Blake Thompson daht NetI'm just saying….

Church services at The Orchard this summer have been good. Usually when summer comes our numbers drop a little because of the college students that attend are home for the summer. Or off working somewhere. Or just traveling and seeing cool stuff. But usually, most of them are not in Oxford.

But this summer our numbers didn’t drop significantly because many of our college students stuck around Oxford taking summer school or getting jobs. So summer was a nice time to get to know them better, and we also saw a few new families start to attend during the summer. Plus often times we had many counselors from Camp Lake Stephens attend too.

But when fall gets near we know to expect an uptick in attendance. But no way to really gage it though. We averaged about 115 from the Sunday after Ole Miss’ exams were done through the last weekend before classes started. I preached on August 15th to about 135 people. The next weekend, the 22nd was “Move In” weekend. Classes for Ole Miss started the next day.

On that morning we saw familiar faces showing up. Then some we’d not seen in a few months. And then new faces. And more new faces. And more and more! We started finding folding chairs in the storage room. We took all the chairs out of the Kids’ Ministry rooms. And we ran out of chairs! We had people sitting on the floor, standing in corners, out in the hallways… There were over 250 people there! I was quite surprised. We practically doubled from the week before.

I joked with myself that my awesome message the week before brought everyone in. But really, I don’t know what the catalyst was. And we start wondering how to prepare for the next week.  Pat is preaching a series on Biblical Friendship and I think it hit home with many people. But so many of the new faces were college students.

This morning I woke up to get ready for church. It was grey and raining outside. I thought, “hmm.” I figured the rain would keep people in bed or just in their homes. So we wouldn’t have to move as many chairs around.

We still set up a few chairs in the overflow room, but didn’t know what to expect. Church starts at 10:30. It stops raining about 10ish. There are a few people there. But then it happens again. A steady trickle becomes a stream. And soon we’re scrambling for chairs again. Taking the chairs from the kids again. And having people sit/stand everywhere. It didn’t seem quite as crazy this time, but there were actually more people there today than last week. The parking lot was an insurance adjuster’s nightmare with all those cars parked so tightly and all those college girls trying to maneuver around!

Now people are suggesting knocking out walls and other major remodeling projects. I’m interested to see how many people coming on Sunday mornings shift to the evening service that will begin on September 12th. But running out of space is a good problem to (temporarily) have.

It’s been an exciting two weekends. Seeing your church attendance double. But we’ve got to continue to seek God in how to connect everyone that’s coming to God and to each other. Provide community both big and small for them. And to create space, whether that means extra services or expanded rooms. So if you’ve read this far (and I’ll admit that I left out a lot of details I wanted to put in. I’m trying to get better at that) I ask that you pray that we, The Orchard, seek God and His wisdom for what our next steps should be.

Next weekend is a holiday weekend. No one has school on Monday and many people are off of work. Will people be traveling? BUT…it’s Ole Miss’ first home game of the season! Will more people be in town and come to church? We’ll see.

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With school just starting up for most colleges and universities, I decided to put together a list of 15 Tips for College Freshmen.

Some of these are from my own experience, and some are from conversations I’ve had with other “experienced” college students or graduates.

1. Enjoy it! Don’t stress out – It’s a new place with new people with new expectations. But you can pretty much start all over. For most people you can start your reputation over at ground zero (which is good for some, scary for others). But enjoy the next four or five years. Stressing continually about school will only make your grades bad and body unhealthy.
2. Go to Class – This accomplishes a few different things. The professor knows your face (and this counts for something), listening and taking notes helps (even if you don’t study them a ton later), and many classes will drop you a letter grade if you miss too much. Plus you can form study groups and meet that girl/guy you saw sitting up front.
3. Be a part of a campus ministry and local church – If church and following God is already a part of your life, then I urge you to get involved with a campus ministry. It helps you stay grounded in what you believe, you can find friends pretty easily, and you can find people you can to go for talking though issues at school. And I encourage you to find a local church to call your own for the next few years. It’s rewarding to be a part of something bigger than just a “college student ministry”, but you can serve in the life of the Church.
4. Watch what you eat – I know… when you’re 18 you think your metabolism is hyped up enough to handle anything you eat/drink. But believe me, it will catch up to you fast if you’re not careful. You don’t have to have a strict diet, but too much pizza, chips, snacks, and soft drinks will add up before you know it.
5. Go to the cafeteria and union often – They are natural gathering places. You’ll see lots of people and start to recognize them. Talk to them. Make friends. You might think you have a lot of good friends from high school. You don’t. You do have a few good friends from high school though. But the friendships you make in college are so much deeper than your high school relationships. It’s like Jr High < High School < College.
6. Go to the games –  It’s football season. Get excited about your team, whether you’ve been a fan for life or just a week or so. But go, enjoy pregame festivities, cheer in the student section, celebrate or get mad with your fellow fans. Do the same for Basketball and Baseball seasons. Those will be some of the best memories. And even if you’re not a big sports fan you’ll enjoy the camaraderie of the event together. And you’ll probably become a fan.
7. Know who you are and what you believe – There will be plenty of people who try to tell you what to believe or who you should be. Be confident in yourself. Don’t be a people pleaser or you’ll end up being not just two faced, but five or six faced depending on how many groups you run with. But know what you believe and be able to back it up.
8. Enjoy it – There’s lots of partying that goes on at college. My advice is to be responsible. Stick with a good crowd and have fun. But don’t go crazy. Especially with camera phones and facebook in everyone’s pocket. Plus, getting too crazy too often will cause your grades to suffer. Mom and dad won’t like that.
9. Exercise – It helps on multiple levels. It clears your head and relieves stress.  It keeps you healthy. It helps ward off some of those hot wings and pizza from last night. It’s a great way to meet other guys/girls at the gym or running around campus. Each school has its own gym for the students. And there are probably various other gyms in town. Use them. Or just run a lot.
10. Stop by your professors’ offices during their office hours – This will help you out a ton. Ask them to look over a draft of your paper, ask a question you thought of in class, ask why you missed a question on a test or what it was about your paper he didn’t like. This lets them know you care about their class. That makes them remember you and probably like you. They’ll help you write your paper almost if you ask enough questions (not literally, but you know what I mean).
11. Read – Read the syllabus. Twice. Read the course materials. And read your notes. With basic comprehension and retention, you’re already ahead of the game for most courses. Then read/study/read/and bust your tail some more to go for that A. Studying is important. Getting in a study group can be beneficial too.
12. Go to the Library – It’s quieter in there. There are tons of resources there. You can study or get away from the craziness that is often in the dorm or house. And if not the library, find a special place to study that is away from everything.
13. Diversify your social network – If there are kids from your high school at college with you don’t only hang out with them. Don’t hang out with only people in your major or from your dorm or your greek affiliation or your campus ministry or your club/team or your….. you get the point. But have a variety of groups you interact with. It’ll make you much more well rounded.
14. Don’t wait til last minute to study – It will be both tempting and convenient to do that. And it can be destructive as well. Stress you out. And then you order a pizza and gain 15 pounds and make a D on your test… Remember that stuff about reading? Don’t wait til the day before a test to start your reading. Nor wait til the day before a paper or project is due to ask your prof for assistance.
15. Watch your money – It is easy to spend lots of money in a short amount of time if you’re
16. not careful. Then you’re buying a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger off of the dollar menu the second half of the each day or have debt. Ignore all the credit card applications that will seem to fall like rain on freshmen. You don’t need all that credit.

That is a quick list. What did I leave out? What advice would you give a college freshman starting school for the first time?

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Here’s the second part of the news show from a few days ago. This time they tackle sin, grandparents, lying to parents, and books.

And sadly the memory card had gotten full, and things ended too soon. But they still had a good time with it.

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Ever since Addie got a mp3 player with a voice recorder she’s played around with making her own “news podcast” as she calls it. She would invite her sister to do the news with her. They’d have fun with it, making up silly things while we were on a road trip. They’d sit next to each other in the van and record themselves, then listen back through together and just laugh and laugh and laugh.

This weekend I discovered them making their first video newscast. I have to admit that I have laughed more at this the past few days than I ever would have expected. The following video is about the first half of their first newscast. They said they’ll probably make more in the future.

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So I know I’ve been needing to make a change in my life. Specifically for my body. That was the motivation behind The Challenge from back in the spring. And FYI I came in second in The Challenge losing around 15 pounds. I’ve put a little of that back on because I’ve stopped running frequently. A goal would be to regularly do CrossFit workouts. They are intense, but I’m probably not near in shape for them right now.

I’d heard of Power 90 and P90X before. But didn’t know if they were gimmicky or not. My wife owns more Tae Bo videos than you can find at WalMart. And those just seemed dumb to me. But then I started hearing from people I knew in real life about P90X. And finally caught the infomercial. Then saw the countless “transformation” videos on YouTube. And thought, “I should do this!”

I know I need to add strength and flexibility in my body. And my back/abs/core are pretty pitiful. It seems every other month or so my lower back will get really sore and stiff. So I was thinking P90X can help me with some overall fitness goals. Plus pullups are hard, and I’d love to do a lot of those.

After searching eBay and CraigsList I decided to buy a legit copy instead of risking getting scammed. But I found a great deal where I got 25% off. So I bought the videos, bought a pullup bar (from Walmart.com), and started it last week. Here’s my one week review:

The first three weeks are exactly the same. Then there is more variety afterwards. But here is how the first week shook out.

• Day One – Chest & Back + Ab Ripper X: It was lots of pushups and pullups. Like a lots. And a few rows. So I did twelve exercises then repeated those twelve. You had your basic pushups, but then wide, military, diamond, “under the fence”, and decline. And you had wide grip pullup, reverse grip, close grip overhand pullups. And then some rows. I tried to do the “Hundred Pushup” plana  few times. But this was pretty tough. And pullups are tough. I can knock out about four or five maybe with a few days rest. But doing multiple sets of different types…I tire out quickly. I only had some weights that my wife already owned (15lbs) so doing rows with those was almost pointless. But buying dumbbells is expensive and I’d already bought the set of DVD’s and the pullup bar. Ab Ripper X? Man, that’s a weak point of mine. And it kicked my tail. It burned. But I did better than I expected. But there are exercises where I’m supposed to lie on my back and point my leg straight up to the sky. But my inflexible body can’t do that. Hopefully it will w/in the next 90 days. But Ab Ripper X definitely burned. And I took breaks instead of doing all 339 reps of core exercises.
• Day Two – Plyometrics: It’s basically a lot of jumping around. It takes some balance.  But gets your heart rate up. And makes you sweat some.
• Day Three – Arms and Shoulders + Ab Ripper X: Curls, shrugs, presses, dips, kickbacks, etc. Just lots of that over and over. For some of the exercises 15lbs was perfect, for some it was too little, and for others it was too much (if you’re wanting to get in the 8-12 rep range). But it gave me a good workout I think. It produced some soreness. And more Ab Ripper X. Could tell my abs were sore from before.
• Day Four – Yoga X: On the front end I was wondering if I’d like this or not. I know some people love Yoga. And I know a guy who likes to do the Yoga X video often. This video was 90 minutes! Let’s just say I did only 30 minutes of it. And I pushed to get to that 30 minutes. I hated it. I’m inflexible. And you gotta hold these poses and positions. And it takes strength to do it too. And I was already sore from the first three days so it was tough. And not enjoyable. But my aim is to finish it at some point. It made me sweat more than the others so far I think. And I only did it 30 minutes (and some of that 30 minutes was me standing up saying, “I can’t do THAT!”
• Day Five – Legs & Back + Ab Ripper X: This had lots of squats, lunges, and more pullups. The pullups were about like the first day of pullups. Tough. But hoping to improve. The leg exercises? TOUGH. For me at least. When I’ve been to gyms I’ve never done much in the way of weighted squats. And when I did, my back ended up hurting in a few days. These were all body weight leg exercises. But it was over and over and over. My legs were burning afterwards for a bit. And I finally had to get a towel to sop up the sweat as I did the workout. But the biggest consequence was the days that followed. My legs were sore as crap! I walked funny. It was the first real sore that affected how I moved around. And more Ab Ripper X. They’re going to get hit three times a week at first it seems.
• Day Six – Kenpo X: It’s a karate workout. Supposedly. It’s a lot of kicking and punching. But I think it’s a cardio workout masked as a karate workout. I guess it’s sort of like Tae Bo now that I think about it.
• Day Seven – X Stretch or Rest: My body is about a flexible as my concrete driveway. So I really need to do the X Stretch workouts. But I took a rest instead. It fell on a full day. That’s my excuse. So I can’t review the Stretch

So after one week I’ve done seven of the 12 DVD workouts. I’ve not done X Stretch; Cardio X; Core Synergetics; Chest, Shoulders, Triceps; and Back & Biceps. The workouts are good. They can be long though. You’re using your body weight for resistance in many of them. But I definitely got sore. At least it’ll tone you and maybe rip you up (IF YOU FOLLOW THE EATING PLAN). But I don’t know that anyone is going to add much bulk.

Think about it, the only chest work you’re doing is variations of pushups. And trust me, they’re not easy. But you’re not getting down on a weight bench and pressing lots of iron above you. Same with the legs. Now my legs are weak already, so I’m not complaining. But sometimes I look at these videos and wonder if the people got big using weights in a regular gym, and then got definition and shredded using P90X? Also, through out the whole 13 weeks, you are only targeting your chest or legs once a week where most weeks your back is getting two days a week. Interesting.

So, after one week what do I think? I think it’s probably too early to have an informed opinion. But my partially informed opinion is that it’s a worthy exercise program. Some people might not want to watch their TV or computer screen for an hour a day. Yes, an hour. And the Yoga is 90 minutes. But I don’t have to drive to the gym or drive home and can manage my kids’ schedules easier if I do it at home as well. I can see why some people love it. But I can see why some think it can get boring. In a real gym can you get in a quicker workout using free weights? Probably. And Tony Horton, while not over the top, is borderline cheesy sometimes on the DVD’s. And I need to get a few more dumbbells to have variety in the poundage to get the best results.

So I think it will be a great program to go through a time or two. Plus, once you have the equipment there’s really nothing else to buy. They will sell you tons of supplements and nutrition drinks and such. They’re probalby good. But it can get pricey too. But the key to remember is that your body composition is 80% what you eat. So unless you’re paying good attention to what you eat, you can have an 8-pack of abs, but have it covered in a sheath of cookies, ice cream, and fried foods so that you never see your abs.

P90X comes with a very detailed eating plan. I’ve not read it yet. I should. But I have to finish eating up the ice cream in my freezer first! I did actually take some “before” pics after I did the fit test. Maybe one day I’ll show them if there’s enough difference after 90 days.

I don’t plan on doing a weekly update about P90X. Maybe after the first full month. But definitely after the 90 days are done.

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So yesterday we participated in Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. It’s where you can dress up like a cow and get free food. It was a good deal. My family of five ate for $0.82. Not bad, huh? Here’s a pic of the kids in their home made cow costumes.

But today Ella wanted to make a few alterations to her cow mask. She decided she wanted to make it into a “Super Hero Mask”. But the more I look at it, it seems less “super hero” and more “sinister. Here’s a short video. What do you think?

Ella and her mask from Blake Thompson on Vimeo.

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Well I’m back from the beach. We had some friends who were going to Destin, FL for a week. They were persistant with the invitations to join them. We finally gave in. And we’re glad we did. They have three kids same nearly same ages as ours, and they loved playing together.

I’d blogged pretty much every day of May until the trip. And then I only did it once from the beach. Sorry.But I did have some random thoughts while at the beach. So here come the bullets:

• There is no “quick” or “direct” way to get to Destin, FL from Oxford, MS.
• Generally the hotel pools in Alabama don’t open until after Memorial Day. We left at night to head down and stopped in Montgomery, AL for a pit stop. Pool was locked up.
• Staying in a condo with six kids ages 8 and under is sometimes wild.
• You don’t need sugar to stir up that many kids, but it does add excitement.
• I was a little curious as to how the weather would be. It was cold/rainy in Oxford the day before we left. But it was mid 80′s pretty much the whole time.
• It didn’t rain a drop on us until the final day.
• If you go to a restaurant with lots and lots of alligators outside in a pond and has handwritten Sharpie graffiti all over it, you can expect to pay about $20 for a bowl of pasta and 8 pieces of shrimp.
• I brought more shoes on this vacation than I ever had, but wore only one pair the entire time.
• That means I never went for a run on this trip.
• Shuffleboard isn’t just for old folks. It was actually kind of fun.
• I never saw or smelled any oil in the water.
• The waves were really strong. Which means really fun. Good for making memories.
• “Outlet Mall” really means “yes, we have a few killer deals, but most things are just about 10-15% off, which you would have paid in taxes anyway. But we know vacationers are just looking for reasons to spend money, so we put a lot of your favorite stores together so you can give us your money.”
• People that decorate beach condos really like floral print for furniture, wallpaper, and bedding. I mean REALLY like floral print.
• The adults in my family need road-trip potty breaks more than the kids do.
• Anything on the lower pantry shelves or in the fridge in the condo is fair game for kids to grab.
• Seaside has gotten a little more crowded and busy since my honeymoon. But I’d still lik estay there again someday. Maybe Rosemary Beach could be a possibility too.
• Every condo should provide wifi these days. Just saying…
• Having an iPhone on vacation is really, really helpful.
• I actually found an iPhone, but called the people and gave it back. My oldest daughter was disappointed.
• I always bring books and magazines to read at the beach. But never read them.
• My kids can’t get enough of the pool. They’d go to the pool at 6 a.m. if they could.

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Finally got the video edited, rendered, and uploaded for the Gum Tree Run last weekend.

Blake Runs The Gum Tree 10K Run – May 8, 2010 from Blake Thompson on Vimeo.

I once again carried my little camera with me to record the Gum Tree 10k Run in Tupelo, Mississippi. It was also my 11th anniversary. My wife and I ran it on the morning of our wedding day back in 1999.

I still have a bit of video from the Double Decker Run I need to get edited down as well.

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Yesterday in church Pat was teaching and one of the points he was making is that often times we in the church end up relying on “professional Christians” to do most of the “heavy lifting” when it comes to ministry, serving, and missions, but we as a church need to all take up the initiative and both lead/serve with the passions God has equipped us with.

He said that it won’t always be perfect, but we still need to give it a shot. Then he said something like, “Take this for example….” and then you hear a heavy bass line start up over the speakers. Pat grabs a handheld mic and says, “Karaoke is the ultimate example of regular people doing the job of a professional…” Behind him we all recognize “Stand By Me” starting up. “So I’m going to sing a little to show you that we don’t have to be perfect to be effective.” People start to shift expectantly in their chairs to hear Pat melt their ears with some crooning.

But then he bails at the last minute when the lyrics start flashing on the screens. People laugh. And all was good.

At the end of the service I go on stage to announce a few things, remind folks about communion after the service, and tell everyone we love them and look forward to seeing them again next week. But as I’m finishing the last sentence “Stand By Me” starts up again… People again laugh and I can see they’re wondering if I’ll sing or not. They’re looking for a good laugh, apparently. And I actually consider it. But I end up walking off stage after a bit of hesitation.

It made for some funny conversations after church. But I’ll admit on the ride back home as I was in the truck by myself I killed the song. I mean KILLED IT! I tried a few different pitches or intensities. Found my best Ben E. King impersonation. And I’ll admit that there was some regret mixed in. Why didn’t I go for it? Was it risk of embarrassment? Sounding too bad? Or screwing up? Or failure? [can you really fail at Karaoke?] Was it fear of being laughed at instead of laughed with?

It was probably a cocktail of a few of those mixed together. But as I look at my life, both past and present, I see the same thing has held me back from some different ventures/adventures. And I don’t want my life to be marked by that anymore. I want to be able to move forward and take “risks” without fear of failure. Or screwing up. To have confidence of Christ in me (the hope of glory).

Now of course this doesn’t mean I jump at any chance to embarrase myself, which I probably would have done if I’d actually tried to sing yesterday. But to not be scared to push outside of my comfort zone. I think sometimes my comfort zone can become my complacent zone. Does that make sense?

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