Tuesday Morning Thoughts

-Vote for Joey Votto
I am sure if you live anywhere close to Cincinnati, you are already tired of hearing that you need to vote for the Reds First Baseman Joey Votto. I am a huge Reds fan and it would a huge joke if the potential National League MVP missed the All-Star game. He will miss it at this point though if we don't all vote like crazy for him. Take a few minutes today and make sure that the most deserving play in the National League actually plays in the All-Star game.

Vote for Joey

-Ribs at Montgomery Inn
A group of 6 (including me) went to Montgomery Inn for their All You Can Eat Ribs Special this weekend. For sure we definitely gave it our best. As a group we ate a total of around 180 ribs. Bryan Sallee was the front man with 44, Nate Borowitz ate an incredible 36, and barely made it to 28 (See plate below). Clayton ate a total of 27 and Jamie came in with 22. We had a great time, but I think it will be a while before I look eagerly upon a rack of ribs again.

-Adirondacks Mission Team
Take some time today to be praying for our students and leaders who are on a mission trip this week to the Adirondacks in Northern New York. They will be serving the community in a lot of cool ways. You can be praying for the Spirit to guide them, strengthen them, and embolden them. You can also pray for their safety throughout the week. It is supposed to be a hot week there that consistently tops out around 90-100 degrees. I'll be posting an update on the trip next time I hear something from them.

-Stuff from Brad's Office
Finally, last but not least, as many of you know our Worship Minister Brad Wallace is taking a new job at Milligan University in Tennessee. He is actually moving this week which means that he has been boxing up his books and other stuff from his office. A few days ago he put out a box of books that he decided he wasn't going to take with him. Now remember these are books that Brad at some point valued enough to have on his shelf, but now doesn't feel like they are worth carrying with him to Tennessee. I went and picked out the ones I thought were most interesting. I'll be getting him to sign the books, and then I will be auctioning them off on Ebay as Memorabilia. Stay tuned for a link to the listings. Try not to laugh to loud as you look at the pictures of the book and VHS cassette tape below.

Wednesday Morning Thoughts and Ramblings

On Wednesday mornings I get into the office pretty early from a regular breakfast meeting I have with some students. I tend to get into the office before everybody else does on Wednesdays. It can be pretty boring here during that time frame. So this morning I figured I would just ramble for a while. This will probably be pretty disjointed, but maybe there will be some good stuff in here somewhere.


Angels vs. Yankees
Did anybody else see the awful call the 3rd base umpire made last night? The Yankees blew out the Angels 10-1 so it didn't end up mattering, but it was honestly the worst call I have ever seen an umpire make. I didn't think we needed instant replay in MLB but now I am not so sure.


Middle School Retreat
We are going to be recording a podcast later today that will talk some about the Middle School Retreat and some other things we have going on. I am so excited the Retreat is finally here. We have spent so much time planning and getting ready. Pretty soon the students will be showing up, getting on the charter bus and heading off to Butler Springs Christian Camp.


The Present Future by Reggie McNeal
We have been going through this book as a staff. It is an excellent book talking about the current predicament we are facing in the North American Church. Simply put, not many of our churches are relevant any more. Its a scary thought, and a challenging one. Here is a quote from the book that jumped out at me from the fourth chapter entitled, "New Reality #4: The Return to Spiritual Formation." Reggie McNeal is talking about how we have gotten things mixed up. We teach people how to be a good church member instead of having a real relationship with Jesus. Here is what he says, "Instead of dumping a packet of church club member stuff on them(new visitor/believer), why not interview them about what they would like to see happen in their lives in terms of their spiritual development and personal growth."

I agree with him. Sometimes when somebody asks the right question we give them the wrong right answer. Does that make sense? Let me explain. From time to time someone will come up to me or somebody else on staff and say I want to become a member or I want to start a relationship with Jesus. All to often my response is more about the process than it is the relationship. My response will include something about a new member packet etc etc etc instead of telling the person that they way to join Parkside's family is to get involved and connected to other believers, and the way to get to know Jesus is by talking to Him often and reading the letters He has written us. Good Stuff. Challenging Stuff.


Child Abuse and Neglect
I read an article this morning in the USA Today that talked about a report on Deaths caused from Child Abuse and Neglect between 2001-2007. That number is 10,440. That number overwhelmed me. That number is over twice the amount of US casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan COMBINED. The US death rate is also more than double the rates of France, Canada, Japan, Germany, Great Britain and Italy. The sad thing is that most people don't notice when kids die this way.

We can't forget that a huge war is going on within our own borders, and even within our own neighborhoods. Abuse and Neglect don't discriminate. They affect every type of family rich and poor. The tighter knit a community is, the less likely something is going to go unnoticed.


Andrew Osenga
Growing up one of my favorite bands that nobody had really heard of was a band called the Normals. They were great. I loved their musical style (maybe you would call it acoustic rock, or edgy folk???), and it just seemed like their lyrics matched things I was going through stride for stride. Well, yesterday I accidentally discovered that their front man is still putting out music. In fact he has two EP's that you can download absolutely free. They are great too. I have been listening to them nonstop. They are so good I might just buy his other albums too. Who knew I guess people still buy albums.


Quote of the Day
The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.
-Michelangelo