It’s a small world after all

Hidden Acres
I was reading Brian Davis’ blog this week and came across the above picture that looked VERY familiar.
Davis is the Director of Worship Technologies at Fellowship Bible Church in Dallas.

This weekend I had the chance to get away with our high schools students (boys only) and do some camping. Our Senior High Pastor spoke to the boys about character, and what it means to be a man of God. We had a great time, and caught lot’s of fish off the pier you see above. In fact, here’s the prize winning fish from the weekend. I had to leave early, but not before making some peach cobbler in my dutch oven over colas from the fire.
The setting was beautiful and I really enjoyed spending time with my 15 year old son and his friends.

Some of you may already know where the picture was taken – Hidden Acres, the campground Metropolitan Bible Church owned and I practically grew up at.
Pretty cool to see others enjoying the campground where I’ll be tomorrow night for a portion of my bachelor party.

Our first finds

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Well I may just be speaking for myself but I think Laurie and I are hooked on Geocaching now.
We tried the “sport where you’re the search engine” on Monday but didn’t make a find. We tried again last night with a few easier ones within a mile of our new place and had much better luck.
I believe we even avoided “Muggles” for the most part.
We made our first find, Light Up My Life #4 and then went from there.
We found 5 of the originals in the Light Up My Life series. I believe there are currently two more.
We also decided to give Smiley and Shari a run for their money. They’ve been leaving their business cards for After Hours Improv behind and we decided we’d start a game of finding all their cards they’ve left behind and replacing them with cards showing our website on them.
Looking forward to some more geocaching with the guys at my bachelor party this weekend.

Getting life done

Lifehack has some pointers they’re sharing from WiseGeek on how to make your life offline easier.

  • Hoard stamps. It’s true that snail mail is becoming less and less important, but every once in a while, you do need a stamp. – I rarely use stamps which means when I need one it usually means I have to take time to go to the post office to do it.
  • Outsource your chores. Your time and sanity are worth way more than that kid’s hourly wage. If you have the means, ask your friends and neighbors for a referral for a housekeeper that is trustworthy. – I’m a huge fan of this idea. $15 – $20 for someone to clean house or do chores once a week could be a huge help.
  • Never travel without a swimsuit. Period. You don’t want to miss an opportunity to enjoy a hot tub or sauna because they won’t let you go commando. – I used to be better at this when I was a kid. I need to get back in the habit.
  • Park far away from entrances. Walking across a parking lot isn’t necessarily the most pleasant thing, but it’s still walking. Walking is exercise and therefore reduces stress. Waiting patiently for a spot near the front, only to have that yellow H2 ignore you and pull into your spot will have the opposite effect. – I usually have pretty good luck finding close parking spots but I need to be willing to walk when time comes.
  • Change the billing cycles on your monthly bills so that they’re all due at the same time. Usually this can be accomplished with a quick phone call if it can’t be done online. This can prevent forgotten or lost bills, since you’ll have to go through your entire list of liabilities at the same time. If one of your accounts won’t allow you to change the billing cycle, then change all the others to match that one. The other useful thing about this practice is that it makes it easier to calculate your monthly expenses and make good decisions about your budget. – Mine are divided into two due dates so I can pay them with the corresponding check. Any thoughts?
  • Feel free to let the phone ring. Many people don’t realize that you don’t have to pick up the phone, or you can just turn off the ringer. The point is that people often call at bad times because they don’t know that it’s a bad time. Rather then let them interrupt you and complicate your life, simply ignore the call and get back to them when it is a better time for you. – I have no problem doing this. My mom and aunt obviously do.

Marriage advice

Boy – you tell someone you’re getting married and you will get advice from EVERYONE.
Here are some of the latest (as well as a couple older ones):

  • Marriage is about three rings. The engagement ring. The wedding ring. And the suffer ring.
  • Husbands are the head of the house as Christ is the head of the church. But wifes, you are the neck and you turn the head which ever way you want it to go
  • A couple who had been married for 50+ years was asked about the secret to their relationship. The husband spoke up and said, “We decided before we were married that I would make all the major decisions and she would make all the minor decisions.” The wife then added, “And it’s amazing, we haven’t had a single major decision to make in over 50 years.”
  • There’s one phrase you need to remember, “Yes dear.”
  • It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission
  • There are two phrases you need to remember, “Yes dear” and “I’m sorry.”

With my bachelor party this weekend I’m sure I’ll get even more loads of advice before it’s all said and done.