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losing innocence

Matthew almost made it through first grade without getting into any major trouble at school. Almost. His sweet first grade teacher had the unpleasant task of sending me an email today, explaining that Matthew had...how can I say this?.....dropped the F-bomb on the playground. Of course, he said that he heard it from another child on the playground. He certainly didn't hear it at home!

He said he didn't know that it was a 'guss' word and didn't even know what it meant. Of course not. His spelling and vocabulary words don't consist of guss words. They aren't part of any curriculum that I am aware of. So, how would he know? Someone would have to introduce it to him. In this case, it was a conversation under the slide that would take my son one step away from his innocence. And that is the saddest part.

Although I gave him the what-for, I couldn't be angry at him. He was so ashamed and confused and remorseful. I forgave him before I even heard his side of the story. It's easy to forgive someone when you love them so much. Isn't it?

keep the main thing the main thing

I know it must seem that I am obsessed with Chick-fil-a, considering the numerous times I have mentioned it on this blog. But they have the most clever marketing in the world, in my opinion. And I can't help but talk about it.

Tonight, I saw the above card on my table. Check it out: It is a memo from the boss, with a list of the company's agenda. Funny thing that the list ends at number 1...You eat chikin stripz.

What is so great about this is that the company's LEADER shares the VISION and keeps the MAIN THING the MAIN THING... to get people to eat chicken. There is no top ten list. No cheesy acronyms. Just a short, concise statement of purpose. Period.

How about your workplace? If your boss presented the company's one point agenda, what would it be?

cancer sucks...can i say that?

My family and some friends went to the Augusta Relay for Life last night to support our friend Melanie, who is a cancer survivor. Yesterday she received results from medical testing that her cancer has returned, so we had to go hug on her. She has a positive outlook and said that with friends like us, she doesn't have to worry because we will do it for her.

Relay for Life is just an incredible event, full of community, laughter and tears, victory and remembrance. The survivor walk is very humbling as an army of people of all ages walk together to celebrate life!

When we got home, I watched Farrah's Story...a two hour documentary of Farrah Fawcett's struggle with cancer. And as I was trying to go to sleep, I had an image in my mind of Melanie's button she was wearing on her survivor t-shirt last night. Two words...CANCER SUCKS.

That pretty much sums it up.

the hot seat with matt ames

Ever wonder who is the face behind the Facebook group for TrueNorth Church? Matt Ames is no stranger to social networking. He is Mr. Facebook, he is a Twitterer and a super blogger! Check out his mad blogging skillz at www.mattames.wordpress.com.

Matt, how do you think Facebook is enhancing the community of TrueNorth Church?
Like social media as a whole, it gives people a place to express their thoughts and get further connected. It makes news and announcements more dialogue than monologue. When a status update or story is posted, it shows up in people's news feeds with the opportunity for instant feedback, or to find what others think. That's hard to do in an organization of any size, so it's been great watching people take to it.

What do you think about your MOM having a Facebook account? I see that she is trying to hook you up.
HA! Moms are good like that. I'm okay with it. Not only has more family joined Facebook, but it also gives us a chance to learn more about each other. I think when I say something on Facebook, she can see how much it is a part of my life. It helps eliminate that "Geeze, Mom! Take an interest!" feel. The other good thing is we can chat from the other room. It cuts back on that whole getting up and walking thing. What's the deal with that anyway?

By following your Facebook statuses, it appears that you sleep all day while we work all day. What kind of job do you have that keeps you up all night?
I get the sun ready to come out in the mornings. I'm usually pretty spent from that by dawn, so I go right to sleep. Actually, I work overnights doing production work for radio stations. Although that isn't the same as getting the sun ready, I do make sure people are ready to wake up to some of their favorite morning shows and get their day started. In that sense, I suppose you can call me a radio barista. I don't make their coffee, but I do give them a double-shot of their favorite personalities. Yeah, that might have been a little corny. That's why they put me in a building by myself most of the night!

What are the challenges you face with blogging?
I try to blog at least once every weekday. A challenge I face with that sometimes is keeping things fresh. It's also more difficult for me to get as much feedback on a blog versus writing a "note" on Facebook. However, these are small in comparison to the biggest challenge of taking yourself too seriously. Personal blogs should be enjoyable and not another task on the agenda. Write every day. Write once a week. Write twice a year even. Write your thoughts on God, or your thoughts on dogs. Just be you. That's who your were designed to be. People will catch on to that.

Do you Twitter? Convince me that I should Twitter too.
Yes. I Twitter. I'm on my second account, actually. The first time I was on Twitter, I left because it just wasn't clicking. I decided it was worth another shot, and it turns out I took to it more the second time around. Should you Twitter? That's up to you. It's funny. I read a lot on the Internet about how people should Twitter, should blog, should this, should that. Dude, it's the Internet. Aside from returning your boss' emails, the only thing you should be doing is having fun with it. And if you're wanting to use the Internet to reach people, do it in a way that works for you. Just because something's the hot new thing doesn't mean it's your recipe for success.

Can I get up now? This chair is starting to burn!

it's ridiculous

Once again I have become a victim of identity theft. Someone has apparently had a spending spree, compliments of my debit card, which has not left my possession. My debit card hasn't had this much fun in a long time! My bank will file the claims and I have already gotten my money back. But the absolute worst part of the whole deal is that I have to wait for a new debit card.

[GASP!]

My first thoughts were "What if I have to get gas?" and "How am I going to pay for groceries?" Somebody has swiped my swiper and I am actually going to have to WRITE CHECKS or use CASH? This is SOOO inconvenient!

Isn't it ridiculous how spoiled we can be?

don't miss this!

Plans were being made in early March for the current series, What Might Jesus Say, at TrueNorth Church. Each week we will be addressing what Jesus might say to specific influencers of modern day culture. In the initial planning, it was a challenge to identify exactly which media figure we would use. We wanted to make sure we stayed current by not using someone whose influence may fizzle during the course of the planning and the timespan of the series. What if, in the next month or so, someone should hit the spotlight and inspire a life-changing message?

Someone did.

Carrie Prejean, the current Miss California and the first runner up in the recent Miss USA pageant, will be the inspiration for Steve's message this Sunday. Read about her story here. We have had to do some creative rescheduling to make room for this amazing testimony of faith by Miss California.

This is just another reminder that you can't plan a move of God. But you better be ready for it. We had to change our plans this week so God could change some hearts in His perfect timing.