As Amanda shared yesterday in her Easter 2008 blog, we decided to begin a new tradition of escaping to the movies on Easter Sunday. The best (and only) animated option available to us at the good ole Salisbury Regal Cinema was “Horton Hears a Who“.

Overall, the film was hilarious and very fun. Ryland was captivated from the very first preview… and he fought to stay behind in order to watch the credits roll in an emptied theater.
The most enjoyable moment for Amanda and I was when Chico learned a new “b” word from Horton and his friends. Here’s how the scene played out…

In the film, the Mayor of Whoville (voiced by Steve Carell of “The Office” fame) is dramatically called a “boooooob” by the Chairman of the Whoville City Council. At this point in the movie, Chico was sitting in my lap with an expression of utter mesmerization. But as soon as that line was delivered with dramatic emphasis, Chico smiled at the screen and then said… mimicking the inflection of the evil Chairman… “boooooob”.

We startled him with our laughter… but then Chico looked up at us… smiled… and said “boooob!!!”

The “b” word was repeated numerous times from that point forward in the film… and Ryland was faithful to follow each instance with his mesmerized repetition of the phrase.

So… to all I say… Happy Easter… and… BOOOOOOB!

.: weav :. 

AM/SM hosted a spring break concert last Wednesday in Studio 7o7 that featured two excellent local bands. The Stand (a band from The Tabernacle in Pittsville, Maryland) opened the show with some intense worship and Death By Sunday (a band that I have blogged about recently which features three of my students) closed the nite with some head-rattling rock.

Here are some photos of the evening…

 

 

 

 

 

Ryland and Amanda surprised me on Sunday afternoon with a copy of the newly released Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. I never get games when they first release! We usually wait until they come out in the used section at the game stores. So far… it has been money well-spent. One of the coolest features about the Wii version of Brawl is the ability to fight versus other via an online connection.

I have battled several of my students online over the last couple of days (shout-out to Caleb the Cowardly Lion and Mike the Drummer). Anyone else who has a Wii, a copy of Brawl, and a wifi connection… give me a shout so we can throw down in the near future.

 
.: weav :.

I just received the following update from the Skit Guys about their Southwest Airlines commercial:

“Be sure to tune in to TBS on March 16th at 8PM (ET/PT) for World’s Funniest Commercials: Hilarious Liasons to see our national commercial join the ranks among some of the funniest on television.”

The SWA commercial first aired during the 2007 NBA Playoffs when the Skit Guys submitted it to the Southwest Airlines Commercial Contest. You can also check out a preview of the video (which is called “Out On A Limb”) at youtube by clicking here. Amanda has already set the Weaver-DVR to record this Sunday nite…

.: weav :. 

A few days ago, I blogged about my excitement concerning the premier of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. I just got my second email from Interlinc (the amazing music and media source for youthworkers) about Prince Caspian and in this dispatch they provided some sweet-action behind the scenes vids and interviews… and they encouraged current Narnia Insiders to share the wealth. So… that’s what I’ve decided to do!

If you are a youthworker, a student, a parent, or a just-plain-Narnia-fan… click out this link to sign up to become a Narnia Insider.
 

If you are one of my AM/SM students or AM/SM volunteers… start brainstorming with me on how we can make this premier on May 16th a fun priority for our Student Ministry. Comment here on my blog (or email me) about some of your ideas on how to make the most of this opportunity.
 

.: weav :.  

Much thanks to James and Cindy Heck (who are members at Allen that faithfully volunteer in the Media Ministry with Amanda) for sending us the link to this hee-hi-larious video that is just screaming to become a sermon illustration for student ministries and churches everywhere.

Improv Everywhere is the improv group that organized this effort of 207 people who froze in the middle of Grand Central Station at the exact same moment. When this occured… some people were shocked, some moved on without noticing, some were frustrated, and some even stopped to take pictures of the hilarity.

One passage that came to mind while I was watching the video was James 1:19-25. This passage in the NCV says that “when we listen and do nothing, we are fooling ourselves”. And the same passage in The Message says that when we choose to obey God’s teaching in our lives then we are able to become a “man or woman of action”.

My faith should not cause me to become frozen and complacent… but to be among those who are full of movement and wonder.

.: weav :.

In continuance and conclusion (for today) of this series of blogs…

Saturday night we dropped Chico off at Danny and Patty Morris’ casa (Danny and Patty have unofficially become Ryland’s surrogate grandparents on the Eastern Shore… but we’ll save that story for another blog) and ventured to the Land of Oz (not the prison) in the Mardela High School Cafetorium. We were accompanied in our journey through the Land of Oz by Angie and Bob (Caleb’s proud parents) and Mitch (who is one of my seniors that I’ve bragged on before).
 

Caleb Drehmer was the cowardly lion… and he was outstanding. He stinkin’ stole the show with his comedic timing and line delivery… and he was impressive when he sang his solos while matching his character speaking voice and character singing voice. It was greatness! Overall the musical was solid, with good vocal performances and good acting. The high school band played and did a good job as well. Another of my students, Megan, played alto-sax and did a great job (she is featured below in the photo alongside her sister Cozy).

All I’ve got to say now is… OH BETSY!!!  

.: weav :.

Continuing some of the story-telling about my uber-talented students at allen memorial / student ministry… I had the opportunity to attend a concert at the local Knights of Columbus where Death By Sunday was rockin’ the joint.

This band features three of my student leaders (Tyler is droppin bombs on the mic, Michael is kickin it on the drums, and Micah is on the far right rockin the lead guitar) who hope to accomplish the following with their music: “The music we write is more than just your average music. Not only does the music that we play come from our hearts but we do it for something bigger than all of us…we do it to glorify and give back to God. We don’t want to be the kind of band that trys to shove christianity down your throat. We just want to send a positive message out to all our listeners.”

.: weav :.

We have so many talented students in Allen Memorial / Student Ministry… and I always feel honored and grateful when my students include me in their lives by inviting me to their games, concerts, musicals, rehearsals, graduations, birthday parties, and totally random events. I want to take a quick moment to brag on a few of my students in a couple of blogs.

A few months ago (coughaugustof2007cough) we were invited to attend the annual 4-H festival at the Salisbury Fairgrounds where several of our girls were participating in a fashion show. Well… unfortunately Ryland, Amanda, and I were running pretty late and ended up missing the entire fashion show. We literally jogged up to the show only moments after it ended… but we did get an opportunity to check out some of the art that had been entered into the 4-H art contest.

Here are some belated pics of Sarah Wilber’s winning photos from that day…

.: weav :.