Heading back to Ottumwa!

Here in about 45 minutes I'm going to speak with the parents of all the kids that have been at camp this week. As soon as I'm done with that, I'm getting in the car and heading for none other than Ottumwa, IA! So pumped to see everyone again and hopefully we'll all get to connect at least for a little bit. 

See you soon!

A Franciscan Benediction

My friend Kara quoted this prayer in her blog and I loved it. So I stole it. 

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice freedom and peace. 

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen.

qtd. in Yancey's Prayer

4 Nights down-one to go

Tonight is my last service at Rivercrest Camp here in Fremont, NE. I was a little bit nervous coming in because I have never spoke to kids this youth (5th and 6th graders.) But, it's really been fun! The theme for this week's camp was "Revolution" and how when we experience God's revolutionary love it begins to revolutionize our lives. Here is a run-down of what I've talked about each night:

Monday: God's love for us compelled Him to die for us

Tuesday: God's love for us will never stop/we need to respond to God's love

Wednesday: God's love prompts us to love Him and we turn away from sin

Thursday: God's love for us prompts us to love and serve those around us

Friday: God's love will go with us wherever we go

Good, good times this week. Got to meet some really great folks and I hope to come back here sometime soon. Tomorrow I'm headed to Ottumwa, IA to lead worship for Camp Meeting. I'll also be speaking at the Lava Lounge late Saturday night. So....I'm keeping busy! 

Evan Almighty

Evan Almighty releases today! I've seen a few different clips of it over the last couple months and it looks pretty good. Bruce Almighty made me laugh and it made me think and I'm hoping for hte same with this one.  I'm heading to see it at 1:45 today!

Bourne

Ladies and gentlemen-the new Bourne movie is nearly here. (Releases August 17th). And here is the poster. Oh my... 

Just finished night #3

I just finished my 3rd time speaking at Rivercrest Camp in Fremont, NE. Two more and I'll be heading for Iowa to lead worship for Camp Meeting. 

So far it's been going really well. Last night loads of kids "responded to God's love" which is always really exciting to see. It's a whole different feel this week since the kids are only just 5th and 6th graders. Younger than what I'm used to but I'm adjusting. Some of my jokes seem to fall pretty flat with this young of audience. Of course, many of my jokes fall flat no matter who I'm telling them to. 

Hopefully I'll be posting some pictures of the camp in the next couple days. 

My neck

Yesterday morning (Tuesday), I was talking on the phone when, for no apparent reason, my neck popped. And I couldn't move it from side to side without incredible pain. Not the best scenario I could think of. 

So, I looked through the yellow pages to see if I could get into a chiropractor right away. Managed to find one that got me right in and the Dr. went right to work on me. He sent electric shock through my shoulders (twice). Put me on a "traction" bed that had a big rod roll back and forth under my back. And then went to work popping my neck, my back, and even my ribs. Turns out, I had somehow partially dislocated a vertebrae in my neck and it was pinching a nerve. 

Unlucky.

So, he did what he could do and asked me to come back this morning. So, off I went at 9:00 a.m. today-still feeling a decent amount of pain. And he went right back to work on me. 

At this moment (11:12 p.m.) I am feeling much, much better. Still a little bit sore but at least I can move my head from side to side. Which is really handy if you're needing to check for oncoming traffic. 

Smelly

At the camp I'm speaking at, the hot water smells like rotten eggs. 

Awesome.

What the World Eats

One of the blogs I read almost every day is www.ysmarko.com. Today he had a great photo essay called, "What The World Eats." It's got photo's from families across the globe posing with what they would eat during a week and how much a week's worth of food would cost. It's fascinating. And you should probably check it out. Here's the link:

What The World Eats