1) Do something about my job situation, whether that means a new job and forget ministry all together, or do something to get into ministry.

2) Do more to care for our planet (i.e. recycling, conserving energy, etc.)

3) To live my life in light of these deep and profound words…

Little did I know when I posted this list last year that part of my first goal would be answered for me when I was laid off from the company that I had worked at for almost 15 years. Not too mention the fact that the owner of the company is my dad. That is how bad the economy is in Michigan.

After that happened my wife and I literally saw it as an answer to prayer. So we decided that my full-time job would be to find a job in the ministry as a youth pastor. Not long after that happened we were flown down to College Station, TX to interview with a church down there. That didn’t pan out for us but we had asked God all along during this almost 5 year process to close the doors we were not supposed to walk through and open the one we were. Almost 7 months after getting laid off we finally walked through that door and move down here to Liberty Township, OH so that I can take the job as youth pastor at The River Church.

I am so happy to take that one off of my list of goals.

My wife and I continue to recycle and we are hoping that we can encourage our church to do the same thing. It feels so good knowing that we are not being as wasteful and that we are doing our part to care for the planet that God has given us to care for.

Not only do I feel that this is something that I continually grow in, but I also am spreading that same message to the teenagers that God has given me the opportunity to pastor. I believe that if Christ-followers can grasp a hold of that concept that we will be able to have a greater impact in our country and world.

I had set three fitness last year as well….

1) To run a 10K.

2) To continue working towards competing in a mini-triathlon.

3) I plan on running in several more 5K’s again this year.

I ran in my first 10K when I ran in the Nike Human Race 10K, which was run by myself and then I uploaded my run to my Nike+ account. I then ran in my first 10K with a group of people on Thanksgiving Day when I participated in the 100th Annual Thanksgiving Day Race here in Cincinnati. My goal was to finish it under one hour and I did. I was very happy.

With the move down here I was not able to participate in the mini-triathlon like I had hoped to, but perhaps I will see about doing one this summer. The only problem will be trying to find a place to work on the swimming.

I did run in a couple of more 5K’s and hope to continue doing that. I am also hoping to help one of my youth pastor friends run in his first ever 5K.

Did you make resolutions or goals? If so, share some with me.

HT to Lars Rood.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:30a (eyes opened to alarm) 8:00a (physically got out of bed)

2. How do you like your steak? medium rare

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Night at the Museum 2

4. What is your favorite TV show? The Biggest Loser

5. What did you have for breakfast? scrambled eggs, toast & hash browns

6. What is your middle name? Douglas

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Thai, Chinese and Mexican

8. What foods do you dislike? mushrooms and beets

10. Favorite dressing? bleu cheese

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? Honda Accord or Toyota Camry

12. What are your favorite clothes? shorts, tank top and flip flops

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Hawaii or Australia

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? full

15. Where would you want to retire? FL, TX, AZ or CA

16. Favorite time of day? Evening

17. Where were you born? Warren, MI

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? University of Michigan (anything) and Detroit Red Wings

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? no clue

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? no idea

21. Pepsi or Coke? Pepsi Throwback

22. Bird watcher? sometimes, but I prefer people watching

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? night

24. Do you have any pets? yes, a dog and a bird

25. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share? nothing at the moment

26. Who did you want to be when you were little? Mack truck driver

27. What is your best childhood memory? going to Manistee, MI every year for the 4th of July Forest Festival

28. Are you a cat person or a dog person? dog (cat’s are the spawn of Satan)

29. Beer or Margarita? both

30. Always wear your seat belt? yep

31. Been in a car accident? yes

32. Favorite Restaurant? Taco Loco, Pizza Rustica, and Bangkok Cuisine

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? the stuff on the Rustica at Pizza Rustica

34. Favorite Flower? lilac & hyacinth

35. Favorite ice cream? bubble gum at House of Flavors

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Subway

37. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? never

38. From whom did you get your last email? a church in Texas telling me that I did not make their first cut

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Apple

40. Bedtime? 11:30p to midnight

41. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? everyone’s

42. Broccoli? No

43. What was your favorite vacation? Fort Walton Beach, FL with my wife and kids, and aboard the Pacific Catalyst around the San Juan Islands with my wife and some friends

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Kimmy and Caleb

45. What are you listening to right now? NASCAR

46. What is your favorite color? blue

47. How many tattoos do you have? 2

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? no idea, but more than one

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 5:02p

50. Coffee drinker? yes, but usually decaf lately (Caribou Coffee)

The 411:

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool!

Opening Credits: How Do I Love Her — Steven Curtis Chapman

Waking Up: Seinfeld Theme Song — Seinfeld

First Day At School: It’s A Personal Thing — Steve Taylor

Falling In Love: Drift Away — Uncle Kracker

Fight Song: With Hope — Steven Curtis Chapman

Breaking Up: Jenni’s Face — Sarah Masen

Prom: Solamente Una Vez — Los Panchos (Napoleon Dynamite Soundtrack)

Life: You Are God — The Burning

Mental Breakdown: Merry-Go-Round — Motley Crue

Driving: Your Racist Friend — They Might Be Giants

Flashback: Memory — Back From Nowhere

Getting Back Together: It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas — Dionne Warwick

Wedding: Didn’t I Get This Last Year — Bob Rivers Comedy Corp

Birth of Child: Design — Fiction Company (Napoleon Dynamite Soundtrack)

Final Battle: We’re A Couple Of Misfits — The Silver and Gold Singers

Death Scene: Above All — Rebecca St. James

Funeral Song: Sapphire Bullets Of Love — They Might Be Giants

Remembrance Song: I’m No Superman — The Violet Burning

End Credits: Flow — Mars Hill Music

I am shocked that not one single Metallica song came up.

—————————
I tag Angie, Chris, Lisabeth, Dave and Barb.

Routine…
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill – beer or pop in hand.
(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.

Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.

More routine…
(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer or pop while he flips the meat.

Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.

More routine…
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.
(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed ‘ her night off ‘, and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there’s just no pleasing some women.

Now don’t start getting all angry at me. A friend sent me this email and it was too good to not post. So just laugh.

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
My home mortgage, because I am paying on a home that is 1/3 less than when we bought it. I feel like I am just throwing away my money.

2. Do you miss being a child?
I still act immature enough to not miss it, but I do miss being in high school.

3. Chore you hate the most?
Shoveling snow. I am so sick of winter.

4. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
Red Robin. Our last attempt at a date didn’t happen, because my daughter became ill.

5. If you could go back and change one thing what would it be?
Over using credit cards when we were first married.

6. Name of your first grade teacher?
Mrs. Zawislak (sp?), I think? It was about 30 years ago.

7. What do you really want to be doing right now?
Living someplace that has no snow ever.

8. What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a Mack truck driver.

9. How many colleges did you attend?
1 – Elim Bible Institute

10. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
It is one of my running shirts and I am going to go for a run after this.

11. What are your thoughts on gas prices?
I don’t like the high prices, so I sold my Jeep Wrangler a few years back and bought a more fuel efficient car. I say let the prices keep going up, especially if it is going to force more people to start getting more fuel efficient cars so we emit less pollutants into the air.

12. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
I need to get my wife up, so she can go to work.

13. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
I hope I can get a job as a youth pastor soon.

14. What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
I have a couple: Bo Schembechler (sadly, I can’t because he is dead), Doug Fields, Donald Miller, Erwin McManus, and Rob Bell

15. Have you ever crashed your vehicle?
Nope.

16. If you didn’t have to work, would you volunteer?
Heck yeah! I have been doing a lot more stuff at my church since I have been an unemployed bum.

17. Get up early or sleep in?
Sleep in. I prefer the night life.

18. What is your favorite cartoon character?
SpongeBob Squarepants

19. Favorite thing to do at night with a guy/girl?
I am married, so you can guess.

20. When did you first start feeling old (but never too old for this $#!@)?
I don’t. I actually feel like I am in the best shape of my life. I run all the time, work out and I am hoping to compete in a mini-triathlon this year.

21. Favorite lunch meat?
Turkey

22. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart?
Vitamins, Kashi cereal, or rice milk.

23. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
No way! Marriage is great.

24. Favorite movie you wouldn’t want anyone to find out about?
I really don’t care and I tell people that “Somewhere in Time” is my favorite movie all the time. Yes, it is a chick flick. That is how I roll.

25. What’s your favorite drink?
New Castle Brown Ale and water, but not mixed together.

26. What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now?
96.3 WDVD, but I mainly listen to podcasts from different churches Sunday services. Yes, I know that makes me a nerd. Sadly, my iPod that I have had for almost 5 years has died, so I am taking donations from anyone who want to help me buy a new one.

27. Do you like the person that sits directly across from you at work?
I don’t have a job.

28. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purposes?
Nope.

29. Last book you finished reading?
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan

30. Do you have a teddy bear?
Yes, my Aunt Diana made it for me and then made another one just like it when my daughter was born. Mine is made from green corduroy and my wife entered it into an ugly bear competition when we were first married.

31. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?
Over a campfire.

32. Do you go to church?
Yes. Church may not be perfect, but neither are any of us.

33. How old are you?
36

HT to Len.