awesome first meeting with the new GLS NextGen TENx10 cohort, in Chicago. three peeps weren't able to be at the first meeting; but we had a stellar time of learning, discussion, problem solving, sharing, and praying. I'm stoked to spend the year with this group.
heyo. let's chat for a few minutes about middle schoolers and Bible reading: open.spotify.com/episode/3FTG...
I made macadamia crusted chicken strips and caramelized beets for dinner and it was freaking amazing. More deets and pics: www.instagram.com/p/DVsAypsFMw...
btw: you may not be aware that 5 Minutes with Marko actually has a video version, always on youtube. here's this week's episode: youtu.be/eUJzOA_OW9g?...
i think this week's episode of 5 Minutes with Marko is an important one (and one youth workers might want to share with their teams, or listen to together and discuss): open.spotify.com/episode/0n12...
FINALLY, a new podcast episode! This week's episode of 5 Minutes with Marko is about how my former experience of regular golfing felt like the perfect metaphor for youth ministry. Only dif: I gave up on golf, but haven't given up on youth min. open.spotify.com/episode/5e3V...
i've been procrastinating hard on getting more episodes of 5 Minutes with Marko ready; but I just prepped 8 episodes. Hope to record them all this week and get back into weekly releases next week.
Super romantic Valentine’s Day, prepping our taxes (5 hours). We rewarded ourselves with a lovely Ethiopian dinner.
I got to play an advisory role on Fuller Youth Institute's most recent study: Gen Alpha and Faith. They've just released the full report (totally free!). Highly encourage my youth min friends to click through, download the report, and read it! fulleryouthinstitute.org/gen-alpha
overheard at my 6th grade guys' small group tonight:
leader (in the midst of a discussion about unity): Who can give me an example of division?
6th grade guy: OOH! Math!
Church: I love you; but sometimes you make it really hard.
I’ll admit I didn’t see every second; but it’s literally baffling to me that so many of my white evangelical brothers and sisters are committed to vilifying this while holding up Kid Rock as an exemplar, IN THE SAME WEEK that they are defending the president’s racist tweet.
Noticed about 100 people dancing and smiling outside a bar as I was cruising to my connection in the Houston airport. It took me a second to figure out this oddly-placed moment of joy: Super Bowl halftime on the screens.
First flight since thanksgiving. Longest gap of travel for me in more than 25 years.
Went out for a vigorous evening walk and was clearly rewarded.
overheard at my 6th grade guys small group:
What do you call a cow with 2 legs? Your mom.
and since we were going to talk about Kingdom, we were creating some rules for the kingdom of our small group, and they landed on these three:
1. Be kind
2. Be respectful
3. Don't jump on people while naked
Homemade turkey meatballs stuffed in artichoke caps. So so so so tasty. More pics and deets at my food and cocktail insta: www.instagram.com/p/DUPSbfpFAo...
I understand that the weather might be pretty tough in parts of the country over the next couple days. We here in San Diego are expected to get a little rain, so we can totally empathize.
Today is the release of our 9th annual youth worker salary survey: www.theyouthcartel.com/blog/christm...
Hot take: Trader Joe’s gluten free frozen chicken nuggets are way more tasty than the regular ones.
thx for the prayers & well-wishes. got that defective adrenal gland removed yesterday, and was released from the hospital today. i have 5 incisions glued closed, and can't lift more than 10 lbs for 6 weeks (hassle!). but the surgeon said all is well, and i should heal up nicely.
Goodbye noble prince
feels like it's the start of the fourth weekend within two weeks.
Max and Bailey gave me a Himalayan salt block for Christmas, and after curing it today, I decided to try it out! More pics and deets at www.instagram.com/p/DS308qFlKY...
Someday would like to ask the Creator why water takes SO long to boil on a stovetop. I’m not saying it’s a design flaw, but it sure is annoying.
Made pork loin wrapped in puff pastry (with prosciutto, honey truffle mustard seeds, and tart cherry preserves), and parsnip puree. More pics and deets on my food insta: www.instagram.com/p/DSoSxHOFOi...
When you can’t find where you hid one of the Christmas gifts you ordered, then realize it never arrived.
We had Panda Express at our youth group Christmas party tonight. There were enough fortune cookies, so I split one with one of my 6th grade guys.
Me: “Our fortune says ‘Your future is bright!’”
6th grade guy: “I’m going to fly into the sun!”
this past summer I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to 3500 british teenagers about becoming hope spreaders, at Satellites Event. the videos of the main session talks recently went live on youtube. here's my bit: youtu.be/lMSriQ3Qi1c?...
was just ordering a new toilet seat on amazon and noticed that the one i was purchasing also offered a "save with used -- like new" option. uh, no thanks.
