Is it just me

Is it just me or are more and more stores putting employees in costumes. The month of April provides the Statue of Liberty waving to get people to do their taxes with Liberty Tax. I was driving home from work the other day and I saw a person dressed as a giant cup of coffee for Dunkin' Donuts. That one was new to me. The kicker is at the next light was a man dressed as a large mattress in front of a mattress store. The mattress guy looked like he wanted to kill me as I drove by. For the record I waited to giggle at him until after I passed.

All of these costumed employees have three things in common. They are working for a living, they wear headphones to listen to music, and they hate their job. I know not every costumed employee hates their job, but the ones on Rt. 17 (where I live) sure act like it. Either that or they just hate me.

So here's my question if you had to dress up in a costume to promote your job would you do it with a good attitude?

I Lack Rhythm

I lack a rhythm. Now before all you grammar Nazis crucify me...I intentionally wrote a rhythm. You see there is a difference between lacking rhythm and lacking a rhythm. I'm not Michael Jackson when it comes to having rhythm, but I can keep a decent beat. My problem comes with having a rhythm to life.

I heard Andy Stanley, author and pastor, talk about his rhythm. He talked about his work week and how he knows his rhythm. After every preaching series Andy takes off two weeks from speaking. He said he does it because he knows he needs a break.

I don't have a rhythm to my life. I don't even know what my rhythm is. I work until I become a tired zombie. I over-commit, I forget to say no to things, and I work on the weekends. I can maintain this pace for a while, but I eventually burn myself out. I then take a vacation and get re-energized only to get back and start the cycle all over again. Here are a few things I need to force myself to do to create a rhythm...

• Say no. If a good opportunity ends up wearing me out then I need to say no. This includes double booking our weekends. Last weekend Monica I drove all around town to three different places because we were invited. We hung out for a few hours at each place but it exhausted us.
• Resting on the weekend. On my days off this week I'm speaking to a leadership conference and then rushing to a wedding rehearsal an hour a way. I have a wedding on Saturday, 5 church services on Sunday, and then I'm going out of town for a conference Monday through Wednesday.
• Take a break from email on the weekend. I check my email a dozen times on my days off. I think I'm addicted.
• Make time to take a nap. I need a weekly nap to function. Last Sunday I had a training and couldn't take my nap. I should have organized my weekend so I could have taken a nap on a different day.
• I need to figure out my rhythm. I need to force myself to rest before I burn out. It takes me too long to recoup when I get burned out.

Does anyone out there have a rhythm to their life. I'd love to hear what you do to avoid burn out.

Mind Dump

My brain feels constipated with thoughts. The following is a brain dump of all the random stuff going on in my head.

• Last night Derrick Phillips sent me a text with a picture of the new Chick-fil-A spicy chicken sandwich. Derrick is a Community Group Facilitator at WEC and a member brought some to his group. The catch is the sandwich doesn't officially become available till June. So the next thing I know Derrick is headed over to my house and he brings me a sandwich. Let me just say it was lip smacking good.
• It's playoff time in the NBA. The only bad thing about being a Lakers fan is that they play on the West Coast. Home games don't start till 10:30 PM my time. It's awful hard to stay up that late. Lucky for me my wife stayed up with me last night to watch the game. She's awesome!
• Karen Smith, Director of Preschoolers and Kids, bought the WEC staff pedometers. She gave us a little challenge to keep track of our steps each day. She even gave us charts to write out our steps for the week. Yesterday = 10,876 for me.
• I'm coming up on a really busy few weeks.
• Friday I'm speaking with Lead Pastor Stu Hodges to the Leadership staff at the YMCA. I'm honored he asked me to join him.
• Saturday I'm doing a wedding near Richmond for Rich Grasso. Rich is one of my Student Leaders and I'm honored to be a part of his special day.
• Monica (my wife) and I have a Dr.'s appointment today. We are meeting with her OBGYN to talk about our next steps to get pregnant. I just talked to a couple that is pregnant with their second child via in-vitro. It was very interesting talking with them. It's expensive. She told me that they took out a loan. They said it's something that they did to buy a car, so why not for a baby? I mean a baby is a way better investment than a car.
• I may or may not have bought a PS3. I received some money for a wedding and for speaking at a couple of Youth Ministry classes at Liberty University. Monica said it should be fun money. She said it's not money that we budgeted or count on. She said I should buy a Blue Ray player. I said that I might as well spend a little bit more and get a PS3. That way I'm getting a Blue Ray player and a game system. I really hate spending money on myself. I feel bad. I made sure I tithed 10% of the money back to God. I hope I wasn't foolish with the 90% I had left. After resisting for a few nano-seconds Monica talked me into buying it. I still have some money left over. I'm going to hold onto that for a little while.
• I haven't bought any games for the PS3. It will be a little while before I do. I am however very excited to borrow Arkam Asylum from one of my students. It's a Batman game and I've heard it's most excellent.
• I filmed the first of two new videos last night for our new series at WEC. It's called Capacity and the first video was ha-larious to film.
• Excited to hang with Josh Bayne this weekend. Josh will be leading worship for us while Phil Poteat is on vacay.
• Monica's last class of the semester for William & Mary is Thursday. I'm so proud of her! She's rocking her masters. 30 credits down and only 9 left. Even though I'm very proud of her I still let her know that my masters is higher than hers. William & Mary is a very prestigious school, but I have a Masters of Divinity. God trumps everything else every time.
• Next week our staff is going to the Drive Conference in the ATL. It's a conference put on by North Point Community Church aka Andy Stanley's church. I'm very excited about it.
• If you live in or near VA you should check out Whiteboard. It's one day, 7 influential leaders, for 30 minutes each.
• I've been watching season 1 of the A-Team. Brings me back to my childhood and it pumps me up for the new movie!
• I've really been digging Full Throttle Energy Drinks. What's your energy drink of choice?
• Countdown 9 days till Iron Man 2 hits theaters. Can you dig it????!!!

Whew...I feel better now.

Community Group Fun

I love Mondays because of my Community Group. On Monday nights at 7 we meet to eat, discuss the Bible, and hang out. It's a lot of fun! Last night after our discussion we played a Minute To Win It game called Face the Cookie. In this game contestants must get a cookie from their forehead to their mouth by only using their facial muscles. It was a lot of fun.

Pictured Above: Brian was one of only two group members to get the cookie to his mouth

Pictured Above: My brother, Jon, was the first contestant to get the cookie to his mouth

Pictured Above: Brian, Lindsey, Nicole, and part of Katherine's nose

A couple of weeks ago our group got together on a Friday night to say goodbye to two members of the group. Matt and Kelly were moving to Belgium. We went to IHOP. At the end of our meal Matt surprised Kelly by asking if she would renew their vows. We left IHOP and went to Yorktown Beach, the place where they go married. Lucky for them I'm a pastor. Even luckier for them I did their wedding ceremony and I still had it. I read portions of their original ceremony and they renewed their vows. It was a great night.

Pictured Above: Yes we had a guys and girls table.

Pictured Above: There was a fly in my wife's toast. The manager's only response was "we won't charge you for the extra protein." Wow I say...wow.

Pictured Above: Matt asking Kelly to renew their vows.

Pictured Above: The ceremony at Yorktown Beach.

Remember Me - A Starstruck Idiot

I normally am not at a loss for words. I speak in front of large crowds, and I have a decently fast quick wit. But for some reason whenever I meet celebrities that I look up to I become a blabbering idiot.

Take for example the band dc talk. The summer of fifth grade I discovered dc talk and they instantly became my favorite band. The day before my senior year of high school a friend and I drove to Maryland to see them in concert. We got to the concert really early and ended up watching their sound check. After the sound check the band came walking towards us. Now you need to understand that I was such a big fan that I had compiled a list of questions just in case I ever got to meet them.

The band was walking towards me. I got nervous. My palms started sweating. When TobyMac, my favorite member of the band, approached I blurted out "REMEMBER ME." It wasn't a question. It wasn't even really a statement. It was more of a pathetic request. He smiled and nodded and then quickly walked away. I felt like a starstruck idiot.

The Devil has ADHD

The Devil has ADHD. Stick with me on this one.

I don't know if you believe in the devil or not. Call me naive but I believe in him because the Bible talks about him. Now I don't believe that the devil can make you do anything you don't want to do. I believe he messes us up by telling us lies. He sets traps and waits for us to fall into them. But we have the free will to resist him.

The Bible says to resist the devil and he will flee. In other words when you are tempted resist and the devil will eventually get bored with you. It's as if the Devil has ADHD. He's focuses on you for a short time, but if you resist he gets bored and leaves. Maybe this is why squirrels often run in front of your car. Maybe the devil has gotten bored with someone resisting and he jumps into a squirrel. Think about it. Those things go crazy for no reason.

So the next time you are tempted to do something that you know you shouldn't do, resist. Eventually the devil will get bored with you and put his attention else where.

Name My Book

So my wife loves to read books. She really likes a series about a sparkling vampire and she also enjoyed a book about a kid wizard named Harry. With Harry Potter and Twilight being huge phenomenons it has given me an idea for a new book. Here's the pitch...

A young orphan girl enrolls in a school for wizards. She's a bit mischievous and one night ventures outside the safety of the school's walls. That night she is attacked by a werewolf. Right before the werewolf eats her she is saved by a mysterious young man. There is instantly a connection and the two start to fall in love. The next day in school she is taught about the evils of vampires. She learns that wizards arch enemies are the blood thirsty vampires. Could it be that her new beau is a blood sucking vampire? The next night she rushes out to discover what she already knows. It doesn't matter though...she's in love.

What do you think? It would be a Romeo and Juliet meets Harry Potter meets Twilight. I don't have a name for it yet. If you have a great idea for a name leave it in the comments. By the way in case you read this as me being serious...I'm not.

Bangarang

Pictured Above: Alex wearing a Bangarang t-shirt while drinking Bangarang Kool-Aid.

I love my Student Community Group. Each Wednesday night 14 to 18 high school guys cram into my town home to talk about God, hang out, eat snacks, and drink Bangarang Kool-Aid. Let me just tell you that having that many high school guys in your house means you are going to have a lot of food and beverage devoured. At one point some of the guys were going through 2 or 3 cans of soda. Thus the invention of Bangarang Kool-Aid.

Kool-Aid is a lot cheaper than cans of soda. One week my wife bought my favorite flavor of Kool-Aid with the thought of trying to see if my boys would drink it. When the boys arrived to group I started trying to get them to drink the Kool-Aid. Now I know how sketchy that sounds. Especially at a church event. So in order to not call it Kool-Aid, and in an attempt to make it an experience I called it Bangarang. You know...from the movie Hook. In the movie whenever they do something great they yell, BANGARANG at the top of their longs.

I told the guys that it was called Bangarang because when they drink it, it will be so good, they will automatically say Bangarang. For some reason it worked. My guys have no idea what flavor Bangarang really is. Some probably think that is its actual name. Now for some of you moms worrying about the sugar intake...please don't worry. I also have H20 for them to drink. I call that Jesus Juice. Just joking...I don't have a name for the water.

Mind Dump

My brain feels constipated with thoughts. The following is a mind dump of all the random stuff going on in my head.

• I spoke at church on Sunday. I'm incredibly honored to get to speak at Waters Edge. My pastor said that he thought it was on of my best talks. I value his opinion! My prayer is that God used what was said to draw people to Himself.
• My friends Matt and Kelly Kuchera are moving to Belgium. They have been in my Community Group for two years now. Interesting fact: their first Sunday at WEC I spoke, and their last Sunday I spoke. I'm going to miss them.
• Since when did you not have to type in www before a web address? The other day one of my students was making fun of people for still putting the www before a web address. I pretended to know what the heck he was talking about, but I didn't have a fat clue you could do that. If they could remove it why did we have to use it in the first place?
• It's playoff time in the NBA. The Lakers won on Sunday. Game two is tonight. I'm nervous about the Lakers this year. They didn't end the season well. I'm also scared of the Mavericks, and the Cavs.
• Last night was the Waters Edge House Party. It's how people get involved in what's most important to us, Community Groups. We had a great turn out!
• I don't think I'll ever be skinny. I just love food too much. I work out 3 to 5 times a week. I work out because if I didn't I'd weigh 300 lbs.
• Over the weekend I watched Back to the Future. I love that movie. The sequels don't do the first movie justice. I did however watch the first 15 minutes of Back to the Future 2. When they go to the future it's the year 2015. That's only five years from now. Someone better hurry up and invent flying cars and hover boards or our future won't look anything like it's supposed to.
• I follow a lot of blogs. I was asked recently what my favorites were. Here are my favorites in the categories they fit in. My two favorite blogs by people I don't know. Mark Batterson (pastor and author). Mark has great insight into the Bible and life. I love his writing style. His blog was actually the first blog I ever read. Tyler Stanton (Catalyst Westcoast MC and one really funny guy). Tyler makes me laugh. My two favorite blogs by former students in my youth group are Jake Holland (former student of mine and one crazy cat), and Austin Lee (she takes great photos and has funny stories about her kids). Favorite bloggers that go to Waters Edge are Jesse Minter and Daniel Carman. There are many more blogs that I like and read on a regular basis, but I don't have space to mention them all.
• This Friday Phil Poteat (Director of Worship and Production at WEC) will be doing a concert for Relay for Life. It's at Tuscany's Coffee House from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Suggested donation is $5. You should go.
• On Saturday I'm doing my first baby dedication. A couple that I married ask me if I'd do it. I've never done one before. I hope I don't jack it up. Good news if I do mess it up the kid won't remember...right?
• I can't wait until May! May kicks off the summer movie season. It begins on May 7 with Iron Man. Then it's one great popcorn flick after another. Vote for your most anticipated summer movie on the new survey at robshep.com.

Whew...I feel better now.

The F-Bomb

The "F" word is considered by many to be one of the worst curse words in the English language. For example you can say the "S" word an unlimited amount of times in a PG-13 movie. You can only use one F-bomb in a PG-13 film. It's edited on TV and radio. According to Wikipedia it's the third worst word in the English language. It's right behind the "C" word and the "F" word with the word mother attached to it.

Here's the thing with the F-bomb, in most uses it just doesn't make sense. If you replace the F-bomb with what it means, sex, it is very clear that it doesn't make sense. For example...

• Sex you
• Don't give a sex or the sister phrase... don't give a flying sex
• Sex off
• Sex the sexing sexers
• Sex yeah
• Don't sex it up
• What the sex
• Don't sex with me

The next time you hear someone throw down an "F" bomb replace what they said with the word sex. It's pretty humorous.

Weekend of Concerts Part 2

Last weekend was an amazing weekend of concerts. I got to see my two favorite artists. The second concert was on Sunday night in Norfolk VA at the Norva. Needtobreathe is my favorite band. I first saw them in concert in VA Beach before they released their first album. Three discs later I'm still loving their music. This was my favorite concert of theirs to date. Here are some pics of weekend of concerts part 2...

Pictured Above: Matt Hires opened the show.

Pictured Above: Will Hoge and his band. Both opening acts were solid.

Pictured Above: Needtobreathe puts on a most excellent concert!

Pictured Above: Needtobreathe! If you haven't heard the song Something Beautiful yet you need to legally download it now. Seriously...right now.

Weekend of Concerts Part 1

Last weekend was an amazing weekend of concerts. I got to see my two favorite artists. The first was TobyMac in Lynchburg VA for the Awake Tonight Tour. We drove to Lynchburg on Saturday to see the show. TobyMac went to Liberty University, where the concert was held. Toby puts on one of the best concerts around. On this tour he was joined by House of Heroes and Skillet. It was an excellent show. Here are some pics of weekend of concerts part 1...

Pictured Above: We paid for VIP tickets which included a Q & A with TobyMac and John Cooper.

Pictured Above: House of Heroes did a great job opening the show

Pictured Above: Skillet melted my face off. They put on a really great show.

Pictured Above: Toby started the concert on a stage in the middle of the crowd.

Pictured Above: John Cooper came out to join Toby for the song Tonight. It's my favorite song off Toby's new album.

Pictured Above: Toby put on a sick show. He puts on one of the best shows around.

Movie Review: Date Night

Date Night is not the funniest movie ever. It's also not the most realistic. With that being said I still really liked it. Date Night stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey as a middle class married couple who feels like their marriage is in a rut. In an attempt to spice things up they head to New York City for a date night, and things quickly go from bad to worse.

Even though Date Night is not the best movie ever there are a couple of things that I loved about it. Number one I love Steve Carell and Tina Fey. I think they take a C grade movie and turn it into an A. The second thing that I love is the fact that Date Night celebrates marriage. It's rare to find a movie these days where a married couple really loves each other. I love that the characters in the film have a weekly date night. I also really liked the cameos by some decent sized stars. The scenes with Mark Wahlberg were very funny.

Date Night is rated PG-13 for some swears. It also has a scene where the main characters go to a gentleman's club. I hated that they went, but there is no nudity. 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

Critic vs. Director

The following post is not an original idea. I don't have a fat clue where I read about this. If you know who originated this idea let me know.

There is a big difference between a movie critic and a movie director. Both are involved in the movie business but one creates something and the other critiques someone's creation. It's easier to watch a 2 hour movie and form an opinion of it then it is to create a 2 hour movie. It takes months to direct a movie, but it only takes a critic a few moments to destroy the movie in a review. It's easier to be a critic then a director. I think there are a lot of lessons we can learn from this...

• At work the boss is basically the director. It's easier to complain about your boss's decisions then to make decisions.
• It takes a lot of work to create something from scratch. It takes minimal effort to destroy someone else's work with a negative comment.
• Hours of study, prayer, and memorization are poured into a 35 minute sermon. Those hours can be destroyed in seconds by one negative critic.
• It takes a lot of time to create a home cooked meal. It takes seconds to say it's gross.
• A healthy marriage is built on trust, love, and respect. One careless critical statement can cause hours of damage.
• Everyone is a critic at some point. When you find yourself in the critic role remember to find something positive in someone else's creation.
• In life you are going to have critics. Everyone directs something and with that comes critics. Some critics will praise your work, but others will attempt to destroy it. You can put your worth in the critics or you can keep directing because that's what you are called to do. Even Steven Spielberg has critics. When you recieve a negative review take it for what it is...an opinion.

A director creates and leads people. A critic puts down someone else's creation. I don't know about you but I'd rather be a director than a critic.

Vacation Picks Part 2

Last week Monica (my wife) and I went on vacation. Part two of our trip was spent in Myrtle Beach with our friends Dan and Danielle. It was a most excellent trip. We went to the beach, ate a lot of food, and played some mini-golf. Did you know that Myrtle Beach is the mini-golf capital of the world? Here are some pics of part two of our vacay.

Pictured Above: We made the obligatory stop at South of the Border.

Dan and Danielle had never been so we had to take them.

Pictured Above: Myrtle Beach has a lot of shops that have

a lot of crap. With my hair thinning I figured I should start stocking up

on hats with hair.

Pictured Above: We had an intense battle of ski-ball. Danielle scored the

highest with 270.

Pictured Above: Dan and Danielle rode this ride of death. Somehow

they survived.

Pictured Above: The view from our hotel.

Pictured Above: We played and intense game of mini-golf at Mt. Atlanticus

Pictured Above: Rob striking a pose after a hole in one.

Pictured Above: This was the craziest hole and Monica got a hole in one.

Pictured Above: Rob is victor!

Pictured Above: Playing Botchiball on the beach. This was the first

time Monica and I had ever played. I came away with the victory.

Vacation Pics Part 1

Last week Monica (my wife) and I went on vacation. We started our vacay by going to her parents river house. We went from Sunday to Tuesday night. It was a relaxing time. We watched movies (the Lord of the Rings trilogy), kayaked, and walked on the beach. It was a great start to a vacation. Here are some pics of part one of our trip.

Worst Movies People Love

The following is just an opinion. Please read it as just that.

I was asked last week, by Mike Dominice (guitar ninja for the Waters Edge Band), what were the worst movies that people loved. It got me thinking. So much so that I thought I'd throw down a blog. The following are the worst movies that people love.

• Transformers 1 & 2. Great special effects, but the plot and lack of a good story make these movies awful.
• Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3. I liked the first one, but the second two were long, weird, and pointless.
• Twilight. My wife loves these movies. From what I saw they were humorless, had weak special effects, and were way too serious movies that had a dude that sparkles. Nuff said.
• Avatar. Great special effects! Even though I appreciate this movie I've been told it's one of the best ever. I would not put this movie in the top 20.
• Most Tim Burton movies. The only Burton film I've ever seen that I loved was Batman. Everything else is just too weird for me. This includes Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, and Beatlejuice.
• 300. I'm going to get crucified for this one, but I don't get this movie. I tried to watch it on TV and I just couldn't finish it.
• Wild Hogs. I was told that this movie was ha larious. I don't think I cracked a smile watching it.
• Armageddon. Awful.

So I've given my opinion now give me yours. What are the worst movies that you know people love.

Guest Blogger: Terrace Crawford

While I'm on vacation I thought I'd have some of my friends guest blog.Today's post is sponsored by the following: Terrace Crawford. Terrace is a fellow youth pastor, master networker, and author of the world renown blog, terracecrawford.com. Enjoy his guest blog.

Original Recipe

I'll never forget hearing the news a few years ago about a lead pastor of a mega-church in Charlotte, NC resigning from his position after an admission that he had spent two years plagiarizing sermons. The pastor admitted that he had been deeply depressed and felt that he had nothing original or creative to offer so he resorted to downloading sermons from other church leaders and presented them as his own work. In an interesting turn of events, his church actually forgave him and begged him to stay. He chose to move on; however, because he couldn't get past the fact that he wasn't true to himself.

As a church leader and frequent speaker, I turn to other communicators and leaders for inspiration. I've exchanged ideas, concepts and personal stories with other pastors, but I realize how important it is to be myself. Even though I'd love to smile as big as Joel Osteen, have as much passion as Louie Giglio, be as cool as Rob Bell, and be able to deliver practical application like Andy Stanley, I realize that I've just gotta be me. Let's face it: our audiences want real, authentic communicators standing before them... delivering the very word that God gave to them. They like the original recipe... and they want you to be you. Here's a humorous video that Ed Young Jr. created recently on the dangers of imitation and the importance of originality:
RSS Subscribers: there is video here.

Guest Post: Jake Holla

While I'm on vacation I thought I'd have some of my friends guest blog.Today's post is sponsored by the following: Jake Holland. Jake is a former student from a ministry I worked at, YouTube guru, and an all around great guy. Enjoy his guest blog...

flash mob - a group of people who appear from out of nowhere, to perform predetermined actions, designed to amuse and confuse surrounding people. The group performs these actions for a short amount of time before quickly dispersing. Flash mobs are often organized through email and/or newsgroup postings.

I recently began a secret group on Facebook, to begin organizing these very events here on the campus of Liberty University. Thus far we've had 3 events, and the video made of the first attempt last month was shown @ a huge campus event known as Coffeehouse. That particular flash mob was based around an empty fountain in the courtyard on campus. We spread out around the area, and I signaled the attendees by yelling "POOL PARTY!"... and then we all rushed the fountain and fake-swam, cannon-balled, and "held our breath" while confused onlookers started in bewilderment. The quick dispersion took place after about 2 minutes, when I blew an air-horn. It was quick, random, and ridiculously fun!

(here's that video : click here)

Yesterday we unleashed 2 more flash mobs on campus, with the same idea & plan.. just at 2 different times so that people who couldn't make it to round 1 could hopefully come to the next. I purchased 47 pairs of white bunny ears, and 1 pair of pink bunny ears for myself. The plan was for me to hop around in front of the main campus building, passing out candy and frolicking.... then the mob of regular bunny-eared people would declare my early-distribution of candy before Easter to be illegal.... and a chase & capture ensued. We also rode the LU-transit bus to the north campus building, peeked into classrooms and waved, sneakily followed people in the halls in a single-file manner, and passed out bunny ears to various people we encountered. Stay tuned for that video (or videos)! They'll be posted over at my blog - http://www.jakeholla.com/ - hopefully by the end of the weekend.

Here's a quick teaser picture of what to expect, to close out this post


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Guest Blogger: Courtney Hornsby

While I'm on vacation I thought I'd have some of my friends guest blog. Today's post is sponsored by the following: Courtney Hornsby. Court is a math teaching ninja, amazing Student Leader, and one of my and Monica's closest friends. Enjoy her guest blog.

DVR Explosion

With Spring Break quickly approaching, you would think I’d only have one thing on my mind: vacation. In a matter of days I will be cruising around the Caribbean in beautiful 80 degree weather; however there is one thing haunting me in the back of my mind. My DVR. What will it do without me for a solid week? Will it erase my favorite shows? Can it even hold everything I need it to? Upon being placed in this situation it made me analyze the shows I watch and why I watch them, whether they be shows I watch because everyone else does (American Idol) or shows I feel attachment to despite their lately boring plot lines (Grey’s Anatomy). I’ve come up with my top 3 shows I would cry about if DVR “accidentally” erased them.

1) Chuck – This show is in its 3rd season and it’s doing better than ever. Despite the fear of cancellation looming over its head, the writers and cast have stepped it up lately. From Chuck getting some new special moves last season to last week’s recent revelation of Sara and Shaw (I keep it vague, wouldn’t want to spoil anything), every episode leaves you wanting more. The show about a clumsy spy with a heart and his cast of crazies makes it so awesome. Plus if you love Jim from The Office (which I do), make him a spy, and there’s Chuck!
2) Modern Family – This show without a doubt I would say is the funniest show on TV right now. It follows the lives of three individual families who end up being connected to one another. From the older father who has a sexy young wife, to the daughter with the “normal family,” to the son who has a partner, there is comic genius at every turn. Don’t believe me? Hulu the Christmas episode and watch it. My roommates and I laugh out loud at every episode.
3) Vampire Diaries – I know, I know the word vampire already throws you off. Trust me it’s intensely amazing. Yes of course there is a love story, but it’s not the only thing that runs this show. Every episode a new twist is thrown at you, and you feel as if you’re watching the season finale on a weekly basis. Plus it doesn’t hurt that at least every other episode there is a scene with one Salvatore brother shirtless.

Honorable Mentions: Glee, The Office, Parks and Rec, Ugly Betty

So check out these shows, you’re definitely missing out if they aren’t on your Tivo or DVR, and don’t bother me on Sunday when I return. I have a lot of TV to watch.

Advisory Notice: I do not sit around all day and watch TV. I have a full time job, work with WEC students, go to the gym, hang with friends, tutor and coach. And when I’m generous feed the homeless too.

Guest Blogger: Monica Shepherd

While I'm on vacation I thought I'd have some of my friends guest blog. Today's post is sponsored by the following: Monica Shepherd. Monica is the best school teacher ever, an amazing wife, and my bestest friend. Enjoy.

Things you might not know about robshep.com:

• Rob refuses to use Neosporin because he heard Dr. Oz talk about it one time on his show.
• I was Rob’s first kiss.
• If Rob is taking a nap, you must wake him up gently, or you risk getting physically attacked.
• Rob has never had a moustache, and he can’t grow a beard.
• He really wants to have a baby boy; I really want to have a baby girl.
• He owns two pairs of superhero underpants.
• Rob is a faithful friend, and he loves the guys God has placed in his life over the years.
• He is incredibly ticklish, but is easily angered when attacked.
• He thinks lima beans are putrid.
• In seminary one semester, he took 21 credits. It was crazy.
• He is one of the most disciplined people I know. He works out regularly and spends time with God everyday at 7:45am.
• Surrounding my Southern Living décor on his dresser are four superhero action figures.
• He makes me a better person.
• Rob can make his eyeballs wiggle back and forth rapidly. It’s crazy weird.
• On our bed, one of his pillow cases is Batman and the other is Ninja Turtles.
• Rob hates to camp. He does it for me and to hang with our friends.
• Even though he’s loved the Lakers since he was in third grade, it wasn’t until 2001 that I brought him to his first Lakers game and bought him his first Lakers jersey.
• He’s never had an alcoholic drink before.
• He hears crazy stories every day from people, but is never surprised and doesn’t judge them.
• He hates almost all white food such as sour cream, cottage cheese, and cream cheese.
• He leaves me a handwritten note every Sunday to find when I wake up.
• He has hobbit feet.
• He names his cars after his friends’ moms. June (Jamey’s mom) was his car when I met him in college, and Val (DReeves’ mom) is his car now.
• He makes better homemade cookies than me. He can hold his own in the kitchen.

Guest Blogger: Dan Peters

While I'm on vacation I thought I'd have some of my friends guest blog. Today's post is sponsored by the following: Dan Peters. Dan is a realtor extraordinaire, faithful robshep.com reader, and one of my closest friends. Enjoy.

Kids Are MUCH more trouble than dogs…

I could make a list of 50 reasons why the title is true, but in the interest of keeping it short, here are 3 (It’s not that I don’t like kids, I only find it amusing that people who don’t like dogs because of the hassle are often all for kids):

DISCLAIMER: The facebook post at the bottom of this blog is true. I did NOT make it up to make a point. Names have been changed to protect the innocent / keep a good mother from loosing her kids.

1. The cost is astronomical. I’ve read it costs about $190,000 to raise a child to the age of 18 in the US. If you really love your dog, it might cost 2% of that.
2. You can’t cage a kid… at least not and keep them. My dogs are in a cage right now, they will be all day. I’ll let them out, they’ll go to the bathroom outside, run around for 15 minutes and they’ll go right back to sleep. You wish your kid would go to sleep.
3. Kids are at least as gross as dogs (I’d argue much more so). Don’t think so? Enjoy the following excerpt from facebook.

This was posted on facebook on Monday March 31st, 2010:

Unnamed Mother: OOOOOH MY GOOOOOOOSH!!!!! In my efforts to potty train Gavin (naked) i find myself being punished for leaving him unattended. HE POOPED, on the carpet!!! The worst part is: SAM WAS EATING IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mon at 6:25pm

My Wife:
Please, please tell me Sam is the dog?!?
Mon at 6:28pm

Unnamed Mother:
oh, no :) my 1 yr old!!!
Mon at 6:29pm

All you Parents have your stories… kids can be nasty. And I don’t mean in a good way. There are many, many more examples of why kids are more trouble than dogs, but this is a good start.

Easter with Waters Edge

Easter with Waters Edge was an amazing experience. We celebrated at the Hampton Roads Convention Center. We kicked off our brand new series entitled Illusions. Between the two services 4,015 people attended. The most amazing part for me was seeing 337 people stand to their feet and ask Jesus to be their Savior. It was truly a remarkable experience. Enjoy some pics of the service...

Pictured Above: Inside of the HRCC

Pictured Above: Outside the HRCC

Pictured Above: I got to host the pre-show.

The pre-show started 30 minutes before the service.

It's a way for us to help motivate people to get to church a little early.

It was sponsored by Chick Fil-A and they gave us a ton of free coupons to give out.

Pictured Above: Krendle the Illusionist kicked off the service

Pictured Above: Phil Poteat and the Waters Edge Band melting

our faces off with the opening song

Pictured Above: Krendle and the Waters Edge Band for the opening of the service.

In my opinion it was sick nasty! And that's a good thing.

Pictured Above: Lead Pastor Stu Hodges and his family during the welcome.

Pictured Above: As always...worship was amazing!

Pictured Above: Stu during his presentation.

His talk was about the illusions people have when it comes to getting to God.

This was the stairway to heaven.

Pictured Above: At the end of his talk, Stu shared that the

reason the stairway to God is an illusion is because God came

to us through his son Jesus. The cross is proof that we don't have to

make our way to God.