Halloween 2010

Our kids had their first “real” Halloween this year. Gavin was Superman and Madsen was Clark Kent. I may be biased, but they were ridiculously adorable. Gavin even ran from house to house and his cape was blowing behind in the wind. I don’t enjoy what Halloween stands for but it is an incredible time for community with people in your neighborhood. I found out that someone one street over from us goes to Central and one of my neighbors told me that he was my “Bud Man.” (He works for Budweiser and invited me over anytime to hang out with him… and, you know, hydrate). I’d strongly recommend that you take this easy opportunity to connect with those who live near you. Here are some pics of the kids:

Clark Kent

Superman saying “Trick or Treat.”

Clark Kent and Mommy

The superhero duo with Papa and Lisey. Superman is pointing toward a criminal.

Daddy trying to keep up with Superman.

3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

Our small group hosted our 3rd annual pumpkin carving party to connect with new people. We invite our neighbors, friends, and coworkers with the entire goal to hang out so we can create and build new friendships. It was great to see a bunch of the neighborhood turn out as well as a ton of new people, and repeaters from the last two years as well!

Here are some of the photos of the night:

Michelle with our little pumpkin.

Feeding the pumpkin. He will probably look back on these pictures later and be very angry with me.

Laci modeling her slimy pumpkin hands.

Developing the next generation of pumpkin carvers. This is Melissa and Patrick’s son.

Pumpkin guts.

Surprisingly, this sign actually worked.

The effects of sugar on kids.

Hard at work.

Holli looks a little scary with that knife…

Of course there was food involved.

Pumpkins make people do crazy things. I have no words for this Sara.

The finished products.

Late Night with Nate

Since you guys have enjoyed Holli’s songs so much with my friend Holli belting her favorite songs in the car, I have found a new segment to add to the blog. My friend Nate apparently likes to dance when nobody else is around and record it on his phone. And boy does he have some moves! So check out our newest music section on the blog and watch the video below.

The Art of the Finch Kiss

Here are the videos from this weekend along with some of my quotes I used.

“They spoil every romance by trying to make it last forever.” Oscar Wilde

There is no cruise control when it comes to healthy relationships.

“Most of these studies have focused on display behaviors that characterize pair formation or mate choice — all these processes that interest people working on the evolutionary aspect of sexual selection. We forgot to think about what was going on after pair formation.” Clementine Vignal, sensory ecologist

1 Corinthians 13:1-8a

“But Paul is plainly saying—look at his words—that it is love that does these things, not us, and that what we are to do is to ‘pursue love’ (1 Cor. 14:1). As we ‘catch’ love, we then find that these things are after all actually being done by us. These things, these godly actions and behaviors, are the result of dwelling in love. We have become the kind of person who is patient, kind, free of jealousy, and so on.” Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy

1 Corinthians 7:13-16

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but looking outward in the same direction.” Anoine de Saint-Exupery

“Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.” Bruce Lee

The Discomfort of New Truth

“I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.” Leo Tolstoy

a_dant_robert_coin_tossI clearly remember one small group night at my house when we discussed some sporting event involving a coin toss. I made some comment, based on what I now know as the gambler’s fallacy, that the other guys in our group immediately pushed back on. And me, being the humble and soft spoken gentlemen that I am, proceeded to argue further and further on my point.

Still eager to prove myself right, I immediate hit the web after our group left to research and find proof of my argument. And that’s when I learned how dead wrong I was. Luckily, I wasn’t the first person to use the gambler’s fallacy as a way of thinking, but I had to determine how to proceed from that point on. I wrote the guys an apology email and waved the white flag.

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The Grass is Greener…

The Grass is Greener

[W]e’ve all heard the expression, “The grass is greener on the other side.” If we are honest, this is a dominant philosophy that fuels much of the world and our human interactions with one another.

I recently taught a lesson where I offered a twist on the expression. “The grass is greener where you water it.” I’ve found this to be very true and it shows the futility of chasing green grass around. We all want green grass in our lives and the people that find it are the ones who make the effort to water it.

I happened to reseed my lawns last week and Monday was a big day of growth for all my new little seedlings. As we watch the transformation of brown summer grass into fresh new green winter grass we have been thinking about this expression once again. My wife added a profound new twist to it as well, “The grass is greener where you water it, but so are the weeds.” If you’ve ever reseeded your lawn you know all too well what I’m talking about. Some of the seeds get in the rocks and with all the extra watering there is plenty of opportunity for the weeds.

And yet this is often the unexpected part of life. We finally commit to watering the grass in an area of our life and then expect only great results. Yet we find weeds mixed in. It can happen in our marriage, our career, or even our journey with God. For many people it discourages them and sends them back to pursuing green grass somewhere else. But the real challenge, and the real reward, is to continue to water the grass while expecting and eradicating the weeds as they come.

So how does your grass look?