wedding dance floor playlist.

just so we can all relive the epic saturday evening on the dance floor - here's a screenshot of my itunes:

dj falco absolutely killed it. thanks to everyone who sacrificed their bodies on the dance floor to celebrate the coopers.

-apc.

blogging from my new phone.

so I got a new phone on tuesday. its the EVO 4G and it is changing my life rather rapidly.

you probably have no interest in this blog...in fact, the only reason I even have any interest in it is simply to test if this Blogger app I just downloaded actually works.

anyone recommend anything? EVO related or Blogger related or app related? I'm new to all this.

-apc.

word verification balderdash.

typically when i go to comment on a blog, it annoys me a great deal to have to type in the jumbled set of letters. supposedly by typing these letters in i can prove to the interwebz that i am, in fact, a real-life human being and not a robot apparatus. it's truly amazing that this is enough to convince the "www" that the comment is not fake - and it's even more amazing that no one has figured out how to create a computer that can stump word verification.

the most obnoxious scenario is when you can't even read the letters - they're all distorted and overlapping and you're can't be sure if it's a lowercase "L", a capital "i" or the number "1". so you get it wrong, the page refreshes with a big red box saying "you failed to successfully reproduce the letters! go back to 1st grade!" and sometimes you even get to retype your whole comment cause it was lost in the refreshing. what a joy.

however, blogger does an exceptional job with this - their letters are legible, non-worbled, and if you get them wrong it doesn't delete your entire comment in the refreshing process. but my favorite thing about blogger's word verification, is that it creates a jumbling of letters that actually appear to be real words: drego, ligro, idesto, croida - but they're not real words. they just happen to contain some standard proto-indo-european letter clusterings and look like real words.

so what do i do? i play balderdash. i make up the definition of the "word" i see. examples...

drego - noun - an east-asian plant known for its uncharacteristically high levels of vitamin B.

phsta - noun - a deceptive, albeit illegal, maneuver in the game of chess where one is able to dupe their opponent by moving the knight only 2 spaces rather than the correctly moved 3 spaces.

ligro - noun - a baseball term developed in the 1930s as an insult to non-black individuals playing in the negro leagues.

croida - noun - any organism with a brightly colored exterior skeleton (e.g. ladybugs, scallops).

apparently i can only come up with nouns.

now it's your turn! i have turned on "word verification" on my blog. comment, and make up a definition for the displayed word! what a genius idea. maybe i'll even make it a competition and pick a winner!

hizzah! happy balderdashing!

-apc.

relationalyouthministry.com: i am not worthy.

my first guest blog is up on relationalyouthministry.com! what an honor it is to be a part of a conversation on how to navigate youth ministry more successfully. you can read my post below or check it out here along with many other youth worker voices.

i am not worthy of this calling.

i have this thought on a daily basis – sometimes multiple times a day – and it burdens me. i am not worthy of leading anyone anywhere, let alone toward the only perfect being to ever live. there is no reason i should be allowed to be a voice for students. i’ve got junk in my life just like they do – i mean c’mon, i almost swore in that last sentence! i have no business even writing this blog! i don’t even use proper capitalization!

i’m not sure if you’ve ever felt this way. my inkling is that if you’ve been a youth worker for very long, then you have. i constantly feel unworthy. broken. messed up. completely unqualified to be working in “the trenches” of youth ministry. maybe you have too. maybe you haven’t yet. maybe you used to feel it and decided you had to get out of the trenches before it ruined you. maybe you’re toying with that thought right now.

the reality is that none of us are worthy of being His hands and feet. we are not Jesus. we are imperfect people trying our best to model Him in this fallen world we live in, and the moment we think we’re worthy of this calling is the moment we need to reevaluate our heart because somewhere along the way we decided we really were Jesus instead of the cracked and bruised version we truly are.

but here’s the other reality: it’s a calling. there was a moment – maybe 5 or 6 years ago – when i actually thought, “shoot. i could do youth ministry for the rest of my life. i feel God calling me to this!” in retrospect that feels like such a pompous thing to even consider. i actually thought i could be the hands and feet of Jesus on this planet? must’ve been dreaming.

it really is a calling. where were you when you heard God’s soft voice prodding you into life in student ministry? i was in 12th grade in a 15-passenger van on my way back from a middle school event. it wasn’t a monumental evening – probably just a killer scavenger hunt or something – but i heard it. it was God’s voice through one of the adult leaders in our ministry.

“you know, you’ve got the right skills for youth ministry. you ought to look into it more seriously…”

whoa. so it wasn’t my idea after all. it was someone else’s. and it wasn’t really someone else’s either – it was God’s. it was his idea for me from the beginning, and i think it is his plan for you too.

you know what else reminds me that i was made for this? when i get to observe the lives of the students i have watched grow up. sometimes we don’t get to see the fruits of our labor in youth ministry for many years to come. we lead a Bible study, and we think, “i wonder if they even understood that.” or we meet with a student who is going through a tough situation and think, “i feel like my words weren’t the slightest bit helpful.” or someone comes to you grieving and you have nothing to say to them so you think, “i literally just sat there and said nothing.”

but then we hear of those moments years in the future: “remember what you said at Bible study that one day?” or “thanks for helping me out with that one thing.” or “thanks for listening to me vent that one time.” treasure these moments. they are few and far between, but remember them always. they are the fruits of our labor and they remind us that we are following God’s calling. as unworthy and as human as we are – this was God’s plan for us, and these are the fruits of our ministry.

and lastly, remember that God knows the plans he has for you and look forward to what you are yet to accomplish for the Kingdom. after establishing an understanding of why i’m here and what i’ve done, i can regroup and focus on the future. what is my next step in ministry? what does God yet have in store for me? how will he use me next?

for what it’s worth, here is the advice of a broken, imperfect, burnt out and messed up youth worker:

1. understand that you are broken.
2. remember you are called.
3. celebrate where you have been.
4. look forward to where God is taking you on your journey.

those are my daily prayers. actually, not daily. i wish i could tell you i prayed this as often as i feel unworthy, but i can’t. maybe it’s an inverse relationship – the more i pray that prayer, the less i feel unworthy. i think i’ll try it and see what happens.

hopefully this post is an encouragement to you – wherever you are at in your journey in youth ministry. i urge you to not give up. you were made for this. celebrate the past and look forward to what God has in store for you and your ministry.

-apc.

annie.

this is genius.

-apc.

fantasy football roster.

welcome to my 2010 fantasy football opening day roster:

qb - drew brees - new orleans saints
qb - matt schuab - houston texans
qb - vince young - tennessee titans
rb - deangelo williams - carolina panthers
rb - cedric benson - cincinnati bengals
rb - jerome harrison - cleveland browns
wr - desean jackson - philadelphia eagles
wr - johnny knox - chicago bears
wr - dwayne bowe - kansas city chiefs
wr - arrelious benn - tampa bay buccaneers
wr - terrell owens - cincinnati bengals
wr - antwaan randle el - pittsburgh steelers
te - visanthe shiancoe - minnesota vikings
te - jeremy shockey - new orleans saints
d/st - packers
d/st - browns
k - neil rackers - houston texans

quarterback is an obvious strength, but running back leaves a bit to be desired.

picked up the packers defense/special teams early and added the browns defense/special teams (mainly becuase of return man josh cribbs).

my receiving core is decent - led by desean jeackson - i'm putting a lot of hope in t.o. and rookie arrelious benn.

i won our league last year. here's to shooting for a repeat. yikes.

-apc.

episode one: the pancake molds.

episode one with my new star wars pancake molds happened yesterday after church. it went okay - it was exciting, even though execution wasn't perfect. i put too much batter in the molds and they got stuck and wouldn't come out. vader ended up looking more like darth hillbilly with that grill. and yoda ended up with a lobotomy. TK-421 turned out great, but wasn't at his post long cause he ended up in my belly.

episode 2 may be entitled "attack of the chocolate chips". here's to hoping.

-apc.

home office decor.

this room is across the hall from where i sleep every night.

we picked out and painted the orange and karlie and my mom tag teamed for the star wars prints* on my birthday back in march. finally got them up. easily my favorite room in our home.

-apc.

* - btw, the dude just came out with some new ones from the prequel trilogy....eh.

happy birthday to john buck (the all-star himself).

july 7, 1980, kemmerer, wyoming - greatness was born. and here we are, 30 years later, and greatness is traveling to his first all-star game.

let's be completely honest - none of us saw this coming. even the most devout fans had not considered mr. incredible to be a serious all-star game candidate. even when he was a member of the "we send one player because every team gets to send one player" royals.

who knew that when the royals traded him away to toronto he would receive the 3rd most votes among american league catchers? and sure, he's only getting to play because victor martinez is hurt and the AL needed a replacement. but the reality is that John Buck is traveling to Anaheim this weekend to play in the all-star game. the ALL-STAR GAME. WHAT.

can i add his American League jersey to my wedding registry? or can i start taking up donations so that i can get it? or you could just go buy it for me here? i simply must own it.

back on march 31, i put together a quick blog comparing buck and jason kendall's spring training statistics. for the most part, john was making kendall look like a joke (coincidentally his initials are JK - interesting). kendall was batting .139 to buck's .304. you can read more here.

lets look at their halfway point stats:

buck - .269 avg, .502 slg, 13 hr, 40 rbi.
kendall - .267 avg, .319 slg, 0 hr, 29 rbi.

not even a contest. also, can we look at my season predictions for JB?!

.268 avg, .524 slg, 18 hr, 84 rbi

could he be anymore on pace to NAIL those numbers? i mean literally, do i know my favorite player or what?!

also there are only two catchers on the AL roster. joe mauer and john buck. good company for sure - here's to hoping that john comes in for mauer for some late inning heroics. perhaps a walk-off dinger?! all-star mvp?! ooooooo man - the possibilities! i'll be tuning in for sure.*

enjoy your birthday john. hope your trip to anaheim didn't spoil any vacation plans you had for your birthday weekend. hopefully they added to the festivities.

-ap.

and ps: wikipedia has it listed that buck throws....switch!? i'm researching this

* - i can say things like this now that i have directv. holler.

our engagement photos.

sorry for the lack of blogs lately everyone. it's been a busy busy month.

but here comes a fury of posts. i've got three on my mind right now, and chances are i can get them all written down in the next 45 minutes. here's the first one: our engagement pictures are up! check out a sampling on the parson's blog - they did an amazing job. more pics after the "jump"!

just click the pic.

-ap.

EDIT: so there's no way i'll finish my next two blogs in time. but coming soon: john buck made the all-star team.