Friday, April 10, 2009
The Life of Leon
Greetings Friends!
I have unfortunate news. Leon McBride had planned to be with us at the Next Step '09 workshop, but has needed to pull himself out of our time together.
I just got off the phone with Leon. Some of you may be aware that last year Leon's son, Casey McBride, was diagnosed with retinal cancer. Casey went through the treatments and was given a clear bill of health...
...until now. Leon's son has just went through some additional testing this past weekend, and the doctor's believe that he now has cancer in his lungs. Casey lives in Atlanta, Georgia and has two young boys. Leon and Linda want to be free to give whatever support is needed to Casey and his family. Consequently, Leon feels the need to clear his schedule from whatever he can. He especially wants to be there for his grandsons.
Please be in prayer with Leon, Linda, Casey and their family during this trying season. I will give you updates as I am made aware. I know that Leon and his family appreciate your support and prayers. We are family. Family of clowns, yes. But more than that, ...family of believers. Let's trust Jesus together.
I have unfortunate news. Leon McBride had planned to be with us at the Next Step '09 workshop, but has needed to pull himself out of our time together.
I just got off the phone with Leon. Some of you may be aware that last year Leon's son, Casey McBride, was diagnosed with retinal cancer. Casey went through the treatments and was given a clear bill of health...
...until now. Leon's son has just went through some additional testing this past weekend, and the doctor's believe that he now has cancer in his lungs. Casey lives in Atlanta, Georgia and has two young boys. Leon and Linda want to be free to give whatever support is needed to Casey and his family. Consequently, Leon feels the need to clear his schedule from whatever he can. He especially wants to be there for his grandsons.
Please be in prayer with Leon, Linda, Casey and their family during this trying season. I will give you updates as I am made aware. I know that Leon and his family appreciate your support and prayers. We are family. Family of clowns, yes. But more than that, ...family of believers. Let's trust Jesus together.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Planning Ahead for the Next Step
Hey Folks!
It's the second week of April and I already have FIVE registrations in my possession. Since we only allow FIFTEEN attendees, that's exciting. Most are past Next Step attendees, which is an encouragement to me. That means that they felt like the past training was well worth the investment! I'm excited to continue to build on what we've talked about in the past. We are already thinking ahead to these sessions and how we can help our first time attendees and those that are returning for MORE. (There's always MORE, isn't there?!)
One of our first time folks asked me what she should do to prepare along the way. I did recommend that folks that have never seen me or experienced sessions with me should consider picking up a few of these resources from my website:
1. My Performance - An hour long DVD of me performing. It will give you a good feel of the different styles of clowning I do, and will give a bit of perspective on where I'm coming from.
2. Clown Training - This is my "basic training" clown DVD. It's over an hour of thoughts, insights, and practical stuff about clowning.
3. Developing Clown Ministry Programs - This is a booklet that talks about how to write routines (from three different approaches). It also looks at putting together a quality program and the numerous elements it takes to do that.
Also, now that SPRINGtime has finally arrived, please consider getting outside and going for walks, playing tennis, stretching and increasing your stamina and muscle tone. We're not going to hurt anyone here at the Next Step, but you will be better equipped as a performer and as a student, if you do have some level of physical fitness. I encourage you to start making the "next step" physically.
Looking forward to seeing you soon!
