Kevin Presseault

This morning I'm exhausted! I've barely slept all week... brain is spinning with so much going on. Here's an early morning brain dump as I get ready to enjoy my day off. My mother-in-law is going in for a heart test this morning. Can't remember what it's called but it's when they go in with a camera to check her artery blockage... depending on the results she may need a bypass surgery which they would do today. So I'm praying for her. I spent WAY too much time this week dealing with stuff that I would have thought that I shouldn't have to deal with. Because of that I'm days behind in my work and will probably have to work a chunk of today and tomorrow which is supposed to be my time off. I don't mind working extra hours... but when it's because I was distracted with stuff that bums me out a tad... If I could change one thing about how we do Sunday morning I would love to get rid of announcements! I'd love to see Sunday being about ...

It's not too often that I feel crabby... but today is turning into one of those days. And I'm not sure why. Guess I'm just dealing with a lot of different stuff right now... I'm behind on my school reading and I'm behind on work stuff. And I don't like that and that bugs me! Guess I need to give myself some of that grace that God so freely gives me... That or chocolate cheese cake! That could help too :) Mind just writting about feeling crabby is already starting to help me feel better. Funny how that works.

Man I'm tired this morning! We had a great whirlwind weekend... and I spent the day painting my office yesterday. Today is our official one year anniversary of living in Elmira. We're going to celebrate with some mini-put and dinner out :) We'll be heading out as soon as my son finishes his Christmas concert rehearsal.

Exactly one year ago today I packed up the last of our belongs to get ready for the movers. Then on September 21st, 2006 we left Montreal for our new lives here in Elmira, Ontario. So hard to believe that it's a already been a year! And what an INCREDIBLE years it's been! As I think back on all that has been going on in our family and work this past year I'm just amazed on how it has all played out. Let's face it. A complete career change can be a scary thing... especially when you have a young family that you're supporting. But God has been so good in all of this and I can't even imaging doing life any differently! Here are a few of this past year's highlights: I sure don't miss paying Quebec taxes!! I took quite a big pay cut going from computer consulting into ministry and my actual bi-weekly pay is identical to before! I make a lot less but my cash in hand is the same. All that extra money went straight to taxes... and I find that our public...

This is just FANTASTIC news for the umber Star Wars geek that I am! Lucasarts annouced that the next Star Wars video game, The Force Unleashed, will be available for the Nintendo Wii. Not only that, but players will be using the Wii remote as their lightsaber and the nunchuck for movement and using the force! In this game, players take on the role of Darth Vader's secret apprentice where you will assist Vader in destroying the remaining Jedi Knights. The Wii version will also have a head-to-head mode so you can determine amoung your friends and family who truely is the greatest Jedi. I'm going to be SOOOOO all over this game. I really hope that it will have an online component as well.

... I just don't feel like it... It's only 8:30pm but everyone in the house is already sound asleep... maybe I should do some laundry... or some cleaning... or go online and pay the bills... NAW! I'd like to watch the Jays game... but that means they'd lose :) Nothing else on TV but Beauty and the Geek and if I waste a single minute on that show you all have permission to beat me senseless! Guess I'll get the books out and read a few chapters for school... but first, here's a brain dump before getting to it. I'm really glad to be back in school. This "Biblical Introduction" course is great. Every church should teach this stuff to all of their congregations! My arms and chest are slowly starting to stiffen up. I started a new exercise program using my brother-in-law's bowflex which we set up in our garage. What a great workout! I'm sure the arms will be sore tomorrow. Our entire staff will be reading the book Simple Church as our staff ...

Drew Marshall , host of one of Canada's most listened to spiritual talk shows, is auctioning himself off on EBay. Here's a blurb from the EBay listing: This is about dialogue, NOT debate. It's been my experience that even the phrase, "Open Minded Christian" has been a bit of an anomaly, especially in the North American evangelical scene. The Drew Marshall Show is attempting to model for the Christian community, healthy dialogue NOT debate. Over the years, "Evangelical Christians" have been known more for what they're against than what they're for. Subsequently, the Evangelical community has gained the reputation of shoving their agenda down the throats of others. They're certainly not known for being open-minded listeners who genuinely care about others, despite whatever contrary world view that person might have. It's our feeling at The Drew Marshall Show that "Jesus people" should love others enough to shut up & listen! On...

OK... for some odd reason I get over 10 search engine referrers a week on "Pastor Birthday Party". So... since so many of you are finding this site looking for information on having a birthday party for your Pastor let me give you a top ten list to consider when organizing the party. This list is really just my opinions and not in a particular order so keep that in mind... I'm no expert, but this is the kind of party I would want to go to :) Don't have it on a Saturday night. If your pastor needs to preach on Sunday then Saturday could be a bad choice for a birthday party. Don't have it in the church banquet hall! He works there all week. Get him out the church building! Don't let anyone talk to him about ANYTHING ministry related! No comments about his last sermon. No ministry ideas. Nothing. As soon as you do that the pastor's mind switches back into "work mode" and makes it harder to simply relax and enjoy his party. If necessary have two men ...

The trailer for the new Iron Man movie is online. You can check it out here . Iron Man in one of the comics I've started reading a lot since Civil War. I wasn't much of a fan as a kid but he's really growing on me. The movie really looks true to the comic. Which is always a good thing in my books! This movie could be as good as the first Spider-Man. Maybe that's just geeky wishful thinking... but one can hope right? :)

This morning my baby girl Samantha started school. She's been so excited about starting school for the last two weeks. This morning I could see that she was starting to get nervous about it... so I let her put her stuff kitty cat in her bag to only take out during recess. That changed her mood instantly :) Her big brother was super cool making sure he left space for her on the bus beside him. He even told his best friend that he can't sit beside him because he wants to help his sister. Man! Their mom is really raising them well! :) So, now both our kids are in school... it's a bit of an odd feeling. Both sad and happy... Sad that they won't be home when I come home for lunch... and happy that they won't be there when I come home for lunch and can have some nice parent time. Does that make me a bad dad?? :)

My brain hurts today... Where do I begin??? I have so much work to get down in so many different areas of ministry that it's hard to even figure out what to tackle first. Adult Sunday School, Welcome Team, Small Groups, Alpha, Women's Ministry, Men's Ministry, and other regular day to day stuff need my input and time... I'm working in a "what's-due-today" mode... I can't think further then tonight... and that drives me a little nuts since I still have so many big picture things to get organized. I dropped one of my classes; Hermeneutics. 25% of my grade is actually due the very first week of the course. I needed to learn the entire Greek alphabet. I had to be able to recite it, recognize all the characters and sound them out. With the kick-off of the ministry year happening this week as well there was NO WAY I was going to be able to get this done. So I'll take this course next September and actually learn the Greek stuff next summer and have it me...

This morning I'm heading back to class. I'm taking two courses at Heritage Seminary this semester. Sure. Two classes may be a bit much for a guy with a young family and who works full time at the church... but I REALLY needed to get these two classes finished. I'm taking "Hermeneutics" and "Biblical Introduction". These are the two pre - reqs for my Diploma in Pastor Studies and they are only offered in the Fall semester... so if I don't take them now then I stuck having to wait until next year. This way I'll get the two pre - reqs finished then I can go back to taking just one class a semester. The beauty will be in the summer when I could take two or maybe even three classes since they are only a week long (9am-4pm for five days). This would allow me to finish my diploma in as little as 4-5 years. Much better then the original ten years I was planning on.

I haven't had much of a chance to look at how people found my blog over the last couple of months... so here's a quick list of some of the more interesting ones! bad 90's boy bands new clone wars television series trailer pastor happy Spending quiet time with God will bring quiet rest from God windy takeoffs mars hill podcasts are so quiet Evan almighty negative marvel civil war Paperback fun things to do at the pastor's birthday party marvel comics pumpkin carving Tranformers sermon marvel ultimate alliance costume gallery craziness at saddleback church RAMBLINGS OF A FIRST TIME PASTOR didn't get my birth certificate back when applying for passport blue jays newbie experiencing christ together drew marshall Happy birthday, Pastor bruxy cavey manga messiah

Just finished the first draft for my next article. This is the first draft and will probably be cleaned up a little bit more before sending it to the newspaper later this week. More Then Meets the Eye By Kevin Presseault Hard to believe that summer is over. I love summer time. Playing outside with the kids. The beautiful weather. Blue Jays games. Summer is great. One of my favorite things about summer is the Hollywood blockbuster movies which hit the theaters. I just love going to the movies. Ever since I was a little kid spending my paper route money, I love grabbing a big bag of popcorn and enjoying some fun, exciting movies. By far my favorite movie this summer was Transformers. In case you didn’t see it I’ll try not to spoil the ending for you here. This movie is based on the toys which first appeared in the 1980s. I never had any of the toys growing up but I sure did want them! If you’re not familiar with the story behind Transformers it’s actually quite simple. The T...

It's Tuesday night... Blue Jays are playing the Red Sox... and just let a run get in. AND NOW A HOME RUN WITH A GUY ON BASE!!! AAARRRGGGH! Why is it that whenever I have a chance to actually watch a Jays game they stink it up. Maybe I should just watch replays the next day! So much going on lately... My son started grade one today. While waiting in line to start his day he was stung by a hornet right inside his ear! Poor kid. Not a good way to start school. He was fine within 5 minutes and had a great day after that. I'm so proud of this kid! I'm so glad his school started the French immersion program last year. I always appreciated the fact that I learned French and wanted to pass that on to my kids. My daughter starts junior kindergarten next week. That means both our kids will be in school... no more babies :( WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO PULL THIS BLUE JAYS PITCHER?!?!?!?! Red Sox just got another run! I'm exhausted tonight! Last week's funeral was quite...