My friends and I had a weird “brush with greatness” at Taco Bell the other day. Was this Ben Stiller or just a look-alike?

Do these men look alike?

I’m headed to Louisville, KY this morning (an 8 AM flight) to meet Ginger. We will be spending a few days relaxing and hanging out with friends. There are a few things I miss about living in Louisville, with one being the Kentucky Derby. I’m not so much a horse-racing buff as I am just a fan of the “fastest 2 minutes in sports.” The Derby really is pretty cool and is exciting to watch. Unfortunately, there aren’t very many Derby parties being hosted in Chicago. Who knows maybe we’ll start a new tradition of hosting a Derby party and usher in a whole new group of people to the world of the Kentucky Derby.

Alright, I’ll be back in Chicago on Wednesday….see you there!

Maybe you’ve heard of this guy from a small church in California - Rick Warren from Saddleback Church. I have now lived a thousand lives due to this loving embrace from Rick. Oh, and I might smell a little like Old Spice now.

Part of the Community Christian/NewThing group at Seasons 52 - my whole meal was only 475 calories (ok, maybe a little more since I ate some of my friends’ food)

Pogonotrophers Unite! You’re the best Guy Kolar.

“Fat guy in a little coat. Fat guy in a little coat.”

I’m currently in Orlando (it’s so beautiful) at the Exponential Conference. In the past two days I have had the great opportunity to hang out with my friends and co-workers from Community and NewThing. I love working these people, but most importantly I simply love them as friends. We laugh, play, work hard, and desperately want to help people grow in their effectiveness in reaching people! Being at a conference like this enables us to speak with many pastors, church planters, and organizational leaders who desire to learn more about planting new churches and campuses, as well as reproducing leaders and artists…this is right up our alley!

In the next few days I will have the honor of hanging with some church “big wigs” like Ed Stetzer, Neil Cole, Alan Hirsch, Efrem Smith, and Rick Warren. I have already spent time talking with Scott and some small church pastor in Atlanta named Andy Stanley. Plus, I have such a great friendship with Dave and Jon Ferguson through my time at Community. Trust me, I know how great of an opportunity this time is in my life and career.

Finally, I will be running media during the main session tomorrow. We are so humbled by the amazing setup here at First Baptist (Orlando). Take a look at this mind-blowing media room…these guys know exactly how to make tech-nerds drool.

I’m going to go work on my tan.

For the past few weeks, I have been using my new Logitech VX Nano wireless mouse. This thing is awesome! Sure it’s a mouse - just like many of us currently use - but it is very comfortable, easy-to-use and loaded with features. Check out CNet’s take on this cool new gadget. If you look hard enough you may even be able to find this under $50.

I would like to say that for awhile now I have been a pogonotropher. I have actually enjoyed the world of pogonotrophy. It is a little strange, but I think it’s beginning to “grow on me.” Let’s face it - pogonotrophy is a dying art, but I will do my best to revive this lost art form. What do you think? Do you like pogonotrophers or is it just too creepy?

Thanks to Wikipedia for this great description of pogonotrophy - Male pogonotrophy (the growing of facial hair; i.e, beardedness) is often culturally associated with wisdom and virility. [Right on, Wikipedia!]

Just ate lunch at T.G.I. Friday’s for lunch and had one of their items based on the Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown. I had the Chipotle Grilled Steak Sandwich and it was actually AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS. Here’s the unofficial write-up:

T.G.I. Friday’s(R) Restaurants is featuring the “Ultimate” Comfort Food recipe: Chipotle Grilled Steak Sandwich, tender Cajun-rubbed skirt steak served on toasted ciabatta with a blend of Colby and Monterey Jack cheeses, roasted plantain slices, lettuce, tomato, onion & Chipotle mayo, served with crispy onion rings. It was the Week 3 winning recipe from Food Network’s “Ultimate Recipe Showdown” by Ivan Aviles from Holtsville, New York.

Courtesy of our good friend, Chuck, our small group was treated to the Chicago Bulls game last night. Not only did we enjoy the game, but it was in a 12-person suite no less! It was totally cool having our whole group there - along with a couple of their friends and neighbors. I think I actually watched maybe 3 minutes of the game; I was connecting with my friends. But it seemed like everyone had a blast. Maybe next time we’ll get to go to a Blackhawks hockey game.

Also, since the Bulls scored more than 100 points and won - we get free Big Macs! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ bout.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege to return to my hometown high school and participate in the annual Alumni Band Night. This night has been a long-standing tradition at my high school, with many former instrumentalists returning to play with current high school band members at a high school boys’ basketball game. In the 14 years since my graduation, I have never been able to participate in the event, but I was glad to have had the opportunity to attend this year. Here are a few pictures from the night…

• This is a picture of my sister, Kari, me and my dad (R-L). Because there were no first trumpets represented by the high school, our family stepped up and took over the first trumpet parts. Yes, we are that good! (Or at least we thought we were.)

• Here is my dad directing the band for one of the final times in his illustrious career.

• This is my brother-in-law, Evan. He likes to pretend that he’s Zoot.

• Finally, this is my mom, who is so great with technology. So great that she actually took this picture of herself…thinking that she was taking it of us playing. Good one, Mom.