Google Maps

I just recently started using Google Maps. I've been a fan of mapquest for a long time, and never really felt the need to change. I've been seeing some advantages of Google, but then today I noticed the Street View button, and I was blown away. Evidently they cruised through some major metropolitan areas with a truck tricked out with some cameras. They recorded the images and now you can see street scenes for several locations.
It's really amazing. Here's the demo of it from google's site. JM

Expository Preaching

A friend of mine recently was emailing me about how much he enjoys expository preaching now that he has sat under it for a length of time. I'm not much on it, but I've never really experienced it, unless it was when I was a kid. I think I'm going to try to listen to some podcasts to get a feel for what it might be like. I guess my big motivation for doing this is to see if it is a speaking strategy that I could adapt to my style. I'm extremely narrative and enjoy being topical, but definitely see the frustrations that it brings. JM

Finalizing NY Trip

We're working out the final details of our NY mission trip. We're taking a group of 55 students and adults up to Queens to work with a Messianic Jewish church and a small church plant. I've been in charge of transportation and lodging, which I enjoy because of the organization and logistics involved. The problem that I'm having is that nobody is giving me a firm time on when we need to be anywhere. We are using all mass transit, so we're kind of slaves to the schedules, and I've been asked to make sure it's doable.
But it can be doable at certain times, and not at others. I'm okay with being flexible and having to adapt, I just hope that it doesn't come down to "I thought you said..." kind of stuff.
It should be a good trip. I just wish my wife was going with me. I guess we'll get to hang out more in NY once we move there. JM

Matthew 19:16-22

It seems weird to me that Jesus sometimes made himself so inaccessible. I always try to figure out why he did that with certain people. I think part of the reason he was like that with this rich young man was because that the guy was just looking for something that he could do so that he could check it off of his list. It seems that he wasn't motivated at all by a passion for God. He also calls Jesus teacher, which kind of shows that he thought Jesus was a teacher of God's laws, but probably nothing more. Interesting story. JM

Matthew 19:13-15

Jesus put his hands on some kids and prayed for them. Pretty simple story. My mind wanders two places with this.
1. I would love to see what happened to these kids. What do you think they ended up doing? I wonder if they were all successful. I wonder if they all went into ministry. I wonder if they were all Christians.
2. I wonder if any of them didn't make it. I mean, I ownder if some of them had hard lives filled with frustration and not seeking God's will for their lives. So many times I think I have the program or the ministry that will fix everything and that any student that experiences it will be changed forever and never screw up. I'd like to think that even these kids that Jesus prayed for didn't all turn out perfect. Maybe it's not true, but it helps me to think that way. JM

Yard Restoration

I enjoy doing yard work. When you look at my yard, you wouldn't guess that, though. I haven't wanted to devote the time to it that it required, and we didn't really have the money that it takes to keep your yard nice. We're doing better now financially, so I can spend a little bit each month on maintaining our yard, and it's not as time consuming now that Noah can come out and help me some, plus Ana can walk around a little bit.
The problem now is that our yard is so jacked up that it will take forever for it to start looking nice. Maybe by fall it might start looking respectable, but I doubt even by then. It's kind of fun working with plants and stuff, though. I like the challenge of it. I'm not very good at it, and I know very little about it, but it is definitely enjoyable. I just like anything that gets me outside. JM

Empty Thoughts

I haven't been reading much lately, and I think it's really effecting my thought life. My mind is so much less active when I'm not reading. I try to read about 30 minutes a day. I really think it stimulates my mind, my thoughts, and my dreams. I've been out of the habit of it for about 6 weeks now. I guess I'll start again tonight before I go to bed. JM

Relaxing

Today we did nothing. Well, kind of. We've gone to 8 graduation parties over the course of the last two weekends, and just felt really busy, so today we kind of just chilled. We went to home depot and got some flowers, and Eryn went to the grocery store, but that's really about it. It was nice to be able to just hang out and do nothing. It's the kind of day that helps you enjoy the time you have with your family. JM

We Can't

So for lunch today me and a friend went to Five Guys to get some burgers and fries. My friend orders first and pays. Then I placed my order and paid. After I placed my order my friend tells the cashier that he'd like to change the toppings on his burger. He basically just wanted the other toppings off of it and to put bacon and bbq sauce on it. The immediate response was "We can't". My friend talked to the guy for a minute and got them to add the BBQ, but only after much resistance. Pretty lame.
I was talking to my friend afterwards about it and I commented that it's not even really the cashier's fault. He knows the rules. He knows how the system works. He knows what he's supposed to do, and that's it. Nobody told him that really the goal is to make the customer happy so that they have a good experience. He just knows that once an order is placed, it can't be changed. Imagine how different it would be, though, if management gave them the rules and the system, but then told them that above all else, do what it takes to make the customer happy. If they want to change their order, let them do it. If they don't like what they got, get them something else. Don't go talk to a manager about it, just do it. If you give people a good experience, they'll remember it.
It kind of goes back to what I learned at the Granger communications workshop as far as people will remember 100% of what they feel. The more you can tie emotion into anything, the better people will remember what you've done. JM

Bible Fight

Here's a fun little game to kill some time. You can be a character from the Bible and face off against other Bible characters. It's okay fun, but the music is amazing. I LOVE boys choir stuff. It just seems so spiritual and moving to me. JM