WOW, crazy couple of days. Let me start by saying that whole feeding 4000 and then feeding 5000, pretty darn impressive. My wife and I had to feed 40 people on Sunday and it took just about everything we had. I have to give my wife props, she is a wizard in the kitchen. Chicken in Wine Sauce with Mashed Potatoes (thank you, Paula) and carrots. It was very good. It was also very tiring. I arrived at the church at 7:20AM to setup sound. Then I ran sound for both services, stayed for the annual meeting at 12:30, started setting up for the dinner right after the annual meeting, ran all over the south metro getting last minute supplies ("Corkscrew? The church kitchen doesn't have a corkscrew?!?"), served the dinner at 6:00, washed dishes as they came back (thank you, Cathy), served dessert, washed dishes as they came back, they washed 60+ glasses and 40 coffee cups when the class ended at 9:00. We got out of there at about 10:00. I was in the church, serving, for almost 15 hours. Ago ministro, indeed.

And then Charlie was sick, coughing. He woke up in the middle of the night in bad shape. In the morning, he had dry heaves (he hadn't been eating much). There may be worse things than seeing your 7-year-old have the dry heaves, but I don't want to think about them. Luckily, he sleep all morning and was feeling much better by the afternoon.

Oh, and Friday night Rand had his first lock-in with the youth group, although it took place at Welsh Village. We messed up the time, and so I had to drive him down there and he was about 2 hours late, but he got there just in time for his lesson and he got to hang out with Joe all night, so it worked out really well. I was so happy for him. What a blessing!

From time to time I take non sequitur notes during sermons. Usually it's because something the speaker has said has sparked an tangental thought in my head, and I need to get it down in order to pay attention to the sermon again. Usually I take these down on my smartphone. I just found several and wanted to a) share them with the few brave souls that actually read this, and b) get them down in another format so that I can guiltlessly delete them from my phone.


Living in the presense of God - it's bad when at the end of the day you ask yourself 'Where was Jesus today?' . It worse when you stop asking that question.

So I was standing in church, and I saw a woman who looked ... I guess harried is the best word. She needs prayer, I said to mysef. But as I thought about, I realized that she had simply not put on make-up that day. This was unusual for her as this woman is typically made up and dressed very well. However, I thought, who am I to judge? Maybe she didn't want to put on make-up today. Maybe she doesn't need prayer. But the I heard the Holy Spirit say to me "She lives in sinful, fallen world, seperated from the true presence of God. Trust me, she needs prayer. You all do."

The image that many have of God is the idea of a rolled up newspaper ready to whap us upside the head whenever we step out of line. The reality is the only penalty for sin that God enforces is banishment from His presence. All other consquences for sin are natural results of following a less-than-perfect plan.

Community was not invented in the Christian era. Community is built into our psyche. The Jews were a community 4000+ years ago. But that was a community based on family and race. Christian Community was revolutionary because it was not based on family, tribe, geography, nation, or race. Membership is open to (and required by) everyone.

I reached a decision last night. I want to live in TV commercials. Think about it: Everyone in commercials is happy. Or if they aren't happy, they will be within 30 seconds. I want that kind of instant gratification.

And on that note, I will comment that I am very interested in hearing RC Sproul's Renewing Your Mind radio series on eschatology, specifically focusing on the prophecies of Jesus. I will probably be commenting on this over the next few weeks, so if anyone would like to follow along, find the MP3's HERE.

I have a confession to make. My wife has been aware of this for several years, but I think the time has come for my to come clean and announce this to the world, as difficult as it may be.

I like musical soundtracks.

I know, I know. They are usually trite with little to no redeeming musical value, but I like them. And I have a theory about that. Most songs are all about the music or the melody or a particular idea or emotion or peotic turn of phrase. However, some songs actually have a story. And most songs from musicals either contain a story within them or further a greater story. This leads to the theory that I enjoy songs that actually have a story in the lyrics. This is beared out by the fact that I also enjoy ballads.

Unforunately, this only leads me to an even greater admission, one that I wasn't planning to make.

I listen to William Shatner's album.

Not his old one from the 70's. That's garbage. But the new one done with Ben Folds. I also like Jeff Daniels album. I think that these actors are able to put more feeling, more story into their lyrics.

I don't know. I just had to get that off my chest.

Found a funny video on YouTube...



The only complaint I have is about the comments that other viewers have left for this video. I won't link to them, because some of them are off-color. Sufficed to say, it seems pretty evenly split between those how understood it and loved it, or those who hated it, either because they didn't understand or because they thought it was "stupid" and "geeky". My issue has to do with the later group. It seems that there is a cultural pull within our society to attack or critize anything involving higher educational topics or intellectually demanding concepts. Some people assume that anything they don't understand is "stupid". Perhaps it's just a self-defense mechanism. It's easier to smash the monolith with a thigh bone that it is to open the mind to new concepts and accept that there is more to this world than a 6th grade education can supply.

BTW, both my 6th grader and my 4th grader can tell you what the mathmatical constant i is. I'll have to show them this video. I'm sure they will get a kick out of it. In fact, come to think of it, the concept of a blind date will probably be the toughest thing to explain...

HULK SMASH!!!!!
So I found a link to a super hero quiz on some other blogs...
Your results:
You are Hulk
Hulk		80%	You are a wanderer with amazing strength.
Iron Man		65%
Superman		60%
Robin		57%
Spider-Man		50%
Batman		50%
Green Lantern		50%
Supergirl		40%
The Flash		35%
Catwoman		20%
Wonder Woman		10%

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Phasers have been set to ... Melancholy.

Man! Gray day, and I'm not talking about the weather. I'm just in a funk. And to paraphrase the Good Doctor(1), "Unfunking one's self is not easily done." Worst thing is all the old garbage that comes out of hiding when the mood turns foul.

But this here is the beauty of this forum. The act of typing this out has brought to mind the answer... 1 John 4:4 - "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." I beleive I have some prayer to attend to.


(1) In this case, Seuss.

The Fateful Compact of 2007

So my wife, bless her heart, has often commented that she would like another child. Me, I don't see what's wrong with the three we have, but she apperently wants another. Recent these comments have increased in frequency. There are a number of significant problems with having another child.

1) We already have 3. Duh.
2) I don't know for certain if my wife's health, both physical and mental, could survive another prenancy.
3) We already have 3 kids.
4) Charlebois children have a tendancy to consume great piles of food, especially during the teen years, which coincides with #5...
5) We already have 3 children.
6) Via surgery, I have removed myself for the available gene pool.
7) Did I mention we already have 3?

However, I am a reasonable man. I know that #6 can be remedied. Also, recent advances in agricultural technology should mean that the farm-growers of Minnesota could probably generate the food to feed one more Charlebois. So, the biggest remaining hurdle is my wife's health. You see, she is a diabetic, and has not taken good care of herself. Hence, the Fateful Compact of 2007. I told my loving wife that if she is can reduce her average bloodsugar level to below 120 (which would be hard to track) and reduce her A1C level to below 7.0 (which would be easy to track), then we can have another child. I think it's fairly safe to say that setting the bar at this level is the equivelant of telling a man in San Diego that all he needs is a pair of trunks and a swim cap to get to Hawaii. However, it's win-win for me. I gives her something to do rather than bemoan the lack of a fourth child, and if she does do it, she will be much healthier, and maybe, just maybe, we can grow old together.

Best birthday party EVER. At least, best early/mid 30's birthday party ever. Nothing elaborate, nothing over-the-top. Just 5-6 couples getting together to eat appetizers and talk. At one point, I just sat back in my chair and took in the sight of all these people whom I truely care about coming together for the event of my birthday, talking and enjoying each other's company. I felt pretty lucky to be where God has placed me. And finish off the night with a nice cut-throat game of Killer Bunnies.

For advertisers, Tivo presents a double-edged sword. For decades, television ratings have come from Nielson which figures out what people are watching by either paying people to keep diaries of what they watch and when, or installing meters on some TVs. However, lack of reporting and small, non-random sample sizes make this system very unreliable. Enter Tivo, that not only records TV programs, but also compiles what programs are watched, recorded, re-watched, fast-forwarded through, and rewound for instant replay. And the Tivo box sends all this information back to Tivo on a daily basis (yup, read the fine print on the user agreement).

So now, the networks can get much more precise data about what people are watching. However, the other side of the blade is that now veiwers can fast-forward through all those wonderfully-revenue-generating ads. But at least the networks can know what commercials are being fast-forwarded through.

What is the result? Well, Hollywood is full of smart people looking to make money. The newest way is product placement. There once was a time when a TV production comapny could get props and sets for free or vastly reduced rate by leveraging the fact that millions of people would see it. For example, I can't tell you how many Cisco IP phones I have seen in TV and movies. I promise you that the Cisco IP phone is not the choice of someone looking for a set prop and trying to save money. Now that commercials are being marginalized, the idea of a company's products being a part of the show, and more than that, being repeated in reruns and DVDs. I was reading today about a company that specializes in matching up comapny looking for advertising and TV/movie scripts awaiting production.

It's funny. 50 years ago, TV shows were sponsored by a single company and the hosts of the show would often pitch the product during the show. Looks like we are moving back to that.

I enjoy downtown. I wish that I could work downtown from time to time. There is a certain energy, a feeling. The shops opening up, the people bustling to work. It's amazing to me that so many people come together to live and work quite literally on top of one another. It's like a modern day Tower of Babel. And yet, these fantasiticlly social creatures seem to have so much trouble just talking to one another. Have you ever tried to engage a stranger in a conversation? 9 times out of 10 you we get a look like you are a leper or an insurance salesman. (BTW I happen to know an insurance salesman and he is quite pleasant. OTOH, he sells senior health insurance, so he has never had the oppurtunity to sell me anything; Perhaps that is why I find him so tolerable.)

Case in point, yesterday, going out to wait for the bus I see a man waiting between the inner and outer doors of our building. I ask if he is waiting for the bus, too. He mumbles something affirmative. I ask if the bus has gone by yet (the bus route takes it past our building around a several others and back before stopping at our building). He mumbles something negative. I take a moment to consider the weather, which is unseasonable warm (incredibly so, as a fact of fact) and decide to wait outside. However, not 20 feet outside the building, I realize that I am going to be trapped in a moving vechicle for the next hour or so and that I should really avail myself of the restroom inside our building. Considering how I appear to this man waiting just inside the door (I ask if he is waiting for the bus, step outside, look up the street, and walk back inside), I mention that I had better hit the bathroom before I go. Based on the expression on his face, I might well have said "I'm off to club baby harp seals" or "I have this rash that won't go away" or, worst of all these days, "I voted for Bush, twice".

Just an odd observation that struck me.

Happy Birthday to me!!! I'm not yet at the point where I dread birthdays. For the most part they seem to be non-events, especially coming on the heels of Christmas and New Year's. But what struck me this year is what I mentioned a couple of posts ago. I'm 33 years old now. That is the age at which Jesus was crucified, most likely. I think my personal theme for this year is "What does God want from me?". This is probably a question that should be in the forefront in any Christian's life. But today, I'm making that a priority. I'll update this blog with how that is going.

On a completely unrelated note... I was watching the Colbert Report last night. Steve Colbert usually has a guest on and I usually feel sorry for the guest, because Colbert askes such innane questions and basically redicules them throughout the interview. However, last night, he had Depak Chopra on. Like I said, I usually feel sorry for the guest, but in this case, I don't think Colbert could have gone far enough. This man is a deciever, plain and simply. He sounds so attractive; "Everything around you is a projection of yourself. You create your reality." And get this, he even said that you create your afterlife. You choose Heaven or Hell. And more than that, he said Heaven is a downgrade and Hell is an upgrade. In my mind, a serial murderer is less dangerous than this man. At least a murderer can only destroy your body.

Top 8 things of 2006

Well, I, for one, am glad to see 2006 firmly in the rearview mirror. I probably shouldn't get into the worst of 2006 in this forum, so let me just sum up the best of '06, so the rest can be thrown far, far away.

1) My wife going through Christlife - I don't know if this happened late '05 or early '06. But it did change her life, and, by extension, change mine. So much so that I went through the course later in the year. It didn't have quite the impact on me that it did on her, but it was a very good and very powerful experience.

2) Involvement at Church - I have been specding alot of time at the Church this year. In addition to Christlife, my wife and I went through a marriage course and I am now regularly running the sound board for sunday mornings (twice a month). I know God has a plan for me, and I know that he has given me gifts to use in that plan, but I haven't figured what that is yet. So, until I do, I will just help out wherever, whenever, and however I can.

3) My wife's health - Ankles aside, my wife's health has been improving all year. She now has long (for her, it's shoulder-length) healthy hair and she looks great. She is taking her meds and taking her insulin and it's wonderful. Now if only that high-ankle sprain would heal...

4) Good friends - This year also sees a "changing of the gaurd" in terms of who we spend our time with. The group that we usually hang out with won't be around anymore (for reason that touch on the "Worst of '06" list). However, we have new friends to share our time with; David and Paula, Jeff and Amy, Chad and Linda, Phil and Michelle. We still have Teri Sue and hope to see her fiancee, Mathew, back this year (maybe). The best things is, not only are these good friends, they are good people and fellow believers.

5) Rand in Middle School - Our eldest is now a middle-schooler. That is pretty freaky when I stop to think about it. He is in the youth group (well, the JV youth group it seems, but he is involved). And he is getting into alot of activities. He was in the fall musical and in the math club. He will be representing his school at the state-wide Vocabulary Bee. He is a smart cookie.

6) Mat is Middle School ?!? - Our middle child continues to amaze and confound. His teacher this year has determined that she cannot teach him math; She has nothing for him to learn. Therefore, she has arranged for him to test out of 4th grade and 5th grade math. He is now attending math class in the middle school with 6th graders. Next year I hope to get him accepted to an accelerated program for junior-high and high-school students at the U. He also continues to be a reading machine. And he also continues to be the pickiest eater on earth.

7) Charlie's Gang - Charlie seems even more social than usual this year. His first grade teacher tells us that he is friends with every single person in the class. This is an improvement from our point-of-view; Up until now, it seems that Charlie only made friends with girls. Scarcely a day goes by that Charlie does not ask to call someone or go to someone's house. His current best friend is Rachel, a little girl that lives around the corner. She is in his class. Also, Charlie and Mat go to Awana with another family in the neighborhood every Wednesday. This other family attend a church in Brooklyn Park, so it is quite a hike. But the other family drives and the kids really enjoy it.

8) Sales: The Dark Side of the Force - I also found myself in my first sales position. I am a Sales Engineer, doing pre-sales design work and presentations. But I am very much in the middle of the "sales process" and I have to work with sales people all day. It's not as bad as I feared; some of the sales people are really quite tolerable.

I tried to come up with an even 10, but I just couldn't manage it. Oh, well. Here's to find 10 notable positive things in '07, right?