Untitled Document

Number 2
March 7th, 2000

Yes it has arrived once again… and you though the first issues of Digital APeX Attacks (DAA) was just a fluke (We did!). We have made a major software up-grade to make DAA much more readable. We hope you like the changes. (More are sure to come!)

We have some very exciting news! Gene is now a published author. (And we don't mean the stuff he writes and just gives away for free, but someone actually asked Gene to write something… and then they even paid him for it!) Gene wrote one of the Features for the Jan./Feb. issue of Envoy Magazine. We don't think that they knew they were asking a dyslexic computer scientist to write an article when they hired him, but fortunately they have a great editorial staff and they made Gene's thoughts almost understandable. The article is entitled "X-Marks the Spot". It can be found at http://www.envoymagazine.com/main.html Also, APeX has been nominated for Best New Apostolate (organization that does evangelization) by Envoy Magazine. You can VOTE (and should) in their reader poll by following the same link.

APeX has a book! Now you can learn to juggle in your own home or office, and at the same time learn about your relationship with the best friend you'll ever have… God!! Over and over we are asked, "Can you teach me to juggle?" Well, the answer is an emphatic "Yes!" APeX now provides a tool that not only teaches you how to juggle, but also provides a juggler's reflections on prayer. There are many parallels that can be drawn between the experience of juggling and growth in one's prayer life. Along with the book, you can also get your very own set of high quality beanbags (that even say "APeX" on them) to work with! If you're already a juggler, or if you've never even tried before, Juggling Your Prayer Life has real insights you can use. (This book has been recently revised and greatly improved… If you bought an older version (copyright 1999), send it back to us and we'll give you the new, improved, extra-strength version for free!) Also, in November, APeX debuted a new T-Shirt design. This wonderful book, as well as T-shirts (new and old designs) can be found on our merchandise page.

Are you looking to get a mobile phone? (No we have not started selling cellular service to fund the ministry.) Gene managed to lose his phone on APeX's most recent trip to Florida. After getting back to DC and buying a new phone, Gene found his old phone. So now he has TWO mobile phones (and no one needs that). If you (or someone you know) is looking to get a mobile phone please let us know. We will sell you a very high quality Nokia phone very cheep. (The phone is dual band, meaning it works in digital and analog markets, and works on most systems).

Your brothers in Christ
Gene and Brad

PS: Don't forget to forward this on to your friends who would appreciate this.

Letters, E-mails, and other comments
A Question For You
Ask APeX
Just a thought
Web Page updates
Up coming shows

Letters, E-mails, and Other Comments

Last issue, we heard about Gene's adventures in hair color. In response to that, we offer one simple quote. Joshua, a six and a half year old boy, ended up next to Brad on an airplane flight from DC to Houston (Ronald Reagan Airport to George Bush Airport). The boy was travelling alone, and to make him more comfortable, Brad struck up a conversation with him about the finer things in life… well, OK, it was about Pokémon. After a while, he asked Brad how his hair got like that and told him he liked it. Brad asked Joshua if he had seen Gene's hair and what he thought about that. Joshua wondered why it was blue, and when finding out it was dyed that color, he seemed confused for a second, then said, "I thought only girls dyed their hair."

A Question For You

One of the reasons we participate in APeX is because it is a tool we use to grow in our own faith life. One of the greatest sources of our own growth is from YOU! We have received a number of wonderful responses to the question from DAA #1, but we would love to hear from more of you. Also, as one of our readers (Belinda Lanyk) said "To share is illuminate ourselves for ourselves." So if you did do not respond last time, please do now. As always we will give free stuff to those who respond. (A special gift is being created just for APeX, which will not be for sale. Look in future issues for more information on this hand-crafted piece of art.)

What is your favorite scripture passage and why?

Send all responses to Question@APeXMinistries.com

Ask APeX

In each Digital APeX Attacks, you, our fine reader, will have the opportunity to get those burning questions that keep you up at night answered. Here are a few questions which have been posed to Brad recently.

what's your favorite breakfast cereal?

I know "they" say (whoever "they" are...) that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it's the one I'm most likely to miss. At home, when I do eat something in the morning, it's usually a peanut butter sandwich (raspberry jam optional). On the road, I eat whatever's available. Gene and I have one rule on the road when it comes to dietary needs... We don't eat cat dandruff. (Allergies, you know...)

why do you write all those mean things about Gene in Apex Attacks?

To put it plainly... I don't. As much as I'm sure the public wants all the dirt I have on Gene, I would like to make it clear that I do NOT write any of the mean stuff about him. Many people have expressed their concern that I am being too harsh on Gene in our publications. We appreciate the concern for Gene's well-being, but it is NOT my writing! I would never bash Gene in any way, physically or emotionally.

Please send all Question to AskAPeX@APeXMinistries.com

Just a thought
by gene

Last July I had lunch in a trendy coffee shop with a friend of mine. As I ate my portabello mushroom sandwich and she drink her fruit smoothy we talked, like many times before. We talked about school, the heath of our families, what we thought the future held, and all those other thing close friends talk about. After lunch we walked out of the coffee shop, gave each other the warmest of hugs that friends can give and walk the opposite way down the sidewalk. When I got to the corner I made a left. I took the cell phone off of my belt. I scrolled to her entry in my directory and I deleted her phone number, knowing that it would be many month (if ever) before I talked to her again. Over the course of the meal we had decided that at this point in our lives, for one reason or anther, we knew that we really couldn't be friends (or at least spent much time together).

Friends pass in and out of our lives. It is just a fact of life. This happens for lots of reasons. As we grew older (and hopefully wiser) our interests change and we grow apart. Sometimes people move away and distance becomes too much. When friendships change it is no one fault it just happens (no matter how much we don't want it to). In second grade by best friend was Gabriel. By the end of the summer his family had moved. In fourth grade me best friend was Michael (we even had the same birthday). By the end of the summer his family moved. When I was in sixth grade my best friend was Scott. Scott's father worked for an oil company and we knew that in the next few years his family would be moving. So we planned. So that we could stay in touch I would write on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and he would write Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I can remember another time in which we planed out our lives. I was going to work for National Forestry Service and he was going to be a doctor. We got out a map for find a major city that was near a large park. We were going to buy a plot of land large enough to build houses for each of our families and close to a city (which turned out to be LA) and a forest. We wrote out a budge (including the helicopter to get Scott to work in the city and the dog food for our Siberian Huskies we were going to own). At last check I am not a park ranger and the last letter I received from Scott was some time my Sr. year of high school. People pass through our lives. That is what I do for a living. I pass though peoples lives. We show up on a Friday and over the next three days we spend almost every waking moment with people in our temporary home. We laugh, we pray, we dance, we tell stories, we be silly and then we move on. Every experience making our lives richer. But sometimes people pass out of our lives because we are too busy. That really seems like a silly statement. Our lives are too busy so people move on. I was sitting here playing Pokémo and the next thing I knew all my friends were gone. That does seem to be a bit of a stretch, but for me I have known this to be true.

The definition of failure in my life is not taking advantage of what I have been given. I look at the life that I have and am just amazed at the cards I have been dealt. I come from a very stable family, with two parents who still love each other very much. I was given a phenomenal education. I was raised in an environment in which a very health spirituality was allowed to grow. I lay awake at night wondering if I am taking my life for granted (and yes, if that is the greatest fear I am I must be living even more of a charmed life). Because of this I have thrown myself in to my work (sometimes in a very self righteous manner). Fortunately, I love to work and even more so I love the work that I do. In all of this I have defined who I am by the work that I do. (My value as a human can be judged by what I have accomplished in regards to what I have been given.) It not that I have been all work and no play. And yes I do have friends which I do things with, but for most of my life my friendships have been based on the moment, the time that we spent together. That when we were doing things I was total present to that moment, but when the moment passed I was back to my work. When I was working, people passed away from my life, and sometimes I didn't even notice.
I use to say that I was a recovering workaholic. I don't anymore, because that statement would imply recovering. But there has been a fundament change in my understanding of who I am. I am not solely defined by the work that I do, but also the love that I give. The revolation of that one of the ways that I define who I am is in how I interact with others should be a simple one. It is probably a sad state of affairs when I am coming to this revolation at age 26. It is amazing that it has taken me this long in my life to realize that through giving others love I am able to feed myself.

When we perform sometimes it is like a mystical experience (and I don't say that as hyperbolae). The time stands still. There is this connection between us and the audience. It is a feeling as if we are one. I am starting to realize that this sort of connection in which we truly define who we want to be as people (to be love, to be compassionate, to be caring, to be forgiving) can happen in my relationships as well. I can see the accusation now that Gene is writing all of this because he was just hit by cupid's arrow. That this is nothing more than over sentimentality (for it is quite the opposite). I am not talking about that one true love. The one who music plays every time you see them. This is something I can do in all of my relationships. When I do this, these friendships are nurtured and grow and do not pass away.

On the eve of Lent one of the things I am going to do is take 5 minutes of prayer every night I go to bed and pray in thanksgiving for a different friendship that I have.

Web Page Updates

The merchandise section has been updated. You can now print order forms to order new and old APeX t-shirts, back issues of APeX Attacks, and the NEW book by Brad.

http:// APeXMinistries.com/Merchandise.html

The Links (to other web sites) APeX Recommends has been updated. If you have a link you think we should add, let us know

http://APeXMinistries.com/links.html

Up coming shows

Please pray for us and for those we are blessed to serve on these dates

March 9th Shaw Memorial Catholic High School and C.O.W.

Carmel, IN

March 10th-12th Diocese of West Lafayette

Madison, IN

March 18th Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, PA
March 19th St. Mary's Parish

Fairfax, VA

March 21st St. Stephen Church

Bradshaw, MD

March 25th Diocese of Cleveland Youth Conference

Cleveland, OH

March 26th Diocese of Winona High School Youth Rally

Winona, MN

For a complete list of APeX's Schedule please visit:

http://apexministries.com/FutureShows.html

For booking information you can contact APeX at 888/522-2739

Important note: If you received this e-mail as a forward from someone else and would like to receive Digital APeX Attacks every time it is published, or if for some reason you have received this e-mail in error from APeX please follow this link to add or remove (though we couldn't imagine why you'd want to remove) yourself from the mailing list:

http://apexministries.com/MailingList.html

© 2000 APeX Youth Ministries, Inc.

--"Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words."

St. Francis of Assisi

http://APeXMinistries.com

	Number 2 March 7th, 2000
Yes it has arrived once again… and you though the first issues of Digital APeX Attacks (DAA) was just a fluke (We did!). We have made a major software up-grade to make DAA much more readable. We hope you like the changes. (More are sure to come!) We have some very exciting news! Gene is now a published author. (And we don't mean the stuff he writes and just gives away for free, but someone actually asked Gene to write something… and then they even paid him for it!) Gene wrote one of the Features for the Jan./Feb. issue of Envoy Magazine. We don't think that they knew they were asking a dyslexic computer scientist to write an article when they hired him, but fortunately they have a great editorial staff and they made Gene's thoughts almost understandable. The article is entitled "X-Marks the Spot". It can be found at http://www.envoymagazine.com/main.html Also, APeX has been nominated for Best New Apostolate (organization that does evangelization) by Envoy Magazine. You can VOTE (and should) in their reader poll by following the same link. APeX has a book! Now you can learn to juggle in your own home or office, and at the same time learn about your relationship with the best friend you'll ever have… God!! Over and over we are asked, "Can you teach me to juggle?" Well, the answer is an emphatic "Yes!" APeX now provides a tool that not only teaches you how to juggle, but also provides a juggler's reflections on prayer. There are many parallels that can be drawn between the experience of juggling and growth in one's prayer life. Along with the book, you can also get your very own set of high quality beanbags (that even say "APeX" on them) to work with! If you're already a juggler, or if you've never even tried before, Juggling Your Prayer Life has real insights you can use. (This book has been recently revised and greatly improved… If you bought an older version (copyright 1999), send it back to us and we'll give you the new, improved, extra-strength version for free!) Also, in November, APeX debuted a new T-Shirt design. This wonderful book, as well as T-shirts (new and old designs) can be found on our merchandise page. Are you looking to get a mobile phone? (No we have not started selling cellular service to fund the ministry.) Gene managed to lose his phone on APeX's most recent trip to Florida. After getting back to DC and buying a new phone, Gene found his old phone. So now he has TWO mobile phones (and no one needs that). If you (or someone you know) is looking to get a mobile phone please let us know. We will sell you a very high quality Nokia phone very cheep. (The phone is dual band, meaning it works in digital and analog markets, and works on most systems). Your brothers in Christ Gene and Brad PS: Don't forget to forward this on to your friends who would appreciate this.
Letters, E-mails, and other comments A Question For You Ask APeX Just a thought Web Page updates Up coming shows
Letters, E-mails, and Other Comments Last issue, we heard about Gene's adventures in hair color. In response to that, we offer one simple quote. Joshua, a six and a half year old boy, ended up next to Brad on an airplane flight from DC to Houston (Ronald Reagan Airport to George Bush Airport). The boy was travelling alone, and to make him more comfortable, Brad struck up a conversation with him about the finer things in life… well, OK, it was about Pokémon. After a while, he asked Brad how his hair got like that and told him he liked it. Brad asked Joshua if he had seen Gene's hair and what he thought about that. Joshua wondered why it was blue, and when finding out it was dyed that color, he seemed confused for a second, then said, "I thought only girls dyed their hair."
A Question For You One of the reasons we participate in APeX is because it is a tool we use to grow in our own faith life. One of the greatest sources of our own growth is from YOU! We have received a number of wonderful responses to the question from DAA #1, but we would love to hear from more of you. Also, as one of our readers (Belinda Lanyk) said "To share is illuminate ourselves for ourselves." So if you did do not respond last time, please do now. As always we will give free stuff to those who respond. (A special gift is being created just for APeX, which will not be for sale. Look in future issues for more information on this hand-crafted piece of art.) What is your favorite scripture passage and why? Send all responses to Question@APeXMinistries.com
Ask APeX In each Digital APeX Attacks, you, our fine reader, will have the opportunity to get those burning questions that keep you up at night answered. Here are a few questions which have been posed to Brad recently. what's your favorite breakfast cereal? I know "they" say (whoever "they" are...) that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it's the one I'm most likely to miss. At home, when I do eat something in the morning, it's usually a peanut butter sandwich (raspberry jam optional). On the road, I eat whatever's available. Gene and I have one rule on the road when it comes to dietary needs... We don't eat cat dandruff. (Allergies, you know...) why do you write all those mean things about Gene in Apex Attacks? To put it plainly... I don't. As much as I'm sure the public wants all the dirt I have on Gene, I would like to make it clear that I do NOT write any of the mean stuff about him. Many people have expressed their concern that I am being too harsh on Gene in our publications. We appreciate the concern for Gene's well-being, but it is NOT my writing! I would never bash Gene in any way, physically or emotionally. Please send all Question to AskAPeX@APeXMinistries.com
Just a thought by gene Last July I had lunch in a trendy coffee shop with a friend of mine. As I ate my portabello mushroom sandwich and she drink her fruit smoothy we talked, like many times before. We talked about school, the heath of our families, what we thought the future held, and all those other thing close friends talk about. After lunch we walked out of the coffee shop, gave each other the warmest of hugs that friends can give and walk the opposite way down the sidewalk. When I got to the corner I made a left. I took the cell phone off of my belt. I scrolled to her entry in my directory and I deleted her phone number, knowing that it would be many month (if ever) before I talked to her again. Over the course of the meal we had decided that at this point in our lives, for one reason or anther, we knew that we really couldn't be friends (or at least spent much time together). Friends pass in and out of our lives. It is just a fact of life. This happens for lots of reasons. As we grew older (and hopefully wiser) our interests change and we grow apart. Sometimes people move away and distance becomes too much. When friendships change it is no one fault it just happens (no matter how much we don't want it to). In second grade by best friend was Gabriel. By the end of the summer his family had moved. In fourth grade me best friend was Michael (we even had the same birthday). By the end of the summer his family moved. When I was in sixth grade my best friend was Scott. Scott's father worked for an oil company and we knew that in the next few years his family would be moving. So we planned. So that we could stay in touch I would write on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and he would write Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I can remember another time in which we planed out our lives. I was going to work for National Forestry Service and he was going to be a doctor. We got out a map for find a major city that was near a large park. We were going to buy a plot of land large enough to build houses for each of our families and close to a city (which turned out to be LA) and a forest. We wrote out a budge (including the helicopter to get Scott to work in the city and the dog food for our Siberian Huskies we were going to own). At last check I am not a park ranger and the last letter I received from Scott was some time my Sr. year of high school. People pass through our lives. That is what I do for a living. I pass though peoples lives. We show up on a Friday and over the next three days we spend almost every waking moment with people in our temporary home. We laugh, we pray, we dance, we tell stories, we be silly and then we move on. Every experience making our lives richer. But sometimes people pass out of our lives because we are too busy. That really seems like a silly statement. Our lives are too busy so people move on. I was sitting here playing Pokémo and the next thing I knew all my friends were gone. That does seem to be a bit of a stretch, but for me I have known this to be true. The definition of failure in my life is not taking advantage of what I have been given. I look at the life that I have and am just amazed at the cards I have been dealt. I come from a very stable family, with two parents who still love each other very much. I was given a phenomenal education. I was raised in an environment in which a very health spirituality was allowed to grow. I lay awake at night wondering if I am taking my life for granted (and yes, if that is the greatest fear I am I must be living even more of a charmed life). Because of this I have thrown myself in to my work (sometimes in a very self righteous manner). Fortunately, I love to work and even more so I love the work that I do. In all of this I have defined who I am by the work that I do. (My value as a human can be judged by what I have accomplished in regards to what I have been given.) It not that I have been all work and no play. And yes I do have friends which I do things with, but for most of my life my friendships have been based on the moment, the time that we spent together. That when we were doing things I was total present to that moment, but when the moment passed I was back to my work. When I was working, people passed away from my life, and sometimes I didn't even notice. I use to say that I was a recovering workaholic. I don't anymore, because that statement would imply recovering. But there has been a fundament change in my understanding of who I am. I am not solely defined by the work that I do, but also the love that I give. The revolation of that one of the ways that I define who I am is in how I interact with others should be a simple one. It is probably a sad state of affairs when I am coming to this revolation at age 26. It is amazing that it has taken me this long in my life to realize that through giving others love I am able to feed myself. When we perform sometimes it is like a mystical experience (and I don't say that as hyperbolae). The time stands still. There is this connection between us and the audience. It is a feeling as if we are one. I am starting to realize that this sort of connection in which we truly define who we want to be as people (to be love, to be compassionate, to be caring, to be forgiving) can happen in my relationships as well. I can see the accusation now that Gene is writing all of this because he was just hit by cupid's arrow. That this is nothing more than over sentimentality (for it is quite the opposite). I am not talking about that one true love. The one who music plays every time you see them. This is something I can do in all of my relationships. When I do this, these friendships are nurtured and grow and do not pass away. On the eve of Lent one of the things I am going to do is take 5 minutes of prayer every night I go to bed and pray in thanksgiving for a different friendship that I have.
Web Page Updates The merchandise section has been updated. You can now print order forms to order new and old APeX t-shirts, back issues of APeX Attacks, and the NEW book by Brad. http:// APeXMinistries.com/Merchandise.html The Links (to other web sites) APeX Recommends has been updated. If you have a link you think we should add, let us know http://APeXMinistries.com/links.html
Up coming shows Please pray for us and for those we are blessed to serve on these dates March 9th Shaw Memorial Catholic High School and C.O.W. Carmel, IN March 10th-12th Diocese of West Lafayette Madison, IN March 18th Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, PA March 19th St. Mary's Parish Fairfax, VA March 21st St. Stephen Church Bradshaw, MD March 25th Diocese of Cleveland Youth Conference Cleveland, OH March 26th Diocese of Winona High School Youth Rally Winona, MN For a complete list of APeX's Schedule please visit: http://apexministries.com/FutureShows.html For booking information you can contact APeX at 888/522-2739
Important note: If you received this e-mail as a forward from someone else and would like to receive Digital APeX Attacks every time it is published, or if for some reason you have received this e-mail in error from APeX please follow this link to add or remove (though we couldn't imagine why you'd want to remove) yourself from the mailing list: http://apexministries.com/MailingList.html © 2000 APeX Youth Ministries, Inc. --"Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words." St. Francis of Assisi http://APeXMinistries.com