Because God wanted to freak us out!"

Santa or Barbie?

My daughter, Morgan (who will be 3 in January), has always been kind of freaked out by the idea of people coming into our house - Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, leprechauns (there's a whole story behind that one), etc.

She recently informed us that Santa will not be delivering her presents this year. Instead, Barbie will be coming down the chimney to drop off her presents! Evidently, we also need to go to Wal-Mart to buy a pink chimney so that Barbie doesn't get confused about which chimney to come down...

100 Things You Need to Know About Me (41-50)

Here's a theme that was inspired from one of the blogs I track...

41-50 :: Things I Don't Do Well

41. Fix or build anything...I just can't do it.
42. Sit still.
43. Drive in crazy, busy traffic...I tend to "talk" to the people around me!
44. Wait patiently for things I want.
45. Golf...but I really enjoy the game!
46. Play first-person shooter games (or any 3-dimensional games). Just give me two-dimensional Super Mario Brothers.
47. Have mercy/compassion for people who don't support the vision of the church.
48. Come up with things I'm not good at...just kidding!
49. Remember the birthdays of my extended family.
50. Draw or create anything artistic. (But I think Ethan is going to be awesome at this!)

Trick or Treat

Karen was talking with Morgan, my soon-to-be 3-year old, about trick-or-treating later tonight. To make sure she understood the "process" Karen asked, "What do you say when you ring the doorbell?"

Morgan quickly replied, "Ding Dong!"

Random Thoughts

* I am teaching the college group tomorrow night. They are watching Rob Bell's Nooma videos and then discussing. Should be good...

* I just had an Oscar Mayer Fast Frank microwaveable hot dog in a bun. It was surprisingly good! The packaging is designed to lightly toast the bun, too.

* I love sitting around and dreaming about the future with other leaders. Just had a jam session with Jason & Dan sitting on bean bags in the Student Room talking about how to integrate Children, Student & Adult Ministries. We are reviewing the "Think Orange" movement from Reggie Joiner and will be reading The Big Idea by Dave Ferguson next.

* Got a call from a small group leader who had too many people sign up for her group. Great problem to have! We discussed options, and I set her loose to decide the best course.

* I'm currently reading Building a Church of Small Groups by Bill Donahue & Russ Robinson.

* Can't wait for Vegas to connect with some great leaders and long-time friends!

* I missed my workout session this morning. I'll do it tonight after dinner sometime. We talked in staff meeting this morning about the need to stay active and in good physical condition. (I am balancing the hot dog referenced earlier with some yogurt and whole grain Wheat Thins.)

* We are launching a new series in two weeks called "What's In Your Wallet?" I am teaching the first and last Sundays of the series. Watch out for David Spade and those barbarians!!!

* I watched some interesting videos on YouTube yesterday at somebody's house. The people who make these have way too much time on their hands.

* Barq's rootbeer is the best!

Death by Committee

How many committees are really necessary? (And I'm not talking about a church...)

Karen & I were reading through the materials sent home with Ethan from his Kindergarten teacher. Included in the mountain of paperwork was a list of the PTA Committees. There are 34 different committees that parents could get involved with!

My personal favorite was the Standing Committee Chair Committee. This is the description provided...

"The Standing Committee Chair Committee helps to make sure that all of the committees have chairs and committee members." Seriously?!?

Under the Door

Following our family reunion yesterday, we stayed in the Hampton Inn in Princeton, IN. We went swimming, ordered some late-night pizza, and stayed up way too late watching a movie.

This morning I wake to find Ethan walking past the foot of my bed. I smile and wave as I roll out of the bed and stretch. I walk towards the bathroom to find him standing by the door to the room looking at the floor. He turns and says to me, "Somebody shoved a piece of paper under our door."

Knowing it was our bill for our night's stay, I look beyond him to the floor. I don't see anything.

"What did you do with it?" I say.

He looks at me somewhat strangely as if the answer should be obvious and replies, "I shoved it back out!"