troy austian | blog

Minnesota State Fair

We went to the Minnesota State Fair last night and had a great time!  The huge selection of food is, of course, one of the big draws for me, and there's some good stuff there.  The pork chop on a stick and tacos (pictured) are among my favorites.  It's ironic, though, that you pay $11 to get in so that you can buy stuff that is not very economically priced...so I just look at the whole thing as a splurge and enjoy it!  I go to have fun eating stuff, seeing stuff, riding stuff, and just experiencing the fair and having fun with friends.

An additional bonus is that I inevitably run into a number of people that I know, which is also fun.  People with me often reach that point of "How in the world do you know so many people??!"  I also met some guys from South Africa -- they noticed the New Zealand T-shirt I happened to be wearing and we chatted a bit.  It stood out to me how much friendlier they were than the typical Minnesotan -- it was refreshing and it made it easy to talk and get acquainted for a few minutes.  I also visited my friend Pete at his booth (pictured), which was very cool and a nice visit.  Then before leaving, we rode some rides, including the Space Roller, which is more intense than it looks.  All in all, a very fun night!

Demotivation at despair.com

This site is hilarious! ...a breath of fresh air!  Despair.com has a great selection of what they title "Demotivators: Increasing Success by Lowering Expectations."  I love these!  I've included a few of my favorites, but you can click HERE to check out an alphabetical listing of a bunch of them for a nice little diversion and a few laughs.

You can order this cleverness on mugs, T-shirts, lithographs, cards, customized calendars, and more.  I might just have to order a choice gift or two.

Pete Holmbeck in Town for the MN State Fair

I got an unexpected phone call earlier this week from my friend Pete Holmbeck.  He and his wife Sue are good friends of mine from college that now live in Florida with their FOUR kids, Macy, Reno, Dodge, and Nova.  We made a lot of mostly good music together back in the day.  It'd been a while since we'd been in touch, so it was great to get Pete's call.

The crazy thing was that he'd just arrived in town to sell his Guitar String Jewelry at the Minnesota State Fair (main level of the grandstand).  He was headed from Minneapolis to Woodbury, and I was in Saint Paul where I'd just hung out with Leo & Carolyn Campero and had dinner with Leo at Saigon Restaurant (best Pho in the Twin Cities!).

So it was great timing (which you expect of fine musicians) and it worked out perfectly that we were able to connect and hang out for a bit, which was a cool surprise.  (In the picture with Pete and me, Pete's the one holding the camera...and making the goofy face.)  I plan to stop by his booth at the Fair later this week.

Prayer Request and Tribute to a Life Lived for God

Mark Johnson, the Senior Pastor of Calvary Temple in Springfield, Illinois, called me this evening.  Mark was my pastor and mentor for some very formative years in my life and my faith.  He helped me lay the solid foundation of my own growing relationship with Jesus.  He remains a great friend and someone I look to for wisdom and godly counsel.

Mark was calling to let me know that his father passed away this morning, and to ask for prayer for his family.  His father, M.C. Johnson, was a war veteran who went on to build a very successful business...and then left it to answer God's call to be a pastor.  Mark impacted me first as my youth pastor, but it was in the church that his father had planted years before.  I came to that church because of a friend who had been impacted by it.  I learned to love Jesus in the midst of others doing the same because they were impacted by it.  The ministry of Calvary Temple Christian Center, where I grew so much, was there for me and so many others because M.C. Johnson said yes to God and labored faithfully.  Pastor M.C. Johnson loved God, loved people, loved his family, loved the church, and loved reaching people with the life-changing message of the Gospel.  He dedicated his life to this, and he leaves a great legacy...one that lives on in the lives of so many, including me.

As I've gotten a bit older, I understand more the value of foundations...that they need to be built properly so that many other things may be built upon them.  In the midst of leading people to Jesus, Pastor M.C. Johnson built foundations upon which much will continue to be built.  I give thanks to God for him, and as I write this I'm challenged and encouraged by the responsibility and the great honor I have to build on the foundations others have laid in my life.  It's absolutely God's work.  I'm just so grateful that those who went before me were faithful in doing their part.  Because now I have the great joy of striving to be faithful in doing mine.

Please join me in praying for the family of Pastor M.C. Johnson and in being challenged and encouraged by the legacy of his life.

       Pastor M.C. Johnson
        "A Winner of Souls"
May 11, 1924 - August 22, 2007

Lightning Strikes Close to Home

While I was out of town this past weekend and it was storming so badly in the Apple Valley area, my neighbors' house was struck by lightning.  It hit their satellite dish and put a two-inch hole in it, and it knocked out their phone, computer, microwave, etc.  A number of my neighbors lost phone service as well.  It's not everyday that lightning strikes so close.

Outdoor Paintball Battles

I have some welts and bruises I'm proud to show off from playing paintball yesterday.  It was a blast!  Eight of us guys played for a few hours in a large wooded area on one of the guy's property.  It was probably the size of four or five football fields put together, with clear borders and some open trails running through it.  (The woods are to the left of the road in 2 of the pics below, opposite the cornfield.  Sorry I didn't get some better pics -- I couldn't really take 'em while getting shot at!)  In addition to all of the trees, bushes, and such, they have a fort, some lookouts, and a number of nice obstacles (including the back end of an old truck).  It's really a great area for paintball.

I started out playing rather conservatively, taking the strategic and p atient approach, but it's just more fun to be more aggressive.  It makes for a more engaged and fast-paced game that I think tends to be much more fun.  Of course, a faster game means you can fit more games in, increasing the chances to shoot and get shot...which means more battle wounds, but more chances for victory!  We mostly played four on four, but for one game we pitted the best three players against the other five.  The three decided to take the aggressive approach and storm the others.  It was great!  And from there on the battles were more aggressive and fast paced.  We had a ball, and I'm ready to play again!

Dinner: Impossible at Mall of America

I stopped by the Mall of America (MOA) this evening to run an errand and have a little treat at Tiger Sushi.  And, of course, I had to stop in Starbucks, which worked out great because I ran into my friend Ryan Decker and his wife who were hanging out there before heading on down to youth group at RVC.

In the area outside the Starbucks (in the east end of the mall), they were in the midst of filming an episode of the Food Network's show Dinner: Impossible.  I've only seen that show once, but I'm a big fan of the Food Network, so it was cool to see.  They were preparing a special dinner in honor of mall employees who've worked at MOA since it first opened 15 years ago.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy birthday to my wise and wonderful mother, Zan, who was born on this day an undisclosed number of years ago.  (I can't tell you my mother's age...or about the secret work I've done for the government.)  My mom is an amazing person and really should write a book about her life.  I've often said that I understood the unconditional love of God more naturally because of the way I've seen my mother love.  Because of this and all she's been through, and because of how God uses her life, she has ministered to so many people from so many different backgrounds over the years, and many call her "Mom".  I don't mind sharing! ...but I am very proud that she's my mom, and I'm very proud of her.