Let wonder replace worry

Worship with a 5 month old

I guess I won't be praying the confession today.

Philadelphia Cheesesteak

I was looking through iPhoto today and found a picture I totally forgot to post. While I was in Philadelphia last month, I was able to to try my first true Philly Cheesesteak.

I was aware of the whole Pat’s versus Geno’s thing, but both of them were a few miles away from where I was staying and I was exploring the city on foot. I had a handful of locals tells me about Jim’s on South Street. An easy walk from the historic area and a very hip part of the city.

I was there well after the dinner rush and the line was still out the door and around the building. It took about 20 minutes just to get through the line to order. I got a cheesesteak with grilled onions and whiz and took it back to the hotel.

I regreted not getting two. Next time, I'll try the other 2 places. Then there has to be some T-shirt or something.

Have gas prices went up a little or something?

We live right in the middle of town. Everything is within walking distance- even the church is about a quarter of a mile away.

So we don't have to drive anywhere- although we normally do.

I put 4 gallons in Nicole's car tonight at $4.16.

It has gone up steadily everyday for over a week.

So my prediction- $5.00 a gallon by July 4.

At this rate it will soon be cheaper for people to stay home than to go to work. Hopefully something will give soon.

Sprint Executive Customer Service.

Nicole and I have been wanting to make some changes to our cell phone plan for a while now. After months of incompetence and the frustration of being told something was not possible that we knew most certainly was, I called the Executive Service line I found on The Consumerist.

It took about 10 minutes to get rid of a bunch of things we were paying for and not using, and they even went through our account to see if they could find other ways to save us money. In the end, we are going to be saving over $50 a month- much more than the $20 we called for.

I'm going to be finding the numbers to the Executive Lines much more often.

If you use Sprint, here is the number. Save it in your phone. They will answer on the first ring and you will hear no automated voice or hold music.

703-433-4401

Seattle Mariners

I believe that the Mariners are officially the worst team in baseball and are on track to become the first team in history to spend $100 million on talent and lose 100 games in a season.

John McClaren (who's Wikipedia article I linked currently refers to him as the ineffective manager for the Seattle Mariners) went on a profanity laced tirade during the post game news conference today that lasted a grand total of about 34 seconds.

Here is a censored version of what he had to say.

What if the CEO of a major corporation lost it in front of reports like that after a bad fiscal quarter? Why is this immature behavior tolerated (and expected) in sports but would get anyone else not only fired, but sent to anger management classes?

Summer is coming!

Watching the ducks.

2008 National Spelling Bee

I've never been to a spelling bee and the only time I can remember watching one was when they would make fun of them on that show Cheap Seats that was on ESPN Classic.

So when a high school student told me to watch to watch a YouTube video about a spelling bee, I could not imagine what I was in for.

So what happens when a boy-genius can’t figure out what the announcer is saying? Laughter. That’s what happens.

You gotta see the first minute.

Steven Curtis Chapman

This is one of the saddest things I have heard in awhile.

I just watched the YouTube video of SCC washing dishes with his daughter from just a few weeks ago.

 The older brother is really on my heart. I know I'll never meet him, but I do wish I could talk to him. Even though I really have no idea what I'd say. I cannot imagine any of the teenagers I work with to find themselves in a similar situation.

Missing Batteries- A Tale from Middle School Youth Group

I had a pretty busy Wednesday, so I set everything up for youth group on Tuesday.

Sometime between then and Wednesday night, someone took the batteries out of the remote I use. Of course, I did not notice this until it was time to start and nothing worked.

I sent a couple of people out to find replacements. After being gone for a few minutes, they came back with nothing.

So, in a split second decision I may end up regretting, I let a bunch of middle schoolers take off through the church to play a new game called "find Justin 4 batteries."

I ended up with a collection of basically every size you can imagine (including what I needed) and only then realized I'll never get all of those batteries back where ever they came from.

Now I know for sure that I won't be the only person missing batteries this week.

American Idol

Nicole and I did not even watch American Idol tonight. It seems like the longer this season has drug on, the less we care about it. Obviously David Archuleta the best singer in the competition and I am sure he will win it tomorrow night. And I really feel sorry for him.

It truly seems as if his entire life has been directed toward this moment. He is only 17 and clips show him crashing the show years ago; winning his first singing competition at 10, and as a veteran Star Search competitor. Perhaps the saddest thing is that he has a classic over-bearing show-biz dad- who was banned from being backstage a couple of weeks ago.

Its sad to say, but he looks to me like a Michael Jackson in the making: a brilliant talent sacrificed to the cult of celebrity and stardom at so young an age that his own emotional and spiritual development has been frozen. Think about anytime he is asked to speak- he has nothing to say, except a Bambi-style mode of total humility, amazement and innocence.

I feel for him and it is so sad that no one can rescue him from the machine that is about to consume him.