What I wish all women knew

It's impossible for guys to fully understand women and it's impossible for women to fully understand men. For example I don't think a woman can ever fully understand how visual guys are.

I love my wife. I don't even want to think about another woman. When a girl goes out in public she sees what she is wearing as cute or nice or trendy. If she has a nice body she doesn't mind showing off a little skin or wearing something that is so tight it leaves nothing to the imagination. I mean she has worked hard for her body so why not show it off. When a guy sees that same girl his eyes see something very different. What she sees as cute he sees as hot. Now that might be what she wants, but most guys don't stop there. The image of that girls body gets embedded into a guys mind. One look can lead to one thought which leads to a lot more thoughts. A guy can take a little bit of skin showing and turn it into a fantasy as elaborate as a Harry Potter book...although this fantasy is not kid friendly.

As a guy who loves his wife I try really hard to bounce my eyes. When I see a girl that is showing some skin I try to force my eyes to look elsewhere. Sometimes I will even just say out loud I love my wife...I love my wife. I will do whatever I can to not think about another woman. I have had friends become addicted to looking at the female body. Their addiction included the Internet, magazines, and then turning the thoughts they had about those woman into reality by hiring a prostitute. If a guy wants to keep his thoughts pure he has to work really hard. A lot of well meaning girls don't make it easy because they just don't understand the guys mind. When a girl reveals her body it's not just the guy she wants to impress that notices. It's every guy. The grandpa, the father, the husband, the pastor, the 10 year old boy, and the check out guy at the grocery store all take notice. I wish that just for a day woman would be able to see things the way guys do.

Thrift Store Prom 09

Thrift Store Prom 09 was an event for Waters Edge Students. It's similar to a prom but instead of renting a tux or buying an expensive dress Students went to the thrift store and picked out their outfits. We danced, we ate, we played a game to crown a king and a queen, and we took ridiculously cool photos. Here are some pics for the night.

Behind closed doors

Lately I've been wondering why more people don't hurt themselves walking through closed doors. Think about it...you can't see what is on the other side. People walk in and out of them all the time. My question is why aren't more people hurt because they walk through the door at the same time? A person could get hurt when reaching for the door as someone on the other sides pushes it into their hand. I think it's only happened to me once. I walk in and out of a lot of doors. Why don't I collide more? Is it blind stinking luck or coincidence?

Harry Potter

Up until last week I had never seen a Harry Potter movie. They didn't look interesting to me. Over the years everyone from students at Waters Edge, friends, to my brother were telling me how good the movies were. Monica and I recently borrowed the five movies that are out on DVD. Last week we watched all five movies. Now that I've seen them here are my thoughts...

• The first two movies are decent but not great. The CGI looks really dated, but that is to be expected because they are older movies.
• The third and fourth movie pick up steam and are enjoyable movies.
• The fifth movie was my favorite.
• I didn't like how Harry and all of his friends lied in the first two movies. Whenever they would get caught for their mischief they would lie to get out of it.
• By the third movie I was wondering what all these wizards do once they graduate from Hogwarts? Besides becoming a professor or selling wizard wands what else can a graduate do?
• It was a little unnerving when they said things like divination and incantation. I grew up listening to the Christian music artist Carmen sing about a witches invitation. It painted a vivid picture in my mind of demonic activity surrounded by witches.
• I personally think that Harry Potter falls in the fantasy world of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz, and the Narnia series. It was a make believe world of fantasy. Like anything in life there are good and bad things you can pull from the film. Overall it seems to be a series about good versus evil.
• I'm looking forward to the sixth film. Monica and I plan to see it soon in the theaters. I've heard mixed reviews about it.
• Overall I've enjoyed watching the movies. I don't think I'll ever own them on DVD. I don't have a desire to watch them again, but I did enjoy them. Whenever we would finish a film we would want to watch the next one to see what happened next.

Finish Strong Part 5

I may not have started strong, but I want to finish well.

I make mistakes all the time. I get frustrated at stupid things. I put my foot in my mouth. I hurt people that I love. I'm not perfect. It's my goal to not be perfect but to be genuine. I want to be real. I want people to experience the real me and not some fabrication of who I think people want me to be. In doing so I hope people aren't shocked when they see me make mistakes. At the same time I hope to learn from my mistakes and become a better person.

History teaches us about a man named Saul. He was very religious. So much so that he persecuted people who didn't believe the same things about God that he did. One day Saul met Jesus and it radically changed his life. He went from arresting Jesus followers to leading them. At the end of his life, while in prison for his faith in Jesus, he wrote "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

We all make mistakes, but it's not the mistakes that should define us. It's the way we finish the race. Saul wasn't defined by how he started the race, he was defined by how he finished it. Don't let yesterday's mistakes define you. Learn from them and become everything you were destined to be. Finish strong.

Concluded

Finish Strong Part 4

I may not have started strong, but I want to finish well. 

A few weeks ago a new friend of mine told me and my wife, Monica, that we acted like newlyweds.  She then asked how long we have been married and was shocked to hear that it's been almost eight years.  

When I first met Monica she was mean to me.  She had a great relationship with the last youth pastor and wasn't real found of his replacement...me.  It wasn't that she was mean it was just that I didn't know anyone and she appeared to go out of her way to not welcome me.  After a few months I won her over.  I asked her out.  I took her on a date.  I wooed her for an entire week.  At the end of the week I wasn't feeling the connection and I broke up with her.  I know it's cliche but it really wasn't her...it was me.  I had an idea of what I thought I would feel when I found the one.  I expected it to be like Hollywood.  Our relationship was good, but I had an idea that when I met the one I'd be finishing her sentences by the second date.  

A year after the breakup I fell in love with Monica.  I felt like God led us together.  This August we will have been married eight years.  I love when people think we are newlyweds.  It's sad for me to think for most people the only time married people get along with each other is during their first year of marriage.  Today I love being married to Monica.  I hate even thinking about life without her.  We didn't have a storybook beginning, but I believe when we are long and gone we will have lived happily ever after.  

Finish Strong Part 3

I may have not started strong, but I want to finish well. 

When I first started working in ministry I was an intern at my home church.  After two years I was basically forced out.  I was strongly encouraged to take another job at another church because I was never going to be more than an intern.  

My first year of college I met with my former boss, Stu Hodges.  Some of the college students were pushing for me to lead the college ministry back at my home church.  I met with Stu to let him know I wasn't pushing to have the job.  After I met with him I asked if he ever would consider me for that position.  He said, "Rob, to be honest, I don't think I could ever work with you again." 

Three years later Stu hired me to be the Assistant Youth Pastor.  We worked great together as a team.  So much so that when Stu started Waters Edge he offered me a job.  I've been working at Waters Edge now for 5 years and I love it.  Stu and I have a great relationship.  Rough beginnings are hard to overcome, but if you are committed to finish strong it's possible to be remembered for who you are and not who you once were.   

Finish Strong Part 2

I may not have started strong, but I want to finish well. 

When I started high school I had low self esteem.  I don't know why but I just never felt like I fit in at my school.  Most of my classmates didn't even know I existed my first year at the school. My second year at the school some of my classmates were shocked when I told them that I had classes with them the year before.  At school I was shy, reserved, and afraid to be myself.  So much so that I took my junior year of high school off to home school. During that year I found myself.  I started to get confidence in who God created me to be.  I'll never forget my first day back to school my senior year.  One of my classmates said there was something different about me.  

My senior year I still wasn't extremely confident, but I found my niche.  I made the homecoming court, got a couple senior superlatives, and for the first time in high school I didn't feel like a complete outsider.  It's hard to overcome bad beginnings but a great ending is what people will ultimately remember.  

Finish Strong Part 1

I may not have started off great, but I want to finish strong. 

I love going to summer camp.  Each year, taking the Students at Waters Edge to camp, is a highlight for me.  I love it.  

When I first went to camp though I didn't start off strong.  I was in sixth grade.  I led my friends to skip the first morning session to play in the woods.  I then wore a bathing suite to do an obstacle course. I didn't know that part of the course was having your team hoist you up over a wall.  Apparently all the leaders could see all of my business.  One of them asked if I needed to borrow his underwear for the rest of the weak.  Um no. I don't remember God moving in my life at that camp.  I don't remember having an amazing time. 

There are a lot of things in life that I didn't start off well.  I don't want to be remembered for how I start...I want to be remembered for how I finish.  

Insane Clown Posse Part 2

So a prank was pulled on the dorm I was staying in at camp. Apparently the pranksters went from room to room checking to see whose room was unlocked. They would then walk into an unlocked room and scare the Jesus out of them. One of our middle school students woke up swinging punches at the pranksters. One of the camp counselors from the camp screamed like a little girl. It woke up some of our leaders who, after seeing the camera, barricaded themselves in their room by moving a desk in front of the door. The people who pulled off the prank messed with the wrong church.

In fact the people who pulled the prank should have done a background check on us. You see we are from the 757. The 757 produces athletes that go to prison. Have you heard of Allen Iverson or Michael Vick. You don't mess with the 757. We're crazy. The leaders I brought immediately started talking about retaliation. It included man-napping the men behind the prank, blindfolding them, duck taping their hands together, and placing them on our charter bus.

After 30 minutes of searching the hallways for the insane clown posse I finally found the culprits. It was a rogue staff member who led the prank. The midget was actually some one's six year old son. I shared with them how uncool it was for them to break the rules. The next day the staff apologized over and over again. The culprits got in trouble and I don't think this will happen again. I'm glad no one was hurt.

Insane Clown Posse Part 1

The camp that I take the Waters Edge Students to has a no pranking policy. I love the policy because I have seen pranks go way to far at Student events.

This past Wednesday night at camp I was dead asleep when I heard the door to my room open. I sat up to see a midget in a scary mask standing by my bed. It was creepy! There were at least 2 other taller people who were wearing scary masks in my room. It probably would have scared the pee out of me if I didn't see the guy with the video camera filming the whole thing. My roommate just rolled over and went back to sleep. I looked straight at the guys in masks and said "that's not funny!"

They saw that I wasn't amused and quickly left my room. When I laid back down I thought about how funny it actually was. My laughter quickly faded when I started thinking about who it was in the masks. Was it some of my students? No. I knew it couldn't have been them because they don't have access to a video camera. Was it campers from another church? It better not have been. I know I would have a hard time holding our students back from retaliation.

To Be Continued...

Actor - TV Show = Lame

Back in the 80's one of my favorite TV shows was the Dukes of Hazard. Do you remember Coy and Vance? They were the cousins that replaced Bo and Luke Duke when the actors went on strike. It was the beginning of the end for the Duke boys. Even when the original Duke's returned to the show it just wasn't the same and it quickly went off the air.

Many shows have had lead characters leave. Think ER, or CSI. Both shows went on to have success even after major players left the show. Currently Paula Abdul is rumored to be leaving American Idol. Who knows if she actually will, but it begs the question: What show would you stop watching if one of the lead characters left?

Camp is over

I just survived another successful week of Student Summer Camp. With the help of 9 adults I took 81 high school and middle school students. The Students were awesome! It was great to hang out with them. The leaders that went to camp were amazing. They invested in Students and helped make this a very memorable week.

We saw 10 Students become Christ Followers! That gets me fired up. Right now I feel like a mack truck ran over me and then reversed back over me slowly. I'm tired. But without a doubt all the late nights, and lack of sleep were worth it to see God move in our Students lives. Thursday night at camp was one of the most powerful worship services I've ever been a part of. God moved in our Students lives. I can't wait to go next year. We went to Crossroads Camp. It's a great camp located in NC. If you want more information click here.

Summer Camp

So at the camp that we go to (Crossroads is a great camp) we stay at a college campus. The campus is great, but there is one tiny thing that I don't love...

You see I am grossed out by public showers. You have to, or at least should, wear shower shoes. Shower shoes for me are cheap Wal-Mart flip flops. I try really hard to avoid any contact with the shower, fearing I might catch the bubonic plague. I don't like touching the shower curtain or walls. My greatest fear is to drop the soap because I don't know if soap cleans itself after touching the drain in a public shower.

The showers at camp have hot water and so for that I'm thankful. The only problem is our showers were made for crack skinny people. I'm serious. Our showers are so small every time I move one part of my body rubs up against the walls of the shower. Whenever I move my right arm hits the shower knob and adjusts the temperature to either lava hot or freezing cold. My left arm rubs up against the shower curtain at all times. Touching the shower GROSSES ME OUT! I feel like I need a shower after I take the shower.

Here's the deal though I really am thankful for the showers. We live in a country that spoils us. At my house I have two working showers that are clean. This makes me blessed. I've had to tell myself that the crack skinny shower is better than the showers in the majority of the world. This thought alone helps me get through the two showers a day I take at camp. That and the fact that I just saw a middle school boy walk through the bathroom completely barefoot. So far he survived and that gives me hope that I will too.

Guest Blog: Kyle Walker

Kyle is a great friend of mine who lives in Texas. He's a pastor, and a fellow blogger. Check out his blog here. Thanks Kyle for the guest post!

It's common knowledge that Texas is just plain awesome. What may not be common knowledge is its ability to beat up other states. Recently, the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, made a threat to the United States that Texas may consider seceding from the nation. You can check it out here. So alongside such strong words from the President of Texas, it is with great pleasure that I now present to you 10 Reasons Why Texas can beat up any current state in the USA:
10. Chuck Norris
9. Drunk Cowboys
8. It's just big
7. It used to be its own country
6. Texas has its own state reptile, large mammal, small mammal (which still happens to be huge), flying mammal, and fruit. And oh yeah, it's own power grid.
5. Pecos Bill
4. Texas has at least 2 countries living inside of it- Mexico and the United States.
3. Every day at school, children pledge allegiance to the Texas flag. You too can memorize it, set a reminder on your phone, and recite it every day . . . or else . . .
2. The state flag of Texas is just as big (in many cases bigger) than the flag for the United States of America
1. Chuck Norris lives in Texas and is going to grab Texas by the Panhandle and slap your state off of the map. He actually did this 3 years ago to the state of New Jersey and with Governor Perry's permission they were allowed to rejoin the union.

Camp

Today I left for Stuent Summer Camp. I'm taking 82 Students and 9 leaders to camp. I love camp! It's a great time to hang out and invest in the Students at Waters Edge. I'd love it if you would pray for us as we are at camp. Pray that we will have safe travel, no discipline problems, and mostly that God would move in our Students lives. If you are interested in updates I will be posting them through Twitter. Click here to check it out.

Free Slurpee

One of the Students at Waters Edge Church just texted me and said that 7-11 is giving away free Slurpees today. He said it's the small size. I don't care if it is a small I like free stuff.

Apparently today is 7-11's 82 birthday. To celebrate they are giving away 7.11 ounce Slurpees.

Dillon Tulip is the student who told me about the free Slurpee. If it's not true hate on him and not me. If it is true then show him the love and leave a comment saying what flavor of free Slurpee you got.

You Pick

What are some things that you, the reader, would like to see me, the blogger, blog about? What do you want to see more of. I would love to hear what you would like to read. Let me know.

Monica is gone

My wife, Monica, is gone on a little trip with her family to Philadelphia. She is only gone for a couple of days but I hate it when we are not together. I do fine for the first few hours, but then it gets messy. Here is typically what happens to me while she is gone...

• For some reason whenever Monica goes out of town our phone stops ringing. It rings off the hook when she's here. At first it's nice, but then it's a loud reminder that I'm all alone.
• I do fine by myself, and I even like some alone time, but after a day of not being with her I breakdown in the silence. I often go down the list and call everyone in my cell phone.
• I can't sleep at night. When she's gone I normally watch TV on the couch until I fall asleep. I then drag myself to bed at some point...normally around 2 or 3 in the morning. When I do go to bed I never sleep as well. When she is here I fall right asleep most nights. When she's gone I toss and turn. I also lock the bedroom door when she's gone. I don't know why I do this but always do.
• I often turn to food to cope with her being gone. One time I made a cookie monster dessert. Homemade jumbo cookie with ice cream and chocolate sauce. It was good while it lasted, but as soon as I was done I felt bad that I ate that much.
• I try to pass the time by watching TV or movies that I like, but I know she doesn't enjoy. One time when she was gone I watched 24 hours of a season of 24. Around hour 15 I tried to stop but I just couldn't.
• I always try to think of things I can do to be productive while she's gone. For some reason my mind turns to mush whenever she is away and I can't think of anything to do.

The last couple of times she went out of town I made plans to hang out with other people. It helped curve me eating the loneliness away...and the addiction to TV. It didn't help my sleep. I know all of this sounds pathetic, but I just love my wife.

TobyMac in Concert

When I was in fifth grade I fell in love with the band DC Talk. I didn't just love their music their songs helped shape my views on God. TobyMac was the front-man for DC Talk and he is now a successful solo artist. I recently saw him in concert at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg VA. It was a great show.

Above: Brandon Heath opened the concert

Song you should download: Give Me Your Eyes
Above: American Idol Finalist Mandisa.

Song you should download: Christmas Makes Me Cry

Above: TobyMac putting on a great show

Songs you should download: I'm For You, The Slam, Gone, Jesus Freak...

just go out and buy his whole album!

Portable Sounds is on sale now for $5 at Lifeway Christian Bookstore.

Reading Machine

My wife reads like a machine. Have you ever seen a movie where a robot digests a book by feverishly flipping through the pages retaining every word they scan? That's my wife. She read 3, count em, 3 Twilight books in three days. She's on the fourth now, which is the size of two encyclopedias. She will have read that one before the day is over. That's not all. She has read 7 books in 7 days.

Since May I have read 1 1/2 books. I read Confessions of a Pastor by Craig Groeschel and I'm reading Samson and the Pirate Monks by Nate Larkin. I love both books. They are both very challenging and refreshingly honest. I recommend them. I'm not a machine reader so I have to force myself to read. I read a little bit everyday. Five days a week, before I get ready, I read a book that challenges me spiritually. I then spend a few minutes reading the Bible. If I don't force myself to read I won't do it.

So how about you...are you a reader? If so do you read like a machine or are you slow and steady?

Movie Review - The Proposal

The romantic comedy formula is often imitated in chick flicks. Girl meets boy and they fall in love. In the middle of the movie there is a conflict and they break up. They then get back together and live happily ever after. It's a formula that works if you have the right characters and enough humor to keep the guys interested. It's an awful formula if you don't.

The Proposal works the romantic comedy formula perfectly. It has a love story that makes the girls go ahhh, and the comedy to make the guys not want gauge their eyes out during the movie.

The Proposal stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Sandra is a hard nosed boss who is about to be deported back to Canada. In a slick move to escape deportation she convinces her assistant to marry her. Hilarity ensues.

It's rated PG-13 for a few swears and a brief almost nude scene of Sandra and Ryan. You don't see any parts of the body that should be covered with the bathing suit, but they are both nude when slam into each other by accident. I give it one thumb up.

Rob's Rating System: Two Thumbs up = I loved it, worth paying full price, and I will own it on DVD.

One Thumb up = An OK movie, worth a matinee showing, and I may buy it on DVD if I see it in the $5 bin.

Thumb to the side = Wait and rent it. I wouldn't be mad if someone gave me this DVD, but I wouldn't buy it.

Thumbs down = I hated it, wish I wouldn't have wasted money on it, wouldn't own it on DVD.

Mind Dump

My brain feels constipated with thoughts. I need to get them out. The following is a brain dump of all the random stuff going on in my head.

• I had a great 4th of July Weekend. I didn't have to work Thursday or Friday, so me and my wife took some friends to her parents river house. It was fun.
• I did have to work on the fourth because I had to make sure my talk was ready for Sunday.
• I spoke at my church, Waters Edge, yesterday.
• It was my first time speaking since we've opened our new building.
• I felt good about the services at Waters Edge on Sunday. Lead Pastor, Stu Hodges, was on vacation. I definitely missed having him around.
• I did make a little girl cry because I mentioned in my talk that I used to believe in Santa Clause. I'm sure I'm going to hear about this one. I never said that Santa wasn't real, but apparently she was crushed.
• The river house doesn't have cable so I didn't know that Ron Artest became a Laker until yesterday. This is crazy. He is a great player who may be psycho. If anyone can keep him in check it's Phil Jackson. If you'll remember Phil coached Dennis Rodman to three championships in Chicago. We did lose Trevor Ariza to free agency. He was a HUGE part of the Lakers championship.
• My sister, Sarah, and her family are in town. They live in Ohio. It's always fun to see them.
• She has two really cute kids. She also has a blog. Click here to check it out.
• My sisters husband Scott has a blog. He updates almost everyday. I enjoy his blog. Check it out by clicking here.
• Went on a double date with Sarah and Scott last night. Went to see the movie "The Proposal" Look for the review later today.
• Monica and I booked our first cruise. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise before. Everyone tells us it's amazing, so I can't wait. The only thing that makes me nervous is the thought of sleeping on the bottom deck. I saw the movie Titanic and when the boat goes down they lock the gate to the bottom deck so no one can get out. Those people don't stand a chance. I don't know where our room is but I'm hoping it's not on the bottom deck.
• I leave for camp a week from today. I love camp. This year we are taking 82 students. It is one of my favorite weeks of the year, and I can't wait to go.
• Pizza Hut has a new BIG $5 menu. The commercials makes it look good. I'm going to try to eat there some time soon.
• I'm hoping to get the new Hillsong United CD soon. I love Hillsong's style of worship.
• I talked to one of my students at Waters Edge, who I've known for a year now. He asked me what I did for a living. I laughed. He was serious. So I told him I worked at Waters Edge Church. He then asked if that was a full time job. I explained to him all that I do and then told him the amount of hours the staff at Waters Edge works. He was blown away. It amazes me how many people are shocked that working at a church is a full time job. It's funny to me that they come every week and see the service and it never dawns on them that someone had to work their butt off to pull it off. I love that though, because it's a sign that many of the people coming to Waters Edge don't have a fat clue how churches work. They've never been to church before so they have never thought about it being a job. I love that.
• Tonight is my last night with my current Adult Community Group. A Community Group is a small group who meets weekly for to share life, and discuss the Bible. I've been with this group for over a year now. It's always a little sad to end a group, but at the same time it's exciting because it means we get to start a new group.

Whew. I feel better now that all of that is out.

Happy Fourth of July Weekend

Tomorrow is the 4th of July. Yeah America!

Question: What other countries have the 4th of July?

If you said none then you are incorrect.

Answer: All other countries have July 4th, but it's a holiday in America because we celebrate our Independence.

But did you know that Denmark also celebrates the holiday? According to Wiki "Denmark is the other notable country that celebrates July 4th, owing to a famous Danish-American, Max Henius who lived there and donated land specifically to Danish-American relations." Huh. Who knew?

For this fourth of July weekend I'm going out of town to hang out with some friends. I then have to come back on Saturday (the 4th) to work on my talk for this coming Sunday at Waters Edge. It's written, but I have to do some re-writes and memorize it. So what are you doing for the 4th of July?

Have you seen this?

Aaron Shutway, and eighth grader from Ohio, made a trick basketball shot that is amazing. It was featured on SportsCenter. In fact it was the play of the month for June. Side note: I'm a little bitter it beat out Derek Fisher's three in the Finals for the Lakers. Derek came in second place for the play of the month. If you haven't seen it then enjoy.

Waters Edge

I love my church. Last night a friend of mine texted me to tell me that Waters Edge landed in the top 100 churches for Youth Baptism for 2008. 97 to be exact. The only other church that made the list in Virginia was Liberty Baptist.

Baptism is an outward sign of what God is doing in a person's life. To find out more about baptism click here.

It's exciting to me, not because we made a list, but because it represents life change. I hope God always uses Waters Edge to make a difference in teenagers lives.