Archive for August, 2007
Student Ministry Confessional: 8/31
August 31, 2007Spider-Man Dance Off
August 31, 2007You MUST watch this video! It was created, edited and 100% completely made by Aaron Mondok, blog-star Bryons 18 year old son. This kid has some major talent, huh?
The Office: What I Did This Summer
August 30, 2007The Office returns in late September. I can’t wait. This 3 minute clip is a-mazing.
Team Building
August 28, 2007This past weekend I had the privilege of taking 24 adult volunteers and student leaders to Lake Aurora Christian Camp in Lake Wales, Fl. for a day of team building and connecting. They have a low ropes challenge course where we divided into two teams that were lead by some camp employees. It was so cool to watch some of our student leaders and volunteers work together to accomplish the particular task at hand. 
Examples of the tasks were: “Truth Fall” – each team member is asked to climb up a tree to a platform about 4-5 feet up and stand on it, turn back ward and fall into the arms of your team-mates. “Spider Web” – pass your team-mates thought the holes made from a rope that is stretched and staggered between two trees that creates a web like deal. There were several other tasks, but you get the idea.
In my opinion this day was one of the most productive team building and empowering events we have ever been a part of. It was an event where we all learned the importance of communication and encouragement. Communication was completely necessary as the teams set out to accomplish a particular task. Student leaders would talk to adult leaders and vice-versa. Age wasn’t an issue. Adult volunteers would encourage a student leader. So much accomplished. So effective, yet simple.
What types of activities have you lead your teams on? Do you have leadership training days? If so what do you use to train?
Van Halen: The True Story
August 27, 2007By Life & Times guest blogger Tony Taylor
Since May of 1996 I have begun each and every day of my life with a ritual of first checking my email and secondly going to a website called vhnd.com. This stands for Van Halen News Desk. I realized that last week that I have spent each weekday of the last 10 years of my life keeping up with what I consider the greatest rock and roll band to ever come of out the States. Ever since I was a kid, I remember being in second grade and seeing all the 7th and 8th graders scrawling the classic VH logo all over their book covers, jeans, walls and anywhere else that would piss off our parents. Last week when Van Halen announced a tour with original singer David Lee Roth, I already started planning weekends in Chicago, and Charlotte to see shows and have already gotten my New York tickets. The people I know that get it, get it and the rest that do not understand how monumental this occasion is don’t understand the power of rock. When I was growing up, Rock and Roll was an event. In the 80s when The Who or The Stones came to your town, EVERYONE KNEW. 
Everyone wore the t shirts, bought the LPs, bought the pins for their denim jackets and it was good. When you were a kid in the Midwest and bought a Van Halen album you went to California.
This is a band that you knew about maybe because of their videos, maybe because of who their guitarist was married to or maybe because like me you just connected to the music and no matter what was going on in your life, if you were happy it made you elated and if you were feeling down, it made things sunnier. These songs made you feel invincible and remember who you were again. The story of this band is like an epic poem. You have two brothers that are half Dutch and half Malaysian coming to this country on a boat from Holland at ages 8 and 10 with 75 Dutch Guilders, a piano, and the little clothes they could afford. Their father would work as a janitor for 8 hours, a dishwasher for 8 hours, and then play Clarinet on weekends just to provide food and roof for his family. These kids couldn’t communicate in English very well and were ostracized and begin spending all their time in their garage playing Cream and Dave Clark Five songs. A few years later they meet Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth (one of if not Rock’s greatest showman and frontman) and soon were playing backyard parties that would swell to 1,500 people to hear them play. This was rock and roll at its purest. They played at volumes that would make most American Idol contestants and judges cry and call their mothers to pick them up. To hear Edward Van Halen play guitar is like seeing Mozart or DeBussy. There is a connection between his heart and hands that defies explanation. They played the LA scene of the Whiskey and The Rainbow for years before getting discovered by Gene Simmons and went on to became the 19th highest selling artist in history. Around the world selling over 100 million albums. If the music doesn’t inspire you, hopefully the story does.
Redneck Jesus?
August 26, 2007
I can’t help but post this. It has been something that has bothered me for a very long time. What is up with the whole Dale Earnhardt fetish with some people? I was walking into our local mall a couple of days ago and this horrible window sticker caught my eye. I think that there is a sort of sick obsession with a guy who has been dead for a few years. Think about it, people have pictures of a dude who took left hand turns for a living. I follow football, baseball, basketball and tennis. I just couldn’t imagine having a sticker made of a players head and put it on my car. It’s just weird! I see NASCAR #3 very often and I don’t understand the fixation. Does anyone understand this? Does anyone have one of these crazy stickers in their window? Can anyone help me understand NASCAR?
Calling all church people!!!!!!
August 23, 2007As you all know our church is in the process of building our first facility. I need your help. Could you please send me 5 pictures of your facility including: floor (wood, concrete, carpet,etc.), main auditorium, lobby, cafe’ (if you have one) and signage. Just send them to me at geppapa@gmail.com. If you will be able to do this could you leave a comment letting me know so I can look forward to getting your pictures. Thanks all.
And the paper trail continues….
August 23, 2007
Yesterday Penny left to visit her family for a couple of days in the All-American city of Charleston, SC. After a month or so of silence on the adoption front (if you didn’t know, we are adopting 2 kiddies from Russia) we get a call from our agency telling us that the first week of September will be a very important week for adopting families in Russia as they will be processing families for adoption of children. Of course, nothing has been easy with this process and this continues as we have been told that we MUST have ALL of the paper work by next week! Well, I have had to Pinch Hit for my wonderfully patient wife and try to compile as much of the paper as possible. What a grueling job! This makes me appreciate so much all of the hard work and patience that Penny has put into this process. Please pray for us as we are continuing with adoption fatigue. It’s brutal. That’s all I will say. For more Russian adoption news go to our adoption blog HERE. Stay tuned….
The iMac is fixed!
August 21, 2007
Back in November of ’06 our iMac G4 started acting up. Eventually it just didn’t work at all. I knew that it was the logic board but wasn’t sure if we could salvage it because it is one of those weird iMacs that nobody wants to work on. In July I found a place that would fix it for DIRT cheap. We sent it off and 2 weeks later it runs like new! I feel like it’s an antique, but it’s only 4 and half years old! I guess that is an antique in the tech world.
Some Thoughts….
August 20, 2007School starts on Wednesday. Summer is over. Thank goodness.
I’m about 20 pounds over weight. Once my knee has fully recovered I will get on some sort of workout schedule. Any suggestions?
We saw Transformers on Saturday. Wow! This movie had it all: action, thrills, romance and comedy. Good stuff. Honestly, I never watched the Transformers cartoon when I was a kid, I was a little too old, but this movie was sick! If you haven’t seen this movie, you should, it’s still in theaters.
Our church building project is moving rather quickly. The trusses for the roof are on and we are almost ready to completely seal it off. Jeff and I went to visit the property last week and we both got chills. After 10 years of being a portable church we finally get the opportunity to serve in a permanent facility. Click on the picture for better detail.
Football season is looming! University of Miami opens against Marshall on September 1st and the Miami Dolphins play their first game on September 9th against the Washington Redskins. Can’t wait! Go ‘Canes! Go Dolphins!
Went to the doctor this AM and I got a good knee report. He said I’m ahead of schedule and to be careful because the new ligament is at it’s weakest until 5 months (I’m only 2 months from surgery). Anyway, I should be able to do some more athletic activities soon!
I’m real excited that blog-star Bryon Mondok will be visiting this week, we are hanging out on Saturday. We have been talking about watching the movie “Last King of Scotland” for a long time and will finally be able to do so.
I’m so glad that Hurricane Dean didn’t come our way. No hurricanes, please! Prayers to our friends in Jamaica.
Life & Times 