Working for the Weekend

Who out there does not LOVE this song? This is classic 80's...but not my reason for posting. We had another one of those DubDub weekends (double W) which stands for WHEW and WOW. It seems that anytime WOW is involved in your work, WHEW is always a part of it. We had some great oppotunities to work for God this past weekend.

Saturday was a big event for our Children's Ministry...we had a big back to school carnival. Leading up to this event, we did alot of promotion...basically by going door to door in our surrounding neighborhoods with flyers. That was quite an experience in itself. One of our missions is going to Mexico to work in the communities. I have never personally been there, but we had more than one of our kids compare the passing of flyers in the Marcum Terrace housing project to passing out flyers in Mexico. We talk about the abject poverty in Mexico, and we have what look like similar situations in our own backyard. Now, our poor are rich compared to the situation in Mexico, but still, the kids have similar traits. I know that the best time I had was kneeling down in the playground of the projects and havings kids just all over you, dying for your attention. I hated to leave.

My wife planned the carnival, which is to say, she had a three ring binder with a heck of a lot of info, including a map of the parking lot where everything would reside. I was pressed into service for making signs, picking up random things, etc. Well, Sat. came and, even though some worried about rain, we had it outside without a drop. It was wonderful, with many kids from the neightborhood. I think over 50 kids, with their parents, grandparents, etc. I took over the kool-aid and lemonade station and created what is now known as "The Greatest Drink Ever", or the "Rob Special" or the "Fruit Punch Sunrise". I was as smooth as Tom Cruise in Cocktail. Many people were repeat customers. Dusty the magic man was there. He is amazing. Good stuff, prizes and general good feelings all around. One tip from the weekend, cleaning up the cotton candy machine is difficult.

Sat evening was spent recuperating and putting together our display board for the Ministry Fair that was to go on the next day. On Sunday, I had a good class with the middle schoolers. Then, we had a big recognition for our ministries and volunteers. That was good, and a call to get working. Then, dinner and info tables. Good times were had by all.

Sun evening, area worship at Hurricane. That was great, as always. It is always good for our groups to get together. I so enjoy Tony, Mike Cleveland and the Hurricane family, as well as Paul and the other groups.

Oh well, all good things must come to an end. Work happened today, including just a busy, busy day. Class now, but thankfully, UCF tonight. That will save the day.

Later

Two lovely ladies

These are two pictures that I took on our vaction in July. My lovely daughter Sloane and my beautiful wife Lisa. Not too bad for a doofus with clothespins in his hair!

Blogs to consider

You need to take a look at Fred Peatross' blog. He is a member of Norway and has a lot to say about the state of things. He can be found Here.

Toney Stowers is a great guy with some great thoughts. Look for him in my links section or Here.

Of course, you need to check out George Welty as well, he is a great friend and "ute" minister.

Music

I think I am going to have a recurring post concerning the music that I have been listening to lately. This is nothing but self indulgence....but I guess blogs are built on that concept. It is as if what I have to say is so important, it belongs on a webpage. I like writing about conceit while I take part in the very conceit I am writing about. Hypocrisy at its finest. So, here it comes, what you have all been waiting for, a short list of my latest music selections.

1. The Bravery - One in a number of UK type, new new wave music using electronics.

2. Bloc Party - See above, one of my favorites.

3. Wilco - "Remember the Mountain Bed" is soon becoming one of my faves.

4. Coldplay - See my post on Colplay if you have any questions about them.

5. Lake Trout - Baltimore based...not really sure how to explain it. Some fusion of jazz, rock, electronica, ? Who knows, but I like it.

That is about enough. Let me know what you are into lately.

Coldplay

For those of you who don't know, I am a BIG Coldplay fan. Very big, one of my favorite bands of all time. Well, last night, a friend from work and I went to Cincinnati to see the one and only Coldplay.

First, at this concert they played all of this really good interim music. Some marvelous songs that I will never know. Makes me realize that there are whole geographic countries of music that I do not know. I consider myself a decent music fan, and this is somewhat sad to me. However, I enjoyed the music.

The opening act was a band from Vancouver, Canada named "Black Mountain". Stoner rock was my first impression, which is not a bad thing. I like the old 60's rock psychedelic stuff. They were a mix of rock and heaviness, some truly killer guitar, and maybe Floyd or other folky, druggy type stuff. A bit of the Dead maybe. Splendid is what I would desctibe the experience as. Their set was splendid, and I found myself wanting to see them again.

Now, breaking down their stage, more interim music that is great but without name. I did recognize an cover of the Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows" from the Revolver album.

Then, they guys came on, starting off with "Square One", first track off of the new album. WOW! Fantastic light show, great sound and energy. The crowd was huge and everyone was into it. I love live music. I will steadily lose my hearing over it, but the total hugeness of a good concert is something I love. The sound waves that actually move your body. I think I should pack up and just follow the band. Some highlights:

"Yellow". Huge yellow balloons filled with yellow confetti were dropped onto the crowd. Chris Martin, the singer, says that the song will not finish until they are all popped. He help out the last note until they were all burst, and they ended the song.

"God Put A Smile On Your Face" just cause its a favorite.

"The Scientist" and "Everthing's Not Lost" are two of my favorite piano based songs. the second one sparked a big singalong.

"Speed of Sound", another great one from the new album.

"Clocks" was one of the songs where the crowd literally went nuts. It was just crazy stuff. They played it so well. At the end, we were clapping along and the steadily sped it up. If you know the song at all, Chris Martin was playing the piano hook so fast and our hands were getting beat, but man, it was so cool.

"In My Place" was another song that, as soon as the drums started, we went crazy. It is a great sing along song. Big, big fun with that one.

"Fix You" was the final song of the night. A great one off of the new album. They all sing the second verse together, which makes it very nice.

All of the songs were great, and the concert was one of the best I have ever been to...a great experience.

Master in The Mountains

What a weekend our group just had. For those of you who don't know, we take our high school students and anyone who has already graduated on a hiking weekend in August. It serves as the last big thing of summer and the offical sendoff event for our new college freshmen. Well, we had a great time, an awesome time, full of laughter and tears. This is my short summary of the weekend.

Friday - We left the building in a bus that was a bit dated. Unfortunately, it was so warm that we had to pull over due to overheating about 4 times on the way down. Now, don't take this as complaining, because it is not. That bus situation could not be helped, so we dealt with it. On the second breakdown, it was getting rainy, so we were stuck on the bus until the engine cooled. Let me say that it was really, really hot in the back. Mad hot, sick hot. I think if we had a pile of rocks in the center of the aisle and poured water on them, we could have taken a good steam. You know how I am with heat anyway....needless to say, it was really "fun".

Well, we finally got there, and the cabins were just the sweetest places you could imagine. Nice, NICE beds and bedrooms. We were living it up. So, I unpacked, put my water bladder of the hydration pack in the fridge for tomorrow's hike and, after several visits from other people in the group, went to bed.

Saturday - We hiked "Charlie's Bunion". Not exactly a great name for a hike. Who were the marketing geniuses that came up with this one? Why not "Charlie's Wart" or "Charlie's Boil". Getting there was a bit of a chore, about 8 miles round trip. It was fun, tiring, hard at times. I took many breaks, you know the great shape I am in. However, the destination was very nice. Big views. Really something special. Tip from Rob, those hydration packs are fantastic. However, I think a 3 liter might do better for me :-) Plus, a hand towel can be your best friend in the world.

Sat night worship was probably one of the top 5 worship experiences in my life. Full of power and praise and glory. Cousin John is a man gifted to lead worship, no doubt about it. It was the first time that I was honestly driven to my knees in I don't know how long.

Then we had put ups. Each senior takes a turn in the "Hot Seat" and is complimented and sent off knowing how they have effected their own group. let me just say that I, along with many others during the weekend, was reduced to tears. I am not a man given to tears. But this weekend just tore me up. Both my feelings and witnessing the feeling of others took hold of my emotions in ways I cannot describe. I will only say this. We quit at about 3:30 a.m. I was asleep by just after 4 a.m. By 8:45 the next morning, I was watching "Spiderman 2" and in the scene where he stops the subway and is carried on top of the passengers to the floor, I got very, very weepy. Its was like the switch had not been turned off yet.

Sunday - We got up, and after overcoming my emotions for Spidey, we eventually went and had worship. Great again, not Sat night, but great. We had a nice time of communion, and afterwards, when everyone is talking again, a mention of one of last night's put ups forced me to leave the conversation. Overcome again. for someone who does not get overly emotional, this is good. It is good for me to have the shell cracked.

We then left. 5 miles and 2.5 hours later, we arrive at O'Charleys to eat. Lets just say that this trip took what seemed like forever. I felt like Sysiphus, doomed to ride an uncomfortable bus for an eternity. Well, we did finally get home at around 11 p.m. WHEW! I was never happier to get out of a vehicle in my life. I think my rear end needs to be serviced after that trip.

All in all, a really amazing trip. I am extremely grateful to be a part of this group.

Rob Will

I'm Back

Alright, I have been back since Saturday, so this headline is not exactly news, but hey, I needed something to put in the title bar. Vaca was good, great at times, pretty exhausting at others and sometimes irritating at others. I got to: play with the kids a lot, do the Dirty Dancing lift with my wife in the pool (I'm no Patrick Swayze, but she was held aloft), play golf a few times, view a school of 30 Mahi right under our boat in the Gulf Stream, eat some nice steamed shrimp, hang out with my brother for more than 10 minutes on Sunday morning, hang out with other sundry relatives, and generally just get a good rest.

Probably my favorite part of vacation is coming home though. The same house that you fuss about when you are always at home looks so good when you return from an absence. You forget the blessings you have right here at home. Even more so, I miss my church. I miss my God family. Being away puts that into perspective too. I miss those folks. It is good to be back. Of course, how cool would it be to take the whole church and just rent a beach, several houses, everyone sharing, etc.

A few of us, about 5 families went camping back in May over the Memorial Day weekend. It was fantastic. There are always a few issues you deal with when you tent camp, but my favorite feature is the nightly gathering around the campfire. Cabins give you a place to hide away, but tents aren't like that. You have to be around each other, and it is a good thing. Now, with those people, memories have been made, and Sundays are not just a 10 second hello, but a genuine "Good to see you"!

Ahh, maybe that is the future fix for churches, camping. I think I am onto something here. WWJC (Where Would Jesus Camp), the new thing in church relationships. Maybe I will start a side business, Christian Camp Outfitters...camping gear, clothing, site planning, bibles and portable communion portions. Who wouldn't want this?

Speaking of camp, we are at the junior camp week at Howell's Mill every evening, with yours truly leading the evening worship. What I lack in singing ability I make up for in crazy antics. Hey, I may not be Matt Hayes but can he do Jeba's Love like I can? There is something about an overweight guy doing jazz hands that just makes people happy. I think the sweat adds something it. Anyone that knows me for a bit of time knows that I perspire at about twice the rate of others. Its nice, like a personal shower! I mean, if a woman refers to her own perspiration as "being aglow" well then, I glow like the freaking SUN!

But hey, that is me. And this is me, glad to be home, happy to be at camp for some of the time, working feverishly on some projects for MU.

I'll be seein ya.