Wedding Bells

Saturday is the big day.  My baby brother is going off and getting married.

I picked up my tux today (I still feel uncomfortable being dressed up) and tomorrow head down to the big city to see him begin his life sentence new life with his bride.

It's going to be a busy couple of days leading up to the wedding, but it's going to be fun.  It's still weird to think my little brother is getting married.  In my mind, he'll always be 18.

Congratulations Chris & Triin!

One Final Tribute

Regular readers of the Wonderblog know I am a fan of advertising. 

Good Advertising.

You know, those ads that become more than just ads for the product, they become part of pop culture.  The Mac/PC ads fall into that category.  At the end of last year Apple announced those ads would be coming to an end. 

It is the end of an era, and OneMoreThing put together an appropriate tribute.

Whitewater Rafting in La Belle Province!

After six long weeks of qualifying, the winners of the Wonderdog's Whitewater Wilderness Weekend were announced tonight.

Congrats to Karlie Shewfelt from Barrie and Shawn Chiasson from Elmvale! They will be joining me at HorizonX in Quebec from August 6-8. A weekend packed full of whitewater rafting, kayaking, beach volleyball and some relaxing in the waterfront hammocks. Sounds like a good time!

Sk8r Boy

I thought this was only possible in video games. Uh-Maze-Ing!

I would dare say this is the best skateboarding you'll ever see. The sport has transitioned away from this sort of creative skating.

I can see why Avril had a thing for skaters. It's pretty sweet.

Strengths & Weaknesses

I help out in student ministries at my church, and the student ministries pastor asked me to take the StrengthsFinder test, to help him in understanding what I can offer to the students at Connexus, and finding a role that would energize me.

Well, a friend of mine gave me the StrengthFinder package when the Republic was in its infancy. Turns out my top 5 strengths are: Adaptability, Futurist, Competitive, Strategic, Command.

What does that mean?  I don't know.  Thankfully Jeff Brodie explained it to me.

It means a number of things.
1 - I Like Change.  In fact, I prefer change, even change if only for the sake of change.
2 - I Like New Stuff.  I'm always on the lookout for the next big trend.  I'm an early adopter.
3 - I Like To Win.  The reason I play is to win.  Fun can be a part of it, but I want to win.
4 - I Like Projects.  I work best in a "project-driven" role.
5 - I Dream & Plan.  I like to dream about the future, and make a plan on how to get there.
6 - I Like To Learn.  I like to take in a lot of information, and am constantly trying to improve myself.
6 - I'm Not Afraid To Take Charge.  I don't have a problem taking the lead.
7 - I Look For New Ways To Do Things.  If it has always been done that way, then we need to change the way it's done.

It also means I have weaknesses.
1 - I can lack direction
2 - I take losses pretty hard.
3 - If I'm doing the same thing day after day I will go crazy
4 - I have little respect for the past
5 - I can break things that were working fine before I tried to change them.

I know the test was designed to be accurate, but I'm amazed at what Jeff was able to tell me about myself based on a simple test.  It has given me a lot more insight into what energizes/frustrates me and why it has that effect on me.

How He Loves

There are people who really love "worship" music.  Their playlists are made up of Hillsong United, Jesus Culture, Chris Tomlin, Paul Baloche, Brian Doerkson.

I'm not one of those people.

I'm not a fan of flowery, "Jesus is my boyfriend", gooey love songs.  BUT there are some songs that I cannot help but sing to God at the top of my lungs.  Lifehouse's Everything is one of those songs.

Recently another song has been added to that exclusive list: "How He Loves" by John Mark McMillan.  It has already been covered by the likes of the David Crowder Band, The Glorious Unseen and Jeremy Riddle.  But I like the original version best.  When we sing it in church something stirs up inside of me and I'm belting it out like William Hung at Madison Square Garden.  I can't help it.

J-Mac's version was officially released today on iTunes and I was on it like a fat kid on cake.  It's amazing.  Especially after watching this 5 minute documentary on the song.



What songs are on your "must sing" list?

Late To The Party

I need to preface this post by letting you know I've worked nights at LIFE for the past 5 years, and worked the night shift for the past 7 years, so I DO have a legit excuse.

Up until about a month ago, I had never seen an episode of LOST. 

The biggest show of the decade and I hadn't watched a single minute of it.

Entire sermon series have ben based on this tv show.  It is referenced by so many other tv shows, movies and books.  I had no idea who Locke, Jack, Sawyer and Kate were.  That was, up until a couple weeks ago.

Crystal decided she wanted to watch every episode of LOST before the series finale at the end of the month.  So she borrowed the previous 5 seasons and we began watching from the start.  Well, I'm hooked.  I'm 2 episodes from the end of the second season and I'm bordering on the verge of obsession.

There are so many levels to this show.  The good/evil dynamic.  The differing leaderships tyles of Jack and Locke.  The inter-connected stories of all the characters.  The mystery of the island.  It's endless.  I realize I'm just scratching the surface of what the show has to offer, but I'm loving it.

So yes, I am late to the LOST party.  But as they say: "Better late than never!"

Sunday Morning

This one is for our friends involved in service programming.

A simple tutorial for your Sunday morning.

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

Got Swagger?

When Crystal and I got married, I made her a promise; no mini-vans.  SUV's are ok, but I have an intense dislike for minivans.  I avoid driving the LIFE minivan whenever possible.

I'm just not a fan of lousy handling, slow acceleration, and the overall "bus" feel of a minivan.  Not to mention it's impossible to make driving a minivan cool.

No matter how hard they try.

Although I did enjoy this video.  Kudos to Toyota for making an entertaining video.


I thought adults didn't like hip-hop.  Who are they targeting with this?

Dressed To Impress

This time of year it is inifitely tough to clothes yourself in the morning.  You get up, it's 4 degrees and ultra-cloudy outside.  But later in the day it's going to be 22 and sunny.

So how do you dress?

If you wear a hoodie and jeans you'll be comfy in the morning, but later in the day you'll be sweating like Richard Simmons in the Arizona sun.  If you opt for the shorts and polo, you run the risk of frostbite on your way in to the office.

So what do you do?  Layer?  Suck up cold?  Stay in bed?

The Ultimate Wedding Present

Wedding season will soon be upon us, in fact my brother is getting married at the end of May. Weddings mean wedding presents, so what do you get the happy couple? You want to get them something they'll remember in 5 years... Not a crock-pot.

Here's a fantastic idea. It's even called the "Better Marriage Blanket."