A Boomer in the Pew

Extreme Makeover - Lansing, Michigan Edition

This is Paige Hemmis from Extreme Makeover.  I spent most of the day shooting photographs at the Lansing, Michigan edition of Extreme Makeover yesterday.

I have somewhere around 150 photographs but need to figure out how to upload a few of them here and format them in a presentable fashion.  I haven't spent a great deal of time uploading many photographs to this TypePad blog.

Here we have Rib Hillis.  He is one of the designers on the show.  In past shows he has created fairly incredible bedrooms for the children of the Extreme Makeover families.

He was sharing a few of his ideas for this particular bedroom, but seeing as the home isn't presented to the family yet, and this is a very public medium, I will keep his thoughts to myself and let him share them on the show.

Here we have our friends, and the builders of the Extreme Makeover house, Bob & Karen Schroeder. 

Bob is doing an interview with the film crew of the show, and Karen is busy giving instructions with her cool communication system that the show provided to key individuals with my wife sneaking in the shot with her hard hat on.

I arrived at the house around 2:00 PM.  At 7:00 AM there was only a foundation visible to this house.  As you can see here the walls are up and the workers are busily putting the roof of the house together.

Inside the house was a great cacophony of hammers, saws, drills, footsteps on the wooden floors, and workers hollering instructions to one another in what seemed to be more like an ant farm, with all the movement, then a construction site.

I was amazed that so many people could occupy this space and yet work together in harmony.

It was truly a wonder to behold!

This photograph was taken at roughly 7:00 PM.  As you can see, the roof is nearly done.  Inside a great deal of the wiring, plumbing, and lighting is done.

I peeked downstairs and, in the basement, I could see the heating/AC system with contractors busily installing those systems.

I don't know the exact number, but I would guess that there were as many as 100 men/women busily putting this house together.

Just as we were leaving, the skies opened up, and a tremendous rain storm poured down its fury on these poor souls.  I felt sorry for the roofers as their work was not quite done.  It rained so hard that driving home, we could only drive around 35 miles/hour.

All in all, this project was an incredible site to behold and I am very proud of my friends, Bob & Karen Schroeder for giving of themselves and their talents to this Extreme Makeover project.  Certainly Lansing, Michigan could use a little positive shot in the arm right now as they struggle with this stubborn economy.

So, to Bob & Karen Schroeder, all the fine folks at Mayberry Homes, and the staff at ABC's Extreme Makeover, here's to you!

This crowd, and the whole Lansing area salute you for your efforts and your giving hearts!

 

Weddings, Friends, Family & Smiles

We have been on a whirlwind tour since the wheels hit the ground at Detroit Metro Airport last Wednesday.

Here is my wife Carol (left) and Karen (mother of the bride) just before the ceremony.  The wedding was beautiful, the weather was perfect and we visited with friends until 4:00 in the morning!

The next day I spent most of the day with my son, Joshua, and then drove down to the Detroit area for more friends and bedtime at 1:00 AM.

Sunday was family visits, more friends, good food and we got to bed around 11:30.  Hey, we are moving in the right direction towards sleep.

Today is more visits with friends and spending some time at the Extreme Makeover site with Bob & Karen.  I will be bringing the camera along to get a few photographs of all of the excitement.

We fly back home on Tuesday and are looking forward to seeing the sun.  It is cool and cloudy here today and evidently is likely to stay that way throughout the rest of our visit.  I don't miss these damp cloudy days.

Extreme Makeover - Our Good Friends are Building the House!

Extreme Makeover, and Ty Pennington, hit the Lansing, Michigan area.  Here is the story from the Lansing State Journal.

We are here, in Lansing, Michigan to visit friends, family,  and attend a wedding for the daughter of our good friends Bob & Karen Schroeder.

As it turns out, the same day of the wedding, the Extreme Makeover whirlwind has swooped down into their lives as well.

You see, Bob & Karen Schroeder, owners of Mayberry Homes, are also the builders of ABC's Makeover House here in Lansing.  This morning the "knock on the door" occurred and tonight their daughter gets married.

As you can imagine, this will be a week of great stress for these dear people.  Please send a prayer upstairs that God might grant them strength and calm during the simultaneous occurrence of both of these great stressful events. #xhome

Visiting Michigan

Blogging will likely be sparse for me during the next week or so. 

We are currently in Michigan visiting friends/family.

This is a shot, from my iCamera, where I am currently sitting on a deck enjoying the peaceful views on Lake Geneva, in Dewitt, Michigan.

I will have a lot of catching up to do when I get back home. 

Jonathan Edwards' "Religious Affections" group will have to do without me for a few weeks.

The trees here are just beginning to show the slightest twinge of turning color.  The weather today is suppose to be 80 degrees and beautiful.  I can tell that there is more humidity in the air than typical in Arizona, so it actually feels a bit warmer then Arizona's 80 degrees.

Ok...back to the enjoyment of the deck.

Review: God Blog Conference (GodBlogCon)

I have mixed emotions about GodBlogCon.  GodBlogCon was held inside of the Blog World & New Media Expo.  In my opinion, that was a good thing. 

As such, you had the opportunity to mingle with bloggers from all mediums and learn from them regarding this new media.  It was also an excellent opportunity for Christ to be present at such an event.  I think more thought should have been given to somehow inviting the larger audience to "consider Christ".

Although I had the opportunity to meet and make friendships with a few new Christian bloggers, I would have been deeply disappointed if this had been a stand-alone offering.  It seemed to me that the organizers didn't have a clear mission/vision for the event.  It seemed to be more about Christian thought than Christian blogging.

Mid-stream into the conference, they also announced that this was the last year for GodBlogCon in it's current format.  I am not sure what they have up their sleeves, but I suspect it might have to do with reaching perhaps a different audience then individual bloggers.  I have no facts to back that up, it is simply a hunch. 

I would guess that there were perhaps 60 Christian bloggers present and most of them, it seemed,  were out and about in the other conference sessions, learning how to build their individual blogging enterprises.  A number of the GodBlogCon sessions were scantly attended.

I suppose this may be because the conference is created and hosted by Biola University and I just sense that they are still scratching their own heads where they see this thing headed.  I just feel, in my bones, that individual bloggers aren't going to be in the mix.  Frankly, I would understand that, if that is indeed their thinking.

If that is the case, I would hope that they say so, and allow a passionate Christian blogger to grab the reins of this wondering step-son and give it some clear and distinct direction.

I believe that GodBlogCon needs some new thought and energy,  and given a good amount of spunk and passion, could become a truly valuable resource to the many thousands of Christian bloggers around the world. 

I further believe that for the individual Christian blogger, having it inside of the Blog World & New Media Expo is exactly the right place to be.

So Biola University...whaaaz up?  Are you going to grab this bull by the horns, pass the torch to another, or simply morph this puppy into something entirely different?

The Christian blogging world awaits your decision.

Review: Blog World & New Media Expo

Having just returned home from the Blog World & New Media Expo, I thought I would share a few thoughts of my experience.

The Expo was held in the south wing of the Las Vegas convention center.  It was well laid out, there was ample room in the classrooms, and all in all, from a visual and experiential standpoint it was well done.

There were scores and scores of Internet vendor booths for bloggers to peruse.  This was a great benefit.  Lots of new tools, networks, etc.

The general opening sessions were highlighted with well known industry players, and was replete with useful information regarding the direction of the industry.

The ability to network with other bloggers was also a great benefit.  If you plan ahead, to make new relationships, this alone could be worth the price tag for admission.

There were classes for every flavor of blogger with leading experts upfront, sharing their experiences.  Again, very much worth the price tag.

The only negative statement that I would make is that the conference should put in place a policy regarding filthy language.  I hate to sound like a prude here, but flying f-bombs do nothing to promote ones credibility.  In fact, in my opinion, it diminishes.  I have been a speaker, at a number of business related expo's over the years, and it seems that this is a perennial issue.  Great guys, great information, just leave the f-bombs at home.

All in all, I would recommend the conference and give it a hearty thumbs up!

Video: Twitter in Plain English

Some of you have wondered what those Twitter Updates are, in the middle column of this blog.  Here is a wonderful video that explains Twitter in plain English.  Hat tip: SmartChristian

Ken Myers and Mars Hill Audio

Please allow me to introduce you to Ken Myers creator of Mars Hill Audio.  Carol and I met Ken at the God Blog Convention,  which was held inside of the Blog World Expo.

We had the opportunity to eat some greasy convention Italian food with Ken between sessions.  I found Ken to be a very articulate and well read man, repleat with the curiosity of a true renaissance man.

The Mars Hill Audio Journal is a bi-monthly audio magazine featuring 90 minutes of stimulating conversations with some of our country's greatest thought leaders.  As Ken is from the world of National Public Radio (NPR),  you will immediately notice the common feel of his productions as they warmly invite you to grab a cup of java and settle back for some stimulating discourse.

Mr. Myers was gracious enough to give Carol and me a copy of his 91st volume which featured thought-provoking conversations with John Witte, Jr., on the work of legal historian Harold Berman and on the revolutionary history of the law in the West.  I also enjoyed Hugh Brogan and Daniel Ritchie discussing Alexis de Tocqueville as well as Daniel Walker Howe and George McKenna speaking on Providence in 19th-century America and the Puritan understandings of God's shaping of American history respectively.

You can sample a free listen to Ken's Mars Hill Audio right here.  Why not turn off the television, grab a nice cup of something warm and settle back for a listen with someone you love.  You will be much richer for it, I promise.

Update:  Here is a facinating speech, given by Ken Myers at the God Blog Convention, within the recent Blog World Expo. 

Video of Wayne Grudem, J.I. Packer, and Lane Dennis on upcoming ESV Study Bible

Technorati CEO Richard Jalichandra gives State of the Blogosphere at Blog World Expo

The first speaker, at the Blog World Expo, was the CEO of Technorati, Richard Jalichandra.

Richard spoke, in a calm deep voice,  as he began to give hints of Technorati's upcoming State of the Blogosphere report for 2008.

As you can see, from this photograph, we were right up front and center to hear from the keynote speakers.

Technorati will be releasing the results of this massive annual study over the next 5 days.  For those who are serious about building a business, in this new media, this report will be a must read.   Jalichandra commented that there are massive amounts of advertising dollars coming to this medium.