Sick Chapman

This is what my son looks like when he has a fever and gets to watch lots of Mickey Mouse Club. I promise I didn't pose him but I was able to get a little grin out of him. Even illness can produce small joys.

My First "Google Alert"

I'm slowly but surely becoming acquainted with "web 2.0". I've got a couple of blogs, , a Flickr account, a Twitter, and a Facebook. Now I've discovered the "Google Alert". It's probably old news but it's pretty cool. Google News will send you an email whenever there is a news story posted about a certain item. What's my alert set for?

"Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience"

Here's the first update it sent me. Can't wait for the trailer.

Breaking Free

This is my son. He turns 1 on August 30th and he just (sort of) began enjoying life on two feet. He's so proud and so are we!

Downgrade to Double Threat

Mystery solved. The unidentified caller mentioned at the end of my last post has been revealed. After a call to the police and a cell phone trace, I discovered that it was indeed a prank call from a student. We had a good conversation about why threatening, violent phone calls weren't funny and he gave me the classic excuse of, "I guess I just wasn't thinking". If you've read The Primal Teen, that excuse actually makes a little sense.

How did an 8th grader make himself sound like an angry neighbor? He used this audio from Soundboards.com. Somebody needs to sue that website...

Triple Threat

I don't know what the deal is but violence has seemed to be following me over the past few weeks. I've had 3 out of the ordinary experiences that have kept me on high alert everywhere I go. Check it out:


August 10, New York City. In a Subway (restaurant) I witness a man verbally harassing two women at a table. One woman gets up from the table and begins to move away looking for help. When the man follows her and she begins to cry, I step in between. He starts come at me but I use words to calm him down and eventually escort the man from the restaurant. Luckily, I didn't have to hurt anyone.


August 20, Dallas. Leaving a Game Stop, I witness a man across the parking lot being jumped by 3 other men. I, along with several others, began moving in to help when the 3 guys got spooked by the shouting and hopped in a car and sped away. It turns out that they were trying to steal a woman's purse and a man had intervened to stop the crime. The woman's two tweenage sons had been punched (cut above eye and bloody lip respectively), her head had a knot and her shirt had been ripped, and the man who stepped in had a bloody nose, bruised temple (from a kick to the head) and a sore shoulder. I called 911, reported the descriptions of the men and their vehicle (we got the license plate) and stayed for the ambulance and police. It was crazy.


August 25, My Living Room. My cell phone rings and I answer. An angry, unidentified man on the other end begins ranting about me stealing his newspaper. He claims to be outside my house and shouts at me to get ready because he's coming in the front door. I immediately rush to the door to be sure it's locked. After a few more threats and an argument about whether or not he had the wrong number, he hangs up. Police say there's really nothing they can do. It took us a little bit longer than normal to go to sleep that night.

How Did We Get Here?

The photo above, taken in our "dressing room", is one of many snapped on a recent trip to New York City. I'm not at liberty to share the details but I will tell you it all started with this video for Watermark Student Ministries. From entertaining the kids to (possibly) entertaining the masses.

It's All Very Hush, Hush

In a previous teaser post, I indicated that I would answer the questions I posed. Turns out, I've got a gag order. I've probably already said too much! How's that for mystery? Here are some pictures that might give you some clues as to why we were in Hollywood last weekend and why we'll be traveling out-of-state again next weekend. Even though you probably don't care, I wish I could say more.

P.S. The picture above captures my joy in the moment when our driver picked us up at the airport. Yeah, we had a driver.

Great Clips vs. Cool Cuts

It's been way too long since the Penuel boys got haircuts. Tonight, I went to "Great Çlips" and Chapman went to "Cool Cuts". I think Chapman's haircut wins this round. There's really no point to this post other than to show off how cool my son is.

Teaser

In the midst of all the sadness my family is going through, there is one thing that I'm really looking forward to. I can't really talk about it but I will pose these questions: Who is the man pictured above and why am I meeting with him on Saturday to discuss appearing in a motion picture that will likely open in the top 3 and bring in upwards of $20 million at the box office in it's first weekend alone?

I'll let you know next week.

The Longest Days Ever

Friday July 11:
Get news that my aunt has been taken to the hospital in Bartlesville, OK with intestinal issues.

Tuesday July 15:
Get news that my aunt is moved to the ICU with serious pneumonia.

Wednesday July 16:
Load up in Dallas with wife, son, and mom to drive to Bartlesville. Alli, Chapman, and I move in to the Microtel Inn & Suites and my mom moves in with my grandparents. Visit my aunt at hospital. Have a short, encouraging conversation with her.

Thursday July 17:
At the hospital all day. Lung function rapidly deteriorating. Family meets and makes the difficult decision to put my aunt on a ventilator (tube in mouth, down trachea - attached to a machine that breathes for her). Once on the ventilator, aunt is sedated and no longer able to effectively communicate with us.

Friday July 18:
Signs of kidney failure manifest. Body swelling begins and quickly worsens. Family begins 3 hour shifts of visitation.

Me 9am-12pm
Grandparents 12-3pm
My Mom 3-6pm
All 9-10:30pm

Intermittently working remotely to prepare other staff and volunteers for our junior high service (Wake) on Sunday and our junior high mission (Connection) starting on Tuesday in case they have to run them without me.

Saturday July 19:
Continue visitation shifts. My sister flies from Dallas into Tulsa. Alli, Chapman, and I drive to pick her up and bring her to Bartlesville between shifts.

Sunday July 20:
Continue visitation shifts. I drive Alli & Chapman to Tulsa so they can fly out back to Dallas. They head to Wichita Falls to be with Alli's family. I check out of hotel and move in with grandparents. I'm out of clothes so I stay up until 1:00am doing laundry while watching the ESPY Awards.

Monday July 21:
Aunt moved to Tulsa hospital ICU. Sister rides in ambulance, I follow. Family begins new shifts with me and my sister sleeping in hospital guest room and my mom driving grandparents back and forth from Bartlesville each day.

Me & Sister 9-11am
Grandparents & My Mom 11am-2pm
Me & Sister 2-4pm
Grandparents & My Mom 4-6pm
Me & Sister 8-10pm

Around midnight and alone in waiting room, I make the difficult decision to authorize emergency abdominal surgery. I was told she had 0% chance of surviving until morning without the surgery and less than 50% with the surgery. Very intimidating moment. Sister joins me in surgical waiting room until 4:00am. After lots of prayer and a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air marathon, the surgeon comes out and tells us that the surgery was successful. We got about 3 hours sleep.

Tuesday July 22:
Continue visitation shifts. I catch a late afternoon flight back to Dallas for our junior high "Connection" mission experience. A friend of my sister flies to Tulsa to be with her on our shifts. Doctors determine that lungs are now affected by ARDS, a condition more severe than pneumonia.

Wednesday July 23:
After getting things rolling on "Connection", I fly back to Tulsa. Sister and friend go to Bartlesville for a break. I stay alone overnight at hospital and get a 4:00am phone call from the nurse authorizing blood transfusion.

Thursday July 24:
Continue visitation shifts. Aunt's kidneys finally bad enough to put her on dialysis treatment. Sister returns from Bartlesville to join me for late shift.

Friday July 25:
Dialysis helps decrease the swelling and helps make my Aunt more alert. She opens her eyes some and communicates with hand squeezes and a few nods and head shakes.

Saturday July 26:
Aunt's condition remains life threatening but relatively stable. I take a flight back to Dallas to see wife and son for the first time in almost a week to prepare for our junior high service (Wake) on Sunday morning. Plan on staying in Dallas until something changes...

Radio Silence

I've been out of pocket the last few days and just wanted to post an explanation/update here on the old blog. On Wednesday I dropped everything to drive 5 hours north to my hometown of Bartlesville, OK. This trip has been filled with both warm nostalgia and deep sadness. My Aunt Vizsh (nickname) has been in the critical care unit at the local hospital with a combination of ailments that have left her highly sedated and on a ventilator. We are still hoping that recovery is coming soon.

I come from a very small family (my sister and I are the only grandkids - that's right, no cousins = lots of attention and Christmas presents!) and Vizsh is my mom's only sister. She is a very loved, significant, and special part of our lives and her ordeal has made for some extremely long and trying days. People in Dallas have been so supportive by covering my Sunday morning responsibilities and also working to prepare to host our second 3-day "Connection" event coming up this week.

God has been faithful to provide each of us with the wisdom, courage, and strength that we need each day. I am confident that he will continue to do so. Thanks for praying with us.

Thank You Clint

Many thanks to our friend Clint Miller for making a wish of mine come true. Utilizing Clint's super-fancy Canon zoom lens, I was finally able to discreetly capture some images of our reclusive neighbor who periodically comes outside to garden (and ride his bicycle!) in his practically translucent white boxer shorts. It is one of the many joys of living on our street.

Mike's Thongs

Click the picture above and get a closer look at these toenails. Those bad boys were on full display at Bode's wedding. Cousin Eddie called and wanted his wedding attire back.

Bode's Wedding

Bode (pronounced Bo-Dee) got married over the weekend in Saint Joseph, MO and our team made the flight up for the wedding. The weekend was very fun for Holly and I because we got to visit my family, friends from high school, etc... To get a good taste of what Bode does on our staff click here. He does the majority of our editing, video shooting, and all of our fun elements week in and week out. He does a great job and we are way excited that he is married!

Here's a great picture of Braun (our boss), David, and me.

And here's everything I brought up for the trip minus my wife. (She's holding the camera) The two little girls are not always perfect on the plane, and so after flying Ellie about 15 times now I've devised a plan. We take the kids on the plane after everyone has boarded. Then, we take the car seat, kids, backpack, and ourselves on. The first guy that looks at my kids like "oh no I didn't sign up to hear them scream on a plane" wins a seat closest to us. It's a beautiful mess hearing our kids on a plane. If you have two little ones, you also know that all of the luggage you see is not easily transported, and I would not recommend it for the mere man. Ha.

Tag Me

The Penuels are enjoying a week long vacation in Breckenridge, CO with Alli's side of the family. We forgot to bring the right cord to load pics from our camera but I loaded some pictures from other cameras and put them on Facebook. I'm realizing I need to put more pictures on Facebook...the last time I uploaded an album was 4 months ago.

On a related note, I'm getting some free time on vacation to research and work on stand up comedy material. I made a declaration earlier this year that I wanted to try stand up at least once in my life before I die. I'm quickly realizing that making this declaration was a really bad idea. I've been doing some reading and most comics will say that it takes months of "working the clubs" nightly before you sharpen your material to a point where it is actually funny. If I only hit the stage one time, I'm basically guaranteed to fail.

And everyone I know will be there to watch.

This is gonna hurt.

You Know Lyle?

I'm in the restroom at the movie theater last night washing my hands when I overhear the following conversation between two strangers on either side of me at the sink. I thought it was funny enough to share:

Guy #1: You know Lyle?

Guy #2: (No response)

Guy #1: (Louder) You know Lyle?

Guy #2: (No response. I look over and notice he's wearing a Lyle Lovett concert t-shirt)

Guy #1: (Goes over and taps Guy #2) You know Lyle?

Guy #2: What? Oh. No. (Confused pause) Do you?

Guy #1: (Proudly) I met him for the first time 13 years ago.

Guy #2: So, are you guys pretty tight?

Guy #1: (Hands on his hips, nodding) Nope. But he's a really great guy though.

Guy #2: (Nodding) Cool. (Slowly walks away)

Don't ever talk to strangers in the public bathroom. It's uncomfortable for everyone involved. Also, don't ever assume that wearing a concert t-shirt means that the wearer knows the artist.

It's Nubbin

Chapman had us laughing this weekend about an old episode of Friends in which Chandler refers to his third nipple as his "nubbin" and eventually has it removed via an operation he calls a "nubbinectomy". When asked by Ross if the nubbin could do anything, he replied that it could "open the delivery entrance to the magical land of Narnia."

Luckily, Chapman's nubbin is just a cheerio.

Victory & Death

It was such a weird night last night at our house.

Alli and I had some friends over for the American Idol finale and we were genuinely surprised and so happy for David Cook when he was announced the winner. David shared his victorious experience with his family and it was obvious that the joy they felt was even more pronounced because of the sadness they also share with David's brother Adam who is suffering from cancer. I jumped right on the emotional roller coaster with them.



Next, we turned on the Nintendo Wii and started enjoying some games of Mario Kart with our friends. In the midst of our relaxed, playful fun I received a few messages relaying the news of the tragedy that hit the Chapman family. Steven Curtis Chapman's youngest adoptive daughter, Maria, died in an accident at the family's home around 5pm on Wednesday evening. I have great respect and admiration for Steven and his family. I've been so influenced by his life and music that I actually named my first son Chapman. I was greatly saddened by the news and my heart feels for his family right now.

After quickly reading the article online about what happened, I kicked back into "host" mode and the games continued on the Nintendo Wii. Isn't that odd how we ride these roller coasters of emotions? How life is going on all around us and every moment sees some experiencing the greatest joy of their life while others experience the greatest sadness?



To deal with the mixed emotions I'm feeling, I did the only thing I know how to do in moments like this. I opened up the word.

1 Corinthians 15:53-56
53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a necessary reminder for me to dwell on what God says true victory is. David Cook's triumph on stage doesn't hold a candle to the victory that little Maria is experiencing through Jesus Christ. What happened to her must happen to all of us and, for those who trust in Christ, our death will be swallowed up in victory.

Click her to meet & remember Maria Chapman.

Dream Big

True Confession: I voted 3 times for David Cook last night. This marks my first time to cast a vote for any sort of reality TV show.

This morning's headlines are all hailing Archuleta as the winner, and I believe the kid has mad-talent, but I just think he's boring compared to Cook. Can't wait to see what happens tonight.



P.S. I thought the new song Cook did last night ("Dream Big") sounded a lot like a Steven Curtis Chapman anthem.

Highlight of My Week

I've been meeting with the group of guys pictured above every Tuesday night (during the school year) in their homes for the past 6 years. They are a part of a small group that I co-lead with Watermark Student Ministries. We began meeting together when they were starting 6th grade and now the guys are wrapping up their junior year of high school. I can't believe that we only have one more year left before the guys disperse for college!

Tonight is our final meeting of this school year. My co-leader and I will be reading letters of encouragement we've written to the guys, reflecting on this year, discussing summer plans, and reviewing and signing our Small Group Covenant for next year.

This type of small group that sticks together year after year has become the norm here at Watermark. The vision for really, really relational ministry has developed into one of the most influential ministry models that I've ever experienced. The community that's being developed and the investments being made by leaders into students' lives has been incredibly rewarding to watch. I feel so blessed to be a part of it and I continue to grow in a passion to help others share the same experience.

One question that keeps me up at night is: Why aren't lasting, authentic relationships the centerpiece of more student ministries?