We were only there Wednesday evening through lunch Friday, but I think we squeezed a lot of the town into that time period.  We ate at East Bay Deli (Voted Charleston’s Best Deli), Boulevard Diner, Virginia’s on King (absolutely amazing), and even hit Saffron for dessert & coffee.  We visited the battery, saw some really old cannons and monuments, went in the shops, and visited the Market.

On the ministry side, I got to make some great new friends.  I always love getting to see how God is moving in other cities around the world.  Fourteen kids accepted Christ for the first time and several more were interested in knowing more about what it means to walk with him.

Here are a few more photos from the trip:

I was able to snap this shot just in time. The church was doing baptisms…

The Winter Olympics are in session, which really means one thing: Curling. Yep, the sport (?) that we have all come to love. Curling is somewhere between bowling and darts. And Billiards. And Air Hockey. And Golf. And Hockey. and House Cleaning. To celebrate Canada’s gold medal in curling, I’ve decided to bring back the Haiku Challenge.

But before I light the green light on this challenge, I wanted to just list my favorite things about curling. This list should help you channel your inner Bill Shakespeare…

Uniforms. Everyone knows that without proper gear and uniforms it is “impossible to compete” (Emilio Estevez in The Mighty Ducks). Curling teams are certainly no exception. The Dutch women wore skirts. The men of Team Norway styled it up with the argyle pants. Uniforms help curling get the respect that the sport deserves.

Coaches. If you’re serious about winning, you need a coach. Preferably one with a mustache. (Preferably Ditka) Canada wins gold. Wears uniforms. Coach has a mustache. Need I say more?

Commentators. Because this sport is as big as it is, it’s garnering national, nay, INTERNATIONAL attention. Commentators are a must. And while they are a must, they must use the word “dramatic” as much as possible.

Everyone acts like we actually know what the heck is going on.  I’ve been to WIKI to read all the rules of Curling. TWICE. I still have no clue. But, that still doesn’t stop me from thinking that if I tried it once or twice, I could be an Olympian. Or pull a hammy in a serious way…

So, let the Haiku Challenge begin. Curling. GO.

Vancouver Twenty
Ten. Curl that ROCK and win Gold.
How hard can it be?

I may not be the sharpest hammer in the bag, but there are a few things that just don’t make sense.  I will list them for you.  ONE. I paid $11 to have this product “shipped” to me in 2-8 business days.  Is it acceptable business practice to have that big of a range?  I could drive to Nevada and back in less than 8 business days.  TWO. Maybe, just maybe 2-8 business days and $11 for shipping has something to do with sending my product WEST before it comes EAST?

File this one under “Am I the Only One?”…

Exercise your right as an American (actually, everyone on the interspace gets to vote) and vote in the Super Bowl Super Poll. The SBSP, for short.  You don’t have to promise to stay up until 11pm to watch the game.  You don’t even have to watch the game to vote. You just have to click one of the options below. Imaginary prizes will be awarded as soon as the game is over.

Confession: I would like to “have written” a 2009 Year in Review.  The “writing” is the hard part.  You know, when people say, “I want to get into shape”, or “I want to learn to play the guitar” what they really mean is they want to “have gotten in shape” or “have learned to play guitar”.  Something about the Devil is inside of details, or the details are the devil, or the devil wears prada.  Looking at a recap of twelve months, I’m worried that I’ll burn out in the middle of April.

In general, 2009 was a great year. God allowed me to be a part of some pretty incredible things (conferences, concerts, CD projects), plus I had twitter before everyone else, allowing me to speak condescendingly to everyone who wasn’t on the bandwagonship.  And I updated my blog at least once a month, which is more than Daniel Renstrom, James Childs, Patrick Downing, Ben Salmon, and Shelly Eve can say.  It also means that syndication should come soon.  So, getting on with it…

January…

began as every January did. Resolutions and gym attendance. Fusion09 conference planning (a conference that joins worship & technology).

February…

Aside from waking up on Groundhog Day for years and years (allowing me to become a doctor and hone my piano skills), I was able to join Daniel, James, Patrick, and Shelly (who all fail to update their blogs regularly) and lead some music at the SEBTS 20/20 Conference. Shelly and I also began producing Jess Lyndon Ray & the Rag Tag Army which would release in August of 09.  This took me into…

March…

where I got to do a lot of what I love.  I lead worship at Fort Caswell, played drums at the Cove in Asheville, and managed a visit to 12 Bones and Sugar Mommas.  SMB played shows at UNC-P as well as our first event at Liberty University where the retired jersey of Jerry Falwell smiled down on us.  I also played in my 3098th wedding.

April…

took me to Charlotte to play in my 3099th wedding, and to run my first 10k.  This just in: a 10k is easier than a 1/2 marathon, but more on that later.  April also brought the Convoy of Hope which helped thousands of Raleigh families by providing some of their most basic needs such as food, shots, and help with a resume. SMB was one of the final bands to rock the joint…in the heat…I still can’t remember where the sunscreen was.  A few other events for the NC Convention took SMB into…

May…

where SMB played another FCA weekend event.  Patrick and I tasted the worlds hottest hot sauce, got stomach transplants, and were still on stage in time for the first set.  In other news, windpants are still popular amongst FCA leaders.  I spent the rest of May tracking/editing the JLR project, finalizing plans for the Fusion09 Conference, and starting work on  Providence Baptist’s Christmas concert production.  Little did I know, Christmas in May was really just point me to Christmas in…

June…

Daniel, James, Patrick, Ben, and myself all drove to Springfield, MO to get our record on with Jeremy Larson.  We also got our coffee drink on, finishing about 70 cups of coffee in 10 days.  We began a process that would later become “On the Incarnation“.  After we got back from recording, we finished writing the songs.  Don’t worry, we think it worked out…

July…

SMB played several shows and conferences.  At a particular church’s 100 year anniversary we found all things baptist: a large bible (open to Isaiah), stained glass, sound board up in the balcony, and pictures of people from the 1800s.  More editing of the JLR project took me into…

August…

I played my 3099th wedding, attending the WorshipGod09 Conference, picked up several friends from the airport, and began training for another 1/2 marathon.  My jeep still didn’t have Air Conditioning and summers in Raleigh were  a constant 100% humidity.

September…

brought a photo shoot with Rebecca Mill.  We managed to find a mostly empty shipping dock, and cutouts of llamas. SMB played a few shows and I made my annual pilgrimage to Windy Gap (where Daniel and I went running…and he complained the entire time).  Also in September, we reunited the family band to play at my parents PCA church.  We rocked the house with THIS song, which concluded with a thunderous applause!

No seriously, that’s the song. It took months for me to grow my hair and beard out like that.  I gave September the prize of “my favorite month, but realized that I spoke too soon.  I retracted that statement and called…

October…

my favorite month.  The fair, the weather change, the leaves changing colors.  I get to wear jackets and drink coffee because it’s cold, not because it’s “cool”.  SMB got to play one of our favorite shows with one of our favorite bands.  Good times were had by all.  Also, “On the Incarnation” released on iTunes and rocketed all the way to #7 on the Christian Best Sellers.

November…

November brought more weddings, more SMB shows, and more gigs with Daniel.  We hit several places in Charlotte and Raleigh and got to meet some pretty amazing people.  November was a crazy busy month for Christmas Production planning.  I also ran my second 1/2 marathon which still happens to be 13.1 miles.  My 4000th wedding, a Turkey, and a nap, took me into…

December…

when I turned 29. (I’ve started writing my memoirs) The Christmas Production that I worked for months on finally happened.  SMB played several more shows (which involved even more awesome people).  Most importantly, December included a trip to Charlotte for the annual Renstrom Ping-Ping Tournament, which I won in decisive fashion (beating Daniel 21-5…with my left hand).

2009 was an excellent year! I can’t wait to see what takes place in 2010.  Hopefully more 1/2 marathons, more smb shows, more drb shows, more blogging (at least more than daniel, shelly, patrick, and james), having memoirs to write about, and definitely another ping-pong victory. Hope everyone is off to a great 2010!

Seriously. I can’t be the only one…

What else fits in this category?

we started hanging fabric, hanging a 16:9 screen, and getting ladders to hang lights:

Then, we plugged in some lights, turned them on, and kept hanging other lights…notice my drum kit in the middle of the stage:

Lighting gels, colors, movers…

Programmed and ready to go:

Shows are DECEMBER 11-13th @ 7:00 pm, with an additional Sunday Matinee @ 2:30 pm.  Who needs tickets? Comment which days, and how many!

Thanks to everyone who entered their poetic masterpieces.  I have to say that eating a Thanksgiving meal with “Do You Hear What I Hear?” on in the background is a little weird.  So, anyone who mentioned that it’s weird to hear Christmas music in Thanksgiving already has 1 imaginary point.  The talent in this competition quickly identified themselves, and if we’re all honest (which we should be…tis the season, right?) we should know that the competition this time is really between Tom and Shelly.  Tom was a creative writing major at NC State (back up on the “pros can’t enter” complaint), and Shelly has zero LEFT brain ability (she admitted it).

Tom gets 18 points for going the extra stanza miles and writing something that actually makes sense when you read it out loud.  In fact, he makes you forget that you’re reading a Haiku and draws you in with his excellent use of blah…blah…

Shelly wins this time because of her reference to “On the Incarnation“, a CD that Daniel Renstrom just released (on which I recorded drums and guitars).  Shelly is the winner of her choice of any CD on iTunes.  Comment here with your choice and it will be gifted to you soon!

Thanks again to everyone who entered! Keep looking out for the next round of Haiku War…

Some of you may remember the good ol’ fashioned haiku wars that I hosted last year around this time.  Call this Haiku War 09. Or Haiku II. Actually, call it whatever you like, all I care is that you give a good effort.  Remember: the basic rules for a haiku (on this blog) are a 3 line poem, following the 5-7-5 syllable pattern. Ex. 1:

count your syllables

the first line had five of them

the next has seven

To get us all started, I propose the following Haiku topic: Christmas Music In November. To be considered, your Haiku must be posted in the comment section of mikepassaro.com, not Facebook!  Ready, Go!