going dark...

I'm going dark for about 10 days. Vacation time.

You can read one of my very first posts for more details. I'm going to miss blogging while we're gone. I don't have a laptop, or web access on my phone, or an I-Phone, or enough desire to find some local Charleston library where I can log in and feed my blog addiction. So no new posts.

Please feel free to take this time to read all the old (well, all of 8 weeks old) stuff on here. If you haven't yet, you'll definitely get to know me better. Good thing? We'll see. Have a great labor day...and I'll see you on the 10th.

wanna see something a wii bit funny?

This trips me out. What you see here is my brother (forefront, long hair) and my brother-in-law (background, short hair) duking it out in a boxing match on the Nintendo Wii. This was the very first time I'd ever seen the Wii in action. It was hard to take the pictures because of how hard I was laughing. Once they got started, it was like no one else was even in the room. Don't even think about walking by them to get to the kitchen, or you were likely to get popped with a left hook. What an invention.

Oh, for the days of Frogger, 1942, Pong, and Mario Brothers. Wait. The Wii actually has Mario Brothers available. Except you actually have to "run" and "jump".

I'm breaking a sweat just typing about it. That's simply way too much work. Give me two buttons, an arrow pad, and some awesome-cool Zelda music anyday.

(oh yeah. these pictures were posted without permission. haha.)

the ridiculous english language

Seriously. Do you ever think (like I do) that sometimes the English language is just completely ridiculous? That we could eliminate half the words in the dictionary and no one would know the difference in everyday life?

Let me give you an example. Do you have any idea how many different terms there are to distinguish "groups of animals"? Because I only have so much time and so much space, let me just share a few.

Herd of Antelopes
Colony of Ants
Troop of Apes
Flutter of Butterflies
Caravan of Camels
Pack of Dogs
School of Fish
Stand of Flamingos (that one's funny)
Gaggle of Geese
Swarm of Gnats
Cloud of Grasshoppers
Bloat of Hippos (haha)
Stable of Horses
Exaltation of Larks (wonder what God thinks of that?)
Pride of Lions
Parliament of Owls (what?)
Team of Oxen
Bevy of Quail
Flock of Sheep
Flight of Swallows
Pod of Walruses
Wisdom of Wombats

You think I'm making this up, don't you? A wisdom of wombats? Yeah, right. Personally, I've never associated the wombat as being a wise creature. Could we not refer to all land living creates as herds? All flying creatures as flights? All water creatures as schools? Does it really have to be this complicated?

For those who still don't believe these are all true...Check out my source. It actually comes directly from the San Diego Zoo website. Prepare to be mesmerized.

elemental

Simply stated...I love the Honda Element. Love it. It's sporty, stylish, fairly fuel efficient, incredibly versatile, unique, different. I've gotten inside one and moved all the seats, pushed the buttons, opened the doors, run my hand along the rubber floor, salivated (accidentally, I promise) on the passenger seat. Say what you want about the looks...it is simply an amazing vehicle. Hopefully will be my next vehicle. Both back seats can be removed. Eli and I can go camping and not even sleep on the ground! Interior can be sprayed clean with a water hose!

Alas, times are hard. Money's tight. 3 year old sons love going to Dollywood, and mom/dad simply can't seem to avoid the temptation to eat dinner out at least twice a week.

Until then, I'll scoot along in my nice, cute, dependable 2002 Mazda Protege. LX model. Sunroof and alloy wheels. 5 speed manual. 79,586 miles. Been a good'in.

What vehicle would you like to be your next?

erin & i love to dance

Erin & I love to dance. Mostly spontaneously around the living room....and well, mostly just me. However, on a recent trip to Mexico, we learned to do the cucaracha. What a blast that was! Thought you guys might like to see us in action. Enjoy.

who says disc golf is a sissy sport?

Some of you who've read my recent disc golf addiction post are probably thinking, "wow you go out in a field and throw a frisbee, big deal". How wrong you are. There are many terrifying dangers in disc golf. Thorn bushes, throws across water, mosquitos, being embarrassed by far more talented teenage players, and (as you can see above) getting your disc stuck in a tree. In the last week, I've experienced all of these dangers, and I have the bruised ego and annoying scratches to prove it. A sissy sport? Yeah, right. Let's see Peyton Manning try it.

pumped about church

For the first time in years, I'm totally pumped up about going to church. I've either served at or regularly attended 8 churches in my lifetime. For the first time ever, I'm in a place where it's clear that the entire group of core members are all experiencing and chasing after the same God-inspired vision. And it's been amazing to see the results God has produced from this assembly of common purpose. The smiles, stories, tears, growth, hard work, sweat, worship, and teaching have all been infused and fleshed out with this purpose - "Helping People Find Their Way Back to God."

I'm excited to be a contributing member of an incredible team of servants. I'm thrilled that Eli loves to be there and began remembering his awesome teacher by name after only 2 visits. I'm proud of the growth and openness I've seen in Erin, and I'm so glad to know that she's going to be able to develop deep friendships and bonds with other amazing women.

Thank you God for inspiring a vision that became Crossings. And thank you Crossings for inspiring me.

disc golf addiction

I'm addicted to disc golf ... again. Took up the "sport" in 1999 as a complete novice, loved it, and played it ALL the time. Was pretty good, I guess. Got burned out, life changed, yada yada.

Went out again this past Sunday for the first time in years, and was embarrassed by some friends from church. They were good. I stunk it up. But it rekindled the flame. Bought 3 new discs on Monday, played Tuesday during lunch, played today during lunch. Already my old skills are coming back to me. It's awesome! Maybe Erin (my lovely wife) will let me play after work...and then maybe again this weekend. If I'm lucky, maybe she'll start using it as a way to shoo me away if she's mad at me for some reason..."I'm mad at you right now. Why don't you just go play disc golf or something!" On second thought, that may not be good logic.

Interested in playing? Check out this database of courses. I'm sure it's not 100% complete, but it lists over 2400 courses, so maybe there's one near you! In a way, it's kind of like tennis....all you'll need to do is invest about $30.00 in 3-4 discs, and go play as much as you want. It's great. (yeah, right) Seriously, go find some discs. You'll thank me. (you do realize all it is..) Yes, I know it consists of throwing weird, hard plastic discs at chain linked baskets. If you haven't tried it, you just don't understand. (yeah, just like I don't understand soccer or hockey or Big Brother 8 on CBS) Fine. I get your point.

flip flops, birkenstocks, and Jesus sandals

On Friday night I was visiting my wife at the store where she works part time. It's in a mini-mall shopping center. Right next door to the store is a higher-priced Mexican restaurant. It didn't open until 7:00pm. At about 6:45pm, there were 30 people gathered outside the restaurant, and they were divided up into about 4-5 different social groups. Not a big deal, really. Friday night. Popular restaurant. People ready to eat. Some in their 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's. So why did it catch my eye?

Because every single person was wearing flip flops or sandals.

There wasn't a sock in the group. All 300 toes were visible. There were cheap plastic flip flops, leather flip flops, Teva sandals, Birkenstocks, flip flops (think American Eagle) that looked ratted and torn, buckle strap sandals, velcro strap sandals, you name it. Now, I'm sure at least one of these patrons was suspicious of me as I stood behind the storefront glass window and creepily counted people while starting at their feet. But that's the cost of trying to come up with good blog ideas.

Remember growing up when having cool sneakers was a big deal? Today, EVERYONE is wearing flip flops and sandals practically all the time. Toddlers, teens, young adults, you name it. They're worn in the workplace, at church, in restaurants, at amusement parks.

I did a little research to find out how long this trend has been around. After Googling long and hard, I found some amazing results........They've been worn since the beginning of time. Yep. Adam, Eve, Moses, Abraham, David, Isaac, Solomon. All flip flop and sandal wearers. Something about the desert and sand. Apparently fashion colored leather and matching shoestrings were a little hard to come by back then. I think Jesus wore sandals too.

So really, when you boil it down, I guess we're all just being responsible, biblically-minded individuals when we slide our beautiful feet into those $3.00 Old Navy flip flops. I wonder if it makes Jesus smile to know that we've all walked a mile in His shoes?

the evolution of my weight

I'm 5'10" tall and roughly 185lbs. I'm not technically overweight. I just feel like it. My back has started bothering me over the last couple of years. I have little stamina. I'm tired of buying larger sizes of pants and shorts. Truth be told, I'm actually at the upper end of the "normal" weight for someone of my height. But consider this:

• When I graduated high school in 1994, I weighed about 130 lbs.
• When I graduated college in 1998, I weighed about 150 lbs.
• In 2001, I weighed about 160 lbs.
• In 2005, I weighed about 170 lbs.
• Today, I typically weigh in anywhere from 182 - 188 lbs.

I would desperately like to hover around 165. There are a few problems. First, since I was 4 years old my dad has worked for Keebler (Yes, that Ernie the Elf. And yes, a long time ago my dad actually had a Ernie the Elf costume. The head on that thing was huge.). So my ENTIRE life growing up I ate free cookies - especially Soft Batch cookies. So I really enjoy snacking on sweets. Second, for as long as I can remember, I've enjoyed drinking Coke, Mountain Dew, Mellow Yellow, Dr Pepper, etc. And I cannot stand the taste of Diet drinks. Third, I've never really enjoyed exercising. Running to me is incredibly boring. I've only had a gym membership for about 6 months in my life. I have little will power to do push ups and sit ups at home.

So, I'm prayerfully trying to consider what to do to get in better shape. I know I need to drink more water and less soda. I'm trying. I sort of like water. But when it starts to warm to room temperature, it tastes worse and worse. I can definitely start eating smaller portions at meals. Surely I can cut out some of the snacking.

But I'm open to ideas. I'm definitely not interested in Atkins, South Beach, Nutri System, Weight Watchers, or any other "program". I will not take any type of diet pills. But in the way of exercise, accountability options, meal ideas, and so forth, I'm more than willing to give some ideas a shot. I want to lose weight, but I want to do it sensibly. Any suggestions?

the communion table

This past weekend in Kentucky, we attended the church where my brother-in-law serves as the Associate Minister / Youth Minister. It's in a town of about 12,000 people. Growing church, looks like they have about 350 in attendance each week. Good worship, different instruments, family life center, working on renovating the sanctuary (which definitely gives you that old-time feel). It was great getting to attend.

But it made me think....it had been a LONG time since I'd attended a church service where men in nice suits actually stood - with great posture - around the "communion table", served it to each other, then routinely passed it to the worshippers. To mine and her knowledge, my wife had never witnessed this tradition. She was not a regular church go-er in her youth, and the places we've attended in the last 5 years use more modern (?) approaches to their communion time.

It brings me to a years-long struggle concerning "traditional" vs "modern/contemporary/emerging" churches. For some reason, my brain tells me that "modern" churches do things the right way, and "traditional" ones do things the wrong way. That somehow believers in traditional churches just don't "get it". That they are missing out on what God REALLY wants church to be like. That they only stand there and suffer through church, while us modern church members are enlightened and fully engaged in the presence of the Holy Spirit. That modern church goers are higher in the pecking order of Christian status.

I truly hate that I think like this! It's stupid. Idiotic. Sinful. Immature. I look at a place like Southeast Christian in Louisville, Ky with 18,000 in weekend attendance and assume all the ministers there are truly devoted, spending time daily with God, living incredible lives. I assume that all in attendance there truly love each other and meet needs of people in unbelievable ways. I see the old Methodist church down the country road that still uses the magnetic-lettered sign out front to post their service times, and I assume that church is boring, tired, old, dead, and that they do nothing but show up late, eat potluck lunches, and bicker over the color of the pews.

It's sick, and I want to confess my sinfulness in this matter. So ponder this with me...

Does it really matter how our services are planned? Does it matter how communion is passed? Does it matter how offering is collected? Does it matter if there's a wooden pulpit, a glass pulpit, or just a music stand? Does it matter if we sing to a piano to a guitar? Does it matter if there are drums? Sure, I have my personal preferences in this matter. And so do you. BUT GOD DOESN'T CARE. Just like He doesn't care that I was sitting there in my shorts and sneakers while a man in a 3-piece suit offered me the body of Christ. Just like He has no preference whether Haitians worship acapella with only a tamborine, or Californians sing raucously with a 12 member rock band. Just like He doesn't care if the communion comes from the front of the room, the back of the room, a wicker basket, a golden tray, sits on a table or on the floor, is passed down the rows, or is available on a table for believers to come and receive on their own.

And God certainly doesn't care whether I think any of these methods are better than another. And I'm extremely thankful for that.

outta here...

I'm outta here for 2 days...heading to Nashville for a national promotional products show. Seminars, networking, and checking out 1000's of new products available to the industry.

Has everyone seen this x-games skateboard fall from last week? Unreal. The guy freakin walked away. Wow.

take me out to the ballgame

Last night Eli & I went to a Tennessee Smokies baseball game (AA affiliate for the Cubs). Eli actually got to throw out one of the first pitches - although the friend from work using my camera didn't get a shot of the actual throw. Eli actually threw the ball from about 10 feet in the front of the pitchers mound, and it made it all the way to the catcher on a straight line, about half in the air and half way on the ground. It's really a fantastic ballpark for a AA team. We left after the 6th inning, although we probably only watched about 1 inning of actual baseball. Sort of a slow game for a 3 year old to focus on, I guess.

soon to be an uncle

I'm an oldest child. I'm 31. I have a 26 year old sister, an 18 (19 in 3 weeks) year old brother, and a 16 year old sister. In about 6 weeks, I'll be an uncle for the first time...and thankfully, not because of the 18 or the 16 year old sibling! My sister Kari and her husband Rodney are due with their first child in September...quite possibly on the same day as her own birthday.

On Friday, we'll be driving to Kentucky to spend the weekend with them and will have the chance to see much of our extended family. The last time I saw Kari was last Christmas, and the last time we were able to travel to Kentucky was November 2004, so I've not seen much of my extended family in almost 3 years. Pretty exciting. Luckily, my parents have taken Eli home with them a couple of times in the last 18 months to spend 3-4 days, so he's been able to see his grandparents and get acclimated with his dad's side of the family.

The picture is my sister and Eli from about a month ago. I know it's blurry, but that's because it was taken on Eli's Little Tikes digital camera. Basically, it's a digital camera for young kids. It looks like binoculars and is encased in rubber. Has a digital screen like normal digital cameras, and is very easy for kids to use, but doesn't produce the greatest quality of images.

And let me apologize to Kari ahead of time for not getting her permission to post this picture on the web! =) Notice Eli holding his tummy? When Kari explained there was a baby in her tummy, he became convinced that he had one in his tummy too. Hence the tummy holding. Funny kid. And funny word...tummy. I feel kinda weird for using it 5 times in one paragraph.