Handling Olympus

Christmas Eve Family Worship Service - check out the videos!

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:34:00 +0000

During the Christmas Eve Family service at Arvada Covenant Church our goal is to make sure that everyone that walks through the doors knows the events of the Christmas story; or, if they already are familiar with the story, that they leave with a deeper sense of wonder, amazement and awe about the birth of Jesus Christ as a baby and God's unstoppable plan to be our Savior.

To make this work in a family setting with kids that are pumped and excited because it's Christmas Eve, we tell the story several different engaging ways. Adults sing hymns that tell the story of angels, wise men and shepherds while children costumed as shepherds, angels and wise men are led through the sanctuary. We have enough costumes for any child that wants to participate. We also use parents to portray the events of the Christmas story narrated with the text of the Bible. One other modality we use to tell the story is video. We interview children in the weeks before Christmas and ask them to tell us what they know about the story. The videos are funny, sincere and always touching and make great transitions during the parts of the service. If you'd like to watch the videos, they are posted on the Arvada Covenant Church website here: Christmas Eve Children's videos

We close the service with a 5-7 minute child-targeted message with a simple, repeatable bottom line. Finally we all sing Silent Night and, instead of open flame candlelight, we use glow sticks. These are a big hit with kids, provide a nice environment, are safe for everyone and give kids something to take home with them to remind them of the service.

During the family service, most everyone has the opportunity to be actively involved in some part. The service lasts about 45 minutes and is a great reminder to everyone attending about the miracle and wonder of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Be sure to watch the kids in the videos. c.u.t.e.

Weekend Plans

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:06:00 +0000

Thursday night - attend the Advanced Placement orientation at SLHS - done. same as last year but quicker and less boring.
Friday - fix my mountain bike: new freewheel and chain - done. new cassette and chain (sram).
repair the Christmas tree lights and store the thing. yes it's still out. frayed wire from the kittens going ballistic inside the tree. the ornaments are all put away. done. M14 and i did this in a quick 15 minutes. now it's ready for next year.
shop and select carpet for stage in ministry room no! need to get this done!
make a plan for wiring and lighting layout in the basement no! come on!
2 couples over for dinner on Saturday done! my wife is a great host. we laughed and had a good time.
Red Rocks steps no! come on! decided to get home and help prepare for the superbowl guests.
Lead and teach at church done! good times. used mediashout to run almost everything in the large-group environment.
ride twice rode once. and not very far. rode with someone i hadn't ridden with before.
Super Bowl party at our house done! watched a good game with great friends.

need to get that carpet purchased and the lighting plan done.

Weekend Plans - update

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:20:00 +0000

I posted this list last week on Thursday:

Thought I'd throw down what i want to do this weekend and then check back with myself on Monday and see how i did...

Thursday night family hang, drinks with my wife - had a great time out with my wife at Steuben's in Denver. great food (grits and shrimp!) and great conversation with my wife. Our love for each other is growing.
Men with Goats meet up - 4 of the 5 goats met on friday morning. good conversation with good guys in different stages of life. it's real and honest - at least i am.
ride 2 hours- 2 times - rode 3 hours on friday (31 miles) and 1 hour on saturday (chain broke)
Friday movie (with A16?) - didn't do this. i wanted to see valkyrie but he had other things he wanted to do.
Saturday morning breakfast with men from church - didn't do this. i was behind on sleep and chose pastor pillow, instead. i heard it was a good gathering.
select and purchase carpet for the Launch Pad stage - didn't do this and still haven't. maybe tomorrow?
Red Rocks steps with L15 - nope. it was 20 degrees and snowing. we opted out.
Teaching/leading at church - yes i did. it was fun as usual!
Annual Meeting at church - yes siree.
get some stuff on eBaby - 2 new Leatherman Juice - a Bach 16M trombone? - guitar effects pedal - did it. listed the guitar processor and one Juice. hope they sell.
make a plan for wiring lighting in the basement. - somewhat but not so much.

the list was motivating. maybe i'll do it again this weekend. Do you make lists?

Rider's Log 1.24.09 Big Dry Creek/Standley Lake Mud...broken chain

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 05:02:00 +0000

I headed west on the Big Dry Creek Trail this afternoon and rode around the north side of Standley Lake along the shoreline. The water is lower in the winter so a lot is exposed that's normally under water. there's open space to ride right along the water to the bald eagle boundary. Gary (my mtn bike) and I had a fun time in the mud. Unfortunately, the mud gunked up my old chain and it failed. Too bad i didn't have my chain tool with me.

I skate pushed and rolled my bike down to the Sooper's at Church Ranch and Wads and Laura picked me up.

I sure was enjoying exploring around the lake in the places where i normally can't ride. I'll be back.

Distance: about 10 miles Time: about an hour Avs: i don't know.

somehow my phonecam color got set on "aqua." nice effect. the first pic is of the shore of the lake looking west towards the mountains. the second is my bike with great globs of gooey, righteous mud. i had to stand on stones to keep from sinking in the mud. my chain broke about ten minutes after.

Rider's Log 1.23.09 - Coal Creek Trail/Community Ditch/Spring Brook Loop

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 04:14:00 +0000

Distance 31 miles. Time: 3:10. Avs: 10.5 Temperature: 27-32 degrees

Left from the Flatirons Church office lot around 9:30 with Michael Koehn. We rode out to the Boulder County open space and took a clockwise loop on the new Spring Brook Loop South. Nice loop of a about 2.5 miles. Counterclockwise wise might be a better way to go. Since it's been really warm the last week, most all of the mud was dry except for some shady spots in the BoCo OS up next to the mountains and in the trees. The return was a bit cold and both Michael and I were a bit chilled by the time we were done. We were cold toast.

Definitely a sweet ride for January. It should be a good year.

Boulder County Open Space

Looking north at the flatirons

Michael

Weekend Plans

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 23:50:00 +0000

Thought I'd throw down what i want to do this weekend and then check back with myself on Monday and see how i did...

Thursday night family hang, drinks with my wife
Men with Goats meet up
ride 2 hours- 2 times
Friday movie (with A16?)
Saturday morning breakfast with men from church
select and purchase carpet for the Launch Pad stage
Red Rocks steps with L15
Teaching/leading at church
Annual Meeting at church
get some stuff on eBaby - 2 new Leatherman Juice - a Bach 16M trombone? - guitar effects pedal
make a plan for wiring lighting in the basement.

I'll let you know how i did.

Anyone have some great plans for the weekend? Do tell.

My Tweetup Letdown

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:02:00 +0000

Sometimes i don't do strangers and crowds well. Tonight was one of those nights. When the crowd is a random mix and i don't know what the connecting points might be, i don't figure those out quickly and i feel awkward. i don't feel sincere. i'm better in groups of people that are like me. it's easier, of course. (see "things i wish i'd do better" on the left sidebar)

noisy places make it tougher for me to do crowds. my hearing isn't so great in noisy places after 15 years of teaching large and loud band classes in small spaces. my voice is low pitched so i feel like i have to shout to be heard; AND, when everyone is standing, i'm literally shoulders and a head above the rest of the crowd. i have a hard time hearing the conversations.

i don't feel very interesting around interesting people. i'm bummed cause i wanted to talk with the interesting people. new people. different people. people that don't feel like they have to be nice but that are still kind. (you all did look really cool and interesting, btw.)

i really like getting in fun conversations about little things or deep conversations about important things but mostly fun deep and important things.

well, that's my thing. sometimes i deal with it. sometimes i don't. not so much tonight.

i think i might have a better chance if there's a future area tweetup that's outdoors or in a place i can hear better. and everyone is like me. and they'll all be quiet so i can talk.

i did really enjoy going downtown/uptown/around town/through the city. i like the atmosphere. i want to get down there on my bike and ride all over the place. be all urban and stuff and junk.

And to the lady that "lost $10 for her bus ticket back to Oklahoma" - good luck. i hope you make it wherever you're headed. Sorry i didn't feel right helping you. i must say that it was smart of to buy all those groceries you were carrying so you'd have stuff to eat on the bus. ;-)

Monday 1.19.09

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:10:00 +0000

5:00 a.m. Alarm goes off. Hit snooze

5:09 a.m. Alarm goes off. hit snooze

5:18 a.m. Alarm goes off. hit snooze

5:24 a.m. Alarm goes off. wonder if i can sleep 15 more minutes and still make Panera in Superior by 7.

5:25 a.m. Shower, etc. morning routine.

6:50 leave for Panera to meet with Tim @7:00 - my friend and children's ministry colleague.

7:10 Panera. egg soufflé and bagel with hot tea.

7:40 Tim, delayed, arrives. i realize i could have slept those extra 15 minutes.

7:40 Catching up and thinking of the future. He graduated from CU in December with a Mech. E. BS. Job market is tight right now.

8:50 Drive to work

9:15 Focus on God, his authority in my life and my position in relationship to that truth. "This is a gracious thin, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffer unjustly....For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for yo, leaving you and example, so that you might follow in his steps." I Peter 2:19-21

9:40 CM Ministry Team Monday morning check-in and prayer.

10:20 Update and print weekly to-do list. Transfer items that didn't get done last week to this week's list

10:30 Talk with Pastor about tomorrow's brainstorming session for Relational Evangelism strategies. Good chat.

11:20 Finish to-do list.

11:30 Review Elementary curriculum for February 8, 2009. The Good Samaritan - Treat everyone fairly - even those who are different.

12:10 p.m. Pull out Leader's Guide for 1.25 lesson and begin weekly preparations. goal - get ALL the prep for this week done today.

12:20 Talk with ministry assistant about gathering a few people to reorganize a ministry storage closet.

12:30 back to preparing 1.25 lesson

1:00 quick meet to select activities for 2.8.09 1st-5th graders.

1:15 back to work on 1.25 material - outlining lesson

2:40 converting video file from QuickTime to AVI. cracked the error code message i started receiving last week by selecting a different file destination. (desktop rather than a my documents location)

3:25 outlining, song selection, powerpoint, video conversion, iPod loading done. Starting weekly leader email draft to be sent on Wednesday.

3:30 Phone call from Phoenix Dave. Got his advice on heart rate monitors. Listen to new U2 single released: http://goyb.U2.com

4:00 Conversation about the future direction of the young adult ministry

4:35 Wrote draft email to send to leaders on Wednesday.

5:05 Finish this post. Shut down. Go home. Successful day. Tomorrow we become and Obamanation.

Rider's Log 1.18.09

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 05:37:00 +0000

19 miles 1:40. 11.9 AVS

Big Dry Creek Trail-Cotton Creek Trail-128th Ave-BDCT-home.

60 degrees.

Rider' Log 1.17.09 - first ride of the year

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 05:23:00 +0000

It feels really good to post a January date for Rider's Log.

Rode my "time trial" loop. Its a 20 mile lollipop that takes me from my house out the Big Dry Creek Trail to I-25, north on Huron to 144th, around McKay Lake, south past Legacy High School and back home on the BDCT.

Temp was 60 today. I rode with long sleeve base layer and long sleeve jersey, full finger gloves and shorts. i was comfortable.

Distance: 20 miles Time: 1:33 (did this same ride 8.28.08 in 1:10)

Rider's Log 11.22.08 Coal Creek, Signal Ditch, Community Ditch

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 01:01:00 +0000

I'm restarting my Rider's Logs! It's been 6 months since i've done them and i really like looking back to see the rides I've done. I wish I had done them April-October to document the 200o i rode this season.

Today i rode with Michael from the FCC parking lot in west Lafayette. Rode the Coal Creek urban trail to Marshall Mesa, across highway 93, Signal Ditch and back. 28 miles 2.5 hours.

This is a fast and fun ride. Very non-technical. A lot of people out on the trail. I'd rate this one high for a fast, fun ride when you just want to ride and push yourself and chew up some miles on the mountain bike.

Big Wisdom in a Few Words from a Big Man

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:30:00 +0000

"The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority."

Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.

"Cowardice asks the question: "Is it safe"? Expediency asks the question:"Is it politic"? Vanity asks the question: "Is it popular?" But conscience asks the question:"Is it right?" And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because one's conscience tells one what is right."

Martin Luther King Jr (1929 - 1968)

These are good words with strong wisdom on which to reflect.

Tips to Help You Become a De-Motivating Leader part 1

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:47:00 +0000

Here are some free, time-tested tips on how to be a de-motivating un-leader. These are guaranteed to work when you want to de-motivate and un-lead your team.

Consider stories or struggles other people share as an invitation and opportunity to share your own stories and talk about your own struggles. Never come back to the other person's problem. Monopolize the conversation and talk about yourself. Your team will soon stop sharing anything deep or meaningful.
Be a poor listener - lack empathy, don't ask questions - see above . see #8
Always tell people about your family but never ask them about their family.
Do not encourage your team with notes, gifts or public praise.
Encourage your team to take risks and go out on a limb. However, do not protect your team members from outside criticism for taking risks and trying new things.
Do not seek to understand the hearts of your team members.
Don't connect relationally and authentically. Don't make a heart connection and try to understand the realities of where your your team members are.
1. Understand = "joining someone else's truth and deep waters of the heart"
Don't let people understand who you are and your truth. see above
Make sure everyone knows how busy you are. Don't notice that your team is busy, too. If you do notice it, repent for being sensitive. Never mention it out loud.
Be a cock-eyed pessimist. Be a "no, because" person instead of a "yes, if" person.
Say "that won't work here," or, "that doesn't really work at that other place." Say these phrases every time you are challenged by an idea. Do not say, "I wonder if we could make that work here."
Ask for input and argue against all the input ideas. Explain, using your years of experience, why they won't work. If possible, tell a story about you. see #1
Focus on the negatives of a current situation. Don't let it ever occur to you to celebrate or leverage the positives. When necessary, talk about sick and dying people to distract your team.
Lament failures deeply. Do not learn from them. Neither expect them nor allow them.
Ignore success and progress. Minimize any perceived successes - especially when someone is really pleased and has worked hard.
Do #11-15 publicly - especially with key players in your organization.

I am personally guilty of a good number of these. Some often. Some infrequently. Turn these around into positive statements and the list can be a good guide for becoming a motivating leader. Sometimes, in order to really know what something IS, you have to learn what it is NOT. When you experience de-motivating un-leadership, you learn what motivating leadership is in a stronger way.

Do you have any tips to add?

(Part 2 coming soon)

Arches National Park

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 15:07:00 +0000

Knowledge

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:42:00 +0000

I love the curriculum we use as a tool to plug children into life through Christ. It's called 252 Basics and is published by the reTHink group. I love how they use the character traits, or virtues, of Christ to guide us in our growth. Here's the "Leaders Only" section for the Sunday, September 14:

This month we’ve been talking about (1) knowledge, which is discovering something new so you can be better at whatever you do. (2) God is perfect and omnipotent—the ultimate Authority on right and wrong, the ultimate Author of Scripture, the Book on wise choices. Jesus used His knowledge of Scripture (that He’d been studying since childhood) to make the wise choice. Because Jesus knew what God said, He was able to withstand the temptation to do wrong things. (3) God wants us to have that kind of knowledge too. So today, focus on helping kids understand that knowing what God says by reading the Bible will help them make wise choices and can even help them avoid or withstand unforeseen trouble. (4) When they know what God says, and follow through on it, it will make a difference in their lives—and in the lives of those around them.

That is great stuff that helps us stay focused on living life God's way.
A big "pat on the back" to the reThink group for their efforts.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding; seek His will in all you do and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6.

Team Garmin Chipotle

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:20:00 +0000

Chipotle in France during le Tour! Go team Garmin/Chipotle! Your sponsorship makes me want to eat more big, huge, fresh burritos.

My Blog Has Been Sleeping

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:19:00 +0000

After the Orange Conference at the end of April, I returned to Colorado and dove into end of the season ministry work and preparations for Kid's Camp 2008, our VBS experience. I've been working like crazy.

Next week, I'll be turning, 42, packing up all of the ministry supplies for a July and August church building remodel, celebrating the 4th of July and replacing the brakes on at least one of my cars.

On the 6th, I head up to Covenant Heights Camp to teach 4th-10th graders (not all at the same time) for a week in the mountains near Estes Park, Colorado. During the week I will totally relax while studying for the talks I'll give each day. I also plan to unpack my notes from the Orange Conference and look ahead to ministry plans for the next phases, 3 months, 9 months and beyond. I will also wake up my sleepy blog and start posting again on a consistent basis.

I've been learning a lot about what it means to live in humility; as in putting others first by giving up what i think i deserve. It's making a difference in my life and I'll share some thoughts later.

Follow me on Twitter at johnincolorado. My micro blog tweeting has been going strong while this macro blog has been sleeping.

Thanks for checking in. I'll see you in a couple of weeks.

Please Pray

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:29:00 +0000

Read Julian's full story here.

We were on schedule to be discharged tomorrow until Julian came down with a fever of 101.6 this evening. They will take blood cultures from both sides of his hemodialysis catheter (the venous and arterial sides) and begin a slurry of antibiotics tonight, including vancomyacin which is used to treat MRSA, a highly drug-resistant form of Staph Aureaus.
His blood pressure was unusually low last night, and coupled with the rising temperature today there is a concern. Please pray that any infection of the blood or of the catheter will be taken care of by the antibiotics and that Julian will come out fine from this whole ordeal.
I asked the Dr. on the floor tonight whether or not it was potentially life threatening by saying "It doesn't always go well for the patient in cases of blood infections, does it?" And she shook her head and said "not always".
Dave just walked in the door from his cab ride from the airport as I'm typing this emergency prayer request, and I am going to sleep at the Ronald McDonald House tonight while Dave sleeps here (or doesn't sleep) at the hospital.
I take Cheryl to the airport tomorrow to go to Denver for a couple weeks.
Thank you for joining us in prayer on this, we are worried of course.

Orange Conference posts

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:48:00 +0000

I will post on the Orange Conference and share my notes. I promise.
We are in a very busy stretch of getting ready for summer action. Also, the weather has been nicer and I've been on my bike more.

keep checking. i will share.

Orange Conference 2008 p2

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:59:00 +0000

Day 2 of the Orange conference has been great. Francis Chan, Kristian Stanfill, Donald Miller, Nancy Ortberg, Jennifer Tamborello, Donald Miller, Kid Stuf to the max.

Over the next week or two, I'll be blogging and sharing my notes and thoughts from each session attended. I take take great notes, too.

I'm a tired man. I hope I can sleep well tonight.

BTW - My room at the Sun Suites in Duluth, GA smells and is very noisy. It's a "leave your socks on" kinda place. I don't like the place but for $50 a night we are saving a bundle on lodging that i will get to spend later on taking volunteers to another conference experience.

Orange Conference 2008

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 03:32:00 +0000

I'm in Atlanta attending the Orange Conference. If you came here through twitter 'cause I'm following you now, it would be great to connect, meet and network.

I used the twitter tracking feature to find quite a few people that are attending Orange. If you send 'track orange' to twitter, you'll get every twitter message sent to you that has the word 'orange' in it. (you wouldn't believe how many people twitter about orange juice, orange julius, orange liquor and some orange computer thing)

BTW - I'm a children's ministry director at a reasonably large church in Arvada, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. Our team is working hard to transition the ministry into an orange ministry using 252 and My First Look. For four years prior to my two years in this position I was the CMP at a fast growing church - from 1800 people to 4000 in 28 months. I've done some conference speaking, including the 2006 Purpose Driven Children's Ministry Conference. I really appreciate and value having a strong network of other leaders - that's my purpose for connecting.

Enjoy Orange!

Rider's Log 4.18.08 - On the Road Again! Milliken

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:41:00 +0000

This was my first ride on the road bike since last fall. I easily forget how much faster a skinny tire road bike is than a fat tire mountain bike. It was a blast to be out there again.

65 miles. 3:47 ride time. 17mph average.

Rode with Roger (62) and Bruce (55?) through farmlands east of 1-25 from Erie exit north past Ft. St. Vrain into Milliken. We ate a light lunch at a total small town dinner in Milliken and then rode back along the same route (Rd23). I felt great for the first three hours. The fourth hour was tough because it was by far the most effort I've put into the bike since last fall. My legs were screaming "STOP!" but I didn't. I let the two "old" guys drag my butt back. They are very strong riders and drafting is amazing. I imagine my time would have been 45-60 minutes longer if I would have been out solo.

Check out this bald eagle webcam along the route. http://birdcam.xcelenergy.com/eagle.html There are eaglets in the nest right now and you can see them on cam on on the daily snapshots if the cam isn't working. We saw these birds out in the air when we rode past. Phenomenal.

Rider's Log 4.13 and 4.15

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:46:00 +0000

Both days about 17 miles up and down the Big Dry Creek Trail and three lung busting shots straight up the City Park Hill. (last summer i was doing 10).

April goal: 200 miles. So far: 34.

Wednesday Afternoon Snack Choices

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:25:00 +0000

I wonder if I can eat the snow peas and not the cherry pie goodness.....

any bets?

P.S. The cherry pie is WAY better than gold fish crackers. (you know who I am talking to)

Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (John In Colorado) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:41:00 +0000

According to Wiki...

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-bloggin service that allows users to send "updates" (or "tweets"; text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to the Twitter website, via short message service (e.g. on a cell phone), instant messaging, or a third-party application such as Twitterific or Facebook.

Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and instantly delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. The sender can restrict delivery to those in his or her circle of friends (delivery to everyone is the default). Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, instant messaging, text messages on their phone, email or through an application.

It's called micro-blogging. A great way to be connected with people around the country or in your own neighborhood. I've been doing it for a bit, like it and have connected with other people in my profession around the country. You can read my updates over there on the left or follow me http://twitter.com/johnincolorado