How did your football team do?

Sorry B-Rad...the Titans finally lost. How about your football team, how did they do?

For a million $'s

I have very interesting conversations with my friend Dan Peters. Lately we've been discussing what we would do for a million dollars. Here is the question for you...

For one million dollars would you have your pinkie finger surgically removed? Comment.

Working out with women

I've never worked out like a woman before...

On Wednesday after my normal workout at the YMCA I picked up a sheet with times and descriptions of the classes they offer. There is a class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings called powercut. The description said it involved weights and was good for a total body workout. My friend, Danielle Peters, assured me that the classes were guy friendly. She's a girl.


I was nervous to go to the class. I typically don't like trying new things. I also don't like to feel embarrassed, but I am not seeing the same results from my weekly workouts. I needed to try something new.


When I got there I noticed right away that there were no guys anywhere near this class. The women that were there were very nice. I think they felt sorry for me. They made sure I had a mat, a step, and some weights. Normally I would have bailed on this class but I thought what the heck...at least I'll have something to blog about.

Midway through the class the instructor told everyone to get an exercise ball. She described what we were going to do as being similar to ridding a horse. She straddles the exercise ball and then says "you should really feel it in your pubic area." Now I don't know if she forgot that out of the 9 people in the class only one of us was a guy, but when she said that I said "wow this is awkward." I don't know if she heard me or saw my discomfort but she then says "this probably is not a good exercise for gentlemen. Why don't you do some lunges." First off I don't know what a lunge is. Second thank you for giving me the invitation to never take your class again. I ended up standing next to my exercise ball until this exercise was done.

The class did involve a lot of weight lifting. Today my muscles are still sore. Even though that class was awkward and embarrassing it was a really good workout. I think too many times in life I'm afraid to try something new. I'm afraid that I'll fail or look foolish. The truth is that in order to stretch and grow and break out of the same old same old you've got to be willing to take a risk. If you want a great life you've got to be willing to break out of the monotony of your everyday life. Try something new. Allow new experiences to stretch you. Yeah it may be awkward but it will produce results. Who knows how God will use that new experience to sculpt your life.

I think I will go back to the class on Tuesday.

I love gifts!!!!

I love receiving gifts! My friends Ryan and Kim Windle recently gave me a Chuck Norris shirt that says "10 Things You Need to Know about Chuck Norris."

The funny thing about that shirt is that Chuck Norris, Rob, and the Windles go way back. The Windles were in the first Community Group that I led. During that group I used to tell Chuck Norris facts on a weekly basis. During that time Ryan and Kim were pregnant. Ryan started telling people that it didn't matter what the sex of the baby was he was going to name it Chuck after Chuck Norris. After Natalie (not Chuck) was born I went to the hospital to see them. The first thing that Ryan says to me is that Chuck Norris watched the birth of his daughter. During the delivery Ryan looked up and saw that the TV was on. The show that just happened to be playing was Walker Texas Ranger staring Chuck Norris. I get a kick out of that story. Thanks Windle's for the gift! By the way did you know that before Chuck Norris goes on stage he breaks someone's leg to give himself good luck?

My weekend with Monica

Last weekend, after Monica finished class, we went to her parent's river house. We went to celebrate her birthday. Her parents met us there and made dinner for us. After dinner they went back to VA Beach and the place was all ours. It was a nice get away. We went just to be with one another and to relax. And relaxing is what we did. We watched 3 and 1/2 movies, read books (Monica = 3 Rob = 0, but I did read a magazine), and went for a walk. I love spending time with Monica! Here are some pics of our weekend.

We celebrated Monica's dad's birthday as well. His is the day after Monica's.

Christmas Eve

Here is a video we showed at Waters Edge on Sunday. It is meant to be a funny video to get the word out about the Christmas Eve services at WEC. Enjoy!

How did your football team do?

Not a lot changed in the BCS standings. The NFL had some great games! So the question is how did your football team do?

Quantum of Solace Review

Quantum of Solace is the newest James Bond 007 movie. If you didn't see it over the weekend do yourself a favor and watch Casino Royale before you go to see it. I think it will make your movie experience a lot better.

Plot: Quantum picks up right after Casino Royale. The movie takes you from one adventure to the next. Weaving in and out of the plot is James Bond quest for revenge for the death of his girlfriend. Sound familiar?

In my opinion Quantum is a good movie but not a great movie. It is without a doubt influenced by the Bourne movie franchise. The way the action scenes were shot, the pacing of the movie, and even the plot for revenge over the death of a girlfriend are all taken from Jason Bourne. It had good actions scenes, but I want more than that from a movie. Overall I give it one thumb up. It's rated PG-13 for intense action and violence, some sexual content.

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.

Monica's Birthday

Today is Monica's birthday. One thing you may have picked up on by reading robshep.com is that we love birthdays! Here's the thing about today...Monica has class at William and Mary from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM.

So with the help of some friends we celebrated Monica's birthday last night.

• Here was the plan: friends were going to arrive at 5:50.
• The limo was going to arrive at 6:00.
• At 6:05 Monica and I were going to walk out of the house (she thought we were going to Dan and Danielle Peters' house for a birthday dinner) and she would be surprised to see the limo. Then when she got in the limo she would be surprised to see some of her friends.
• We were riding to Richmond to go to Maggiano's.

Here is what happened:

• 5:50 Friends arrived close to on time but there was no limo.
• 6:05 I got a text telling me to stall. Monica hates being late and I had already stalled past 6:05. She was getting impatient.
• 6:08 I pretended to have to go the bathroom. It was all I could think of. I pretended that it hit me and I couldn't wait. It was the only place I could think of that could buy me some time.
• 6:12 we went to the car because I couldn't think of any other excuses as to why we weren't leaving.
• 6:12 I told Monica that Danielle may have a plan to take her out and I asked if she felt comfortable in what she was wearing. I knew she didn't. Monica almost always dresses really nice, but for some reason she came home from work and put on a VA Tech shirt and rain boots. She said thanks for telling her and then said she wouldn't ruin the surprise. She still had no idea what was about to happen.
• 6:16 I can't stall anymore and Courtney texts me and asks if they should surprise her in the driveway. I said yes.
• 6:20 we open the door and our friends yell surprise. Monica yelped...it startled her. She was so excited and surprised!
• 6:21 She still has no idea about the limo and she is busy hugging and talking with everyone. Then finally the limo arrives.
• 7:45 we arrived a Maggiano's were I had a reservation for us.
• 9:15 we were just getting our main course. I knew we had to leave by 9:30 to get the limo back on time.
• 9:30 still waiting for dessert. Maggiano's is a family style restaurant where you pick two appetizers, two salads, two pastas, two entrees, and then two desserts. It's all you can eat and it is amazing!
• 9:40 we tell the waiter to forget the desserts and just bag em. We will eat them in car.
• 9:45 the waiter brings out an extra dessert with candles for Monica's birthday. Nice, but we were in a hurry!
• 9:47 we rush out to the limo. Right away we start digging into the dessert! It was amazing.
• 11:00 PM we arrive home.

It was a great night and Monica was really surprised. Here are some pics.

We lost! Bad!

So the WEC staff got killed at Corn Hole vs. Mark Batterson and the NCC staff. We were down two team members. Meredith May was out sick...you can read about that here. Brian Miller had to go home to take care of his son Cole. Cole is really sick. You can read about that here. When you do please pray for Cole!

Mark Batterson blogged about the Corn Hole shellacking (no I did not misspell that word...it means we got beat down! Here is the definition: 1. shel·lacked also shel·lacked, shel·lack·ing also shel·lack·ing, shel·lacs also shel·lacks Slang
a. To strike repeatedly and severely; batter.
b. To defeat decisively.) here.

We lost really bad. We played the best out of 7 and we lost in 4 straight. If add up all the points we scored in the 4 games it would not be enough to win one game...how sad is that? It was a fun day though. Thank you Mark and the staff of NCC for hosting us!

Here are some pics of the event.

Today I Battle Mark Batterson

Today is an exciting day for me. One of my favorite books in recent memory is the book In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. About two months ago, I was at a Director's Retreat for Waters Edge and during our breaks we played a game called Corn Hole or Baggo or Tailgate Toss. I learned about this game from Mark Batterson's blog. Anyway I suggested to my pastor, Stu Hodges, that we should challenge another church staff at Corn Hole. He threw out Mark Batterson and his staff at NCC.

That night I emailed Mark and challenged him and his staff...he doesn't know me from Adam. I may or may not have ended my email with "if you're scared say you're scared." He's not scared! He wrote a book about chasing lions. In other words...Mark accepted the challenge.

Today we are driving up to meet with the NCC staff for lunch at Ebenezers Coffeehouse. We are going to pick their brains and make some connections. Then after lunch the battle begins. I'm praying that God gives me the right words to say. Sometimes when I'm around people I don't know but I look up to, I get really quiet or I say really stupid things. I think I get quiet because I don't want to say stupid things. Anyway I'm really excited about this!

By the way, if I start losing I am not afraid to pull a Karate Kid and sweep the leg. And that my friends is a perfect example of a stupid thing I might would say to Mark Batterson.

You can follow my day through Twitter. You can subscribe to my Twitter page from my blog.

Guess who got engaged???

OK this news just made my week! D-Reeves and Angela got engaged last night!!!! If you don't know them then you should know that I named my car after D-Reeves mom. I also gave him the nickname D-Reeves and I may or may not have played a part in D-Reeves and Angela meeting. Basically I love the guy! Congratulations David "D-Reeves" Reeves and Angela "future Mrs. D-Reeves" Montondo! I'm so happy for you guys!

D-Reeves sent me some pics that I thought I would share with the world. Enjoy!

Warm and Fuzzy Memories with Rob

And now it's time for another Warm And Fuzzy Memory with Rob...

When I was in college we used to visit, hang out, and if we had money, shop at Wal-Mart. One of the things I love about Wal-Mart is that they provide jobs for many elderly folks. One day as I was walking out an older Wal-Mart employee near the exit asked to check my receipt. Her whole job was to check receipts, making sure you walked out with only the stuff you purchased. When she was done checking your receipt she would make a check mark on your receipt with a highlighter. The elderly Wal-Mart employee took my receipt in one hand as she looked it up and down. In her other hand, unbeknown to her, she marked up and down my shirt with her highlighter. When her eyes went down the receipt she marked down my shirt. When her eyes went back up the receipt she marked back up my shirt. I was wearing a white button down shirt from the GAP. When she did it the first time I gasped, but she didn't hear me. When she marked back down my shirt I just smiled. I thought I'm glad I'll have a place to work when I'm old. And that my friends is another Warm and Fuzzy Memory with Rob.

Epilogue:
Now that I think about it, I bet she was just using her age as an excuse to mess with people. I bet that night she went to her Bingo club and told a hilarious story about how she marked up and down some college kid's shirt and he didn't even say anything.

How did your football team do?

Big weekend in the world of football. How did your College, NFL, and for Mike Maloney...high school team...do over the weekend?

And for this week...how did your fantasy football team do? This is the first year in a long time that I didn't play fantasy football. I kind of miss it.

Holds up vs. Doesn't hold up

My friend Dan Peters and I have some pretty interesting conversations. They have inspired Monica (my wife) to start a journal of various quotes that have been said during some of our conversations. I would like to include you the faithful robshep.com reader in on one of those recent conversations...

Dan is adamant that the movie Speed doesn't hold up. He says he liked it when he first saw it but now it's horrible. I on the other hand disagree. I think it is still an entertaining movie. It's not Oscar material, but it is a good action movie. So I'm wondering what do you think? Does Speed, with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock driving a bus around LA at 50 miles an hour in hope that the bus will not explode if they drop below 50 miles an hour, still hold up?

New Blog

Meredith May, the Director of Preschoolers and Kids at Waters Edge, has started a blog. Meredith is creative and is way better at grammar than I am. You should check it out.

For those of you keeping record Meredith is the 5th WEC staffer to have a blog. Here are the others in order of when they started...

1. Bill - if you want to read about what Bill did last July (he doesn't update it very much) visit http://billsprouse.blogspot.com/
2. Rob - robshep.com. Doesn't do well with grammar but at least it makes you giggle.
3. Phil - Phil blogs in spurts...when he does it's good. Check him out at http://www.philopedia.com/.
4. Brian Miller - Brian blogs almost everyday. He also leaves comments on other blogs (I love this about Brian), so if you want comments on your blog become his friend. Check out Brian's blog at www.waystationone.com.
5. Meredith May - her blog is only about a week old. Become one of the first to follow it at http://www.heymayday.com/.

I've been thinking about this for a while. I would like to compile a list of all the WEC members who have blogs. I'm thinking about starting a blogroll on robshep.com that has all WEC members. Leave a comment if you have a blog and you go to WEC.

It's a bird!

Every Sunday night Stu Hodges prepares...scratch that...provides dinner for those of us that have served all day at Waters Edge. This past Sunday KFC was on the menu. When I came down stairs from doing the announcements at the 6:00 PM service I saw this...


That's gross! When I arrived at the Yoder Barn Theater for church this bird was lying dead by the side door. Reason for death is undetermined. Someone in the band (Randy ...I can name him because he refuses to read robshep.com) thought it would be funny to put the bird on a plate with a biscuit...it actually was in the biscuit at one time. Seeing it grossed me out! Then it made me laugh. Then I had Meredith May take a picture.

Great Quotes

I read these great quotes from Mark Batterson's blog and I wanted to share them with you.

Ron Martoia said, "Our spiritual formation efforts have focused on information acquisition." So true. And the problem with that is this: we are educated way beyond the level of obedience.

George Barna said, "Christianity has become a way of thought instead of a way of life." Ding. Ding. Ding. I think we've created a culture where we know more and do less all the while thinking we're growing spiritually. Also love the way he said: "If you don't change you become part of the problem."

I Voted!

I voted...now on to the free stuff.

Did you know that by showing your "I Voted" sticker you can receive free stuff? You can! Here is a list of some of the places giving out free stuff.

• One scoop of ice cream at Ben and Jerry's.
• One star shaped sprinkled Krispy Kreme Doughnut.
• At participating Chick-fil-A stores you can receive one free chicken sandwich.
• I heard that Sonic was giving away a free drink, but I can't confirm that online.

Did you get anything free on election day 2008?

Costume Party Number Two

Last Friday I went to my second costume party in October. I went once again as Mario. In fact I have a four year plan for this Mario costume. Next year I'm going to add yellow buttons to the costume. In two years I'm going to add raccoon ears and a tail to be Mario from Mario 3. In three years I'm going to build a car out of cardboard and strap it on...thus I will be Mario from Mario Cart. In four years I'm going to strap shoes to my knees and walk on my knees all night...thus being the regular Mario before he becomes super. I figure if I spent money on it I might as well get some use out of it. Here are some picks from the costume party.

This time I brought Luigi. Luigi kept wanting to kiss me all night and I refused. I don't kiss my brother.

Speaking of my brother. A lot of people dressed up like the Joker this year...but I think it is safe to say only one person dressed up as the Joker in a nurses outfit. If you've seen the movie then you know what scene it's from. My brother ended up winning two costume contests that night. He won a $20 gift card to Starbucks and he won $100 cash money!

Here is a shot of Brian Miller and I strategizing for Baggo/Cornhole.

Pictured below...Carlyn as a gold digger, Monica as Luigi, and Courtney as a girl in a black dress with a pointy hat.

We Can Vote However We Like

If you haven't seen the sixth and seventh graders from The Ron Clark Academy in ATL rap about the upcoming election you need to watch this! Monica found it and showed it to me and it is wicked AWESOME! It's taken from the song "Whatever you like" by TI.



Now that you have seen that watch the CNN interview.



I'm thinking I would have made straight A's in school if this was how I was taught.

How did your football team do?

Big weekend of football. We have a new number one team in the BCS polls. There was also a lot of action in the NFL. How did your team do? I know that many of you are Redskins or Steelers fans, and that your team plays tonight. If that is you who do you think will win?

One interesting side note: Did you know that the Washington Redskins have predicted 16 of the last 17 Presidential elections? Here's how it works..."if the Washington Redskins win their last home game prior to the presidential election, the candidate representing the incumbent party remains in office. If the Redskins lose, the incumbent party also loses.” So if you are voting for Obama then root for the Steelers. If you are voting for McCain then cheer for the Redskins.

What are you doing tonight?

Today is Halloween. What are you doing tonight? Fall Festival, Trick or Treating, Costume Party, hanging out with friends, or nothing at all? Comment.

Warm and Fuzzy Memories with Rob

And now it's time for another Warm and Fuzzy Memory with Rob...

Tombstone Pizzas are normally good. Tombstone Pizzas from the back of a strangers car are scary.

One time Monica and I were driving home from DC. It was late at night and we needed to stop at a rest area. On our way into the bathroom the guy that is sitting by the door (tall guy with a beard and I believe he is wearing flannel) tells us that he has run out of gas. He says he is on his way to VA beach and any money we could spare him would be appreciated. I rarely carry cash and so quickly I responded by saying I'm sorry but I don't have any cash on me. He says to me that if we can give him any money he will repay us with Tombstone Pizzas that he has with him in his car. Tempting, but I don't carry cash for reasons such as this.

I went to the bathroom and on my way out I remembered that I did have a $20 bill on me. Someone repayed me with cash and thus I had some cash money. When I give the guy the $20 he is very thankful and he says to me let me repay you. He then says I have a ton of Tombstone Pizzas in my car and I can give you as many as you want. Now you need to understand that I love pizza. I love all kinds of pizzas, but I looked at his car and it was a beat down hunk of junk. I'm not judging but frozen pizza is supposed to stay frozen. I don't know how he was keeping his mass quantity of pizzas frozen in his beat up hoopty car. It would have been more believable if he said I have a collection of knives and weapons and I'm going to hurt you if you walk out with me to the dark area where my car is parked. I gracefully declined the pizza and went on my way. I did check behind me a couple of times to make sure he wasn't following us. And I locked the doors right when we got into the car.

And that my friends is another Warm and Fuzzy Memory with Rob.

My very own Twix commercial

Have you seen the Twix commercial where the guy says something inappropriate and then stuffs a Twix in his mouth? The idea is that eating the Twix will give you a moment to get out of the situation. If you haven't seen the commercial check it out below.

This past week I felt like I was in a Twix commercial...without a Twix.

I went to the mall to pick up a gift card. I went to the Customer Service kiosk because I wanted a general mall gift card. When I arrived the lady working the kiosk was frazzled. She was having a fight with the computer and the computer was winning.

The lady she was waiting on was legally blind. I know this because she had a seeing eye dog that had a sign on it that said "DO NOT PET ME I AM WORKING". The sign is similar to the one below...

After a really long time and two phone calls for help the Customer Service, employee finally changed computers and printed the receipt the lady was patiently waiting for. The employee was really frazzled and felt horrible for taking so long. She was doing the best she could, but she wasn't very computer savvy. The employee pulls out the printed receipt and says to the legally blind woman "sign here." The woman responds back "where?" The employee says right there, but she doesn't show her, she just says it. The extremely patient legally blind woman said once again "where do I need to sign?" This time the frazzled employee says "on the line." And then she says "do you not see the line on the paper?" The legally blind woman said "No I don't see the line, I'm legally blind." At this the employee pointed to the line (in complete silence) and the woman signed in the general vicinity of the line. I felt like I was in a Twix commercial, but I didn't have a Twix.

Holds up vs. Doesn't hold up

My friend Dan Peters and I have some pretty interesting conversations. They have inspired Monica (my wife) to start a journal of various quotes that have been said during some of our conversations. I would like to include you the faithful robshep.com reader in on one of those recent conversations...

Dan believes, and is adamant, that the show Saved By the Bell doesn't hold up well. In fact he thinks it's awful. He used to like it, but now when he watches it he thinks it's horrible. I still enjoy watching Saved by the Bell from time to time. In fact my counter to Dan is it has to hold up well because it is on TV every single day. I'm not talking about on Nick at Night...it's on every morning. That means that a new audience is watching and enjoying it. So I would love for you to weigh in on the debate. Does Saved by the Bell hold up well or not? Think to yourself, if I was watching this for the first time now would I still enjoy it? Or if my elementary or middle school child watched it today would they like it? Comment.

New Survey

In honor of the brand new NBA season...it started last night...the Lakers won! I have a new survey. Even if you don't like the NBA you should still vote!

Halloween...for it or against it

This past weekend a friend of mine mentioned how they thought Halloween was an evil holiday and that Christians shouldn't participate. I think their exact words were Halloween is a Satanic holiday. I'm curious to know what you think. This Friday will you be boycotting Halloween or participating in some way (taking the kids trick or treating, going to a costume party, watching a scary movie etc.)? Comment.

It's me Mario

It's me Mario. This October Monica and I have been invited to two costume parties two weeks in a row. The first was this past Saturday. I decided to put together a little costume in honor of one of the greatest video game characters of all time...Mario. That is Super Mario!


Here are some other costumed friends at the the costume party.


My friends D-Reeves and Angela were not even at the above mentioned costume party. They did however stop by the Pumpkin Carving 2008 Extravaganza the night before. They had a costume party on the same night and they dropped by after it was over. I thought their costumes were wicked awesome, so I posted the pic.

How did your football team do?

Some big games this weekend in the world of football. The top five teams stayed the same in the BCS ranking. There were some interesting games in the NFL. And is anyone watching the World Series? The question is how did your team do? Comment.

An Ode to Chad

Top 10 things you may not know about my friend Chad Johnson.
10. Chad was Homecoming King for the class of 96. I was on the court and in my mind I came in second place.
9. Chad holds the world record for having braces on longer than any human being.
8. Chad and his brother once dated the same girl...it was at different times.
7. Chad was accused of pick pocketing at a 7-11 by a police officer. The officer thought Chad stuck something down his pants. He didn't. He may or may not have had an itch that he had to take care of, but he did not stick any merchandise down his pants. It was pretty funny watching the officer frisk Chad down.
6. Chad once ate an entire box of Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers ice cream bars...in one night.
5. Chad once took a step and there was nothing there. It was in the above ground wooden fort at my parent's house. It was getting dark and we were playing guns. He moved into position to shoot my brother and then he disappeared. I looked down and Chad was hanging on for dear life. He caught himself with one leg and one arm. If he hadn't caught himself he would have got seriously hurt.
4. Chad used to have a TV set up on top of his TV. We would watch sports on one TV and play Nintendo on the other.
3. Chad may or may not have mooned his own mother. Long live Francis!
2. It only took Chad 29 years and 364 days to get engaged.
1. Chad is a great athlete, faithful friend, and I own him in NBA Live!

Chad Johnson

This week is a big week for my friend Chad Johnson. He turned 30 and he got engaged to Kim Williams. So in honor of Chad, I would like to dedicate this blog to him.

Chad Johnson is the oldest friend I have. When I say oldest I don't mean that he is old...I mean that I have been friends with him longer than any other friend. When I was in 7th grade my family moved to VA. I moved in the middle of the school year, which is never easy. I had been at my new school for about four months and I didn't have very many friends. Basically all the guys hated me because all the girls loved me. That is a lie. The truth is not many people remember that I was in their 7th grade class. In fact most of my classmates think I came to the school in 8th grade.

One day near the end of the school year I didn't have a seat at the lunch table. Instead of pouting I made a joke of it. I started making a big deal about not having a seat and I loudly proclaimed that "I will create my own seat down at the corner of the lunch table next to this guy I don't know." I was joking around and people were laughing. I pulled up a chair next to Chad Johnson (the table was so packed he was sitting at the head of table). This was the first time I remember seeing Chad. I think I made him laugh because that next weekend he invited me over to his house. I'm not sure what I said or did that made Chad want to invite me over, but he was the first classmate to give me an invite. From that day on we were great friends. Throughout the years I have had many different friends, but Chad is the one I have known the longest. Happy Birthday Chad and congrats on the engagement!

Is this for real?

I saw this video on Carlos's blog. I try not to post what other people post because I don't want to steal their stuff, but I had to make an exception. This video is baffling to me. If you watch it just wait until 2 1/2 minutes into the video. I can't imagine why another human would post this online for the world to see. My thought is that she has to be joking. This girl is either starving for attention or the greatest comedian in our day. What do you think?

robshep.com = VIP

Tonight some of the Waters Edge staff went to a conference at The Wave Church in Virginia Beach. As we were pulling up, the parking lot was absolutely packed. The parkers were waving us towards the packed lot to the right. To our left, was a coned off section that said "VIP Parking." Stu, our driver and lead pastor at Waters Edge Church, rolls down his window and tells the parking attendant, "I think we are supposed to be there," and points to the VIP parking lot. Stu tells the guy that we have Rob Shepherd, from robshep.com. The attendant proceeds to wave us to the left- the VIP section.

The second parking attendant is guarding the cones. Stu rolls down the window and says again, "We've got Rob Shepherd, from robshep.com." The man moves the cone and lets us park in VIP parking, right next to the door. Apparently rolling with robshep.com gets you places. Who knew?

I've Been Tagged...

Here are the rules:
Rule #1 - Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog. http://thetallestbladeofgrass.blogspot.com/ - this is my sister's blog. She has a pretty witty blog. The theme of her Blog is the Tallest Blade of Grass. She explains what that means on her blog. Check it out.

Rule #2 - Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.

1. My sister is the reason that I stopped cussing. When I was in fifth grade I almost cussed at her because she made me so angry. Right after the near mishap I said to myself that if I could slip up in front of my sister then I might also slip up in front of my parents. That scared me and so that was when I stopped cussing.


2. When I was in middle school my dream was to grow up and be a Christian Rap Artist. I was heavily influenced by dc Talk. Soon after I announced this to family and friends Rap went the way of the gangster (i.e. Gangster Rap). Because I didn't fit the gangster persona I gave up that dream.


3. The night I proposed to Monica was the first time I told her I loved her. Before that moment I had never told another female that I loved her in a romantic way. I wanted to make sure that when I said it I meant it.


4. The first music album I ever bought was "He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper" by DJ Jazzy Jeff' and the Fresh Prince. It featured the song "Parents Just Don't Understand". I loved it! I bought it in a mall in Missouri. It was on tape...that is after records but before CD's.


5. I used to work at Subway as a "Sandwich Artist".


6. I was in a band in high school called "Six Day Wonder". We once did a concert at the amusement park Kings Dominion.


7. Because I went to elementary school in Germany I count with my fingers differently then most other Americans do. You know when you add something up and you use your fingers to count? Well I start counting with my thumb as the number one. Most Americans start with their pointer finger as number one and their thumb represents number five.

Rule #3 - Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their posts.

1. Matt Kuchera - Good friend and my Padawan learner.
2. Jake Holland - Funny dude plus he likes super heroes!
3. Brian Norris - Shares a last name with Chuck...nuff said!
4. John Finkelde - Australian pastor and good blogger.
5. Kyle Walker - Funny Person & Great Friend.
6. Phil Poteat - Worship Leader at Waters Edge and also a ninja.
7. Terace Crawford - Blogging stud!
8. Blake Maurice - my best friend from college. I know this thing said only post seven, but I wanted to do 8!

Rule #4 - Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

DONE!

Thanks For Reading!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who reads robshep.com on a regular basis. I love it when you read! I really love it when you leave a comment!! Thank you!

My blog is kind of like my baby. It's not perfect but it is my own. Sometimes my posts might stink, but whose baby doesn't. Hopefully despite its faults (grammar being one) you still think in its own unique way it's cute. Or at least it makes you giggle from time to time. Anyway I know that everyone who has a baby thinks their baby is the best. I don't. I am humbled and honored that anyone would ever read. So thanks again for reading!

If there is anything I can do to make your experience at robshep.com better leave a comment.

Brian Miller

I would like to introduce the robshep.com readers to Brian Miller. Brian is the Director of Administration at Waters Edge. He is a good writer and I'm excited to see what he adds to the blog world. Check it and tell him Rob sent you.

Attacked in the Night…..Guest Blogger Monica Shepherd

What would you do if you were minding your own business, sleeping peacefully, when all of a sudden the blankets were torn from your body? Some might find this romantic, but I found it confusing. Circa midnight, I woke up to Rob pulling all of the blankets off of the bed and onto the floor. He was beside the bed on his knees yelling, “Ow, ow, ow!” I was still confused. I kept saying, “Rob? Rob! Are you okay? Come back to bed!” I realized that he was asleep, but I was still confused. We haven’t turned our heat on yet, so it was already cold, even with blankets! He never responded to me, but he got back up, threw the sheet on me, and put the rest of the blankets at the foot of the bed. I was still confused and cold! I was too tired to make the bed, so I burrowed into the sheets. I had the giggles a little bit, but still wanted to make sure Rob was ok. I said, “Babe, are you ok?” He responded with a mumbling of words, but was safely back in the bed and was not yelling “ow” anymore. Confused, I went back to a cold sleep. I woke up smiling because I knew it was going to be a funny story. Unfortunately, Rob didn’t remember the dream that induced his attack on the bed. The reason he was in pain is because he took a bad fall a few weeks ago, and his knee is still sore and swollen. Crawling on your knees in the middle of the night on the floor would be painful if you had a bum knee. Good thing I don’t keep a gun or a shank near the bed. So, what would you do if you woke up to an innocent attack?

The Water Cooler

Water Cooler (wa·ter cool·er): a device that dispenses cooled drinking water and often serves as a focal point in a workplace where colleagues meet and talk about popular culture.

Do you ever feel left out because you don't have much to add to the conversation around the water cooler? Here are some highlights from pop culture to keep you in the loop.

• If someone brings up sports you say "It's a shame the Red Sox lost. The Phillies vs. the Rays doesn't seem like a very exciting series." Extra: That is the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays...Bonus this is the first year the Rays have ever made the playoffs and they used to be called the Devil Rays.
• If someone brings up politics you say "Did anyone catch Sarah Palin on SNL (Saturday Night Live)? It was ha-larious."
• If someone brings up the TV show the Office you say "The thought of Dwight pretending to give birth to a baby makes me laugh out loud."
• If nobody is talking ask "Did anyone see the number one movie at the box office, Max Payne? I heard it was horrible!"
• Other notables: Britney Spears released a new video (but it's really the same old Britney who relies on her sex appeal to sell more than great lyrics), CSI is the number one rated show in America, and on week five of Dancing with the Stars Rocco DiSpirito was sent home.

That should give you some info to participate at the Water Cooler...use it wisely! If you have any info that is Water Cooler worthy leave a comment.

How did your football team do?

There was a lot of football action over the weekend. Both college and the NFL had some exciting games. The question is how did your team do? Comment.

Dreams that happen more than once

Have you ever had the same dream more than one time? I've had a version of a dream three times now. The dream is a different setting and there are different people in it but the outcome is the same. In the dream it's a Sunday at Waters Edge Church. I'm getting ready to speak and for some reason I don't know what I'm going to say. I have notes, but it's like I haven't memorized the talk. I get so stressed out and worked up I end up waking up stressed out and worked up.

I had that dream again last night. This time Brian Miller was giving announcements and for some reason we were sharing a wireless headset mic. He was happy with himself for doing a good job with the announcements and he was taking his sweet time taking the wireless headset mic off. I was so stressed that I didn't have my talk memorized I ended up yelling at him. When I started the talk I started stalling to try to get my thoughts together. For some reason we had on stage a bunch of clowns that danced. Some of the clowns at the front of the stage were either little kids dressed as clowns or little people dressed as clowns. My opening line to the talk was I like the clowns as a part of the set...the little ones are cute...a little creepy, but cute. Then I woke up stressed out. I'm speaking tomorrow at WEC. I don't feel stressed about it, but maybe my subconscious is telling me something. Have you ever had a recurring dream?

Heroes

This is not a blog about Heroes...per say.

Do you watch the TV show Heroes? Today I started watching season one on DVD for the first time. There is a part of the show that really resonated with me. One of the main characters...we'll call him Peter (we will call him that because that is his name) thinks he has the ability to fly. After his brother tells him he is crazy for thinking this he ends up having a conversation with a cab driver. He ponders out loud to the cab driver about his purpose in life. You see Peter feels like he is created to do more than just exist. He thinks he is created for something bigger.

My question is do you ever have those feelings? It doesn't mean that you don't like your life or that what you are doing is not good, it just means that you ponder about doing more. Sometimes I feel like Peter...I think I have the ability to fly...no, that's not right. Let me start over. Sometimes I feel like Peter and I feel like there is more to me than what I have discovered. I feel like I haven't reached my potential yet. I don't know what I'm waiting for. I guess I wonder if anyone else ever feels the same way.

Change the World - Week 1

There is a song by John Mayer called "Waiting For the World to Change". Here's the deal...I don't want to wait for the world to change...I want to help the world change.

This week one of the ways I helped the world change was by investing in a students life. I took a student who is struggling with school and lacking a purpose in life out for a milk shake. We spent time hanging out, but I also tried to speak truth into his life. I lovingly challenged him to be all that God has created him to be. I am the person that I am today because God used adults to speak truth into my life. I pray God uses that time to change the world through this student.

Being a faithful reader of robshep.com I would love to hear your story. How did you help the world change this week? Leave a comment.

Protest

I'm not a big protester. I have never knowingly protested anything. If you remember a few years ago the Baptists tried to protest Disney. At the time I was at a Baptist church...I went to Disney on my honeymoon...during the protest. The truth is I think people who hold protests do little good in this world, and yet today I held a protest. Now I understand that I am being hypocritical by protesting, but I think that when you hear my protest you will understand.

Today our staff went to Ruby Tuesdays for a going away lunch for Ambre Delongchamp. Ambre is preggers and is about 10 days away from having a baby. After she has the baby she is not coming back to work at WEC (Rob is very sad). Anyway, at lunch I got the Ruby Tuesday salad bar. The only problem was that they ran out of croutons. Now normally I wouldn't mind this, but the croutons at Rubys are amazing! Brian Miller ,who is on staff with us, asked very nicely for some more croutons, and they told him they were making them. When I got back to my seat with an empty plate I said that I was going to protest not having croutons by standing up until they brought out the croutons. In my mind I thought this would only be five minutes, but five minutes turned to ten and ten turned into fifteen and fifteen to twenty and then it skipped to thirty minutes. I looked around and everyone was almost done with their meals. I decided that if I didn't drop the protest then I may not get to eat another salad because we were going to be leaving before any croutons ever came out. When I came back from the salad bar Stu (my boss) said, "Don't end the protest now. You need to eat standing up." I thought, "He's right I've protested this long, why give in now." Now maybe you are like my wife and you are saying to yourself that what I did was really immature. Or maybe you're like Phil Poteat and you would have been embarrassed and asked me to sit down. I didn't see it as being immature or embarrassing. I saw it as entertainment and a worthy cause. Our waitress came back one last time and asked if she could get us anything else. I said I would like another refill of water. Jamey Menser (also on staff) said "and some croutons." That spurred me on to repeat "yeah and some croutons." Our waitress was very kind. She questioned, "They still haven't brought out the croutons?" I said ever so politely and with a smile, "No, they haven't...why do you think I'm still standing." She said that she didn't realize I was standing because of the lack of croutons. She then went into the kitchen and brought out a whole bowl of nothing but croutons. I was done with my salad, but that didn't stop me from eating the croutons. Don't worry, I wasn't the only one. The entire staff benefited from my protest and ate croutons like popcorn. It was well worth it, and I would do it again in a heart beat. Here is a picture that I didn't know was taken of the protest...

Make A Difference

At Catalyst last week I was really challenged to make a difference in the world. I set a goal and I don't know if I will be able to keep this goal or not, but I want to make a difference at least once a week. Now I know I may or may not do this on more than one occasion during the week, but I want to intentionally do something that I think will make a difference. As a faithful follower at robshep.com I would like to challenge you to make a difference as well. We will share stories on Friday's at robshep.com.

Last week I sponsored a child through Compassion International. That was my way to make a difference in someone's life.

Superheros for nephews

My sister, Sarah, sent me the most recent pics of her kids. These pics are awesome! I told my sister once that when Monica and I have some kids and our brother and his wife have some kids we will form the entire Justice League. I can't wait!

Who is your hero

Did you ever know that you're my hero? That is a line in the song "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler from the saddest movie ever made..."Beaches" . Monica made me watch it on Christmas Eve 7 years ago. I digress...

I'm wondering who your hero is. I don't think we celebrate our hero's enough. Who helped change you, who helped you become who you are today, who do you look up to? The question is who is your hero? Leave a comment.

How did your football team do?

This past weekend there were a lot of upsets and big victories in the world of football. How did your college, NFL, or Australian football team do?

Healing In The Name of Jesus!

Apparently God has given me the ability to heal...

Last Wednesday night I was staying in a Hotel because of the Catalyst Conference in ATL. I had driven 9 hours and was exhausted. I slept hard until...I woke up at 4:00 AM to loud snoring. You see I was sharing a room with Bill Sprouse (Director of First Impressions at Waters Edge). Bill was snoring way past his weight grade. You see Bill is a thin guy but he was snoring like a fat guy with a cold.

Now I have been told I snore and in the past I have been rudely woken up by people that I have shared a room with. I didn't want to yell at him, throw a pillow at him, or turn the TV on really loud to scare him. Instead I turned on the air conditioner to make some noise...it didn't help. I laid there for about 10 minutes trying to convince myself that his snoring was just noise and that I could sleep through it. I couldn't.

At the ten minute mark I broke and I tried something I've never tried before. I whispered "Bill, in the name of Jesus stop snoring." He didn't stop right away so I whispered "Be Healed." Bill immediately stopped snoring. I'm not joking. He didn't snore for the rest of the night.

Now the true test was the next night. On Thursday night I anxiously waited to see if this was a complete healing or just a one time thing. On Thursday night Bill was as quiet as a church mouse. He slept like a dead man. Praise God! Heidi, Bill's wife, needs to thank God for using me to heal her husband of his snoring. Who knew that was my spiritual gift?

Catalyst 08

I had a blast at Catalyst O8. This was my seventh year at the conference and in my opinion this year was the best overall. Here are some pics and some thoughts (I am hitting myself because I left my camera at the hotel the first day. Things I missed taking pictures of were Jon Foreman from Switchfoot, speakers from day 1).



Dave Ramsey is a ninja! He was an awesome speaker! If you haven't seen him on TV or read one of his books you should! He is a financial guru and he said that everyone should just calm down. One thing that really stuck out to me was when he said that America is under a spirit of fear and it is from Satan. His talk was one of the highlights of the day!


Lanny Donoho is a great MC! At Catalyst you can always expect he'll do something crazy. He drove a bus in, helped an elephant and a donkey come together, and made a rap video with many of the speakers. Good stuff.


Franklin Graham spoke!


Jeff Foxworthy was there!


This was one of the lunches Chad Johnson hooked my up with... this one was with Mark Batteron and Perry Noble!

Monica and I have talked for years about sponsoring a child through Compassion International...I finally did it at Catalyst. I felt like God led me to. I know that may sound weird but I felt like God said to me to be a blessing to other children while we wait for Him to bless us with our own.

One of my favorite parts about Catalyst is hanging out with life long friends that I don't get to see that often. Below is Chad Childress...my former youth pastor. He doesn't normally look like this.

This is Brian Smith. Brian won't admit it but he has grown taller since the last time I saw him. Either that or I hit 30 years old and started shrinking.


Chad Johnson is the man! He hooked me up in so many ways at Catalyst. It seems like everyone (all 12,000) at Catalyst know Chad. Not many of them can say they have known him since 7th grade. In the picture below a older woman put her arm around me and got into the picture. It was weird. The theme of Catalyst was Come Together, so I blew it off as her attempt to come together. It was awkward and weird though.


This is the re-take without the weird woman.


Andy Stanley closed out the conference. Andy is my pastor Stu's hero.


Seriously Catalyst is AWESOME! God challenged me in so many ways. My prayer is that I will be able to apply what I learned. I've got a lot of work to do. I do recommend every human being in the world to go to Catalyst next year! I can't wait for it!