cell phone funeral ?

so we're at darien lake the other day - just shanna and I on our day off...second ride of the day and something goes terribly wrong. it's the mind eraser - the coaster where you're feet get to dangle over water and lots of soggy grass. started the coaster with my cell phone firmly secured in a side pocket...or so I thought. i even made sure the phone was wedged between my leg and the seat. but then, i got into it. arms waving, legs flailing. oh yeah. and when the ride was done, the phone was gone!

we spent hours looking for it, calling it, listening to the rings...then voicemail. we filed a report. then at the end of the day we called it again and it went straight to voicemail. we could finally put to rest the wondering and hoping...it was dead, very dead. probably laid to rest in the bottom of the lake.

later that night i'm left thinking...
- 10 years ago this wouldn't have been a big deal
- i've been spoiled with that thing and i really want it back
- it's amazing how much MORE cell phones are used now (voice conversations is just one of MANY uses)
- it's just a piece of metal (there are more valuable things that could have fallen off)
- luke 15 means a whole lot more to me now as i'm reminded how intensely God searches for us
- what a stupid rollercoaster...

healthy competition???

After this week, I've discovered an extreme competitiveness between Alaina and Cory in regards to MONOPOLY! We played TWO games during Alaina's stay! Neither of them were very pretty! The first night we started playing and finally postponed the game at midnight... Cory had to take pictures of the board from every angle and record the number of bills, properties, etc. he possesed. We resumed the game the next day... Alaina and I joined forces against Cory. However, he likes to be "nice" and make deals - which in turn drags the game on endlessly and makes everyone miserable! Finally, we forfeited. As a result - yes, CORY WON! Thankfully, the monopoly game has been put away - hopefully for a good long while!

random stuff

well here it is on saturday evening. shanna's sister alaina has been visiting this week and right now the two of them are watching some chick flick that's absolutely boring me to death...something about a king of england and two sisters...and a whole lot of depressing orchestral music. all i can say...thank goodness for jack bauer and 24...
some random happenings and thoughts from this week:
1) stole an idea from a friend (i would link to his blog here, but he's yet to get with the times) and used it at youth group on thursday night - we asked the teens which race is more important - obama vs. mccain or kobe vs. garnett...no doubt the nba finals came out on top of that poll. personally, i would rather stay up all night listening to political analysts talk about the electoral college than watch 7 games of pro basketball...but i'm trying...
2) had to put gas in the car this morning before the day's events, and tragically ended up spending shanna's entire shoe budget for the rest of the year.
3) discovered that a really good way to break in a new bible is to accidentally leave it out in the pouring rain...then just hang it on a clothesline to dry...a few hours later and the new, crisp feeling is gone.
4) shanna and i have successfully gone over 3 years on only one car...and are quickly finding that those days will need to come to an end soon. but...i'm a little nervous because i'm not the best at keeping one up! currently our a/c is busted, the horn has been out of commission for a while now, and i guess i have a brake light out (so the guy behind me tells me). maybe i'll do a lesson on the value of service to our senior highers...
5) overwhelmed with the urgency of the times that we live in - even in the new testament you find people expecting christ's return during their lifetime...and yet i have to believe we're a tad bit closer today. today there are hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, wildfires, floods, terrorist attacks, wars, famines, and rampant disease...all in the same news cast. i don't want to be wasting my time, and i have been getting so fed up with all the little petty discussions and arguments that we christians seem to constantly find ourselves in...when our window of opportunity may be closing more rapidly than we realize...

the bucket list

just finished watching the bucket list - we wanted to see it when it was out in the theatres but just missed it at the tail end. great movie and very thought provoking to ponder what i would do if i knew i only had _____ to live. lakeshore did a whole series on this concept around Easter and it opened up lots of great discussion for our people...but i guess it didn't faze me fully until i watched the movie. when asked whether or not they would want to know the date of their death, 96% of people say no. i'd probably be in the majority on that one...but i'm left here hoping that my life wouldn't be lived any different than if i was in the 4% category...

my last post had a couple errors in it now that i look at it. the video can be found here, along with the rest of the message...this time WITH sound.

10 JUNE 2008

When we went to Pittsburgh for Grant's grad party, Mom & I went to Elmer's and walked away with tons of flowers. I planted a bunch for our balcony... I love flowers. Last night we were in Auburn and drove past our Liberty Street house. My flowers are all coming up and looking beautiful. The lady that owns the house now has made it look so good. I'm glad. I can't wait to own a home again and create beauty from dirt and seeds (or little green starters).