puttin' on my thinking cap

Just some thoughts as Tony Romo goes back to Cabo to finish his vacation.....

Our youth group had a photo scavenger hunt on Saturday. Weirdest story of the day was the sight of a "pregnant man" walking around Opry Mills Mall. Apparently, the dude had forgotten that his shirt was a couple sizes too small for his frame. It's amazing what draws the attention of 15 & 16 year old girls.....come to think of it, that may have ruined my day as well.

A big shout-out to the people at Blue Bell! Sara and I thought we would be sacrificing the greatest ice cream on the planet by moving from Texas to Tennessee but, no, Blue Bell is here in Tennessee! Enjoyed some of that yesterday not knowing that it would be a high of 30 degrees today.....no big deal, it's Blue Bell for cryin' out loud!

One of the families at our church found out that their house had caught on fire during worship service yesterday morning. The minister, Vic, announced it from the pulpit and gave the OK for people to leave if they wanted to go and help. I would say about 3o-40 people raced out of the auditorium. This church that Sara and I are at is filled with pretty phenomenal people that seem to treat each other like family. It was awesome to see that kind of quick response.

I miss Texas a little bit. Just for the fact that, if one day is completely frigid and cold, two days after it would be back up to 60. Not so much here. The winter clothes are out to stay!

Oh, and if your landlord is a member of your church and his daughter is in the youth group, try not to reveal too much information about what's wrong with the toilet in the only bathroom you have....i'm just sayin'.

Back to Tony Romo....alot of speculation about the va-ca he took with Jessica Simpson and the timing of it after Dallas had pretty much stunk the league up for the whole month of December (which may explain how the Lions were able to play them so close). I'm a work ethic guy....if your resume consists of 13 wins in the regular season, you're dating a celeb, you botched the snap in last year's playoff game, you perform horribly when girlfriends are around (also see Carrie Underwood) and your head coach has never won a playoff game (Wade Phillips is now 0-4 in the playoffs), I would be spending a little more time studying the New York Giants. Yes, the entire team lost as Terrell Owens tearfully shared with the world. I would just like to see a little more concentration from the leader of the team. The playoffs for NFL players is like Christmas for shops and businesses. You don't ask for time off at Christmas because the company needs you and you don't take time off in the playoffs because the team needs you. Spend a day off with your family but keep your head in the game and get ready for the biggest part of your season and career.

I'm now going to enjoy the rest of my day off by going to Kroger to do some grocery shopping and drop off a rent check.......I wonder how much it costs to go to Cabo for a couple days?

Smells like Summer Camp

So, I'm officially in Tennessee. Almost all of the bags are unpacked, I've had my first youth event (New Year's Eve party) and my first talk from the pulpit. Now, I'm in Atlanta, Georgia for the annual National Conference of Youth Ministers. It's been a whirlwind couple weeks but it's been great. Yesterday was especially amazing...

You ever have those spiritual days where you feel like you're 17 years old again and it's the last night of summer camp? All of the right songs are sung at just the right time, the speaker says all of the right words and tells you that "make a decision in the next 240 seconds that you won't regret". This guy named Jon Ross who is also known as the "Jesus Painter" was here and painted a picture of Christ on the cross with his head hung and the words on the top of the painting went from "Love" to "Lover" to "Over" and "Flow" as the painting went on. There were times where I couldn't continue to sing because I felt like I was going to bust into tears.

The theme for the weekend is "Over Flow". The purpose is for us to overflow in our passion for Christ so that others see it. The last couple of days I've been overflowing in emotion, eagerness, anticipation and excitement in getting this new job and ministry started. I'm just hoping that God and my congregation will allow me to pace myself so I can process all of the "overflow".