Blob

The video says it all.

Things You Learn at VANS Skate Park

-you don't heal as quickly as kids do. A couple kids were trying to get Jeremiah, one of our summer interns, to drop in on a 3/4 pipe. Their encouragement was as this,"You can do it! I've broken my arm, wrist, ankel and I'm allright!"

-The skate culture that kind of went away in the 90's is back.

-No matter how hard I try. I'll never be able to grind a rail. Won't happen.

-Kids are fearless. I love that about them.

Some Quik Thoughts on West Palm Mission Trip

-I believe and have for some time now that the best way to get a student involved in our youth group is to send them to our mission trips/mission projects. I've seen more students get engaged in our ministry through these trips. It just seems that walls come down when you're all working towards one common goal....and deep friendships usually spring forth from that.

-Even students that "don't like kids" can make an impact on kids.

-Getting out of your comfort zone always pushes you to re-evaluate areas in your life. And more often then not...change them.

-Most students that go on mission trips will have to answer this question at least once before they leave: "is He calling me to missions?"

-It doesn't surprise me when students do stupid stuff. But, unfortunately, it does surprise me when they do amazing things. I'm praying that the Lord changes that in me.

-Twitter is a wonderful way to keep parents in the loop on some little things that happen through out the week.

-Hearing testimonies of young men who grow up in the "hood" selling drugs, getting kicked out of the house; and then turning it around and using the story of their life for God's glory to impact those kids, always gets me choked up.

Noteworthy

-The iPhone 3G launched today.  I'm not sold on an upgrade at this point.  I love my iPhone, but I'm not sure faster internet and GPS will entice me enough to throw down $200 dollars.

-I did however update my "old" iPhone with the 2.0 firmware.  Now I can get all sorts of free applications.  It's been fun.  Can you say "free light saber app"?

-Saw Hellboy 2 last night at the 12:01 showing.  It was kind of a last second thing.  I kept hearing good things about the movie.  I enjoyed it more than the few that went with me.  Not as good as Iron Man, but I thought it was as good as the Hulk (which I thought was really good).  Definitely better than Hancock, though (but I know that's not saying much).  

-JP spoke to our students Wednesday Night.  Loved having him back for a night.  Such a great guy.  Still miss him like crazy, but I know God has him where He wants him.

-I am now up for twitter.  I think this will be a fun experiment.  Get yourself an account and start following some people.  That sounded very stalker-ish, I know.

-We load up the vans tomorrow at 12 noon to head down to West Palm Beach where we will work with Urban Youth Impact.  For a week we will run back yard Bible clubs, assist them with neighborhood clean-ups and set-up for a "back-to-school" bash.  It's going to be a lot of fun, and I know some students will come back changed.

-We took 25 students down to the Frontliner's ministry Wednesday afternoon.  This is a ministry that up until a couple weeks ago I didn't even know existed.  Our students were able to pour their lives into some 7-10 year old kids.  It was a blast.  Look forward to partnering with them in the future.

"Buzz Spotters": Tracking the Trends of Youth

I ran across this article on the Sydney Morning Herald. They're reporting on a group that does world wide research on what teens are after and what they think is "in". A couple of the statistics are:
57% of teens prefer facebook to myspace
71% of teens prefer text messaging to IM
65% would rather use a Mac than a PC
93% of teens prefer Internet to TV
Nothing I read that's really all that surprising. One thing they did mention that made me say hmmm, is that 1 in 10 teens are happy with their tech gadgets. With the rate at which new tech gadgets come out, and the millions in marketing that are pumped into those products (which make you unhappy with your tech) it's no wonder how anyone could ever be satisfied with what they have. There's always the next model or the next upgrade waiting to be released before you can figure out how to turn on your phone. Crazy.

Summer Movie Poll

Are You Serious?

OK. Not many things shock me anymore. It takes quite a bit for something to really get a "wow" out of me. Well, ladies and gentlemen I had a "wow" moment this morning while reading the news. I keep a pretty close eye on all things "youth culture" and the name Heidi Montag might not mean much to you, but she's definitely a part of that "youth culture". She's part of the popular MTV semi-reality series The Hills. Now, months back I read quote by Heidi in one the "entertainment" mags that was on the grocery store racks. She was asked what book she couldn't do without. Her response? "I can't go a day without reading the Bible." Seriously? The reason I question this because if you watch The Hills she's repeatedly bleeped out for the language she's using. Not only that, she's living with her boyfriend who recently became her fiance. And she has a horrible music video on youtube that has her splashing around in the ocean in a barely there bikini. Like I said, nothing really shocks me anymore. But then I read this article. Get this. This article tells of Heidi's intentions to record a "christian" album! You heard me right. What the devil? Seriously? It also informs the reader that she has, "been religious since she was 2 years old." She refers to herself as "non-denominational baptist." Suffice it to say, I was pretty shocked by the announcement. Here's why I think this is important. Let's say she does what she says she wants to do. She records an album. The album is sold in Christian book stores. Students pick this CD up because she has name recognition. Students will at that point be listening to "christian" music, which fits into most of our lists of "music that is OK to listen to." This is why I think labeling music "christian" or "secular" is dangerous. We can't be mindless. We can't set our thoughts aside just because it fits into a certain label. We need to be discerning. Not all "secular" music is bad. A LOT of it is! But, not all. We have to test it. Question it. View it through the goggles of our christian worldview. Let's not be mindless Christians. I'll jump off my soap box now. Here's the deal, she's not living what most Evangelical Christians would say is a life that lines up with Jesus' teaching. So is she someone you would really want to represent Christ? I leave you to answer that. And I'm aware that she could come out and say that she's been stupid and let Hollywood direct her instead of the moral compass that Christ has given her. I can understand the allure of Hollywood and it's seductive ways, and I could look past all that she has done. But, she hasn't yet. And with that I say, keep a look out for her album in the next year or so. The point of this post being, "don't be mindless in what you listen to."

Favorite Movie of the Year

Don't get me wrong, I loved Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, and I thought the first half of Indy was truly amazing, but.....Wall-E has my heart. I'm not sure another movie can touch what Wall-E did. If you love Pixar movies, you've probably seen it. If you're indifferent to animated movies you NEED to see this film. Have you ever left a film that just makes you happy? This one will. The thing that is great about Wall-E is that kids will enjoy the humor, but years from now they'll revisit this gem of a movie and love it for different reasons. Kurt Loder from MTV says this about Wall-E,

"The picture is truly brilliant on several levels. The first half is virtually
wordless, and it has the spare, kinetic beauty of silent movies, tapping into pre-verbal pleasure centers we've half-forgotten we have. The characters' anthropomorphic qualities never lapse into simple-minded cuteness, but remain rooted in their mechanical nature. To watch WALL-E rubbing his clamps together in clinking concern is to be charmed beyond all resistance; and his marveling response to the vast, junk-free reaches of outer space makes your heart swell in sympathetic wonder. Pixar has once again burst the boundaries of the animation ghetto, creating a world so intricately worked-out, so ravishing, that we don't feel we're just watching it — we're visiting. And at the end, in that rarest of responses, we don't want to leave."

So do yourself a favor and get to the theatre and see this film. Don't walk....run.