Upward Sports is a great organization.  Each year, I have the privilege of speaking and entertaining at the closing ceremonies for many leagues around the nation.  The heaviest time of the year for these programs comes in late February and early March. Here is my schedule for the next week and a half.  I might…

We are officially redoing the kitchen.  This is a FULL remodel.  We bought the house as a fixer-upper and got a good price because of that.  The kitchen was the worst room in the house, and we have put up with it for a year and a half and now we are ready to do…

  When most people retell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, one of two accounts are usually used as the source – the Gospel of Luke or the Gospel of Matthew.  The four Gospels are basically ancient biographies of Jesus Christ.  Matthew and Luke are very direct in their narratives of the birth…

After 4 and a half years of waiting and praying, God has blessed us with a child. We are officially going public with it – and we have the ultrasound to prove it. Sarah is due in September, and we know that it’s going to be a little girl! Naming will be kept a secret…

Sarah and I have officially started our very first garden – ever. And we have absolutely no idea what we’re doing. I figure we can learn by trial and error and lots of phone calls to Grandma (who has a fabulous garden). I had already cleared an area in the backyard and we have been…

So I successfully re-wired our house (haven’t done the basement or kitchen yet). I put in brand new wires throughout the upstairs and downstairs so all the receptacles are grounded and all the light fixtures are rated for 90 degrees. It was a bear of a project, escpecially working with plaster walls. We have company…

Sarah and I have made it for 6 years of marriage without ever owning a dishwasher. Before that, we were college students that ate at the dining commons and didn’t have to worry about the dishes (except for the times that we each worked in the dishroom, but those tenures were short-lived). So I walked…

I just learned about a neat website that lets you listen to live streaming audio of your local emergency responders. Listen in by clicking on your local area at this website: http://www.scanamerica.us/index.php

Those are the dates of the bloody battle of Gettysburg. On Monday night, I had the privilege of sharing my juggling presentation at First United Methodist Church in Lancaster, PA. On the drive home Tuesday, I took a few hours to stop and look around in Gettysburg, which is only about an hour away from…

Here is one of my favorite lunches. It is quick, easy, simple, and healthy. The Red Pepper Avocado Sandwich. Ingredients (for two sandwiches):1. 1 Avocado2. 1/3 Red Pepper3. pinch of Celtic Sea Salt (to taste)4. 4 slices of Ezekiel bread (or any kind of sliced bread), toasted Make two sandwiches, using half an avocado (sliced),…

“God orders what we cannot do, that we may know what we ought to ask of him.” -Augustine of Hippo

If you’re familiar with the inside back-cover of Consumer Reports, then you know about their ongoing column of the humor and irony often found in a company’s attempt at advertising. For example, I saw a used car dealership ad the other day that boasted, “Brand Spanking Pre-Owned!” vehicles. Now, something about that phrase sounds out…

“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible-and achieve it, generation after generation.” – Pearl Buck

A friend of mine and I are reading through Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion this year. I got the book (which is two volumes in one) from my Dad for Christmas. We get together on Wednesday mornings at Starbucks and discuss what we’ve been reading. It looked overwhelming at first, but we use a…

Here is a recipe for Chocolate-Chip cupcakes that is AMAZING. First of all, I used the Nestle-Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe as my base, then I innovated from there. Secondly, there are NO BUTTER cupcakes – and they come out amazing. What do I use instead of butter? Not margarine….not shortening (yuk)….but I use apple…

I agreed to write a review for the brand new “Bible Study Magazine” in exchange for a copy of their inaugural issue. I’m not one for long reviews in prose form, so I will put what I see as pros and cons about the magazine in list format: PROS:1. The articles are both scholarly and…

Have you ever called a customer service number and had that 10-minute conversation with the computer-automated voice? She asks you to input numbers (followed by the “pound” sign, which you always mix up with the “star” key). She also asks you to clearly answer her questions with your audible voice. Have you ever kept hitting…

Today, Sarah and I enthusiastically voted – after standing in line for a mere hour and a half. I’m sure there are plenty of other people in this nation who waited much longer than that today. It was drizzling and a little cold, but it went by fast, especially since we had one another’s company.…

In an article from U.S. News and World Report, “children’s services” was on a short list of industries which are condusive to making millionaires out of those who run such industries (http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/small-business-entrepreneurs/2008/10/07/how-to-make-a-million.html). I work in a field called “children’s ministry,” where the goal is to reach kids with the message of God found in the…

The other night, Sarah came shrieking out of the kitchen, “There are two enormous cockroaches crawling around in the kitchen!” I, superhusband, went to the rescue, slightly aggravated that my wife had gotten so worked up about these two innocent creatures. They were long gone by the time I got to the kitchen, but we…

Announcing the release of the very first DVD from Jesse the Juggler! It is sensibly called “Live Show” and I just did my first run of 50 copies to see how this flies. If it goes over well, I’ll get more duplicated. For now, I’ll take it around with me to my juggling programs and…

Hurricanes are typical for the coasts, but rare is the one that reaches far inland with strength to really damage much. I was traveling from Sweetser, Indiana to Richmond, Virginia yesterday (about an 11-hour drive). Instead, the whole trip lasted about 15 hours due to Hurricane Ike’s trek through the upper midwest. I was low…

“Every Christian community must know that not only do the weak need the strong, but also that the strong cannot exist without the weak. The elimination of the weak is the death of the community.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together.

Last Saturday night, I had the pleasure of attending my 10-Year High School Reunion (Godwin High, Richmond, VA, Class of ’98). Not only did I attend, but I also got to be on the planning team for the event, which gave me a unique perspective on how High School Reunions are fabricated (or at least…

You probably know someone who is going through orientation for their first year of college right now. These fresh 18 year-olds are in for quite a ride, including the pressures of parties involving alcohol. In an effort to curb college binge drinking, there is a movement of around 100 college presidents (from institutions such as…

I surprised Sarah in two ways this past week. First of all, I won 2 golds and two silvers in the world joggling championships in Lexington, KY (I got in the local paper too). Joggling is the sport of running and juggling at the same time. I won a silver in the 5k (overall), a…

I’m teaching at a VBS in Salisbury, MD (near Ocean City, MD) this week and had a rare challenge on the first night – teaching 2-3 year olds. Now, I have most of my teaching experience with k-5th graders, with a little bit of experience with the preschool age. But my prior interaction with 2-3…

Hey folks, I am now merging my two blogs into one on this site. This simplifies my postings since the subject matter that I covered on both blogs had a good deal of crossover. By the way, there is an incredible free web tool called “Google Reader.” This thing is amazing. You can subscribe to…

Google has done it again – something very practical, widely-used, and free. This time it is a feature called “Street View” on Google Maps. Google has mapped out every street and block of certain cities in America with a rotating camera on top of a car. That means you can type in any address in…

Shot taken directly outside our fire escape (no pun intended) in our 12-unit apartment building – this scene sits by my friendly neighbor’s door.

This is a shameless plug for the best new conference of 2008 – the first annual Christian Juggling Conference. The Christian Juggler’s Association has been around since the mid-90’s and I believe that a conference has long been a desire of the leadership. Now, we get to see that desire come to fruition with this…

I just posted a couple of new videos on YouTube. They are the first two videos listed on the left bar of this blog page. I just met with a great buddy of mine this morning for some fellowship and accountability. Wow, I have missed brother-to-brother fellowship! I had some great brothers-in-Christ while in college,…

I found a very entertaining book at my friend’s house last night. It is a compilation of real-life grocery lists discovered at grocery stores across America. I guess this author found the lists himself and collected lists sent in by fans. Here is the website (www.grocerylists.org). This is a fascinating subject – the left behind…

Since I still have this web address, I’m going to keep this blog and write about slightly different topics than what I discuss on the “Great Idea Blog for Children’s Ministers“ So I’ll blog about things like what I’m studying currently in the Bible or just about anything else (humor, random thoughts, etc.). Here’s my…

Hey, thanks for coming. I have shifted all my web presence elsewhere to a new website and new blog. So head on over to www.jessethejuggler.com Have a great day! -Jesse

Samuel diesPeople mournDavid movesTo MaonNabal’s meanGot lots of foodAbby’s niceAnd in a good moodDavid sendsTen men to NabalThey ask for foodInstead get shoed David hearsOf this let-downSharpens his swordTo kill this clownAbby hurriesTo gather foodBefore Dave killsAny of Nabal’s dudesAbby fallsAt David’s feetAnd pleads for peacePleads for peace David putsHis sword downAbby’s courageDeserves a crownNabal…

Sarah and I are enjoying some down time in West Palm Beach right now. I’m juggling at 2 churches while on this trip, but most of our time is spent hanging out in the area. Our primary purpose for coming down was to let Sarah shadow a counselor at a place here in town called…

Hey folks, I just finished an August tour that took me from Indiana to Ohio to Missouri to Pennsylvania. I got to minister at a Wesleyan church, an Assemblies of God church, a Baptist church, a Missionary church, and two Salvation Army venues. By the way, the Salvation Army is a church – they are…