I just got home from a short trip to North Carolina, it was great, on the plane ride home, I sat next to someone from Texas, it was a just a connecting flight, but enough time to have a nice conversation about the places we both live, and even a little bit about church. What’s funny though, to me as a Minnesotan is that when I talk about our Twin Cities, I usually end up mentioning the skyways, and forget that not many cities actually have this feature. Maybe you don’t know what I’m talking about either, allow me to explain. I tell people from around the country that Minnesota…

In Minnesota we have a lot of cool outdoor spaces, but sometimes it gets too cold for even us Minnesota natives. So in the 90s, we built a mall with a couple of roller coasters in it, and an aquarium, and theatres – and called it the Mall of America, or MOA if you’re around here…or mega mall if you’re my family. Since then it’s gained more roller coasters, a flying simulator, a go-kart racing track, a hotel, and umpteen stores. I know what you’re thinking, its just a mall, with some extra amenities. Well, you’re about half right. There’s a little more to it. For those of us who…

Over the last couple years I’ve noticed that I tend to pick up unique phrases, wear them out for a while and move on. By doing this I often have a built in conversation starter, and I build my vocabulary a little bit as well, not to mention other’s.  Sometimes these phrases are from times gone by, I remember I had a week or two when I said groovy a lot. That or I’ve found a phrase that just tends to not come up in everyday speech as much, like intriguing. Another phrase was a Minnesota-ism, heck-uva-deal* that was one I just had fun with. Huzzah was a recent one…

I’ve always had music to be listening to, whether it was in my movies and tv shows, and my parents CDs when I was little. As I grew up I started buying CDs my friends recommended and a portable CD player to go with it. Come middle school I was just discovering pop music at school dances. Then in college, I started listening to a far more diverse set of tunes such as rock, alternative, and soundtracks, plus big band entered my listening world. So what does this music mean to me? Listen in quick. Growing up kids tunes and contemporary Christian music are at the forefront of my memory with…