Bits of Stuff: May 29th, 2009

-Today I performed a medley of songs by the Jonas Brothers for Legacy Christian Academy's "Legacy's Got Talent" end-of-the-year assembly. Never even heard a Jonas Brothers song before, consciously, nor did I ever imagine playing their songs. We didn't even place in the top three.  We were beat out by two of the most popular teachers who did a great dance routine, a group of guys who performed "Don't Stop Believing" with Rock Band instruments and "chin faces" (if you don't know what that is, click HERE), and a very intelligent and handsome dog named Risky.

-I got lunch at Del Taco today, and walked in to the store while they were having like an all-employee meeting where they were going over some new Del Taco products. Despite it being a cheap fast-food joint, their training is very meticulous, and the dude leading the meeting was very thorough and detailed.  Did you know they have a target weight for every finished product?  It was strange, thinking of Del Taco as a career path for some, and aspiring to taco-greatness.

-I met with my buddy Rob the other day down at his new job in Panorama City.  He's doing graphic design stuff now, which he is perfect for.  When I arrived, he was working on artwork for the helmets that will be worn by the Canadian national bobsled team for the winter olympics. Pretty cool.

-Rehearsals for the Resolved Conference next month are going great.  Just a couple more and then we're off to Palm Springs.  3,500 college students; so cool.

I guess that's all for now!

Happy Third Anniversary

Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary!  Three years ago, Jess and I committed to love, serve, honor, and respect, and bear with each other for the rest of our lives as we follow Christ as our head.  We fail at all that stuff pretty regularly, but God's grace is huge, and we learn to forgive as he forgives, and to be patient as he is patient with us.

So much has happened in those three years; it's crazy.  But it's still just the beginning and so we raise our glass to the future and God's plans and provisions for us.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Awkward Family Photos

Finally! A blog dedicated to this important cultural phenomenon! 

Check it out!

http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com

My Biggest Fan: Daniel Jo

There's this ultra cool family at our church: Phil and Rose Jo and their son Daniel.  Daniel is a youngster with the most unique little personality you've ever seen.  They are Korean, and so they all have a slight accent, which makes the following email even better (I received this from him today):

Paul ------- 

I need to share this with you…..Pretty funny man (at least to me).

It just happened…

 

Daniel was in bath tub, singing all his gospel songs as usual.

He goes “Dadda, Is today Friday?”

I told him “Yes, my son.”

 

He told me this exact sentence “Can you go to Pau Hooover’s Worship Blog?  I wanna listen to new Sunday songs.”

Pretty funny huh?  Or is it just me?

 

Well, have a great Friday evening my friend.

 

Father of Paul Hoover’s Biggest Fan,

 

Phil

Mice Attack

I swear this is like some low-budget horror film...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8026865.stm

YAM Retreat

Our Young Adult Ministry (YAM) had its first ever retreat back at the beginning of April up at Lake Arrowhead! We stayed in a house up there that belongs to the sister and brother-in-law of Jeff Tritt who heads up the ministry along with his wife, Denise, and Wes and Denise Toy.

It was beautiful weather for the weekend: sunny, and clear, but still crisp and cold. We studied through the theme "Lifting the Barriers" and were reminded that there is no one we can't forgive because we have received ultimate forgiveness in Christ Jesus.

Here are some pictures of the trip:

What a Canker

Every once in a while my body goes through a lapse of motor skill, and my mouth forgets the well tread boundaries of my teeth.  I'll be happily chomping away at some tasty morsel, and my lip will just fly with reckless abandon into the path of my oncoming incisors. 

The pain is horrendous, but what's worse is the frustration at the lack of coordination and common sense exhibited by my body.  I've been chewing stuff for over 26 years, one would THINK that my lips would know to stay out of the way of my teeth.  But no.  They apparently don't.

The following hours are wrought with residual sting from the bite, and swelling of the pulpy flesh into which I've ripped.  I don't bleed that often, I save that for the worst bites, but I do try to keep all foods and liquids from touching the bruised area.  Within the next couple of days, the wound begins to heal; but in most cases, I will almost certainly bite the area again due to its swollenness, and will not only perpetuate the healing process, but cause the wound to take more drastic measures to repair itself. 

Enter the Canker Sore.  These beauties are like those blisters you get on your hand that fill with puss so they look like little, white water balloons.  Wikipedia says that Cankers and "Cold Sores" aren't the same thing; that Cold Sores are caused by Herpes, which I DON'T have.  So these Canker sores just sorta go away on their own, if you can manage not to bite into them and puncture the little puss-jewel.

Amidst all the annoying and painful qualities of these babies, I do kinda start to enjoy the feeling of running my tongue over the small alien texture on the inside of my lower lip (where the current one happens to be, and come to think of it, where most of them show up).  It's like a little ramp for my tongue who gets to pretend he's a skateboard or BMX bike just for a second as he leaps off the sore's squishy surface.

Jess remarked to me the other day something about our bodies being "the ultimate luxury transportation device" like it's a BMW or something.  I understand the sentiment; that God created our bodies with such an amazing technical aspect, and we should utilize that more often; as in exercise.  But my Canker sore is definitely more characteristic of a Kia than a Rolls Royce.

NOTE: These are not MY canker sores! They are random images I found through Google.