Holy Molar!

(Alright, technically it was an incisor. But holy incisor wasn't really working as a title)
Our little girl, Sophie, jumped through a rite of passage yesterday, at Evan Almighty (three thumbs up from Lisa, Anna, and Sophie). Her first tooth - outta there! Luckily she wasn't eating any popcorn when the tooth popped out.


Man, the tooth fairy has upped her prizes. I hear first teeth run $5! Dang. Back when I was a kid...

One Day Workshops

Today is one of our One Day Workshop days at GCC. We're doing a Maximizing the Arts workshop within this. A little lighter turnout than normal with only about 13 people, but still should be fun. My bros, Jason Miller and Trace Rorie (yeah, that's him above, the one with the good hair...) get to do our Developing a Worshiping Church session.

I always look forward to networking with other churches at events like these. It's a little humbling to consider that we have any influence in how people across the country do church. For whatever reason, God has decided to entrust us with this responsibility. I pray we're faithful in that call.

A Video for Every Teen to See

I was listening to my iPod today while cutting the grass and "Untitled" from Simple Plan came on. What a moving song, but add the video, and it is beyond words touching. There are certain things that I'm filing away for my girls as they grow, like Rob Bell's sermons on modesty. I think this video will hit the list. Nothing new here, just a reminder of something cool.

In the Little Things

Finding God in the little things:

1. My daughter Sophie riding her bike without training wheels. Realizing that day after day is literally a "letting go" (as I let go of the handlebars) of my kids. Putting them in God's hands.

2. Installing a drop ceiling with can lighting in our basement. Every step completed is a mini-celebration for Lisa and I. Painting done. Yahoo! Grid set in place. Yippee! Lighting installed. Hurray! Lighting actually works and hasn't burnt the house down. Hallelujah!!! Reminds me of creation, when God took a moment between steps to say "it is good". Enjoying the fruits of His labor.

3. Walks with just my wife and I this week. Realizing I got the best woman in the world for me. She is simply awesome. And I love her.

A New Look for Dan...

Coming this weekend...

Something different about Dan's appearance.

Hint: You may consider my new look a good "deal".

Just Had to Share

I found this picture we took last month, and just had to share it. My beautiful ballerina, Sophie. Right before she went on stage for her first dance recital! She did great!

What Friends Do

So I'm on this journey to discover on a deeper level the meaning and signs of friendship. Being a natural competitor, I have often seen friends as "the competition" - not helpful in making friends. So I asked God the other day to show me more about friendship.

He answered.

Anna is still recovering from a tonsillectomy. Surprise. Ding-dong. Anna's friend, Sarah, brought a sweet present of a Webkinz dog. First, it was a great gift. Second, Anna had been wanting one. Third, they can play together since Sarah also has one via the internet. The days of kids talking through open windows to their buddy next door (think the movie "Big") are a-changing. Example one of friendship.

And then my good friends Gene and Mary brought a cool art thing for Anna to use as another gift. Two total surprises in one day. Not that friendship is all about gifts, but, the right gift at the right time for the right reason can show a lot of love. Friendship is cool.

1/2 Way There!!!

Another quick note - since today is the half way point of the year, you might ask: "Dan, how's the running thing going this year? Are you on track for 1000 miles in 2007?" And I might answer: "Why yes, concerned friend, I'm exactly on track for 1000 since I ran my 500th mile today! Very exciting. As far as those cars raced down in Indy a month ago! (Side note: I've actually run a total of 900 miles since last July 15th when I started really counting). New shoes are making a cool difference. Asics Gel 2120s are a great shoe. Very pleased.

Recovering

Yep, our little big girl did a great job. She seems to be recovering well. Thanks for your prayers. The doctor said that the adenoids and tonsils were "prime candidates" for removal. The surgery took about a half hour and Anna woke from the anesthesia about 10 min. after they were done. Lucky thing they finished on time.

Today is a bit more painful than yesterday. But jello and eating ice chips seems to be the diet of the day. Can you believe, a kid NOT wanting to eat ice cream?!!!

Prayers Please

Hey all,

If you could lift up a prayer on behalf of my daughter Anna who is having her tonsils out tomorrow. The doctor has said that that Anna is a stellar candidate for this surgery. Sometimes you want to be the best, other times... not so much. Anyway. My baby (she's 8) goes under general anethesia for her first time which can be a little scary. Thanks.

Because I Have Girls...

Like, did you totally, like, hear the totally awesome news! I mean, it's the biggest news EVER!

Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus just released her second album today. It's a double album with Hannah on the first and Miley (the real girl) on the second. Yeah, I'll be heading to Target today to pick this one up for my ladies. All in all, a pretty good example of what a kid can do.

Sound Effects on Speed

I finally found this guy. He is flippin' amazing!!!

One More Mac or PC

Alright, I realize that these ads have been parodied to death, but I think this song almost approaches Wierd Al status. Think "White and Nerdy"...

Um... WOW!!!

I have to say that this year's Camp Adventure was absolutely AWESOME! It was great to have my friends, Corey Mann, DC Curry, and Johnny Keim leading the charge along with Papa B (Mark Beeson).

The thing that struck me most this week was watching the progression of kids' self-consciousness. Monday night, there were a lot of kids sort of "kickin' the tires" to see if this thing was real. Lots of glances to their friends if it was okay to worship God with passion. The great key in shifting this is the example that the outstanding counselors gave. Full-hearted worship, engaged, and passionate. As the week progressed we saw many kids commit their lives to Jesus on Wednesday. At the end of the night we brought out Chris Tomlin's "Party" (which can honestly be a bit cheesy) and it totally worked! The kids and counselors screaming out "We gonna PARTY - I was dead, now I'm alive!!!"

Check out updates and footage on Corey's site HERE.

Camp Adventure is Here!

Once again, we head down to Camp Adventure. I can't believe that this is Mark Beeson's 35th year of doing this!!! Talk about perseverance! Reminds me of Hebrew 10:23 "Let us not give up doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest if you do not give up."

2 fave fotos from last year:


And...



Both from the longest slip and slide EVER!

My most favorite part of camp is the way these middle schoolers give their hearts to God. They are surrounded by leaders who truly love them and it makes a huge difference in the students willingness to express their love to God. Reports when we get back!!!

We're Back!

Hey there! Just in case you missed us, we're back from Disneyworld/beach vacation in sunny Florida! Much fun!

Several highlights:

1. We totally surprised the girls this time. We picked up Anna from school (which was supposed to be her last day until snow days arrived!) and brought her into the car. We had everything set since we drove down. The girls asked "where are we going?!!!" We told them to push play on the DVD player. "Welcome to Disneyworld!", said the narrator. (Cue happy tears from Anna) They couldn't believe it! We couldn't believe that we actually kept it a secret for over 6 months!!!

2. We got our own personal Spectromagic Parade at 11pm on the last day. The closest people to us were about 50 feet away. Several of the characters came an shook the girls' hands. Like this dragonfly!


3. Our hotel, Disney's Pop Century resort was fabulous. Here was the view of the pool (shaped like a computer!)


We stayed in the 80's/90's building. Our building had giant Rubik's Cubes for stairwell covers.


We would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this hotel to anyone who needs to stay within a budget. Very clean. Fun pop culture stuff all over from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, & 90's.

4. We met one of the stars of the Lion King Show (Animal Kingdom) while we were on the street at MGM. Her name was, of all things, ANNA!


5. We met up with Lindsay Wasik and her mom Dixie at Magic Kingdom. Ask Lindsay about her pirate encounter!



6. Anna's teacher, Mrs. Wolff and her husband Stan, hosted us for a great day on the beach at Cocoa Beach.



One of my favorite pix from the trip in Paris!(Epcot)

The Zimmers

We had an AWESOME dinner/swim/hangout with our friends, the Hoefts, last night. Now, if you know the Hoefts, you know they love themselves some WHO! We're talkin' THE WHO, as in Roger, Pete, John, and Keith. They had us watch this very funny clip of THE ZIMMERS who sing My Generation. The guys is 90!!! Rock on!

Right Things

When I first got to GCC almost 4 years ago (hard to believe), my very first day of work was - A STAFF RETREAT! I couldn't believe that the whole staff, around 50 of us at that point went on an overnight excursion to Oakwood Conference Center. Nice place. Beautiful lake.

For one of the sessions, Mark Beeson brought in Dave Engbrecht from Nappanee Missionary Church. He gave us a message that I still haven't forgotten. It was so simple that I couldn't believe that I was actually saying "WOW!" His basic premise was the following formula:


RT(right things) - F(Feelings) over T(Time) = DR(Desired Results)

If we do the right things regularly, no matter how we feel at the moment, and if we do them for a while, we'll get the results we desire. This pretty much works for most anything. You want to lose weight? Exercise and eat less (no matter if you want to scarf the Krispy Kreme Dozen) and you'll eventually get there. Want to get financial peace? Save more and spend less (no matter if the plasma screen is calling your name) and you'll eventually get there.

I have found this true in running. I have literally had to fight my body to get up in the mornings to get going. I'm seeing results. Me happy.

I'm also working on this for my voice. Using the Vocal Artistry CDs that we got a couple weeks ago, I'm seeing initial improvement already. Trying to extend my range and get rid of tension. We'll see where 6 months of consistency can go.

I'm really thankful to Dave for bringing this memorable message to us. I am benefitting.

Marvel vs. DC

Simple truths here...



And here...


And here...


Finally, here...


Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Vocal Artistry: A SMASH HIT!

I can't say enough about how great of an experience everyone had the Vocal Artistry event that we hosted at GCC this weekend. We had 200 singers attend! Tim Carson has such a wealth of knowledge to share. We had two of our singers, Angie Henry and Bill Moore sing at the event and Tim had a chance to clinic them. Great voices to start, but then BAM! With the knobs he tweaked, both Angie and Bill sang with marked improvement.

I know that our team is going to benefit from the resources that Vocal Artistry has. I'm looking forward to using both the CD on Vocal Freedom (reducing tension, etc) and another on Vocal Strength (range extension, endurance, register blending). I realized how HEAVY I sing in order to get volume. Kinda like a golfer "muscle-ing" the ball. I hope to get some freedom from these habits that I've developed over the years.

I would recommend to any singer to get to one of the Vocal Artistry events.

Tim, thanks for all your time. You were awesome!