Create a caption Contest

This is a contest as to who can create the funniest caption for this picture. The contest runs through Tuesday, March 3rd. The winner to be announced.

Hey everyone, it's Jake's Birthday!

Happy Birthday big bro Jake!

Sorry, this is two weeks late!

Fireside Chats with Cash

I've been trying to post this video of Cash for weeks now, but blogger has been acting crazy. Anyways, a month or so ago Cash wanted to make "bideos," so we spent the afternoon filming "chats with Cash." Here's the first tiny installment. More to come.

Its Fat Tuesday, and way before sunrise Eric Smith is broadcasting live for Channel 7 news at a Hamtramck paczki shop. I always wondered if this assignment was to Eric Smith what going to Punxatawny was for Bill Murray in Groundhogs Day. I don’t think so, Eric Smith always seemed like a genuinely good person. Anyway, Happy Paczki Day!! We are having a Fat Tuesday party with our church community and I happened to find paczkis at our local store and the sight of those donuts on steroids made my heart jump. I guess the story behind them is that before the start of Lent, when Christians typically fast, the Polish would try to use up everything they had in their kitchen, and so the result was the Paczki, an oversized donut stuffed with anything imaginable, sold for 50 cents at Maltby Middle School (Norm has the 50 cent paczki become a victim of inflation?).

For those observing Lent, our Church is also using this prayer guide as we journey from Ash Wednesday to Holy Week. I thought it has some good stuff in it if any in the family want to use it. Peace, Love, and Paczkis.

Rebellion are 4-1 at midseason

Gaines (#20) finds his stride, scoring two tries in the first half, en route to another Rebellion victory.

Schedule for the rest of the season:

March 7: las vegas SILVERBACKS
March 14: san pedro RHINOS
March 28: at orange country RAVENS
April 4: at san fernando MUTINEERS
April 25: at san diego ARMADA


Come see a game!

Yeah, this economy sucks.

I'm going back to the bike...

Anyone want a car?

Ahhh!!!! So frustrating.

Hey ya'll be praying for Michigan. The economy is horrible here in this area. Families in the area are having to make decisions of staying or going. I have two co-workers who's husbands will never be called back again to work. It is hitting our faith family hard. We are spending the next month talking about overcoming fear and praying a lot on Sunday mornings together. Many men are walking around with heads hung. Some more than others. It's very hard to watch. We are actually having community dinners for the area every wednesday so family's don't have to worry about dinner one night of the week. Not sure if you are there with me yet, but it's upsetting. Remember Lee Iaccocca. He's the guy that pulled chrysler out of it's last "crisis". This is what he has to say about it all in his book "Where have all the leaders gone?": (Most of this is frustration with the car companies)


'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course. Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned, 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!' You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the ' America ' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.)
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership. But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point. Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it? Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change? Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America . In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a "Call to Action" for people who, like me, believe in America '. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'

cute story

I thought I would share a quick moment from yesterday that was pretty special. So like, Caleb had to go into Preschool yesterday to take a "test" with his teacher, Mrs. Tildon for Kindergarten - you know the letters, storytelling, numbers, etc. stuff. One of the last parts of the test he had to finish an incomplete drawing of a man. He drew the rest of the man, and Mrs Tildon said, "good job, Caleb," but Caleb told her he wasn't done yet. He continued to draw a heart inside his chest. Mrs. Tildon asked Caleb, "How does this man feel?" He told her that "This man is FULL of JOY."

She came out after the test to tell Steph about his performance, and that cute story that caused her eyes to well-up when he said that. Ever since I've had Caleb and Eden I have realized how much I have fallen far from the innocent, child-like, faithful simplicity of things. Everything's always so complicated. And like never before when Christ calls us to "come to him like a little one," and the myriad verses that echo this "child-likeness" have I been reminded by this. And a lot of the time they GET IT, and we miss it. Anyway, thought I would share it.

Lincoln 200

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

ode to a tree

We were home a few weekends ago, and I feel like I have to report some news. Those who live in perpetual 70 degrees may not be aware but its been a particularly brutal winter in the great north. We like to think it makes us tougher, more able to withstand life's hardships, but none can deny that this winter has taken its toll. And it is my great displeasure to have to tell you that the sugar maple that has sat at the edge of 7028 Winding Trail for as long as any of us can remember may have taken a fatal blow. So this is my ode to a tree that all of us have enjoyed.

Its buds in the springtime were one of the first true signs that the long cold winter was over. As generations of red robins returned to the state that has honored them as their "State Bird", this tree provided a home, a place for nests and bright blue eggs. Its deep green leaves in the summer provided shade, a canopy to lay under. It lovingly received hundreds of wiffle ball home runs from front yard baseball games. Its colors in the Fall made it easy to love Michigan, our greatest season, football, rakes, and smoke. And now it has become a casualty of the winter. It withstood decades of snow and ice but this year the weight was too much and the broken branches might signal the end of an era. So to close this ode, I have some questions for this tree, starting with how many times have I climbed you?? Did Chris Voris ever climb you in parachute pants? Did Tony Broger ever TP you on devils night? Did the Gaines boys ever ward off would be attackers as we hid in the bushes defending our home on devils night? What kind of mischief did BJ Willey cause you? Did Bo ever corner the Willey's cat up you? How many times did Alex Craig mow around you? And finally, would Brennan have ran into you if he hadn't bolted out of bounds when there was nothing but endzone in front of him? "Had I not, I would have ran into THAT TREE!!"

We used to laugh when the Mr. Rogers record sang, "Tree, tree, tree, we love you!" but now I know what he was singing about. I'm going to miss that tree if it has to go.

And for those tired Midwesterners enjoying this week's brief reprieve from the cold dark winter (60 tomorrow in Fort Wayne), I remind you that there is no greater feeling than that first warm day after a frigid winter! It is like being reborn!! Baseball bats will soon be cracking! This is why we live here!

Just a thought...

I have to admit that I haven't spent much time on the ol' Gaines/Lampi Blog as of late... but, the other night I got sucked in and found myself going all the way back to its very beginnings in 2005. I stayed awake in bed till midnight sifting through our musings about weekend happenings, significant moments, dogs, vegetables, birthdays, books, anniversaries, etc., etc. And now we fast forward 4 years to a handful of beautiful, healthy children, new jobs and homes, marriages still strong and thriving, and a continuous sense that God is near and faithful. We have become Grandmas and Grandpas, Uncles and Aunts, and Mommies and Daddies. We have learned more about ourselves, one another, and our world. And most importantly, it is evident in the good seasons of life and the bad, that somehow we keep getting closer to where God wants us to be... Even if it's simply because we've acquired some more age lines that let us know that we're nearer to being with him each day than we were the day before. I can never say this enough, but it is good to share life together. Love you guys.

Jackson Benjamin Gaines

I heard it many times from all of you, but never understood that I could never love someone or something so much than our son! This year, having the newest addition to the Gaines Family (Temecula Edition), has been truely the most amazing blessing from God. Yesterday, as we celebrated Jackson's first birthday with many of our friends and family, we had this slideshow going. I wanted to share it with all of you who were unable to be there!

44

"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus—and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

President Obama

can we even grasp this?

don't have much to say. tomorrow is more than words. hear it from his own words.

Cheers to you, MLK. PREACH IT!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk

Wolverines back into the Big Time

Sparty better watch out because the Wolverines are back - baby. MSU had better work on their defense because the three taters will be flying when they play the Maize and Blue. The Hoosiers have become the Loosiers because of the boys from Ann Arbor. Wes, change your allegiance back to the home town boys. B,J &A I am happy to say you still bleed Maize and Blue. Jeff, I'm calling you and your Sparty friends out!!

Jackson is back!

After a crazy week in the hospital a few weeks ago Jackson is getting back to himself. He is gaining back that pound he lost quickly and the wheezing is under control for now. Thank you all for praying for our little man!!!

The Courage of Detroit

Lena Jo told me about this article in Sports Illustrated, written by Mitch Albom, about the Detroit's ups and downs in sports and in business. Later in the day I caught Mitch Albom on the Charlie Rose in a compelling interview, standing up for Detroit as a proud citizen.

It made me proud to be from Michigan, and again, brought back every single memory, good and bad, growing up as a Detroit sports fan.

You can read the full article here.

And watch the full Charlie Rose Mitch Albom (near the end of the video) here.

"To hell with the depression. We're gonna have a good year."

Bill and Lena, we have you to thank for this video. . .

This is what happens when Grandma and Grandpa take Cash to the mall and spend $5 on the fancy car cart. . . mom and dad take him to the mall the following week, refuse to spend $5 on the cart. . . breakdown ensues.


(Sorry, I couldn't resist).

Not "The Box" but up there:

Remember the chills you used to get when Wes or Matt Kurtz played Jesus in the Box and at the end when they hug...yeah..wow..memories.

Anyway- In my recent GodTube visit, I came across a great drama that may just give you the chills like those caused by the box.
Take 3 minutes and watch-hang in there the end is the best!

2nd missional forum

This past Saturday we hosted the second annual “Seeding Missional Communities Commons” in Fort Wayne. Over 80 people from all around the Midwest and New Jersey gathered to discuss church planting, community, mission, etc. There were four presentations followed by lengthy times of discussion and Q & A here are some of my notes:

· Worship: Our friend Ben spoke about the importance and purpose of gathering for worship (i.e. the Sunday service). Ben spoke about how worshipping together is indispensable because it is through worship that we are formed into the Body of Christ; that is, as we encounter God in worship we are transformed into people that can carry out his mission. Worship is not entertainment (i.e. we really like the music, videos, drama, etc.{then go to a concert!}) or informational (i.e. we really like the sermon, bible teaching, etc. {then download the podcast!}) but it is the Body encountering God through Word and Sacrament: hearing scripture, responding with adoration, song, music, confessing sin together, praying for one another, receiving nourishment from Christ during communion. It is formational and continuous, we gather and are sent out, and gather again, sent out again…… (David Fitch has a good blog post about this link)

· Community: The next presentation was about the importance of community to the life of the church. The speaker outlined five values for missional orders (communities):

1. Priority or stability: those involved in the church community are committed to being there, it is a priority to be together.
2. Proximity: Those in a church community live in close proximity to one another so that they can be there for each other and minister together in a specific geographic locale (neighborhood).
3. Poverty: Those in a church community should commit to living beneath their means and not incurring debt without consulting others in the community.
4. Politics: Not as in who you vote for but that the gospel creates a new politic or way of living in that the commitment to being disciples of Christ supercedes individualism
5. Mission: Evangelism, caring for the poor, carrying out God’s mission in the world is the result and goal of the previous values.

· Conversion: David Fitch spoke on how people are converted or brought into the family of God in today’s world. He spoke about how people need to know what they are being called into (a lifelong commitment to discipleship) and that the focus on what used to be called “first time decisions” (every eye closed, every head bowed…) is inadequate because it turns conversion into a transaction or consumer decision often based on wrong motives (i.e. I don’t want to go to hell, I do want to go to heaven, therefore I am going to pray this prayer and that will take care of it). The call to conversion must be broader than fear of hell (Rom 6:22) and must involve repentance (turning away from one way of living and turning towards another – being a lifelong disciple of Christ).

· Finances: The last presentation was about how church communities can function as small local economies where instead of our finances being personal and individualistic we share everything as in Acts 2 and allow our pooled resources to sustain the work of the kingdom in our cities and neighborhoods. The presenter offered a few values and suggestions:

1. Simplify our lives (live beneath our means by denying ourselves and taking up our crosses)

2. Sharing life together: share financial burdens, loan to one another, work together, start businesses, etc.

3. Grow food together (a small act that acknowledges food as an important part of any economy)

4. Discern a local economy (as a community, what are we to do with our resources and how can we band together to further the work of the gospel)

Anyways that’s pretty scattered I know, but those are my notes, the forum was videoed and will be put online soon and I’ll link you then. Peace!!