Locked Out

So I found out that I do not know how to properly operate a door lock, the church office door lock to be precise.

Yesterday I was planning on doing a bunch of homework and sermon preparation here at the church. I had my computer set up, my schoolbooks at hand and my bottle of water all ready to go. It was close to lunchtime and I was getting the munchies so I went down stairs to raid the youth group stash of snacks.

Mmmmmm…a bowl of Shrek shaped Cheez-Its...yummy.

Doh!!!

As I go back up stairs the office door is locked. I know I unlocked it to get in and apparently it does not stay unlocked until you flip the thingy on the back of the knob. No problem, I will just use my handy keys to unlock the door.

Doh!!!

They are sitting on the table of the office. Along with my computer and my books. So I ended up walking home to get a spare set of car keys. By the time I finally was able to get back into the office most of the day was gone and I did not get much work done. I did however get to listen to the wonderful songs of the cicadas as I dodged their attempts to land on me while I walked home and back to the church.

What have we learned from this? Make sure you carry your keys with you at all times and make sure you learn how to use a door lock.

Mike

Must See T.V.

Way back in the day...in the 90's NBC started calling their Thursday night T.V. lineup "Must See T.V." it had a bunch of great shows on like The Cosby Show, A Different World, Cheers and Wings.

I know what your thinking: "Wow, Mike! You're old!"

You can say that if you want, I will just turn down my hearing aide and it won't bother me a bit.

So, if you were to set your "Must See T.V." lineup what shows would it include?

For me the shows that I love to watch are:

Friends - which is ironic because I never watched the show when it was on, and even made fun of it but now I watch it in reruns.

Stargate SG-1 - which is on the SCI-FI channel and is in it's last year of shows. It is based on the movie Stargate.

Stargate Atlantis - which is also on the SCI-FI channel and is a spin-off of Stargate SG-1.

So, leave a comment and let me know what shows you like to watch.

A Buzz For Hunger

Ah, yes the 17-year cicadas are upon us. There is not much buzzing here at the church but if you take a short walk down to my house the forest preserve has quite the ruckus of cicada song. My wife and I took our dog, Nike, for a bit of a walk on Sunday and every tree and bush was covered with the crimson-eyed bugs.

The last time the cicadas invaded I was working VBS and us leaders thought it would be funny (and gross) to pretend to eat a cicada for the kids. We all had a great laugh as the kids screamed and yelled in disgust.

This time around I was reading a National Geographic article on the crunchy critters and came across this paragraph:

Cicadas are said to make good eating because they are low in fat and high in protein. They are considered a delicacy by many people around the world. The European settlers in North America observed the Indians eating them. During the emergence of Brood X cicadas in 1987, a number of people in Cincinnati and Illinois were reported to have tried deep-fried and stir-fried cicadas. There was also talk of cicada pizzas and cicada candy, and local newspapers printed cicada recipes.

Just as I was thinking how that was some really good information to have, I clicked to the next page and read the next paragraph:

Experts say that the best way to eat cicadas is to collect them in the middle of the night as they emerge from their burrows and before their skins harden. When they are in this condition—like softshell crabs—they can be boiled for about a minute. It is said they taste like asparagus or clam-flavored potato.

Hey, how about that, boiled cicadas! I think I will have to try that recipe and cook a special dinner for my wife. So if you are looking for a tasty and nutritious snack take a walk to your nearest buzzing tree and grab a handful of creepy-crawly chow while it lasts.

What 's playing on your iPod?

I would really like to know, what is playing on your iPod? If you don't have an iPod (or similar mp3/cd player), what songs do you crank up every time they play on the radio?

If you were a radio DJ, what would you play?

Let's start a list and see what songs are most popular. They don't have to be Christian and you are not trying to impress me.

I have my iPod playing in the background as I am typing this and here are the last few songs that have played:

You're Beautiful by James Blunt
Clint Eastwood (edited original version) by Gorillaz
Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf
Crashed by DAUGHTRY

Quite an eclectic collection of songs, I will throw in some Beatles, Third Day, Jars of Clay and B.B. King to name a few others that I enjoy.

BTW, DAUGHTRY is the group fronted by Chris Daughtry who is, as I am told, of American Idol fame. Huh, interesting. Have any of you watched the show? I have to admit that I have not watched it.

So, leave a comment about what music you play a lot.

-Mike

Day One

June 1st always seems like a good time of year. While it may not be the official beginning of summer, I tend to think of it as the beginning of summer.

This year it is also the beginning of me working with the youth at Faith.

So it's the first day of my working at so far, so good. There are a couple of youth events already planned.

The first is a trip to Pelican Harbor, which is a water park in Bolingbrook on June 14.

The second is a trip to see the Kane County Cougars play on July 28.

More details can be found on the calendar, which can be accessed by clicking the button on the right side of the page.

I will also be in the office on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30. Feel free to stop by and hang out with me. It will be a time for us to get to know one another. This time is not limited to just youth, so you parents can come and get to know me as well. The plan is to have snacks, play games, hang out, listen to music or what ever grabs our attention.

There will be more posted here in the coming days about events, happenings and other things on this blog.