an evening with ty & co.

I am a complete wuss. Is it just me or do I have friends out there who want to cry like a baby whenever you watch an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? I usually do not make a point of watching this show, but if I am home on Sunday night and it's on, I will watch it. Tonight was the season premiere and I told myself I would only watch the first 15 minutes or so because I had to do some reading, but when that 15 minutes was up I found myself hunting for a blank tape so that I could record the rest of the show and watch it later. As I was watching I tried to pinpoint what it is that I love about the show. Yes, the houses always look cool and the designers are great hosts (Ty's constant use of the bullhorn reminds me of good times at camp). The show also features things you can count on: a deserving family, obstacles that challenge them finishing the project on time, lots of ads from Sears, people shouting "Move that bus!" and Ty declaring, "There's just one more thing to say...welcome home." We are fans of traditions and things that are dependable. More than that, though, I think we are attracted to these families being loved. These families have done nothing directly for ABC or members of the show, yet here they are building them a brand new home. As much as those families enjoy their new homes I like to think that they are even more touched by the amount of love poured out to them as a result of that show coming into their lives. Because that's what gets to me. I don't tear up when they show the before and after shots of the houses, but when the kids are jumping up and down and the neighbors are cheering for them, I begin to hope that my roommate doesn't suddenly open the door and see me pretending not to cry.

a good laugh

My friend Ande sent this email to me today and I thought it was hysterical. Hope it makes you laugh, too.

katie's keepin' it real

Tonight I watched the CBS Evening News with their new star, Katie Couric. It was fine, but I loved the end. Katie is currently looking for a sign-off like anchors before her had. Walter Cronkite said, “And that’s the way it is...”, while Edward R. Murrow used, "Good night and good luck.” She has invited viewers of the show to submit ideas for her catchphrase and after reading some of those ideas, she showed a clip from Late Night with David Letterman where they made some of their own suggestions:

- Save us, Superman
- Well, I’m off to the dog track
- Three of tonight’s stories were fake. Write in if you think you know which ones
- I’m gonna go get me some ribs
- That’s the deal, Lucille
- Next stop, Margaritaville
- Oh, Lordy, I gots the news fever
- Here, kitty kitty kitty
- Keep feelin’ the funk
- Til tomorrow, morons
- Putting the ‘BS’ in CBS

I personally really like the last one and the ribs comment. How about you? Do you like one of these or do you have your own suggestion for Katie?

the adventure begins

I am exhausted. I know I am staying waaaay too busy right now, but today was a doozy. This new endeavour is far more work than I thought it would be. Last Wednesday was scheduled to be my first time leading youth group, but it was cancelled because of the threat of Tropical Storm Ernesto. I feel like that was a blessing in disguise because it gave me some much needed extra time to try and get things together.

So tonight ended up being my first time to lead a youth group meeting. I spent pretty much my entire afternoon making last minute preparations including coming up with some back-up games I could do inside since the possibility of rain was very high. I felt overwhelmed, but suddenly got excited...like first day of camp, I can't wait to see these kids I've not seen in a year excited. It took me by surprise. All of the anxiety I had been feeling for a week was replaced almost entirely with me looking forward to the evening. What a gift!

When I was thinking about taking this new job one of the first people I spoke with about it was my friend Kim, Ru's wife. She was unbelievably encouraging and I remember saying to her that one of the things I needed to remind myself regularly is that I'm not so big that I can screw up what God wants to accomplish. He's going to do it no matter how much I mess up. I think that might have finally sunk in because when I got in front of the kids to lead games and then give them a short lesson, I didn't even feel nervous. I wanted it to go well, but I wasn't freaking out and my heart wasn't going crazy. Just a few weeks ago when I had to introduce myself to the church my heart was pounding so hard I thought it was going to bust right through my chest. But tonight no heart pounding.

Did the evening go perfectly? It went well, but there was room for improvement. I definitely need to work on my speaking skills (one of the kids told me, "It's not a sermon unless you sweat."), but I feel God was there. And that's excitement. I also threw some shout-outs to places I love that have helped me get where I am now, which was a lot of fun for me. For our games I totally stole some of the Friday night games we do with adults on Family Weekends at Circle F. And while people were arriving I played a cd by 10th Avenue North, a tribute to my TNL days.

Here are a few photos from the evening:

Oh, yeah. Chick-fil-A before getting to the meeting.


So I'm pretty sick of pizza, but love it for pictures like this one.

Funny girls.

In unrelated news, I picked up the 2nd season of Lost last night and have watched the first two episodes. I'd forgotten what a great show that is. Speaking of, I think I'll go unwind by watching that 3rd episode.