Archive for November, 2007

crazy couple of weeks…

November 24, 2007

For the 3 of you who actually read this blog, it has been a while.  The reason for the hiatus?  I have been couped up in my office getting to know my new toy.  I am officically a Mac user.  I received my 24″, 2.16G Intel Core Duo, 250G HD, 3G of RAM iMac about 2 weeks ago.  It has been an interesting transition learning a new platform and all, but everything is getting A LOT better.

For those of you thinking about making the change and are concerned about PC only programs like I was, not to worry…there is help out there.  However, forget Parallels; embrace VMware’s Fusion.  TRUST ME, you will thank me later…

In honor of the switch, here is one of my favorite Mac vs. PC commercials:

I hope to have some pics soon…

best political ad ever???

November 24, 2007

I saw this at a couple different blogs (Jason Powell and others) I frequent…enjoy!!!

If you don’t know, now you do:  Don’t mess with Chuck!

Seriously, it seems that Mike Huckabee is a real-deal conservative.  He is apparently even an ordained minister.  Check out this response (if you haven’t seen it already) that has been floating all around the internet:

ROCK THE VOTE!!!

crushed dream…

November 11, 2007

Thanks for crushing my dreams Payton…

Pastor David to Speak @ the Florida Baptist Convention Annual Meeting

November 11, 2007

Being #8 in the state in Baptisms (SBC churches/291 in 2006) comes with some perks!  In fact, the Florida Baptist Convention has asked CBG’s very own Pastor David to speak at this year’s annual meeting.  We are excited for Pastor David and are praying for the best as he shares his God-given vision for populating heaven in South Florida.

To listen to the sessions live, check out the FBC website.  You can also order the session on CD apparently…we will try to get a copy of the audio to post as well.

BTW, it was good to see one of the churches we support, Church at the Bay, #1 in the “Baptisms to church member ratio” category.  They are an awesome church in the Tampa area…so if you are looking for a place to worship at and you live in Tampa, check it out.  If you go, tell their worship leader, Blaine Albright, that I said hi…he is a pretty nice guy!

CBG – 11/11/07

November 11, 2007

We had a great weekend @ Church by the Glades. The worship set had 2 new jams and one of my current favorite tunes, “Jesus Paid it All” by Kristian Stanfill. In addition, Pastor David brought the heat again.

We are in the midst of a series called “No Perfect People Allowed.” In this weeks message, Pastor David talked about the diversity that should be found in the Body of Christ. That is another cool thing about our church–we are definitely diverse! To highlight the teaching time, the worship team rocked out to Toby Mac’s “Diverse City.”

Probably the most memorable line for me this weekend was, “Come as you are, but don’t stay that way.” In my opinion, that is what being a Christian is all about; discerning truth and being bold enough to apply it.

Pastor David used some of Rob Bell’s stuff. Specifically, Rob’s stuff on Jewish history/tradition. To be honest, I am not a huge Rob Bell fan. I don’t really agree with all his conclusions. However, no one can argue about Rob’s knowledge of Jewish history/tradition. From all accounts, he puts a lot of time into learning and knowing it. Right or wrong, he is big on that stuff in his writing…

All in all, I am looking forward to the conclusion of the series next week. There is a video testimony in the works that is going to be great if Pastor David decides to use it. I might also try call in a favor and have Pastor Justin do “Jesus Paid it All” again…what a great song…

UPDATE: Word on the street is that the Worship Team is going to be doing a Daughtry tune…Which one you ask?  You will have to come and find out for yourself…

FOP badges…

November 9, 2007

Did you ever notice those Fraternal Order of Police plastic badges people put on their license plates?  We all know the only reason people donate to the FOP is for that stupid badge.  You know those people are thinking, “If I get pulled over, the police officer will see the badge and let me go.”  Seriously… 

Although it is an ingenious marketing tactic, I really think it is the biggest racket ever.  Think about how this marketing strategy was born…

  1. The FOP marketing team sitting in a room pondering the question, “How can we get some poor sap to donate money to our organization?”
  2. Someone says out-loud, “I know…we can create this cheap badge that we will give people.  They will get it and put it on there car.  They will think it will get them out of a ticket.  Everyone will want one!  We can produce different badges for different levels of giving.”

The reality?  Every police officer sees it and says, “I bet they think they are getting off…we’ll see about that.”  I really wonder how many people just before getting the ticket try to make sure the officer sees the plastic badge.  I wonder what kind of stories these officers have about that.  I bet they are great!

Moral of the story = if you don’t want a ticket, don’t speed.  Don’t rely on some stupid plastic badge.  If you want to support the FOP, GREAT!  Just give without expecting something in return.

I may be wrong on this one…but…

I’m diving in…

November 2, 2007

Myself and 5 of my friends (Christian U., Matt B., Kenny Q., Scott R., and Scott P.) are getting our Scuba Certification.  Rhett Butler is our Dive Instructor from Underseas Sports (they have pretty good prices on the certification and gear).  Trust me, there are going to be some great stories and pics from this new hobby!  I will post the “blogworthy” stuff…

Our first revelation was that my brother, Christian, cannot do math.  Math is pretty important when it comes to scuba diving.  In addition, he is a carpenter’s apprentice.  That’s not good…According to him, 3/8 plus 5/8 equals a 1/4.  I don’t know how he got there, but I do apologize to those of you who have cabinets that have been incorrectly installed or is ever his “dive buddy” (sorry Scott R.).  Needless to say, we had some good laughs at his expense after that revelation…

Just the guys…

November 1, 2007

trunk-or-treat-07-016.jpg

Just me and my boy, Parker, at CBG’s Trunk or Treat.  I am not going to lie…this is scary…