Blogging from NYWC

I'm blogging from the NYWC in Pittsburgh. It is about to officially begin this morning and I am stoked! It is always an awesome time to step back, reflect, be refreshed and be filled for another year of ministry. If you see me running around grab me and say hey! More tonite after getting back to the hotel!

-Matt

another political post

In case you haven't seen it yet...the latest take on the election courtesy of jibjab.com. Perhaps a bit off color, but funny nonetheless. Life to short not to laugh a bit and if you're like me you are ready for this election to just be over!

Time for Some Campaignin' | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Do ya think?

I think maybe he should have picked a different song...say maybe "Too Much Time on My Hands" by Styx. Just a thought.

Cell phone update...

How cool is the Lord...They didn't find the phone when they cleaned the theater, but the manager (THANKS MARK AND PALACE STAFF!) went to the seats we were in and there was Meg's phone wedged between two seats. So now unless by some fluke someone else lost their phone Meg will get her phone back tomorrow. PTL!

Please Pray...

If you don't mind, could you please pray for something for us? Meg and I were blessed with two tickets to see Michael W Smith And Steven Curtis Chapman in Columbus last night, but we lost Megan's cell phone at the theater. Could you pray that someone turns it in and that we get it back. It is a PDA phone, so needless to say, everything from her life (not anything that could compromise identity) was on that phone.
Thanks!

Experiential Worship

I'll have to admit, experiential worship is a newer concept to me, and at times a bit difficult because it requires you to step back and focus in a busy world which is tough for me. With that said, I had an amazing experience during a time of experiential worship this last weekend, and I want to pass it on to you to possibly use for your youth ministries. NOTE-this is not my idea, just something I wanted to pass on.

Here is how it works. You take 8-10 various spices of varying flavors-sweet, spicy, bitter, etc. and put them in individual bowls. You then have participants walk through the line and pick out three spices of their choosing. Once the person has their spices, they are to find a place where they can take the time to focus and then taste each spice one by one and listen/pray to see what the Lord has to say to them. That may sound strange, but the chance to step back and take a few moments was amazing, and I would encourage you to try it if you are looking for some experiential worship opportunities.

So for me, I chose seasoning salt, Italian spices, and sugar. I started with the seasoning salt and immediately it made me thirsty. As I sat there reflecting, I found myself thinking about the verse that says hunger and thirst for His righteousness, and I was reminded that in the busyness of life I need to remember to always long for more of the Lord. When I moved on to the Italian spices-which I love on pizza and other various dishes, I found that they were bitter alone and did not taste very good at all. This reminded me that things that are enticing may not always be beneficial, and if I am not careful they can get in the way of my relationship with God. Finally I tasted the sugar and immediately the thought of "taste and see that the Lord is good." God is better than anything the world could ever offer to me, and I need to remind myself of that daily.

As I said, this type of worship experience is difficult for me, but was awesome. I hope to explore this more, and would encourage you to do the same for yourself and your youth ministries if you are involved with one.

That's my idea for the week, thoughts?

Let's make sure the right thing is done with the bailout plan...

Here is one way that might help with this crazy 700 billion bail-out plan that won't affect us like simply passing the bill that failed would. This is courtesy of Dave Ramsey. Copy and paste this and send it to your Senators and Representatives...

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps:

Common Sense Plan:

I. INSURANCE
A. Insure the sub prime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.
B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.
b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while
working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.
2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps under performing executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.
C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.

II. MARK TO MARKET
A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only sub prime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.
B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.

III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX
A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.
B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

If we do our part as Americans together, we may be able to change what I think will be a bad decision on the part of our government. It shouldn't be our job as taxpayers to bail out companies that were stupid with money!

Thanks!

Rock the Vote...

Well, we are just a little over a month from the big day, election 2008. This of course most would say is more monumental than any election of the past, but I still believe that any election is monumental because it is a celebration of one of our many freedoms, which many around the world do not get to experience.

With that said, I want to encourage everyone to continue to research the candidates and positions that you will be voting for, whatever they are, and as far as I am concerned vote for who/what you feel is right after you have done your research.

Here is why I say that, last weekend I noticed as a part of the pregame tailgating atmosphere at OSU where you can apply for countless credit cards, car insurance deals, and pretty much anything else you can think of there was a big push to get people to register to vote courtesy of the "Rock the Vote for Change" bus. If you have never seen it, it is a big tour bus that is set up at various events around the country where you can listen to music, hang out, and register to vote. While I think this is a great idea and we need to get as many young people to register AND vote as possible, I was a little disheartened by the propaganda that was present as well. It was not a bi-partisan thing by any means. Now, let me again say I am not bashing Barack Obama or saying don't vote for him. You should vote for the candidate that you most believe in and most align your beliefs with, WHOEVER that is-be it Obama or McCain. Please don't vote just because your favorite rock star is endorsing them, or because pop culture says this is the right candidate-you're not a lemming destined to go along with whatever everyone else is doing. Vote for who and what you believe to be right BECAUSE you believe it.

So please don't be a lemming. Don't vote one way or another because Christians can only vote one way or one candidate is cooler than the other and being endorsed more by the media. Spend time researching each candidate and issue and know what you are voting for. As for who I'll be voting for...sorry I'm not going to tell you, but know I'll be voting as it is my right and I am excited to do so. I won't be voting just along party lines or because it's time for "change," I'll be voting the way I feel I should as an individual, just as you should. Okay you twisted my arm, I'm voting for...ROSS PEROT IN 2008!!! :)

Thoughts?

2008 MTV VMA's

So as I expected to be I was none too impressed with last night's VMA awards on MTV. I am not a huge watcher of MTV, but I do like the occasional show of the "Real World," and I have recently gotten hooked on "Exiled," which is a new take on the "Super Sweet 16."

All that said, any doubt that I had about where MTV stood as relating to the message it wants to send young people went out the door last night.

It started with Russell Brand (by the way who the heck is this whacked out ugly guy anyway-wasn't the least bit funny) making comments about the Jonas Brothers and their stance on purity and continued with telling the whole country they should vote for Barack Obama just because he was black? I just don't get it.

Now I know most of this was supposed to be satire and a really lame attempt at humor from a guy who knows nothing about humor (or grooming from the looks of him), but think of how many students will begin to wonder if this is how they should think since it came from MTV.

Again, I could be wrong, maybe MTV isn't the cultural icon it was when I was in school, but still I was a little disturbed and frustrated with the show last night.

Thoughts?

It's finally official for November!

Props to my friend Tony for finding this, and also providing some friendly competition...

I have to admit, I have been struggling with this year's election. I'm still not sold on either candidate: I still wasn't convinced after last night's Obama speech, and I'm still not certain about McCain either-especially now with a completely unknown running mate. So after much thought and prayer, and a little bit of help from the Internet, I am officially throwing my name in the hat as a candidate for presidency of the United States. Here is the link to the "local" press coverage. We'll be operating out of the home until we can secure some additional funding...

http://www.inews3.com/play.php?first=Matt&last=McKee

weight loss battle-an update

So it has been some time since I posted any kind of update about my weight loss struggles. Needless to say, I have gotten a bit off track with the craziness of summer and life in general. I hadn't paid too much attention until a business professional in the community referred to me as "big-un" since he forgot my name. Now I know that is a term of endearment here in southern Ohio and I just shrugged it off, but it did bother me a bit so I jumped on the scale the next morning...the judgement 365. I have gained back almost all that I have lost over the last 2 1/2 years. I need to get back on track.

To top it all off, I finally took the time to hook the Wii up and try my new Wii fit that I got for my birthday-only to find that I am TOO HEAVY for it. It really does wonders for your thoughts when a game you want to use to help you lose weight tells you that you have to lose 35 pounds before you can even play it. Way to go Nintendo! I have loved the Wii until now and was really excited about the Wii fit, but now I can't use it which is frustrating.

It just gets a little frustrating-there is all the talk about everyone being overweight and all of that, yet it seems that most of the stuff that helps you can't use if you are overweight. Seems like a bit of a double standard to me.

Okay so enough ranting-I'm back to trying again. I am hoping to start walking in the evenings since I struggle with mornings, and I am keeping track of calories and what I eat again, and maybe, just maybe I can get back on track.

Gotta love the up and down! The battle continues...

2 Movie reviews for ya...

So this weekend was a different weekend in that I got to see not one, but two movies. I thought I would offer up a few thoughts on them for you as I often do....

The first movie I saw was Mamma Mia, the musical set to the music of ABBA. Now I have to admit, I do like musicals, but I was not looking forward to this one since I can't say that I am a fan of ABBA and my only impression of this musical was that it was the one that kept me from seeing Phantom in Toronto since it took over the Pantages theater there. Not to mention the fact that it was opening night for the Dark Knight. But like any good husband would do I yielded and we went to see her choice. All in all it was decent. I think it has a high enough cheese factor to become a late night cult classic that people sing along to (it was somewhere between Velveeta and Cheese Whiz-not sure which one yet). It is a little campy, but the story is decent-a young girl getting married sends invitations to her three possible fathers and they all show up. Needless to say the hilarity ensues from there. It is definitely not a kids movie by any means but would make for a decent date night for a couple. I'll have to admit I am glad I went to see it, but as far as I am concerned Pierce Brosnan lost his Bond card I'm afraid, I was fine until one part where he spontaneously bursts into song. Overall I give it a B-

Luckily, I took my normal Sunday afternoon nap time to catch a showing of the Dark Knight. I have really been looking forward to this one since I loved Batman Begins and think that Christopher Nolan has done a wonderful job of taking the Batman franchise and literally blowing it up into a mega-hit. I was not disappointed at all. Heath Ledger's Joker character is amazing as predicted and it is just a shame he won't be able to reprise the role should there be a third movie. I have been a fan of the Batman movies (even the somewhat cheesy previous four before BB) but this one is the best as far as I am concerned. I did not find myself once looking at my watch to see when the end was coming. The story is encompassing and very well presented. One word of advice, it is definitely not a kids movie. Even though Batman is a comic book character this is a very dark story and is definitely too much for anyone under the age of 13 in my opinion. In fact I am somewhat surprised that it didn't get an R rating. It is definitely worth seeing if you want a good action movie! Overall rating A+

Thoughts?

Bragging on a kid...

I love it when I get the chance to brag on a kid! This is one of my teens who at 16 already knows what he believes to be right in the political realm and is not afraid to stand up and talk about his beliefs. He also has a deep desire to grow spritually and dig as deep as he can in his walk with Christ. To say the least I am proud of him, and to make a long story short, he created quite the buzz last week at this town hall meeting with Senator McCain. Way to go Taylor!

Home owner update...

The AC is up and running and seems to work better than ever. Although it took three weeks to get it fixed the guys at Hughes Plumbing, Heating, and Electric did a phenomenal job. I guess I learned how AC is one of the pleasures that we take for granted too often since two of the three weeks were the hottest so far this summer.

On the financial note, God provided the funds as needed as I knew he would. The cost was just over our deductible so the insurance paid some and thanks to our "emergency fund" we learned about through Dave Ramsey we had just enough to cover the cost.

So here's to AC, planning ahead, and Lord willing no more repairs anytime soon-since we now have to rebuild our emergency fund.

Welcome to home ownership...

We could use your prayers today. To make a long story short part of our house flooded today via the toilet in the bathroom. We've had some hefty storms the last couple of days and not sure yet what happened, but the hose on the toilet tank began spraying water everywhere. Not normally an issue unless you catch it a couple of hours after it happened. Needless to say the water ran out of the bathroom into the vent in the hallway causing the HVAC tubing to collapse dumping water everywhere and beginning a nice waterfall into the basement-onto all of the boxes we haven't unpacked yet. The duct work (and maybe more will have to be replaced). It's frustrating and we'll have to file an insurance claim, but it is just stuff and we'll get through it. As for the finances of the situation-it'll be tough, but I serve a big God and I am trusting that He will work everything out. Thanks for praying! God is good! I'll keep you posted-thanks for praying!

We lost a good one today...

Hollywood lost a good one today in the form of Harvey Korman. He will be missed. I remember staying up on the weekends and watching many of these classic sketches with my family. Here is one of my favorites! RIP Mr. Korman, you will be missed

Working in a Methodist Church...

One perk of working in a methodist church...a beautiful pipe organ on Sunday morning playing the great hymns of the church.

One drawback of working in a methodist church...Having a beautiful pipe organ being played for hours by someone preparing for a weekend concert during office hours when your office is right down from the sanctuary.

It's beautiful, but I'm ready for a break. I can only turn my itunes up so loud.

Final idol rant...

Well it's over for another year. I'll have to admit, I was nervous that David A was going to win, but am pleased that David Cook won. I was a little off though on my vote prediction-12 million WOW! I think America spoke even though the judges favored Archuleta. I think I will definitely buy David Cook's album when it comes out. Does anyone know if the song he sang when he won was the traditional submit your own song? Just curious. I liked it, but it was a little hokey if you ask me. Congrats to both and to the top 10 as well who will wind up with deals or at least on a Wal-Mart past idol finalist CD (have you seen those?).

That's all the idol talk until next year! Thoughts?

Weekly Idol Rant...

So it comes down to the Davids as I had expected. My fear is that we will have another Taylor Hicks moment where the best singer does NOT win. Archuleta is going to draw alot of the teen/tween vote-especially now that he has shown some emotion even though David Cook is by far the best performer as far as that goes. My hopes are that Cook pulls it off as he has just the right edge of pop and rock and would fit exactly what idol is looking for in a star. The thing not to forget though is that NEITHER of them will leave without some type of record deal.

My pick-David Cook wins...barely (to quote Seacrest..."in the closest vote in Idol history, your winner is...we'll find out after this....your winner is-long boring pause-DAVID COOK!")

Thoughts?

FINALLY!!!

We are FINALLY in possession of the keys to our house. Nothing like waiting until day 29 of the 30 days after closing clause of the contract. Now the unpacking process begins....anyone want to do it for me?