i spent a weekend with middle schoolers (where i'm from they call them jr high-ers) and boy, what i would give for you to have been there...i mean that..even if i don't know you. i've had the great opportunity to sing with these kids before and they have always amazed me at their craziness. but on this trip they surprised me with they truth in worship.

and i know that saturday night is supposed to be the "big" night on a retreat, you almost expect people to cry and "feel closer to Jesus" but this time i felt like it was more than emotion. i don't think i've ever seen people (let alone middle school students) worship the way they did, so honest, so uncut. friends were not lined up doing the same thing, you had eighth graders next to sixth graders singing to a God somewhere they couldn't reach, but hoping their voices would...and i think they did. people with hands raised next to those with they eyes wide open in awe, next to kids sitting, standing, laying down, this expression seemed to capture all of what it means to worship a worthy God in all ways.

i tell you as a "worship leader" it was encouraging...not that people responded to the music but to the worship and i am glad to know it wasn't anything i had to do with. i am a lucky kid.

so, today is my first interview for our new hire and i'm a little nervous...is that allowed? isn't it supposed to be the other way. it's okay, i'll wear my glasses so i look older, more sophisticated, or at least more of a geek. i'll make sure to put some masking tape around the middle and hike my tapered jeans up.

HR gave me a book called 96 Great Interview Questions...they couldn't think of four more? make it an even hundo? there's the linear part of me creeping out again. well anyway, i only read about five of the questions and rolled my eyes as i read questions like "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" now, i know i have limited experience interviewing people, in fact, none, but i have got to say that i think this is the most useless question. what does a person say to that? "ok, what was that answer i was supposed to use? ...ah, 'working for your company so i can be the best drone ever!'"

anyway i'll let you know how many times i studder trying to say "technologically". i need some whiskey.

thanks to tom, we now have pictures to enhance the previous post. we took these the day after, kristin is behind the camera, but imagine her face first, like she is skydiving on the ground under tom. enjoy... speed lines, red eyes and lion added in photoshop. btw, i should add that we never actually SAW the lion, so it remains a source of debate for many of my skeptical friends. but it was for sure not a buffalo. :)

also, notice the fence is a bit lower than the aforementioned 7 feet, maybe more like 5, easily cat-jumpable. thanks tom!