Like Ninjas?

(LIST)

• I'm sorry, but Louisiana grosses me out.
  
  
• Why does the pay-at-the-pump never work for me when I'm on vacation?
  
  
• And why is there always some elaborate fix that I have to perform? The lady at the register is all, "Okay, go back out there and punch CANCEL, then PAY INSIDE, then pump your gas, then press CANCEL ENTER 9. Then come back in and get your card back."
  
  
• Drove past a random cop on standing on the side of the road pointing the radar gun at us. Man, I hope somebody's making him do that. 'Cause if you're out there on your own, your life is pretty sad.
  
  
• Decided to give the show DARK BLUE a shot. I'm going to give it a few weeks, but man, the dialogue is forced.
  
  
• Other TV news...Hell's Kitchen is already back on? HEAVENS YES!
  
  
• Bee Movie is still a funny movie.
  
  
• Vacation highlights that I wasn't able to vlog: my wife's spot-on Garth Brooks impersonation and watching her have two laughing attacks in one week!
  

I'M ON VACATION!
There's a beach.
There's wifi.
And I can smell bacon cooking in the kitchen.

Every good and perfect gift...

linky...

• Glen Packiam's new book. Can't say enough about it. Loving it - good solid theology and a really fast read!
  
  
• Funny, mashed up video that highlights some of the worst hair in contemporary Christian music. Anybody remember DeGarmo and Key?
  
  
• Awkward family photos. Is there a better site on the internet?
  
  
• New site that I keep hearing about? You guys know anything about this?
  
  
• Subscribe to this YouTube channel. Great interviews and performances.
  

ben's music game...

While Ben Love and I were trapped in the BWI airport, he came up with a really cool game.

Basically, it works like this:

You and a friend decide on a band. You think for a few minutes about that band and then try to come with movies that have some of those same qualities. It's a really fun game - trying to find things similar in both music and film. You can switch up and go with movies first...either way, you're bound to get some good conversation!

I'll be running a whole movie/band game this week on twitter. Hope you'll check it out.

(LIST) Air Travel

• Why do I always sit next to the woman who ordered the breakfast burrito w/ extra spicy sauce and hides it in her bag until we get to cruising altitude?
  
  
• Flight delays lead to bad decisions...like ordering that Wendy’s “Baconator” twenty minutes before takeoff.
  
  
• Once you get to ride in a plane that’s not fully packed with people...you are spoiled forever.
  
  
• People wear weird things in the airport...my theory is that anybody who dresses ridiculous should understand that their wardrobe immediately qualifies them to be asked for a picture.
  
  
• Why does every male flight attendant sound the same?
  
  
• On my last flight, I saw a soldier get patted down by TSA. That seem wrong to anybody else?
  
  
• I love it when the airline checkout clerks are kind. You know...on the 1/1,000,000 chance that it happens.

Five Shows You'll Enjoy

I wish somebody would have pulled me aside before Jonah was born and said something like this:
"You're about to watch a lot of silly TV, my friend."

As most parents know...you end up seeing some silly stuff once kids start showing up.
Some of it you hate, some of it you don't understand,
and some of it - you start to love.

So, for this week's Friday Five, I'm sharing "Five Kid Shows That You Would Probably Enjoy."
Feel free to add your own suggestions to the list!

#1. PHINEAS AND FERB
Let's make a list...
A show about 2 step-brothers who sincerely create massive projects during summer with no thought of financial gain or worldly success?
CHECK.
A sister determined to "bust" her brothers and yet constantly fails?
OH YES.
A great, punk theme song?
EXCELLENT.
If you haven't watched this show, you've gotta' check it out.
You're going to love these brothers!

#2.THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR
It doesn't matter if you liked the Madagascar movies or not...somebody at HQ has created a genius show. Your kids will love King Julien, but the covert-op-1940-dialogue-spouting penguins are what wins parents.
This show is ridiculous and zany, complete with some great one-liners that often get missed among all the slapstick stuff on the show. Go ahead and watch it...everybody deserves a little silliness now and then, right?

#3. LEAGUE OF SUPER EVIL
Everybody loves villains, but these three fumbling bad guys (and their pet, "Doomageddon,") are so inept at being bad, you actually WANT them to succeed.
Moms and Dads will love "leader" Voltar's evil quips and maniacal laughs...this guy wants to be bad so badly and it's great fun watching him fail.

#4. IMAGINATION MOVERS
This show has fantastic music, great lead characters and does a great job of balancing the silly stuff with the educational. Supporting characters are done well, too..."Uncle Knit Knots" is a really creative that my kids really dig.
This show will suck you in...you'll think you're just casually watching and then somebody will change the channel on you and you'll scream like an infant.
Probably.

#5. AMERICA'S FUNNIEST VIDEOS
Say what you will about LOST or NYPD Blue...the dude who thought up AFV is a genius.
You will not find a kid on this planet who dislikes this show.
What's not to love, parents?
You sit in a living room with your kids and laugh for 44 minutes?
Don't act like you don't love it, Moms and Dads.

Okay, parents...
What other kid shows do you secretly (or not-so-secretly) enjoy watching?

Interview w/ Ben Love...

Interview with Ben Love, bass player for the TWB, 9:20pm EST.

#1. Benjamin, congratulations on your new marriage.
"Thank you, very much. I can't believe it."

#2. This is the second time you've played with TWB. The first gig was horrible...how's this one turning out?
"Slightly better...because I have new equipment. That's about it."

#3. You're also a founding member of the rock band, Clairmont. Where can folks find Clairmont's music.
"At clairmontonline.com or myspace.com/clairmont."

#4. Favorite song we've played this week?
"Forever Faithful."

#5. Thoughts on your bandmates?
"Adam's cute and funny. Romack's cuter and funnier. Todd's cutest and funniest."

#6. Are you concerned at how awkward this interview has turned out?
"Actually, yes. I wouldn't mind if you would ask me a question about my marriage."

Interview w/ Justin Romack

Interview with Justin Romack, drummer for the TWB, 9:23pm EST.

#1. Are you concerned that owning an iPhone is going to turn you into a jerk?
"Concerned? No. Anticipating? YES."

#2. You're one of the most experienced members of the TWB. What has been your guiding philosophy, lo these many years?
"Hold up...wait a minute...put a little Romack in it."

#3. Is it safe to say that you have a non-sexual crush on Adam Fischer?
"Who doesn't?"

#4. You're playing this week with only snare and floor tom. You're doing a great job. Are you enjoying that setup?
"Mmmmm...yes, I'm enjoying it because there's less blocking me from being in the spotlight. They can now see my ripped body."

#5. Favorite song of tonight (Tuesday)?
"Forever Faithful was the jam. I'm not gonna' lie."

#6. Thank you, Justin for your time.
Justin did not answer. He immediately began playing with his iphone.

Interview w/ Adam Fischer...

Interview w/ Adam Fischer, guitarist for the TWB. Tuesday, 1:00pm Eastern.

#1. How is camp going?
"I'd say...strong. Um...kids are...kids are getting into today more than yesterday. Sound is okay."

#2. Are you jamming?
YES. The end.

#3. Who's the coolest guy in the band?
"Romack, obviously has good style. He's classy, you know? Ben, on the other hand, cute and funny. And Todd...well...you know Todd."

#4. Funniest thing to happen so far?
"Random yawn from a dude after worship."

#5. Thank you, Adam, for your answers.
"You're welcome, Todd. Can I take a nap now?"

Here I am sitting in the Tyler-Pounds Regional Airport.

Having never flown out of here before, I opted to come as early as I could to get the lay of the land.

I ended up being really early, but I think I beat some of the July 4th traffic, which is nice.

From here, it's DFW. I fly out of Dallas at 7pm and arrive in Baltimore at 11 (their time.) It'll be 10pm to my body...so booyah time zone.

I'm excited about camp...I've made some tentative sets, but half the fun of camp is thinking/watching/praying about what direction to take once you get there.

I'll try to keep everybody posted on my whereabouts! Especially you, Kristen!

Thank You, Internet

On Monday, I'll here in this town at this school leading worship for this church. I'm excited about it. I love worshipping with the kids at this church and I keep looking at the map to see if we can go see some cool historical sites in between our sets.

I was telling Jonah and Finley that I'll be going far away for the week, 

so I decided to see what Google Maps had to say about overall mileage travelled.  

They thought it was cool, and then I noticed that Google Maps lets you choose your travel mode and had a "walking" category. So I click the "walking" button, laughed with the kids about me walking for 18 days to get there and then I saw this:

Thanks for looking out, Google. You guys think of everything.

Friday Five...Awkward Edition

For this week's edition of "Friday Five," I'm going to share 5 names. These are five people that I would make very uncomfortable...should I ever meet them.

THE EDGE
Meeting The Edge would be weird because I'd probably try way too hard to let the Edge know just "how big" of a fan I am. As if he doesn't have that conversation enough...then I'd try to talk like some sort of U2 insider and he'd be all "Bye, dude" and then I'd be so ashamed.

PAUL BALOCHE
Okay. I feel fairly certain that one day - eventually - I'll get the chance to meet Paul Baloche. It's only a matter of time, given where I'm living now. This is a tricky one. When I was 14-years old, I desperately wanted to play guitar and lead worship...but I couldn't. It was at a local church "worship seminar" where I first saw Paul and took a beginner guitar class with him during one of the breakout sessions. That class launched me into worship leading - I learned just a few simple things that set me on the path to learning my instrument and the art of writing and leading worship. It was a big deal..I'd love to tell him thanks.
Which will be hard if I happen to meet in a Starbucks bathroom or something.

THE BLOGGESS
I'm by no means one of the Bloggess' lead stalkers. Just a few scrolls down her page will reveal that there are people much more in love with her than me. But I think the meeting would be awkward because I'd have very little to actualy "say." (Think Chris Farley interviewing all those celebrities on SNL..."Yeah, that was awesome.")

STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN
Paul Baloche may have set me on the path to worship, but it was Steven Curtis Chapman who delivered me from southern gospel music.
My parents were big southern gospel fans. We listened to a lot of it. And as a kid with some musical talent, any of my musical dreams seemed to land in that genre.
But when I heard the "More To This Life" record, all that changed.
Lots of people have that one artist who awakened them to the power of music of faith being done well...Chapman was mine.
My thanks and respect for this guy is almost too big for words. I think I'd have a hard time expressing that should we ever meet.

ROLAND DESCHAIN
The weirdest part of meeting Roland Deschain would be the realization that I'm either dead or somehow transported into the world of nightmares.

So...who are your Friday Five Awkward Meetings?
What sort of fool would you make of yourself?

10 THINGS...

We're about half-way through "youth camp" season, so I thought it might be fun to talk about some common youth camp experiences.

Granted, my list is coming from two viewpoints. First, as a guy who went to a lot of youth camps (quite a few years ago, however.) Secondly, I'm coming from the perspective of a worship leader who sometimes leads worship at youth camp. I'd love to know your list!

1. THE HOOKUP
Somebody's gonna' get a girlfriend at camp, right? The hookup is just a natural part of a week dedicated to spending time with God. Why? 'Cause everybody looks spiritual at camp. Either that or they look like a rebel. Either way, it's good for finding a significant other. At least for a week.

2. ACCIDENTALLY EATING WITH THE BAND
For most worship bands, this is a given: when choosing between camp cafeteria food and going out to eat at a restaurant, every band you've ever seen is going to want to go out. In fact, if you do see the band in the cafeteria, that means one of two possible things has happened. First, the band ran out of time and can't make it to the restaurant and get back in time. Or, as a second, more rare but cooler reason, the band has chosen to hang out with students. (There's a third reason, too...the band is too poor to eat out everyday.)

One thing that's bound to happen in camp is that some kids are going to be lucky enough to be at a table where the band is going to sit and eat. This will be cool for about five minutes...then the rest of the kids will crowd the table and it'll get weird.

3. EXHAUSTION WORSHIP
Leading worship in a room full of kids who are completely exhausted is always a strange thing. Take 100 kids who have been driven to their physical limit in 100 degree heat, then shower them, load them up with carbohydrates and stick them in a cold, dark room with music playing. It's weird...some kids are wiped out, while others find themselves delirious with fatigue and getting crazier in worship than they ever thought possible.

4. WOODERSON SYNDROME
In the movie Dazed and Confused, there's a guy by the name of Wooderson. He the 19-year old high school graduate who still trolls for high school girls. It's sad and weird and funny...because we all know guys like that.

At camp, you'll most likely see this in the "rec team." You know, those college kids who have been hired to create a little worship exhaustion in the kids? Yeah...some of those rec guys need to slow their roll with the high school sophmores, don't you think?

5. COMING BACK MAD
This is my favorite part of camp. Because it was my LIFE every summer. One thing that's almost a given is that your students will get so super-charged by the worship at camp that they'll come back furious at your current worship leader. Your church's coolest songs are nothing compared to that rib-rattling, four-on-the-floor, delay drenched chorus. Try having your organist make that happen.

I can't tell you how many summers I spent mad at the worship leader because he just wasn't cool enough. I regret that now. (And hope it doesn't happen too often to me as the old guy leading worship now!)

6. BUYER'S REMORSE
This has happened to so many of us.

It might be with the band or the comedy team or the plethora of camp pins, buttons and t-shirts.

You get all into camp and you buy that CD or DVD...you're pumped. This camp is so awesome!

Then you get home and a few weeks later you notice the DVD skips a little bit or the band sounded way better live. Or the camp t-shirt isn't near as funny once your home among people wearing normal human wardrobes.

Buyer's remorse...youth camp style.

7. INJURY
Somebody's gonna' get hurt. Probably one of the athletic guys. Probably during recreation. He'll either sit in the nurse's office for an afternoon or maybe - just maybe - go to the hospital. It's horrible for him, his parents and the youth pastors, but it sets camp ablaze with drama, doesn't it. Plan on his girlfriend crying a lot, too.

8. PSEUDO-INJURY
Somebody's gonna' fake getting hurt. This will be the guy or girl who really isn't feeling the whole "go-outside-and-sweat" thing. They'll spend an afternoon in the nurse's office and possibly score a sling or a pair of crutches. Expect them to milk that all freaking week. Or should I say, "weak?"

9. SHOWER DRAMA
Show dram is hard, kids. It really comes in three forms.

First off...middle school boys who don't want to shower in front of each other. (Or maybe even shower at all.)

Secondly...teenage girls taking four showers a day to beat the heat.

Third...somebody overhearing somebody else talking about somebody in the next stall over.

Ain't no drama like camp shower drama.

10. TEARS
Oh, yes...there will be tears.

And probably on Thursday night.

So, what did I miss? What's bound to happen at youth camp?