Phil Ladden . com

I have recently complained about all of the Facebook quizzes. Most I find annoying and only clutter my news feed from my “friends.” l was so annoyed at the I.Q. one. Everyone was coming back with results that complimented them how genius they were. I wondered what would the summary read like if you just purposely FAILED it! So I did.

I blatantly picked the wrong answers. The really bad ones. And the result was hilarious! It said, “Damn, you are dumb! You have the I.Q. of a monkey!”

I thought maybe that explained why I like bananas. A couple of responses tried to encourage me, not believing or knowing I purposely failed it.

Well, I have actually taken a couple of others, and the reason is that I find them to be activities that actually share or add to knowing each other. Tonight I took the What Punctuation Mark are You? I mean, I did major in English. The result was The Dash and the summary was:

You are a dash. Casual and freewheeling, you would rather be wearing flip flops and jeans. You are playful and full of surprises, but no one should make the mistake of underestimating you–you just might be the smartest person in the room.

Those who know me would agree probably with most of that …. and read that last line again! Banana anyone?

Yesterday I took the How Well do you Know Me? quiz on my son and only scored 50 percent! He has yet to take mine. C’mon! Greg, step it up.

You choose the questions and the answers to your quiz. Thus far, no one has scored more than 50 percent on my quiz, and those that did know me the least or have known me the shortest length of time.

A Contest

Since most of them do not read the blog …. I am going to share the questions AND the answers here! I will make it a contest as well. For the winner at my Facebook quiz, I will send a $5 Starbucks’ gift card. (I apologize to my real friends at Dutch Bros as I do not have access to gift cards from them. I will save them for a future contest.) To be fair to the readers of the blog only, if you leave a comment about my quiz, I will enter you in a drawing for one as well.

Here are the questions I posted in the How Well Do You Know Me? quiz:

What city was I born in? (Colorado Springs, Colorado; Lima, Ohio; Ajo, AZ; Atlanta, GA; Bozeman, MT)

What is my middle name? (Hubert, Jackson, Jeffrey, Austin, Ladelphia)

What song did I choose to sing at a karaoke bar? (Hint: First time) (Just Beat It – Michael Jackson, Peace of Mind – Hootie and the Blowfish, Mmmmmm – Crash Test Dummies, Hound Dog – Elvis Presley, Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton)

How many times have I traveled out of the country? (0, 1, 2, 3, 4)

Fave Morning Coffee Stop (Starbucks, Dutch Bros, 7-11)

All were pets except: (Maxie, Ranger, Trooper, Lucy, Mr. No)

What subject did I teach? (Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, PE, Science)

8th grade girl friend’s name (Cathy, Kelley, Denise, Tammi, Gerri)

Phil the Lurk was nickname given by whom? (Steve, Littlehands, Denise, Tom, Scott)

Favorite vehicle (owned the longest) (72 Camero, 55 Chevy Pickup, 68 Chevelle, 81 CJ5, 83 GLC POS)

The questions and answers are all legit. I will share the answers and a bit of the stories behind them on the next post — which will be Saturday. Qualifying comments include those for this post and the Saturday answers post. You do not have to answer the questions to qualify for the drawing. Just leave a comment. Thanks for reading. Just have some fun.

Last fall, my blogging was challenged by a problem that kept me from updating and accessing it. That problem was fixed when I updated the Wordpress version. And then all kinds of stuff started to compete for my time and attention.

I started a Masters program, began exploring the Twitter application, moved from MySpace to Facebook, increasingly became disillusioned (again) with all the hype on the Internet ….

I placed the blog on a low priority, which I think was a mistake. While the pace of change with online modalities is moving at unprecedented speed, the question has recently been proposed that blogging is dead or dying. People want things now and in increments of 140 characters or less, Twitter like.

I hold out that blogs are still relevant and will continue to provide value in a multitude of ways.

I’m coming back. I find the blogging process one that helps slow and lessen the pace and noise found so prevalent in “new” social media. (Odd to hint that blogging is thought of having become passe.)

Twitter and Facebook and maybe Linkedin will still be part of my social marketing, media, and relationship activities. But I’m going to try and hold on to things that allow for reflection and sharing in ways that require more depth.

There’s way too much pretense and shallowness out there.

The coming months are bringing a couple more visits to see friends, passage of the halfway point in my Masters program, structuring of two exciting and challenging business plans, a re-design for the blog, and keeping grounded in the things that matter most.

I am slowly getting back to real blogging. I wanted to post some of the best worship music (in my opinion) I am listening to. It was only a year and a half ago that I even found myself able to listen to it. If you find that hard too, I’ll bet I understand why.

Here is Tim Hughes’ Be my Everything. First heard it a few weeks ago when it was played at Vineyard Church in North Phoenix. I hope to get that recorded as the worship group there does this song really well.

This is Casting Crown’s Voice of Truth. A friend told me this song reminded them of me. I’d say it is does represent where I tend to have been.

I finally got around to hiking Piestewa Peak, probably the most hiked mountain in Phoenix. It is another great hike in the North Mountain Preserve Parks within Phoenix. Formerly known as Squaw Peak, it was renamed after Lori Piestewa, who served and gave her life in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Piestewa Peak is no walk in the park. It is comparable to hiking Camelback Mountain, with a similar elevation gain that is STEEP. There is an approximately 1200 foot gain, with the summit elevation reaching 2608 feet. The trail is only 1.2 miles … and you will feel every foot of it but the views from the top are awesome.

Downtown Phoenix seen as the trail begins.

Click more to see all the pictures/

[Read the rest of this entry...]

You know, in all the years I lived in Colorado I never had the pleasure of greeting the Rocky Mountain rattlesnake. And in the two years here in Arizona, I still have not been welcomed by one here! Make no doubt, I am ever cognizant of the threat they pose in the parks and desert of Phoenix, Arizona. Reports abound of their potent bite.

Yet, rattlesnakes are not the greatest threat to we residents or the visitors. Based on the statistics, I would suggest taking a hike in one of the beautiful city preserves poses a greater threat to you than the rattler.

It has been reported that emergency calls for rescue on Phoenix camelback mountains have significantly increased this year, up over 40 percent from 2008 and that year was a record. The Arizona Republic reported that on the second Sunday of this month, there were seven emergency rescue calls on that day alone, one sadly ending in a death from an apparent heart attack.

I now take these walks in the park seriously. Even though they are no Colorado 14ner, they are challenging and dangerous. Authorities speculate that people, visitors in particular, believe that since these hikes/trails are found within the city limits and are classified as city parks, there is a belief they are easy.

Here’s a few recommendations I have if you have not hiked one of these peaks nor in the Phoenix desert:

• MOST IMPORTANT — TAKE PLENTY OF WATER. A good rule of thumb is once you have drunk half your supply, turn around.
• If you have a sedate lifestyle or are over 35, take your time, or better yet, start with easier climbs first.
• Don’t hike if the temperatures are going above 80. I would NOT recommend hiking these mountains if the temps go into the 80s, let alone the 90s and above. You probably don’t mow the grass where you are from at those temps, so don’t even think about climbing a mountain with a thousand foot elevation gain in the desert. It has taken me two years to start feeling comfortable with the temperatures in Phoenix. That means 60 feels cool to me! So 80 isn’t too bad a heat now, but I still avoid hiking on days where the temps are hitting 80 or higher.
• Wear good soled shoes. I will admit, I hiked some with sandals when I first arrived. That was STUPID. Falls account for a good portion of the emergency calls. I now wear a shoe made for hiking and it makes a difference.
• Don’t try these on an empty stomach. Take an energy bar. One of the problems encountered is hiking up a good portion of the mountain and suffering from a degree of heat exhaustion and not being able to walk back down.

I still find myself thinking that the rattlesnake is my biggest threat on the trails in Phoenix. Yes, they are dangerous and I hope my inevitable meeting with one will provide me with a picture rather than a bite. The reality, though, is acknowledging the danger of the desert environment. In the 70s there was an admonishment that we would be wise to adhere, do not mess with Mother Nature.

MercyMe, Jeremy Camp, 10th Avenue North, Addison Road, and Hawk came into Phoenix last Friday, March 27th, with the Rock and Worship Concert. Over 12 thousand showed up at US Airways Center to hear these popular Christian bands.

Tickets were just $10 and there were no advanced sales. I arrived early hearing that in the previous gig over 11 thousand had come to the concert causing hundreds to have to be turned away. The response to the Rock and Worship tour has been surprising. I think it might be an indication that there is a turning by people to spiritual awareness. Personally, it was just a couple of years ago I wouldn’t even listen to Christian music. I actually couldn’t listen to it. Ironically, it was a song by MercyMe, sung by a customer of mine at karaoke, that started a change in me that has me now listening all the time.

Addison Road opened up. The lead singer, Jenny Simmons, was four weeks away from delivering her first child. She has a great voice, and the band is up for a number of awards.

10th Avenue North, in my opinion, was the best of the night. They have some great songs. Check them out on youtube.

Hawk was, shall I say, different. While they may have been the most talented and engaging with the crowd, the sound was so loud I couldn’t make out a word they were saying. They were the band for the teenagers as a Dad next to me told an older couple who had decided to leave after their set. Despite that, I really appreciated their energy and passion. I know that they had lyrics because the teenage girl to my right was singing every word to the noise I was hearing!  = )

Jeremy Camp was up next and I was really looking forward to hearing him. I am a new fan of his music and he has been a favorite of my kids for a long time. He has a good number of very inspiring songs. Unfortunetly, his sound was the worst of the night. Maybe it was where I was sitting. Still think highly of him and his music. I would like to see him again in a smaller venue like the Celebrity Theater.

MercyMe closed out the night. I saw them a number of months ago when they played here at the Celebrity Theater, and again, their sound was not as good as the bands earlier in the night. MercyMe still performed some good music. They have great originals and inspire you.

While this was only my second “Christian” concert, this one was impressive in the numbers of those that attended. There has been a very real evolution of the genre that has made it so relevant to people. The talent of the musicians is also clearly evident. In the same way we could relate to a secular song written about a past relationship or event in our lives, people are experiencing a drawing closer to God through worship music.

For the past few years, I have been realizing the importance of genuineness, which is where real truth begins. Even though there were over 12 thousand imperfect people at the US Airways Center, it was evident that everyone shared a common faith in Jesus … definitely creating a distinct environment.

Vineyard Church North Phoenix is offering six services this year for celebrating Easter. I started attending here about a year and a half ago. This was after some 15 years of not “going to church.” I haven’t really written much about that. Probably should and will for those of you who may be in similar situations.

If you are looking to attend church on Easter, I encourage you to check out Our Ultimate Hope here at Vineyard North Phoenix. Everyone is always welcomed, there is great diversity, freedom of worship, and you can come as you are.

Easter is a great time to return.