It's that time again - another edition of "Embarrassing stories about Kevin"! So, as I was thinking about what to write this month, I figured I'd delve back further into my past than last time. It took me a while to think of something, but then I remembered a couple of things that happened to me one 4th of July weekend when I was about 10 or 11.

I was at my friend Dennis' house, in Chittenango, NY (near Syracuse). I had just moved away from Chittenango either that year or the year before (it depends on if I was 10 or 11 at the time), but Dennis and I still hung out every once and a while. For his family, 4th of July was a big deal. They'd have a big bar-b-que at one of his grandmother's houses in Manlius, and enjoy the parade and go to the games, rides, and other stuff in a nearby park. Then, we'd stay for the fireworks and have a grand 'ol time. You get the picture. It was generally a great day, with the only major annoyance being "Glenn" from the Jeopardy (1987, 5.25" floppy disk) game we'd play on his grandmother's old computer. Man, just thinking about Glenn now makes me riled up. I really wanted to beat that guy up.

Anyway. So on the 3rd, I went over to Dennis' house to play some video games, talk about girls, etc. For dinner, his dad had made steak. Mmmm, steak. So we sit down to eat it, and... and as I'm eating some salad, his dad reaches over the table and starts to cut up the steak for me. Not Dennis too, just me....... and Dennis' five-year-old sister. I felt like I was an inch tall. I felt so embarrassed, and a little upset. I was like, 11! I could my own meat, thank-you-very-much! I wasn't two years old or something, I was... I was.... I was a man! Yeah! How dare he cut my meat up for me? Man!

Suffice to say, I just felt really embarrassed because I didn't understand why he'd do that. To this day, I'm not really sure. ......but the embarrassing part of the weekend wasn't over yet. Oh, no it wasn't. The next morning, we go to his grandmother's house to prepare for the bar-b-que. And as we're coming in, his grandmother introduces herself to me (even though I knew I'd met her before), and... then here's the weird part - leans in for a kiss.

....yeah. She did one of those grandmotherly things where they lean in and you're supposed to kiss them on their cheeks. So there I was, petrified, as this old, wrinkly woman is coming towards me.... what was I to do? .........so I bit the bullet. I kissed her cheek.

Dennis snorted and laughed. He wouldn't shut up about it that whole day, and I kept thinking to myself, "Ugh, I kissed a strange grandmother!" .....but such is life when you're 11. You don't want somebody else to cut your meat up for you when you're old enough to do it yourself, and you don't want to kiss somebody's wrinkly grandmother. And when you do, it's just weird. And embarrassing.


Check back here sometime in September for the next embarrassing story: "Friday, August 10th, 2007 Just Wasn't My Day"

Phew! Well, after spending my summer at Casowasco, I'm back here in Lansing. I loved being at camp, and I was really excited whenever I got to hang out with all of you from LUMC. As a refresher to those of you who came (and some top-notch knowledge for those of you who didn't), we spent our Bible Studies and Chapel time discussing how God has created you to be a HERO in the lives of everyone around you.

Two years ago at camp, we talked about how God has been telling an Epic story throughout history, and in this day and age, you get to be a part of that story. Last summer, we talked about what the Soundtrack to that story sounds like; what should our life sound like if we're involved in God's story? Well, this summer we delved even deeper and said, "If God is telling this epic story throughout history, don't all great stories have main characters? What do these heroes look like? What qualities has God placed in us to be HEROES?"

We started off with three main qualities: Heart, Eyes, and Resolve. Having Heart means to have the willingness to act, regardless of the situation. Using your Eyes means to see clearly what needs to be done, no matter how others try to confuse you. By having Resolve, you commit to seeing something through, no matter how long it takes. Finally, we talked about how all heroes have a source for their power. Our source, the One, is Jesus Christ, who has offered to us the very power He had. With Christ as the source of our power, we can do the amazing things that God wants us to do. In any given situation, He wants us to see the right thing to do, have the courage to do it, and have the commitment to seeing it through, even when it's hard. That's what God wants you to do, and He created you to be that way.

I hope that those of you who came to Casowasco or Aldersgate this summer heard that message loud and clear, because there's a lot of people out there who need a hero (even your parents and brothers and sisters). As Superman said in Superman Returns, "You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one." People are waiting for someone, they're counting on someone, to step into their lives and do the right thing to help them- you can be that hero.


...and that's just a small portion of what we talked about this summer. I had a great time, but I'm so glad to be back here at LUMC, getting ready for the school-year. See all of you soon!

~Kevin