MY THREE ...

I was tagged to do this by Laura, so what the heck ...

Three things that scare me
1: Not living a life that matters
2: People who have no control (won't listen to reason)
3: Becoming Homeless

Three people who make me laugh
1: Bill Cosby
2: Stephen Colbert
3: Jon Stewart

Three things I love
1: Jesus
2: Sports
3: Community

Three things I hate
1: Guns
2: Snakes
3: Not being able to breath

Three things I don't understand
1: Grace
2: Forgiveness
3: Women

Three things I love in a Girl/Boy
1: Smile
2: Good Attitude
3: Communicator

Three ways to best describe my personality
1: Trust Worthy
2: Leader
3: Risk Taker

Three things I can't do
1: Cabin a cruise-liner
2: Sword Fight (although I've never tried .. hhmm)
3: Play the Guitar

Three favorite movies
1: Beautiful Mind
2: American Beauty
3: Braveheart

Three Goals for future
1: Speak at Willowcreek's Leadership Summit
2: Move to Colorado or L.A.
3a: Spend time in Africa
3b: See a U2 concert

Three of your dumbest moments
1: Turned down tickets to u2 show
2: Asked a lady when her child was due ... she wasn't pregnant
3: During a Rob Bell speaking engagement, I told the guy sitting in front of me that it was nice of him to bring his mother ... well, it was his wife!

WEIS ON 60 MINUTES

In case you missed the Charlie Weis piece on 60 Minutes on Sunday evening, Yahoo has all the video clips - here. Or for the full transcript go to the CBS 60 Minutes site.

U2/GREEN DAY

A few weeks ago U2 and Green Day got together for a version of the Skids "The Saints Are Coming" before the re-opening of the Superdome. The two bands got together to make this video. Rather interesting and, in fact, really interesting! Watch til the end.

For the lyrics - here. A video of the full nine minute set before the Saint/Falcons Monday Night Game - here.

SO IT ENDS

Another year and another baseball season comes to an end.

I am not sure how the two worst teams down the stretch in the regular season managed to play for the World Series and how the Cardinals beat the Tigers in five is still kind of baffling but that is the beauty of the game. You never know what will happen each time two teams step onto the field.

The highlight of the regular season had to beat the Yankees beating the Red Sox five games in-a-row during a four day stretch in the middle of August. As a fan of the pinstripes, there is nothing better than beating the BoSox letting alone doing it five consecutive times!

Personally it was a fun baseball season for me as I got to go to both Angel and Dodger games while I was out in L.A. and hit up a few Minor League games as well. Plus I was able watch some Spring Training baseball for the first time! And, oh yeah, I didn't have to pull tarp at all for the first time since the summer of 1999 ... Woo Hoo!

Just 103 (or so) days till the start of Spring Training 2007!

THE FUTURE OF TITHING?

YOUR "BUT" IS BIG

There aren't many blogs I check-in on regularly however, over the last few months I have really enjoyed reading some of the posting by Noel Hay'kin'en. He is a pastor at Riverview Church just outside of Lansing, MI. About 18 months ago I went to the church and he gave a great message on sex (to listen - here).

Anyway, he gave another great message this summer on "Why is Your But So Big" and I pulled it up on-line on Tuesday and got to listen to the entire thing. Take the 40 minutes to listen and take some notes. Very solid message.

If you ever are in the Lansing area on a weekend, I highly recommend taking in a service at Riverview.

KENNY ROGERS

Let me get into this whole "Kenny Rogers Debate" that has started from game 2 of the World Series. Just for a moment or so here ...

There are a few things that I don't understand:

1) Why didn't Tony LaRussa ask the umpire to inspect Rogers' hand when he notice that there was something on it? If something is wrong, why not inspect it?

2) How was it on his hand for inning and then "magically" gone the rest of the game? Did the same thing happen during the AL playoff games?

3) Regardless of what was on his hand during the first inning and not there the rest of game, he still made the Cardinal hitters look pretty foolish.

4) Why do we need all this cheating problem during baseballs biggest stage when the popularity of the game is already struggling?

Finally, I was reading an interesting article on FoxSports.com about the whole incident - here. Not a bad piece by Ken Rosenthal.

"INTERESTING" FINDINGS

Came across some "interesting" links this afternoon so I thought I would pass them along

MSN Careers: The 20 oddest jobs -- here

Yahoo: What do you think happens to your soul when you die? -- here

FRAY CONCERT

What an amazing evening. These guys absolutely delivered a knock-out show.

This is a pretty good shot at the set-list. I am pretty confident that I got the order close to being 100% right:

Little House
She Is
All at Once
Look After You (with We Will Rock You intro)
Dead Wrong
Heaven Forbid
Absolute (new song)
Vienna
Uncertainty
Fall Away
Together
Elanor Rigby (Beatles Cover)
Cable Car (Over My Head)
------
Happiness (Isaac only with Guitar)
Trust Me
How to Save a Life


I was thoroughly impressed by the entire band’s stage presence. Very energetic and, really, just looked like they were having a good time the entire show. As a fan you wanted watch a band enjoy themselves during the concert and from my perspective it looks like they were having a blast from the first show.

A few highlights of the show:

There did a verse intro of Queen’s “We will Rock You” prior to starting “Look after You” and it was absolutely great. They made mention how they weren’t used to playing an arena type atmosphere (although I wouldn’t call the Deltaplex in Grand Rapids, MI an arena) so they tried to be more of rock band type and this was their effort in doing that.

There version of “Eleanor Rigby” that was an intro into “Cable Car” was awesome. When you think about it, it might seem like an odd transition but it sounded great and went over well. Isaac did a stage dive right after this song. Wasn’t expecting that a Fray concert. None less it was sweet.

The encore was great as Isaac started it off with “Happiness” all by himself then the crew in Grand Rapids made It was awesome to hear “How to Save a Life” live. Very cool!!

CAREER CHANGERS

The average person will change jobs 10 different times and change their career three different times in their lifetime.

What does that say about American and people in general?

- Bored
- Lonely
- Lost
- Searching
- Uncommitted
- Not Loyal
- etc., etc. ...

Maybe Ecclesiastes 4 has something to say about all.

DOVE EVOLUTION

This is rather interesting. It's less than 90 seconds so just watch.

"I LIKE SPORTS"

A few weeks back I was sitting on the bench during a Saint Mary's volleyball match and I looked at our trainer and just said, "I like sports." I just do. It's mine hobby, if you will. I've tried others things, I really have, but nothing matches the excitement, the fun, the adrenaline rush of sports.

Take, for example, reading. I love to pick up a book, magazine, article but it doesn't quite compare to playoff baseball or a Saturday during college football season. I like reading but not as much as sports.

Another close second to sports for me is listening to music. I have become pretty intrigued with finding new bands with different sounds and searching around the iTune library but there's something a little more exciting about sports.

How 'bout a chick flick - HA! Read a little something - here - for my thoughts on that. Shopping - Nope. Painting - you don't wait to see me paint. Cars - Fun but not quite. Movies - No Thanks.

The competition is a great release for something that might be frustrating me. The social bonding among fellow fans is excellent. The constant thrill of winning especially when your loyalty is rewarded with a big win.

I like sports.

RICE

Remember this if you are in need of a lot of food ...

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2000 of something."
- Mitch Hedberg

BLUE LIKE JAZZ REVISITED

I took some time recently and went back through some of the portions of Blue Like Jazz that I highlighted. I found that I highlighted most of my reading in the back of the book under the "Love" and "Worship" chapters.

I was, more than anything else, trying to see what kind of scripture parallel I could find between some of my highlighted and the Bible. (Before someone out there in "blog land" tries to write something like, I think Blue Like Jazz is the bible -- not true! I'm a thinker so let me think.)

Here we go:

Pg. 204 – I think we have two choices in the face of such big beauty: terror or awe. (II Cor. 4:18)

Pg. 205 – Too much of our time is spent trying to chart God on a grid, and too little is spent allowing our hearts to feel awe. (II Cor. 4:18)

Pg. 217 -- Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things. (II Cor. 4:18)

Pg. 215 – I had been raised to believe there were monsters under the bed, but I had peeked, in a moment of bravery, and found a wonderful world, a good world, better, in fact, then the one I had known. (II Cor. 4:18)

Clearly, for some reason I just kept getting stuck on the II Corinthians 4:18. These aren't all the passages in the book I highlighted but all four had a common theme so I went with it.

There really is a bigger and more amazing world out there to be seen, to be felt, to be experienced but how often to we not find it, so to speak, because we are afraid to look under the bed or rush things ahead of the pace God desires or let our own fear rule our courage?

I really love his "monsters under the bed" line. That's classic. We have monsters we are scared to look at: drinking addiction, weight problems, bitterness, suicide. What if we started looking at those "monsters" instead of ignoring them? What kind of things in our lives would start to change for the better?

REMEMBER THE "BUSH PUSH"

Do you remember were you where one year ago today? I remember Oct. 15, 2005 very well.

My parents were in town for the USC-ND. ESPN GameDay was on the campus for the much-hyped match-up between the cross-country rivals. It was a picture perfect fall day in South Bend, IN. It set the stage for the greatest sporting event I have ever seen in-person and probably one of the best college football games ever played.

As I took my usual seat on the 47-yard line to take stats for the game, I remember thinking that I was about to witness something special. Although I never thought it would end up being “that special” when all was said and done. If Notre Dame was going to win the game they were going to have to score at least one non-offensive touchdown and when Tommy Z ran back that punt in the second quarter I knew it was going to be a ball game till end. As the second half unfolded and it looked as if USC was going to pull out the win with a Reggie Bush touchdown with about five minutes.

Yet some how the Notre Dame offense marched very productively down the field and with 2:04 left on the clock Brady Quinn reached the ball across the endzone to give the Irish a 31-28 lead. I absolutely could not believe it. I also remember thinking that there is way too much time on the clock.

On second down on USC ensuing drive I will never forget watching Trevor Laws sack Matt Leinart. It felt like I was watching a slow motion film unfold right in front of me. I have never heard Notre Dame Stadium so loud after that sack. Then the 4-and-9 conversation!! When Leinart audibled, I thought there was no way they were getting a first down. Then the 61-yard completion to Dwayne Jarrett, un-freakin-real!!

The whole chaos during the final four plays was un-real. The fans rushing the field when the clock incorrectly hit 0:00 was something interesting to watch. I remember Charlie Weis marching onto the field when time was put back on the clock and he said to the official, “I want a time-out to talk to you!”

Then the “Bush Push” happened. When the ND defense stopped Leinart during his first attempt I stood up in the press box and shouted out, “HE DIDN’T GET IN” (not really a professional move on my part). But he did get into the endzone and I was sick!

What a game. What an experience I will never forget … Do you remember were you where on Oct. 15, 2005?!?

BRIAN MCLAREN (PART II)

The second installment of Brian McLaren's visit to Goshen College was, at least for me, much more exciting and thought provoking then the first. Plus I got to interact with him for a little while after the event so that was cool as well.

On Thursday evening he spoke almost the entire time about forming/making disciples and not just converts to a christian religion. The topic was "Spirtual Formation in the Emerging Culture" so it was no surprise that he unpacked Matthew 28:16-20 during the 90-minute event.

Whenever I got to an event where I am totally engrossed with what the speaker has to say, I struggle between taking notes and trying to soak it all at the same time. None the less, I was able to jot down a few key points:

- He spoke about how the term Christian has become more of a religion and gave the quote, "reaching Christians for Christ, beginning with myself."

- While in conversation with a non-Christian during a camping trip with his family one of McLaren's son friends made this quote, "I want to learn the ways of Christ and not to be a Christian." Because to him Christianity was about being a religion. McLaren has decided that spiritual formation has to do with loving, living, learning and being like Jesus.

- McLaren quote: "With all the information and knowledge at our finger tips, how can people be show intellectually smart but morally bad." ... "There is no shortage of 'Christian Info' but why is something so wrong."

- If the church can't help people transform to Christ, what is the purpose?

Those were some of the key notes that I wrote down. Certainly there was a lot more said and some really good stories that were told. If you are interested in thinking, read some of his books.
This guy just has something really amazing going. He is one of the smartest people I have ever met and quite possibly one of the most humble and grace-filled people around.

FROZEN TUNDRA

If you have not seen the story that ESPN did about the Barrow High School football team, it is a must see - here. This is an outstanding story about playing football in the northern most place in the United States.

Absolutely Amazing!

(FYI - Barrow is just a few a few hundred miles away from the North Pole and is actually inside the artic circle)

BRIAN MCLAREN (PART I)

Brian McLaren is listed as one of the Top 25 Evangelicals, according to Time Magazine, and is in the Michiana area for a two-day stop at Goshen College. So on Wednesday morning I ventured down to their chapel service to hear his talk on the "Seven Jesuses I Have Known."

McLaren is an extremely personable guy. One of the nicest people you will ever meet. No seriously - you will ever meet! He really exudes grace and mercy like I have rarely seen.

Anyway, here are some of the notes that I jotted down during his 45 minute talk. Some pretty basic stuff from his book "Generous Orthodoxy"

SEVEN JESUSES I HAVE KNOWN

I) Evangelical Jesus
- Jesus was sent to die (although McLaren says, the Gospels never say Jesus was sent just to die)
- God accepts our sin and punishes us for them

II) Penticostal Jesus
- Jesus through the Holy Spirit
- Power to live and move from the Holy Spirit

III) Catholic Jesus
- Jesus saves because he was raised from the dead
- There is no reason to fear anymore because Jesus overcame the ultimate fear - death - and we are liberated

IV) Eastern Orthodox Jesus
- Start by praying that God isn't there
- Jesus saves by being born and that represent God among humanity/creation and, as McLaren stated, He is a "super hero" of sorts

V) Liberal Protestant Jesus
- Jesus teaching is wisdom for the world and it's spreading

VI) Ana-Baptist Jesus
- Jesus lived in community and not as an instituation
- Jesus saves through 12 disciples
- McLaren made reference to this is close to what Amish are

VII) Jesus of Liberation Theology
- Reading the Bible is "colored" through your individual perspective
- God works through the "least of things" to liberate (i.e. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

So if you have read this long through the blog, I am impressed! Some of this stuff would be great sleeping materal ;-) ... Anyway, he is back at Goshen for a second time and I will pass along that information after he is done!

GCC AND YOU TUBE

It's absolutely stunning when you have 30 minutes and wireless internet at your disposal. The things you can search on YouTube -- Granger Community Church.

You can find a video from the 1998 GCC Lifeline Team - here. Or 1999 - here. Be very, very scared of the fashion sense of that time period.

Or you can watch the Culp Skit or Mute Math.

Amazing!

PREDICTING ...

It is fun to try and project what the future my hold. Whether it be something big like moving onto future endevors, seeing who may win the big game or trying to pick the right stock to invest your money.

Yet I find myself pretty much horrible in trying to predict the future. For example, take a look at my recent baseball predictions. Yeah, they pretty much were awful. Or how about when I took a shot and looking at some of the events of 2006. Yep, pretty much not good on that front either.

Here's another good one from my College Football predictions. Seems to me that my "sleeper" team hasn't won a game yet! And they lost to a to a Division I-AA team! Good job on that pick!

Then take a look at some of my comments for the new TV season. Ok, they aren't really predictions but they are taking "Smith" and "Kidnapped" off the air. I thought they were pretty good shows and would have a good run. Well, must not have been a good choice!

At least my NFL predictions aren't too terrible - yet!!

GET A LIFE

I got this through a forwarded e-mail and wanted to pass it along ...

TOP 50 BOOKS

"Christianity Today" has listed the Top 50 books that have shaped evangelicals todays. See the list - here.

Kind of an interesting list. A lot of books that I would consider "older" and were written 20-3o (or more) years ago. The fact that "Purpose Driven Life" was listed as 42nd kind of surprised me since it is the highest selling non-fiction book ever.

Enjoy!

LUCKY ME ...

So today is my 28th Birthday and well, here are some events in history that are "privileged" to share my birthday ...

2001
Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants set a new mark for home runs in a single season, hitting his 71st and 72nd in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Freakin Barry Bond! Why couldn't he have done this on Oct. 6th)

1989
A jury in Charlotte, N.C., convicted former PTL evangelist Jim Bakker of using his TV show to defraud followers. (Not sure if it is a priviledge to have this on your birthday!)

1962
The Beatles' first hit, ''Love Me Do,'' was released in the United Kingdom.

1921
The World Series was broadcast on radio for the first time. (See this is the real reason I am a Yankees fan. They have, after all, had more World Series broadcast then any other team)

People Who Were Born on this Date:

My Grandma Hinkel!
Grant Hill
Patrick Roy
Kate Winslet
Mario Lemieux
Bernie Mac

Random U2 Fact about Oct. 5 --

They have only had one tour date on Oct. 5 (London, England @ Half Moon Club during the "Boy" Tour when I turned 2 in 1980!)

DROP THE PUCK!

There normally isn't much to look forward to when you are fan of the New York Islanders but being the ever optimist that I am, it's hockey season and that's reason enough to get excited. Here's a few reasons:

* I can't wait to watch Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin in their second season on the ice.

* To see if Islander goalie Rick DiPietro can some how live up to his 15-year, $67.5 million contact.

* I get to watch Barry Melrose commentate with that ugly mullet!

* Another chance to "boo" anything involving the Flyers, Rangers and Red Wings!

* The Colorado-Detroit Rivalry!

* Anaheim is finally just the Ducks (getting rid the "Mighty" part is a blessing!)

* The NHL is better than NBA

As for a few predictions, I think either the Sharks or the Ducks will win the Stanley Cup. But I watch out for the Sabres or Senators out of the Eastern Conference.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

I found myself extremely intrigued by this show. I wasn't going to watch it because the Yankees game was on at the same time but I got so enthralled with it, I watched the entire episode before permanently switching to the baseball game.

Certainly I love sports so that's a good reason as to why I enjoyed the show so much. But I think this series has some serious potential to be one of the better shows out there.

Feel free to watch it online - here. Be sure to look for Texas Longhorns head coach Mack Brown apperance on the show! (Hook 'em!!)

I'm curious to see how much of the book the TV script follows because the book is absolutely one of the best sports books ever written.

MLB DIVISION SERIES

For many reasons I love October but I think that the baseball playoffs might be the #1 reason (or maybe a close second).

Yankees vs. Tigers

I have decided that there aren't many scenarios in which the Yankees lose this series. They have better pitching, certainly better hitting and a huge advantage in playoff experience. Plus the Tigers don't have much momentum on their side after dropping three straight to the hapless Royals to finish the season.

Yankees in 4.

Twins vs. A's

This is an extremely intriguing match-up. These two teams played in the 2002 ALDS and the Twins shocked an Oakland team that was certainly better on paper. The Twins are a better team on paper this year but the A's quietly put together a great season and if Oakland finds a way to win the Johan Santana start.

A's in 5.

Mets vs. Dodgers

I absolutely love this match-up. It's great! With Pedro Martinez out of the pitching rotation that will greatly hurt New York's chances. The Dodgers don't seem to have a lot of talent but they just keep winning. The Mets have an outstanding offensive line-up but I think the Dodgers have just enough pitching to get it done.

Dodgers in 5.

Padres vs. Cardinals

A re-match of the last years NLDS were the Cardinals swept out a pretty bad Padres team. The result this year should be opposite of last season. San Diego is playing very well and, really, are the better team overall. However, the Cardinals have a solid yet aging line-up that will keep things interesting.

Padres in 4.

"BUM FIGHTS"

Did anyone see the piece that "60 Minutes" did on Sunday evening about the torture of homeless people in America?

There's this guy who put videos out on the internet that has homeless people fighting one another and he profits off it. (See 60 Minutes Story) I don't get it. Why would someone pay two homeless guys to fight one another?

It gets worse though because these "Bum Fights" as this guy calls them are "inspiring" people to commit violent acts on the homeless. What is that gets people so riled up that they have to do injury defenseless homeless people? Why? Somethings I will never understand.

If you get a few moments of your time click through the videos on Ed Bradley's report or read the transcript.