Blake Thompson daht NetI'm just saying….

Last time my daughter had a soccer game we all got ready as a family to go to the game. She got her uniform on and we all loaded up in the van. We get there and park close to the field, so I tell Addie to run on over to the field while I get her baby brother out of the car seat and everything. So she runs on over while I follow behind. And her mom and sister are bringing up the rear. I get there and notice they’re already playing. Huh?

They must have started early, because it was only 6:08. The game started at 6:15, right? Addie gets in the game but soon the last whistle blows and it turns out that the game started at 5:30. OUCH! How did I make such a mistake? So after appologizing profusely we go to a local park and play a bit before coming home. Man, she was disappointed, and I felt likc crap.

So after a week off with Spring Break we had another game last night. I double checked the time. Yes, it’s at 6:15. Addie asked me if I was sure. “Yes, I’m sure, honey” was what I told her. And I was.

So we get to the fields again and I tell her to run on over. She asked if they’d started already. I told her that it was just the game before finishing up. We’re a little early. But we get over to the sideline…and they’re eating their post game snacks. WHAT!?! Again? Holy moly! How do I screw things up like this? I even double checked the schedule this time.

So you can imagine how low I felt. To know your seven year old was disappointed last time because she didn’t get to play soccer after getting all into her uniform and driving out to the soccer complex. To be ready to have fun and have her parents watch her. And then to realize it was all for nothing. And it was ME that realized I’d caused this disappointment in my daughter. Again.

That really sucked.

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So I’ve been absent from blogging a bit lately. Not really sure why. I’ve had ideas. But not put them down on the blog yet. And I’ve had the SEC Tournament, March Madness (it made me mad), allergies, and some other things going on. I’ll be back. With a force. Bank on it.

But some people have blamed Twitter for a slow-down in blogging lately. Could be. I’ve been Twittering a lot more lately (follow me here!). But it’s no excuse. But either way, I found an awesome twitter video this morning by way of Carlos. It’s simply amazing. If you know what twitter is, watch below and laugh!

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So this week I got three free books. Looking forward to each of them.

The first one is Mad Church Disease. It was written by Anne Jackson. She grew up in the home of a pastor and has worked as a staff member of a church for quite a while. And she’s witnessed and experienced first hand the dangers of burnout related to ministry jobs. And in Mad Church Disease she explored those dangers and pitfalls closely. I was able to get this for free because I won the contest on the books Facebook page. I won it back in the fall of ‘07. Seemed that it would take forever to get my prize. But it’s here now.

The next two were because of a gift card I’d received for my birthday. But I got Vintage Church by Mark Driscoll and Crazy Love by Frances Chan. Both came highly recommended.

Mark Driscoll is pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Interesting city. Interesting church. And it’s quite a conservative church when compared to the local culture of the Northwest. Mark Driscoll says somethings sometimes that really have rubbed some people the wrong way. But I usually appreciate the heart from which he communicates from. He can make you crack up now and then too. Vintage Church is his look at the Biblical model for church, how it is structured and effectively in action.

Crazy Love, by Francis Chan, is about what a life that is truly and passionately in love with Jesus would look like. How would that love affect the person and the way they lived their life. Francis is pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA. Great communicator with a heart for the scriptures. I’ve heard him speak a time or two and get his podcast sometimes too. Check him out.

So..those are my new free books. Hopefully I’ll spend some time reading them soon. When I do I’ll give a quick review!

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Have you seen this? I found it by coming across Lanny Donoho’s twitter feed. After checking it out I decided to give it a whirl.

Basically Daily Mug Shot is where you can go once a day (and only once a day) to use your computers webcam (or you can import pictures) to take a picture of your face (your mug). After you do this daily for a while it will then loop all the pictures in a stream (or like a flip book) to where it can be pretty cool looking and funny.

Here is a link to Lanny’s. [Lanny is the guy behind BigStuf Camps and lots of other stuff that's pretty cool. BigStuf impacted my life a lot. And a lot of kids I took to BigStuf camps too! You should go. Seriously.]

But I’ve got a ways to go before mine has enough pics to be worth looking at. But you should do it too.

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Do you ever have a handful or projects in your mind that you think could be successful but know it would take a little bit of work to get out? I think I have a handful in my head right now. I think they’re each doable. I think they each possess a good deal of marketability. And each would be fun to embark upon.

Of course they each would take a little bit of time. But though it’s not necessarily the goal of these projects, I think even a little bit of money could be made from them. At least to pay for the effort and time put into them. But I always get caught up in making little decisions about details to actually launch them. Little things that, while they’re “big deals”, really won’t affect the outcome. It’s like if I were trying to build a dog house to go in my back yard, but I’m standing in Home Depot trying to make the decision on the “right hammer” for the job.

In the end, the dog house will probably look and work just the same as long as I have a good plan in place and do good work. The make and model of the hammer probably wouldn’t matter too greatly. But it’s things like this that I stumble over and get caught up in over analysis.

So…that said, I think I’m typing this to give myself a boost. Give myself a public calling out of sorts. Either move forward with the idea(s) or drop them.

There….

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