I honestly didn’t hold out much hope for catching anything. For one thing, I wasn’t sure if there ever were much fish in this little pond. Plus, we were fishing with just a few lures on an old fishing pole and I had no idea if I was even using the right tackle for whatever was in the pond. However, I assured myself that it was more about the memory of going fishing with dad than actually catching something.

We had been fishing for about 25 minutes or so when I told her it was time to go. And then, “Dad! I think I caught something!” I thought she had maybe just hooked some seaweed but then I saw the pole jerking and knew she had something on the line.

She reeled in for a few seconds and then I saw the fish splash out of the water. It looked big! I grabbed the pole and helped her reel it in. Now I’m starting to worry that the line we had might break. We managed to get the fish on shore. Chloe had caught her first fish and it was a pretty nice one (I say that out of my extremely limited fishing experience).

After a few minutes of coaxing (Ewwww, gross! It’s all slimey!) I finally managed to get Chloe to hold her catch so I could take a picture:

We threw the fish back in and headed home. Chloe was pretty proud of herself for reeling in her first fish and I was just thankful that God showed a little mercy on a Dad who didn’t have a clue what he was doing! Someone commented on my Facebook status and said, “You’re the only man I know who’d rather paint fingernails than go fishing.” Ok, that’s not entirely true…let’s just say that maybe I can be good at both.

Do you have memories of fishing with your dad when you were a kid?

Some of that stuff gets thrown away but if we’re lucky we manage to stuff it away in a box somewhere to laugh about later. I recently discovered this video series on Mortified called The Mortified Shoebox Show. In this episode Felicia Day (actress from one of my favorite online film series, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog) shares about some of her more embarrassing memories and mementos.

This got me thinking about my box of memories I still have up at my parent’s house. I called it my “Life Box.” It was where I kept little trinkets and memories from my childhood adventures. I have a hockey puck that I caught at a Flint Generals hockey game back in 1992, my stamp and coin collection, rocks I collected in Yellowstone National Park on a family vacation.

I wasn’t into sports so I have medals from stuff like public speaking competitions instead of basketball games. I even have a cassette tape from my first “sermon” that I preached to a little boom-box cassette recorder as a kid (I sounded suspiciously like Chuck Swindoll).

Just for fun, let’s share some childhood memories. If we were to pull out that shoebox you kept as a kid, what kind of stuff would we find in there?

One of the traditions that the girls have when they go to Grandma’s is taking a bath in Grandma’s big jacuzzi tub. This time we decided to pamper them just a little. Lisa bought a face mask for them to put on and sliced up cucumbers for their eyes (or, as Emily calls them, “pickles”).

Being a kid is pretty stressful. Sometimes you just need to kick back and unwind…

…although it does take a little practice to master the art of proper pickle placement…

And of course, what would bath time be if we didn’t finish off with some bubbles?

What kind of traditions did you have when you visited Grandma and Grandpa’s as a kid?

I was such a huge fan of the original 1982 Tron as a kid. The effects are nowhere near today’s standards but I still immersed myself in that glowing world of blue (am I the only one who used to pretend he was Tron every time he had a Frisbee in his hand?).

Like Star Wars, it was definitely a movie made well before its time. I can remember many memorable scenes like the light cycle race perfectly in my head over 25 years later.

There are even rumors that Daft Punk will be scoring the complete new Tron: Legacy soundtrack. Here’s the official synopsis and some preview images of the new movie that they released at Comic Con. Judging from this advance VFX footage and these images I’m already excited.

Official Synopsis- Tron: Legacy is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (GARRETT HEDLUND), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (JEFF BRIDGES), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant (OLIVIA WILDE), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

[ht: cinemablend]

Any other TRON fans excited about this?

I suppose compared to many, we’re kinda plain when it comes to what our kids call our parents. It’s simply Grandpa and Grandma. Which is fine with me since I can’t see myself answering to anything else when I have grand kids. Of course, I could change my mind my mind the first time my little grandchild calls me a pet name. Except Pappy. I refuse to answer to Grandpappy.

I’ve been around lots of families with names that get handed down from generation to generation like “Papa” or “Poppy.” We have friends whose child calls their Grandma “Mee-Maw.” Some families choose the cultural name based on their nationality like YaYa (Greek for Grandmother), Ye Ye (Chinese for grandfather) or Zeidy – Yiddish for Grandfather.

What unique names do you use for relatives in your family? Do you already know what your grandkids will call you?

Even after ten years since the first Toy Story, watching this teaser trailer makes it seem like only yesterday. To Infinity, and beyond!

What’s your favorite kids movie (that you secretly love as an adult)?

In the lines from the TV show opener they say:

Gentlemen, we can rebuild him.
We have the technology.
We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic man.

I had a friend growing up who used to LOVE watching reruns of that show. He would make the techno-beat sound from the show as he imagined himself as Steve Austin running 80mph and breaking through walls with his fist.

On one occasion I remember my friend attempting to prove how high he could jump by setting up a chair that he would leap in a single bound. The only problem was that he set the chair up in a doorway so when jumped and cleared the chair he hit his head on the doorframe. Ouch.

Ok, let’s bring the conversation from 70s TV shows to the present. We’re called to spread the gospel and make disciples (Mt. 28:19). Jesus set the ultimate example by choosing 12 unlikely candidates to train up as leaders and spread his message around the world.

We Can Build A Better Leader. We Have The Technology.

What is interesting is that the individuals Jesus chose wouldn’t be the people we would have picked. He chose fishermen and tax collectors. If you lived in those times and were given the responsibility to find 12 people to start a worldwide movement, don’t you think you might have chosen people with more “leadership material?” I mean, throw some religious or civil leaders in them mix or at least a PTA president.

Instead Jesus poured into those unlikely, unqualified disciples and the greatest single movement to sweep the world is the result. I’d like to look a little closer at a few of Jesus’ leader-building principles in the next few posts but let’s discuss your ideas and experiences first.

Because you read my blog I’m going to assume that I’m talking to a group of leaders who find ways to grow as a leader and improve their leadership reach. Let’s take it a little deeper though and talk about being a leader who builds other leaders.

What tools, programs or resources would you use if you were asked to build the six-million dollar leader?

The church I was attending at the time jumped on the bandwagon and became excited with the release of the book, 88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be In 1988, written by a bible scholar and former NASA engineer (and we all know how smart those guys are). I remember as an 11-year-old boy being caught up in the mad rush to get my life in order so I could be ready for the quick trip in the sky. Because I was 11 after all and had a lot of stuff to get in order.

Fortunately for young boys like me around the world, the book should have been more appropriately titled, 88 Reasons Why The Rapture MIGHT be in 1988. Turns out even NASA Bible scholars can mess up their end-times math.

But the real kicker for me came when churches realized that films were far more effective that books in scaring the hell out of people. Enter Russell S. Doughten and the people behind “A Thief in the Night“, a movie about the rapture that haunted the dreams of countless little children like me who were taken to watch it. For whatever reason, CareBears and Smurfs were off limits but it was perfectly acceptable to scare the living daylights out of kids with shocking images of end-times horror and tribulation.

I remember the opening Larry Norman song, I Wish We’d All Been Ready, being stuck on endless loop in my head as a kid. I used to picture what it would be like up in heaven after being raptured (whew!) and imagining someone who was “left behind” hearing this song. I suppose it would have been like the worst possible “I told you so” that you could ever get.

(and yes, in case you’re wondering, that is the original song that DC Talk later covered on their Jesus Freak album)

Important Lessons I’ve Learned From Watching End Times Movies

• The more pronounced the sideburns, the less likely one will be raptured.
• Anyone driving a white van is trying to snatch people.  (Probably true, actually.)
• …and they’re from the U.N. (Also probably true.)
• If you’ve had the bad luck to be a preacher who has been left behind, you’ll be taken much more seriously if you grow out a mountain-man beard and hide in a cabin in the woods
• The guillotine is the preferred method of post-rapture executioners.
• In the end times, the evil guys masquerade as harmless, good guys, and they’ll subtly do this by wearing a red armband
• …who will then hold you down as they tattoo 666 on your forehead.
• Little kids like me can watch movies in church, as long as they’re blood-curdling frightening.
• Setting up elaborate rapture pranks on some of your more “worldly” Christian friends never gets old.

(ht: KampKrusty)

So did you get caught up in some of the end-times hysteria growing up? Did you watch any of the “Thief In The Night” movies as a kid? What do you remember?

As a child of the 80s I can so remember watching this show on Saturday mornings. I even had the He-Man action figure complete with Battle Cat and the expandable Castle Grayskull with the light-up eyes.

I watched some of the episodes from the first season and, as is the case with most television shows we’ve grown up on, it was decidedly cheesier than I remember. It was still fun to relive the memories. Here’s a classic He-Man episode that I actually remembered.

He-Man And The Diamond Ray of Disappearance

You’ve gotta love Skeletor and the classic bad guy talk: “Very well He-Man. You’ve won this time but I’ll be back!”

What cartoons or television shows were your favorite growing up?

I’ve always had an obsession with superheroes and comic book characters.

When I was 6 I was at my Grandma’s house playing upstairs. I tied a blanket around my neck like a cape and pretended to be Superman running back and forth with my fist in front of me and my cape flying behind my back. In that moment I was the Man of Steel – unstoppable, inspiring, invincible!

Invincible, it seems, from everything except crashing through windows.

I wasn’t paying attention where I was “flying” and crashed through the window at the end of the room resulting in a trip to the hospital and some stitches in my thumb. Still have the scar. Perhaps Iron Man would have had a better defense?

I have to say though, after all these years I still think Spider-Man is probably my favorite. Like Superman his alter-ego is an ordinary, somewhat clumsy guy but when Peter Parker puts on that suit, watch out bad guys! I think the suit is one the things I love best about Spidey. You could be the most socially-backwards, unattractive person there is but if you put on the Spider-Man suit and sling yourself into a room you’ll get immediate attention.

It’s Friday and many of you are already having trouble keeping grips on reality so let’s have a little fun.

If you could choose, what type of superhero* would you be? What are your powers?

* yes, there are different types of superheroes