Creativity Overload
beep...dur...urrrrr....beep(those are the sounds my computer makes when it is being pushed to its max(sub perenthesis...is it supposed to make those noises?))...at the moment those sounds are starting to come from me. My most recent endeavor into the world of being the point person of KidzwayLive Fiesta has my creativity lab buzzin and it has my mind working creatively towards Vertical as well. Got some sweet plans for a weekly Vertical Podcast Show featuring students, leaders, and rock stars! Throw in the idea of going to a totally video driven message experience for Vertical and my mind starts beeping and urrrring!!! It is cool how our mind works...a little change of environment (working on kidzway live) has led to a burst of creativity...love how God has programmed us!
sidenote. Starbucks has also played a role in these new creative levels
Lost in Sorrento
Food for thought...this morning I got a phone call from
Caroline (younger sister, currently spending a semester in Italy). She and her 3 girlfriends were on their way to their weekend excursion in Sorrento. They were scheduled to meet their tour at 7 pm and had no idea how to get to their hostel (which Caroline was very anxious about in the first place). So Caroline called me and I logged into her e-mail to retrieve the map, tour guide's phone number, and some information about the train station and schedules.
So Brian and I were considering this over dinner...Caroline is standing in the middle of a small town in Italy. I am sitting in my office in Albany New York. She picks up a cell phone, and in a few seconds I am listening to her shouting over the background noise of mopeds and a busy marketplace. She gives me information, with which I retrieve information from a virtual location, which contains the information she needs to find out 1. where she is, 2. where she's going, and hopefully, 3. how to get there. Brian pointed out how absolutely and fascinatingly bizarre that entire exchange was. I know we all love our tech gizmos and we all "know how they work" (ok, I do to
some degree), but in this particular case, I choose to be fascinated rather than logical.
Zip It
Check out the intro to Brian's last message
here. It takes a few minutes to load but is worth the wait! I may be biased (ok, I am biased) but I thought it was by far his best message yet...you'll have to purchase the DVD from Northway to hear it though :)
Oh yes it's "eighties" night
Although I have been told that I look about 14 in this picture, it was taken just a few weeks ago. Vertical (that's what we call our weekly student gathering for Northway Student Ministries) ended on June 1st and we decided to send it off with style, eighties style that is. All of us leaders (most of whom were born or attended elementary school in the eighties) were concerned that the students wouldn't dress up...or would attempt to dress up but fail miserably considering that they have no recollection of the eighties. However what we did not consider was how excited all of our students' parents were to dust off the tight-rolled jeans and scrunchies and vicariously resurrect their glory years through their kids for a night. They all dressed up and totally got the 80's style right. The church was filled with leggings, high-tops, short shorts and even mullets. It was a beautiful sight. 80's music (live, played by a mostly student band) filled the air and all of the adults reminisced..."I remember this song...It came out in 1981, and I played it at my graduation party" (To which I responded "uuuuuuuuh...I was born in 1981").
More importantly, that night was monumental for Brian and I. After 3 years of trying different ways to do youth ministry, three years of living and learning, we ended the year on a very, very high note (and I'm not just talking about the length of Brian's jeans). How awesome for Brian to see almost 200 students attend, who couldn't wait for Vertical to start again in the fall. How awesome to see leaders connecting with students, getting e-mail addresses and exchanging phone numbers. How awesome to see students that had taken ownership of their Student Ministry. It was a very good night.
Click here for more pictures.
"She's Not There"
Are my nieces cute or what? I got these pictures from my mom today. Look at that sassy pose (not that I can tell you who is who from this picture). The sign says "We miss you Care Bear" (for Aunt Caroline who has been in Italy for a few weeks).
Speaking of my nieces, I got the funniest voice message from them today. I have listened to it 4 times now and still get a good laugh out of it...hope you will too. The magic phrase is "She's not there." Isabella is trying to explain to Emily (who is feeding her lines for the voicemessage) that I am not in fact on the other end of the phone line, and she refuses to say anything further (anything further than "she's not there"). Alas, her resolve weakens at the end...
"The Funnest Wedding"
After three years of unthreatened victory, Brian and I fear that we are resigning the honor of having had the "funnest wedding." Not that we took credit for it...we are fully aware that it was largely due to the volume of crazy dancing Pakistanis and one dollar bills being thrown from the balcony. As of June 4th, I think we have to seriously reconsider our claims to such victory...Steve and Jenn's wedding was complete with excellent music, crazy old men doing unthinkable dance moves, two dancing Pakistanis (the other guy mostly just jumped but he still counts) and even glow sticks. Yes, it was definitely a fun wedding. The "funnest"? You decide.
View more pictures here.
"June" update
Is it really June? No seriously, yesterday I wore a sweater and if I'm being honest, it is taking everything in me NOT to turn on the heat. It has been in the 50/60 degree range the last few days. The good thing is it has forced me to pack, because there are really no alternative outdoor options. The bad news...it's cold! I grew up in upstate New York so I usually do NOT complain about any of our odd weather patterns, but this is really bizarre. Oh well. It looks like 70s this week and almost 80 next weekend.
The biggest news this month is that we have not moved yet. They weren't kidding when they said this was a slow process. We made our offer on April 17th. It was accepted on the 18th, and we completed our mortgage application on April 26th, which was when we first learned we would never close by our target date, May 25th. No biggie. So we shot for June 16th. And on Thursday we learned that also was not possible. So the new target is June 26th, a Monday. I'm not going to get too anxious. The nice thing about this elusive closing date is that it presents no pressure whatsoever for packing.
It's amazing what you accumulate in just 3 years. Our new place doesn't have a basement so we've been a little bit more discerning in what goes and what stays. We still have about 30 boxes already marked for the attic...and I think I have an idea why. I'm pretty sure Brian is going to be a full fledged packrat. I found an old box of stuff from my 'childhood'...you know, my 3rd grade year book, the poem I wrote for my best friend in 3rd grade, and all of my medals from my Optimist Club speech contests (don't ask). I FINALLY found it in me to let go of some of this stuff, which I had not seen since we moved in here 3 years ago, and Brian pretty much insisted that I keep it all. This coming from the guy who caused two full boxes to be labeled "Sentimental T-Shirts." Yes, T-shirts. So I think we're pretty much destined to become pack rats. Don't get me wrong, we've filled a few trash bins and made 3 deliveries to Salvation Army so far, but we'll still have our hands full on moving day...whenever that is. Gotta go pack.
Carolina's adventures in Italy
Check out my sister "Carolina's" blog
here. She's touring Italy for a few weeks and blogging her way through.
