One Time On Sesame Street…

Last night when I got home (from an awesome time of prayer with some of my brothers from GC.TV) I sat down with my wife to watch the Home Run Derby.

What a show! Josh Hamilton set a new record for a single round by hitting 28 dingers in the opening round! And 3 of them were for more than 500 feet!!

To make it even more interesting was his story that the commentators kept eluding to. Hamilton recently put his faith in Jesus and overcame a life of addiction that was tearing his life apart and put his baseball career on hold for a number of years. But that was all BEFORE last night! Last night… well, he was in the house that Ruth built, banging in a record setting performance and sharing his faith every chance he got!

During one of Hamilton’s many long bombs, Rick Reilly put it well, “It’s certainly a lousy night go be an atheist!”

My family went to the movies yesterday and as expected, the genuis of Pixar shined through once again. The makers of some of the best animated films ever… including The Incredibles, Toy Story, and Monster’s Inc… once again showed why they are the best. They are MASTER story tellers!

Sure, they always have amazing, new graphics, perfect soundtracks, and the best voice overs in the business. With Pixar though, all these elements are there to support (and never overpower) the reason for their movies… to tell a GREAT story!

With their most recent release, WALL-E, in addition to telling a great story, the folks at Pixar humanized their insentient characters like only they can. One of the coolest moments in the movie for my family was at the climax. Without giving too much away… Blake (my seven-year-old) got it! He was telling me why things weren’t working and was providing me with the technical solution. However, I new this plan wouldn’t work, but I didn’t know how they were going to resolve it. Well, let’s just say they did it perfectly… even with a gesture of respect to some of the Disney classics.

Way to go Pixar!

Anybody else see the movie? What were your thoughts?

I have not blogged much because I’ve been busy in NYC. I’ve been sending up some mobile photos on facebook for those of you who follow me there. Certainly, there has been too much happening to talk about in this brief post, but last night’s extreme experiences are worth noting.

Gaetan (my brother-in-law) and I went out for dinner and a movie. We met up at Megu in Midtown. Simply sensational! The food, service, and atmosphere were outstanding. This truly was an extraordinary dining experience that included a tasting menu of 7 courses: salad, hot appetizers, sashimi, almond custard, Kobe steak, sushi, and dessert. Seriously… some of the best food I’ve ever put in my mouth. Let’s just say picking up a sushi to-go box dinner at Publix is going to be a stretch now.

Then came the movie. Here we got a taste of another aspect of NYC, undoubtedly to an extreme. During the previews a group of about 20 teenagers entered the theater arguing as they moved up the aisles. Once the movie started, things died down and we settled in to enjoy The Incredible Hulk. Unfortunately, about a third of the way into the movie, the arguments not only resurfaced but quickly escalated into a full blown fight. Somehow, about 9 of the juvenile aggressors ended up fighting all the way down front… directly in front of the movie screen. Again, simply sensational, but in an extremely different way!

This evening served as a quick reminder of how quickly things can change in the city! I went from dining next to Japanese business men to catching a very small glimpse of the violence in today’s urban youth. Welcome to New York! I LOVE IT!

It’s that time again. We’re packing up the kids and heading to NYC! We love going back to Evie’s home and seeing family and friends.

Almost as important though, we’ll be heading to the Bronx to see ‘the house that Ruth built’ one last time. In many ways Yankee Stadium is sacred for Evie. We had our first real date there! We went to the deciding game of the ‘96 World Series and saw Wade Boggs act like a Little Leaguer! We saw the first regular season game between the Yankees and the other NYC baseball team (that’s the Mets in case you’re wondering). And yes, we were engaged there! On the BIG SCREEN and all! (Oh the things we do for our wives.)

Recently, Evie decided to surprise me for ‘my birthday’. We saw the Yankees and Red Sox play. What a treat for me!

So, this is our final trip to Evie’s Mecca. And this time, for the first time, Blake will join us. I certainly hope they win. If not, the rest of our trip is shot!!

A couple of my buddies (Lance & Kyle) already posted this, but oh well, I still fell like sharing it. They’re just a lot cooler for sharing it first! Doesn’t change the fact that this is an amazing cover of Jeff Buckley’s signature song! Phil Wickham… you’re brilliant!

As I mentioned before, our church has joined up with more than 1,000 other churches in the One Prayer movement. For you GCTVers out there, go check out our daily blog. We developed this blog to enhance our corporate experience during this powerful journey of faith together.

This morning I finished the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. As most of you know, I’m a Chan Fan. I’ve been challenged by his messages and his pursuit of God. He personally had a lot of great things to say in his book, but one of my favorite lines was a quote from someone else.

Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter. - Tim Kizziar

Too often we look for people’s stamp of approval and let them define success for our lives and ministry. Admittedly, I’m certain I’ve spent incalculable amounts time trying to achieve success as defined by others. The problems is, I don’t want to get to the end of my ’successful’ life and ministry and realize I wasted it on seeking the approval of man.

In my quiet time this morning I read from Romans 12:2 and prayed for a new mindset when it comes to life and ministry. Not to say that I’ve lost something, or that I’ve been ‘off-track’, but I needed to confess my dependence on God and ask that my mind be continually renewed in order to discover what matters most!

For some of you, this may sound a bit weak and immature, but I’m feeling as strong in my faith and as deep in my relationship with God as I ever have. I’m searching for success as defined by His good, pleasing, and perfect will. May sound a little crazy, but I’m lovin’ it!

In the coming weeks our church will be participating with hundreds of other churches as we focus on the importance of prayer. We also have a blog that will serve as a place to share prayers and requests as we go through this journey together. During this same time, GenesisKIDS will be joining with thousands of kids across the nation as we focus on learning the practice of prayer. For those of you that know me, you know I get geeked about this kind of stuff. An interdenominational, cross-generational effort of fellow Christians joining together for a worthy cause. Sign me up!

Each of these kids are crazy awesome on their own. When you put them together: you’ve got an explosive combination. We all (my sister’s family and mine) have had a blast for the past few days watching them play together. Crazy awesome kids!!

I know the world is waiting with baited breath… well the wait is over!! I made my decision and yesterday I picked up my new scooter. I went with the Buddy 125 in the Burnt Orange. Tony, my brother-in-law, went with me to pick it up. Being a History Channel buff, he had to document the whole thing. So if you’re interested you can check out the video he made here. In the meantime I’ll be enjoying my 85 miles per gallon! SWEET!