David Whiting Live

116 Straight Hours of Snow

According to Josh Nicols (local meteorologist), there was 116 straight hours of snow in Rochester. It began on New Year's day at 4:00 PM and stopped snowing Wednesday at 11:00 AM. That is AWESOME! I love snow! The only thing I don't like about snow - is the bill the church has to pay for snowplowing (not a one-time, all-winter fee).

Amazing Christmas Video

This is the best Christmas video I've ever seen. Do yourself a favor - and take 3 minutes to watch this video. You won't regret it!  It is amazing and very funny!  If you appreciate amazing singers - or just want a laugh - take a look!

If you receive this by email - click on the title above to see the video. You have to view it from the blog. You could also click on this link: http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=467d65326563147b55ab

Merry Christmas!

Fire By the Church

On Monday there was a huge fire near the church. The fire chief said he had never seen a more difficult fire in his career.  Although it was 200 or 300 yards from our back driveway - because of the wind, we were smelling smoke all day long. But several of you called or emailed to ask how we were doing... we were fine. Thanks!

Here are some pictures.

It seems like it is right behind our building, but it might be 200 to 400 yards away.

 

This is a picture from the back of our church office.

Another picture from the back of the church office.

What I love about this picture is that it was a perfectly clear day, but the sun just couldn't break through the smoke, but it sure it trying.

Moes or Chipotle???

Moes or Chipotle?  Which is your preference?  Sue and I are huge fans of Chipotle!  We became fans of Moes years ago, but recently experienced Chipotle again for the first time in years.

There are two advantages of Moes: free chips and kids meals.  But those two advantages can't make up for the taste of the Chipotle burrito.  So, with kids, it would be Moes.  But when it is just us... it has to be Chipotle!

What about you?

Things You Don't Say to Your Wife

Need a good laugh? Watch this video... It is a hilarious 2 minutes. It is a song from my favorite Christian comedian. If you receive this by email - you will have to click HERE to see the video. ENJOY!!

Check out the Article about SAM!!!

I read the paper this morning (Wednesday) and on the front page of the LIVING section - I saw a face that I see every Sunday - SAM COTTONE!  Buy the paper and check out the great story... Or if your cheap (like me) - you can read the article online HERE.

An Apology - 46 Years Late

With all the serious posts recently - I thought a story might be in order... and it's a good one!!

To give you a context of this story - you need to see a picture of a Double Ferris Wheel:

Unless you've ridden a double ferris wheel - it is hard to describe how much your stomach drops as both wheels turn - when you round the top and head for the bottom. Just take my word for it... Anyway...

To tell this story, I must go back 46 years.  I am 40 years old and all of my life I've heard the story that my mom tells of going to the Iowa State Fair with my dad on their very first date. They went on the famous Iowa State Fair Double Ferris Wheel. My mom has told the story over and over that my dad rocked their Ferris wheel seat and she was very scared. Since then, she has refused to ride the double Ferris wheel with him.  Almost every year during the Fair, she would remind us of the story of how dad scared her to death on their first date, but she always says, "I married him anyway." I heard the very same story this week while visiting my parents.

That brings me to Saturday.  We went to the Iowa State Fair (my parents and the five of us). If you haven't experienced the Iowa State Fair - it is quite something... Iowans are very proud of their Fair, and it is something that I grew up attending and spent several Augusts working at the Fair.

Of course, there are many animals to see... for example:

Here is the state's winning boar (weighing in at over 1000 pounds):

We rode the Giant Slide that I rode every year growing up:

 

And, of course, no State Fair is a State Fair without FOOD:

And it is Iowa - so there are plenty of tractors to show off:

 

But - back to the main story...

We decided to ride the Double Ferris Wheel. Not surprisingly, no one wanted to ride with my dad. Emily rode with Sue, Morgan with me, Ali with my mom, and dad - he rode alone.

I took this picture of my mom and Ali while we rode:

To make a long story short... when she got off the ride - her first words were, "I need to apologize to your dad."  She realized - 46 years later - that the ferris wheel chair "rocks" on its own. In other words, my dad didn't rock the chair - it just rocks naturally.

So she apologized for a 46 year long accusation. 

If there is a moral of the story - I guess it is that requesting and granting forgiveness (even 46 years later) - it a key to a good marriage. Being quick to forgive... and laugh... it is a good model for all of us who haven't been married 43 years.

A Bonus of Living in Rochester

It seems that living in Rochester takes a lot of "beatings" - snow, jobs, economy, snow, property taxes, snow... 

But this week - in the USA TODAY - there was an article about traffic congestion.  Here is what I learned... Of the largest 90 cities in the nation - Rochester has the fifth lowest percentage of rush-hour travelers who get stuck in traffic.  That's a bonus!  Only 19% of rush-hour travelers get stuck in traffic jams!  I guess that's good... Or, at least it is better than 85 other large cities.

I love living in Rochester, but it seems to take quite a beating from a lot of people... so I needed to share this positive story.

Totally Uncool Parents

My hometown newspaper had this ad in the classified section of the paper (The Des Moines Register):

"Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car... Call meanest mom on the planet." Jan H. of Fort Dodge, Iowa.

I am so glad that I had "uncool, mean" parents like this (who were willing to discipline me in love).

My Wife Doesn't Believe Me!!

OK - I have a couple of clarifications about last week's video.  Last week I used a video that we made during the week to start my sermon.  It was an illustration using balloons and bullets... a rifle and a shotgun.  If you didn't see it - you can see it at the bottom of today's blog...

But - the point of this is that after the sermon, my wife has asked me several times, "How did you do that?  How did you get the one balloon to pop?"  In other words, she is REFUSING to believe that I SHOT that balloon!  And I'm hurt, I'm offended, and I'm shocked at her disbelief.  So - let me clear the record right here: I shot the balloon (believe me, through the rifle scope, it isn't that hard).  But it WAS me.  Apparently, I don't look like a hunter - because I've been asked the same question over and over this week.  Chris Mason and John McIntyre are my witnesses... 

There was one bonus that came from last week.  I was told that a teenage boy said, "I know this - I won't ask one of his daughters on a date - he knows how to shoot a gun!!"  So - that was a bonus... Here is the video, if you want to see it.  As always - if you receive this by email - click HERE or click on the title of the blog above.

Balloon Sermon Illustration from David Whiting on Vimeo.