So everything we have worked for in the past several months is about here... Meaning, that now all of the emotions, stresses, joys and pains of it all is also here. Last minute prep work, endless lists needing attention, 1.6 billion things to think about: volunteers, A/V cue sheets, last minute light design tweaking, memorize lines, don't forget UpStreet, eat something, don't forget about the bills, make time with Sara...if only for a minute or two, delegate, dictate, plan, prepare, produce, write, read, sleep, print, mail, call, laugh, cry, sick, sleep, eat, prep, read-through, brainstorm, dream, sleep, daydream, imagine, realize, fax, drive, edit, shoot, 4Before, sermon, worship, kids, school, partner, delegate more, explain, cast, pray, read, pray, sleep, dream, pray more, puppy, stage decorations, nurseries, buy, pay, purchase, bills, stress, anger, joy, tired, full-filled, empty, interesting, overwhelmed, under-appreciated, over-appreciated, worthless, dumb, brilliant, worth-while, games, Thailand, missions, lonely, blog (seldom), completion, soundtracks, Once, wife, Olympics, The Office (daily calendar), early, late, new, refreshing, old, same-old, unbelievable, honest... etc. etc. etc.

It's been a crazy summer. Thanks for letting my explain it via commas....

Allow me to talk geek for a second. Tonight I had a spare moment and decided to upgrade my blogging component, MyBlog, to the latest version. The only thing is that I failed to back up my custom style sheet...which is why the colors and images may seem a bit "blue in the face".

I find this frustrating for a few reasons. 1.) I should have known better. When I work on files I tend to spend more time saving than I do actually editing (except that I edited this CSS sheet online without keeping a physical backup on my computer). 2.) I don't have the time to mess around fixing it. Which is why it may stay this way for a while. I have tweaked a few functionality issues just to keep the site up and running and comments accessible.

On the list of things to fix:

1. The CSS issues now apparent on the blog entries and comments.
2. Try to regain my assigned categories and tags from past posts.
3. RSS feed length issues.  Please update your feeds to this link.
   

On the list of things to try:

1. Automating Technorati pings (needs to worked through with site host).
2. Better integration with video sources other than YouTube.
3. Choosing one stat tracker and sticking with it (I currently use three services: Woopra, Mint and Google Analytics).
4. Decreasing loading times for site pages while also adding better accessibility for mobile devices.
5. And who knows what else!

Last night I got an email from a blog-buddy, Everett White. He found my photography via Flickr a while back and has shown his face around this blog for several comments. With an evening off of work he decided to head out to our neck of the woods for a few photos...which, no one except a photo-explorer would venture to do. There's not much going on out here but work!

Anyway, we had a great time. We talked church, photography and life and proved to provide a much needed rest from the daily grind of working all day on this remodel project only to go back after dinner to work more. We stood outside for more than an hour just chatting and capturing the billions of stars overhead.

This photo is the best I could come up with. Ever met a "blog-buddy" in "real life"? How'd it go for you?

I've had the amazing opportunity to review Mark Batterson's latest book, Wild Goose Chase before it's release. Not only has it been enlightening in the history of the Wild Goose Chase, but it has also reached me on a very personal, spiritual level.

As a pastor, how have I managed to come so far removed from the actual pursual of God and the Holy Spirit? Near the end of his book, it hit me like a ton of bricks.. I realize that many quotes taken out of context have little to no influence on one's self having not been through through the journey with a person. But, this quote spoke to me in huge ways...

"If we are going to fulfill our ancient commission, we need to get out of the comfortable confines of our Christian ghettos and invade some hellholes with the light and love of Christ." (pg. 150)

Now, I'm not afraid to say that I am a progressive thinker. But what I have struggled with is that I desire this type of response out of our church-goers but seldom do I find myself pursuing this on a daily basis...

Mark has really produced a great book with many great thoughts that will cause any pastor, such as myself, to stop and think about their own pursuit of the Holy Spirit. Check it out. It's worth it. So much so, in fact, that I have a copy of this book ready to give away to the 4th person to respond to this post.

Get involved... Get your copy for free...

So, once again, it's been a while. Despite the hectic pace that life has been taking over the past few months, I've found nuggets of decent moments. Snuggling with my wife, kickig a rugby ball without pains in my leg, actually cooking a dinner for supper together, watching movies together when time allows, playing with pup (when time allows), and sometimes even sleeping (when time allows).

So yeah, it's been hectic... But, it's been good. It makes me appreciate what time I do have away from "work life" ... The question is, to those of you who work in the church, how to you balance a hectic 'work" life with trying to have a normal home life?

Your thoughts?

I had hoped to put up my pre-release review of Mark Batterson's new book, Wild Goose Chase. But, I just got home from another long day and didn't get a chance to finish it up this evening. Hopefully I will have the chance to finish it up and write up the review in the next day or so. So far it has been a great read. Really encourages me to rejoin the pursue of following God...rather than just working for God. Check out the links if you get the chance for now... my review will be up shortly.

Also, Sara, my wife, informed that last night's blog post was a bit tough to understand and follow due to my laziness in spelling and word choice. If I offended anyone with my poor internet penmanship, I appologize....

We are finally seeing the light at the end of this summer-long remodel tunnel. Only little details left to hash out. The last couple of weeks I have averaged about 70 hours/week spent on this project...and most of there were at the actual church. And, as much I love the church, 70 hours is a lot of time to spend there. No one should be working at a church at 2 AM night after night...

But, things are appearing to let up a bit. Sara and I actually got to sit down and eat a meal together, at the table, a planned meal, with potatoes, corn, rolls and steak...my personal favorite. That was amazing!

Then, tonight, we just got back from working out a bit as I stretched my injured leg out a bit kicking around that dang rugby ball again. Actually, my leg felt great tonight...and my technique wasn't half bad either. Sara use to play soccer in college, so we pumped up the soccer ball and kicked it around a bit also. It really was a great time together as we got out of the house and didn't something with each other...which hasn't happened much recently. We miss that...

I sweat pictures will be coming soon... if for no other reason than to prove that I truly have been working all this time... Thanks for checking in...

More and more recently I have found great relaxation in getting outside and working out while working on rugby techniques. I don't really know what it is. I enjoy doing something other than construction, answering emails or sitting in meetings. A few days ago I started really working on refining my kicking ability. So much of rugby is a game of territory...and precise kicks help gain that territory. Not to mention that many points and games are decided by a team's kicking ability.

Anyways, you probably don't care much about rugby techniques. So, I tore up my kicking leg a day or two ago. I think I kicked too much withouut stretching and warming up. I ended up stretching/pulling a muscle near my shin on my right leg. Hurt like Hades. Tonight it was feeling much better, so Sara humored me and went out with me to kick a few place kicks. After the first few kicks, I knew my leg was in trouble. So, here I sit. Ice on my leg. It throbs, it aches, it pains...

...Oh to be a younger man...

I was sitting at the table eating my sandwich for dinner when I heard a crack of lighting. I immediately grabbed my Canon and went outside.

It's been a while since I've shot a storm rolling in...

It's seldom that I get "nothing" time anymore. Working late, researching late, getting to bed late, and waking up too early.

Sara and I started to watch The Departed tonight. She fell asleep on the couch, I priced chairs for our KidStuf parents online, and here I sit, still watching, still surfing the internet, still wasting what little time I have.

So little time...so little spare time... yet, I waste it. Any pointers?