Page 10 of 96

Camp Video

01/16/2009 / Blake

Yesterday I came across a video that inspired me. You know of course that I made the Small Group Promo video thing last weekend. It was fun to make, and after editing it and showing it I felt a stirring to make more. But of what? There were a few ideas for the “next” video we could do for small groups at The Orchard. But what else going on at our church?

I remembered being at Innovate08 back in September. They had a film festival where churches brought some of their best videos and showed them. I was pretty surprised. Some were sermon illustrations, some were promos for upcoming events, some were just highlights and innovative announcements. But lots were really good. I’ll try to find a few and put up here soon.

But the video I saw yesterday was a promo video for a Young Life camp out in Arizona. Camp videos can be fun. I remember helping some with the video we showed each session the summer I worked at Camp Ozark (like 12 years ago. wow). They could be intense the last night of editing, and it wasn’t even my job to do it! And BreakThru made a video each year that literally finished rendering minutes before it was shown on the last night. And I made a few highlight videos here and there back in the deck to deck days.

So I know the thrill of seeing lots of different things happening and then having it all come together for something that makes a grand impression. Well, this video below blew me away. Like I said, it’s of Young Life camp. But the guy who made it and the equipment used was exceptional. But to be able to make a video like this would be a dream of mine. Enjoy.

Young Life Lost Canyon from W. Ashley Maddox on Vimeo.

Addie Got A Camera

01/13/2009 / Blake

Last Monday we ordered Addie’s camera from Amazon.com. She checked the mail a few times a day every day (even on Sunday). She was so anxious. Especially after the package tracker said that it was supposed to be picked up from Memphis on Tuesday. That is only about 70 miles away.

But it never looked like it was going to come. So I come home from work yesterday and a shrieking seven year old is squealing, “Daddy! Daddy! My camera came! It came in today!” We go inside and see that yes indeed it came, but no one had figured out how to put the batteries in or anything else. It feels good to be needed in this family.

So she has gone nuts with it. She has taken TONS of pics but deleted tons too. She does some self cataloging it seems. But we’ve gotta make sure of what she’s taking pictures of too. Some things don’t need to be put out there: dirty underwear in the floor, her baby brother getting his diaper changed, her mom while she’s sleeping!

But soon she’ll be wanting to show friends and family what she’s creating. So we’re trying to figure out the best way right now. Any suggestions, let me know.

This week in Tweets

01/11/2009 / Blake

2009 officially starts for me today. Looking forward to the day and the year. #
@iFroggy This is why God made Macs, right? Just kidding. I know it’s frustrating. Hope it starts working again. in reply to iFroggy #
@dmerrix Still on season one, right? It keeps ramping up steadily. What was the major drama this ep? in reply to dmerrix #
@neiltullos Welcome to the conversation. I see you finally drank the Twitter KoolAid. Are any other Clintonians in the mix yet? #
@dmerrix Maybe he’s scouting some for Tim Riggins. Might Riggins become a Red Raider? #Friday Night Lights in reply to dmerrix #
When i can’t find anything good on the radio it seems classic rock is always a comfortable fall back. #
@patgiblin No, but twhirl can. in reply to patgiblin #
@iFroggy Yall use tape to record your podcasts? Wow, retro. in reply to iFroggy #
@neiltullos Are you going to get iLife/iWork09 ? in reply to neiltullos #
@willRambo Did you eat at Solomon’s Porch? in reply to willrambo #
Decisions decisions. I think some times I epitomize paralysis by analysis. #
It’s amazing how a sun can clear your head, make you tired, and energize you simultaneously. #
oops… sun = run #
@abedis Gone Baby Gone in reply to abedis #
Mr. MetroCast is drilling something into the side of my house. Soon… I’ll have high speed net inside. Yet no tv cable. #
Trying to get the no wire internetz working in my home. I’m not cussing yet. #
Wings Fanatic is about to get some of my money. Hope it’s good stuff. #
Just used this (http://is.gd/1ep1) to make a new twitter background. Thanks, @tapdraw! #
I just bloodied my 7 year old’s nose with a Aerobee SuperDisc. Wiped the blood/tears away and she wanted to keep throwing. Thats’ my girl! #
Friday Night Lights + Explosions In The Sky = Greatness. 2nd to last episode was (yet again) golden. And way to go Lance. #

Small Groups video for The Orchard

01/11/2009 / Blake

My wife is always wanting to be helpful. She wants me to be “successful” too. So sometimes she realizes I need a little bit of a boost to get rolling. So we talked about different ideas for a video to make for the church about small groups. But she went ahead and and started calling people setting up interviews to get feedback about why people at The Orchard here in Oxford, MS enjoy small groups.

She kept telling me she was “helping me” when really she was nudging me to help myself. But I appreciate her a ton for it. It turned out to be fun and makes me ready to do the next one…what ever it happens to be. But with a few interview appointments spread out over a few days and some friends in town over the weekend too, I pushed back the editing of the video til last night. Like really got started at about 11:30pm. And then the re-edits and tweaks that no one else would probably notice kept me going back over it. So I finished around 3am [aided by the fact this was my first time to use iMovie08] so we could show it in church today. But I’m all good.

Anyhow, here it is. It’s not perfect. But it was fun and a learning experience. I hope for more to come soon. Tell me what you think in the comment.

Small Groups (@ The Orchard) Promo from Blake Thompson on Vimeo.

What’s coming around the bend?

01/09/2009 / Blake

Watch this video. And think about what you life will be like a few steps into the future.

This week in Tweets

01/04/2009 / Blake

@tonymorganlive Followed me twice today, huh? in reply to tonymorganlive #
@JeffRodgers Yes, Tweetdeck is quite nice.I like the groups & searches you can have set up in different columns & I replied on Fbook longer in reply to JeffRodgers #
Just finished half a day with Jack Bauer in Season 4. #
One more day of the year. What to do with it? #
My 2008 with Twitter: http://twurl.nl/2vv4o3 #
Good morning 2009. Breakfast is done. Kids are fed. Now we’ll see what else happens. Maybe Barnes & Noble. #
@tapdraw Are you sure it wasn’t the best cup of the year? in reply to tapdraw #
Went on my first run of 2009. Took Addie with me. She had a lot more energy than I expected. 7 year olds have lots of energy. #
@aepolsgrove Indeed, it was good. You should have brought your new camera. Meant to tell you Bev read that Manning book you’re now reading. in reply to aepolsgrove #
My 4 year old is watching the Rose Bowl like it is Veggie Tales. Lots of questions. I like it. #
@dmerrix It wasn’t forced. But she soon wanted to switch to Tom and Jerry. in reply to dmerrix #
“Don’t get caught watching the paint dry!” : Shooter. #
@justinhjones There is tweetdeck and twhirl; both pretty cool. There are a few others as well, but I’ve settled on T’deck for now. Or web. in reply to justinhjones #
@stephenbond I am disappointed in you. in reply to stephenbond #
@willrambo Would you hire Coach Taylor to be on staff at MSU? Let me know when you’re done w/ S1. I gotta evangelize w/ it again. in reply to willrambo #
@abedis Throw some Ed Young Jr and Craig Grochell in there too. Maybe mix in some Steven Furtick for spice. in reply to abedis #
Buying Christmas wrapping paper at Walmart at a substantial discount. 11.5 months early. #
@bradlocke If only we could play Houston every game. in reply to bradlocke #
Friday Night Lights to air on Friday this fall makes me think that NBC doesn’t care if it succeeds. That stinks [I think]. #
@AdamCGore Ahhh. I meant this spring. Either way, bad decision on NBC’s part I believe. Might be the best show around. Do you watch? in reply to AdamCGore #

Dreaming about the Jones Soda

01/04/2009 / Blake

So two nights ago I had a dream. I was at this place where a friend worked. I could tell it was that place in my dream, though it really didn’t match it in real life (if that makes any sense…as much as dreams don’t make sense anyhow.) I was carrying around this backpack jammed with stuff. Some stuff was needed, some stuff was just heavy and I didn’t need anytime soon. My friend was there and about to go somewhere. I was going to go with him. But my pack was heavy.

jones-soda-green-apple So I started taking stuff out of it. The heavy stuff at least. I removed probably about three things from it. And there was some clinking around in there. My friend asks, “What is that?” So I pull out a bottle of Jones Soda that had been rolling around in some coins that were down in my pack. It’s the Green Apple flavor. I’d opened it already and drank some, but most of it was still there.

My friend says, “Hey, that’s good stuff. I like that!” I meant to give him some. But he got busy with something and I got thirsty so I drank the rest before he got any. Random, right?

Well yesterday I was in WalMart and see my friend. I tell him, “Hey, I had a dream with you in it last night.” He gives the compulsory “Oh, that scares me” reply that people usually do. He asked what it was about. But I ask him, “Do you like Jones Soda?” He said that he sure did. And my next question was going to be how did he like the flavor green apple when he speaks up and says, “Green Apple is my favorite flavor of it…” I told him that’s what he said in my dream.

Strange, huh?

Have you had any weird dream experiences like that lately?

One year ago today

01/03/2009 / Blake

A year ago today I started my work at The Orchard in Oxford. It was a pretty large change for the life of my family. We’d spent just over three years in Clinton working in the youth ministry of FUMC. We liked it there. Wasn’t looking for any reason at all to move. But when Pat spoke to me one day about possibly coming to help plant the church in Oxford…it just seemed right.

Yes, even Oxford felt right. Not the red and blue aspects of it. But what I would be doing and who I would be doing it with. And at the time I didn’t realize that I’d be living in my dad’s basement for five months or that gas prices would get so crazy. Nor did I anticipate the chore of finding a house in Oxford. But after looking back on that first day here in Oxford lots has happened.�

As I said in the last post, I’m going to put together a few thoughts from the last year into upcoming blog posts.

I think I’ve learned quite a bit the last 12 months. But I realize how much more I need to learn, study, and apply myself. I see where God has worked, but I see lots of opportunities to partner even more deeply with God in serving Oxford and Lafayette County.

Happy New Year!

01/01/2009 / Blake

Well, it’s another year. I woke up and didn’t really feel any different. I still wondered if Jack Bauer was going to find Habib in time (watching season 4 right now). I didn’t feel any older or wiser. I was still as inflexible as I was yesterday. But I decided to do a little something about my inactivity over the past year.

While living in Clinton I went to the YMCA at least now and then. But I was no stranger to the place. And I ran some now and then around the neighborhood too. Even ran a few races here and then. But since moving to Oxford in late May I’ve been a sloth. And I’ve noticed a difference the past few days. So I’m not one into resolutions and all, but I realize something needed to change. So I decided I’d wait til January 1 to start running again. And I did.

I didn’t run very far. But I took Addison with me so I wouldn’t have to make an excuse for going short and slow. But she impressed me. She looked like she was going to get tired, so i told her if she ran alllllllll the way to the next stop sign w/o stopping she would earn $2. I didn’t think she’s make it, but she made the corner. There was no stop sign there, but I assured her she’d get the two bucks. But as we were walking the rest of the way home catching our breath (she seemed to be racing me to the corner) she all of a sudden said “I’ll beat you home!” and took off. Wow!

I caught her and ran with her all the while encouraging her. I want her to see some things that she can enjoy and be good at. I don’t know if she likes running or just beating me at something, but I let her do both. Funny thing is she almost didn’t go running at all because we made her wear her sweat suit in the cold wind. She thought her clothes looked silly and thought people would be watching out of their windows at her running in “silly clothes”. But I convinced her to drop that concern and just RUN!

So as 2009 starts I realize that I need to just go forward with some things/ideas of my own and not worry about if anyone is watching or if they think I’m silly or goofy … but if there’s something I want to do or feel called to do … then GO FOR IT. I know that there are so many cliches I could give to try to spur me on, but safe to say …I know I should.

So, there are a few specific things I might reveal soon that I want to get better at in the coming days. Also a few “best of ’08” posts as well. But safe to say that blogging more regularly is something I want to get better at as well.

Peace.

My Year with Twitter

12/31/2008 / Blake

Twitter is interesting. I signed up and didn’t get it at first. I posted maybe once every 2 months. But then once I moved to Oxford I started really getting into the swing of it. It helps when you have people you know in “real life” using it as well. So when Pat (@tapdraw) started using it too, we both seemed to explode with it. If you don’t twitter yet, you should. It’s easy. Fun. Informative. And makes you cooler (right?)

Anyhow, I saw Pat did this, so I figured I’d give it a try. But it was really hard to cull down my twitter posts from 2008. So I’ll not put them all on the first page. But here are some highlights of my Twitter posts from 2008 [taken from about 34 pages of twitters (or 717 updates)].

[Keep Reading]