"I want to take you out to dinner, and then I wanna go back to my apartment and watch Kung-Fu".

lyrics of the week
life goes by so fast/ you only want to do what you think is right/ close your eyes and it's past/ story of my life...
these lyrics from one of my all time favorite songs have never rung so true. these days seem to going by quicker and quicker. i'm not exactly sure why, but i feel like by the time i wake up one day it's already tomorrow. i think it's just the sheer number of things that i have to do on any given day, aka my giant board of 'things to do'. i kid you not i spent yesterday writing out my to-do list, and then going back and putting subheadings in under all of those items. my wall looks like a giant outline. at least i'm not bored.

pepperdine.
last week i was at pepperdine for the lectureships, which in the past has been nothing but social time for me. i've been a harsh critic in the past of the lectureships because they seem to be out of touch with day to day ministry, and needs of the church. this year was a huge change of pace. most of the key note speakers were echoing sentiments that a lot of my friends my age have been saying for a while now. the big thing is, that we as a church need to be broken people. i say that in the sense that we need to recognize more often, and collectively, that we are not perfect people. if we are going to reach out to others in any way, we need to stop trying to fix people ourselves and focus our attention on who we serve. this isn't anything new by any means, but it was refreshing to hear this from some of the scholars in the cofc realm. even more amazing was the number of older folks that were responding positively to the messages.

greatest generation.
which leads me to an interesting observation. more and more lately i am keying in on a duality of respect in our culture towards past generations. on one hand, we have generations before us that have saved the world for freedom, fought for equality and built our country into a great empire. however, these are the same people that have handed us an emaciated environment, a reliance on foreign countries, flawed political systems and have made our jobs as evangelical christians so tough. the same man that fought to protect my freedom years ago left behind a closed door church. it's a tough call. i respect our senior saints so much, but at the same time i wonder how someone so nice and compassionate could be so cold when it comes to reaching out to the lost.

quits.
i'm not one for giving up easily, but there are times when you have to take time out from certain fights. i called it quits with chulagirl after she called me last week wanting out, and then calling me back the next night to apologize. i took a week to think it over and i just don't have the fight in me to battle the long distance issue. so, back to the single life for me for a while. ugh. this right on the heels of not being invited to lake powell next year for a youth minister and wives getaway.

youth ministry mafia.
people come and go in our lives, and i'm learning more and more to take advantage of the times i do spend with my friends. with friends moving in and out of the area, stepping into new roles, and pondering where they are going to be ministering in the next few years i am hanging on more and more to every moment of what is going on now.

running.
my allergies have been killing me for the past two weeks, which has made it really hard to train for my 5k on july 4th. at this point i doubt i can get to where i can run the whole 5k, but we'll have to see. my body is feeling better and better every day.

yard sale.
we had a fundraiser yard sale a couple of weekends ago that brought in around $1300. we posted that we were going to start at 6 in the morning, but i wasn't surprised when i got there at 530 and there were already a couple of cars waiting for the first picks. it was amazing watching one person's junk turn into a 'high quality item'. all in all it was a crazy day, but at least i got to be outside for a whole afternoon, and we made about $150 an hour.

fridge.
i need a fridge in my office. i'm pretty good about not spending a whole lot on lunch every day, but i do admit i have a lot of room to improve. i figure a fridge could potentially pay for itself in six weeks, so let the shopping begin.

revolution.
i've been reading shane claiborne's book lately, and i have a few bones to pick with this revolution he's inciting. first of all, just like every type of ministry out there, being homeless is not for everyone. it takes a person with special gifts to even survive that life, much less turn it into a ministry. second, i'm not a big fan of anyone who can not at least respect the efforts of others trying to minister. i.e., just because i don't feel like giving up my job and being homeless does not mean God can't use me where i am. and lastly, i think back to the thoughts of my friend who used to run the dry bones homeless teen ministry out here in venice beach. he always complimented the youth ministers out here because the people he worked with were overlooked, but were already broken and willing to come to Christ. the people i deal with on a day to day basis are pretty comfortable, and it takes a lot for them to reach that broken point where they realize they need God in their lives. so, you could make an argument that it is actually tougher to minister out in the suburbs. at the very least, i wish shane the best in his efforts and hope we all stay focused on the big picture.

God, Dad & Baseball.
i've started outlining some basic ideas for a book. who knows when i'll actually get around to getting this out, but i have to admit the thought is pretty enticing. my thanks to everyone who reads this blog and offers up encouragement, i'm sure a lot of stuff that goes into the book will first be posted here.

mockingbird.
i've also started some sketches for my next tattoo, a mockingbird for my mom. it's the state bird of texas, and part of the title of our favorite book. i'll be sure to post up pics when i get the final art done.

kung fu.
not a lot of people know this, but i love old kung fu movies. if i'm doing any kind of late night artwork, cleaning my room, or just trying to get to sleep i like to throw on some old kung fu on the tv. the picture is stretched, the music is bad, the acting is terrible, the dubbing is worse, and the action is accompanied by an insane amount of cheesy sound effects. needless to say i love every movie i've seen so far. lawdog gave me a boxed set of 50 movies a while back and i've been stoked ever since. so in hone of that, i'm going to leave you with my..

TOP TEN QUOTES FROM MY KUNG FU MOVIES: (with exclamations for added emphasis!)
10. I'm the best street fighter there is! I'll meet YOU on the roof!
9. A long time ago, a ninja walked into a bar...(!)
8. You're an assassin! Now start acting like it! Actually, wait till I leave!
7. Master, you must tell me the secret to your soup!
6. My name is bruce lee. no, not that one!
5. Ha! Your mustache has lost it's power!
4. The gods have blessed you with a large toe! Not large enough however!
3. I'm a princess, i can't marry a monkey!
2. Your rollerskates won't do you any good against my kung fu!
1. Ahhh! Chinese food!

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