These are just excerpts from his blog at: http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/.  Was just thinking this is kind of interesting for us leaders to read through and just ponder over...

"When I want to lead into the future, I usually look into the past to see what I can learn from any patterns.

Sensing it was time to make some changes in our church culture, I prayerfully reflected over the different seasons of our church.

I noticed a distinct pattern that repeated itself at least seven times. (I’m not claiming this will be true for everyone, but might be true for many ministries.)

Phase 1: We create something new (new ministry or new innovation).

Phase 2: We recruit and train leaders for the new initiative.

Phase 3: We build systems to support the new effort.

Once the ministry system (or leadership structure) is in place, the ministry runs somewhat effortlessly for a while.

It could be months or even years that God seems to bless this season of ministry. Eventually, it seems that God slowly (or quickly) removes His blessings from what we “we’re doing” forcing us to seek Him for something new.

I’ll write all week about this.

-------

Even a good ministry system will eventually limit what God wants to do if the system doesn’t evolve or totally change.

(By system, I mean any program, structure, philosophy, or culture that shapes and helps produce a desired outcome.)

Once people operate within a system long enough, they often start to do ministry out of “muscle memory.” They tend to do the same things and work with the same people, but the results often start to slowly (or quickly) diminish.

Because this is what “we’ve always done,” people might think we just need to do what we did—better. In reality, God might want you to de-construct some ministry philosophy or system so you can hear His new direction.

For example, years ago we were doing everything you could think of at LifeChurch.tv. God directed us into a season of focusing on only five things. This philosophy served us well for about four years. It allowed us to focus on our core ministries without being distracted by lots of less-than-our-best efforts.

After a few years, it became obvious this season was coming to a close. What used to seem freeing started to become limiting. After prayer, we intentionally broke the established system to learn something new.

-------

When a ministry enters a new season, we must open the door for new leaders.

The “old guard” often resents new seasons. I’m a big believer in working hard to lead the tenured believers toward new life. Sometimes, though, they refuse to move forward.

In those times, we have to help people grow. If we can’t help people grow with the new direction, we need to be willing to allow some people to move on.

During these transitional seasons, I’m always looking for new leaders. Often they arise from right in front of you. There could be faithful people that were serving under others who seem to rise from nowhere when there is a new chance to lead.

When the current changes, keep your eyes open to new people God will raise up.

-------

When we’re entering into a new season, I always challenge our leaders to have a higher threshold for chaos.

Systems tend to produce predictable outcomes. When we are innovating and growing, we never know what the outcome will be.

Many “great” ideas bomb. Then God seems to bless some average ideas in a big way.

While we are willing to allow things to get a little messy, we also work hard to make sure we are students.

    * What is God showing us?
    * What did we learn from the last failure?
    * What success is hidden in the last failure?

Our church is currently moving into a season of discovery. Once we discern what God wants us to know, we’ll recruit the right people. Then we’ll build systems and enjoy the ride—until God leads us into a learning and chaotic period again.

Personally, these are my favorite times!"

So I've been working on this for a few friends in the States and just thought others might find this fun.  Just download the file to see the book notes.  I present to you: Macbeth in a Coconut Shell!

Some people will probably click this and think I'm going to talk about relief efforts.  It is, but it isn't, but it is.  This is more about sharing how I'm going to be making some book notes for my friends in The King's College.  They have a test on Macbeth and are wondering if I could help them out with some book note study guides.  I've always been known to do that, you see.

What's fun is that it's been almost four years since I've graduated, and I'm still able to help students out in my alma mater.  Yikes, can't believe I'm using that word.  The thing is that I'm there to help them as best as I can.  A part of me is tempted to go all out and design a really nice study guide for them.  But one thing they always loved about my study guides was the very home made feel they all had.  All the multiply illustrations I would make would be done with a sharpie on bond paper.  I think it helps them to remember that it is just a test and that there can still be fun in academics.  That's why the brand of study guides I make are always called "(book title) in a coconut shell".  Simple yet cute.

I think it connects to helping people in other areas of life too.  It doesn't always need to be perfect and designed nicely to reach others.  Think about the relief efforts we've done.  The food and clothes we delivered or boxed or packed were usually done with simple plastic bags and in recycled boxes.  If we spent so much time getting new boxes for them, getting nice clear bags to house everything in and even sealing it with an airtight lock - we would probably not be able to reach others and help them the way we all did.  Rice sacks are still piled with relief goods in GCF, soon to be sent out to help people.  But rice sacks?  Under normal circumstances, if you give a gift to someone in a rice sack, they will probably get turned off.  But in these situations, people will be praising God for you. 

So when you know you can do something to help someone out, it doesn't need to be ultra-polished.  It just needs to have the heart - that they see that you truly care and are not in it for selfish reasons.  May we all be like that more often.

I was watching TV just now and came across this one video of Avril Lavigne doing a concert, and I've come to the startling conclusion that...........









..................Avril Lavigne is my sk8r girl :-)  Really.  Seriously.  She is so beautiful.  Period.

Sometimes I feel that I've been losing contact with people.  What I've been sharing to illustrate my point is this - Ezra 2.  If you read Ezra 2, you'll see there is a list of hundreds of people God brought back from the exile.  Yet to us they are just numbers, they are just names.  What would be sad is if our friendships with people become stagnant to the point that they are just names to us, that if someone asks you, "hey, when is so and so's birthday" that you have to look it up on Multiply or Facebook.  Of if someone asks you about your friend like, "So what do they want to do in life" that you don't know the answer.  So I thought, why not, I'll write this blog about random facts about me in hopes that others would reply to it with their own list of quirks and hopes and dreams to help us all connect deeper with each other again....so here goes.

• My name is Mark Daniel Del Rosario.  I was named Mark because it is from the Bible and the family needed another "M" name since my two older brothers are Mikel and Micah.  Daniel ties into Mark in terms of meaning, but my Kuya told me that Daniel came from the movie The Karate Kid. 
  
• My favorite bands are - Relient K, Julian Velard and Great Big Sea.  
• Favorite artist - Avril Lavigne
  
• Favorite band of the year thus far would be BoyceAvenue.
• Song that defines the year for me would be Say (the Boyce Avenue version).  If you listen to that song, you'll get a good grasp of how I pretty much feel most of the time.
• I'm afraid of failure and no longer being needed.
• I'm afraid of heights and drowning.  Hence why I don't know how to swim because I'm afraid of going into water that I can't touch the bottom of.
• I can't drive a bike, a skateboard, or a car.
• I can walk for roughly 3 hours without getting tired.  Longest I walked was for five hours when I walked from Brooklyn to the Empire State Building.  This was deeper brooklyn, mind you, not like from the Brooklyn Bridge.
• Favorite toys growing up has to be Legos and GIJoes. 
  
• Favorite super heroes - Superboy (Connor Kent), Flash (Wally West), and Green Lantern (Guy Gardner).
• Favorite pizza place - A Venitos Pizzeria
• Favorite sushi place - Rai Rai Ken
• Favorite Filipino food - Kare Kare or Lengua
• Birthday - March 10, 1985
• I can probably still recite Lion King from beginning to end
• I will not watch horror movies or movies where people get tormented or scream out in agony.
• My ranking of pixar films: The Incredibles, Toy Story 2, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Up, Monsters Inc, Ratatouille, A Bug's Life, Toy Story, Cars.
• Favorite short pixar film is Knick Knack followed closely by Boundin'
  
• One of my dreams is to go on a boat in Alaska and watch killer whales and glaciers
• Favorite quiet time/devo places - on a kitchen counter early morning shortly after sunrise, and in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Never had a girlfriend
• Dream job - i'm living it (being a lay pastor/missionary who reaches out to youth in church and in a college setting, while doing marketing and teaching)
• Crazy Dream Job - Be an editor for DC Comics
• I want to end up with a girl who challenges me spiritually, in the sense that she is so in love and sold out on God that I need to really never be complacent in my walk to stay spiritual head of the household.  It's hard really explaining it in a way that people understand.
• Favorite movies of all time - Spiderman 1, Saving Private Ryan, Batman Mask of the Phantasm, The Incredibles...
• I like the movie Serendipity a lot, but not sure if it should make my top movies of all time list.
• I want to end up with a girl who enjoys food.
• My favorite author is Brad Meltzer for books.  Favorite comic book writer, hands down, is Geoff Johns. Favorite classic literature writer is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
  
• My favorite animals are cows.  I have a cow colelction on our tv set and each cow actually carries a specific memory.  For every great memory I have with friends, I buy a cow to represent that memory and remind me of the love and joy and peace of those moements.
• I USED to really like the movie Hitch.  But it got overplayed.
• One thing I really really miss about New York City - Jamba Juice.  The Philippine pirated version of Jugo Juice just doesn't match up.
• The only kind of cakes I like are Cheesecakes and Carrot Cakes.  Cheese cakes cause they are just so delicious.  Carrot Cakes because the first surprise party my friends every threw for me without me even letting them know it was my birthday had home made carrot cake. 
  
• I understand and can speak more Tagalog than I let others know.
• I really do prefer Jollibee burgers to Mcdo burgers.  Jollibee just is usually too far away.
• Favorite dates - when I went with hrrrm, mrrphhhh, and hurrrrmmmm
• Favorite malles - Trinoma and Mall of Asia
• I cannot solve a rubik's cube.
• I love New York more than LA.
• I am NOT smarter than a 5th grader
• I believe you can tell a lot about a person by the way they hug you back. 
  
• I haven't been to a Philippine beach in maybe 10 years.
• I haven't been to a beach at all in 4 years.
• I hate rice-aroni
• Favorite sport to watch lately - UFC.  My favorite UFC fighter is Keith Jardine "the dean of mean".  I just like his name.  It's so awesome.
• I like WWE and my favorite wrestler is Christian.
• My dream car would be a Jaguar.  Don't care what kind.  Just it has to be a Jaguar.
• More realistic dream car - there's this one kind of pick-up truck thing that I don't knwo what it is called, but the front cab looks like the skull of a T-Rex and for me, that's just amazing.
• I would like a beach wedding.
• I have over 600 friends on facebook and I actually do know most if not all of them pretty well...or I used to.  Lol
• The girl I end up with has to enjoy encouraging others and would be excited to go with me on random 'encouragemetn trips' where we surprise people with food or just spend time with them..

Okay, I think that's enough. That's a little more about me for all of you to know.  Have a great day and God bless!

Just answer below:  How are some ways you had to compromise your faith or have you faith attacked in college?  Like in a classroom setting or by an assignment you were given? 

Habit #2: I will grow with good people

Many people run headlong into marriage without ever having experienced or sustained any significant long-term healthy, God-centered relationships.  Maybe you've spent your single years hanging with (partying with, identifying with, sleeping with) people you KNOW would make disastrous marriage partners.  And yet I can't tell you how many young couples stand at the altar with exactly those scenarios on their marriage-candidate resumes.

Your single years are an irreplaceable opportunity to prepare yourself relationally for a fulfilling and enduring marriage.  Make the most of them.

Develop the second habit of love with the commitment: "I will grow with good people."

When I say "good people", by the way, I'm not saying you should only spend time wtih anemic greenhouse saints who spend every weekend fasting and praying int eh church basement.  What I mean instead is that you should surround yourself, and especially  take as your mentors, those poeple who are obviously of sound character, who encourage you to be honest about your struggles, who love God and put Him first, and who will help you get where you need to go.

......

When couples ask, "Craig, do you think we should marry?"
I always check into their other relationships.  Iw ant to see if both have close, same sex friends.  Have they learned to work through family conflict? I'm excited when they have mentors and accountability relationships.  Your working patterns today will make your marriage work tomorrow.

- pages 188-191, Going All The Way - Craig Groeschel

(Excerpt from Going all the Way by Pastor Craig Groeschel, Page 187-188)

Habit #1 - I Will Deal With My Past
Far too many people carry baggage from their families or from previous relationships into new ones.  (Ya got some junk in your trunk - and it's not the good kind)

Stefan is a great example.  After seeing his om betray his dad with an affair, Stefan lost hope for marriage.  Throughout his twenties, skeptical of all women, Stefan hopped in and out of relationships, always stopping short of real commitment.  His small group finally talked to him into getting Christian counseling.  After months of digging into his broken dreams and shattered expectations, his counselors (both the Holy Spirit and the one who charged $150 an hour) helped him heal.  Now thirty-six, Stefan has unpacked his baggage and emptied his trunk, and he's enjoying his seventh year of marriage.

No matter how you've been hurt, God can bring healing.  Don't wait to inflict the spouse of your dreams with your unfinished business.  As much as possible, deal with it now.

What baggage are you carrying?  Maybe your parents fought nonstop.  Deep down, you don't believe a good marriage is possible.  You might've been dumped, and now you feel like you're worthless.  You may have terminated a pregnancy, or helped someone to do so, and you fear that God will never bless you agai.  You may feel as if part of you died a long time ago.

Identify your baggage.  Seek help, realizing that it may come from a variety of sources.  God's Word will renew your mind. Or you might seek advice from your pastor, counselor, or friend.  Look for good resources online or at a bookstore.  And pray to the Great Physician, Jesus, for healing.

It may be long, but it's really a good read.  And it'll either help you or someone you may know.  It's an excerpt from a book by the pastor of www.lifechurch.tv

The “I Can Change Him” Lie

If I’ve seen this once, I’ve seen it a thousand times.  Please don’t be number 1,001.  A sweet, beautiful, talented, Christ-following girl meets a not-so-great, all-the-lights-are-red guy and thinks to herself, he might not be great now, but I can change him. It’s time for a holy rebellion.  Rebel against that lie!  You can’t change anyone – especially him!  

You might recognize the following scenario.  

Sweet girl meets Jerk guy.  Everyone but Sweet girl knows Jerk guy is, well, a jerk.  For some reason her friends can’t understand, Sweet girl thinks Jerk guy is great – or at least will be great when she’s through with him.  

Don’t get me wrong, Jerk guy has some decent qualities.  Every now and then, Jerk guy does something kind of sweet.  But everyone who knows him agrees he’s mostly a jerk. Sometimes, Jerk guy pushes Sweet girl to do things sexually.  Other times he tells her she isn’t attractive.  Jerk guy often flirts with other girls and is completely into himself. Everyone knows that Jerk guy treats Sweet girl badly.  Even Jerk guy’s friends agree that his future isn’t that bright.  Sweet girl’s parents pray daily that she’ll dump him.  Her friends all wonder what she sees in him.  Little do they know what’s going on inside Sweet girl’s mind:  

They just don’t know him like I do. He has so much potential. Everyone who loves me is just plain wrong. I know he’s not perfect, but I can change him.  

Sweet girl, please wake up!  If everyone who loves you says you’re dating Jerk guy, you’re dating Jerk guy.  Please listen before it’s too late!  Look at it like this: Imagine you’re looking for a car to get you safely to work or school.  Would you go to a junkyard and say, “I’m looking for a fixer-upper”?  Let’s say you find one that has a big dent in the side and hasn’t run in over two years.  Everyone tells you the car is a pile of junk.  You wouldn’t say, they’re all wrong.  They don’t see what I see in this car.  Perhaps, with a couple of years of work, I could even have this car running.  I want what everyone else says is no good.  

You’d listen to the wisdom of those who love you.  You’d continue your search for a car that was in good shape.  Why, then, do so many great girls date and marry not-so-great guys?  Why would they return again and again – and even say “I do” – to someone who doesn’t’ treat them with respect?  

The answers are very complex.  If you find that you consistently date guys who don’t respect you, consider these options.   

Maybe you enjoy a challenge.  That can be an admirable trait.  But when prayerfully looking for a husband, you don’t want a fixer-upper.  That doesn’t mean the guy God has for you is going to be perfect – that’s obviously impossible.  And it doesn’t mean you won’t be drawn to a person who takes some work to attract.  You might be, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  But you want someone who will embrace his role as spiritual leader.  You don’t want a person whom you have to fight just to keep corralled in God’s truth.  (If you want a challenge, take up skydiving.  It’s safer.)  

Or maybe you’d argue, “But, Craig, I only attract jerks.  No matter what I do, I’m always attracting the wrong kind of guy.  Every guy I date is only interested in one thing.”  If the wrong type of guy is always jumping on your hook, maybe you’re fishing with the wrong kind of bait.  Ouch. Before you get mad and slam down this book, think about it.  If every guy who calls only wants sex, maybe you’re sending the wrong signals.  

So try some different bait – send a message that contradicts the world’s heartbeat.  Instead of flirting, try genuine friendship.  Instead of cleavage, try character.  Instead of lying on the bed, try kneeling to pray.  Don’t be surprised if a very different type of guy shows interest.  

Maybe you’re seething right now, thinking, Craig, I don’t flirt or wear tight clothes or any of that.  How can you say it’s my fault I attract bad guys? Well, giving off the wrong signal is only one reason you could be drawing the wrong kind of guys to you.  Another reason may be your insecurity.  Girls who don’t like themselves, who feel like they’re not good enough to be loved by godly men, often attract guys who are looking to take advantage of them.  

To solve this problem, you have to learn to feel confident in who you are in Christ.  If your insecurities run deep, get help from a pastor, friend, counselor, or loved one.  Spend time with people who care about you and support you.  Remind yourself often how worthy you are of real affection and respect.  And remember what I said about emotional leadership in the last chapter: a godly man will see the beauty in you and bring it out.  

God loves you more than anyone on this planet ever could.  So love yourself enough to shrug off the jerks and find a man who will treat you the way you deserve to be treated.  

- Page 180-183, Going All the Way by Craig Groeschel  

Taxes on book imports lifted
By Paolo Romero Updated May 25, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo ordered yesterday the Department of Finance to scrap the taxes imposed on imported books and reading material.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the directive was prompted by a torrent of criticism on the move of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which is under the supervision of the finance department, to impose the duties.

“President Arroyo ordered the immediate lifting of the customs duty on book importation,” Remonde said in a text message to The STAR.

“The President wants books to be within reach of the common man. She believes reading as an important value for intellectual formation, which is the foundation of a healthy public opinion necessary for a vibrant democracy,” he said.

Remonde said Mrs. Arroyo directed Finance Secretary Margarito Teves to revoke Finance Department Order 17-09 which imposes duty on book importation.

“Secretary Teves said he will comply immediately,” he said.

Teves earlier said the BoC has yet to compute the revenues to be generated by the taxes.

Teves, however, said that revenue generation was not the main reason for the import duties but to clarify regulations on book imports as provided by the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines.

The UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (UNACOM), led by secretary-general Ambassador Preciosa Soliven, said the imposition of taxes on books runs contrary to government efforts to promote reading among children and the youth.

“Taxing imported books is tantamount to taxing reading habits. At a time when parents and educators worldwide have expressed alarm on the continuing steep decline in the reading habits and practices especially among the young, the tax measure is counterproductive to current initiatives to rekindle a reading culture,” UNACOM said in a statement.

“The measure would surely further discourage young and even old minds from appreciating, recognizing and rediscovering the value of reading,” UNACOM said.

UNESCO in Paris, France was reportedly already aware of the controversy over the BoC’s imposing duties on imported books, a clear violation of a United Nations world pact forged in 1950 where countries agreed to exempt reading and cultural materials from import duties.

John Donaldson, UNESCO senior legal officer based in Paris, said the Philippines, as a party to the Florence Agreement, must respect the principle “Pacta sunt servanda (Pacts must be respected).”

“This fundamental principle of the law of treaties, enshrined in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969, provides that treaties in force are binding upon the parties and must be performed in good faith,” Donaldson said.

“It follows that if the Philippines decides to apply custom duties or other charges on the importation of materials coming from another State Party, and for which the Florence Agreement foresees an exemption, it will be in breach of its obligations under this Agreement,” he said.

UNACOM said the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of Legal Affairs submitted that DO No. 17-09 issued by the Department of Finance was “contrary to the Philippines’ obligations under the UNESCO Florence Agreement and is inconsistent with its principle of free exchange of ideas and knowledge.”

- http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=471074&publicationSubCategoryId=63

~By: Jarin Fontenoy  

Hey, I know this has been posted before, and I believe Micah posts it a lot too, but was thinking of how a lot of my friends are graduating or graduated and remembered my grad.  It was sad cause we were all splitting up and most of us knew we would not see each other again.  So we were allowed to give a short speech before the grad/thank you ceremony since I graduated in December.  And then I read/sung this little song from a Muppet movie that really captures, in my opinion, what you feel when you say good bye.

Saying Goodbye Lyrics:
Saying goodbye, going away
Seems like goodbye's such a hard thing to say
Touching a hand, wondering why
It's time for saying goodbye

Saying goodbye, why is it sad?
Makes us remember the good times we've had
Much more to say, foolish to try
It's time for saying goodbye

Dont want to leave, but we both know
Sometimes it's better to go
Somehow I know we'll meet again
Not sure quite where, and I dont know just when
You're in my heart, so until then
Wanna smile, wanna cry
Saying goodbye

La la la la la la la la
It's time for saying goodbye

I'm actually just putting this here so that it's uploaded somewhere for my friends to download, however, if any of you want to know what Messiah has been doing these past six months, then check it out :-)

Sent out a text last night to help people really think why it is that they love coming to church every saturday and sunday.  here are some of the responses:

"genuine friendships and fellowship with people who are also in pursuit of Him"

"When I was in high school, I liked the company of friends, I also enjoyed the ministries a lot.  Now, the focus is being able to reach out to the youth and the preaching. I must admit that we have better preachers..."

"Helps me to be closer to God and helped me develop my social life."

"I love how inviting everyone is and how fun it is to worship the Lord."

"I love having good people around me who I can talk to about God.  I love being able to worship freely with people I love."

"The youth and the opportunity to serve them."

"Warm.  And it, in a way, helps me learn more about God in a way I can really relate to. And the music is really good."

"The songs, and their messages because the songs are up beat yet they are still able to spread the Word of God.  And the activities, like bonkers, camp, etc."

"I love the fact that we act like one big family and seeing them grow more spiritually in love with Christ."

"I like it because it's a place where we can worship the Lord as youth."

What about you?

Hey everyone, just wanted to share that all of the ChannelS articles for February are finally online at www.gcfyouthlive.com in the blog section.  Leave comments and let us know what your thoughts are.  Let others know.  We put it online also so that everyone can see it and it won't be limited to only 750 people (if it were printed).  So let your frontlines know, let your school friends know, let your gcf friends know, let other churches know.  Hope you have a wonderful day!

February is ChannelS Month!  New articles will be uploaded every Wednesday and Saturday this month.  ChannelS is the official youth newsletter of GCF Youth L.I.V.E.  We are your channel of information of everything going on in the youth ministry.  Get to know Youth L.I.V.E.  Read the articles and comment your thoughts on gcfyouthlive.com.

Feb 7 -

Editorial - Jonathan Salvador

The Ice Cream Show - Matt Del Rosario and Didi Paraso

God's Glory in Art - Tiara Aracama

Ambassador - Tabitha Fernan

Feb 11 -

Chicken or the Egg - Jess Orleans

Quiet Time Survey - GCF Youth L.I.V.E.

Feb 14 -

Hurt Doesn't Hurt - Barbie Perez

Clean Slate - Alyssa Ang

Fruitcake - Najee Chua

Feb 18 -

Daughtry - Nicah Santos

Sonic Floo- Nicah Santos

Feb 21 -

Talent and Mentality - Jess Orleans

CS Lewis - Ben Acquino

Lord of the Rings - Arrow Pabiona

Tim LaHaye - Ica Ducanes

Feb 25 -

Look at me - Ian De Ocampo

Some Verses to be Remembered - Tim Villarica

Feb 28 -

I Want what God Wants - Dags Miguel



SPREAD THE WORD!

You know, everyone says, "Oh, poor batman."  Whatever.  He stood for what was right all the time, never wavered, and took down gods.  Plural.  Superman can't say that.  Superman could hurt them, but only Batman has the ability to take them down.  Like I said before, if Batman is going to go down, then at least he goes down fighting the good fight.

Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern on the other hand has suffered a worse fate....well...let me just let the picture below speak for itself.


Lets get this straight first.  Green = Willpower.  Yellow = Fear.  Blue = Hope.  Orange = Greed.  Pink/Purple = "Love". and Red = RAGE.  Going evil, using the red ring, I mean, you pretty much are full of rage from that point on.  They spit out their blood and their blood gets replaced with the red energy (instead of the Green Lantern's green energy).  if they take off the ring, they'll die cause, well, they have no more blood.  They just become stuck in this mindless rage.  The worst part is - Hal is the one who fell into it.  He wasn't tricked or anything.  Just sad seeing an awesome hero 'go down' like that.

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama expressed frustration Wednesday after members of his cabinet failed to recognize his allusion to the 24th issue of the comic series Savage Sword Of Conan during their first major meeting together.

Obama, whose upcoming challenges include organizing a massive effort to rebuild the nation's infrastructure, was reportedly unprepared for the confused silence he received upon suggesting that his cabinet "team up with Taurus of Nemedia" to secure the necessary funding from Congress.

"If my inner circle of advisers can't even communicate about the most basic issues, how are we going to tackle the massive problems our nation faces?" Obama said during a press conference. "When I tell my cabinet that getting bipartisan support is exactly like the time Conan got Taurus to help him steal Yara's jewel, they need to understand what I mean."

After receiving no reaction from the assembled reporters, Obama added, "Because a giant spider is protecting this chamber full of precious jewels, just like Congress is protecting its…. God, how are you people not seeing this?"

Obama, an avid collector of Conan The Barbarian and Spider-Man comic books since he was a child, was referencing the 1977 story "The Tower Of The Elephant," written by Roy Thomas. According to administration sources, no one in Obama's cabinet was familiar with the magazine-sized comic, though Labor Secretary Hilda Solis claimed to have once seen Conan the Destroyer.

Aides also confirmed that Obama has refused to lend his copy of issue #24 to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, fearing the former Republican congressman will carelessly bend or rip the pages. The commander in chief is reportedly intent on keeping the comics in pristine condition for their eventual inclusion in his presidential library.

"How am I supposed to effectively lead this nation when [attorney general nominee Eric] Holder has to stop the meeting and ask what the story of Taurus using the black lotus powder to kill the five guard lions has to do with increasing broadband Internet connections nationwide?" Obama said while vigorously rubbing his temples.

Added the president, "For the love of Crom, am I the only one here who wants to keep the U.S. technologically competitive?"

Administration officials said the incident has caused the president to question whether his staff has ever understood any of his Conan references. One such instance he is reportedly reexamining occurred after his loss in the New Hampshire primary, when Obama rallied his staff by reminding them, "There is always a way, if the desire be coupled with courage."

Although campaign workers smiled and nodded at the time, Obama has begun to seriously doubt that any of them connected the inspiring quotation to the story line in which a Kothian rogue informs Conan that it is impossible to climb to the top of the Elephant Tower because the sides are more slippery than glass

While Obama has not scheduled another meeting with his cabinet this week—a respite the president hopes they will use to brush up on the 235-issue Savage Sword series—he is expected to meet with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Friday to discuss Afghanistan. A holdover from the Bush administration, Gates told reporters he may have gotten off on the wrong foot with the new president, citing an occasion when Obama asked him what he knew about 1984's Secret Wars, a 12-issue limited Marvel release. Gates then handed a visibly confused Obama 1,400 classified pages on covert CIA operations in El Salvador.

Later, the defense secretary attempted to find common ground with Obama by making casual references to the comic book Spawn. But the 44th president reportedly brushed him off with an abrupt laugh, saying, "no one in [his] administration likes Spawn."

Minutes from the first cabinet meeting indicate it lasted just under 35 minutes, coming to a standstill during a discussion of minimizing public waste. When Energy Secretary Steven Chu failed to understand the president's instructions to "be like the barbarian wielding his steel to cleave flesh from bone," Vice President Joe Biden attempted to clarify the president's thoughts.

"I think what the president is trying to say here is that this is just like the time when Barney had to put Fish on restricted duty because of his health exam results," said Biden, a longtime fan of the late-'70s police sitcom Barney Miller. "It's pretty straightforward when you look at it like that."

When asked by the press corps if this week's hiccup has caused him to rethink any of his appointments, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton interrupted the president to assert that she and her colleagues have already begun educating themselves about comic books, and will soon be "an invincible team of Supermen and Wonder Women working to save America."

"Wonder Woman? That's not even Marvel," Obama responded before storming out of the press room. "Who are you people?"  - End.

Taken from the satirical newspaper The Onion http://www.theonion.com/content/news/obama_disappointed_cabinet_failed

Ahem, in case people don't know, this is a joke.  But it's really funny, imo.

If someone was out to kill you, who was your complete enemy, as in he wants to destroy you, your family, your loved ones...if someone that was your enemy took out his gun, shot at you, missed and hit a gas tank...if someone that was your enemy who a half second earlier tried to kill you is now in mortal danger, would you run to save his life and risk dying? Would you die for your enemy?  Would you be willing to die to save his life?

Isn't that what Christ did for us?  Weren't we his enemies?  Christ did that for you. Now what are you going to do?

And i also thought of simpler times when I was a hopeless romantic...

Just a video slideshow of engagement pics.
http://www.lafflerphotography.com/slideshows/2008Bestofe-sessions/iframe.html