Life is a Roller Coaster Sometimes!

Over the last weekend, my wife and I got to spend time with our firstborn!  There were several things we could of done with a wide open schedule and a whole weekend, but the one thing that got him and his girl friend, Jess really pumped was...Wonderland!

It was not something we expected to do that Saturday, but we were up for it!

Last time I was at Wonderland, I missed out on the BIG coasters and was wondering if I would get them in before fall.

The Behemoth and Leviathan were both pretty fun, but the real fun was just being able to hang out with "the boy" and his girl!

Sunday was going to be a church day but it turned into a day of shopping around Barrie in order to maximize daylight hours.  They had to drive that night back to New Liskaerd!  We DID have some enjoyable "God" conversations anyway, despite missing service!

After an epic journey through the malls, we headed to the Arboretum for a walk through what I call the "tree zoo"!  The fall colors are just starting to emerge and it was a special way to end off our short visit!

Now that we are temporary "empty-nesters", we realize how special the kids are and how our relationships with them grow and change.

When you are a parent of young ones, there are ups and downs, once you get through those, it's a fun/different stage.

They can't stay "kids" forever but they are always family!

ABSOLUTELY THE BEST, MOST AMAZING, ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIVE BLOG OF ALL TIME IS FINALLY HERE!!

I have a new way to express the fact that something is good.

I am calling it..."all-caps".

If something is delicious, I will say "This pita wrap is all-caps yummy!" or "I saw Skillet live and they all-caps rocked it!"

My logic is this, when you want to express excitement about something in a text or post, you're more likely to make liberal use of the caps-lock button on your keypad.  So a baseball game can be thrilling or it can be THRILLING!

See the difference?

In regular speech, the only way to do this would be to yell, but that's not always the best thing to do.

So...

Just say "all-caps" before your description of how much you enjoyed, Guardians of the Galaxy.

"It was all-caps the best movie of the summer!"

This leads me to another topic I am wrestling with.  Superlatives.

I work in radio, but in essence I am a writer.  (See my previous blog)  Because I am a writer, there is an ongoing search for the right words to use in every break, weather report, traffic update and news cast.

I have noticed that my fall back words for certain topics tend to be "most amazing", "absolutely wonderful" and "really exciting".

I want to change this.

Here's the danger...the ever lurking superlative!

The definition of superlative is...the form of an adverb or adjective that expresses a degree of the adverb or adjective being used that is greater than any other possible degree of the given descriptor. English superlatives are typically formed with the suffix -est (e.g. healthiest, weakest) or the word, most (most recent, most interesting). One preposition, near, also has a superlative form, as in Find the restaurant nearest your house.

I found this definition through extensive skimming of Wikipedia.

Until I enter into the actual presence of our God, where words will never be enough, I don't think I could use the words "amazing" or "wonderful" about soup, cars or big events without feeling like I am over-hyping just for the sake of it.

So, it's game on!  Time for me to tighten up the language in order to be "most effective"!

How would you do it?

P.S.  Here is another challenge for you.  Help me replace another phrase.  "I want to encourage you to..."  This is a tough one for me!

Hey! Focus!

A blurry picture is useless.

An actual blurred image

There are faint outlines of something, but you are not really sure what you are seeing.  My wife and I walked out of a movie one time because the projectionist was more interested in other things than focusing the film on the screen!  Fuzzy images are hard to enjoy.

This is a lesson I am learning.

I have a lot going on in my head at any given time.  Thoughts, ideas, plans.  It's all raw data just bouncing around, and as a result there is no clear picture when it comes to communicating my ideas to others.

I blame the internet.

Because of the internet, I can indulge any line of thinking I want, whenever the moment strikes me.  If I am thinking about that old episode of "What's Happening?" from the 70's, and can't remember which one had the Doobie Brothers in it, chances are that someone has uploaded it to YouTube!

You see my dilemma?

I am a free stream of non-linear thought with no coherent purpose other than to explore!

The problem comes when I want to present an idea to someone else using "words".

Focus means that there are clear thoughts set forth in such a way as to convey a message to a willing listener.

I find this a challenge, because my thoughts seem disconnected and rambling, changing from second to second!

My wife will tell you, I am a horrible teacher!  I get frustrated easily if people don't "get it" like I do.  I struggle to express what I want others to know.

Is there hope for me?   Yes, I think so!

I believe I have found help for myself and others that share my ailment!

Writing!

Putting words to paper (or pixels) has helped me to organize what I want to say and refine it to be better than it would be if I tried to spit it out my mouth!

When I take a thought and commit it to the written format, it's an opportunity to step back and examine what I am saying with a unique perspective.

I can choose more effective words, delete-over used phrases and organize sentences so my points become clearer.

Wow!

Recently I have decided to re-consider what I would call my profession.  Instead of "radio guy", I would now call myself a "writer" if asked!

It's true!  We write bits, spots, blogs, shows, news, cut-ins, ads, liners and so on!  Of course we need to "perform" the things we write, but without good writing, the performance suffers.

Another added bonus that comes from writing is a renewed fountain of creativity.  It happens regularly with me that during the process of transcribing my musings, the brain is free to add to the original premise in fresh ways, and the results are really worth it!

If you want scripture to lean on for this it's in Habakkuk 2:2  Then the LORD said to me, "Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others." NLT

So, like, it's in the bible and stuff to.

Give it a shot.  Write me with your results!

Now THIS is a nice clear picture!

Hey! Focus!

A blurry picture is useless.

An actual blurred image

There are faint outlines of something, but you are not really sure what you are seeing.  My wife and I walked out of a movie one time because the projectionist was more interested in other things than focusing the film on the screen!  Fuzzy images are hard to enjoy.

This is a lesson I am learning.

I have a lot going on in my head at any given time.  Thoughts, ideas, plans.  It's all raw data just bouncing around, and as a result there is no clear picture when it comes to communicating my ideas to others.

I blame the internet.

Because of the internet, I can indulge any line of thinking I want, whenever the moment strikes me.  If I am thinking about that old episode of "What's Happening?" from the 70's, and can't remember which one had the Doobie Brothers in it, chances are that someone has uploaded it to YouTube!

You see my dilemma?

I am a free stream of non-linear thought with no coherent purpose other than to explore!

The problem comes when I want to present an idea to someone else using "words".

Focus means that there are clear thoughts set forth in such a way as to convey a message to a willing listener.

I find this a challenge, because my thoughts seem disconnected and rambling, changing from second to second!

My wife will tell you, I am a horrible teacher!  I get frustrated easily if people don't "get it" like I do.  I struggle to express what I want others to know.

Is there hope for me?   Yes, I think so!

I believe I have found help for myself and others that share my ailment!

Writing!

Putting words to paper (or pixels) has helped me to organize what I want to say and refine it to be better than it would be if I tried to spit it out my mouth!

When I take a thought and commit it to the written format, it's an opportunity to step back and examine what I am saying with a unique perspective.

I can choose more effective words, delete-over used phrases and organize sentences so my points become clearer.

Wow!

Recently I have decided to re-consider what I would call my profession.  Instead of "radio guy", I would now call myself a "writer" if asked!

It's true!  We write bits, spots, blogs, shows, news, cut-ins, ads, liners and so on!  Of course we need to "perform" the things we write, but without good writing, the performance suffers.

Another added bonus that comes from writing is a renewed fountain of creativity.  It happens regularly with me that during the process of transcribing my musings, the brain is free to add to the original premise in fresh ways, and the results are really worth it!

If you want scripture to lean on for this it's in Habakkuk 2:2  Then the LORD said to me, "Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others." NLT

So, like, it's in the bible and stuff to.

Give it a shot.  Write me with your results!

Now THIS is a nice clear picture!

15th Anniversary!

Picture by Scott "The Shutterbug" Jackson!

I have been at LIFE 100.3 since April 7th of THIS year.

On August 15th of this year, they celebrated 15 years of being on the air in Central Ontario!

I felt a little weird being the new guy and helping them celebrate such a huge milestone, but it was a HUGE honor to be asked to host the big night!  Me and my co-host, Tim Maassarany were the MC's for the evening which included a look back at the launch day of LIFE in 1999, and a feature performance by former Newsboys front-man, Peter Furler!

The evening went very well and despite my nerves, people said we did great on stage!

Hats off to the organizers of the night, Pip Lucas and his team!  It was a sellout!  Around 600 excited people from around the province filled Highway Pentecostal Church in Barrie for a really fun night!

I feel so blessed every day to be part of this radio station!

Christian radio is a very interesting mix of ministry and entertainment and LIFE 100.3 knows how to blend the two perfectly!

I may not have been around for the first 15 years of LIFE 100.3, but I am overjoyed to be a part of the future!

Selfies and Dating Profiles...the Horror...the Horror!

Selfies. 

I have taken my fair share...

No longer do you have to wait for an appointment with a photographer, or get someone else to take a picture of you, you can do it yourself! 

When you share these photos with others, which is the whole point, they represent you in the truest sense!

YOU are the subject and YOU took the picture!

Selfies are popular, no doubt. 

So why has New York State made them illegal? 

Well, I should qualify. "Tiger selfies” are now illegal in New York State. Apparently it's popular for young men to pose with these big cats at travelling side shows and fairs, and then post them to their dating site profile! 

So wrong! 

It's dangerous for one, and if this is how you represent yourself to potential dating prospects, what is it saying? 

 "If you want someone with absolutely NO common sense, I'm for you!"

Since you can't take a selfie with a tiger any more in New York, what will be the next thing to pose with to attract a date? 

" Here's me with a live grenade!"

While we are on the topic of the internet and silliness in general, I saw an online dating ad on TV for people 50 and up that said you have to be 18 or older to join.  Duh!

The thrust of the spot was that men and women that reach this age and find themselves single, do NOT want to go through the whole "getting to know you" phase and just want to find someone to sit around and watch TV with.

But that's only if they're being honest.

Speaking of honesty, how about this guys profile...

Not getting murdered would certainly be top of my list!  Without a doubt! 

It makes me think though, is there a site that you can join where you CAN actually CHOOSE that perfect killer for you? 

E-Disharmony?  LavaDeath? Un-Match?

I have been married for 27 years, so dating for me means something different.  We still do a "date night" but somehow the internet IS always involved!  

That's my fault.

I just like to post Facebook updates every time we go out!  What ends up happening though is that "online" friends think we are out ALL the time!

Some examples...

Smokes Poutine.

Darien Lake, NY

Orillia.

Buffalo, NY.

Niagara Falls

See what I mean?  The "date" MUST be shared!

"Where do you want to go tonight, babe?"

"I don't care, as long as they have Wi-Fi!"

LOL

Now That I Can Breathe....

What a trip!

My wife and I were blessed to represent LIFE 100.3 at Kingdom Bound 2014 in Darien Lake, NY this year!

We had an absolute blast!  It's a huge event that spans 4 days.  It's all the concerts, rides and fellowship that you can handle all wrapped into one great event!

The event exceeded my expectations!  The people that put this on have a BIG task and they pulled it off in style! 

The focus of the four days is all about Jesus from start to finish, and everyone connected to the event is really excited!

For me there were a few highlights.  I love hard hitting rock and roll, and I could not wait to see Skillet!

They did not disappoint!  Even my wife became a Skillet fan (or "pan-head") after their set!  Loved it!

I was also so encouraged to see hundreds go forward to receive Christ after Nick Vujicic spoke.

We got to explore the park of course...

The Ferris Wheel.  I am actually pretty nervous.

Random Shark!

Meeting LIFE listeners from Keswick!

I also got to meet the man who walked over Niagara Falls, Nik Wallenda!

He conquers fear by building up his faith!

The bands were ALL amazing performers!

Steven Curtis Chapman

Manic Drive

Capital Kings

Toby-Mac

Robin Mark!

We had such a great time!  The Kingdom Bound organizers have to be thanked for doing a stellar job!  This event has been going on since 1987, so I am sure they have learned a thing or two!  If you listened to my live cut-ins on LIFE during my time there, you could hear my enthusiasm!  If you have been thinking about a summer event to go to with your family, consider this one for sure!

Summer marches on with more events coming up...The LIFE 100.3 15th Anniversary Party, August 16th!

Karaoke Superstar, September 15th!

...and lots more!  Stay tuned!!