Kids Against Hunger

Recently I was part of a group who look time to pack meals for starving kids across the world.

It was a pretty cool venture. We set up 4 assembly lines and then went about packing soy, rice, chicken flavored vitamens, and dried vegetables into bags. The bags were then weighed and sealed, packed in boxes and stacked onto skids.

In 2 hours we did 3 skids worth, thousands of meals. I believe each meal cost .25 cents, each bag fed 6 people for $1.50

A sobering venture, but worthwhile non-the-less.

We always think of Africa for starving, orphaned kids, but these meals were also going to some of the most improverished parts of the United States (specifically the Appalachian mountain region) and across the world.

Check out www.feedingchildren.org

Great Wolf Lodge

I'll admit, when I heard we were going to the Great Wolf Lodge in Ohio, I thought, okay...it's going to be small but adequate, old but comfortable. Basically something you'd find in small-town america but better than a dingy dump of a motel. I mean...it has "lodge" in the title. Must have had Canadian infuences (think Red-Green show).



Was I ever wrong..........

Talk about a great place to have a conference! Waterpark, symposium/movie theater, conference area, great rooms, fantastic food! The place was HUGE. Lots of wood, stone and fake wood, fake stone everwhere.

Little did I realize that it's a chain of locations (currently 12) that include the Pocono Mountains area.

I didn't check out the rates, but it's definitely something that my family will take advantage of in the future (great for kids and family) and hopefully even the extended family.

Got to Love Those Canadians

So a group of guys from CANADA played for us this week as well. They've been around for almost 10 years, but I didnt' really know their music.

This song is one of their best...combining both of their vocals and pretty cool message as well.

I ate supper with the drummer and bassist, and they're pretty good, unassuming guys.

About the video, it's the best live version I could find that didn't sound like they were completely in a phone booth (or radio booth) thought there is a good version that includes clips from "Passion of the Christ".

Britney

Wow! It's been 3 weeks since I last posted. Defintely not something a blogger should do.

That being said, I heard Bebo Norman in concert last night (2nd row, front and center) and he played this song. It's a unique song because it's basically an "apology" to Britney Spears. Check out the video, if you haven't already.

Also, Britney's mom is writing (or has written) a new book that releases in the next month that basically is her "mea culpa" (spelling?) to allowing outside influences/things to get ahold of Britney. Her mom was raised in a Christian home, so she comes at it from that angle as well.

An interesting but hopefully positive angle to the Britney news.

A Must Buy

Well....I may have to break my commitment from the previous post.

David Crowder Band came out with a live CD/DVD combo. It's a must buy....including songs like "O Praise Him (All This For a King)" which rivals "When the Music Fades (Heart of Worship)" for longest song title.
Also on the CD/DVD combo is "Beautiful Collision", "Everything Glorious", "No One Like You" and "Here Is Our King" among other songs.

We've had it running at work and I'm hooked like a kid in front of a candy store...mouth open, eyes slightly glazed over, small trickle of drool..

Great worship item. I'm absolutely giddy....

Limited Spending?

So recently I read about this incentive to go a month without spending money.

To clarify, that's not possible unless you 1) grow your own food 2) ride a bike to work, 3) generate your own electricity and 4) don't take tithing very seriously.

What they were going after is extra spending...the non-necessary kind. You not talking about those "Stacker" sandwiches at BK are you....yes (and for the record I find them utterly disgusting, but Linford, who distains lettuce (and apparently vegetables of any kind) enjoys them).

I had tried this once before (February) but I (unwisely) picked a month that had my wife's birthday in, and decided to (wisely) break my commitment, and actually spend money.

Why might one do this? Well.....I'm overtly greedy, and want to jump in a pile of my cash like that duck character in the cartoons (Scrouge McDuck??). No, actually, since I work next to a supermarket AND a restaurant, it had been too many "little" trips to get food, candy, ice tea, etc. I wanted to break that cycle.

I'm 15 days into it, and besides buying gas, I have only spent money on 3 things this month:
1) cheese (my wife asked me to pick it up)
2) a soft pretzel at the Reading Phillies game with Dakota (try going to a game with any kid and not feel compelled to buy something....it's part of the parent-child covenant) and
3) Reading Phillies tickets (already put in motion before my commitment was made).

So far, so good...will this mean that September will be filled with trips to Taco Bell, McDonalds & Wendys....hopefully not.

Enjoy the weekend, we have been having GREAT weather right now!

Enough!

Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve

You know it's the dog days of summer, when the only thing the sports media can focus on is Brett Farve. The Brett Farve network...errr....ESPN has given non-stop reporting, to everything from text messages, rumors from whisper-down-the-lane, he-said / she-said, and the grocery list Deanna Farve compiled for this week's groceries (cheese anyone?).

I know it's bad when I even have a Brett Farve dream. Yes, I can hear the gasp from you the reader. When my sub-conscious is dreaming about Brett Farve being traded, you know it's been enough of the Brett Farve media submersion.

For the record, my dream had him going to the Jets, which immediately sent my sub-conscious into thinking the rationale behind whether or not that made sense to Farve, the NFL, etc (of course it makes sense for the Jets).

In my defense, in my dream someone actually told me about the trade, so it's not like I'm perched in front of the TV or anything.


Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve Brett Farve