Best of '09: Random Favorites

The year 2009 A.D. is over. The past 12 months have brought with them many new things; some good, some bad, and some not worth mentioning. I would like to take some time and highlight some of my favorite parts of 2009. I will call this list the "best of '09" - which simply means that, in my opinion, these are the best items in a certain category. I fully expect you to disagree with some of my choices or to be upset I did not add other items to the list. If you feel this way, please add your "best of '09" ideas in the comments.

The eighth, and final, list will be a collection of random favorites. This is a list of anything that does not fit in one of the other categories, but I really like. Maybe this jumbled assortment of stuff will spark some thought, maybe a laugh, or maybe you'll just get a better glance at who I am. Without any further wait, here is a list of my favorites from TV to parenting (in no particular order).


Community on NBC
I find myself laughing more often than not when I watch Community. Though I do not think every episode is a home run, I do not expect it to be either. My favorite part of the show is the interaction between Troy and Abed - simply hilarious. If you need a good laugh, this show might just help.

The Office on NBC
Simply one of the best shows on network television, in my opinion. I've been a fan since episode 2 (I didn't like the pilot on the British version, and since the American version was identical, I didn't like it either). Consistently funny. I do have some fears about where the writers are heading with Dwight's diabolical plan - I hope he doesn't become super vengeful (it would ruin the "feel" of the show for me).

Watching baseball (on TV) with my boys
As my boys are getting older, they are starting to want to watch baseball more. This means I get one more thing I can share with my sons. One funny thing about watching baseball this past summer was that they would ask to watch it, then after 2 or 3 innings, they would begin to complain about watching it. They aren't quite ready for a full game, but just watching baseball with them is good for me. And if I have an option - it would be a Cubs gave every time.

Star Wars
Star Wars has taken on a whole new level for me this year, because my two boys are starting to really get into it. We've watched all the movies, save Episode 3. We have read Revenge of the Sith (with some editing) to them, though. They love playing Lego Star Wars on Gamecube, playing with their action figures, coloring, pretending to be in Star Wars, and talking about the Star Wars universe. This has brought up many opportunities to talk about right/wrong, choices, good/evil, anger/love and a plethora of other topics.

Plus, I have to admit I really like the Clone Wars cartoon. Working my way, with the boys, through season one.

Being a father of 3
There is nothing like being a father and this year I have enjoyed being a father to three small children. As my youngest grows from baby to toddler, the level of play increases - which can cause friction when all three want to play with the same thing. But overall, it just means we get to do more things together as a family.

Writing more
I enjoy writing and this past year I got the chance to do more of it. I was honored to get the chance to contribute to some cool products (like SYM's Live Curriculum) as well as a couple youth ministry projects (YM Blog). I hope to be able to continue writing, plus to improve my writing in the coming year.

Spending more time with my wife
I purposefully tried to spend more time doing things with my wife this year. We tried to read through a book together, but that didn't last too long. We watched some shows together, spent time talking, played games, and went on walks. I want to spend even more time with her this year.

Substitute teaching
I like teaching and I like students - so substitute teaching is a great way to combine the two. Every day I sub brings a new adventure. I never know what the lesson plan will be until I get there and I don't always know who I will interact with during the day. As a youth minister, it is also a great way to get to know more students. I hope to be able to continue subbing for years to come.

Sam's Cola: Cherry
My new favorite flavor of pop. You need to try it - that is all.

Games
My favorite board or card games include: Dutch Blitz, Boggle, Battleship, and chess.


What are your favorite things?



Other posts in this series:
Best of '09 - Music
Best of '09 - Youth Ministry Books
Best of '09 - Non-Ministry Books
Best of '09 - Websites
Best of '09 - Blog posts
Best of '09 - Web Apps
Best of '09 - Ministry Moments
Best of '09 - Random Favorites

Learned from Twitter: week ending July 25, 2009

Today is a special day for me - its my little girl's 1st birthday! So, to help you celebrate my little girl's birthday, I thought I'd share some highlights from Twitter this past week. Oh, who am I kidding, I was going to share them anyway. :)

1. YS_Scoop (Youth Specialties) shared the link to Tic Long's new blog. If you have not checked it out, you need to. Tic is a great advocate of the youth worker and have great thoughts - plus he's just a good guy.

"Keep up with Tic and what is next in his life at http://ticlong.wordpress.com/"

2. snavenel (Len Evans) shared some news about a new stage of his life. Check out his blog to find out more about Len and see how you can be praying for him in this transition.

"Shared today, that I'm no longer the youth pastor at the church. Have applied to work with the http://nnym.com Gathering prayer supporters"

3. timschmoyer (Tim Schmoyer) shared two links for resources youth workers might be able to take advantage of in their ministries. Check out these links and see how they can benefit your ministry.

"FREE City cars time lapse video download in HD. Might be good as a title background for a YG video: http://bit.ly/2DoEc"

"RT @slickdeals: 20 5x7 Photo Prints $0.99 http://bit.ly/1ZHnf // Perfect for all your camp and missions trip pictures!"

4. StudentMinistry (John from Lifeway Student Ministry) linked to an article on helping your students after you get back from camp. If you took kids to camp, or know some who went, you'll want to read the article.

"Help Your Students Keep Their Camp Committments" now on LifeWay.com/Students - http://bit.ly/gQ7du

5. MikeFoster (Mike Foster) shared this little bit of wisdom (and truth). I agree wholeheartedly with his statement.

"true leaders take ownership of their contribution to a bad event."

6. rainnwilson (Rainn Wilson: aka Dwight) offered a little bit of hope for those Office fans who are tired of watching "summer television." The Office is back to work!

"Office table read today. Like first day of school. What to wear!? Make sure to ask for spoilers cause I will def. be revealing all!(um, no)"

7. theofficenbc (The Office on NBC) provided a little bit more information for Office fans - the first episode is entitled "Gossip" (oh, the possibilities).

"Scoop! Season 6 of "The Office" officially begins today, with a table read of Episode 1, entitled "Gossip." Welcome back everyone!"

What did you learn from Twitter this week?

Learned from Twitter: week ending May 2, 2009

This week in Twitter was full of insight, laughs, free stuff and lots of discussion. Here are a few things I learned from Twitter this past week.


1. BtotheEtotheN (Ben Boles) added something to my "wow, really?" file.
"The Catholic priest officiating the wedding opened the service with, pray for this couple to your god whom ever that may be."

2. kentshaffer (Kent Shaffer) shared this story, which is sure to make you feel a little less smart than you did this morning.
"One student gets perfect scores on the ACT, SAT, & PSAT - http://bit.ly/40vQq"

3. justayouthguy (Jon McIver) shared a great interaction he had with a student.
"Just asked Middle School girl 'why do you have a water balloon in your purse?'"

4. YouthMinBlog (Youth Ministry Blog) provided a code to get a free video download from Bluefish TV.
"Use the code BFP3 to get a free video download from http://BlueFishTV.com"

5. theofficenbc (The Office) provided a link to a new ringtone that Office fans will want to get. Might I suggest not putting this as your sr. minister's ringtone - that might get you into some trouble. :)
"You asked for it, you got it! Get the Dwight "Idiot" ringtone that Jim made in "Broke" @ http://www.nbc.com/The_Offi..."

6. 6drews (Mike Andrews) brought up a great thought for all youth ministers to consider.
"weighing the risk/reward of changing culturally based thinking in the church vs. behavior modification in order to avoid controversy"

7. AdamLehman (Adam Lehman) mentioned a church that saved money by trying to be good stewards of their resources. [Personally, I think its sad that this type of church is different enough to be considered newsworthy. We are all called to be good stewards.]
"a church saves $268,000 by going green. http://tr.im/jVdN"

8. williamhartz (William Hartz) shared some wisdom/insight he learned at his small group.
"Anyone who holds to the theory that girls don't poop... Tonight's conversation at small group has amply disproven it. #awkward"

9. kentshaffer (Kent Shaffer) provided another article link, this one tells us that most people who use Twitter quit way too early.
"60% of Twitter Users Quit Within the First Month - http://bit.ly/oIwCO"

10. drumdog00 (Justin Van Rheenen) shared a link to a free download from Thousand Foot Krutch.
"RT @chuffybass5: You can download new TFK free at www.welcometothemasquerade.com and if you're a TFK fan like me, you'll love it!!!"

11. YS_Scoop (Youth Specialties) has a really cool offer going right now.
"Help us purge our offices! You get great YS stuff and help mentor kids. http://tinyurl.com/realityc... Spread the word!"


What did you learn from Twitter this week?

Learned from Twitter: week ending April 11, 2009

Here are some of the things I learned from Twitter, this Holy Week...


1. theuprisinglive (Chad Swanzy) offered up an idea for a "free" night of fun with your youth group.
"free slurpees for your small groups and very low budget road trip idea... http://tinyurl.com/d533wp"

2. EvanCourtney (Evan Courtney) provides a code to get some free videos from BluefishTV.com.
"10 free downloads from Bluefish TV. Use code GoGreenRev"

3. ICEHOTEL_Sweden (Ice Hotel) is close to saying goodbye until next winter.
"Only two weeks left of ICEHOTEL - We are getting closer and closer to spring, when the Midnightsun takes over... http://tumblr.com/xbv1jts3k"

4. FlowerInTheRain (Janelle Painter) proves she is one proud "parent." :)
"It's Bring Your Child to Work Day. I brought my macbook. the end."

5. YMX (Youth Ministry Exchange) offers up a free lesson on John 9.
"Thought about a lesson for next week? Hit the link & get freebie for April 9: See Believe Live Inductive Study on John 9 http://is.gd/rGS6"

6. theofficenbc (The Office) provides a link to the new opening credits.
"Notice the new opening credits? Watch the "Michael Scott Paper Company" version again @ http://tinyurl.com/d9ez5u"

7. kentshaffer (Kent Shaffer) offers up some free fonts.
"30 free fonts for professional designs - http://bit.ly/GB02A"


What did you learn from Twitter this week?

Lessons from The Office: Business Ethics

The Office was back on Thursday (10/9/08) after taking a week off due to the vice-presidential debate.

This week's episode was entitled: Business Ethics

A few thoughts & lessons from Business Ethics:

1. It can be difficult to share personal information with your coworkers.
2. Ethics is not an issue a lot of people like to talk about, because a lot of people do not live an ethical life.
3. Training your staff does not always lend itself to a "fun" meeting. And you should not force it to be.
4. It is a smart idea to start tracking your time, before someone else starts tracking it for you. Most people do not really know where their time is spent and are surprised to find out how much time is wasted.
5. Being a positive voice for ethics (or morals) in the workplace can lead to being disliked. People do not like being told they are wrong, even if they know they are wrong.
6. Despite what backlash you receive for being a moral compass, do not give up. Do not stop trying to help people be more ethical/moral.
7. A lot of the people you see everyday are struggling and hurting. Most are drifting into areas they do not want to go. What are you going to do to help them?

5 Lessons from The Office: Weight Loss

Thursday, Sept. 25, was the premiere of season 5 of The Office. They kicked off the season with an hour-long episode entitled "Weight Loss" You can watch it here or here


Here are 5 lessons from Weight Loss:
1. Being the new "guy" at work can be tough. (but funny...)
2. Sometimes going the extra mile to show someone you care about them makes a big difference.
3. When you love someone, you will do some crazy things.
4. People work harder at something when they desire to do it and are not "forced" to participate.
5. Discussing certain topics (homosexuality or mental illness) with people you just met can lead to awkwardness.


Some things I didn't expect:
1. The "Fat Elvis" picture Michael put up on the wall for "Body Image Celebration"
2. Was Angela really starting to like Andy?
3. Jim proposing at the gas station.
4. Ryan back in the office, as a temp.

More free episodes from NBC on iTunes

The free episode of The Office that you can download from iTunes is not the only freebie NBC is offering. Here is the complete list of shows that NBC is offering one free episode for your enjoyment. You can get them in HD and regular. Unless you have a large amount of storage or really like the HD (ie, you have a way of playing the HD) I would recommend the regular versions. Enjoy.


(gracias a TV addict)

Free episode of The Office on iTunes

For the next week or so (not sure exactly when the end date is), you can get the first episode of season 4 of The Office (Fun Run) for free from iTunes. Yeah, you read that correctly. You can download Fun Run (an hour long episode) for free off iTunes. In fact you can get the regular or HD version. So if you are a fan of The Office or just like free show downloads, head over to iTunes and grab it before its gone. (Well, not gone, but $1.99)


(gracias a OfficeTally for the heads up)

The Office: Season 4 DVD & More

Yesterday, I was with my family in a nearby town (an hour away). We had driven over to see a friend preach. He did awesome, by the way (more on the service later). While we were there, we went ahead and did some shopping.

The Office: Season 4 DVD came out last Tuesday (meaning Sunday was day 6 of it being on the store shelves). A few stores had limited editions or special editions you could get if you were fast enough. Even the online side of things was running out of the special editions before the release day on Tuesday. And I kept reading online how people tried going to "X" number of stores and still did not go home with the one they wanted. So, while we were shopping for other stuff, I thought I would look and see what was left.

At Target, there were only 2 copies of the Ultimate Package (seasons 1-4) left. The shelves were bare where the regular season 4 was supposed to go and where their limited edition was. So, Target was typical of what I had been hearing.

At Best Buy, it started to look the same way. I looked on their new releases shelf and not a sign of The Office anywhere. I had resolved myself to not finding a single copy when I spotted the floor display. That had to be a good sign, right? When I got to the display one side was completely empty, so I walked around. On this side of the display there were a handful of the regular season 4 packages and 4 copies of their "Fun Run Kit" special editions. I was floored. I'm not sure if that means there are not that many Office fans in the area or there are not as many fans willing to pay for the extra bonus items.

With the season 4 DVD on the shelf (either store or home), that means one thing - season 5 starts soon. September 25th is the premiere: its called Weight Loss.

Should be an interesting season. :)

YM Resource: hulu: watch shows and movies

Apparently hulu.com has gone public. I've been using it in the beta version for some time (a few months) and have really enjoyed the variety of material. And they have added more movies to the site, now that it is public.

My biggest complaint would have to be the lack of full episodes for some of the newer shows. Some have many clips, but no episodes. Besides that, there is a bunch to find on the site. I would recommend taking a look at it. The biggest plus is the ability to watch a show when I want to, not necessarily when it is on TV.

I've even found a few clips from older shows that I am planning on using in ministry (whether it be a promo for an event or part of a lesson)

The writer's strike is over

But does this mean we might start seeing less reality shows - I sure hope so.

In a few months we start seeing new episodes back on the air. Though not all of the shows will return. The Office will return! hehe

find The Office info here. Two important facts; the show will return April 10 and the first episode is titled Dinner Party.

Lessons from The Office: Local Ad

I thought this was the first episode in awhile that really showcased a lot of the cast (and it was only a 1/2 hour long). It seemed like just about everyone had at least one or two good lines or scenes. That is minus Toby (I only remember him being in about 5 seconds of the ad when the paper airplane flew past him).

Lessons from The Office: Local Ad
1. Good brainstorming means you accept all answers - encourage people to give more and feel good about sharing.
2. Don't settle for something that is not the best you can do.
3. Find people's strengths and use them (stereotypes don't count - Oscar)
4. You can crush someone's willingness to help when you bash/belittle their contribution to the team.
5. Even when you are extremely mad at someone, you can still love them.
6. Advertisements do no good if people cannot remember the name of the company being advertised.

"Break me off a piece of that applesauce"

Lessons from The Office: Money

Money felt like a very serious episode. Now, don't get me wrong - it was not even close to being a drama. And I still thought it was pretty good. Here are a few lessons we can learn from the episode...

Lessons from The Office: Money
1. Declaring bankruptcy is not as simple as it sounds.
2. And you can't run (or take a train) from your problems.
3. When you are struggling with something (like a broken relationship), you are not going to give your work 100% of your effort and attention.
4. Being a good friend means sharing your hurts and being there when someone else is hurting. You do not have to have all the answers, either.
5. We all need someone who will stick with us through the tough times. Someone who will always be there, supporting us even when we want to run from our problems.

The Office weather

After getting back from our trip this weekend, my wife and I sat down to watch The Office, which we had taped (I know, we're way behind - we still "tape" stuff) on Thursday night. But we got a surprise. We had not taped The Office. We had taped an hour (yes, a full hour) of weather. Apparently there was a bad storm that came through our area that night and the local NBC station decided to spend at least an hour giving updates on the situation.

Just thought it was funny. I'm sure there were a few upset Office fans that night, but thanks to nbc.com you can watch the full episode online - so no need to wait until the DVD or reruns. So there will still be a "Lessons from The Office" this week.

Lessons from The Office: L(a)unch Party

Lessons from The Office: Launch Party

1. There is more than 1 way to handle difficult people. (and some are pretty funny)
2. But you can't always change their attitude/behavior.
3. Being left out of a gathering/party really hurts if the person hosting it is a friend (or at least when you think they are a friend)
4. You should always read the fineprint on a coupon, or settle on the price before the pizza is delivered.
5. People will go above and beyond when trying to impress someone.

Lessons from The Office: Dunder Mifflin Infinity

Lessons from The Office: Dunder Mifflin Infinity

1. It can be hard to let go of a past relationship (thanks Kelly for showing us how to not try to get someone back)
2. Change is not easy to accept for people, even if you give them a good presentation on the why and what.
3. Gift baskets are awesome!
4. It will take more than force to get people to see the need for change, as a leader you have to help them discover how it will benefit everyone.
5. Going from subordinate to boss is not an easy transition. People will often continue to think of you as the old you.
6. Never, never go back to retrieve a gift once you've given it to someone - it wasn't nice in grade school and its still not nice today.

Lessons from The Office: Fun Run

Well, it has finally arrived (as of last Thursday) - the new season of The Office.

It was an hour long episode, which meant a lot of little stuff stayed in (and they still have 5 deleted scenes that will be up on NBC.com - 4 up currently).


Lessons from Fun Run:
1. Things are not always as they seem
2. It is not always easy to forgive someone who has really hurt you
3. It is easy to base your belief in God on how things around you are going
4. Talking about your religious beliefs at work is not always easy
5. Forgiveness is given when you take actions beyond just words

The Office: Season 4 Premiere in one week

The season 4 premiere of the Office is only one week away. While I am excited about the first few episodes (Fun Run, Dunder Mifflin Infinity, Launch Party), I'm more excited about the fact that we are going to watch the premiere at a friends' house. We are actually going to be watching the Office at a couples house without the boys.

I'm looking forward to just hanging out and spending time with these friends. It will be nice to spend time with adults our age without the boys and without it having something to do with youth ministry. Isn't that something we should be doing on a regular basis anyway? (spending time with people as friends)

So, here starts the countdown...

The Office: season 3 on DVD

Today is the day to go and pick up the Office season 3 on DVD. Only 3 weeks til the season premiere "Fun Run"

Not sure where to buy your Office season 3, check out the options here. I recommend Best Buy or Target, unless you want just the basics...

The Office: Summer Vacation video

Don't watch this if you don't want to see any new footage from the upcoming season 4 of the Office. If you want to laugh and/or wonder what happened between season 3 and season 4 - then you will def. want to watch this video.

There, you have been warned: