VC#4

Today, I got up and ran with no bird attacks, although he was on the porch when I came back. We then went to my brother Shane's wedding rehearsal and lunch. We came back and dressed the kids up as a "Jedi," "StormTrooper" and a "Princess," to head out to a harvest festival in a nearby neighborhood. We had a good time. Then my mom played babysitter as Keri and I went out on a date with my brother Josh and Brittany. It was at a Starbucks at 11pm that we were kicked out. (kind off) This strange Starbucks employee comes over and says "we close at 11pm and we lock the doors." Then he walks over and holds the door open and stairs at us with "crazy eyes." It was a "leave now!," kind of tone/look. We got a good laugh out of that one....and headed home.
PS - Yesterday, we had a great time at Daytona Beach. It was a little chilly, but not for those with thick pale white skin from Ohio! Nothing more to report except that we flew a kite...really high in the heavy wind.

vc #3 my wakeup call

This morning, as I opened the door for my morning run, and the sun was shining in my face on this beautiful day. When out of nowhere, a huge gray crane comes in for a landing, (not graceful creatures in the air) and literally almost lands on top of me. I jumped out of the way, (cat-like reflexes) just as the big bird lands on the front steps of our rental house. Then (standing 4ft tall) turns and stares at me. I'm never been used as a landing pad for a gray crane....or any other bird for that matter, but it does keep vacations interesting. Anyway, today we travel to Daytona Beach!

vacation chronicles 2

Disney was great. Our kids loved it! The crowds were down, the weather was cool and the lines were short. My parents got free tickets, and the guy who gave them came with us to get us in to the park. We got a free parking pass, a free double stroller ($31 value) and a lady at the counter gave me a free coffee....in Disney World! We got out of there spending only $22. I love a good deal, and getting one makes me enjoy whatever it was, that much more.
I will say, that "anticipation" is sometimes as much fun, or even better than the actual experience. To see my little girls eyes when she first saw the big castle was priceless. The other side of an experience is the memories. I played up the anticipation and now will be working the memories.

vacation chronicles 1

My kids loved their first airplane ride. I love being there for my kids firsts in life. I do my best to build it up to make these kind of experiences even more special. Tomorrow is Disney World! My parents are taking our whole family as their Christmas gift to us. Right before they left, a friend of theirs came up and is giving them 7 free tickets. FAVOR! Anyways, our kids are so excited and I will make sure to get the most out of the memories we make tomorrow. You can bet for years from now, I will still bring up the memories we are about to make. Then when my kids are all grown up, they will think back to their childhood and have some great memories.

good weekend

Fun O Ween went off without a hitch on Saturday. We had several hundred people from the community come out to enjoy our free community event. C3 has some amazing people that jump in and work hard to pull our big events off. We had several guests this morning, several through the connection of our event.
- Buckeyes lost a tough game.......well.....Jesus is still on the throne!
- Tomorrow afternoon, my family is flying to Florida for a week of vacation and my brother Shane's wedding. We're leaving Ohio just as the snow starts to fly...ha.

things

- Had a great board meeting last night, that confirmed what I was feeling as far as direction of C3. (Details to follow)
- Tomorrow, we are doing our "Fun O Ween" event here at C3. With inflatables, hayrides, games, cotton candy, popcorn, paint a pumpkin, chili cook-off, cornhole and other stuff, it should be good. C3 does about 4-5 free community events a year.
- I actually did qualify for the Boston Marathon in 2010, with my last race. A technicality that has to do each race time completed is good for 2 years. In that time, I turn 35 and the qualifying time has 5 minutes added. OK, I may have just confused you. Although I'm in for 2010, I couldn't live with myself for taking it.
- Got invited to do a buddy's wedding in Poland (not Poland Oh) and he would cover Keri and I's way...WOW!
- This Sunday, I will attempt to cover the whole book of Revelation in one message. It is probably the hardest message I've ever prepared for and of course it will be less detailed and more of a big picture.
- Monday, I'm boarding my family on a plane for our 2nd week of vacation to Orlando to stay with my whole family in a big rented house. My middle brother Shane is getting married and my dad and I will do the wedding. AND, my parents are giving us tickets to Disney World as our Christmas gifts! I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD! YEAH!
- Go BUCKEYES!.......beat Penn State.

How God Speaks

Now I don't claim to be the foremost authority on the issue, but I will tell you what I have learned and seen. It is usually in 1 of 4 ways how God usually speaks; a thunderbolt, from birth, over time and an open door. If you are following Christ, you have most likely experienced one or more of these. Which one does God usually speak to you with the most? What could you do to listen better in that area? Have you found other ways that God speaks to you?