My son Josiah and I had a “guy’s night out” last Friday – which of course meant pizza and arcade games. Our local pizza joint has exactly two (2) working arcade games – small town, you know – but it was still fun.

Usually I give Joey just a few quarters (I’m pretty cheap), but since I took his sister on a relatively expensive date last week (Olive Garden and a movie) I let him have a lot more quarters – and he had a blast.

There was another little boy there enjoying the games too. Most of the time this kid was “playing” a shoot-em-up game without putting any quarters in. And although he eventually got his hands on a few coins, he very quickly blew through them.

The funny thing was that I think he liked pretending to play the game just as much as he did actually playing it. (continue reading…)

I don’t really know a lot about sheep. We have a few of them at my house, but I’m not particularly attached to them myself. Mostly they kind of bug me because they’re pretty stupid and they sometimes get through the fence and you have to figure out where they’re getting out …

So it would be fair to say that I wouldn’t be a very good shepherd. (continue reading…)

I have the song “Beautiful Day” by U2 looping in my head today… And it is an absolutely perfect July 4th. Warm (even hot – finally!!) and sunny. I’m getting ready to mow the lawn while listening to an audiobook. Then there will also be grilling and blowing stuff up. Could it be any better?

Oh – and we’ll be making goats-milk ice cream today for the first time. Emily milked her goat Suzy and froze it, so that should be interesting… (Emily froze the milk, not the goat. Just to be clear).

Jaime Thietten and I will be touring the Christmas show again this December, and so far we have dates in the works for California, Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. Would your church like to host our concert? Here’s a promo video taken from last year’s shows:

The other night I woke up standing in the living room holding one of my wife’s crutches (from when she broke her leg a few yrs ago). I couldn’t remember how or why but I had a vague certainty that there had been a threat to my family and I was going to stop it… Some people talk about sleepwalking, but I’m actually doing something about it….

As you all know, May the fourth is widely known as “May The 4th Be With You Day” or “Star Wars Day.” I, for one, think this is brilliant.

Here’s a Star Wars-related story for you. In both my local church ministry and my traveling concert ministry, my job involves talking a lot – often ad libbing – which can lead to some regrettable statements.

For example, a few years ago I was introducing a song at a marriage conference, and I was thinking about some of the conflict-resolution strategies that had been offered. For some reason I had mentioned Star Wars earlier and was now talking about how complicated relationships can be.

I said something along the lines of how, in marriage, you have to choose your battles carefully, and that I had learned that sometimes (I can’t believe I said this) “you have to let the wookie win.”

This statement was greeted with an awkward, stunned silence. Except for my band members, who were all on the floor laughing. (continue reading…)

We have a winner! Emily has agonized over the names (there were over 100 submitted) and she has come to a decision… The winning names are…

… “Ping” and “Pong,” submitted by CarolBeth! Thanks to everyone who contributed ideas! We had a great time (and a few laughs) looking over your suggestions. And congratulations, CarolBeth – I’ll contact you soon to make arrangements for your prize (free CD or DVD).

Yesterday, a new baby goat named Taz was born at the Riggan Ranch (that’s him to the left).

You may remember that last week I wrote about our two new baby lambs. I decided to hold a naming contest, but then Easter Weekend happened and I completely forgot to wrap up the contest and have a winner declared. Better late than never, right? If you haven’t submitted your suggestion, click HERE to leave a comment. My daughter Emily will judge the competition and I’ll announce the winner by noon on Friday (tomorrow). The winner can choose any of my CDs or DVDs as a prize.

Don’t forget to submit your name suggestions (for the lambs) by clicking HERE!

A few thoughts about Easter and The Lord of the Rings…

There’s a part near the end of the third book (“Return of the King”) that strikes me so powerfully. The character of Samwise Gamgee encounters a dear friend whom he had believed to be dead, and with profound simplicity asks the question “Is everything sad going to come untrue?” (continue reading…)

On Monday, my son’s sheep (Cutie) had two babies (Joshua and Jericho). Just a couple of hours ago, my daughter’s sheep (Anabelle) had her two babies, which are unnamed so far. Click the “More” button to see what they look like (hint: they look like lambs). Any name suggestions? I think I’ll make a contest out of this… I’ll have my daughter be the judge. The winning entry will get a free CD or DVD (your choice). (continue reading…)