Archives for category: just grinning

Supervegetable God!

July 28, 2007 //

Our daughter loves to sing. She sings while she’s playing, while she’s brushing her teeth (quite an experience!), in the car, right before she takes her nap… She’ll sing songs from church, from her favorite CDs, and from her imagination. One day, we heard her singing a song that some of the big kids from church had performed one day. According to her, the chorus of “Supernatural God,” by Hillsong Kids is:

Super-vegetable… super-vegetable God!

We just finished up our VBS this week. Our theme, as you can see to the left, was “Avalanche Ranch,” by Group Publishing. Group always puts together a great VBS, and this summer was no exception (the design, however, is mine). One of the kids’ favorite songs from this week was “Forever,” by Chris Tomlin. The third line of the first verse in our daughter’s version goes like this:

For He is good, He is a bubble thing (For He is good, He is above all things)

I tried to correct her one day, but she was extremely offended. These misheard lyrics might go down in history like “Purple Haze,” by Jimi Hendrix… “Excuse me, while I kiss this guy“…

Categories church, family, just grinning, Uncategorized

All Mixed Up

July 12, 2007 //

I just added another page over here at headsparks* called “Mixtape=Love“… If anyone is interested in trading ~~mixtapes~~, er, CDs, drop me a line! Although I love the convenience of digital music, there is something so immediate, real and visceral about the mixtape. Maybe it’s the way tapes would seriously degrade with repeated usage… my favorite songs would always warp out from listening to them too much… Maybe it’s because creating a mixtape was so physically engaging… These days it’s all drag-and-drop but, back in the day, it was all about putting the needle in the right groove and deciding whether to use the stop or pause button in between songs. Maybe it was that scene from Say Anything… you know what I’m talking about. My favorite mixtape-related wishlist item these days is this shirt, in case you were wondering.

Categories hooray!, just grinning, music

A Quick Tip For Youth Pastors

July 4, 2007 //

If you ever find yourself needing to elicit a visceral reaction from a youth group to whom you are preaching, simply ask them whether they prefer Steve or Joe on Blue’s Clues. I have been overwhelmed by the extreme emotion this seemingly innocuous question has stirred in the hearts of youth nationwide.

Steve, contrary to urban legend, is alive and well. Below, enjoy his latest song, featuring Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips. For real:

Categories hooray!, just grinning, youth ministry

Weekend Approval Matrix 2.0

June 29, 2007 //

Here are some of my favorite (and not-so favorite) things from the past couple of weeks. Below, find some of my ranting and raving — starting at the top right and going clockwise around the matrix…

Party like it’s 1984. Given the recent close-but-no-cigar seasons of both the Red Wings and Pistons, I am somewhat reluctant to put my trust in Detroit sports. But Justin Verlander’s recent no-no, for the Tigers’ first no-hitter since the magical 1984 season, might make a believer out of me yet. Now, if the Lions would just get rid of their GM…

Mop top hair shop. My wife recently began pastoring our church’s Pre/K ministry. As part of their age-appropriate learning, she sets up interactive learning stations each Sunday that relate to the day’s theme. A couple of weeks ago, because the lesson focused on Samson we searched high and low for a Play-Doh mop top hair shop — but to no avail. Of course, we found one at Target the week after this lesson. Oh, and it’s called the Fuzzy Pumper Crazy Cuts Playset.

Does 50% constitute a reunion? While the recent album from Dinosaur Jr. should probably be filed under, “Don’t call it a comeback,” I wonder what to do with the upcoming Smashing Pumpkins album. Gish and Siamese Dream pumped some glammy, arena-rock energy into the 90’s indie rock scene, but what I liked best about them was that their band members included James Iha, an Asian American guitarist, and D’arcy Wretzky, a female bassist. However, for their upcoming “reunion” tour & album, neither of these core members will be participating. Boo!

Give me a break. Apparently, the American media is still determined to portray Asian American men as either geeky, asexual nerds or kung-fu fighting foreigners who no speakie-Engrish, as Yul Kwon points out in this video [h/t: David Park]. Double boo!

Categories asian american, boo!, hooray!, just grinning, race, sigh

Oh, Church Marketing

June 25, 2007 //

I can just see the people who put together this billboard hi-fiving each other for thinking so far outside the box. I don’t know if all church marketing sucks (actually, it’s a pretty great site), but it is certainly responsible for more than its share of groaners like this one.

Sometimes I will watch the late-night music video shows on the Christian television stations — partly because I am mean and snarky, but partly out of sheer fascination. The hosts, who are tirelessly sincere, will often roll out a video with phrases like, “Check out these fresh tunes from hip-hopper John Reuben.” Sometimes I worry about coming across as an over-eager dorky poseur to my youth group students. Actually, I don’t worry that much about being dorky (it’s kind of a given), but there’s nothing creepier than some old dude trying to be “down,” usually using phrases that are at least five or ten years behind the times. Despite the fact that I am inordinately slangy, I purposely try not to come off in this way when I relate to members of my youth group. In the end, I think most students would rather have a reliable dork in their lives than some flaky hipster.

Tags church signage

Categories boo!, church, just grinning, outreach, sigh