Deja vu

Applying for jobs again. Now that im living in yet another state, I need a new job. But a few connections were made today that might be good. 

I'm very happy to have internet again. Its been hard to do everything from my iPhone.

I just watched "The Social Network," for the first time. It was well done. Great editing work. And it got me to do some research. Currently, there are over 750,000,000 active users on Facebook. That is more than the population of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Australia combined. 

The WELS family of churches has a page with just under 10,000 fans. Most of the churches in our synod do not yet have facebook pages or any other homes on the internet with the exception of a basic info webpage.

Facebook constitutes a large poplulation of people that spend multiple hours each week on social media sites. Perhaps its time to figure out how to do some quality outreach through Facebook. God knows, we need to have money to send missionaries all over the world. But using Facebook is free.

something to ponder more on

Arizona

State number Five that I have lived in. It's a very nice area too. However, my body is having trouble adjusting to the change. Much higher elevation than I am used to and less oxygen/water in the air. Rough night. But I just need a few more days to adjust. Sad thing is that for the two months I was in MN, I did not have one bloody nose and the first night here, I got a bad one. Must be the high and dry environment. I should remember this if I travel abroad one day.

Gotta keep this brief because I am at a starbucks to do work. No internet yet at the house. I'm almost done with the CAteQUIZ'em app. I'm hoping to test it today on my iPad. I'm excited. Hopefully the market is good for it. At least among Lutherans, it shoud be.

Well, more to come later. I need to keep this short today.

-D

Excited

Lorem ipsum . . .

Just kidding. But I would like to have a shirt with that displayed. I think that would be bad@ss. But seriously, I feel like my life has completely turned around, emotionally, in the last few days. Kurt and Sue are back and we are going out tonight. They are such great people and I'm happy that they are back, even though our paths will only overlap for the next few days.

I am being very optimistic, but I feal very good about taking this school-year off. It wasn't exactly a decision. It was more like making the best of a crumby situation. But God has not forsaken me and I still have a Savior so I will attack this next year with enthusiasm and take advantage of the time I will have on my hands to develope some artistic elements that I would normally not have time for.

For instance, I will be puting together the CataQUIZem program that I wrote about in the last blog. I also will put together a database of 2.0 Presentations (my title for them). They will adapt the ideas of a Powerpoint slideshow, but will be made in After Effects. In this way, I will add animation to the slides and typography that is synced with music in the background. I hope to build a library of a few hundred songs. All of these will be Contemporary Christian music. The reason for these is two-fold. The first is so that a church that is not blessed with a full band of musicians can still implement contemporary music. These videos will be easy to upload into Powerpoint. The second reason to creating these videos in this manner is so that everything is perfectly synced together and as soon as the video is initiated, the presenter can sit back and sing along.

I'm hoping that these will be a great tool for churches. Of course, the church needs to have their own CCLI Liscense in order to perform or print the music, anyway, but I still need to research if there are any copyright guidelines I have to follow. Specifically, if I ever want to sell this library to churches and ministries.

But, apart from that, I have a few other ideas that I am working on. I can see myself sitting at a coffee shop working on these programs on my days off. I've learned that I can get alot of work done when I'm at an outside location, particularly graphic design work. And I have A LOT to do over the next year. But, now is the time. I jus tneed to get a job so I can live, but if this takes off  . . . who knows? Only God. I think I will be back here in New Ulm in a year for school. But I'm leaving my life open for God's direction.

Have a great night. I'm not sure if I will have a chance to write another blog before I start moving. If not, I'll see you in Chino Valley, AZ.

God Bless!

cateQuizem

Recovery discs for my Gateway PC have not arrived yet. It cannot even boot up right now. Something in it was totally destructive. The discs were only about $30, so it was a good first step to recovery. However, I think that realistically, I have about a 25% chance of recovering it at all, based on the level of damage. I'm not sure if its just the factory data or Windows too. I think I was able to create an image disc for Windows, so we shall see. . .

So, I'm stuck on my 5 year old laptop now (maybe 6 years old, I can't remember exactly when I bought it . . But I remember I bought it from Circuit City, so it's been awhile.). I took it to a coffee shop today and I got alot of Wrieframing done for my new app I'm designing.

I'm basing my app off a game that I played in Confirmation class taht was released on CD-ROM. The last version was released in 2007, and it is not very impressive, anymore. It runs through Internet Explorer and hardly worth the $20 I paid for it. All in all, it was not built by a graphic designer or anyone with an artistic mind.

So I'm redesigning it for iPad. The name was never trademarked, at least not the way that it's laidout now. So I'm pretty open to go with this. However, I have to think about distribution, as well. The program that I purchased was produced through our Synod's publishing house. If I sell mine on the Apple Store for a fraction of the cost, am I taking money away from my church-body? The fact that the program is mediocre is a mute point. Or should I try to sell it to the Publishing House? Or maybe there's another deal that I can/should make . . . I'm going to have to ask around, but I think that there is potential in this idea. One thing that I should consider too is that not every church in our synod owns an iPad. In fact, I will go out on a limb and say that less then 10% of our churches have one. On the other hand, the majority have computers. So I may develope this app (with over 1000 pages) and have no return for my time.

Any thoughts?

dthwriter1@gmail.com

Twists and Turns

A quick blog update while I work on my homework:

So it appears that my program at MLC has been downgraded to the point where I do not qualify for any Federal Aid. As a result, I will also need to start paying back my student loans sooner than expected. And on top of my other financial obligations and expences, I still have good amount left on my car. So, I will not be going to MLC this year.

I am a little dissappointed that this happened all of a sudden and I was not aware of this before I moved. I was told the exact opposite of what is happening now. So, I guess I'll finish up with National University and take this year off from school. God will direct me in this time to understand where he is leading me.

But for now, it's homework time, then packing time. I will be leaving New Ulm on the 24th, which gives me a little over a week. My boss was really great about the situation, yet sad to lose me. Not exactly a good thing for my resume either. But I'll have a job with Applebee's in New Ulm, should I return next year.

God bless.

Zinfandel Blues

Well, starting a new class this week with National University. This is my third to last class. I'll be glad when its done and I can say that I completed my Degree.

Nice long day today. It was really slow in the morning and afternoon at work. I only had two tables before I was cut. second shift today was spent as a host, so I probably made more money as a host than as a server. I have another double tomorrow and Sundays are normally good. The best part is, I can make the 8:00 am service at St. Paul's before starting my shift at 11. St. Paul's, by the way is my new church.

Anyway, I'm now at home drinking from a bottle of Dancing Bull red Zindandel wine. Its not very good, I'm sorry to say. . . but that's what I get for buying bottles of wine under $15. Sorry, but I cannot afford more. And I'm barely through one glass and I'm feeling a little tipsy.  Maybe it was the Brewtus Micalob I had at Applebees after I got off. only $3:). I have some Muenster and Cheddar cheese here and crackers which tastes great with the wine. I might need to save the rest of the bottle for tomorrow night. It could be that I haven't been eating normal meals or drinking much water. The humidity is so high here, my body's having trouble transitioning. Several people say that this is abnormal humidity for MN. We'll see...

And I'm watching some of my favorite episodes of MASH. This is great. But one of the more "serious" episodes directed by Alan Alda requires Hawkeye to say goodbye to a someone that really meant a deal to him. It was hard. And I've suddenly realized how many people I've said goodbye to this year. I'd like to say that I will see them again over pxmas break. But with my father receiving a call to Arizona, I'm not sure yet where I will be spending Christmas.

Anyway, alcohol and depression go hand in hand so I think I will put the cork back in the bottle of wine and head to bed. I have a lot of great things to look forward to over the next few years. God has plans for me and my life, just like all of us.

Have a great night and I'll see you next time. . . Same bat time, same bat channel!

Cruise Control

You ever feel like your stuck on cruise control?

I remember the first time I engaged a cruise control on a car. It surprised me. I felt the pedal go down on its own and the engine purred consistantly until I turned it off. I'm not sure what I was expecting to feel, but not quite that.

And what's interesting is that when you put your car on cruise control you gain a little freedom, but you lose a little control.

It's a give and take.

With some cars, you can relax a little then, while still watching the road and being aware of others around you. But on my 3-day drive out here, there were times when I was not within a mile of another car. And so, for hours at a time, the cruise came on.

The problem with cruise control is that it can offer a false sense of freedom.

Thankfully, we got out here to MN without a hitch. But lately I've been thinking about the trip out here.

I'm very comfortable here in New Ulm. There are friendly people, a good environment, and its allowing me to get on my feet financially for the first time. But I need more to do. Its getting to be a little monotonous. Not the work or the people, mind you, but keeping busy.

I've been working on a few documents and I have reworked my website (http://www.danielthenning.com/). I think I may be on to something here. . . We'll see.

I like "getting into the groove" of things here, but very soon the cruise will have to come off. I'm starting school in a few weeks and I have no idea what pace I will be living at then. Well, I've juggled a full time job and school for a few years now. Not to mention ministry work and a few extras. I'm sure I can do it. I'll just have to find the balance between work, school, and everything else.

And while I'm at it, I need to make sure I'm keeping track of my surroundings, fatigue and cruise control can be a bad combination on the road.

And in life as well . . .

Applebees

Well, my first three days of work are done. And I am pooped. I haven't run around like this in awhile. And the biggest thing going against me is the weather out here. It is super hot. Temperatures are well into the upper 90s and 100s. Not that that would be a problem, if I am indoors, but the humidity pushes it to 115 and at one point 118 yesterday with the heat index. And there is no way to combat that. Even if you are indoors, the energy required to keep a restaurant cool is impossible to generate. The front door opening every few minutes sees to that. Not to mention the grill in the back.

But my boss, Tyson, was great. He bought us Otterpops and Powerades. I have a great team that I am working with, which is a relief. I wasn't sure it woud be easy to go from a company like Chick-fil-A to anything equal in care, respect, and service. But Applebees seems to do just that. I am blessed to have this new job.

I'm picking up serving very well, too. I still get stuck on the menu from time to time, but that is to be expected, seeing how vast it is. But I'm noticing trends with some products, where others are virtually never ordered.

Well, I have a couple of days off, which is great. I will give my body a chance to hydrate some more. I'm working on another paper: "Church Branding 101: An Intro to Building Identity in your Church's Community." I'm going to shorten the title. I think its too long. I've read scholarly journals with titles twice as long, but for something like this . . . we'll see. So this is paper #3. I might as well write a book . . . Perhaps that is what I am building up to.

Ministry and Art

Well, I'm really getting settled in here. I got a job at Applebee's yesterday and I am reviewing the menu. Its raining here and is has been dark all day. I was trying to pass the time by doing some stuff on the computer and then I felt like it was getting close to dinner and possibly bed time. Its so dark and at noon today it lookes like it was 7 or 8. But then I looked at my computer clock and saw it was only 3 in the afternoon. Wow. I seriously could probably sleep right now, but then I'd be up at like 10.

So, I'm writing another blog.

I'm really starting to get into this Ministry and Art stuff. The more I work on it, the more I realize that we have a need for it in the Church today. Just to fill you in, I made a portfolio website that you can see here. Its nothing special yet, but I decided, when I was naming it, that I wanted to use two words that meant alot to me: "Ministry" and "artistry." And as the months went on since I launched it, those two concepts began to merge in my mind and I think I've come across some valuable theories in terms of Ministry, specifically Outreach.

I've written two papers that I plan to make available on my website. I may even post some excerpts here, if you are good. One of them is called: Get "plugged-In" to the 21st Century Church. The other is called: Six Myths to Personal Outreach.

In these papers I have worked out some ideas that I have had in my mind for years, but was never able to find time to write them down. And in writing them I figured out quite a bit about my own personal style of ministry work that I hope to implement into my future.

But Ministry and Art go hand in hand when it comes to reaching out to the generations of today and the so-called "Generation Alpha" of tomorrow. Generation Alpha are those born from 2010 to ~2025. If cycles are really followed from one generation to the next then they are likely to be highly artistic and materialistic. They will be very smart thinkers and possibly revolutionists similar to those seen during the Renaissance. The future of the church will need to adapt to this new ideology. The best way is to make the church technologically advanced and highly artistic in the use of motion graphics and video.

To me, this makes perfect sense. Generation Z (1986-1999) grew up completely with wireless communications and computers. Most of us had a personal computer in the house and our own cell phone at some point of our minor years. We understand how they work and how to use them to communicate with the world. The church of tomorrow will need to be able to do this as well. My website's goal is to help ease that transition and inform how to make these changes to those otherwise inexperienced in this new time of Computer-Age Christianity.

It is interesting how much room we have to grow. We need to keep up with the changes of the world if we are to remain relevent to the souls of today. Personally, I cannot wait to get started. That's why I'm starting here. With a website.

New Horizons

I love coming up with titles for my blog that sound like titles to Star Trek episodes.

Anyway, I was asked to return for a follow-up interview tomorrow night for Applebee's. I am very optomistic, but not to the point where I want to risk looking like an ass in future blogs. But I was already offered a job elsewhere, but for now, I think that Applebee's is the better choice, but I'm open for both during the next two months and maybe longer if I can balance the school work load.

I am very pleased with how things are turning out so far. I am excited about the next few months and following years. Some things are a little different than I imagined they would be out here, but certainly not worse. God is good. He will not abandon his people.

Now, off to dinner at Perkins.

In New Ulm

Well all, I'm in MN. My apologies for not updating you along the journey nor the first day I got here. I have been very busy doing nothing.

I've actually had a nice little vacation, but I'm itching to find a job tomorrow and get back into a routine. For now, though, this is the first time in 7 years that I have been unemployed.

I actually arrived here last week Wednesday in the evening. I unpacked everything, but it was our plan to leave the next afternoon for my Grandmother's cottage-home in central Wisconsin. We pushed that off til the next morning as I wanted a little extra time to get settled in and pick up some job applications.

The job market seems very different out here that in California. There are actually signs on the streets and banners that say "Now Hiring." One place I picked up an application at said that they had an add in the paper looking to fill positions. Back in CA, even the entry-level jobs are being filled by out of work adults. I hope that God is with me tomorrow when I turn them in. I will let you know tomorrow night if I get a job :)

At my Grandmother's house there is no Internet or cell phone coverage, which is both terrible and amazingly wonderful. So unfortunately before I can go to bed, there are still alot of things I need to check online and I have a little bit of a mess of clothes on my new bed that I am unpacking.

I love my new room though. I am very grateful to Kurt and Sue for letting me stay here!  talk to you more later!

http://www.danielthenning.com/

And then there were two . . .

And then there were two . . . Chris Moneymaker and Sam Farha.

In 2003, Chris Moneymaker, an amateur player, won the World Series of Poker. He had gotten into the WSOP Main Event by winning an online satellite tournament. For those of you who do not know what a poker satellite is, please read on.  A satellite is when a tournament is played, not for cash prizes, but for seats into a bigger tournament. In this way, a player need not pay the full price to enter the Main Event (as it costs $10,000 per seat). If he or she is good enough, one can get in by eliminating a percentage of the field, or by taking first place, depending on the rules and structure.

Chris Moneymaker definitely made his money that day. $2.5 Million. His cards: 5-4 off-suit. His opponent’s: J-10 off-suit. Sam Farha had the odds, but Chris Moneymaker had the position and he had the dominant chip stack. And just like that, the odds of an individual hand suddenly don't mean much when you are up against a better position.

And then there were two . . . Two weeks, and a lot of pressure building up. I went to my friend's house the other day and saw a few ex-MLC students. Some of whom graduated, others dropped out. One of the students who left cautioned me about the groups that came from the different High Schools. Which I completely understand. These 17 and 18 year olds are leaving their homes and families in the time of a Great Recession and are moving across country, in some cases, to devote their next 4-8 years to learning God's Word and the rest of their lives to serving him in the Ministry. It is a big step for these young men and women.

So I can understand if they stick together with their fellow high school alumni.

I have the benefit of being 5 years older than most of the incoming freshman. I have more life experiences than most. I've held at least one job and a full time education for the last 7 years. I have excelled at my jobs and become very respected among my pears and professional acquaintances. I have pursued careers as a high school and college student. I have had works published and even a screenplay registered with the Writers Guild of America in LA. And I have a lot of firsthand experience in Ministry work.

Now, I don't say this to give myself props, because I know that everything I have is a blessing from God. My point is that even with these things, I feel very scared about this step. It is an excited scared and I think, a healthy scared. It is a fear from knowing that I will be entrusted with one of the greatest gifts that God has entrusted to us: the spreading of his word.

In some cases I feel like I have the better position . . . And then again, I feel very humble about this step. Maybe it's healthy to have a little of both.  

But the so-called "better position" does not completely come from my age and experiences, but rather from the gifts and blessings that God has given me. And the fear is a reaction, not of sinfulness, but of the respect given to the pastoral ministry.

And then there were two. . .  Two weeks until I leave California. 2 years until I finish at MLC . . . 6 years until I am an ordained pastor. All of this is by the grace of God.

I'm going all in.

God help me while I take this next step . . .

...And Counting

Well all, 4 weeks from tomorrow I will be driving out of California and crossing the border into Nevada. After that, Minnesota . . . Well, with a few other states in between.

It's weird how time goes by so fast when you are getting everything ready to go. My mother said that she likes too look back four weeks and see what she was doing then. I can understand that. Just about 4 weeks ago I wrote my first blog on this page. I was in the middle of some busy work at Chick-fil-A (CFA). And about 100 other little things were going through my mind. the next four weeks will go by just as fast, if not faster.

Going down the checklist, I have changed bank accounts, filled out all my paperwork for school, tested out of a class at NU (saving $1300), planned my itinerary for the trip out, and a lot more.

I'm going to miss alot of people here and I'm sure they will miss me too. I got employee of the month at CFA earlier this week. It was a great moment in my life there. I will be passing off my baton to Eddie, my GM, sometime this month. He will be pursuing a career in Chick-fil-A and all the best too him. The baton is actually a physical baton with CFA's mission statement on it. Myself and about 30 others received one at the opening of our location 7 years ago (actually 7 years ago, yesterday). I think it would be proper to pass it on to someone who will understand the value behind it. Eddie's actually a couple years younger than me, but he has performed his duties well. And he's been a good friend.

I have no idea what my schedule will be like out in MN. I tend to think that the schooling will be 5 days a week, like high school all over again....And hopefully I will still be able to work at least 20 hours throughout the week. I've been used to working 40 hours a week for the last year and a half and I have always juggled school and at least one job since my Sophomore year of high school. I'm in for a change, I know that. The biggest thing too will be that I need set study time. Greek and Hebrew at the same time will not be easy. Plus all my other classes. Oh well, God will look over me and see that I get enough time.

Well, T MINUS 4 WEEKS AND COUNTING!

Step by Step / Forever we Will Sing

Well I promised that I would share with you why I chose the title I did.

It's actually quite simple. I took the title from one of my favorite songs that my band performed at church. Step By Step / Forever We will Sing by Michael W. Smith.

Although I never opened with "HELLO LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY!" as he does in his album (recorded live), I have gotten much excitement when performing this piece.

I played in a Worship Band called "Redeemed." We featured original pieces, but also performed covers from many Christian Contemporary artists. Artists like Michael W. Smith, Newsboys, Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, Hillsong (United), and more. We were never VERY good, but it was fun. We played in a few local concerts, but because we all had our own jobs or school (or both), we never found time to record.

But anyway, the lyrics to this particular song start out like this:

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You

I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And Step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days


These are such simple lyrics, but they speak volumes about the attitude that we should have when following God. We don't know where the checkered flag will appear or even what the next road mark will be. It is by each step that we follow him. No matter how many days we have, God should be the center of our lives and we ought to live by faith. Then we can truly walk in His ways.





Well, I need to get back to cleaning my room and packing. I just wanted to do a quick update. 57 days till I leave!

-D

First Post

Hey all . . . well actually no one right now as I write this. I just posted up on my Facebook that I opened the blog, so we'll see who follows me. With me moving in less than three months and so many friends wanting me to keep them updated on my progress, I figured that a blog would be the best way to keep up with that. But I'm still open to talk to anyone who wants to. Just give me a call or email.

But I wanted to keep this first post very informal and short. In fact, I'm not sure how formal the writing will be or even how grammatically correct it will be at times.

But just to give a headsup to anyone reading this in the future (including myself when I finally do get a chance to write my memoir), I wanted to start this blog by talking a little about myself.

My name is Daniel Timothy Henning. I was born in Knoxville, TN. I lived in Greenfield, WI (suburb of Milwaukee) for 8 years and I moved out to Southern California in '98 and I have been living out here ever since (to date). My father is a pastor in a synod of churches and schools known as the WELS. It was because of the nature of his work that we moved around. Some pastor's and teacher's families have moved around more than ours . . . some less. But living in these different regions has given me an interesting view on life and people.

I am a missionary at heart, like my father. In a futue blog I will bring you up to speed on our relationship over the years and also some of the history of the last 13 1/2 years in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

btw, as you may have noticed, I will be adding links from time to time to important pages and other blogs. I hope that this will eventually function like wikipedia, in that reading one blog will make reference (and links) to others. That's kinda how my mind works anyway.

Well, to wrap things up, I will be moving in  exactly 2 months from tonight (61 days). And I have already transferred all my dvds to two large cd albumns and packed away the cases. I also packed up all the books I will be taking with me and got a good start on packing the ones I will not be needing. Still I need to close my bank account and open a new one with a company more nation-wide. I need to make sure my car payment is transferred to the new account. And add about 50 little odds and ends that I need to wrap up here before I leave and it becomes quite clear that these 2 months will not last long.

So if my posts are sporadic between now and then, do not take it personally. I'm also trying to finish up a big editing project for a friend and associate. I just hope I can get it done. In fact, I'm off to work on it now.

I'll tell you more later about where I'm moving to and why, and why I named my blog what I did. But for now, the only clue I will leave you with is "MLC." Let's see how your google detective skills are.

-D