Bachelor Week

Traditionally, Jenny does a great job with putting up with me during fantasy football season.

As a trade off, I'm encouraged not to talk about football or watch any preseason football until the season actually starts.

However, with Jenny on a work trip for this week, my bachelor week started with a preseason football game.

I've missed football.

Family Everywhere

Family filled weekends are great.

Nieces, nephews, sisters-in-law, a brother-in-law, I spent time and ate meals with all of them, not to forget the wife, brother, and parents.

Can't complain about this weekend.

Just Dirtier and Smellier

In our time with the young adults tonight, we got to hear numerous stories and perspectives from most of the people who we had sent on a missions trip to mexico a week ago.

At one point, a member was talking about an orphanage they visited and uttered the words:

"they were kids just like kids here, except dirtier and smellier and stuff."

I had to contain my immediate feelings of laughter as she so bluntly said this as fact.

She has a great bluntness to her, not one that would suit me as a public speaker, but a great bluntness nonetheless.

Field Trip

I needed to go buy a different weight of dumbells than I currently owned to do my workouts and Jenny came along.

Thus began field trip night. Walking to the car, Jenny decided she didn't want to go home yet, so we headed to Barnes and Noble.

After about half an hour or so, we walked out with a book and a wife who still didn't want to go home.

We ended up on a field trip to St. Paul to visit a homemade ice cream shop. It was an enjoyable evening.

Field Trips are fun.

Role Reversal

It was fun as I was talking with Jenny tonight about numerous random conversations my supervisor and I have had over the last couple of days for her to point out how quick and fluid Brian and I are in switching roles with each other.

Whether it be one of us asking for advice, or a simple reliance on the obvious skills, and God given gifts that each of us uniquely have, we are quick to switch who is guiding/leading/influencing the other as a natural part of our working relationship.

Today I spent more of the day as his counselor/confidant/encourager than he did mine. I welcomed being that voice to him as he needed it, but it was interesting to have those kinds of conversations in under two months of work.

Forcing New Motivation

I'm beginning to force some new motivation on myself.

For a long time, i've had a goal of finally starting and continuing to work out my upper body to reach certain goals. I even have most of the equipment I need to do that in my own basement.

I simply haven't had the motivation.

A week ago, in a meeting with my boss, I told him that goal so he could help keep me accountable (he was a power lifter in high school as a football player).

As a result, he designed what my workouts need to start out as for the first month or so and gave them to me this morning. Guess i'll have to start soon.

Best Draft Ever

Two fantasy football drafts so far, one more on Monday.

The 1 league that is actually for money, and is co-owned with my brother had its live draft tonight. We accomplished our best draft ever. Never felt better about a team after leaving then we do about that one.

The other draft was average. I don't really even care what happens in the one on Monday night anymore.

Small Group Night

I'm excited to spend a night on the town with our small group.

We'll be getting together downtown this evening for dinner and a show.

We get to do the nerd show thing. A favorite preacher/teacher/author of Jenny and myself is in town on tour (Rob Bell) and we are going collectively as a small group to see him.

Been looking forward to it for months, excited its time.

My Blog Looks Weird

I commented last night to Jenny, that it is weird for me to look at my blog.

You see, I don't ever actually go to its website. It is quite a rare occasion for me to visit it in the form that you all actually read this in.

Instead, I find myself looking at the post editing and creating new posts page. With the coupling of the fact that I get e-mails for any of the comments that are made, I simply find myself with no need to actually look at the page itself.

I'll occasionally look if I've posted a bunch of pictures, just to make sure the spacing shows up adequately, but otherwise, i don't visit this page.

I think it is weird to read them in this form.

The Mean Prank

I wanted to post about football two days ago, but figured i'd wait until Sunday night as shortly every sunday night will likely be fantasy football updates. So I won't comment on the Favre saga now.

Instead, you can read "The Mean Prank"

It is an anagram of my name "Nathan Kemper"
If you add my middle name "When Rampant Yankee"
Some of our other favorites "Phrasemaker" for Sarah Kemper
"Jam 'n' hot snot" for Matt Johnson
and "Oh no! Poetry" for Tony Hooper.

Fun with anagrams brought to you by THIS WEBSITE.

Enough?

Do you ever find yourself having an internal discussion on what "enough" is to get done that day?

How many projects need to be crossed off of a to-do list before the rest of the day can be spent on a couch and you feel guilt-free about it?

My list was apparently three-fold today. I needed to get a movie returned to the RedBox, get a trophy to the place that is going to engrave it, and manage to feed myself with the food in the house without spending more money.

After these three things were accomplished, I felt I had done enough to hit the couch for a couple of hours before small group.

The list is always shorter when I feel a little sick and am coming of a week that was pretty emotionally exhausting for me.

Despite the Negative...

This morning was a hectic cap to a busy week. I was in charge of the theme introduction part of the service, as well as the announcements and a 7 minute first person narrative as Paul the apostle telling his story of transformation.

Despite getting a soar throat last night, which prompted my first ever Nyquil experience and a bag of hard candy this morning, I made it through the first service fine.

I actually got more excited for the second service as my throat seemed to be co-operating, but the battery ran out on my hands-free mic about 2/3 of the way through the narrative, so that added a different feel and pause I was not expecting in part of that story.

Overall, the morning finished and I was ready to crash on the couch. It was a solid bet you'd find me here except the couple of minutes I spent going to the redbox to pick up a movie.

Emotionally Gone

After writing, practicing, and giving an emotional message about how God's hand can be seen in the midst of suffering, i'm spent.

I thought it went well, but I physically felt the weight of this message before it, and am happy now to release some of that weight.

Thanks to anyone who prayed for me.

When the Theories Don't Help

I've studied lots of theology. I've taken classes on specific theological topics. But there comes a time, where none of that helps.

Tomorrow, the subject i'm supposed to cover in our series on the book of Acts is how God consistently uses times of suffering to cause great good.

I'm not saying He causes suffering, but that often God finds a way to use it, either for the victim's good or for the good of others.

I'm confident, that tomorrow, my theories won't help. My understanding, doctrine, and theology mean very little to most of the people in the room as they deal with suffering. In fact, many of the things I know to be true would seem flippant to say. They would minimize the emotions involved with both our personal sufferings and of those we have as we see others suffer.

I feel a weight with trying to figure out how to balance these things tomorrow night.

Feel free to pray for me.

Becoming Productive (in a new millenium)

This blog was started over 3 years ago. This is the 1,000th time I will hit "publish post" and leave some of my thoughts posted on the internet for anyone to read.

I originally began doing this as a method to think out loud about random questions of faith, Christianity, established church, career and life decisions, and to be consistently writing.

I'm ashamed that most of the last 300 posts or so do not fit in any of those categories. I've realized that I don't clearly understand even what I want from the time I sit and "blog" anymore, but I know that I am not accomplishing it.

I don't know what I want this to be, but I want it to be different. I don't want to feel obligated to post, I don't want to constantly be scrambling for ideas or thoughts to type. I want to share things that are being formed inside me, thoughts that captivate me, theories I struggle with.

I want to express more and re-cap less.

I don't know exactly how things will change, but I hope to use the mile marker of this 1,000th post to refocus myself in how I use this medium.

Peer Pressure Driving

While driving home tonight, Jenny and I witnessed an awesomely stupid display of driving.

The right lane of the freeway we were on was coned off for work, though no work was being done.

One particular on-ramp found a line of cars that didn't feel like slowing down to merge easily, nor did they have foresight and common sense for how the cones were actually laid out, so they found themselves, about 11 in total on the wrong side of the cones.

As they realized this, we got to watch the front three merge into the open lanes of traffic.

The third one managed not to make it through without a cone casualty however, one that it shot into the lane of traffic and we watched it as it got stuck in front of and under the car driving in front of us. We also then watched as it scooted completely through the underside of that car.

As I prepared to dodge said cone upon its release, we chuckled again as it stood straight up with its new found freedom. I'm sure it has been hit again as it was sitting directly in the middle of an open lane of freeway traffic.

It went from awesome to stupid really quickly, but left us with a fun picture and story.

Conference Update

Surprisingly, the three names I listed that I was most excited about (Bono, Tony Blair, and Tim Keller) were all fairly underwhelming at the conference last week.

Fortunately, I was extremely shocked in a positive way by the speaking and material of many of the invited guests I had never heard of.

Ended up with lots of books i hope to read someday.

Leadership Conference

I'm heading to a leadership conference for the next two days.

I'm excited about some of the speakers that will be there, either live or via video cast.

I'm most excited about hearing Tony Blair, Bono, and Tim Keller.

Hopefully, i'll learn some good leadership stuff, but regardless, i'll enjoy it more than the office.

A Glorious 5 Minutes

I wanted Chipotle for lunch today, so I drove to the closest one to my work.

As I ordered my burrito (steak, half rice, black beans, tomato, corn, cheese) I was informed that it would be a couple of minutes while they cooked more steak.

I told them I'd wait.

While waiting I watched others order the steak, and decide instead of waiting that they would just go with chicken instead.

After about 5 minutes, the fresh steak was ready and they made my burrito for me.

"You had to wait right? It must be your lucky day." the manager said.

"Why my lucky day?"

"Your meal is on us."

A free burrito and fountain drink from Chipotle because I had to wait 5 minutes. I'd gladly take this deal everytime.

They underestimate my joy in eating their product though, as I gladly would have paid and never changed my spending habits at their establishment.

A Man's Cookies

I realized tonight, or at least was forced to realize, that adult men are apparently not allowed to be as free when they eat their cookies as are first graders.

I was holding a cookie, and a glass of grape kool-aid and attempted to dip the cookie in my drink, only to have my hand physically stopped by the words, stare, and grip of Jenny.

I didn't know that it would be so out of place. I'm not a big milk fan, but love kool-aid.

I think we need freedom returned to a man and his cookies.

Pretty Toes

I believe they are over-rated and go for the more rustic, lose 8 of them (the nails) to soccer injuries at various points in life and watch them grow back in ugly fashion.

Haven't lost any in a while but the black and blue toe-nails are out in full force.

Wee for flip-flop weather.