• I thoroughly enjoyed the Super Bowl last night…well, at least the last 3 minutes or so.
• Eli made an amazing play to not get sacked and then throw the ball to his boy, Tyree, not to mention the catch by Tyree!  WOW! (Not the best video, but you get to watch it!
• I enjoyed seeing the Patriots lose.  Yes, I was one of the 97.5 million to watch!
• The commercials were not that good.  Companies paid a lot of money to air CRAPPY commercials.  Such a waste.
• JJ Redick is not used to the place he is currently in as a player.  I wonder how he is dealing with it?
• Looking forward to Wednesday!!!!  Devils vs. Heels
  
• My Duke Blue Devils are ranked #2, which is pretty awesome, considering no one gave them a chance…YES!!  I know there is a long season to go, but this is a great start!
• Commitment Tuesday…tomorrow should be fun to see all the commitments roll in!
• Clemson is said to have an AMAZING class…hopefully the GAMECOCKS will pull one out and have a great class as well!
• My old high school’s, South Florence, football coach resigned.  This is the third coach since I left, this guy only stayed for a year.  I will say that I have heard nothing but AWESOME things about him.  Interesting!

Wal-Mart. Low Prices. Supermarket. Groceries. Clothes. Pets (Fish). Medicine. Furniture. Toys. Car Repair. Garden Supplies. General House Supplies. Smiley Face that is rolling back prices all over the store. They have it all! If you need something and you are not quite sure where to get it, then all you need to do it go to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart will more than likely have what you are looking for or the generic equivalent to the product. Matter of fact, they even say that you will “Save Money. Live Better.” by shopping at Wal-Mart.

I have to concede that they have a lot of stuff in their store, but their stores sometimes really frustrated the heck of of me. You can go to any Wal-Mart and their is always a TON of people there no matter what time it is, but for some reason they only have 5% of their check-out machines open. Why have all those check out machines if you are not going to have people to run them? Just wondering!

Anyways, that is not the reason for my post…the reason for my post is that I never thought I would find this in Wal-Mart!

So…go to your local Wal-Mart and get your toy Jesus for the low, low, price of $14.97!!! Not only do they have Jesus, but they also have David, Sampson, Noah, and Moses!  I don’t know they may be collectibles…

I have burned I-85 between Greenville and Anderson many, many times!  Well, the other day, Andrew Sentell and I were on our way from a meeting with a volunteer. By the way, we ate at Smoke on the Water.  It was a great casual restaurant that had very good barbecue.  I was not very sure about it at first, but I was pleased with the tastiness of the food and the price of it as well.  If you are in the West End District, be sure to check it out!!

Anyways, I saw this HEAVY LOAD being transported, it had to be the largest Dump Truck I have ever seen:

Okay, maybe not, but I thought that this was hilarious and wanted to share it with others!!  Yes, that is a TONKA Dump Truck on the back of a flatbed 18-Wheeler!  The driver had it ratcheted down and everything!

This past Thursday, I had to run in the store very quickly to grab some things to make dinner for our Home Group. I knew exactly where the items were located in the store, so I quickly ran in grabbed the items and headed for the self-serve lane. The local grocery store that I shop at has 4 of the lanes. All four lanes were occupied, so I picked the right side to stand in line. All I can say is that was a bad choice. There were two ladies at the checkout stations. One lady, had a buggy full about 25-30 items, which is typically not good because of the shear volume! The other lady, only had three items, which was exciting because I thought this lady would roll through the line. Man, I was so wrong. They call the self-serve lanes for a reason. The reason would be this: you can serve yourself and check yourself out of the store.

Well, I think that this lady did not realize this. I promise that this is no lie, but this lady had to call over the young man working the lanes to help her on every single item. Here were some of the comments she made: “I can’t get this to scan? How do you scan this item? I don’t have my bonus card? It won’t accept my money?” Are you serious, “How do you scan this?” That should tell you that you have no business in this lane!!! I will admit that I was getting very frustrated fast!! Why can’t you just go to a regular line and have the assistance you need and holding everyone else up, especially me??

Oh well, I finally got out of there…by the way, I actually got out of the store before the lady with 25-30 items was able to get out. I still need to careful with that whole praying for patience thing… Needless to say, I appreciate the self-serve lanes when I am in a hurry, but I am partial to the regular lanes, so that I can talk with the cashier! Has anyone else ever experienced something like this? How did you respond? Did you scan the stuff for her? Did you knock someone out? Tell me!

I was driving down I-85 just the other day, when I was surprised by the sight before my eyes. Here are the pictures of what I drove up on:

Yeah, it was the Wiener Mobile by Oscar Meyer. I was trippin out! So funny to see a hot dog riding down the interstate. May not be a big deal, but I thought that this was pretty funny! You have got to love the marketing of having a hot dog ride along America’s Interstate System! Anyone else ever seen this vehicle riding around?

Yesterday, I got home after our Student Ministry Service and went to check the mail. There was a box in there along with some crazy bills, etc. I went into the house started looking at the box and nothing told me who it was from.  The only thing I could tell was that the package was shipped from Michigan.  Regardless, I opened the box to find a brand new copy of the book, “unchristian” by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons.  I was stoked!  This is a book I have wanted to read and really dive into…matter of fact, this book was on my birthday and Christmas list!  So sweet…now I get to add something else to my list! Thanks Baker Publishing!

Has anyone else read this book? Has it been a great read? Horrible? Thought provoking? Off Base? Give me your thoughts
…I would love to hear what you have to say! I will post my thoughts as soon as I finish the book!

Well, this will be the beginning of a multiple posts from the NYWC in Atlanta, GA.  Here are some highlights from the day:

• We left right on time this morning and with our staff that is straight a miracle of God.  We hit a little traffic but not to bad for ATL.  We are riding in a Honda Odyssey, which I am making sure that I get a picture of BCoop driving the bad boy.
• We are staying at the Marriott Downtown is ONLY four bocks away from GWCC. Also next door to The Tabernacle.
• We were able to check in at 11:30AM, which is almost unheard of and since I am a Silver Member of Marriott Rewards they gave me three rooms of the concierge level, with a lounge with free food and drinks! SWEETNESS!!!  We have definitely enjoyed that so far…
• BCoop and I have a little contest going on, but I cannot share the details until a little later on in the week.
• I am attending the Middle School Ministry Critical Concerns Course.  Marko and Scott Rubin are co-teaching the session.  Marko’s part this morning was interesting, but a little slow.  Not due to his style, but because of the content.  It was a lot of information that I already have heard about development.  He did a good job of talking though it and keeping it interesting.  Side note on Marko…Some people don’t like his style, but I personally appreciate his willingness to lay it out on the line and say it like it is.  It is evident that he has a passion for Jesus, Middle School Student, and Youth Ministry.  I personally believe that his style and candor is much needed right now and youth pastors need to listen.  Keep rocking it out Marko!
• Dinner tonight was AWESOME!!  We ate at Fogo De Chao.  Wow!  It was crazy awesome to have people just bringing you food constantly.  The service was amazing, the food was great, and they did an awesome job waiting on us.  What an experience!!!!

Well, I am out for the night!  Catch back up tomorrow!

Here are a couple of thoughts wondering through my head:

• I am excited about heading to the ATL tomorrow for Youth Specialties‘ National Youth Workers Convention. I look forward to this conference each year. I ALWAYS walk away with so much information to process, but more importantly so much encouragement. I am extra stoked about taking 5 other of my comrades with me from NewSpring Church. This will be the first time for each of them going to the NYWC, so I will be excited to watch them learn, be refreshed, and encouraged.
• I am also looking forward to catching up with some ministry partners from all over the country and seeing how they are doing. Wes, Brandon, Nathan, and many others…come prepared to buy my lunch… I am looking forward to seeing all of you!
• Tonight I am speaking for our Student Ministry Service in our series called 360. I am speaking on the topic of parents. I am really looking forward to it, but I am really nervous about speaking to middle school and high school combined. It should be a fun and quite interesting.
• By the way, there are some of you have emailed me and asked for an update on our current change in the way we are ministering to our students. Well…it is AMAZING! We have had so many positive responses from students, volunteers, and parents. Of course, there are some things that we are still working out as we go, but it has been wonderful!
• I got a new computer this afternoon. I went to lunch and when I came back my old laptop was missing. I went and asked and they told me that I was getting a new laptop and that it would be ready in a couple of minutes! WOW! I love how NewSpring is always equipping me more and more to be able to do my job…which is to minister to students! I am so blessed!
• I booked a trip to Hawaii today! Deanna and I have been saving up for a trip for our 5 year Anniversary. Well, we have made it early due to being smart with our money and telling it where to go (Joe would be proud!). It is amazing what your money can do it YOU take control! We are heading out in May to spend a week in Hawaii! I am so excited…I have never been before. Anybody got any good suggestions??
• Clemson plays BC this week. I hate to say this, but I hope Clemson wins. I can’t believe that I am saying that! I will say that I would like to beat them coming off of a HIGH after getting to the ACC Championship.
• Not to much to say about my Gamecocks! They are pitiful. You can’t do much when you give up over 1200 yards in two weeks. The thing that keeps my head high is that we have Darth Visor and he has two weeks to plan, scheme, and prepare for the Tigers.
• If you are going to be in ATL for the NYWC, please contact me! I would love to catch up if at all possible!

Well, I am out for now. I will be blogging from the conference with my new laptop computer, so check back! Peace!