He Is Here!!!

On Tuesday morning (or really, really, really late Monday night) Johanna gave birth to our son Hayden Russell Burleson. He came into our world at 1:40 am Tuesday morning, April 28th at 7 lbs, 14 ozs and 21 inches long. People told us it would be amazing. People said it would instantly change our lives. Let me just say this: It is indescribable. There are no words to describe it. All of human language is incapable of explaining this feeling. Now I understand why people say you just can't put it into words.

Everyone's been asking to see some pictures and we finally got an adapter for our memory card here at the hospital so here are a few pics to hold you over until you can meet the handsome little fella.

It All Changes...

Tomorrow everything changes. For Johanna and I, life as we've known it will be forever altered. We are scheduled to be at St. David's Hospital at 6 am on Monday to induce baby Hayden. He just seems to be so happy where he's at right now, the doc says he needs a little encouragement to come on out. We've been told life will be different. We've been told it will all change. And while we know it (in our heads, rationally at least), I know experiencing it will be something else entirely. So while we go through this incredible change, which is in each and every way nothing less than a complete blessing and miracle from God, we'd love to have you pray for us. I believe in prayer big time. I've seen it work. So while we're heading into this next phase of life, we covet your prayers.

• Pray for Johanna's health and for labor and delivery tomorrow.
• Pray for Hayden's health.
• Pray for us as parents - that our actions, words, decisions, and lives would reflect to our son a God who is madly in love with him.
• Pray for Hayden. Not just that he's healthy and everything goes well for him, but that he would grow up with a passion for His Savior Jesus and for those people in his world that might be far from God. Pray that he becomes a mighty man of God used to reach those who've not yet heard of God's love.
• Pray for me. I want my son to be able to say his earthly father modeled for him and showed him the love of his heavenly Father. My parents gave that gift to me. I want to be able to live in such a way that I pass it on.

Making Porn Part of The Past...

Yesterday at The Connection Church, our lead pastor Cole Phillips continued our series The Ultimate Fighter: Beating Men's Toughest Battles by talking about The Eye Gouge. You can watch his message here. Basically, Cole talked about sexual temptation and how it can destroy men, families, marriages, and more. He was upfront and honest about the temptations men face and he spent a good bit of his message talking about the "elephant in the room of every church": Pornography. Most churches, for reasons I don't understand, rarely address these topics. But statistics show us that most men, churched or not, struggle in the area of dealing with pornography. Here are a couple tips to follow up Pastor Cole's sermon on some practical ways you can win the battle against an addiction to pornography.

1. First of all, you need to GET HONEST. Find someone who you trust and with whom you can be 100% honest and share your addiction and struggles with them. So many times men live in unnecessary guilt and shame in this area because they are afraid to get honest. When you get honest about your struggles you do two things: First, you can begin to learn from people who have been there and might have previously gone through the same struggles you are now facing. Second, you realize that there are a lot more people out there who've fought similiar battles and you are not alone in your struggles.
2. Second, you need to GET ACCOUNTABILITY. Once you've got a person you can be honest, open, and accountable with, you need to get some real online accountability. There are tons of sites that are great at providing online accountability or filtering for you in your struggle with pornography. Filter sites block certain objectionable material and allow someone to place a password on your computer to block these things. Most accountability sites take a record of any questionable websites you visit on your computer and send that list out to your accountability partners, via email, on a regular basis. These sites provide you with real, 24 hour accountability because you know that whatever you see online will be seen by others who are helping you through this struggle. The best website, hands down, for any online accountability, or anything dealing with porn addiction or sex addiction is XXXchurch.com. In fact, if you struggle with pornography, I encourage you to go to their site RIGHT NOW and click on the "Get Help" button.
3. Third, you may need to GET PROFESSIONAL HELP. For many men who've become addicted to porn, finding accountability through a trusted friend and through online filters or accountability websites just simply isn't enough. The addiction to pornography is real and can, like any other addiction, begin to control one's live to the point where trained, professional counseling is needed in order to beat this battle. If that's the case, find a Christian counselor in your area or call a local church in your area for a recommendation on counseling services. Whatever you do, don't let the addiction win. Get the help you need to beat this battle!

Here are some resources you can check out for fighting the battle against pornography and sexual temptation. Check these out for more help. Just click the title and it will take you right to the resource listed.

XXXChurch.com

SafeEyes Internet Filtering

Central Texas Sex Addiction Ministry

Every Man's Battle - Books & Resources from Stephen Arterburn

Questions You Can't Ask Your Mama About Sex by Craig Gross & Mike Foster

How He Loves Us...

I am getting pumped up about Beach Bash, our annual summer camp for teenagers on the beaches of Port Aransas, TX. It will be here before we know it. This year Mark McConkey is going to be leading us in worship for the week. I've served alongside Mark in the past and there is a passion that oozes out of his every pore for God to be made famous and for people to connect with Him. You can check out Mark's music here. And in the meantime, I thought I'd share Mark's version of a song that I am absolutely lovin' right now. It's called How He Loves Us.

The Weekend Update...

Here's a recap of the whirlwind that was Easter weekend. Check it out:

• My parents came in on Friday and spent the weekend with us. They helped me do some cleaning and organizing before Hayden gets here...it's just too bad they couldn't have stayed longer. I could've kept them busy!
• TCC's Easter festivities kicked of Friday Night with a Good Friday service. Burgundy Road led worship for the service and it was absolutely incredible.
• Saturday was The Big Hunt. Over 1700 people showed up to hunt eggs, jump on inflatables, and have an all out blast. It was a great event that showed how absolutely awesome our TCC Volunteers are! Great job everyone!
• Saturday afternoon and evening, Johanna, myself, and my parents went shopping for baby stuff that we still needed. My parents hooked us up and blessed us big time by purchasing a ton of last minute stuff for us.
• Sunday was an unbelievable day at The Connection Church. The vibe was incredible as we celebrated the fact that we serve a Savior who is ALIVE. We kicked off our Ultimate Fighter series and Cole knocked it out of the park! We had 835 people show up for church and 29 people made the decision to follow Christ with their lives. UNBELIEVABLE day.
• I spent some time Sunday afternoon painting furniture for the nursery. I've still got some work to do to finish that up.

What an incredible weekend. Worshipping God. Serving God. Showing God's Love To Others. What a celebration of the fact that He Is Alive.

Tell The World...

Don't want to stand here and shout Your praise
And walk away and forget Your name
I'll stand for you if it's all I do
Cause there is none that compares to You

And all I want in this lifetime is You
And all I want in this whole world is you, is you

Tell the world that Jesus lives
Tell the world that, tell the world that
Tell the world that he died for them
Tell the world that he lives again

No longer I but Christ in me
Cause it's the truth that set me free
How could this world be a better place?
But by thy mercy, by thy grace

And all I want in this lifetime is You
And all I want in this whole world is you, you, you

Tell the world that Jesus lives
Tell the world that, tell the world that
Tell the world that he died for them
Tell the world that he lives again

C'mon, c'mon we'll tell the world about You
Tell the world that Jesus lives
Tell the world that, tell the world that
Tell the world that he died for them
Tell the world that he lives again

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!
Luke 24:1-6

HE. IS. ALIVE.

Easter Reflection #1...

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:2-6

Pick The Date...

Johanna and I have decided to have a little fun with everyone who's been trying to guess when Hayden Russell will show up. And we've decided to make it fun that pays off too. It's this simple: Leave a comment on this blog with your guess as to the date and time of day that our son, Hayden Russell, will be born. The person closest to the exact time and date wins a Starbucks gift card. Just so everyone's on the same page, the actual due date estimated by our doctor is April 20th. Let the games begin. Comment away!

BIG Weekend @ TCC...

We've got a BIG weekend coming up this weekend at The Connection Church. And when I say big, I mean enormous, huge, massive, gigantic...well, you get the point. And all the fun starts Friday. Here's what's going on and how YOU can be involved!

• FRIDAY - We are having our first ever Good Friday Service at 7:00 PM at Tobias Elementary School. This service will be a time of intimate worship, praise, and celebrating Communion as we allow God to prepare us for what He wants to do in and through us during Easter weekend. Burgundy Road will be leading our worship time. How can YOU be involved? Show up and allow God's presence to fill you for the weekend ahead!
• SATURDAY is The Big Hunt. We'll have two HUGE Easter egg hunts with THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of eggs, pictures with the Easter Bunny, a live band, inflatable games, puppet shows and race cars on display. All the action takes place from 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM at Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle. How can YOU be involved? If you regularly attend TCC, then be sure you find a place to serve during the Big Hunt. We need you on the team! If you live in the Hays area and don't regularly attend TCC, please come be our guests at The Big Hunt and have a blast with your entire family. And don't forget...it's all free!
• SUNDAY - We will be having two Easter Celebration Services at The PAC at 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM. We will be kicking off our new series The Ultimate Fighter and this will be a day at TCC that you won't want to miss. Come celebrate the Easter season and the resurrection of Christ with us as we examine what it means to be a real man by looking at the life of Jesus, the one who conquered death and is the living King of Kings! How can YOU be involved? If you don't normally attend a church, please be our guest on Easter Sunday. It would be such an honor to have you join us on this special day. If you normally attend TCC, you can help by doing three things. First of all, don't come alone. Bring your friends and neighbors with you and let's pack the PAC! Second of all, consider attending the early service to make more room for our guests at 10:30. Third, find a place to serve. We want our guests to feel valued and at home as they experience TCC and we need all of you serving to make that happen!

Like I said, this weekend is BIG for The Connection Church. If you are a part of the TCC family, know that we can't do this alone! Spend time this week and this weekend asking God to use our efforts to change lives and do what only He can do - draw people to Himself!

Impact Weekend - It Took A Team...

This past weekend was our first ever IMPACT weekend here in TCC Student Ministries. And to be honest, the weekend was rockin’! We had almost forty students come together for a weekend of growing in their faith and growing in the friendships and we all had a blast!

But, like all things at TCC, it wouldn’t have been possible without the team. It took tons of people to pull this weekend off! Bryan and Jamie Moore were jacks-of-all-trades all weekend long, doing TONS of stuff to serve our students and God like crazy (and like they always do in our Connexion Students ministry)! The Ojedas, the Geigers, and the Barnes all opened their homes to large groups of crazy students…the weekend would not have happened with those host homes! Rico Ojeda even taught his group’s sessions – that’s whole nutha’ level! Our group leaders, Jordan, Jenna, and Kaylen all gave up a weekend of their lives to come and pour into our students…for free…and they rocked it! Amy DeFillipi helped drive students all over town all weekend and the Smith family donated their big blue van to the TCC student ministry cause once again. And my incredible, lovely, 38 ½ week pregnant wife hosted the High School girls' group in our home and hung out with them all weekend long. Seriously babe…that is amazing. To top it off, almost forty students spent a weekend learning what it means to love God and love people and lives were changed. And that’s what it is all about.

No one person can pull a weekend like this off on their own. It’s too much. It becomes too hectic. And it’s too important to do half-heartedly. So thanks for a great weekend team. YOU made it happen!

Just Checking In...

It's been a while since I've posted and especially since I've posted with any regularity. I guess I'm in a blogger-funk right now...but hopefully I'm on the way out. Just wanted to post a quick update on life while I'm sitting in the office waiting for all of our Impact leaders to show up. Here's what's going on in our world:

• This weekend in our Impact Weekend for our students at The Connection Church. Impact is sort of like a Disciple Now and our students will spend the weekend growing in their faith and their friendships. We're pumped about the opportunity for live change this weekend as student come face to face with the love of Jesus.
• Next weekend is another crazy-busy weekend at TCC. We have our Good Friday Service on Friday, the Big Hunt on Saturday, and our Easter Services on Sunday. By the way, if you live in the Kyle/Buda area, you don't want to miss out on any of it, so come check it out!
• During the midst of all of the craziness that has been our lives lately, Johanna and I are trying to do everything we can to get ready for Hayden's arrival. We are pumped. We are excited. We are overjoyed. And we are a little nervous too, to be honest. And to say there aren't enough hours in our days to get everything ready would be the understatement of the year.
• For the last month, we have had some kind of event or something every night on Sunday through Wednesday. Dang.
• I'm also in the midst of planning the 5th annual Beach Bash Youth Camp at Port Aransas, TX. I am super excited about the churches we have lined up to participate this year and I think this will be the best Beach Bash yet. Our tagline for Beach Bash is, "The most incredible week of your summer." It takes a lot of work to make that happen!
• Did I say I am pumped that my son Hayden Russell Burleson is about to be born? April 20th!
• We had two showers - one in my hometown of Gorman and one is Kyle - and Johanna and I were BLOWN AWAY by the generosity, kindness, and goodness of our family and friends. We're loaded down with so much baby stuff...I don't even know what half of it does or is for!
• We got lots of diapers at the baby shower...hoping Johanna gets to use those more than me!
• If the due date was guessed correctly, my son will be born two weeks from Monday. WOW.
• Our leaders should be arriving shortly for our orientation for the weekend...they're all already late, but I guess that's all for now.

Busted Bailouts and Financial Freakouts...

Unless you live in some remote part of the world with absolutely no connection to current news or the modern world, then you've probably spent a little time worrying about money over the last few weeks and months. The government can't fix the problems. Wall Street is in turmoil. No one seems to have any answers. The bailouts busted, our moneys missing, and many of us are on the way to a full-fledged finanacial freakout. In light of this, I thought I'd share some links that have provided me some good information during this turbulent time of economic uncertainty.

1. Tony Morgan posted "14 Ways To Spend Less So You Can Do More." This blog contains some great, practical advice on easy, simple ways for a family to save money.
2. Joe Sangl gives us "Five Ways To Save Money Without Selling Anything." In fact, Joe is the author of I Was Broke. Now I'm Not and his entire blog offers solid, sound financial advice for times like these.
3. Our Lead Pastor, Cole Phillips, posted some thoughts about Turning A Layoff Into A Payoff. He offers some fantastic advice to the many people who are facing layoffs right now.
4. The folks over at Generation X Finance posted "20 Free Online Finance Courses" that you can take from the comfort of your home. These range from making wise investments, planning family finances, saving for retirement, and basic economics.
5. Frugal Dad offers advice for parents and students with his article Seven Ways To Fund College Without A College Savings Fund. Take it from a guy who is still paying off stupid student loans: There is some great advice about paying for college in this article!

For me, one pretty basic and simple thing that helped my finances was the concept of first giving to my local church through tithing, next giving to my future through saving, and then living on the rest. What about you? Any financial wisdom for these crazy times? Any links with stuff that is just too good not to pass on? Feel free to share and comment away.

The Weekend Update...

This past weekend can be summed up in one word: Basketball. I spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of this past weekend at the Texas U.I.L. Boys Basketball State Tournament. Me, my dad, and 2 of our cousins all had seats together for the entire weekend. My brother and some other cousins who are coaches also spent the weekend there. We had a blast together. It was great to see my old high school basketball coach, some old friends, and to get to hang out with my family doing what we love to do - watch basketball. Over those three days we spent over 35 hours in the gym of the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas watching 18 semi-final and final games of the state championship tournament. I'm not sure exactly what all the details of heaven will include, but this past weekend was at least a minor taste of "heaven on earth." Good basketball. Great people. Good times.

And The Name Is (Drumroll)...

It's been far too long since I last posted some thoughts on this blog. I could say it's been crazy, because it has. I could say it's been busy, because it has. I could say I've been traveling and off my normal schedule, because I have...but who isn't crazy and busy and off of their normal schedules these days. So I'll say to all my avid readers (mom) that I'm trying to get my blogging groove back.

But now for the real reason of this post: Johanna and I have FINALLY picked a name for our son. Actually, I have finally picked a name. We had narrowed it down to two names for months and Jo was cool with either one. I just couldn't decide. Naming a child is a BIG DEAL in my mind. I want to get this right. So I see-sawed back and forth. I prayed about it...a lot. I did all the name tests: I did the "banana fanna fo fanna" test. I checked to make sure Jo hadn't dated anyone with that name. I made sure it didn't rhyme with any vulgar language or form an acronym with the initials that was vulgar. I even checked it out with my mom, whose an elementary secretary, to see if she had any hellions by the name.

After all the fretting and praying and testing, it boiled down to this: honor. A name ought to be a thing that brings honor. My dad always told us growing up to remember whose name we carried. My hero and best friend in life is my Papa. He's my superman. He's who I've looked up to my entire life. His middle name is Russell and so to honor him, my son's middle name will be Russell also. A name ought to be a thing that honors.

So here it is: On or around April 20th (if the doctor is guessing right) Johanna and I will welcome to the world our son, Hayden Russell Burleson. We both have always liked the name Hayden since we first heard it. I only know one guy with that as part of his name and he happens to be a pretty solid kid himself that loves the Lord. And the middle name is a name of honor.

So you came here just to read about the name and you got my whole thought process behind it. Maybe I should blog more regularly and I won't save up such long thoughts for one post. Let me leave you with this advice that's helped me a lot in my life: Remember whose name you carry. It might have been given to you as a show of honor.

C3 Three Thoughts

Here's the final installment of C3 Three Thoughts. Ch-ch-check it out:

Jentzen Franklin – Second Session

1. You don’t know if you have a servant’s heart until you see how you act when you are treated like one.
2. We need to be addicted to the ministry of the saints. Are we addicted to what Jesus died for?
3. God blesses where His reputation is safe.

Tommy Barnett

1. If you don’t have some cigarette butts around your church, you don’t have much of a church.
2. For far too long the church has been a club where you have to believe the values and rules before you belong.
3. We need churches where belonging leads to believing.

Steven Furtick

1. Jesus is not our homeboy. He is the ruling, reigning, enthroned King of Kings and He deserves our honor.
2. Jesus didn’t die on a brutal cross so that we could shop and hop from church to church like we’re sampling a party platter.
3. As this younger generation of church leaders does more and does better than those who went before us, we need to remember that we stand on their shoulders and that they took the shots that we didn’t have to take. They deserve our honor.

Craig Groeshel

1. Becoming obsessed with what people think about you is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about you.
2. When you have the approval of God you don’t need the approval of men.
3. There is a bigger church in you when you get over what they think.

C3 Three Thoughts - Ed Young & Bil Corneilus

Here's some more highlights of last week's C3 Conference:

Ed Young – Second Session

1. Being a preacher is like giving birth on Sunday, only to turn around and find out your pregnant again on Monday.
2. When we try to be responsible for people’s response we are guaranteed to end up despondent and depressed.
3. One of the best ways to get out of a funk is to focus on others and help someone in need.

Bil Cornelius

1. The lack of prayer in the pastoral leadership of the church is an epidemic.
2. Someone has been dealt worse cards than you in life and in ministry, and they’re winning with them.
3. The problem with our ministries is that we’re so focused on people showing up for our services that we’re not showing up before the Father on behalf of the people.

C3 Three Thoughts - Caine & Young

Here’s my C3 Three Thoughts from the first sessions of both Christine Caine & Ed Young. Check it out.

Christine Caine’s First Session:

• God calls us to be passionate about what He’s passionate about. And God is consumed and obsessed with a lost, broken, and dying world.
  
• It’s not just the world that’s lost. The church is lost. We’ve lost our passion, our mission, and our purpose.
  
• No wonder the world is full of darkness. We’ve taken all the light out. It’s hard to reach a world you’re not in. Jesus said “follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” If we’re not becoming fishers of men, I’m not sure who we’re following.

Ed Young’s First Session:

• There is a difference in people who are “for you” and those who are “with you.”
  
• When pride walks on the stage, God walks off.
  
• When it comes to dealing with people acting crazy in the church, as a leader you’ve got to be willing to confront them, cope with them, and cut them from the herd if necessary.

C3 "Three Thoughts" - Jentzen Franklin...

I had the incredible opportunity to attend the C3 Creative Church Conference the latter part of last week at Fellowship Church in Grapevine. I got tons out of the two and a half days we were there and am still chewing on much of what was shared. Someone at the conference accurately described the conference as drinking out of a fire hydrant. That's definitely how I felt. If you follow me on Twitter, you've already seen tons of highlights from the conference. But I thought I'd do a series this week here on the blog called "C3 Three Thoughts" where I'd share just three main thoughts from each session that have challenged and stretched me. Each day this week I'll post a blog with three thoughts from the various speakers at C3. The first session began with Jentzen Franklin, so here's his Three Thoughts:

1. Mercy is when God looks down from the grandstand of heaven and yells, "Give 'em another chance! Give 'em another chance!"
2. You want the blessings of God? Be merciful. Show mercy to people. Take the limits off of God's mercy. God's mercy is greater than our failure.
3. You're never closer to God than when you are showing someone mercy.

Conference Time...

Tomorrow myself, our Lead Pastor Cole, our Executive Pastor Zak, and Cole's wife Pam are heading to the DFW metroplex for C3: Creative Church Conference. I've never been to C3 but I am pumped about the conference based on what I've heard from others. I know it's going to be a great chance to connect with other leaders, as well providing some challenging and stretching thoughts from some great leaders within God's church. If you think about it this week, pray for me and for our team. Ask God to grow us, stretch us, and renew us. If you want to know what's going on during the conference, I'll be twittering live from there for sure. You can check out my twitter feed on the right of this blog or even better, go here to sign up for your own account and then follow me here.

The Weekend Update - Love Edition...

This past weekend was all about Valentine's Day, dubbing this weekend update as "The Love Edition." Here's the recap:

• Johanna and I spent Friday morning consumed with all things baby. First, we had our last monthly check-up. Everything looks great at this point. And I say last "monthly" checkup because since Jo is now less than 10 weeks from the due date, she now has check-ups with her doctor every other week. After the check-up, we did some baby shopping and think we may have finally found a crib!
• Friday night myself, Zak, our executive Pastor, and Bryan, one of our worship leaders & my right hand man in our Student Ministry, all surprised our wives with a night out at The Melting Pot in Austin. The food was incredible. The experience was amazing. And the people we shared it with were even better than that. And talk about three guys who married way out of their leagues...
• Saturday was a pretty lazy day. Hung out around the house and did some stuff there. Then Johanna made me a Valentine's meal on Saturday night that was absolutely fantastic. She is an amazing cook and really outdid herself this time.
• Sunday we continued our series Rock of Love at TCC. Cole talked about purity and I'll say this about the message: Anytime the pastor models a pole dance, you know it's a good sermon. My favorite quote from the sermon came when Cole was talking about how there is no such thing as safe sex, because "you can't put a condom on your hear." Priceless.
• That about wraps up our weekend. As you can see, the weekend involved lots-o-love.

Skills of A Gracious Loser...

My brother wanted some audiobooks for Christmas for his daily commute to work. To oblige his request, one of the things Johanna and I got him was the audiobook The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons from a Life in Coaching by Dean Smith. To say that our family are Tarheel fans would be an understatement. We bleed Carolina Blue. So I knew my brother would love this book. Over the Christmas break I rode with my brother from family gathering to family gathering and got to hear a little of the leadership lessons in The Carolina Way. One of the things that Dean Smith talks about is that every good leader has to learn to be a gracious loser. He says that good leaders don't want to lose, but they're also not afraid to fail. Here is how he recommends handling loss as a leader.

1. Recognize loss when it occurs. Admit it. Don't hide it.
2. Move to correct mistakes as quickly as possible.
3. Meet with everyone on the team involved in making the mistake. Ask this question: How can we learn from this?
4. Give everyone involved tasks to do to make sure the same thing doesn't happen again. Don't just talk about it - Implement these things.
5. Forgive yourself and others involved. It's over. It's in the past.
6. After you've learned everything possible from the loss or failure, vow never to think about it again. Move on and take more risks.

What do you think? How do you handle loss or deal with failure? At work? In ministry? At home?

Books I'm Thinking Of Reading...Or Maybe Not...

I've been looking for some books to read. But none of these made the list and you'll quickly see why. These are actual book titles. If you don't believe they're real, just click the title of each book and it will take you straight to the Amazon.com page where they are being sold. This just proves that absolutely anyone and anything can get published these days. But on second thought, maybe we could get one of our youth small groups to practice awesomeness...

Whose Bottom Is This? (Whose? Animal Series)

Anybody Can Be Cool-- But Awesome Takes Practice (Devotionals for Teens)

Vi Agra Falls: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery

I Hate Myself and Want to Die: The 52 Most Depressing Songs You've Ever Heard

Does This Cape Make Me Look Fat?: Pop Psychology for Superheroes

Need A Laugh...

I ran across these videos on Youtube earlier this week. They're from a guy named Tim Hawkins, who I hadn't heard of before, but seems to be a pretty funny guy. They made me chuckle a ittle bit. And I thought to my self, "Self, whose day doesn't need a little laughter?" and so I passed them along to you. Check it out:

That's Quotable...

Today is my brother Justin's birthday. Twenty-nine years ago today God allowed me to win the brother lottery. If there is one person in life that has my back no matter what the situation, no matter how big the fight(besides my wife) it's my brother. I'm honored to call him my brother and proud to call him my best friend. Justin is a first year coach at Magnolia High School in Magnolia, TX near Houston. He is the head freshman coach and the varsity assistant. He is incredibly passionate about basketball. I've honestly never seen anything like it in my life. And he is a phenomenal coach. You'd never be able to guess he's just starting out. One of the little things he's brought to the Magnolia program is a weekly newsletter that informs parents and fans of the past week's activities, upcoming games, and provides motivation for the players. His team is in the second half of district play and in a battle for a playoff spot. This was his quote for the week in the newsletter he sent out on Thursday:


Those that believe it can’t be done… better get out of the way of those that are about to do it.


I like it. I like it a lot. And that quote alone gives you a good glimpse into my brother's outlook on life. Happy Birthday Bro! I hope those who don't believe get out of your way so they don't get hurt when you run over the top of them.

Rock of Love...

Our new series Rock of Love starts THIS SUNDAY at The Connection Church. It is going to be INCREDIBLE and you DO NOT WANT TO MISS OUT! And even more than that, you don't want your friends to miss out. We'll be talking about dating, marriage, and sex in this revealing series about how to build your relationships on the "Rock of Love." This Sunday Cole will specifically be sharing a clear, easy to understand presentation of the gospel, so be sure and invite that friend or neighbor that you've been wanting to share Jesus with. Take that step. Make that phone call. Knock on that door. Do whatever it takes to get your friends who don't yet know the love of Jesus to TCC this weekend!


Rock of Love Invite Cole Phillips, The Connection Church from The Connection Church on Vimeo.

Everyone Matters...

Last night at our High School Connection Students gathering we finished up a series we've been doing called Everyone Matters. Here's the whole premis: Everyone matters to God, so everyone ought to matter to us. For the past three weeks we've talked all about how we can share God's love with others so that they know they matter to God. And it has been incredible to see our students engage and respond to what we've been learning together.

There's a church word for what we've talked about. It's called evangelism. Over the years, the church has made evangelism into a pretty complicated thing. We've got evangelism classes. We have evangelism campaigns. There are special conferences on evangelism. We buy books and studies on evangelism. We explain evangelism. We teach evangelism. And so many times we make it so complicated, that we never do evangelism. Here is what evangelism is: it is letting people know they matter to God. Evangelism is simply caring about God and those who are far from Him. It's that simple. Everyone matters to God. If we're his disciples, they ought to matter to us.

Attack of the Zombies...or The Hackers...

I saw this article thanks to my friend Randy Moore, who is the Youth Pastor a Milwood Baptist Church in Austin. Apparently hackers hacked into a portable traffic sign on Lamar and 15th in Austin, TX and warned people with this message:
That's not only impressive computer hacking ability, but impressive wit as well. Even the spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation agreed: "It's sort of amusing, but not at all helpful," he commented. However, if there ever is indeed a zombie attack in Austin, TX, it's good to know that our technology is capable and prepared to warn us.

Spit-And-Polish Veneer...

One of my goals this year is to read the entire Bible. I blogged about it earlier in the year here. So last night after our High School student gathering, I was reading in Matthew 23 in The Message and came across this in the first few verses:

"Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. “The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God’s Law. You won’t go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It’s all spit-and-polish veneer." - Matthew 23:1-3, The Message

That passage hit me like a ton of bricks. I go to great lengths to make sure that I communicate in an effective and relevant matter when I teach God’s word, whether it’s to students or adults. Apparently the Pharisees were pretty competent teachers as well. But when it came to living out what they taught they stunk. They were so off-base that Jesus told people that their teachings of the word were ok, but warned them about following the way they lived. Ouch.

As I teach God’s word and lead others in following Jesus I don’t want that accusation to be made of me. I don’t want others to have an excuse to say that my teaching is all spit-and-polish veneer. I want to live in such a way that my life gives my teaching power, not polish. I want to follow Jesus with such passion that my teaching comes from my heart instead of hides it. When I think about sharing the word of God I want to be able to talk a good line. But I want to live a good life to give that talk power. God, help me to make sure that my beliefs match my behavior, that my convictions match my character, and that the meaning of my talk matches the marching of my walk.

An Inaugural Prayer...

Rick Warren took a lot of heat over his invitation and acceptance to pray at President Obama's inauguration ceremony. He took heat from all sides - atheists, believers, churches, and anti-religious groups. I thought he was a great choice. And I thought he delivered a great prayer. Here's just a portion of the opening part of the prayer:

Almighty God, our Father:
Everything we see, and everything we can’t see, exists because of you alone.
It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory.
History is your story.
The Scripture tells us, “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

(You can read the entire text of the prayer, along with Pastor Mark Driscoll's comments, by clicking here.)

A lot of people discredit and criticize Rick Warren for a lot of different reasons. In my opinion, he loves God, loves God's church, and loves people too much to see them live without a relationship with a loving God. And in my opinion, his inaugural prayer was top-notch.

A Little Link Love...

Thought I'd throw out a little link love today. Here's a variety of links with random stuff you need to check out:

• In light of today's historic Presidential Inauguration check out this Inauguration Speech Generator to make up your own speech, mad-lib style. Worth a couple laughs for sure.
• Have you seen the I Am Second website? If not, you need to go check it out right now. Incredible sight where people share stories of finding purpose and hope in the midst of everyday struggles and failures.
• Ever wonder what goes through the mind of a crazy-random-awesome-cool 6th grader? If so, check out Mackenzie Phillips' blog. She's the daughter of our lead pastor Cole.
• This daily blog by Brad Ruggle's is always full of creative goodness. And it may be one of the sickest blog designs...(wait for it)...ever.
• I mentioned this story via my Twitter several weeks ago, but I don't think I ever shared it on here. This story by Rick Reilly from ESPN will inspire you, challenge you, and probably make you shed a tear or two. Awesome read so click here now and check it out.
• I've been watching this blog and following Vince as he begins to plant a church on the Las Vegas strip. God has really burdened me to pray for Vince and Verve Church for the past few months and I want to encourage you to do the same.

A little linkage. A lotta' lovage. And I'm out.

Thankful For Dreams...

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

1978 - A Year In Review...

I celebrated my 31st birthday this past Thursday, January 15th. As I reflected back over my life so far it’s obvious that I am blessed beyond comprehension. God has been so good to me. I’ve had a lifetime of great family and friends that have been absolutely amazing and filled these 31 years with love, happiness, and fantastic memories. As I looked back, I thought it would be cool to take a look at what was going on during the month and year I came into this world. Check it out:


January 1978:

• I share my birth month and year with folks like Kimberly Locke, Chad Ocho Cinco, and Jeremy Camp.
• I share my birthday with the anniversary of the Dallas Cowboys Superbowl victory over the Denver Broncos. My mom and I were lucky enough to have my dad at least come see us at the hospital during half-time and stay through the third quarter...Thanks pops!

Entertainment of 1978:

• Top movies of the year included Superman, Greece, Saturday Night Fever, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws 2, Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke, and Animal House.
• 1978 was also the year of the inaugural Sundance Film Festival.
• Popular musicians of the year included the Bee Gees, Paul McCartney & Wings, John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John, The Rollingstones, Eric Clapton, Andy Gibb and The Commodores.
• The year's top songs included You're The One That I Want, Shadow Dancing, Night Fever, You Light Up My Life, Staying Alive, Kiss You All Over, Lay Down Sally, and Three Times A Lady.

• Some of television's top shows in 1978 were Chips, Happy Days, Little House on the Prairie, Charlie's Angels, Saturday Night Live, Three's Company, and The Love Boat. By the way, John and Ponch from Chips were some of my childhood heroes!

Sports in 1978:

• As I previously stated, the Dallas Cowboys won the Superbowl on my actual birthday.
• My New York Yankees won the world series defeating the LA Dodgers 4-2. Maybe that's why they've always been my favorite.


• The Washington Bullets were atop the NBA, defeating Seattle in the championship series 4-3.

Money in 1978:

• The average cost of a new house in 1978 was around $54,000.
• One pound of bacon would have cost you $1.20.
• You could get a gallon of gas for 63 cents.
• A dozen eggs would set you back a whole 48 cents.
• The average monthly rent for a home was $260.
• 1978's annual income was around $17,000.
• The Dow Jones year end close was 805.

Other Random Facts About 1978:

• Cult leader Jim Jones convinced 400 members of his "church" the People's Temple into committing mass suicide in Guyana.
• After 30 years, the Volkswagen Beetle stops production after manufacturing 20 million cars.
• Serial killer David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam," is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
• Sony manufactured the first ever walkman.

• Space Invaders launches the first craze for computer video games.
• The first ever Cellular Mobile Phone is introduced by the Illinois Bell Company, even though it wouldn't be made available to the general public for another five years.

The Weekend That Was...

Here's a recap of a weekend in the life of the Burleson's. Check it:

• We kicked off the weekend by spending most of Friday cleaning house. I abosutely hate cleaning...but I love that we got to rearrange the living room so that my old recliner is now included!
• Friday night we got to hang out with the White's and Johanna made some of her incredible chicken fried rice...Great friends. Great food.
• Saturday Jo and I slept in and then headed to Austin to look at baby stuff. We think we might have finally found a baby bed...now we just have to pay for it!
• Sunday was an incredible day at TCC. Cole's message was great and we had a ton of first time guests.
• Sunday afternoon we got to have lunch and hang out with Daniel, Jenna, and Jmob. I love the people God has placed in our lives that we get to "do life" with.

Lessons from Nickelback

I’ll go ahead and admit it: I’m a huge fan of Nickleback. I love their sound. Besides Texas Country, the music that makes up dirty, Southern rock may be my favorite. Their All The Right Reasons album is one of my favorite albums of all time. It’s full of positive, challenging lyrics and straight up dirty Southern rock. Unfortunately, with the exception of a couple great songs, their newest album Dark Horse is dirty in a whole different way. While the music is still classic Nickelback southern rock, the lyrics are anything but positive and challenging. But the real reason for this blog is not to share the greatness of Nickelback. I just wanted to share their video Savin’ Me as a tool to talk about another subject entirely. So watch this video, then continue below:

Nickelback - Savin' Me
Uploaded by AngelInHell666

The concept of this video is simple: Once you get "saved" you're able to see the urgency at which others need to be saved. After their lives are saved, they are able to see that in reality we’re all eventually going to need to be saved. As Christ-followers - those of us who’ve experienced the forgiveness and love of Jesus - would we act with any more urgency if we could see “countdown clocks” above the heads of our families, friends, neighbors, and co-workers who are living apart from a life-giving, saving relationship with Jesus? If we could see the countdown of their lives quickly fading away would we share the love and hope of Jesus with any more urgency? Would we be any more passionate about sharing the saving love of a God who saved us? I would certainly hope so. But the truth is this. Deep down, we all know that life in general is on a countdown. Our families, friends, and neighbors are only given so long to live…just like us. And the truth is that our clocks are counting down. But are we acting with urgency to share the love of a saving God? Or are we wasting our lives focused on things that don’t matter beyond and fade away?

When we fail to share the love of Jesus with the people God’s placed in our lives who don’t know Him, then we are LITERALLY saying to them, “Go to Hell.” Maybe it would be easier if we could see the clocks counting down…or maybe we’d still find ways to divert our eyes to things that are less convicting…

The Best Christmas Gift Ever...

I know that Christmas has come and gone. By now even New Year’s is old news. But as I looked over my blog postings for the past couple weeks I noticed something.

Somehow I forgot to share about the most incredible Christmas gift I received this year. It was probably due to the fact that it “happened” while we were visiting my parents and since my mom doesn’t have her high speed, wifi network set up yet, her internet options are a little slow and blogging just didn’t happen while we were there.

Anyway, I realized that I had only shared this in Twitter-land, with those who follow me on Twitter so I thought I should share it here too.

On Christmas day we were sitting around my Papa’s place waiting to eat lunch and Johanna felt our son kicking and moving around. That’s nothing new for her. She’s been able to feel the baby moving for over a month. But not so for me. Every time I’ve tried to feel a kick or a move, he’s stopped. It’s like he’s playing Quiet Water, Still Water anytime my hand gets near Jo’s stomach. But not on Christmas day! I put my hand on her stomach and our son gave the strongest kick he’s ever given. It was AMAZING. Actually, it was way beyond amazing, but I don’t think there is a word for that. Hands down, it was the most incredible Christmas gift ever.

Great Tool for A Great Goal...

I've been thinking a lot lately about my goals for this coming year. From the first thought of goals for 2009, I've felt led to read the entire Bible through in a year. I've read the New Testament through several times. And I've read a ton of Old Testament books. But I've never followed a plan to make sure I've covered all the Old Testament or the entire Bible in one specificed time frame. That's one of my main goals this year.

Today I got an email from YouVersion, which is an online Bible tool that is incredible. It has tons of versions of the Bible you can read online, it allows you to journal thoughts as you read, and it allows you to learn from others who've journaled their thoughts as well.

The email was about the One Year Bible Reading Plan. It's a simple plan to read the entire Bible through in one year. It's a completely free site and the great part is that it's available both online and through your phone if your phone supports mobile web services. I think this is a great goal for anyone to sink their teeth into this year. And YouVersion is a great tool to help us realize this goal.

I'm looking forward to this challenge. I will be stretched. Challenged. Transformed. Grown. All for the good. What about you? What are your goals for 2009?

Holiday Highlights...

It's been a crazy-busy, but crazy-good past several days. Here are our holiday higlights - bulletin style.

• We spent four days on the weekend before Christmas in Houston with Johanna's family. We had a blast and I loved getting to hang out and be uncle to my nieces and nephews.


• While in the Houston area, I got to watch my brother coach his freshman basketball team. I know he's my brother, but even if he wasn't I'd say he is an incredible basketball coach. His team outscored their opponent 32 to 13 in the second half to win a close game.


• On Tuesday night, Dec. 23rd, we had our Rockin' Christmas Eve's EVE Service at The Connection Church. It was definitely a ROCKIN' service. And with around 900 people in attendance, I'd say the turnout was rockin' too!


• Johanna and I spent Tuesday night through Saturday afternoon with my family doing the whole Christmas thing. It was a blast and I loved just getting to spend time hanging out with the fam.


• Saturday we headed back to Kyle, along with my parents and my brother and sister-in-law because I was preaching on Sunday morning at TCC.


• The only downside to the whole holiday week was that I started to get sick on Friday and I was worried about preaching on Sunday.


• Sunday came and I still had a voice so you can bet I was gonna' preach. So many friends were praying for me and my sickness that it was literally like God removed all the "ugh" feeling while I was preaching - the fever, the congestion, the sore throat, the aching - all of it. It was amazing. And it was a great morning at TCC.


• That about wraps up the Holiday Highlights. I'm looking forward to watching some football bowl games this week and getting over whatever this sickness crud is that I have.

Daily Christmas Cartoon #19...

Daily Christmas Cartoon #18...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Daily Christmas Cartoon #17...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Daily Christmas Cartoon #16...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Daily Christmas Cartoon #15...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Let The Driving Begin...

This afternoon starts a crazy day of holiday travel for Johanna and I. When I get off work today, we'll be heading to Houston for Christmas with her family this weekend. We'll stay there until Monday morning, when we head back to Kyle to be here with our church, TCC, for our Rockin' Christmas Eve's EVE Service. (Disclaimer: If you live in the Kyle area, you DO NOT want to miss this!) Then on Tuesday night, we hit the road again to travel to the Stephenville area for Christmas with my family. Next Saturday it's back to Kyle for church on Sunday, where I'll be preaching for the first time since we've moved to The Connection Church.

I'm pumped about getting to spend time with our families. I've worked my tail off this week so that I can spend as much time over the next several days being fully present with my family and friends. It's one of the Christmas gifts I can give to them. I want to be able to focus my time and attention on the people I love this holiday season and limit the distractions that pull my attention away from them.

Whether you have to travel across the state, across the country, or just across the street, my hope and prayer for you is that this holiday season you'll be able to be fully present with the people you love.

Daily Christmas Cartoon #14...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Overheard Over The Weekend...

I never got around to posting a Weekend Update on Monday so I thought I'd share some brief things that I heard this weekend that made me laugh, made me think, and challenged me to grow.

The first one was from my incredible wife, Johanna. We spent most of the day Friday playing various board games like Scattergories and Trivial Pursuit: Pop Culture Edition. Scattergories is a game where you are given a letter and several categories. Your job is to come up with a word that begins with the letter you're given and fits the categories you have. The letter was "N" and one of the categories was "Things You Find On A Map." I put "Nicauragua." Johanna put "notes." Then she had the nerve to challenge my answer. Her arguement: You can't find Nicauragua on every map. My reply: Well, there aren't notes on all maps either. She argued that there were and then she said this: "Yes there are! There are notes on all treasure maps." Seriously babe? A treasure map? At that point, even I was left speechless. But I will say this: I absolutely treasure my wife simply because we can laugh together...and occassionally at each other.

The second thing overhead this weekend came from our Lead Pastor, Cole Phillips. After a great night at our Christmas party, he was thanking us as a staff for what we do and he said this: "And this coming year, we're going to continue to do whatever it takes to reach those who are far from God...because that is what we are all about...and really, that is what Christmas is all about." Reaching those far from God really is what Christmas is all about.

And finally Perry Noble, pastor of Newspring Church, shared this in his sermon this weekend: "Jesus isn't the reason for the season. He's the reason for life."

Daily Christmas Post #13...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Daily Christmas Cartoon #12...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Daily Christmas Cartoon #11...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Daily Christmas Cartoon #10...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Daily Christmas Cartoon #9...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Daily Christmas Cartoon #8...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Daily Christmas Cartoon #7...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Wow Wednesday (Xmas Style)...

I haven't posted a Wow Wednesday blog in a while. But this was just sent to me on facebook and it is Wednesday so it just seemed like fate. If this doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit I don't know what will! I'll go ahead and confess. I laughed...hard.

The Gift...

The other day I was driving and listening to some Christmas carols...because they are on every flippin' station! It's kind of like when the President is on TV. Anyway, I was listening to the song Hark The Herald, Angels Sing and I began to really listen. You know...the type of listening where you quit just humming along and you actually focus on the meaning of the words of the song. And the second and third verse hit me like a ton of bricks. This is now one of my new favorite Christmas carols. Here's those two verses:

Christ, by highest heaven adored,Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,offspring of a virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;hail, the incarnate deity,
pleased as Man with to dwell,Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark! the herald angels sing,Glory to the newborn King.

Hail, the heaven-born Prince of peace!Hail the Son of righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,born that man no more may die,
born to raise the sons of earth,born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,Glory to the newborn King.

THAT is what Christmas is all about. Christmas is about a God who was willing to step out of heaven and be "veiled in flesh." As John 1:14 says in The Message, "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood." Light and life to ALL he brings. He was born that man no more may die. That's the gift of Christmas. Incredible.

Daily Christmas Cartoon #6...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Daily Christmas Cartoon #5...

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

The Weekend Update...

Here's a look at the weekend that was:

• Friday Johanna and I spent the late morning and afternoon Christmas shopping. We bought lots of gifts for our families and I spent a lot of time playing with toys in Toys R' Us while we were looking for gifts for our nieces and nephews.
• Friday evening we went to Austin Bowie High School to watch my brother help coach the Magnolia Bulldogs. It's the first time we've got to watch one of his teams play but we weren't the good luck charms he was hoping for.
• After the basketball game, we went and ate with Matt Deaton. Matt's a great friend that we hadn't seen in a while so it was good to catch up.
• Saturday was spent cleaning house and doing some Christmas decorating.
• Zak & Amber invited us to go to dinner on Saturday night. We had our first experience at Guerro's and Hey Cupcake, two of South Congress Avenue's big draws.
• Sunday was all things TCC. After church, we had the other pastors and their families over for lunch. I'll just say this: Jo's roast = Yum, Yum, Good.

Overall, it was a great weekend. What was the highlight of your's?

Daily Christmas Cartoon #4

(Check the December archives on the right of this blog to see the daily Christmas cartoons you've missed!)

Daily Christmas Cartoon #3...

Here's today's daily Christmas Cartoon. C'mon...laugh a little. Enjoy. (Check the December archives on the right of this page to see the daily cartoons you've missed!)

I am PUMPED about our new series starting tomorrow called Re:Gift. Over the next four weeks at The Connection Church we'll be looking at how we can become the ultimate "re:gifters" and give away the gifts that God gives us. If you live in the Kyle/Buda area, you need to come check this out. I guarantee it will challenge you to look at Christmas in a whole new way.

Daily Christmas Cartoon #2...

Here's today's daily Christmas Cartoon. C'mon...laugh a little. Enjoy. (Check the December archives on the right of this page to see the daily cartoons you've missed!)

Daily Christmas Cartoon #1...

Starting today and going through Christmas I am going to be posting a daily Christmas cartoon. While searching for Christmas images to use for our Connexion Students Christmas party invites I found several funny cartoons. I thought I'd pass them on in the form of a Daily Christmas Cartoon. My hope is that these daily cartoons and funny images will bring some brightness to your Christmas season. Here's the first. Enjoy.

How To Fail A Test With Dignity...

My brother showed these pictures to me a few days ago and they cracked me up. I had to pass them on. I hope they make you laugh as much as they did me. Some of them are a little small but if you click on the picture it will take you to a bigger version.