Problem Solved!

Well my problem with email has been solved. Apparently how I named the new mailbox caused it to "hide" itself so I could not see it. I had to have my friend Doug check it out and find the problem because the apple lady was lazy. Anyway if you are going to rename anything inside apple mail do not put these symbols in the name ".: name of folder :.". So all in all, everything is better now and I am able to be more productive. Thanks Doug!

Suck an Apple

So I was cleaning up my e-mail on Mail (the apple mail program) today, which I have had no problem with thus far. I began to delete some messages which were old and not needed, then I began to move messages into their proper folders, which was fine. Then comes the problem. I decided to rename a "mailbox" so it would appear in the top of the list. I renamed "Student Ministry" to "[Student Ministry]" and pressed enter ever so gently and all of a sudden whammo, the stinkin mailbox was gone. So what does this mean you ask? We not much because it was all old mail anyway, except I had a couple of things such as log-in names and passwords on there that I really needed to keep. So I thought I would search "help" to see where this mailbox went. Well as it turns out, there are not articles for recovering a deleted mailbox, just deleted mail. On top of that I called apple tech help line, and the frickin people were @$$holes and were not very helpful at all. Lori, my "apple rep" told me that renaming a mailbox usually results in deleting a mailbox. I mean for being one of the most amazing machines I have worked on, you would think you could recover this crap. Not a chance she tells me, and when I look in the Library, it is all gone. It is so nice to own a mac. and not have my passwords or other items in that mailbox of which I really do not know what I lost.

So to end, I still think my mac is better than the "not responding" error that usually pops up on a PC, but where the heck is my frickin mail...

Willow Creek

A few months ago I was able to go to Chicago and visit a church called Willow Creek Community Church. I went with the staff at Bridgetown which consisted of Griff (Lead Pastor), Nick (Children's Minister), and Chris (Volunteer Youth Leader). We spent some time downtown and in the northwest burbs' (Shamburg).

The church was very neat and huge, an awesome facility to be able to have a church. I was a little hesitant about going because I tend not to like people telling me how to do things. Actually though I was suprised at how it was not a conference where Willow told you how to do ministry, but rather helped present ideas that have worked for them and other chruches around the nation. I was very impressed by their attitude and how genuine they were.

One of the greatest parts of this trip was that Griff's uncle Bob and aunt Pat live in Chicago and took us out to dinner. Bob and Pat are great people and Bob is very funny. We went to a place called Bob Chinn's Crab House and I was able to surf and turf like never before! It was a great time for us as a staff and to be able to meet and eat with Bob and Pat. Recently though Pat died from cancer, she had it for about six years. So be praying for Bob becuase he is a great man and loved Pat a ton. I went up to Chicago recently and while there I had dinner with Bob and he said that he misses her, but will greatly miss her when he travels, because they lvoed to travel around the world together.

Below are some pictures from my frist trip to Chi-Town. I was a little upset though to not see Kayne while I was there. Two Words: Pay Me...








Andy @ Willow...













Chris by the falls...













Nick being Zachieus outside the Willow offices












Bob, Pat, & Griff @ Bob Chinn's

Nalgene

nalgene bottles are quite possibly one of the greatest inventions since the post-it note. i am a firm believer in re-use when possible and the nalgene bottle is durable enough that it can handle the abuse i generate, in fact it is better than a glass container. i found out today that you can store different flavors, like lemonade, tea, or whatever and it will not, i repeat WILL NOT, have any kind of flavor remains if washed out with soap and water! my stinkin stainless steel starbucks mug does not even do that! Truly amazing...

Staff Meeting Fun

Today at Bridgetown we would typically have a staff meeting because it is the 3rd Wednesday of the month. However, we went to a place called the "Creation Museum" instead. I was not very excited to go because I have always seen these people who argue about Creation as kind of wacko's. They will argue over a new earth theory and old earth theory and so on, which is something I can do without. I went with an open mind though and to see what this is all about, because overall this museum will be a good thing to help people see that evolution is not the ONLY answer to how the earth and it's inhabitants was formed.

After the tour/presentation (the museum is still being built) we were able to get some 1 on 1 time with the speaker, who has his PhD in something, and ask him questions about creation and Genesis. It was really interesting and he truly made me think of what I have always been taught, in high school and also college, and how many of my beliefs in the Bible actually hinge on the accuracy of Genesis 1-11.

All in all it was great and I was able to get a meal out of it, which was a bonus. I would reccomend checking out their website answers in genesis if you have ever had questions about creation, Adam and Eve, the flood, Noah and the Ark, ECT.

Other than that I am about to go home and put some kind of chemical treatment on my lawn, beat the Cowboys in the Super Bowl and then watch some Survivor.