Some of My Favs

I've had this blog for about 1.5 years now. Only in the last 6 months have I really began to consistently blog. This change has come, in part, due to the gentle prodding of friends and family. I love reading their blogs, but I feel I am not doing my part if I just reap the benefits. I feel the need to contribute some content (even thought its not much) and not just be a comment blogger. In light of that, here are a couple blogs that have encouraged me, made me laugh or made me think.

Jesus is Extravagant: Owner: Gene Pensiero
-I met Gene my freshman year of college at Fresno Pacific; we were roommates. Gene came from CVC and as most of you know I from Immanuel. As you might also know, those two schools had a healthy rivalry and I was interested to meet this CVC kid. Turns out Gene was pretty cool and we laughed about most of the stupid stuff we did in high school.
Over the years I have grown to admire the Godly man Gene is. His blogs reflect the passion he has for God, the Church and his family. I have loved his most recent series titled "Working a Vineyard". If your not a regular to his site you really need to check it out. I also really enjoy the "Positive Post Tuesdays". Another must see while you're there is Gene's music page.


Andrewandlisa.org: Owner: Andrew Shinn Contributors: Lisa and Liam Shinn
-This is partly going to be a 'shout out' that is trying to get more content out of Andrew. He is my brother-in-law and I enjoy reading whats going on in the Shinn household. Andrew is very intelligent and when he blogs it is a good read. But I also love the picture updates of my nephew Liam. It is a great way to bridge the gap from Fresno - Reedley and I know family up in Lodi love the updates as well.
p.s. He is also a world renown...no maybe not...how about United States renown.....no...not yet....OK I will just say it. He is an awesome professional photographer. He does weddings, senior pics and many other creative sessions. You can check shinnphoto.com or his flickr photo stream.


Spanish Speaker in the Making: Owners: Jake and Renee Harder
-Jake and Renee are family who have moved to Guadalajara, Mexico to study the Spanish language. Jake is my cousin and Renee is, you guessed it, his wife. In this blog you will read about 2 people that have agreed to allow God to take them where he wants. There are in Guadalajara for a set but not in stone amount of time and plan to use this experience to minister to people in the Spanish language, both now and in the future. They have a little girl, Gracie, who they are teaching English and Spanish. Most of all it is fun to read about them living in a different culture and the struggles/victories they come across.

Last but certainly not least,

A Case of the Mundys: Owner: Luke Mundy
-Interestingly enough, I have never met Luke in person, but I went to elementary/jr high with his wife, Sarah. I feel like I have known Luke for years after a few months of blogs and following his twitter feed. I was introduced to Luke through Gene's blog and have been a faithful subscriber ever since. And lets be honest here, that is one clever use of a last name!! I still don't really know what Luke does for a profession, although I know he did start a new job recently. What I do know is that Luke works with the youth at River Valley Church in Clovis. I continue to follow Luke's blogs because I can see his passion for ministry and I love reading things from people with passion. I like reading his posts about that ministry also because jr/senior high school students are a fun bunch of students that make for great stories. Luke also has a "Positive Post Tuesday" series that is a good read each and every Tuesday.


To all other bloggers that read Wide World of Mike; you are greatly appreciated and I look forward to more amazing content!


Here's to a great weekend!

Mike

You must

Check out my brother-in-laws flickr site to see my nephew.

www.flickr.com/photos/shinnphoto

Enjoy!

I am blessed

I don't want to become all sappy for my few readers, but I must reflect on my last few weeks of life and what has gone on.

First of all, this might not be news to my regular readers (andrew), but I am currently dating a lovely little lady. Her name is Brittany and she is wonderful! We met at FPU and have just had a great time hanging out with each other and getting to know more about each other and our crazy families. The irony of this whole thing is I was finally at a point (after almost 2 1/2 years) that I was not concerned about a relationship or anything and all of a sudden Brittany came along. It has been a pleasant suprise that I did not see coming!

On the continuing home front I was super blessed this last week. So I finally got my keys to my house last week and I have been trying to find a cheap fridge and maybe some furniture. Well, God was definately looking out! One of my best friends, Luke, worked with a guy who was wanting to clear some space out of his garage that included a fridge, loveseat, sofa chair and ottoman. I will be honest, I was not expecting this stuff to be that nice. WOW! I was blown away when I saw all this furniture and fridge. It was very nice and he gave it to me cheap which was a blessing to my wallet! Oh and for you girls, the furniture goes with my design idea of my living room!! ;)

So to wrap this all up I would just like to thank all of you that have been praying and looking out for this poor soul. I really appreciate all my family and friends that have truly been a blessing to me!

p.s. There will be a house warming party in the future, but I first need to get situated and get the essentails i.e. BBQ