Rob's Recommendations: Galaxy Quest

On my dad's final night visiting we pulled out Galaxy Quest, currently streaming on Amazon Prime. This gem came out in 1999 and is considered by some to be the best Star Trek movie that's not about Star Trek. Except it is, sort of. 

If you're not familiar, here's the Wikipedia summary: "Galaxy Quest is a 1999 American science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. A parody of and homage to science-fiction films and series, especially Star Trek and its fandom, the film depicts the cast of a fictional cult television series, Galaxy Quest, who are drawn into a real interstellar conflict by actual aliens who think the series was an accurate documentary. It stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and Daryl Mitchell."

It's an affectionate parody of Star Trek fandom and it's very funny in parts. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it! I hadn't seen it in many years but I found it holds up very, very well. And it's pretty family friendly with its PG rating.

My grade: A

Rob's Reviews: Uncharted

Finally caught the movie Uncharted last night on Netflix. I had been looking forward to seeing this one for a while but hadn't really had anyone to see it with. I thought it was okay - perfectly adequate adventure. The special effects were decent (which you would expect for a major motion picture) and the plot was okay, but nothing special. And not particularly believable, but that's to be expected for a movie based on a video game.

I enjoyed Tom Holland in it but didn't really feel like Mark Wahlberg was all that believable as a fortune-hunter con man whatever-he-was. His character was very underdeveloped, as were the supporting characters. Of course, you don't go to see a movie like this hoping for a deep plot and well-developed characters. It was just an enjoyable popcorn flick. It's nice that is was only PG-13, which meant that there was some action/violence (not bloody, though) and occasional language, but overall unoffensive.

If you're just looking for a nice way to kill a couple of hours you will enjoy this. If you're looking for more - keep looking. 

Overall grade: B-

A Curious Question

When you are a kid, you are always asking questions: Why does the sun come up? Why is the grass green? Why is the sky blue? How does a car work? How does this computer work? What is the best way to do this?

At some point along the way you lose that curiosity. You stop learning and, worse, you stop wanting to learn.

I think that's the point when you start to get old. Or maybe by that point you already are.

So what would it take to keep the curious spirit? To keep learning - and to want to keep learning?

Rob's Reviews: Tom Clancy's Without Remorse

Another Sunday afternoon means another chance to enjoy a fun action movie with my dad before he heads home later this week. Up today is the new Amazon original movie, Tom Clancy's Without Remorse starring Michael B. Jordan.

This movie is exactly what it appears - an exciting action movie that is similar in some respects to John Wick but much more realistic. The plot is decent if not revolutionary and the acting and action are both very good. It's rated R but there's no sex or nudity and only a little profanity, so it's a welcome change from some of the streaming fare of late.

If you like a good action tale with good acting, you could do a lot worse. This is an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon. 

My Grade: B

In My Opinion...

Everybody has an opinion. Not everyone has an informed opinion.

Which means not all opinions are created equal. You should be free to share your opinion, but not every opinion should be listened to and re-shared.

In my opinion.

Tremendous Teachers and Tedious Topics

A friend of mine is taking a college course for a subject that is not difficult, but is extremely tedious a boring. Which I think is worse, frankly. I'd rather have a difficult class that causes me to work hard, because then at least I'm engaged, instead of a class where it is a challenge to stay focused. 

I'm thankful for all of those teachers who were able to engage me as a student when the material was less than compelling. I never would have made it through AP Calculus in high school without Ms. Paige Barker. I remember her explaining vectors to us by referencing the just introduced moonwalk of Michael Jackson. I think of Mrs. Judy Kreiling who made American History come alive. And, of course, Dr. Gary Burge, who took an already interesting subject for me (New Testament) and made it so compelling that I immediately switched my major from English to Bible & Religion my freshman year of college.

There are tons more that I won't name right now, but I am so thankful for those teachers who are passionate about their fields and are able to motivate students to learn to love (or at least learn) the subjects they are teaching.

Time Trials for Cross Country

 

First time trials today for our Cross Country team. We've got about 47 students overall with a sizeable contingent of incoming 7th graders and only 2 seniors, meaning that since we have a pretty great team now, we will still have a strong team for years to come as we won't graduate too many out for a couple more years.

Best of all, these are great kids. They are fun to be with and are some of the highest quality students in our school. It's a honor and a pleasure to help coach them. I can't wait for the rest of the season!

(Lots more pictures on the Pine City XC/Track and Field Facebook page.)

Birthday Wishes

It's my birthday today. I always enjoy hearing from my friends on social media who are wishing me a happy birthday. What's interesting is when companies try to get in on the action. "Happy birthday! We know when you were born so we are going to wish you a happy birthday so you have a better view of us. After all, this is an automated message. It's not like there's a person behind each of these wishes. But we thought this was good marketing or brand management or something." (I'm looking at you Snapchat, Teledoc, etc.) 

Mountain Dew even sent me an email saying that I deserved a Dew, and then they sent me a link to follow so I could go buy one (implication: you deserve a Dew, but we're not going to give you one for free you cheapskate). Not that I'm cynical or anything.

Of course, I don't mind if there's actually something beyond just the wishes. Many offer birthday treats. I've gotten freebies from Casey's (cookie or donut), Subway (cookie), Culvers (scoop of custard with topping), Can Can Wonderland (free admission and treat), GTI Cinema (free movie, day of birthday only), Kohl's ($5 off coupon), DQ (BYGO Blizzard - so, kinda free), McDonalds (bakery treat) and Red Robin (burger). (Come to think of it, I wonder if I'm on too many mailing lists. If so, none of these guys are getting cut!)

I'm sure I won't be able to use most of the offers, but I'll take advantage of a few. So the moral is, if you're a company and can offer a freebie, then you are more than welcome to send me a birthday greeting. Otherwise, I'll probably be cynical about it.

If you're a friend, no treat is necessary. (But I'll probably not say no if you offer!)

Rob's Recommendations: Three Amigos

One of my all-time favorite comedies is actually one I didn't care for that much when I first saw it in the theater back in college. I don't know if I was in a bad mood or just had different expectations, but when I first saw Three Amigos I was a bit underwhelmed. 

And then my friends and I began talking about it in the days and weeks that followed. Certain phrases became catchphrases ("Would you say I had a plethora?" "You shot the invisible swordsman!") and a number of the scenes were discussed and even reenacted in the cafeteria. By the time I saw it again on video, it had somehow become a classic. I even had a cassette tape of the soundtrack with songs by Randy Newman.

I've seen it dozens of times since and I never tire. A few years ago on my birthday I had some of my high school students over and we watched it again. I don't know if they enjoyed it quite as much as I did, but I am still entranced by the comic genius that is Steve Martin. 

If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it highly. My grade: A+

Pontooning Thoughts

My dad is visiting for a few weeks and today we got to spend the afternoon with our good friends Bob and Pat Werner, who took us on a pontoon ride around Cross Lake.

Let me just say how lucky we are to have such great friends as Bob and Pat. They are the first people I met when I began to preach at First Presbyterian (long before I became pastor) and they have been some of my biggest supporters. They are so encouraging and so generous and willing to share.

I was also once again amazed at how different the shoreline looks from the water versus the road around the lake. You would almost assume it was a different lake entirely if you didn't know better. The houses that look kind of humble from the side facing away from the lake are often some of the most impressive when viewed from the lake itself.

Which made me think of people. We see one side of people. Sometimes it's not their best side, but if we're able to view them from a different perspective, you may have an entirely different appreciation for them.

Here's What I Did This Weekend

So this is how my weekend went!

Our weekend project involved putting in an invisible dog fence. My good friend, Gene Webster, needed to re-install his invisible fence, as well, so we both purchased the materials and rented the trencher thingie we needed. 

About thirty seconds into using it at my house, I ran into the buried fiber cable that Midco laid a couple months ago. Which is weird, because I thought they were supposed to bury stuff 18 inches down or something. They don't even come out and mark your yard for other buried stuff because the dog fence trencher only goes down about three inches. 

Fortunately, Midco was able to send someone out today (Sunday morning) to connect a temporary cable to our house. It turns out you can't splice fiber cable so they are going to have to come out and run a whole new line to the house. Which means the dog fence can't be completed until that happens. At least I don't think we're going to be charged for the repair, which is good because I think we might be able to argue that their cable should have been buried deeper.

I'm not really sure the moral of this story. But I'm just glad we have internet again. And happy for high-speed internet. And happy they were able to do it so quickly. So I guess this is a kudos to Midco, except for the guys who installed the fiber cable to the house.

Smudged Glasses and Discipleship

When your glasses get dirty, you can deal with it because they are uniformly dirty and you don't really notice the dirt. But then you start to clean them off and you realize how bad they were. And if you miss a spot, that spot really stands out and annoys the heck out of you until you take care of it.

That's the same way discipleship works. At first your life seems okay because it's kind of messed up everywhere and you don't really know any different. But then when God begins to work, the parts that are left that are still messed up are more noticeable. I think that's why the longer you've been a Jesus-follower, the more you realize how much more you need to grow in your walk with Christ.

Mad Food Science Creations

At the beginning of last month I blogged about Nestle's Coffee-Mate Creme Brulee flavored creamer and my continuing frustration at finding my favorite flavor in stock anywhere. I contacted Nestle and they kindly gave me some coupons while telling me that it was not in stock. Here's exactly what they said: 

With tightening labor market conditions and increased demand we are seeing ingredients, packaging and transportation shortages which are impacting our ability to keep up with demand. We are working hard to improve our supply while we work to keep our people safe.

Which, while nice, is kind of hard to believe. Is everything a supply-chain issue now, or is that just a handy scapegoat to blame for pretty much everything? And they talk about working "to keep our people safe." I mean, I don't want them putting their people in danger getting Creme Brulee creamer into stores or anything! It seems like the rest of the flavors are in stock, so there must be something about Creme Brulee that is especially dangerous to manufacture or transport.

Nevertheless, I have been on a quest to recreate the Creme Brulee flavor in the meantime. I've searched all over the internet for some type of recipe, but the ones I've tried have resulted in a watery, sub-optimal product. So I have begun doing my own experimentation, using the Coffee-Mate Original as the base. I've come close by adding brown sugar and vanilla, but it wasn't quite there. Now I've procured a Creme Brulee flavoring that, combined with my own concoction, is getting much closer. I have only a few ounces of the genuine CM Creme Brulee flavor to compare it with. 

I'll keep you apprised of my work in this important area of food flavor research as I am sure you are anxiously awaiting the result. In the meantime, if you would happen to see any of the real Creme Brulee flavor at a grocery store, I'd love a heads-up. Thanks!

I Know What I Saw

I started reading a great little book from my college Bible professor, Dr. Gary Burge, called The New Testament in Seven Sentences: A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic. (Dr. Burge was at my college, King College, before moving to serve on the faculty of North Park College, Wheaton College, and now Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, MI, where he is professor of New Testament.) 

I'm just getting started with the book, but I've already been struck by an observation he made. I guess I already knew this, but never really thought about the fact that the early church was birthed and grew long before anyone had access to the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Stories of Jesus were certainly circulating and some or all of the Epistles, but it was this one event that made all of the difference. In fact, Dr. Burge notes that in Acts, "When these early believers preach about Jesus, the resurrection is the critical element in every presentation. It is the power of Jesus that converts, not well-reasoned presentations about his public life."

He notes that, "The life of Jesus certainly was compelling, but the resurrection of Jesus was profoundly confirming that God was at work here in ways they could barely measure."

Then later, "At some point the community of Christians recognized that if their faith was anchored to the resurrected, living Jesus, they wanted to know more about him. If it was Jesus in power who was transforming the world, then it made sense that reflection on his earthly life was necessary as well." Which led to the Gospels being written down. 

I think sometimes Jesus follower forget to appreciate the depth to which our faith is dependent on an event - the resurrection. You might try to argue someone's beliefs, but you can't argue with what they (the disciples in this case) witnessed. 

Kudos to Our Wonderful Athletic Trainer

Since I started coaching Cross Country a couple of years ago I have been able to observe our school's athletic trainer, the incomparable Becky Zelenko, as she works with students throughout the season. I have been super-impressed with the work she does for all of the different students in all of the different sports. 

The athletic trainer doesn't just treat injuries, although, they do that, they also help prevent them and make sure students are ready for competition. Becky is tireless in her dedication to these kids and she knows them all by name, even the ones that aren't always needing medical attention!

I took a student to visit her today with some pulled muscles in his calf. As always, she was personable, professional, and patient in helping diagnose the issue and suggesting some stretches and other treatments he can employ. She has a great knack for making students feel comfortable.

Maybe every school has an athletic trainer as amazing as Becky. I hope so. Every student athlete deserves that kind of focused attention. 

So the next time you see Becky around (if you're at Pine City events), or the athletic trainer at your local school, make sure to thank them and let them know they are appreciated.

A Mile A Day Is Not Enough

Our first day of Cross Country practice was yesterday and I was running with a seventh grade student (several actually - I can keep up with them!) He had told me how he had been running a mile a day several days a week this summer to prepare. Our first team run was 3.6 miles, and about three-quarters of the way through the run, this student turns to me and says, "A mile a day is not enough."

So many times we will tackle some project or work toward some goal, but we don't put in the time or effort that we really need to achieve our objective. So we console ourselves by saying, "Something is better than nothing."

That's true, as far as it goes. It's a start. And doing something imperfectly is certainly better than doing nothing perfectly.

But if little bits of "something" doesn't get you to your goal, eventually you are going to need to decide if you're serious about achieving the objective or not.

Sometimes a mile a day is not enough.

Stories for the Generations

We've been spending some time with my dad who is up from Tennessee for a visit for a few weeks. It's fun to hear the stories he tells, especially of all the stuff he did growing up. (I just have to say, if I had done have of the stuff he did, I would have gotten into so much trouble!) Turns out he liked to blow stuff up when he was a kid. We're encouraged him to begin to write some of these stories down.

It got me to thinking about the stories we remember and the stories we tell to the next generation. That used to be the primary was that knowledge was passed down before the printed word became common. (Shout out to Johannes Gutenberg!)

Moses was clear that the next generations should know of the goodness and faithfulness of God and the Law of God which showed his people how to live in his love. He says "Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deuteronomy 11:19) In other words, be talking about the story of God all the time.

When it the last time you sat around and listened to stories from the previous generation? What kinds of things can you learn? There is so much that does not get committed to paper, and so when that generation passes, the stories are lost. 

But the other thing to think about is: What stories are you telling to the generations that will follow? What lessons have you learned that you want to pass along? What memories would you like to see preserved?

The New Season Begins Tomorrow

Cross Country practice starts tomorrow and I'm very excited. In honor of that, I want to share one of my favorite inspirational quotes from one of my co-coaches, Sherry Graber. When kids complain about how much running they do, she'll just remind them:

"The faster you run, the sooner you're done!"

Rob's Reviews: Red Notice

Continuing out movie marathon, today's movie was the Netflix original Red Notice starring Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, and Dwayne Johnson. This was another action comedy with a lot of fun locations. The story was good and it had some fun twists along the way. It's really not about the believe-ability for movies like this. It's another one of those light, fun movies where you spend a couple of hours with some actors you enjoy.

A pleasant way to spend an afternoon or evening. 

My grade: B+

Rob's Reviews: The Gray Man

It's movie week at the Spahr's as my dad and I catch up on some old and new movies. Last night we watched the new Netflix release, The Gray Man. This action thriller stars Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans and is completely unbelievable and lots of fun at the same time.

Look, if you're going into an action flick like this expecting high drama and complete believeability, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. That's not the kind of movie this is. Instead, it's a lightweight roller coaster of action violence an fun. It's a diversion, and it's mostly satisfying, although there are a few antagonists who kind of get away with it in the end. Maybe it's setting up a potential sequel. 

My son, Jordan, summed it up nicely: It's like a pg-13 version of John Wick done by the Russo brothers. I would say, enjoy it for what it is. On the plus side, there's no nudity and minimal bad language. If you're looking for an enjoyable popcorn flick, this is right up your alley. 

My grade: B

Rob's Reviews: 13 Lives

At the Global Leadership Summit last week we heard an interview with Ron Howard. During the interview he talked about his newest movie, 13 Lives, about the rescue of the boys soccer team that was trapped in a cave in Thailand back in 2018. Ron said that one of his goals was to make it as authentic as possible and not a dramatization of the actual events.

I was intrigued by the interview and I planned to go see it in the theater, but was excited to hear that it was available on Amazon Prime, which we subscribe to. So Rosalie, my dad, and I watched it last night and we all thought it was a great movie. It was very well-made and thoroughly enjoyable. If you're looking for a great way to spend an evening, I'd highly recommend this one.

My grade: A

Non-Scroling Recipe: White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

My dad is visiting for a few weeks which gives us the excuse to make some of his favorite cookies. They're easy to make and they always turn out great. Give them a try!

 White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (optional - we never use these)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, stir in the rolled oats, white chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks. 

 

The Cool House

Growing up, our house was the cool house - the one that my friends liked to come to and hang out in. We didn't even have a pool until I was in high school (which is a big draw in Florida), nor did we have a lot of games and stuff (although we were the first ones around to have Pong - the video game, not ping pong), but we were always hosting my sister's and my friends at our house. They would invariably be asked to stay for dinner. Our home became somewhat of a teen hangout.

I think maybe my mom (and my dad) had the gift of hospitality. She was always great at making people feel welcome in our home. But she confessed to me one day when I was older that one of the reasons she always enjoyed having Cindee's and my friends over was because that way she knew what we were doing and who we were hanging out with! Plus, she got to spend more time with Cindee and me. So, there was a bit of an ulterior agenda in play.

But whatever the motives, it was great to be the host home so much of the time. (Except for when my sister's friends and my friends were over at the same time... but that's siblings for you.)

I'll often share this story with parents of my youth group students. I don't think you have the have the spiritual gift of hospitality in order to make your home feel open and welcome. Don't worry about the mess or whatever. Just enjoy the time you have with your kids. 

As the saying goes, "When you have kids, the days are long, but the years are fast."

Text Me Maybe

I remember when I first read about text messaging. There was an article which said that SMS (short message service) was really catching on among young people in England and parts of Europe and they were anticipating that it would shortly become a big trend in the US. I thought, "Why would anyone want to send a short message to someone, especially one that was limited to 160 characters? No way would that ever catch on."

Turns out I was wrong.

Which is surprising. Not just the fact that I was wrong, but that I was wrong about people looking for a way to communicate that didn't involve talking on the phone.

I hate to talk on the phone. I don't mind phone calls if there is some information that I need to convey or receive, but I'm not one to spend time just "catching up" on the phone. I hate to call someone just to chat. I'd much rather get together with them in person. And I'm always afraid of interrupting someone. It seems like a phone call is much more intrusive than a text message, which you can read at your convenience. Plus I never seem to know what to say. Something about the phone call is more awkward for me. I don't have that same problem in person, but if you call to chat, you won't have to worry about me keeping you on the line too long.

I wonder if there's something genetic about these kinds of preferences. I don't think it's generational, because a lot of people in my generation prefer phone calls to texting. And occasionally... rarely... I will encounter a teen who actually uses their phone to make phone calls.

Maybe it's a personality trait. Who knows.

In any event, if you want to get in touch, give me a text! Or email. Facebook message. Instragram message. Snapchat me.

Or... if you must... go ahead and call.

(and don't even get me started on voicemail!)

 

Global Leadership Summit 2022

I had the opportunity to attend the Global Leadership Summit again after missing the last several, and this time I was able to get tickets to to the main Summit site at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. I've been to many conferences at Willow over the years, but never the Leadership Summit. And I've been to over a dozen or so of the Global Leadership Summits at satellite sites, but never on location at South Barrington, so this was a fun adventure. 

I was able to attend with my good friend Jason, and it was great to be able to process the Summit together throughout the two-day event. We both came back with a lot of great resources and inspiration, so it's exciting to see what fruit this event will bear. There is something about the dynamic of being in a crowd of thousands of people who are all learning together that cannot be reproduced by simply viewing the content alone live streaming or later on DVD.

I was reminded of the value of this event and look forward to attending again in the future. If you are in a position of leadership in a church or business, or feel like you would like to continue to develop your leadership skills and gifts, I would highly recommend this conference.

Pine County Fun Run

It was the annual Pine County Fun Run today, which is held as a part of the festivities surrounding the Pine County Fair which is in full swing this week. The proceeds go to support the cross country team and some other student athletic endeavors. 

I ran the 5K again this year, my typical distance. I've done the 10K, but that's not a much fun when you're pushing for at least a decent pace. It was rainy and very humid today, but a good time was had by all, nonetheless. 

Here are some more pictures with some of my youth group and/or cross country students!

 

 

Are You A Stalker?

There's a difference between getting to know someone better and just learning about someone you don't know, which is what stalkers do. 

Which one describes your relationship to Jesus?

Too many people know a lot about Jesus, but they don't really know him personally. They're just stalking Jesus.

A Verse for Life

Do you have a life verse? A life verse is a verse from the Bible that speaks to you in a very special way. It seems as if it were put in God's Word just for you. People used to talk about having a life verse and I used to think it was kind of just like having a favorite Bible verse. I decided that my life verse was going to be Romans 8:38-39: 

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

That served me well for many years, and is still one of my favorite promises from Scripture. But a few years ago I came across another verse that I think fits me better. It's Acts 20:24. 

The phrase in the verse that initially caught my attention was this "My only aim is to finish the race." I thought that would be good to have on a t-shirt that I could wear when I'm out running a 5K or something. Like, "I don't care if I win anything, I just want to finish!"

While that's still applicable, it's the rest of the verse that really resonated with me. This is the Apostle Paul speaking here to the Ephesians and he says:

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

That's what I want. I want to get to the end of my life and have people (and God) say, "He completed the task of testifying to the good news."

That would be what I would consider to be tattoo-worthy. If I were going to get a tattoo. Which I'm not. Probably. (Maybe just the reference? Probably not. But you never know.)

But at least a t-shirt would be nice.

Some Things Are Just a "No"

A few days ago I made the case for trying the Hawaiian pizza at Pizza Pub in Pine City, arguing that in this one case, at least, the sweetness of the pineapple makes a wonderful counterpoint to the tangy spiciness of the pizza sauce. I urged people not to knock it until they've tried it.

But then Pizza Pub came out with this pizza of the month:

Pickle roll up pizza! (Midwestern sushi)

This pizza starts off with cream cheese for sauce, followed by canadian bacon, pickle, and a sprinkle of dill on top!

I just need to say this: no. 

 

As much as I am a sucker for new and different tastes, I'm going to let this one pass. Maybe if I was a pickle-lover instead of a sometimes pickle-tolerator I could get behind the concept, but this one's a no-go for me. 

 

Then today they are running a news story about mustard donuts. 

 

Oh, the humanity.

Running, Music, and Worship

When I go running, I almost always am listening to something. Usually I listen to one of the podcasts I subscribe to, like The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe, Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast, Hollywood & Levine, Inglorious Treksperts, Akimbo with Seth Godin, or North Point Community Church, to name a few.

But every once in a while I'll crank up some music to run with. Occasionally I'll put in a soundtrack to a great movie or some 80s music. But usually it's some upbeat worship music. That's also my go-to on Sunday mornings, which gives me a chance to worship and connect with God before church on my sunrise run.

There are some days when I'm kind of tired, or just not feeling the run, or I'm not sure if I'll make it without just walking. But then I'll start listening to the music (verses a podcast) and it's like I gain extra energy and endurance. I'll run faster and feel better, even if the run overall is still a challenge. Maybe it's just the beat, but there is just something about music that energizes you. 

I think that's the same kind of deal for people when it comes to their life and authentic worship. I say authentic because it's possible to go through the motions but never really connect with God, but when you do, there is something amazing that happens. You can be struggling during the week with a lot of challenges, and it may seem like you're stumbling along in your walk with God instead of running the race. But then you gather with brothers and sisters in Christ and worship and it's like you get this boost to help you keep going. It's not just the music (although that's helpful, especially when it's good), but there's something deeper going on at the soul level.

If you're struggling with life, or depression, or feeling disconnected from God or others, make sure you are engaged in consistent worship with your church family. I'm not guaranteeing that will change everything, but it might just give you the boost you need to keep on going!

A Wild Time Together

I took the youth group to Wild Mountain today down in Taylor's Falls and a great time was had by all. I so thankful for such a great group to students, with a few guests along for the day! We had perfect weather and a fun group.

I have to say that Wild Mountain is excellent at handling groups. We had about the best experience working with them that I've ever had. Kudos to them.

Here are a few pictures and videos highlighting our day together. (I wasn't able to get any of the water rides for obvious reasons.)