let's give it a shot

What the heck, let's give wordpress a try. If it doesn't work as well as I hope, I can always come back here.

In the meantime, you'll find me here. (yes, click the link, do it, click it, now)

wordpress

Something a friend commented on another site has got me looking into Wordpress - another blog platform. It's still free. But it's looking like it might be easier to use (especially when images are involved) and offers a wider variety of widgets and such. I'm investigating. As much as I would hate to, since I've posted 122 times on blogspot, I could end up moving to Wordpress, under the same blog name. I dunno. We'll see.

Sports Jesus

I struggle sometimes with making the Gospel relevant to the day in which we live. I realize I am to strive to live like Christ. But Christ lived in a desert. 2000 years ago. And wore robes. And walked everywhere He went. I would love to have a clear idea of how Jesus would live today, in Knoxville, in the year 2008. For instance, would Jesus...

Watch TV at all?

Be interested in sports? And if He was, would He have a
favorite?

Driver an old beater car, or invest in one that would be more dependable?

Not own a car, just ride a bike?

Have long hair, short hair, or a shaved head?

Be a member of a local church?

Rent or own his place of living?

Live homeless?

Have a beard?

Wear only second hand, used clothing?

Read stuff while at Borders without ever buying or paying for it? (like me)

Own a computer of any kind? Use email?

Have anything to say about animal rights?

Faithfully recycle?

Speak out against denominationalism?

Cast a vote in governmental elections?

I have many more questions, but you probably get my point. It's just so hard for me to wrap my mind around sometimes. Much like understanding why Adam Sandler is still a big box office draw, or why anyone would ever spend $12.00 for a tiny bottle of "salon quality" shampoo. It would be so much easier if God's Word laid things out a little more specifically.....what type of shoes to buy, whether or not Speedo's are ever acceptable to wear, and how many cable or satellite channels it takes to constitute gluttony.

And, last but not least, I wonder if Jesus would have loved school lunch pizza as much as I used to? And would He have washed it down by chugging a small carton of chocolate milk as fast as humanly possible? I'll definitely ask Him that one day.

can you count?

Can you count the piercings?

I'm hearing this may be the new look for "contemporary" worship leaders in the next 7-10 years.

the singer in the family

It has become quite obvious that our son loves to sing...and is actually good at it. I have to tell you something that brings tears to my eyes. For the past 3-4 weeks, when we put Eli to bed, we've been quietly playing Rich Mullins music on the little cd player in his room, to help him fall asleep. It's sort of an alternative to a nightlight, I guess. So far we've been playing "The World as I Remember It", both volumes 1 and 2, and "Liturgy, Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band."

A couple of nights ago, Erin was in Eli's room getting him ready for bed, and called me in to the room with them. "Listen to Eli" she said. Quietly, and accurately, Eli was singing "Oh God, you are my God, and I will ever praise You. Oh God, you are my God, and I will ever praise You. I will seek you in the morning, and I will learn to walk in Your ways. And step by step You lead me, and I will follow You all of my days." He learned this chorus simply by hearing it in his room with the lights off before going to sleep. And it's one of my favorite songs of all time....actually the song we were singing in my high school youth group when I committed my life to Christ. I was definitely tearing up to hear Him singing it so beautfully.

For the record, Eli also loves to sing "You've Stolen My Heart" and "Hey, You're the One" (both by Leeland), "Mush (Bus) Driver" (by Caedmon's Call), "You Never Let Go" (by David Crowder), as well as a few others I can't immediately remember.

Now, considering how well he's absorbed the nightly Rich Mullins music, I'm wondering what else I should start playing for him to sleep by. The languages of the world? Mark Nelson's podcasted messages? The Purpose Driven Life? High school level calculus theories? Anything by John Denver?

wow

So, here's the wreckage from my little sister's wreck. Amazing. Again, she suffered cuts, bruises, a pretty good bump on the head, and a fractured pelvis. She'll be homebound for about 6-8 weeks while the fracture heals. But look at the car, and it's quite obvious it could have been MUCH worse...and we're all extremely thankful to the Big Guy that it wasn't. Wow.

Kaly is (mostly) okay. Considering the car rolled over and was totaled, she came out relatively unscathed. Some scratches and bruises, a nice bump on the head, and general neck and back soreness...but it looks like nothing broken or damaged. Wow, thank you God.

In typical teen fashion, I hear she was pretty worried about how this might affect her attending prom. =) Wasn't it awesome being young? Way long ago? Remember?

I just found out that my youngest sister was in a car accident this morning. My family (in Kentucky) are all on the way to the hospital now. I'm told the car was totaled and my sister was alert and responsive, but no one yet knows the extent of her injuries. I'm nervously awaiting an update. If you're a regular reader, would you mind saying a short prayer for her and my family?

national sibling day

I just discovered that today is officially "National Sibling Day." Who knew? Being the oldest, wisest, and least attractive of 4 children, I should know these things.

In honor of National Sibling Day, allow me to honor my siblings.

Kari Jo (2nd from the left) is 27 years old, is married to Rodney, and has a wonderful 6 month old son, Grayson. She has a master's degree in education and is a middle school teacher in Kentucky. She's a wonderful singer, is very thoughtful and caring, has an infectious cackling laugh if you get her REALLY cracked up, enjoys swimming in their backyard pool, went through a mean-attitude-hellacious-demon stage of life when she was around 8-11 years old that is hard for me to even imagine now, and is really good at picking on our brother, Brandon.

Speaking of Brandon, far left. He's 19 years old and is currently a freshman at the University of Kentucky. He's witty, a little moody, can be quite thoughtful when he wants, and spent much of his childhood playing Ninentdo and Play Station. He's pretty good at all sports, but is currently the most adept at tennis. I don't think he has a major right now, but has expressed interest in the FBI, CIA, CSI sort of field. I have incredible memories of his childhood up until he was age 6, which is when I headed off to college. We shared a room for those 6 years, wrestled a lot, played sports in the yard, and had a lot of fun times.

Kaly, 2nd from right, is our youngest sibling. She's 16 years old. She's very smart, has an amazing voice, is also quite witty, and has a pretty typical teenage female temperment....mean, nice, sort of nice, mean again, not talking, talking all the time, laughing, growling...you get my point. =) She's really funny though, and has her heart set on a career in dermatology. She's destined to invent the next generation of Pro-Active, which will actually make people 2 levels better looking just by applying. Are you a 6? With Kaly's future creame, you'll be an 8.

Unfortunatey, because Brandon was 6 and Kaly only 3 when I left for college, I've missed much of their growing up. That has really bothered me more as time has passed. Now that they are older, I just now feel like I'm getting to know them and be friends with them again, which is cool. Kari and I definitely had some rough years as siblings when we were younger, but for the last 10 years or so we've been much closer, spent weeks at church camp together, developed a better friendship as adults, things like that.

Being the oldest of 4 has definitely meant more to me as an adult than as a child. I think more about my siblings, wonder how they're doing, hope they're succeeding in whatever they are doing, worry about them, and look forward to many years of shared time and fun together. Kari, Brandon, and Kaly....I love you all very much, and am proud to be your big brother.

6 week veggie update

It's been roughly 6 weeks since I last ate meat. But in the last week, for the first time, I've had to fight off some cravings. This past Sunday after church, we drove to Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains. Eli was eating some chicken nuggets from Wendy's while we drove in the car, and I wanted one really badly. Definitely my worst craving so far. That's kind of sad, though. My worst craving for meat in 6 weeks is for 99 cent overcooked nuggets from Wendy's. Pitiful.

What I have eaten is lots of potatos, broccoli, zuccini, squash, peppers, mushrooms, celery, onion, salsa, bean burritos, salads, chips, pizza with cheese and pepper toppings, rice, vegetable soup, ramen noodles, french fries, granola bars, sweets, and cereal. Not a lot of fruit though, which I need to improve upon. And, as expected, the most difficult task is finding something satisfying to eat when we go out and need to grab something quick.

French fries and apple pies just don't cut it after about the 5th time.

Birthday Party - Bounce House Mania IV

Wow. Birthday parties are fun...but exhausting. Thanks so much to everyone who came....I think we ended up with 18 kids and about 25 adults. There was plenty of jumping, sliding, rug burns, a bloody nose, air hockey, basketball shootouts, cake, ice cream, and presents for all! Here are just a few of the pictures from the party:

the many faces of eli

Our son turned 4 years old this week.

He's a great kid. Funny, smart, moody, caring, curious, engaging.


And a total goof ball.