i can not believe the incompetence of that officiating crew at the alamo bowl! to quote the announcers….
“the incompetence of the replay officials”
“this is the worst offciating, i have ever seen”
and then to not call a penalty on the nebraska team at the end there, when they were all on the field before the game was done? waht a joke! oh well, it goes in the record books as a loss!
today is the great traditional alamo bowl! NOT!!!! but it is the bowl that michigan got invited to, so i will be watching it! back in 1997 there was a controversy over who won the national championship because these two teams shared it, even though michigan won 5 of the 6 national championship trophies that are handed out. so could this be the game that settles that argument? i don’t think so, but it makes for a great side story.
On the right I have a little thing from Heartlight that puts an inspirational quote up and today’s quote was really cool. It really speaks to where I am right now.
“All I know is that I am a product of God and all I can do is the best I can to thank Him and honor Him and try to grow in Him, step by step.”
—Bob Smith
And I had also read a friend of mine’s blog and what she had to say really spoke to me as well. Her and her husband are in a similar boat to Kimmy and I.
Yesterday we got our first snowstorm of this winter season. About 6-8 inches of the “fluffy white spawn of satan” fell. I posted these pictures here so that my friend, KT, who lives in California and wants cold and snow for winter. God only knows why! LOL KT, turn up the A/C and enjoy the pics!
This next picture is of my neighbor’s house, who is across the street, and their Christmas lights with the snow. I thought it looked pretty. Unfortunately the picture doesn’t really do it justice.
This last picture was from thsi morning. It was daylight out and the moon was still up and shining. It was very pretty!
On Sunday, 4 December 2005 (just two days after my 10 year anniversary), I had the privelege of taking my daughter to her school’s annual Daddy/Daughter Dance! And what an honor it was. Here are some pics from that wonderful day.
There is my beautiful date!
And what girl doesn’t get her hair done up all fancy for dances? Kimmy did her hair.
Here is a perfect example of beauty and the beast!
Here is the full dress pose….
And when we went to the dance they had a tiara for every princess and they called them that all night long 
. We also got a professional picture taken (it was included with the ticket) that I will post here when we get it!
I found out a church in my area is looking for a pastor to students and so I sent them my resume and on Sunday we went and visited the church. Turns out I know the SP from being at some different area pastor’s meetings. So tomorrow I will be meeting with him and the Executive Pastor. They are looking to get someone pretty quick. So pray that if it is God’s will things will work out. Thanks!
This is a pic of people who have visited my blog and one particular country has someone who has visited my blog!
Pretty cool huh, Derek?
Yesterday was my 10 year wedding anniversary!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!! 
I can not believe that I have been married for ten years and that Kimmy
has put up with me for all ten!
My parents surprised us on Thursday with a nice anniversary gift. A free trip to Valley Plaza Resort in Midland, MI!
It was very nice and the best part about it…. NO KIDS!!!! 
My sister took them for the night, so we were able to relax and have fun!
I am so grateful t my wonderful wife for loving me all these years, putting up with me and just being there! I LOVE YOU, KIMMY!!!!
While I was out hunting I was doing a lot of thinking and praying. Mainly about what the heck is going on with my situation and why it has taken so long to find another pastor to students position. I even thought that maybe what God wants me to do is start my own church like a couple of my friends in student ministry are doing. (Nick & Jon) But then I thought about a couple of things. The first being that I do NOT want to be a senior pastor and work with adults. They are BORING and students are so much cooler. Not to mention adults are so stuck in their ruts that it is hard to motivate them. And along with all of that, it is not what God called me to, so I would fail miserably.
The second thing I thought about was that I don’t want to be a part of the problem, but to be a part of the solution. What does that mean you ask? Well, a pasotr friend of mine says all the time that we need more churches in this area and I completely disagree. We do NOT need more churches, we need BETTER churches. Because most of the churches in this area suck! Don’t get me wrong many of them are DOING great things, but they are horrible at BEING the church in their community.
Let me explain this further…. I know of churches that do some really cool outreaches in the community, or are part of their local chamber of commerce, or have some really good worship services that reach out to non-believers as well as believers, etc. But the problem is this, they are just DOING these things, like they are some kind of a gimmick that will make them grow in numbers. You can DO some really cool outreaches, but if you are not BEING the source of hope and light to them, what good are you really doing? You can be a part of the local chamber of commerce and set up a booth or attend their annual banquet, but if you are not BEING a source of help to them and the community, what good are you doing? You can DO a seeker-friendly service, but if you are not BEING a church to them, what good are you doing?
It is not enough to DO things, but it is time to BE that thing that is needed. I am sick of churches not BEING churches. Instead they put together all these flashy things to attract people and just DO church. The flashy things are not bad or even wrong, but it is the heart behind it. That is what it means to BE the church, it means that your heart is there to minister to and touch lives and not just DO church. You can have horrible music, a lousy sermon, uncomfortable seats, but if you are touching the lives of people (i.e. BEING the church) you will grow. It goes back to the old saying of people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care!
I for one have decided that I want to get into a church and help it to start BEING the church and stop DOING church. So no announcement from me about the latest church being started up here. Just news that I am more determined then ever to be a part of the solution and not the problem. Let’s get out there and BE all the we can be!
