Magical Monday --- A Different Kind of Magic

I was working at a trade show in Indianapolis for 4 days doing magic at the main convention center (where the Indianapolis Colts play). On my first day there, I was walking the streets downtown looking for a place to go to dinner. On one of the streets, there were a handful of homeless people asking for money. This was nothing new, as you see the same thing in Pittsburgh, but for some reason God led me to one of the men sitting by the corner of a building holding a sign asking for help. I went over and sat next to him and introduced myself and he did the same (his name was Larry). I asked him if he would like to come to dinner with me....a very small sacrifice considering what the Apostle Paul went through to show the love of Christ in 2 Corinthians 11:
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I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
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So as we walked down the street together, Larry asked if I would buy him a hotdog at one of the street vendors. I said if it was ok with him I would like to take him someplace where we could sit and talk, which he agreed. In the resturant, Larry shared that he had injured his back at work, his wife kicked him out of the house several months before, and he had been sitting at that same corner everyday trying to survive.
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As our conversation turned to the Gospel, he said he had been losing faith in God because of all that had happened. He seemed to really grasp the understanding that God did not give us this life to be happy, but to be holy...and above everything that goes on in life, we have hope because of a Savior. We prayed together and headed back out to the streets. The highlight was another beggar approaching us and asking for help...and Larry handed him a small handful of spare change he had collected that day and said, "Remember, Jesus loves you!".
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This journey during one of my magic trips taught me a lot about faith and obedience...and we can see amazing results when we just trust the promptings of the Spirit. Over the next 3 days, I walked by that corner to see Larry (just to say hello) and although he was there everyday for the past several months as he had told me, he was not there any of my remaining days in Indy. One verse in the book of Hebrews I wish Paul would tell us a little more about is Hebrews 13:2...
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Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.
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WHO KNOWS???

Family/Friend Friday --- The Neighbors

Our floor in our apartment building has 4 apartments. Ours...across from us is Chris and his wife Amanda (late 20's)...beside us is Janie and Rachel (late 20's)...across from them is Joe and Jen (mid 20's). We always have a fun time together. About 6 months ago we started doing a lot of pranks on each other --- gift wrapping someone's door, replacing the decorations outside each other's door, making "wanted" posters and hanging them up for things people have done, etc. My personal favorite is when I rigged about 100 pennies and 100 M&M's to spill when they opened their door (and with the hard hall floors you could hear them bouncing everywhere!). They struggle to match my creativity, but they recently put their minds together and created a contraption to dump a bunch of golf balls when I opened my door. Wasn't bad! I got them back last night by creating a device to pop a water balloon when they opened their door.

Any way, one very snowy winter day the town of Ashland was closed. After being in our apartments all day, we were bored. So I grabbed the camera and Joe and Chris grabbed their bathing suits (see who the smart one is???) and here is what took place...

Theological Thursday --- 5 Stones

David vs. Goliath

Then David took his staff in his hand, and chose 5 smooth stones...(1 Sam 17:37)

Have you ever wondered why David chose 5 stones to go and fight the Giant Goliath? People have suggested several theories:

1) David didn't trust God enough to get the job done with just one stone.

2) God wanted David to beat the giant with one smooth stone, but David had to carry more in case God was wrong (not a high view of the sovereignty of God!).

3) This was just a random thing and David just happened to scoop up 5 stones and God wasn't involved (again not a high view of God's sovereignty!).

4) They were symbolic of the 5 reasons God allowed David to find victory (I don't even understand that theory!).

5) David was preparing for the possibility of more than 1 giant waiting for him.

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While we may not know for sure exactly why 5 stones were chosen (one of those questions we can ask someday in heaven), I would like to propose the possibility that God was preparing David for the future. Check out what happens in the life and ministry of David...

1) A giant named Goliath is killed (1 Sam 17:50)

2) A giant named Ishbi-benob is killed (2 Sam 21:16)

3) A giant named Sibbecai is killed (2 Sam 21:18)

4) Another giant named Goliath is killed (2 Sam 21:19)

5) A giant with 24 fingers/toes is killed (2 Sam 21:20)

So in David's ministry, he was able to slay 5 giants (not just 1 from the popular Goliath story we hear about more often). As I look back on my life and places where I have made an impact in ministry, I can see times where God was preparing me for what I would face. I see God continuing to prepare me today, and it is exciting to wonder what the future will hold. So although I am not carrying around 5 smooth stones, my bag is full with what God has given me for the future. How about you?

What's Up Wednesday --- June 25th

1) The head pastor and his wife are here in Ashland with us for the job in Pennsylvania I have been candidating for. The job is for a small-groups pastor position. Keep praying that God's will would be done.

2) Tonight is the final night for my elective at the church, "The Women of Genesis". The series has gone very well (even though it has been 99% women that come every week). Tonight we finish with the lives of Rachel and Leah.

3) This week at church is Vacation Bible School. This Sunday I will be doing a Gospel show for Children's Church (called "Power Kids"). They are promoting the show through Bible school in hopes that kids will come this Sunday morning to church that don't usually come...which means they will be bringing their parents as well. Great outreach opportunity!

4) We have a brother-in-law (on Jen's side) that had his mother go through brain surgery recently to remove a tumor. It ended up being more extensive surgery than they originally planned, so there have been some set-backs...but as of the last update she was starting to do well again. But please pray for this family. Her name is Nancy.

5) This week we kick off a dream of mine from the church...the idea of matching newly married (less than 10 years) couples with more seasoned couples in the church (25+ years of marriage). I created an entire curriculum for the mentor couples to go through (more of a guide) with their groups and hopefully this will build and strengthen the marriages in our church. The first groups that are starting involve 11 couples.

Time Warp Tuesday --- The Bottle Rocket

Last week I told you about the bottle rockets I had taken from my brother's room and only got through a few of them before we saw a fire break out...so we still had a few of them left. A couple of days later I was down the street with the usual bunch of friends: Mark, Joel, Chad, Jim, Gretchen, Brooke, and Steve. We were at Joel and Gretchen's house (they only lived a block away from me) and I had taken the remaining bottle rockets down the street to their house with me.

Our neighborhood was filled with very nice people and everyone on the street knew each other. However, there was one older lady across the street that just didn't like us. Probably from walking through her flower's during "kick the can" or hitting her house while playing "tennis ball" or throwing corn at the window around Halloween...I guess she had a lot of reason why she wasn't a fan of ours.

As we were waiting for it to get dark, Mark had a few packs of sparklers we were playing around with. I had the bottle rockets laying on the ground and I made the comment to make sure nobody got too close to them with their sparklers. Joel was positive that sparks from a sparkler would never light a wick, and as the debate grew, we had to test the theory. So he holds a sparkler over one of the bottle rockets, and sure enough the wick starts to burn!

The bottle rocket takes off and heads across the street. Of all places it is heading directly for the old lady's house that didn't like us. I sure you all remember the old aluminum doors people used as a screen door with the real thin metal...well, with perfect timing...just as that bottle rocket reached her house and went directly for the center of this door, it exploded. And when I say it exploded, the combination of the regular bottle rocket explosion and this metal door was one of the loudest explosions I've ever heard! May not have been the "shot heard round the world" but definitely around the neighborhood!

So like all kids do, we ran. It's funny when you are a kid and someone you know does something bad...you run. Joel was the only one who really did anything wrong, but I guess it is just a childhood instinct to get the heck out of there anyway! We ran around back and into Joel's basement, through the house, and into the attic where we were all peaking out the window. It was loud enough that all the neighbor's heard and were all congregating outside. Before long the police showed up and was talking to the lady and they found the remains of the bottle rocket on her porch. From the window, we could see the remaining 4 bottle rockets still laying on the ground out front. Thankfully none of the police or neighbors ever saw them.

As I headed home after everything calmed down, I gather up the last 4 bottle rockets. What would I do with these now? Well, for the first time in my life I had enough excitement with fireworks for one summer, and they went back into my brother's drawer.

Magical Monday --- Back to Baltimore

Last Monday I told you the story of my first big exposure to the world of magic by going to a magic convention in Baltimore when I was in Junior High. Twelve years later I made another trip to Baltimore for a convention...but this time instead of going to check out all the great magicians, people were coming to check out me (big difference 12 years can make!).

So I was working at the convention center for 3 days and had a booth set up that I would do my close-up show for people in attendance. On one of the days my uncle Mike came with me since he only lives about 45 minutes from Baltimore. He is not a huge fan of the city because of the dangers (and the homeless guy on the street taking our last pennies the last time we were there probably didn't help!). But anyway, I convinced him that I saw on the news that Baltimore is one of the lowest crime cities in the nation.

During the afternoon, I had a 2-hour break so we thought we would head out to the inner harbor (pictured above). They have free entertainment there, you can watch the boats, and get some good food. Only problem was, we had no clue how to get there. Someone told us it was a 15-20 minute walk, so we started on our journey. We asked some guy on the street how to get there...he said, "Give me $5.00 and I'll tell you". We laughed thinking he was joking, but he said, "No, I mean it, give me $5.00". So we handed him the money and he said, "Just keep going the way you are going and you'll get there in about 10 blocks".

So we continued for about 1/2 hour and still had no clue where we were. There was a taxi at a red light so I yelled over and asked if we were going the right direction for the Inner Harbor. He said, "No, jump it". So we got in and the guy who earlier taken our $5.00 had sent us in the wrong direction! There was some type of parade going on, and we sat in the cab forever. By the time we made it to the Inner Harbor, an hour and a half had passed...and we just took the cab back. The cab ride was another $10, so this $15 journey through Baltimore got us pretty much nothing...other than a good story I could one day tell on my blog.

Oh, and when we arrived home that night we were watching the news. And although my assessment of Baltimore being very low in overall crime, it is ranked #2 in the nation (per capita) for murder. So they don't rob you there...they just kill you. Wonder if my uncle Mike has been back since?

Family/Friend Friday --- The Seagull

For Father's Day week, I said I would tell you a story about my dad. This happened around the summer of my 7th grade year. We took a trip to Delaware for vacation that summer and stayed in a trailer of one of my dad's friends. During one of our days on vacation, my parent's decided we would take this boat trip over to New Jersey and go to Atlantic City.

So we get on this boat and set sail. They had a little snack bar on the ship and my dad buys a sandwich. As we are sitting outside on the deck of the boat, a group of seagulls take a major interest in what my dad is eating. He decides it would be a fun idea to not eat all the bread off the sandwich and feed it to this group of seagulls.

As he walks to the edge of the deck and starts to feed these seagulls, all their friends begin to see what's happening and more and more seagulls keep pouring in to get in on the action. Well, one of these seagulls that is directly overhead can't contain its excitement (or maybe it was upset that it wasn't getting any) and decides it needs to relieve itself of #2 all over the top of my dad's head. Of course everyone standing around gets a huge kick out of it and they all burst out laughing. My mom and I sat there with straight faces...until he went in the ship to the bathroom...then we joined in the laughing!

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HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Theological Thursday --- Cardboard Testimony

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation - the old has gone and the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
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Back in the fall I taught 2 different classes on "Just Walk Across the Room" (see picture above) by Bill Hybels to encourage people toward Evangelism and the Great Commission. One of the things Bill talks about is having a "God Story" on top of a testimony. A God Story is what you were like before Christ and (from the verse above) how you are different because you are now a "New Creation" --- all in 60 seconds or less. It helps people be clear (avoiding theological terms), precise (eliminates rambling), and opens the door to present the Gospel.
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Recently I came across this video that is a great example of what a "God Story" is all about and the impact it can make. I think if you watch it, you will see how powerful this can be...and this is all in 10 seconds or less! Check it out...

WHAT WOULD YOUR CARDBOARD SAY???

What's Up Wednesday --- June 18th

1) Tonight I continue the series, "Women in Genesis" with Lot's wife and Rebecca. Last week we again had 18 women and 2 guys, so I've given up on any kind of balance...but it is still going really well!

2) The head pastor and his wife for the church I have been candidating for will be coming to visit us next Tuesday and Wednesday. So when get this update next week, they will be in town with us!

3) Completely finished up with Greek III with an "A", so in theory I should now be an expert in Greek translation....but I can't even follow "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" but will keep working on it.

4) All my shows went well this past week (Friday I was working in Ashland Park with 9 mascots and Saturday was in my hometown for Community Days). Saturday was a smaller crowd as it poured down rain for quite a while before the show. The parade still went on in the downpour and my nephew Brady (see last week's post) had to carry a sign through the parade and got drenched.

5) Since we were in DuBois, we got to spend Father's Day with my dad and go out to eat (which he still paid for). He is a great guy and an awesome father --- and also left me with some great stories growing up. I'll tell you one this Friday.

Time Warp Tuesday --- The Hay Stack

Back when I was little, most of my money went toward 2 things --- Magic and Fireworks. Every year near the 4th of July me and my friend Mark would order plenty of supplies from a place in Ohio. Every year people would come from miles (ok, maybe yards) to see our little show. I figure I have plenty of firework blunders in my past to cover every Tuesday between now and the 4th of July!

So one year we put on our neighborhood show as usual and everything goes great --- except now we are out of fireworks. The following day, we were bored and I remembered that my brother had a few packages of bottle rockets up in his room. Of course we couldn't let those go to waste! So we went up and stole (borrowed?) a package and headed out to the alley to fire them off.

On the other alley toward where we were shooting these off, my dad had a stack of 3 bales of hay he used for an archery target. About 7 rockets into our fun, we realized the hay was ablaze! I am still not sure if it was caused by us or not (as no rockets hit it...but some may have fallen down from the sky on it still hot). We ran over and started kicking it and hitting it with tree branches but it kept getting worse and worse.

So I ran into the house to call the fire department. As was the norm, I picked up the phone and my sister Dana was on it. I told her to hurry up and hang up, but she refused! There was nothing short of a miracle that could ever get her off the phone in those days, so rather than keep trying, we decided to run the block-and-a-half to Mark's house and call.

When we got to Mark's house, his mom was outside. We told her to dial 911, but she didn't believe us! But it didn't take much more convincing when you looked in the sky above my house and could now see a huge black cloud of smoke. So as is the norm in my town for any "emergency" big or small, 4 police cars, 3 firetrucks, 2 ambulances come flying in and put the fire out.

Now...I wish I could say that was the end of the story. But as I said, we only used about 7 bottle rockets in the package of 12, so we still had 5 left! Find out next Tuesday what happens when one of those 5 remaining bottle rockets "accidentally" gets lit!

Magical Monday --- 73 Cents

In the summer of my 7th grade year, I got to go to my first big magic convention with my uncle in Baltimore. It was 4-days long and had lectures, seminars, dealers selling magic from around the world, close-up shows, stage shows, etc, etc, etc. One of the kids from my uncle's neighborhood also came with us the first 2 days.

On the final day of the convention, there was a "grand finale show" which featured Harry Blackstone Jr. and some of the greatest stars in magic. As we were walking the streets of Baltimore from the convention center to the theater, we were counting the money we had left. As would become tradition at all future conventions, we had pretty much spent every penny we had (picture above is the big zig zag coke can both of us bought that year...and I still use in my shows!). Our final tally --- 73 cents. Just as we finished counting our final pennies, a beggar on the street came up and asked if we had any spare change. Immediately I handed him our final 73 cents.

As we continued to walk to the theater, we were laughing at that fact that at that moment, the beggar had more money than we did! Before long however, we stopped laughing when we realized that we needed $2.00 for the tolls to get home and didn't know where we would get the money from. When we arrived at the sold out finale show, there were people standing outside wanting to buy tickets. Thankfully my uncle had the extra ticket from his neighbor kid that couldn't come that day and sold it for $10.00.

So we were set...with $8.00 to spare! However, at the end of the show, they announced to all magicians who were part of the convention, that the dealers would be open for 1 more hour if you wanted to buy any more magic. Of course we headed back and spent our final $8.00 and had just enough for the ride home.

Family/Friend Friday --- The Birthday Boy

Today is my nephew Brady's 7th birthday! I was named his godfather soon after he was born, and there was a ceremony sometime that summer at a church in town. It was a hot summer day, and the church was not air conditioned, so there were a bunch of fans blowing. As we were standing in front of the entire church, one of Brady's cousins (on my brother-in-law Jim's side) walked up in front of everyone and yelled into one of the fans, "Luke, I am your father" (trying to allow the fan to give him a good Darth Vader impression).
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Brady has always been very smart, and learned to talk at a very young age. Right after his first birthday, he came to stay with me in Pittsburgh while Jim went to school and my sister to a conference. They left me a "Baby Einstein" video, and at just over a year old, he was telling me far in advance what object would pop on the screen next. He also has a fascination with body parts that seems to have no use, so he can tell you all about your philtrum!
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Currently he is very interested in karate. We will be taking him out this weekend to pick out his birthday gift (this year it will probably be a Nintendo DS game). He has also played soccer and baseball which we got to see him play in the past. Below is a highlight from a smashing hit (well, maybe a blooper) from one of his games. The highlight of the game was about 1/2 way through one of the innings, the center fielder on his team called time-out because he just realized he had been standing out there for the past 10 minutes without his glove. Happy Birthday Brady!

Theological Thursday --- Stillness

Psalm 46:10 --- Be still and know that I am God

Some American missionaries traveled over to Kenya to help some monks move a monastery. On the first morning, everyone awoke early and traveled fast and far. On the second morning, they all woke very early and traveled very fast and went very far. On the third morning, they all woke very early and traveled very fast and went even farther. They were way ahead of schedule. The Americans seemed pleased. But on the fourth morning, the monks refused to move. They simply sat by a tree. Their behavior incensed the Americans. “This is a waste of valuable time. Can someone tell me what is going on here?” The translator answered, “They are waiting for their souls to catch up with their bodies.”

I really like that story because I find many times in my life I allow my body to outpace my soul. There are times I am called to something by God and begin the journey 2 steps behind Him...but before long, I find myself 2 steps ahead wanting Him to follow me. I wouldn't be surprised to find this true for many American Christians --- living in a culture that is all about doing.

Psalm 46:10 is a very important directive to wait on Him. We find the word "wait" 159 times in the Bible. If it is that important to God, it should be important to us as well!

What's Up Wednesday --- June 11th

1) We will be heading to DuBois this weekend (downtown pictured above) so I can perform my magic show for the big yearly celebration called "Community Days". My uncle Mikey (who got me interested in magic back when I was around 7) will also be coming to town, so it will be great to have him in the audience!

2) Tonight I continue my series on the "Women of Genesis". Last week we did Eve and Noah's Wife (Possibly Naamah from Gen. 7:7) and this week I am covering Sarah and Hagar. Last week there were about 20 women and 2 guys, but it went really well!

3) This week is my nephew Brady's birthday. He will turn 7. I will try and come up with a funny story about him on here on Friday for Family/Friend Friday.

4) I forgot to mention last week, that on top of her birthday, Jen hit her 3-year "cancer free" day! God has certainly been good in healing, peace, comfort, etc.

5) I won a magic contest (for creating an idea for a new trick). I was in the top 20 out of close to 1,000 entries. So I got $100 towards an illusion, but unfortunately the one I really want is $700 so I am considering building it myself (which will only cost around $100).

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*I have noticed there has been a huge increase in visitors the past few days (went from about 12 per day, to about 40)...so a special welcome to everyone and hope you visit often!

Time Warp Tuesday --- False Alarm

Back when I was in second grade, I went to Highland Street Elementary. When we arrived at school, we would stand around (inside or outside depending on the weather) until the morning bell went off. One morning, I was standing in the lobby of the school with my friend Aaron and one of the kids from our neighborhood, Patrick, who was in Kindergarten.

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As we were standing there, Patrick noticed the red fire alarm and asked what is was. We told him it was a movie projector and if you pulled down the handle it would show a cartoon. He said, "Why does it say F-I-R-E on it?" to which we explained that the cartoon would be about fires.

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So the bell rings and Aaron and I head off to class. We got about half-way there and the fire alarm starts going off (we knew it had to be Patrick!). Several fire trucks, police, ambulances, etc came rushing to the school. We figured we were safe as long as we just kept our mouth shut, but Patrick had other ideas. When the alarm started going off, he headed off screaming in an all-out sprint for home (which was about 2 miles...not a good idea for a 6-year-old to go alone).

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It wasn't long before Patrick was caught (and spilled the beans) and each class at the school had to stand in a "police line-up" so Patrick could identify the story tellers. We held out hope that he would forget who we were, but as soon as he got to us, it was, "Oh yeah, that's them!". They put us in this little room by ourselves for about an hour, and when we went down to the office, all our parents were there, police officers, administrators....pretty scary for a 2nd grader.

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Thankfully we lived in a time where these pranks weren't quite as serious as they are today! If this happened today I am sure we would have been shipped to some alternative school and received some type of label that would follow us around for life. Since it was the "Good old days" the wooden paddle was enough!

Magical Monday --- A Show in the 'Hood'

When I first moved to Pittsburgh, obviously I didn't know very much about the different parts of the city other than the community I first moved to. As my entertainment agent continued to book me for shows, I was always more concerned about how to get there rather than what the show was for, how many people would be there, etc. So one of my first shows (probably the 3rd or 4th) in Pittsburgh, I was asked to go to a kid's house near downtown.

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So as I am driving, I turn onto the street of the house I am going to perform at, and it is pretty evident that this probably isn't the safest neighborhood. The looks I got from the people in the street let me know that I didn't belong there, nor was I wanted.

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So I pull up to the kid's house and knock on the door. Some woman answers the door by barely opening it with the chain still locked. On the contract I had the father's name, so I asked if he was available. She answered, "Who wanna know?". I told her I was a magician there to do a show for his child. Just then, the man pops up from hiding behind the couch laughing (not sure who he was hiding from?) and invited me in.

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So they escort me through the house and into the backyard. While I am setting up, all the neighbors are peering through their windows at me and people keep walking up and down the street trying to figure out exactly who I am and what's going on. When the show starts, the kid I was there for along with 3 of his cousins sat right in front of me...his mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and grandma sat back at the house watching from the porch.

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About 2 minutes into the show a handful of other kids show up and sit down. Then a group of about 15 teenagers. Then a group of 10 adults. As the show went on, more and more people from this neighborhood kept piling in. And they loved it! You could tell this was clearly nothing they were used to experiencing (unlike several suburban shows where they see a magician every time they go to a birthday party). I'm not sure I've had another crowd cheer so loud and have so much fun. In the end, I would estimate there were close to 200 people there.

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As I mentioned in the beginning, when I first moved to Pittsburgh I didn't ask what type of event I was going to perform at...only how to get there. I assumed this one was the child's birthday. It's probably a good thing I didn't ask before hand (as I may have turned down what turned out to be one of the best shows!). So what was this event for? Afterward, I found out that the child's brother (who was only 11) was shot and killed by standing in the wrong place during a drug deal gone bad. It happened right out front of the house as they were playing together. When the United Way came to help, the kid said all he wanted was a magician to come to his house. Hopefully he still remembers that day as well as I do!

Family/Friend Friday --- Church in the "Valley"

As I said on Wednesday, this week is my brother's anniversary (John and Leslie) and that I would tell you a story about him. In one of my first posts on this blog, I told you I used to stay with my great grandma a lot on Saturdays and ride into church on Sunday with her. One particular weekend I went to the Pittsburgh zoo with my friend Aaron (I was probably around 10 or 11) on a Saturday night, and we got home late.

My parents woke me up to go to early church with them, but I didn't want to go. My brother was old enough to drive and he and my sister were planning on going to the later service, so after many protests by him, he finally agreed to let me tag along.

So 10:45 rolls around and the three of us load into the car. It doesn't take long for me to realize that we are not heading toward the church we usually go to. I'll give my brother the benefit of the doubt and assume he was reading the Bible the night before in Isaiah 40:4-5 which says:

Every valley shall be raised up...And the glory of the LORD will be revealed.

So what "valley" did we go to that Sunday to see the "Glory of the Lord"? Our car pulled up to Valley Dairy --- one of the local ice cream parlors. For the next 1/2 hour I enjoyed a Clown Sundae and then a few arcade games at the mall. Just about the time church would be over, we headed back for home.

I had to promise I wouldn't tell my mom and dad where we had gone (apparently my brother wasn't reading Exodus 20 --- The 10 Commandments --- the night before). I must admit though, for a little kid, this was probably my favorite Sunday (Sundae?) morning! My only question is...how often did this happen when I wasn't around? Did my brother and sister go there every week? We may never know...unless one of them is brave enough to leave a comment and explain!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Theological Thursday --- The Lighthouse

The ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship) I lead at chuch is currently going through the book of James. This past Sunday, we talked about Wisdom (James 3). One of my friends in the class (Tony) shared an illustration his grandfather taught him when he was young...

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The purpose of a lighthouse is to assist sailors at sea to know when they were approaching land, to help them know where they were, and to avoid hazardous shores. Most locations can accomplish this goal using using just 1 lighthouse. However, in parts of the world there are narrow straits that are very hard for sailors to navigate, especially when weather conditions get bad. So in these areas, there are actually 3 lighthouses close together. The only way for the sailor to know they are on the right course is to make sure all 3 lighthouses are lined up. If only 1 or 2 are in a straight line, the sailor knows they are off course and heading for danger.

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Obtaining Godly wisdom is very similar. There are 3 "lighthouses" that we should follow to direct our path in our Christian walk...and more importantly we need to be sure all 3 of them line up. They are:

• Lighthouse #1 --- Guidance from another Christian
• Lighthouse #2 --- Truth from God's Word (Bible)
• Lighthouse #3 --- Discernment from the Holy Spirit

When these three things are aligned in our lives, we can be certain our path is following God's path for our lives. Just as the aligned lighthouses can give confidence to the sailors that they are on proper course, we can have that same confidence and peace in walking with Him.

What's Up Wednesday --- June 4th

This week is Jen's birthday (Saturday). If her prayers are answered, she will be turning 25 (if not she will turn 34). If you you want to give her a present...she wants more visitors to her blog (and leave her a comment or two!). http://www.jcatanzarito.blogspot.com/

--- We are going to our friend's wedding (Kris and Pete) in Pittsburgh this weekend.

--- My brother and his wife celebrate their anniversary this week (I will tell you a good story about him on Friday).

--- I am scheduled this month as the pastor to teach the "Wednesday Night Elective" at church this month. I am teaching the "Women of Genesis" and tonight will be Eve and Noah's wife.

--- I am sure I am missing things, but that's all I can think of!

Time Warp Tuesday --- Learning to Drive

While most kids begin to learn to drive when they turn 16, I started to learn when I was around 12. As a reward for going out into the woods with my dad and helping him clear shooting paths, clear brush, etc...I would get to drive our old yellow truck around the country roads.

It wasn't long before the country roads became pretty familiar to me. I also knew that when I reached the state route, I would have to pull over and switch places with my dad so he could drive the last 10 miles or so back to our house.

So one day when I was 13, we went out in the woods and did our normal routine in the woods and concluded with me taking the keys and driving the country roads. We got to the main road (state route) and I pulled over as usual. I looked over to trade places with my dad (as we always did at this particular place), but he was sound asleep. So what should I do? Wake him up? Of course not...wouldn't want to make him mad!

So I pulled out on the main road and figured the fact that I am now driving 50 MPH rather than 20 MPH would wake him up. Nope! I made it the full 10 miles back into DuBois and on to the Sandy Bridge (which was right behind my house). I figured now was as good a time as ever to wake my dad up.

So I woke him up...not sure if I would get in trouble, if he would think it was funny, or something else. He opened his eyes and had a somewhat startled look on his face. He didn't say anything until we got about 2 blocks away from the house and then he said, "Pull over, we don't want your mom to see". So we switched places, drove up to the house, and there was my mom waiting for us...totally clueless as to what had happened. I let her in on this little secret a few years ago, so if she is reading this at least it won't be the first time she heard this story!

Magical Monday --- The Best Seats in the House (Almost)

Last week I told you the story of a magic show I had done for a former Pittsburgh Pirate. He was able to get me in contact with the right people and for following season (1999) I was able to get a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates to be one of the entertainers for their "Kid's Days" every Sunday there was a home game. Basically I would perform from 11:30 - 1:30 outside the stadium (games always started at 1:05), and then could go in and enjoy the game. In 1999, I got to see some great games with the McGuire/Sosa home run record chase!

My contract with the Pirates extended into the next 2 seasons, which means I got to be part of the first season at PNC Park! At the end of the year, they would always pick the top 2 or 3 entertainers (there was about 15 of us working the various entrance gates) to perform for the players and their families at a private party at the end of the year. I had the privilege of being chosen during the 2001 season.

So in late September of 2001, I was checked closely by security and escorted to the "Player's Lounge" in PNC Park where I got to do some magic for Jason Kendall, Brian Giles, Kevin Young, etc and their families. It was a great experience! After my show was over, a man came up and told me how much he enjoyed the show and we started talking and I found out he was Cam Bonifay, the General Manager of the team. Just outside the player's lounge was the nicest luxury box seats you could ever imagine (probably about 20 seats). Cam gave me his phone extention and told me to give him a call the next season to join him for a game or two.

I thought this was the best thing ever, but the title to this thread --- The Best Seats Ever (ALMOST)....Almost is the key word. Unfortunately Cam Bonifay was fired the beginning of the next season, and my dream seat remained empty.