Moving Day!!!!

Well, today is the day. In just a few short hours, I will be picking up our moving truck and the fun will begin. As of this morning our house is almost completely packed into boxes. Tonight we will load our truck and sleep on the ground.

I can tell you I am ready for this. I know Beth is ready for this, she has been packing over the last 5 weeks. The culmination of our excitement will happen tonight and will be done on Saturday. This is a first for us (as I have written). We have never up and moved our family to a new city since we have been married.

I still can't believe this is happening. I am sitting here at work just basically trying to finish things out but really just waiting. My boss is taking our whole team out to lunch to celebrate my leaving. After that, I will head and get the truck...

Pray that God is with is on this move. 10 hours with me, Beth and our dog in a big Budget Rental Truck with my Explorer in tow, should be fun...

Cleaned My Desk Out

Well, reality is starting to set in. This afternoon before I left work, I cleaned out my desk. I boxed all my stuff up into 2 boxes and walked out. I am still in shock that all this is happening. On Thursday, our dept will have a goodbye lunch for me. Still strange.

God has really been good to us. Everything seems to be going great for our move and things are looking great for the future. As much as I know that this is what God has called me to do, I am still scarred out of my mind that I am going to mess up. I have been doing youth ministry for a while, but my livelihood has never depended on that. This is a HUGE move for us, not just getting a new job, but moving to a new city, in a new state, in a new part of the country. My kids will be going to a new church and then a new school. We will all have new friends we will need to make, as well as keeping up with old friends.

I am scared beyond belief, but I think this is where God wants me. Scared so much that I know I can't do it on my own. So much that I continue to lean on God and not take my talents for granted. I love working with students and am very EXCITED to be doing it full-time come Monday...

New City next week

Man, I can't believe it. Less than 6 days and we will be in Kansas City. I am soo excited. Crunch time is upon us and things are moving fast. Our house is almost packed up, we are starting to see people for the last time.

We went to Covenant for the last time today. It was good seeing people we hadn't in the last couple weeks. I enjoyed the service and the sermon. I am going to miss that church and the people in it. It is hard to leave 3 1/2 years of your life behind. We know that God is leading us elsewhere, but it is still sad when you have to move.

I will spend the next 5 days getting ready to leave a company I have worked at for almost 9 years. I am still amazed that I am leaving. Amazed that I have been at the same company for so long. Well, in 7 days I will wake up and go to a new job. One 10 hours from where I am currently typing this....

Spiderman 3 - is it worth it?

So I just saw the new Spiderman 3 movie. My son really wanted to go see it and since I am moving next week, we figured this weekend would be a great time to go see it.

First, don't ever take a baby to the theater. We took Kaitlyn and Beth ended up leaving with her before the middle of the movie (after her getting stuck upside down in the chair).

Second, this movie left me disappointed. I had high expectations for this movie, but I came away unfulfilled. I believe that Hollywood is catering to movie goers more than they should. Story lines in movies are becoming very predictable and boring. The Spiderman series is a perfect example. I have never been into the comic books, so I don't know the whole history behind it, but the deal with Peter and MJ is getting annoying. That whole relationship thing needs to just go away. The entire movie is based around their relationship, as were the first two. Enough already. Move on to the real Spiderman vs. the world deal.

The villains in this movie, aren't villians at all... The Hob-Goblin (Goblin's son) starts the movie battling Spiderman, but in the end saves his life. Sandman, starts the movie as the most hated man in Peter's mind, ends the movie getting a tear from Spidey. Venom is the only one who starts the movie bad and ends the movie bad.

When I got home, I read a review at www.pluggedinonline.com, and they really brought more of the movie than just watching it. Peter (and other characters) deals with the idea of revenge and how it can easily overcome you. He ends up battling and winning that fight but not before he hurts some of his friends.

The effects of the movie were nice. The CGI was incredible (as always). The plot line was tired and the acting was ok. It was weird seeing Kelso as venom. I think it is funny when guys who normally play funny people try to act serious or be the villian.

So let me know what you thought of the movie or if you think I am wrong.

Myspace: Friend or Foe

Ever since the inception of Myspace, youth pastors have struggled with how to embrace it. The world of Myspace allows for so much individuality that it has become a "haven" for those who normally wouldn't be outspoken. Most students who use Myspace believe that what they do is private, but it isn't. I have viewed my students sites and realized that there was way too much information out there about them, and it shouldn't be.

I have struggled myself with whether to embrace Myspace or keep it at a distance. I have had a Myspace account for a while, and have a bunch of my students on it. I know the kind of information that is out there. Not just the sites of other people, but also the advertisements that go on your site. I have seen the tv shows the highlight the sexual predators that use Myspace to find victims and pray upon young students. I have also seen little girls who put pictures on their Myspace that would embarrass their parents if they were posted in the Family Photo Album.

With all that said, I use Myspace. I mean, I am not a freak about it and haven't changed my profile for a long time, but I do recognize that this is the only way some students communicate (more than email) and also allows me to see the creative side of some of my students. I also push parents to stay on top of their own students Myspace. Most of them don't even know how to get there, much less how to view their own students.

Recently, I have gotten 3 new friend requests from my new church. Jessica, Clarice and Logan have all added me to their Myspace. I have enjoyed looking over their sites and talking to them. I have also cleansed my friends list. I had 163 friends listed on Myspace, I am down to 89. I am amazed that people just add others without knowing who they are. Most of the ones I deleted were musicians who added me or people that I haven't talked to in years.

I think as youth pastors, we need to continue to embrace and educated our students and their parents about Myspace. Let them know the dangers of the information they put out there. The problems with showing too much skin and ways that they can protect themselves.

Let me know what you think???