I was a young believer at the time and our regular conversations about God, girls, and the future, which we had over pizza at 1:00 AM would prove to be instrumental in my life.

A couple years ago Kevin and his wife Amy met Brandi and I back at WKU to reminisce about old times and share the controversial story about how Brandi and I met. If you haven’t seen this I think you’ll enjoy.

This morning I’m thankful for friends like Kevin. Time and distance have no impact on such relationships.

The Tree Between Two Dorms from Pete Wilson on Vimeo.

Because then mom has to take video.

And when mom takes the video that means something bad is going to happen (like getting pegged by a ball).

And when something bad happens then mom is going to overreact.

And when mom overreacts it’s worse than getting hit by the ball.

Therefore dad shouldn’t miss any more games.

Anyway this video got me thinking. You know most Christians in the church are really good at two things:

1) Doing Nothing

I’ve seen this in my own life. There are times I fall victim to sitting on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to get in the game and do something. One of the most convicting verses for me in the Bible is James 4:17 which says “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” Ouch, it gets me every time!

2) Overreacting

This one is often excused away as “passion” but I think it’s equally damaging to our mission. In an effort to do the “right thing” we zealously make assumptions, jump to false conclusions, and generally act like fools. I think we would all do well to learn the power of patience and the wisdom of calm.

So which extreme are you tempted toward. Doing nothing or overreacting?

Life is a journey.

It’s a journey that began the moment you were conceived and it will continue throughout your existence.

There are certain things your soul longs for on this journey and, whether you realize it or not, your life is shaped by your search for them – worth, significance, acceptance, love, peace, are all needs felt by all.

I’m just a little over a week a way from releasing my second book entitled Empty Promises: The Truth About You, Your Desires, and the Lies You’re Believing.

I wrote this book because I’ve seen a natural drift in my life toward things that cannot save me, deliver me, or fulfill me.

There is this unquenchable longing that we all  have that tempts us to often sacrifice everything we have and everything we are to be  a little richer, a little more powerful and successful, a little more in control, a little more loved—all in this futile attempt to heal the inner emptiness?

It’s so easy to think…

If I had_______________.  If I had what they have, I would be content.

But sooner or later we discover the heartbreaking truth that no matter how powerful, or successful, or beautiful or loved we become, it’s never enough.

Empty promises are just that. Empty.

Praying this book helps people find the deep soul satisfaction we’re all searching for. To celebrate the release of the book I wanted to GIVE AWAY 5 copies of the Empty Promises DVD-Based Study which includes Six (10 minute) creative teaching videos as well as the participant’s guide and downloadable leader’s guide which will help small group leader facilitate group meetings.

I love the transformation that can take place when a group of people study a book together. It can be so powerful!!

Just leave your name and church you attend and we’ll randomly pick 5 winners later this weekend.

PS… I’m doing a separate giveaway on my Facebook page so you can go there and double your chances of winning. There’s a link to my Facebook page on the right column of my blog. Have a great weekend.

*UPDATE: Congrats to the following people who won the Empty Promise DVD curriculum sets… 1) Angelo D. Brown 2) Tina Burchard 3) Chrisy Ennen 4) Guy Lombardo 5) Kim Hodges

To be successful at this activity you need one or more of the following gifts or supplies.

1) The ability to act out Bible lessons. You must be very animated.
2) The ability to teach and sing a song with great hand motions.
3) A puppet
4) Crayons and a coloring sheet.
5) A card trick or some other cool illusion such as being able to make it appear that you can detach your thumb from your hand.

If you don’t have any of those skills you better reach deep or your in trouble.

Me and Seth Jones?

We reached deep.

What secret talent can you pull out to keep a kid entertained?

But there’s one video I just had to share with you today.

The question I was asked was, “What would you do with the time you can save using Ministry Matters.”

This insanity ensued…

I’m going to be showing my inner 80′s here, but my favorite movie line is from “Top Gun.” Did I ever show you the “Top Gun” remake we did a few years ago? You can watch it HERE.

So without further ado…my favorite line is…

What’s your favorite movie line?

If your friend has a camera this “ripoff” will be even easier. Add in a chipmunk and a bunch of kids and you have a fantastic Memorial Day post.

Hope everyone has an amazing Memorial Day today. To the families of the 1.3 million Americans who have given their lives in battle, we honor you, your loved ones and the great sacrifice they’ve made for this amazing country.

And I almost forgot. Thank you Los for the amazing video. Keep cranking these out and I’ll keep inviting you over.

In case you missed last Sunday here’s a mashup to get you up to speed. Enjoy! God’s doing some really cool things through this series.

5Things//Week1Mashup from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.

These days I’m blessed to get to mix my passion for shooting videos with my other passion of telling people about Christ.

I’m hoping one day my son, Jett, may mix those two passions, but these days he’s mixing our shared passion for making videos with his passion for football.

The other night I got to go down to Vanderbilt University to catch up with Kevin Mawae (former Titans player and current president of the NFL Players Association) who I was shooting an interview with which will be part of our Cross Point service this weekend.

I took my son, Jett, with me so he could hang out and watch Vanderbilt practice. When I went to sit down and shoot the video with Kevin I gave him my phone and he went over to the sideline.

Later that night I found this video on my phone. I wondered what he was doing the whole time I was doing the interview.  I think this one is going to be an instant Without Wax classic. I did no editing to the video except for adding a little soundtrack for your enjoyment. Do yourself a favor and watch all 90 seconds of this awesomeness.