Rambo

Yes, I went on opening night to see Rambo. Cindy was scrapbooking, Josh went to a game, and Zach had a date. I went alone (unless you count the 300 ISU guys in the theater with me).

Without a doubt, this movie is the bloodiest movie I have ever seen. It is 5x more bloody that Saving Private Ryan. Needless to say, I loved it! There was a very weak story line. That didn't make any difference. Rambo blew away everybody!

Also, there was a bit of a Christian slant to it. He was saving missionaries, so it was a religious film. Not! It was entertaining though, but definitely not a date movie, and definitely not a movie for the kids!

Annual Meeting

You could probably go through my archives and read past January posts and notice a common these throughout that month. January is when we hold our Annual Meeting. It is the most stressful time of the year for most pastors. I have had some very hard meetings in the past. In fact, I still to this day have an occasional nightmare about my one Annual Meeting in Amboy, IL. (Thank you God for rescuing me from that church!)

Last nights meeting was so different. Things are so good for us in Boone. God has blessed us beyond comprehension. The meeting was an hour and a half long and there were zero fireworks. In fact, it was the first Annual Meeting I attended that I did not wear a jacket and tie. I actually wore a Bears sweatshirt! I also was able to eat a little bit prior to the meeting. Usually my stomach is in knots.

We approved a $130,000 budget. There are some steep plans for 2008. I know that God will come through.

By the way, we have averaged about 160 so far in 2008...

Teaching...

I started teaching this week at Des Moines Area Community College. I have worked in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools, but I have never taught in a college before.

Currently I teach an Ethics and a World Religions course at the college. I have 30 students in each class. It is a pretty awesome experience. I believe that someday I will be teaching full time in a Christian college. I have a passion to train young pastors. This will be a great opportunity to learn and grow into that position.

The Caucus is Coming to Iowa!

Last night we had an incredible date night as a family. We started by going to the mall to use some of our gift cards. Cindy ended up the only one to get anything. The cool thing is that she DID get her ears pierced. She looks great in them! We left the mall and went to Outback for dinner. It was not very good this time. I ordered the medium prime rib and it was ice cold when I got it. I sent it back and they brought me a piece of meat that was 95% fat. I ended up with four bites of meat. 76 dollars later... We then went to the Mike Huckabee New Years party. It was great. There were nearly 2,000 people there. I was told it was going to be a private party, but it wasn't. It was a great time though. We were able to see both Huckabee and Chuck Norris. The boys and I were only about 10 feet or so from the stage. Cindy went and sat down. She was not into the crowd scene. I thought it was a great opportunity for the boys. Just the fact that we are in Iowa this year during the caucus is awesome. Every single presidential candidate has been in Boone at least once. I wanted the boys to get a chance to see a candidate up close.

It is also cool that we got to see Walker, Texas Ranger. This is one of our all-time favorite actors. I wish that we could have gotten an autograph, but that just wasn't possible. Chuck has got a looker for a wife too!

Fun time for all of us!

Happy New Year

So now that it is officially 2008, I thought it would be good to put a few of my New Years resolutions in writing...

1) Spend more time with my family. I have two sons who desperately need more of their dad in 2008.

2) Get out of the office more.

3) Begin 5 new small groups at Cornerstone

4) Hire an associate pastor

5) Break the 250 marker (weight wise)

6) Break the 300 marker (church size wise)

7) Most importantly, draw closer to God!

All seven of these resolutions are very attainable. Would you pray with me that I am able to achieve these goals. Phil 4:13