Christmas Gifting

I was in Sam's Club and saw this yummy product. 3 pounds of summer sausage. Forget the obvious jokes about a paperweight, the half-life or a bludgeon. Can some one explain why a Yard-O-Beef is only 18" long?

NYWC Sunday

Starting to feel fully saturated. Today, the plan was to back off the practical and focus on the spiritual.

10 am: Worship with Jeff Johnson (not the Glorious Day Jeff Johnson), David Crowder and Doug Fields. Amazing! All of it. Fields talked about "ministry envy". A fantastic wake up for so many. It's sad how we often allow ourselves to disconnect from other parts of the "body".
Noon: Skipped lunch and back in to the exhibit hall. Exhibitors will be packing up. I've learned from experience that the last day or the last convention is great for swag. I scored some more t-shirts and won 30 Cd's.
1:30 pm: Session on Living, Loving, Leading in the Way of Jesus. Chris Folmsbee laid out theoretical frame work for drawing oneself into Christ's image. Chris is e-mailing me his notes and PowerPoint. I'll post them when they arrive.
5 pm: Dinner with an eclectic group. Turkey and dressing at Ted's Montana Grill...you gotta go. One of the group was a potential summer intern from Boston. Man, talk about culture shock!
8 pm: Skit Guys, Bob Stromberg, Steve Fee, Leeland, Marquis Laughlin
10:15 pm Met with another potential intern (also from Boston...odd)

So, Monday we drove home. Tuesday went into the office and got nothing accomplished but reconnect with staff (who know I was so needed?). Wednesday still trying to dig myself out of all of the stuff I brought back from NYWC.

WHAT I DIDN"T DO IN ATLANTA THAT I WOULD HAVE IF I HAD THE TIME:
Thursday: Family Force 5 at the Roxy Theater with Johnzetta DANCE Rawr DANCETour
Friday: David Crowder Band at the Tabernacle
Saturday: The Police Reunion Tour at Philips Arena
Sunday: Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay in the Georgia Dome

NYWC Saturday

Today was all about choices. I gotta say I'm pleased with the ones I made.

Highlights:
9 am: sleep in or make the Phyllis Tickle general session - slept in
10 am: sleep in or hear Shane & Shane - got up to see Shane & Shane
Noon: Lunch or workshop on creating promotional cds and websites - went to workshop (should have gone to lunch. turned out to be a snapshot commercial)
1 pm: Beg for T-shirts from exhibitors or talk to those exhibitors which I am truly interested - thoughtly spoke to vendors (ony got 1 t-shirt. will try begging tomorrow)
2 pm: watch Athletic National Cheer & Dance Championship or Workshop on Sermon graphics in 9 1/2 minutes - workshop (learned some wicked photoshop shortcuts)
4:30 pm: early diner or gathering of UM youth workers - gathering
5:30 pm: Ted's Montana Grill or Landmark Diner - Landmark Diner (yummy pork chops, mash taters, mixed veggies and a choclate shake)
7:30 pm: See the Police Reunion Concert or Family Force 5, Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin - FF5, Louie and Tomlin

Tonight, I adopted 3 children through Compassion International. The children are in Mexico, Burkina Faso and Rwanda. My plan is to use our MYF dinners to highlight and support these children.
Family Force 5 was amazing! I had my picture taken with Fatty for Todd. I took the extra Battleship Texas patches I had left from Insomniac weekend. I had five left so I gave them to FF5. Here's how that went:

David: Hey, thanks for everything ya'll do. I brought these for you.
Fatty: You want this signed?
David: Nope, it's for you, from Texas.
Fatty: Cool, that's great. Look at this.
Crouton: What? Thats cool.
Nadaddy: Thanks.
David: Here you go.
Chap Stique: Thanks, thats so cool!
Soul Glow: Cool dude, he's a sailor.

What I learned today: Cheerleading competetions can be a scary thing to outsiders. Chris Tomlin is still an amazing worship leader. Pork chops and a chocolate shake not a great combination. Family Force 5 are even better live than I expected.

NYWC Friday

I heard 6 different speakers today. By lunch it was obvious, I never want to use or hear the phrase "this is so cool" ever again!

Highlights for the day:

10:30 am scored 4 t-shirts, 12 pens and tons of other free stuff from exhibitors
12:30 pm enjoyed a picnic lunch
1 pm Worship with Desperation Band and Andy Stanley. Andy's message focused on using our power for the benefit of others and how we use our power decides the character of your leadership and legacy.
4 pm session on leadership with Dave Ambrose
5:45 pm Bison Meatloaf at a local restraunt
7 pm Third Day, Desperation Band, Shane Claiborne

Desperation Band's "I am Free" is the U2iest worship song I've heard. It sounded as if the Edge were in the room and the emotive "oh o o's" solidified the comparison.
Shane Claiborne was pretty great. My description won't do justice. Too long to blog...Too cool to ignore. Ask me to tell you in person.

What I learned today:
Bison is tasty. Shane Claiborne is stinkin' cool. Personal and student leadership is something God is asking me to examine more deeply.

National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC) - Thursday

I'm at NYWC in Atlanta, GA. I'm surrounded by ultra-hip-trendy youth workers. I gotta do something. I'll never have good hair. I have no fashion sense. So, I blog.
The convention is just getting off the ground. The welcome reception is at 7pm tonight.
Here's what's happened to me so far:
-Got a great parking spot in the parking garage, right by the door! It was then a 750 yard walk involving one flight of stairs and four escalators.
-Checked in. Got a uber-cool bag. You should take a look.
-Bought a ton of books. Got 30% off! Had to walk back to the car to put them in the trunk. 1500 yards, two flights of stairs, 8 escalators.
-Looked at the tables in the exhibit hall. Talked to a guy who has a way cool mission in Costa Rica. Karen says she's going to go the other direction to check things out. I say out loud, "I'm going to steal $1000 worth of stuff from Doug Fields' booth." Soon after, I was escorted off the exhibit hall floor. The security guard followed me no more than one foot behind me the entire way off the floor. She said I had to leave because the exhibit hall wouldn't open until 7pm. I know the truth.
-Bought 2 salads and a coke for dinner. The convention center brand is "unCONVENTIONally good". Spent $20.48 for the meal (unCONVENTIONally expensive).
-Looking forward to the worship together event later lead by Matt Maher and Steve Fee.

What I've learned today: Don't joke about Doug Fields. Pack lunch tomorrow.

WTTNMT?

Weren't there just four TMNT? One would think if you loved the ninja turtles enough to dress up like them you should know that there are four of them. And even with five costumed gals they managed to leave out Donatello. Poor Donatello, it just doesn't pay to resolve your conflicts using you intellect. Just goes to show genius is often forgotten.

End of the pumpkin patch

The pumpkins are gone. The check for Pumpkins USA is being cut. There is a general sense of relief that we made it through "pumpkin time". Thought I'd share with you an advertising campaign that we choose not to use.
I'm all for handling blades while drinking. Who doesn't love a woman that drinks beer? I'm a big fan of mother of pearl snaps on shirts. I personally don't carve a pumpkin using the "one hand balanced on my abdomen" method, but the chick seems to dig it (she has been drinking).
But note the glasses. They are drinking Schlitz beer out of pilsner glasses.
Wikipedia has this to say about the pilsner glass:
"A pilsner glass is a glass used to serve many types of light beers, but is intended for its namesake, the pilsner. Pilsner glasses are generally smaller than a pint glass, usually in 250 ml or 330 ml sizes. They are tall, slender and tapered. Wheat beer glasses are often mistakenly referred to as pilsner glasses, but a true pilsner glass has an even taper without curvature. Pilsner glasses are made to showcase the color, effervescence, and clarity of the pilsner, as well as to maintain a nice head."
But they are drinking Schlitz! My memory from childhood in the 70's is that people bought Schlitz because it was cheap not color, clarity or effervescence. Mind you, the 70's were the heyday of Schlitz.
I guess I'm lucky to live in Texas where one can still find Schlitz. I don't know that the same can be said for a pilsner glass.