What have I done?

I did it....I got a my space. It's crazy. I kind of like it though. I was looking at some of my student's spaces and found out a lot of stuff. It's pretty cool..

Today was Elk burger day at Ye Ol' Butcher Shop in Plano. Greatness! Me, Bob, and Ray did some damage. Well, Bob and I did....Ray just sat and watched. We had a great time just talking ministry and just chattin' about the stuff we see God doing at Springcreek.

My oldest daughter has high school orientation tomorrow night.....that's killin' me. That's my baby.

Well....I've got to take some allergy medicine. I led worship tonight at our jr. high service and it felt like I was singing in a space helmet. I'm goin' to bed. I'm out....

I love my job...

Yesterday.....
1. Organize a slammin' summer calendar for our students.....it's gonna be a great summer.
2. Free lunch with the people from Hawaiian Falls Waterpark. Great company and great
people.
3. Answer some e-mails from my awesome students
4. Put together Rock'em Sock'em Robots
5. Have Rock'em Sock'em Tournament with Jay to make sure it works properly.
6. Put together music for Jr. High '80's party. Need I say more?
7. My son Beaux made a 100 on his TAKS Test, so we had to celebrate....Double Dave's Pizza!
8. Thursday night means 2 things......"My Name is Earl" and "The Office."

What a day.....

So this morning this lady pulls up beside me at a red light. She has workbook/planner of some sort open on her console, another book propped against the steering wheel on her legs, she's writing in the one on her console, looking at the other, eating a breakfast burrito, and driving. What is up with that? I sincerely hope she made it to wherever she was going safely, but if she did not...I can understand why. I got a quick start when the light turned green and let the people behind me deal with her swerving all over the stinkin' road.

I am so excited about this summer. We are finalizing our summer calendar and it is going to be a great summer. It's a great thing when your ministry requires you to be in the mountains of New Mexico during June where it's only 80 degrees at the hottest.

It's Friday afternoon and I'm goin' home. I've got a little more reading to do and some e-mails to answer, but I can finish those while I'm driving home. I'm out...

Rain, rain, sleep away...

Rain, rain, rain.....after months of unbelievably dry weather we are getting drenched. I'm good with that though. I've got this cool hat that I bought in Australia that I get to wear when it rains a lot, plus I sleep like a stinkin' baby during thunderstorms.

I'm a little down right now. I'm not sure what to think about Terrell Owens coming to the Cowboys. Talent and work ethic are unmatched, but the attitude and negative impact on the rest of the team is a concern. However, if there is anyone that can make it a positive it's Bill Parcells. My buddy Ray (Pastor Ray Miranda) and I will have plenty to talk about this season.

Day off tomorrow....nice. I'm gonna go try and catch some rain sleep. I'm out...

Been a while...

Man...what a week. We took a group of sr. high students to San Antonio/San Marcos/New Braunfels for a couple of days and it was great! It was a little cold for floating the river, so we found some other things to do with the time and it was great. We're taking a group of jr. high students to Six Flags today. The weather is great..so we should be good.

On the way to work this morning I remembered that it is St. Patrick's Day. I didn't have a stitch of green on, and I'm going to be with jr. high kids all day. In my mind that meant I would get pinched about a cajillion times today. So I stopped at Walmart to get me a green shirt. I love that store. It has saved me so many times. Need a last minute card...stop in at Walmart. Need some candy for the movies....Walmart. Need some more BB's for the neighbor's cat....Walmart. It's awesome!

Well....I'm looking forward to today. I'm also looking forward to the new series we are starting this week. It's titled "In the Ring." We're going to spend the next 4 weeks talking about dealing with difficult people. Man...is that something we all need to hear or what? I'm not sure what she meant, but my wife said she was real excited about it and planned on buying the dvd series for future reference. If she's not careful I'll be making a run to Walmart to buy that 60" HDTV flat panel Widescreen so she can watch those bad boys. I'm out...

Spring Break...

It's Spring Break....

That doesn't mean the same thing it used to in my teaching days...but it's still good. What a great weekend it's been. Ray, our Connections Pastor, did a great job on the message this weekend. It was a great message on the rest that God brings to our lives. He did a great job of illustrating the busy side of our lives, the struggles we all deal with in scheduling and stuff, and how important the rest and relaxation times are to our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Great message mang.

I'm looking forward to Spring Break this week. We're going to New Braunfels with 25 of our senior high students Tuesday. It should be a lot of fun. The rest of the week I'm hangin' with my family and going to Six Flags on Friday with our middle schoolers.

I've had a rough couple of days. I'm really struggling to figure out life with teenage daughters. I just don't understand the teenage female psyche. It's totally foreign. The drama, the eye rolls, the sighs of frustration at your "totally unfair" rules, the clothes, the deer-in-the-headlight looks for any number of things....it's all just so confusing. With my son...we pick up a ball, or an x-box controller, or play pull my finger jokes on each other, and it's all good. Oh that it were that easy with the girls.......maybe not the pull my finger jokes, but the other stuff would be great. I love them dearly...I just don't understand. I don't know if I want to understand. Crap, now I sound like them.....HELP ME.

I'm out....

here, there, everywhere....

It was a crazy night. One kid at dance by 6, another at softball by 6:30, pick up from dance by 7:45, and softball 8:00. An English project, math homework, and one little boy that just had to go along.

My wife had parent conferences tonight at her elementary school. I'm not sure how many she had, but those nights are the worst. When I was teaching, the parents you really needed to talk to never showed up for conferences. They knew their kids were jerks, and just didn't want to hear it anymore. I don't think I would have patience for an elementary parent conference and the enabling that can take place there.

Well...I'm looking forward to Ray's message this weekend. I'm realizing how tired I am right now, and in anticipation of the message. I'm going to rest a little.....I'm out...

Random Tuesday

Hobosexual-- a person who dresses in thrift clothes by choice, not necessity while growing a beard that covers the entire neck.

Thoughts....

David Blaine is the devil.

I could eat fried shrimp everyday........

Why was "Love Monkey" taken off of the air, but we still have to endure "Skating with Celebrities?"

There's not much better for a late, late dinner than a bowl of Corn Flakes and a huge glass of milk

I just saw a commercial for "24 The Game" for x-box............GREATNESS! I am Jack Bauer.

Who told the guys from "System of a Down" that they were good? They suck!

David Blaine is the devil.

Thanks for your time...I'm out...

Too much noise...

Life is crazy sometimes....

As I sit and think about the stuff that's going on this week it makes me dizzy. I love the fact that our kids are involved in stuff, and I'm very thankful that they are able to do the things they love. I think it is so important for kids to be involved in something. In my years as a teacher the kids that seemed to get into trouble the most were kids that were not involved with anything. They just had time to sit around and make bad choices. So, I encourage my kids to get involved and do something.

However, we also must remember to take some time to relax and be still. I know there have been times that God has tried to speak to me, but I was too busy to listen. Dr. Jack Groppel has some awesome info on managing stress, and time. We saw him at the "Choose to Lead" conference at Willowcreek. His presentation was great and really revealed to me the importance of slowing down and taking time to recover from all of the energy spent. It's hard to hear over your own noise.

I'm tired and it's a long day of meetings tomorrow. I'm looking forward to programming out the next couple of months and talking ministry with the guys I get to serve with every day. We'll spend some time talking, but the listening is where we find the answers. I'm out...

Back in the saddle...

Willowtime is over and it was back to the office today. Trying to get caught up and ready for the weekend. American Airlines finally got Jay's luggage back to him about midnight last night. All of his clothes were in there and everything. If they would not have found it he would have been out at least $4.13. I mean....it was his good clothes.

Jay and I sat down and planned a big part of our summer calendar. It's looking good. We've got a lot of good ideas and some cool things planned. I'm excited about the opportunities our students will have to grow spiritually this summer.

I've been thinking about something in particular from the conference this weekend. Greg Stier spoke on evangelism. I have a tendency to agree with a point that he made when he said that we may have forgotten or short-changed the effect that God's word can have on people's lives. The power of the gospel can stand alone and change lives. Like Greg said, I don't know how, and I can't understand it completely......but I believe it!

I'm going to go watch some tv......I may even try to find David Blaine resurrecting dead pigeons with the birdman and a group of pilgrims on The Learning Channel. Ask Jay...

I'm out.....

Home Sweet Home

Man it's good to be home...

I got to baptize my son tonight.....AWESOME!!!! It was so cool.

Today is my birthday and my wife planned a surprise party for me after church tonight. One of my student's parents asked me to come talk to her, and all of my kids were waiting in the student ministry auditorium to surprise me. It was great. We had a cake and everything. I got a cool Stevie Ray Vaughn dvd/cd, and some gift cards. My wife got me a cool gift card to the mall, and my son got me an x-box game. It was fun.

I would love to stay up and talk more, but I am dead. I will have some more Chicago stuff for you tomorrow. Some highlights of the trip, etc....

Thank you guys for my party and all the stuff...ya'll are awesome. And thank you Kel and kids for all that you do, and for putting up with me. I'm out......

Chi-Town

Just got in from a night in downtown Chicago. Very cool....

We hit Gino's East for dinner........unbelievable pizza! Went to the top of the Sears Tower.......110 stories and 1400 feet above the street. WHAT? Saw Soldier Field, Wrigley Field, and Navy Pier. But we had another brush with greatness. We actually stood outside of Harpo Studios within feet of Diane Keeton, Emma Thompson, and Oprah herself. Of course they were inside the building and we were outside where it was 28 freakin' degrees. But we did talk to two really nice security guards, 1 limo driver, and a pimp.

Yes..Jay and I now know Chicago pretty well. We stopped in a 50's style diner in Wrigleyville (that's what us locals call the area around Wrigley Field) and had some good conversation with some of the clientelle and a really nice waitress. We were just there to warm up, so I had a vanilla shake.

I know what you're thinking....I thought Doug and Jay went to a conference. We did, and we heard some really good stuff today from Bo Boshers. He is the Director of Student Ministries at Willowcreek. He spoke on leading and mentoring. He had some excellent stuff. He is also from a teaching/coaching background and I was able to have a really good conversation with him after the session. I also spoke with Jim Mellado for quite a while. Jim and I went to church together, sunday school, etc..when we were in church together in Katy, Tx. back in the early '90's. I left there to go coach in Nederland, TX when he left to go to work for a growing church in the Chicago area. He's now the President of Willowcreek Assoc. We spent some time today catching up and talking about our families and stuff. He's an awesome guy and it was good to catch up with him.

Well....we're flying back tomorrow and I get to baptize my son Beaux. I am pumped! I'll also be a year older when I wake up tomorrow. 38! Wow.....suddenly I feel tired and achy. And did I mention that I got my picture taken with Mac Powell from Third Day? I'm out.....

A Real Moment....

Check this out....
















Oh yeah.....that's me and Mac Powell of Third Day. WHAT? When I left Dallas I told my wife that I was getting my picture taken with Mac Powell. Today...Jay and I are leaving the building walking to our car, and there he is coming down the sidewalk right towards us. WHAT? I just went....OH MY GOSH! Jay started laughing at me, and I think Mac was a bit scared. I just said can I get my picture taken with you? He obliged, and then let us interview him on video to bring back to our students. AWESOME!!! This my friends......is a moment!

The Third Day show tonight was great, as was the conference. We met some friends from a Menanite church in Kansas. We had dinner with them and hung out for a while. We were late getting back to the church from dinner for the concert, but managed to talk our way down to the 10th row and had a blast.

One last question....why did Travis choose Sara? And did I mention I got my picture taken with Mac Powell? I'm out..........

Sweet Home Chicago

It took a while...but we're here.

Jay and I left after the music part of the 11:30 service to catch a flight to Chicago. We were too late to check our bags at the airport, so they had to put us on standby. Fortunately the lady liked us, so she got us on a 2:00 flight instead of the 1:30 that we were supposed to be on. The weird thing is that it landed at the same time as the 1:30. Needless to say...we're here.

We got our rent car and made it to the hotel by 6:00ish. The hotel was so nasty. We just dropped our stuff off and drove to downtown Chicago. It only took us about 20 minutes to get down there, but then it took us about 45 to find a place to park. It's crazy down there. We finally parked and walked around looking for a place to eat and happened upon Ditka's. Very cool place....very good food. It was fun.....but we missed Grey's Anatomy, so Kelly has it TIVO'd for me when I get home.

We made it back to the hotel and that's not necessarily a good thing. It was just gross. So this morning as I'm standing in the shower that has less water pressure than someone peeing I made the decision to find somewhere else to stay. We're now in the Amerisuites, and it's great.

The conference starts in a bit so we're about to leave. It should be great. Third Day is in concert tonight, and my goal is to get a picture with them. Jay wants to stay at the hotel and watch the Bachelor.....but I'm not doing it. I'm still trying to earn my mancard back from watching it the last time and learning way too many details about the whole thing. I'm sure more will happen while we're here so stay tuned.....I'm out....

Everybody's workin' for the weekend....

S-A-T-U-R.....D-A-Y NIGHT......nothin' wrong with a little Bay City Rollers on the weekend.

We went and saw "Eight Below" last night. Good story....good movie. We took my two daughters to see it with us. The boy was spending the night with a friend. Ashli (my oldest), and I have a little game at the movies. At a totally stupid time during the movie (previews, feature, whatever), she screams like something in the movie scared the dog out of her. She gets lunch, a snow cone, or something like that and I laugh my head off. It's great fun.

I don't know of anything much better than sleeping in a thunderstorm. Last night was an awesome storm! Rain, lightning, thunder....it was great. It woke me up about 3:00 a.m....and I laid there for a little bit, then rolled over to the cool side of the pillow and slept like a baby. A really big baby, but a baby none the less.

I'm sitting here with my son, waiting for my wife to get back from my middle daughter, Brooke's dance competition. Their awards ceremony started at 10:30 p.m. WHAT? Somebody help me understand the whole dance team thing. I'm really trying, but I just don't get it. It's not the dance thing in general....she's really talented. It's just the attitude of a lot of the girls and their moms. Oh my gosh. It's really mind boggling at times. And the costumes don't help either. I do know one thing.....if I started over again and it was all about the money. I'd open a dance studio. They make some serious jack.

Well....it's about time to go to bed. Services tomorrow......awesome!

I'm out....

Tonight was PTA meeting night. Can you say whippin'? They tactfully scheduled this meeting in front of the 3rd grade choir program, as they always do, and then slammed us with a PTA meeting. The 20 minute choir program was actually a welcome break from the PTA business. I think if someone would have hit me in the face with a 2 x 4, I would have actually enjoyed it as a welcome relief from discussion of PTA Lifetime Membership Honorees................WHAT? LIFETIME? Why would you not quit once your kids are out? There was a lady there that had been a member of this school's PTA since it started.......20 years ago. WHAT?

Oh well.....my son was brilliant in his speaking parts and that's why I was there. I've been watching my calories and I'm down to 259 from 272. The 5:00 a.m. workouts and calorie counting are starting to help. I celebrated tonight with a vanilla shake. 1st one in over a month......don't judge me.

I'm out....

Wrapping it up...

Just watched American Idol. My personal early favorites:
Girl....Melissa McGehee (i think that's her name)
Boy....as much as I want Chris Daugherty to win....Ace has the whole package and the female backing.

I am really looking forward to a good night's sleep. I woke up this morning at about 4, and couldn't get back to sleep. I was just thinking about the day in front of me. Well, that day is over. I'm just hangin' out right now while my wife grades some papers.

Tomorrow is a busy, busy day. My daughter Brooke has the lead in a melodrama at school plus she is portraying Ashley Olson at the school's living museum. These two events are happening at the same time. Someone didn't plan real well. At the same time my son has his first choir program. He has a speaking part and everything. So my wife and I will be splitting duties tomorrow night.

At times I forget to sit back and rest. I think sometimes, in today's fast paced lives that we lead, rest is something that is sacrificed all too often. On the way home from church tonight I tried to gear down from this long day and just clear my head. I love my job, and I love the opportunities that God has given me here at Springcreek. But I also love the time He gives me to rest and plan on taking full advantage of that right now.

I'm out......

Random early Wednesday...

I know it's early Wed. morning, but it was a long day yesterday, and I didn't get around to writing anything yesterday.

Here are some thoughts....

Why am I up right now?

Watching SportsCenter and all of their NBA highlights makes me realize something......I miss football season.

What's a nuget and why is it in candy bars?

Is there anything that you cannot find at Walmart?

I just saw a commercial for a reality show on ESPN that follows a New York high school basketball phenom on his "difficult journey" to declaring for the NBA draft..........WHAT?

Right after that Walker Texas Ranger did a commercial for a home gym........he needs to "go Walker" on his plastic surgeon....WOW...

Well...I'm going to the gym now. A lot of my friends workout at night. I just can't do that. It helps me get going for the day when I workout in the mornings. Plus, I just saw Peter from the Brady Bunch on an AbLounge commercial and if he can do it, so can I.

I'm out....

Your my boy Runks...

My boy Runks brought it home tonight at Footnote Dallas. His message on being made right in God's eyes, and standing before Him as a righteous person was awesome! I likes me some Runks.

Tomorrow is going to be a looooooong day. 9-5 training on the new computer system at the church. It is much needed, but it is one continuous meeting...all day.

I've got to go watch the ice dancing highlights from last night again..........stinkin' hilarious! Here are some pictures of the carnage. The Canadian crash was the best (bottom).

Tomorrow is Random Tuesday, but right now I'm trying to figure out why my boy is sleeping in his jeans that he wore all day today. I'm out....

Ready for Monday...

Monday morning......when I was teaching these were the hardest. Now...it's my day off and I love it.

What a great weekend. I had the opportunity to spend it with First Baptist Church Arlington, TX. It was their student ministry's Wake-Up Weekend. This is the second year I've had the chance to help out with this weekend. It was so much fun, and I really enjoy hanging out with that group. We got to worship together, talk about the different ways that Satan tries to "punk" us, how to identify God's truths and desire for our lives, and how to apply those things to our lives. They're just a great group of students with incredible adult leadership. Curt, thank you for inviting me to be with you guys again, and I look forward to the next time we're together.

I watched some Olympic action last night. I've never laughed so hard as I did watching ice dancing. There were more crashes than you see in a NASCAR race. It was great. If you didn't see it, watch the highlights.....greatness.

As part of my day off...I get to go grocery shopping. In order to do that well, I need to go eat breakfast or I will buy all kinds of stuff. I cannot be hungry when I go grocery shopping. It's just not a good scene.

Here are a few pictures from WUWE.....I'm out....

Wakeup

I'm at First Baptist Church Arlington's Wake Up Weekend right now. We had a great night last night, and this morning was awesome. The kids are doing various service projects this afternoon so I'm hangin' out at the hotel.

I'm lovin' this weekend's theme and how everything is coming together. The whole "Punk'd" theme is great. As I've been studying and preparing I've been seeing all the ways the world punks us when we're not prepared and paying attention. All the different "untruths" that are thrown our way and made to look appealing and needed can destroy our lives slowly. The danger there is it's kind of like gaining weight. You don't see it happening until you've put on 20lbs, and then it's like where did that come from?

The students are really engaged with the worship and discussions we're having and I enjoy hangin' with them. I can' t wait to get back to my students tomorrow night and worship with them. When I get the opportunity to teach, the passion for teaching and ministering becomes stronger.

I'm going to go watch the Olympics and try to figure out what in the crap Curling is......I'm out..