Matthew Robinson

It’s Friday!  It’s Fall!  And the rents are coming tonight!

Random end-of-week wrap up:

• I love it when the weather finally turns in Tallahassee.  Nothing beats a 55 degree morning run and brilliant sunshine with a crispness in the air come mid day.  It’s one of the reasons why I love this town.
• I got sick.  Knock you out and drag you down kind of sick, and I’m just slowly regaining it all.  The thing is, life didn’t stop and stuff still had to be done while the whole time I was wishing that I could somehow manage to just take three or four days completely off.  That doesn’t really ever happen in my world.
• Colossians 3:12-16
• This video has been cracking me, and everyone in the offices around me, up since one of my co-workers forwarded it to us yesterday morning.
• I have an important decision in my life to make.  And I’ve made the list of pros and cons.  Talked to all the people I normally do.  Prayed and read and researched about it.  And I still have no burning bush.  And still have no decisiveness.  And still just don’t know from which of two great options to choose.  Will it really come down to flipping a coin?
• I found the future manager of 82’s, and enjoyed a pretty dang good home cooked meal and a few hours of conversation in the process.
• I’m excited for this Sunday…I’m also sad for this Sunday…it’s Rachel’s last, and we’ll send her out with a bang, but I’m going to miss my friend.  My “other Heather Ann” is my guest on the couch and I’m looking forward to chatting with one of the most intriguing people I know.
• I explained, in a rather remarkably clear manner, this whole 700 billion dollar bail out thing to Kayla last night.  For some reason it’s had me glued to the news coverage all week.  This thing is huge in our lives right now.

And finally:

• If the blind student in one of my classes (yes, my former Special Education students/future teachers, I know you want me to call him “visually impaired”, but he laughed when I said that and told me “blind” was fine with him…)

So if the blind student in one of my classes on Wednesday says “See you on Friday, Dr. Robinson”

…

:)

I loved college.

I actually love college.  I get to do it everyday.

The people I met in college are still some of my closet friends, and many of us got together this weekend.  The Braddocks (Brian and Jenna, and Buster) made a return trip to Tallahassee from Jacksonville for football and fun.  Excpet that the football wasn’t so much fun.  Friday night’s BBQ with some of the old crew (and their wives and babies!) was a blast.  And Buster.  Goodness that dog.  I’ve loved him since the day Brian brought him home to Pinecrest West after Christmas one year.  Sadie and him co-existed.  It worked out rather nicely.

And Karyn and Andy were back in town!  Old school tailgate with the Fields’ and Rushe brothers was perfect.  Between Bethany’s Marching Chief’s routine, Brian’s commentary on life, and just hanging out with good close friends, the pre game activities were wonderful.

Doak looks cool with all of the new video boards.

Our team looks horrible though.  Put #11 back in!  We want Drew!  We want Drew!

And go Rays!  There, I said it.

Funniest line of the weekend:

Krissie, talking about her son, Tommy, says: “He’s for sale.  You can actually just have him if you want.”

Next few weekends: parents in town, New York, a bie week, Savannah, Atlanta and then DC.  More weekend fun is on the horizon!

The Tina Fey/Amy Pohler as Sarah Palin/Hillary Clinton opening scene showed SNL at its best.  DVRed back early Sunday morning, I couldn’t stop laughing as I feel asleep afterward.  Michael Phelps = not so much.  Better luck in London buddy.

A baby on stage is worth it’s own weight in gold.  Especially when it’s Karsyn Ann Simmons.  The video will be up soon, and the Well Kids Promo combined the perfect initial awkwardness with a needed dose of humor to begin the night as we turned the spotlight towards our children at the Well.  They are so much fun to work with, I sneak back there as often as I can on a Sunday night, and in their new and improved space, I can’t help but wait for the great things to come in the back and on the side that we’ve experienced in the main auditorium on a Sunday night.

I’ve had the wonderful privilege to become friends with Drew and Jovanna over the course of the last half year.  It was at dinner at my house six months ago that Dean and I challenged them both to get involved.  They have, and have a vested interest in the Well, and to work alongside Jo each week, and get to talk to Drew last night on stage is and was a treat.  Filled with candor, honesty, and challenge, Drew shared his heart.  Where he’s come from, where he’s at, and where he’s going.  His take on “Unconquered” through feeling conquered is still resonating with me, and I could feel the audience digesting the powerful words and verses he spoke.  Yes, a quarterback (a jock as I described him) but also a man who followed when called and who was not afraid to share and set an example for so many of us.

Dean-isms from last night:

• “It’s a response.  He’s worth all the hype.”
• “It is not a sin to be tempted.  It is a sin to give in to that temptation.”
• “God is not going to ask you about them.  He’s going to ask you about you.”

Man, what a sermon.

And man, what a night.  We’re growing each week (note: If you want to sit in the middle, get there early.  It’s officially full.)  Connections are happening (way to pack out San Miguel) and our people, to quote a wise, crazy preacher man, “are getting it.”

We’ve got a powerful service planned next week that I’m pumped about.

It’s been an a mind-blowing September so far.

And it’s becoming more about that movement than about just another option.

It’s first test of the semester day in Dr. Robinson’s class and I’ve already got one of “that kid” sitting in the silence of the classroom.

He (or she, for what it’s worth) has a cold.  He doesn’t have any Kleneex.  And he will proceed for the next 87 minutes to sniffle and snort and suck back the mucousy goodness of whatever virus and bacteria is in his system.  The sharp glances from his peers are going to turn in to long stares and grimaces, and I feel for students in the quadrant immediately surrounding him.  I, too, am a bothered-by-noise-guy, and he’s driving me crazy as I blog and grade papers.  The triple threat combo would be if he had to uncrinkle a hard candy upon which he’d proceed to suck and smack while sniffle.  I’d have to say something if that was the case.  Today, he’s just that kid.

I think it’s a load of bull when other teachers say they don’t have favorites.  Everyone has favorites.  And everyone wants to be liked by their students.  The students don’t need to know that, but in every case of every effective teacher I’ve ever encountered, I know that they have students they naturally gravitate towards.

There are other versions of “That Kid” in class that I have to try so hard to gain fondness for:

• The transvestite.  Him/her and I are just not clicking.
• The kid, the last nine minutes of class when I’m finished and am excited to let them go early and excited to be finished early myself, who raises their hand and asks a question that I covered 22 minutes ago.  Every other face in the room reads what I’m thinking: “Put down that effing hand so we can all get out of here.”
• The student who makes the grand entrance.  Yes, we know you’re late.  No, we don’t think you’re cool for being late.  Yes, you’ve distracted us all and need to sit down and try, hard as it might be, to just blend in.
• The student who passive aggressively huffs and puffs when they don’t like what’s going on.  “I can read your body language and other non-verbal communication,” I want to say.  “I get it.”
• The student who is overly-dependent, such a brown-noser, and who knows, try as they might, they are never going to reach favorite status (God bless them) but they won’t give up.
• The student who truly thinks they will learn just by hearing and taking it in without writing a single thing down or asking a single question.  Just because you show up, it doesn’t count.
• The student who plays between their crotch the entire class period.  I know you are texting.  And you’re annoying me.
• The student who sits in “your seat” and doesn’t realize that 11 weeks into the semester, we all have “our seat.”  It’s an un-written rule.  Get with the program.  (And from the other side of the classroom line, this is so funny to observe when it happens.)

Sniffle McSnotterson is still at it.  And Ernie MakeAnEntrance just got here 32 minutes late for the test, and asked, honest to God: “What, you all didn’t wait for me?”

I believe in them.  I really do.

The energy of the last two days has been consuming.  I’m a day late on my Monday morning Well recap, but I’ve been blogging in my head the whole time.  The electricity of Sunday night was powerful.  It’s amazing to me when people actually start to get it.  I told Dean on the phone after the service: “It’s happening.”  Having a picture of where I was being led in my head since I first came on board, and being trusted to go where I felt like we were being called to get to, and taking a year to see all of the pieces of the puzzle fit, together, in blessed perfection, made a lot of hours and sweat and frustration and uncertainty so worthwhile.  From day one we knew it’s all about the Sunday night.  Or at least that’s where it all starts, and nothing short of excellence and what that has meant at each stage of the game would be settled upon. We’re broadcasting it all now, and for those of you in my life at a distance, or those of you around who just want to re-live it, you can check it out here.

Last night was our first college dinner of the fall semester.  Over 50 students came out.  Now that environment was electric.  Connections were happening.  Relationships were being formed.  The Crystal River crowd interacted with the Boca crowd who talked to the Ft. Pierce crowd who mixed with the locals.  If Sunday night is what it’s all about and where it starts, then Monday night is where it keeps going.

And that’s the POINT.  It’s about Contact.  Connect.  And then Contribute.  It’s not rocket science.  But it works.  And when it does, it’s so sweet. And it changes lives.

And Eric Naitove’s food is always a nice perk.

Some randoms:

I have a student who’s been coming to the Well and who gets to see me live three days a week.  It’s funny because it’s never happened on the front end this way.  I’ve taught many students whom I cross paths with after they’re out of my class, but on the front end, let’s just say I have to watch myself not playing favorites…

Sarah Graves is a long lost sister of mine.  It’s not often that I meet someone with the drive and attention to detail I have.  Sarah’s got a bug of Robinson-itis, and working alongside of her has been a joy.

I sat out on Landis Green till midnight last night just talking.  That hasn’t happened in years.  And I’m not too terribly tired this morning.

I miss being an FSU student.

I booked a trip to New York/New Jersey today for the beginning of October to visit Sarah and Alex.  I can’t wait to go there, and to get back to a few certain someones in Seattle sometime real soon.

My elementary school (Twin Lakes, in Tampa, Go Roadrunners) taught us all the electric slide when I was in fourth grade and we all did it on the P.E. courts for a fundraiser which was on the news.  It’s about the one dance that I am coordinated enough to do without looking like a fool.

Boogie, woogie, woogie-ing…

I’m pretty convinced that someone, somewhere, made an executive decision to shorten the days in the past week.  I haven’t found the time anywhere to get done and do everything that I’ve need to, including sleep.

• School started.  This is the start of my 6th year of teaching, and it was the hardest first few days back I’ve encountered through any and all of it.  It has been reported that 50% of new teachers quit within the first five years.  I’ve made it this far, but for a wide variety of reasons, it’s been difficult to adjust again.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love every second of it.  I just love every second of everything that’s going on in my life.  (Side note, if you have three minutes, watch this clip I showed in one of my education classes today.)
• I got an iPhone.  I mean really, I’m already addicted.  I’m finding new things out and can’t get my thumbs off of it.  It’s seriously one of the best things that’s happened to me in the last few however agos.  It.  Is.  Amazing.  I dropped my Blackberry (literally…like on the ground…like the screen shattered.  I’ve never done this before.  I take care of my phone.  “I don’t need insurance” is what I thought.)  The apps are amazing, I’m organized and connected at the touch of a faux glass screen button, and I’m not sure I’m ever turning back.
• The Well has rocked.  We’re blowing up before our eyes in the most amazing of ways, and I have no clue what to expect.  And I’m an expectations guy.  The Sunday of Labor Day for crying out loud was our biggest non-Easter Sunday ever.  I mean…really???  Dean and I have been blown away.  Stuff is working.  People are connecting.  And faces we’ve never seen and don’t know are coming.  Get there early to get a seat.  We’re quickly running out.  We started video recording the service this past week (in HD!) and while it looks amazing, I promise that it will get online and up and running very soon (Rachel, in HD, singing Holy Roar.  Phenomenal.  And the heckler caught on tape live during a John-Luke mix up?  Priceless.)
• That whole phone and Well thing…during a Sunday night, most of my time is spent backstage.  I’m connected literally the whole time to nineteen different people playing their part, but command central follows me around the grounds of APGHS as the service moves on.  Some very interesting things happen behind the scenes…you can check some of them out here:(thank you new iPhone and your amazing capability to upload and take pictures at the tap of a faux glass screen button).
• OMFG is all I have to say.  Well and maybe “xoxo”.  It’s back on.  Dang it!
• I’ve made time, sacrificing some other things, to “connect” on my own accord.  Matt Long is finally here.  Kayla is back.  My new Jax freshmen are around.  The Happy, Healthy, Holy ladies are near.  Dean and I just sat and talked for two and a half hours yesterday dreaming and planning.  It’s been great.  And unscripted.  And needed.  But all the other “stuff” is still there when I come back to it.

My momma lied…if you ignore it, it doesn’t always go away…