life recaptured

let's give it a shot

2008-04-22T08:35:00.003-04:00

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

2008-04-21T12:37:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-18T08:16:00.008-04:00

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?

2008-04-16T08:32:00.005-04:00

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

2008-04-15T08:32:00.006-04:00

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

2008-04-14T10:17:00.012-04:00

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.

2008-04-11T14:01:00.002-04:00

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?

2008-04-11T08:53:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-10T13:18:00.008-04:00

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

2008-04-08T16:28:00.006-04:00

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

2008-04-07T10:02:00.005-04:00

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

2008-04-03T11:00:00.004-04:00

Our son turned 4 years old this week.

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

And a total goof ball.

what do you really KNOW?

2008-03-31T11:12:00.011-04:00

I had a great conversation with Greg & Daniel the other night at Spicy's. We were there to watch the utter spanking of Tenneseee by Louisville in the Sweet 16. It as an excellent opportunity for engaging coversation, since the entertainment was clearly lacking.

The basic point of the discussion was this: way too many Christians claim to KNOW way too much about God, the Bible, faith, and the appropriate way to flesh out a Christian lifestyle.

This may be the very foundation of Christian division - both personally and denominationally. One person/group says, "I KNOW (this) is true and should be done this way." The other person/group says "No, you're wrong. I KNOW (this) is true and should be done this way." Emotion, bickering, hurt feelings, and anger ensue. They are unable to resolve differences in a peaceful and open minded way. And a split of some kind occurs.

You can simply fill in the blank for (this) .... communion, baptism, faith alone, faith and works, tongues, spiritual gifts, pastoral roles, financial stewardship, worship music, preaching styles, evangelistic methods, salvation, tithing, role of women, the Holy Spirit, physical attire or appearance, care for the earth, treatment of animals, dealing with sin in the church community, medical practices, healing by the Spirit, confession to a priest, vanity, child rearing, home schooling, involvement in political matters, role of the husband or wife, dating, legalism, care for the poor, abortion, age of accountability, liturgy of the service, and on and on and on.

But really ... what do we really, truly, KNOW about all of these matters? For instance, I know that murder is wrong. God specifically and undeniably says it is unacceptable. He also never says anything that might refute that fact. However, He does not clearly and precisely tell me how to dress. I can "infer" from Jesus' teachings and from understanding the character of God that there is a line in which my physical attire could be considered sinful, but I don't KNOW what that line is, do I? Nor does God tell me the exact rules regarding the use of music in church worship. He certainly does not specifically say that it is sinful to either use music or not use music. And He shares no preferences on whether he likes rock, folk, pop, or hymnal styles the best.

There is so little that I know and SO much that I don't. I know God created the heavens, the earth, animals, and people. I know He loves me. I know He sent Jesus to die for me so I could live forever with Him. I know He wants me to love Him more than anything else. And I know He wants me to love my fellow man as much, if not more, than I could ever love myself. I know that Jesus was baptised, so it's both important and meaningful to follow that example. But I don't know if baptism is absolutely 100% necessary for salvation. I know that the disciples and the early church met together to break bread and partake in "communion" to remember Christ. But I don't know exactly how often they did so, whether they ONLY did it on Sundays or Wednesdays, whether they had a "communion prayer" every time before taking it, or whether they took it all at the same time or took it as they felt led. I know that the early church met to worship the Lord, but I don't know how long that lasted, what instruments they did or didn't use, what lyrics their songs consisted of, or whether they were more "pentacostal" or "lutheran" or "methodist" in their emotional and physical reactions to worship. I know that I've sinned and am doomed to eternal death without believing in Christ. But I don't know whether or not someone in the Amazon jungle - who's never been told about Jesus Christ, but who sees the amazing beauty of creation, realizes it has to come from a higher power or supreme being, and cares for the earth and for his fellow man - is saved or not. I can't possibly know.

What I am coming to know the older I get is that God's love and grace is far bigger and wider and greater and more encompassing than you or I could ever imagine. I do know that throughout history He has used people to accomplish His purposes that, if we knew them personally, we probably could not imagine how they could have been chosen by God. I also know that most of the issues listed above (and so many more) have very little to do with our salvation and with God's intense love for His people, and much more so to do with our small mindedness, our inability to put God in a box, our emotional insecurities, our lack of love for others, our desire for power and to be "right".

And, in some backwards way, all of those things are simply another reminder of how sinful we are, how incapable we are of saving ourselves, and just how much we needed Jesus to come to earth, die on a cross, rise from the grave, take away the sins of the world, and be our best friend, our Lord, and our Savior. Is it possible that we could all spend a lot more time focusing on that...and much less time focusing on almost everything else?

the beastie boys felt left out

2008-03-28T08:38:00.008-04:00

Somehow or another, I felt it unfair to post a favorite songs list regarding Caedmon's Call without following it up with a similar one for the Beastie Boys. I'm not sure why. It just seemed like something I needed to do.

Considering I've been listening to the Beastie Boys for over 20 years, "License to Ill" was literally the 2nd cassette tape I ever owned in my life, I've had the song Paul Revere memorized since I was 11 years old, and the dudes are now like in their mid-40's and still doing some pretty good stuff, I don't really feel that bad about it.

However, I was unable to dwindle my list to 10. Partly because I didn't want to take as much time agonizing over it. So I've trimmed it to 12 ... and they are not really in an particular order, so I won't trouble with numbering them. So, here goes:

Root Down (Root Down)
Body Movin’ (Anthrology)
Negotiation Limeric File (Hello Nasty)
Paul Revere (License to Ill)
Brass Monkey (License to Ill)
Check It Out (To the Five Burroughs)
Right Right Now Now (To the Five Burroughs)
Shake Your Rump (Paul's Boutique)
Sure Shot (Ill Communication)
Get it Together (Ill Communication)
The Move (Hello Nasty)
Just a Test (Hello Nasty)

Caedmon's Call

2008-03-24T13:21:00.009-04:00

A couple of days ago, I was thinking to myself, "you know (Jason), some day down the road, Caedmon's Call is going to call it quits, and no longer continue making new music."

I'm not sure why the thought came. What I do know is that it made me terribly sad to think about it.

I can remember being introduced to their music in July 1997 at a week of church camp. I remember listening to "Long Line of Leavers" for the first time while driving in Michigan in the fall of 2000. I recall seeing them live for the first time around 1999 and marveling at the use of 30 gallon trash cans on stage during the performance of "Thankful." I've been fortunate enough to see them live 3 times. There are times when watching them that I can't take my eyes off the percussion guy, who plays about 20 different things over the course of a concert. They have at least 2 dozen songs that I've listened to over and over and over and over and have never gotten tired of.

So, with GREAT stress, frustration, changing of my mind, changing it again, and again, and finally just going with what I had...I've compiled my Top Ten favorite Caemon's songs. A few things of note ... I have not heard the entire "Share the Well" album yet, so I have nothing to offer from it. There are no songs on my list from the 2nd Company of Angels album, as I find that to be my least favorite by far. I'm not including the Derek Webb solo albums...if I did, a couple of his songs would almost definitely crack the Top Ten. I've always liked best the songs sung by Danielle Young, and/or the songs written by Derek Webb. Finally, I should say that my list started with 26 songs. From there I narrowed it down to 18. And with great pain, I finally whiddled it down to 10. It made my brain hurt.

So, here it goes, in order from 10th place to 1st place....

10. Sacred (from Overdressed)

9. The Emptiest Day (from Back Home)

8. You Created (from Back Home)

7. Climb On (from 40 Acres)

6. God of Wonders (from In the Company of Angels I)

5. What You Want (from Long Line of Leavers)

4. Prepare Ye the Way (from Long Line of Leavers)

3. Not the Land (from Caedmon's Call)

2. Close of Autumn (from Caedmon's Call)

1. Somewhere North (from 40 Acres)

What are your thoughts on Caedmon's? Any memories? Favorite songs? Hottest band member?

ncaa heinz ketchup bracket update

2008-03-24T08:10:00.005-04:00

First round: 15 of 32 winners, 15 total points
Second round: 9 of 16 winners, 18 total points

Recap: My first round was going okay, then went sour in a hurry. Still, I successfully picked 9 of the Sweet 16 teams, including Davidson and Villanova.

Current point total is 33 points. Not bad for the flip of a Heinz Ketchup packet

my ncaa heinz ketchup bracket

2008-03-21T16:23:00.005-04:00

I did not enter an NCAA bracket pool. I will lose if I do. But here's how I filled out my personal bracket for this year:

I automatically picked each #1 seed to go to the Sweet 16. For all other games, from the 1st round through the championship game, I flipped a Heinz ketchup packet. If it landed ketchup-bottle-picture up, I chose the team at the top of each bracket. If it landed white-side up, I chose the team at the bottom of each bracket.

At this time, I'm currently 11 for 20 on my Heinz ketchup packet picks. My Final Four are Notre Dame, Villanova, Temple (oops), and UCLA. And I have Temple (oops) beating Notre Dame in the final game. Oh, the craziness of March Madness!

thank you, jake

2008-03-20T08:27:00.002-04:00

I feel very honored today. A fellow blogger in Las Vegas - a friend/brother of friends we have here in Knoxville - submitted a recent post based on my personal request.

You can see it here. Thanks, Jake.

an arm, a leg, and a tank of gas

2008-03-18T17:00:00.005-04:00

Yesterday evening, on my way home, I stopped to fill up my car. When I was done, I had officially paid the most I've ever paid in my entire life for a tank of gas.

$40.60

For a 2002 Mazda Protege LX with a 13 gallon tank. Wow. I'm curious....what are you spending on a tank of gas right now?

poor easter bunny

2008-03-17T13:27:00.006-04:00

Poor Easter bunny. He/she just doesn't get the kinda love that Santa does. No letters from kids. No movies about him. No cookies and milk waiting by the fireplace. No sitting in his lap asking for certain things...why would you, when you already know he's just gonna give you candy.

Of course, who doesn't wanna get em some candy?

what's your voting criteria?

2008-03-14T16:10:00.008-04:00

This picture was taken at a Batesville, Mississippi muffler shop:

So, what criteria do you use in determining who you vote for?

making it official

2008-03-12T12:39:00.012-04:00

I guess I need to officially declare myself a vegetarian. I haven't actually done that yet. It started out as an interesting thing to know about, then evolved into going a few days without meat and realizing I wasn't morphing into an alien, and now, after 2 weeks, I'm ready to say I'm going to commit to not eating meat.

I need to also say I hope to NOT be constantly be talking and blogging about vegetarianism. But, for the short future, because of the changes in lifestyle and the adjusting, it will certainly be on my mind. I'm not really trying to champion the vegetarian cause, and I don't think someone who eats meat is gross and disguisting and should be forced to butcher a baby calf with their own hands so they can experience the horror of killing an animal.

Also, I will consider myself an "Octo-Lavo" vegetarian....meaning I will still eat dairy products. Cheese, eggs, milk, etc. I also will not be overly concerned with whether or not something I'm eating was made with animal by-products in some way. These are steps taken to become a true vegan. But I find them daunting and frankly too difficult. It's like saying, "yes, I'm concerned about the atmosphere and fuel consumption, so I'm going to buy a 40mpg car" vs saying "yes, I'm concerned about the atmosphere, so I'm going to ride my bike to work from now on." Much bigger commitment, much harder work, and just not for me at this point. My main focus is simply no longer eating meat.

Why am I doing this? (and i should say, at least at this point, my wonderful wife is along for the ride herself, way to go Erin!) Why be a voracious meat eater and hamburger lover for 32 years, and now this? Wouldn't the Atkins diet be more fun? Won't I starve to death?

Well, there are several reasons.

I'm not much of a diet person. I don't want to cut out sweets, and I have a hard time with small portions. Vegetarians can eat to their hearts delight. They actually can eat MORE food than meat-eaters, because the food they're consuming has fewer calories per volume than meat does.
Meat provides only two nutritional products....protein and iron. That's it. But it also provides lots of fat, calories, and cholesterol. And you can get PLENTY of protein and iron by eating grains, nuts, vegetables, tofu, tempeh, and fruit.
An estimated 15 - 20 MILLION farm animals are killed every day in the United States in order to meet the demand for meat in our country. The processes used to raise, feed, fatten, kill, and process these animals are no longer natural (not like your grandfather used to do it on the farm). Frankly, these processes are unhealthy. They're unhealthy to the animals, to the land, to the farming industry in general, and to the food and products derived that we eat. We simply eat and waste way too much meat as a society. As a result, we've turned raising livestock into a type of industrialized factory in order to meet the demand.
It's been estimated that the amount of crops/grain/corn/oats used to feed and fatten livestock in the US alone could effective end world hunger as we know it.
It costs less. Eating out at restaurants costs less. Cooking at home more often costs less than eating out. Making almost all of our meals to take to work for lunch costs less. A pound of tofu costs $2.00, much cheaper than most meats.
I already feel heathier. I don't feel nearly as hungry throughout the day. When I am hungry, it's not so much a "craving" as it is just noticing that I'm hungry. In the last 2 weeks, I've not had one meal where I felt bloated afterwards (you know, like you feel after eating the Wendy's double cheeseburger and fries?). And I've already lost about 4 pounds.
I don't really like to exercise. Never have.
I appreciate what I'm eating more. I think more about where the food I'm eating came from, how it was produced, the work that went into growing and harvesting it, the fact that God provided it directly from his own hand in creation. It has somehow added a spiritual aspect to eating that I never experienced before.

What am I worried about? I'm worried about getting bored of eating the same kinds of vegetables and fruits. About not having time to cook and feeling tempted to grab a pizza from down the street more often than not. About resorting to eating cereal way too often. About friends and family feeling weird about it, not knowing what to cook or where to go out to eat (which really isn't an issue). About giving meat a try again down the road and it making me sick because my body isn't used to it. About how it will affect our son, Eli, since it's almost impossible for a child to be a vegetarian and go to public schools and eat from the cafeteria. We're not really pushing this on him, but we'll simply be more careful about the things we feed him when we're at home. About the "stigma" that people have about vegetarians...that they're all hippies, animal rights activitists, and want to make you feel guilty about eating an innocent animal. None of which describe me.

I'm certainly open to questions or comments of any kind. This has been a pretty big deal for Erin and I, and is not so much a diet as it is a lifestyle change. I'm pretty excited about it, actually, and hope to stay committed. Before you know it, I'll be driving an old VW Bug, wearing tie-dyed shirts, working for Greenpeace, and saying "dude" like a true Lebowski fan. But I'll be lovin' me some zucchini!

2008-03-11T09:17:00.001-04:00

some brief updates on life, music, and vegetarianism

2008-03-10T08:19:00.008-04:00

My son turns 4 in about 3 weeks. Amazing. That means it's been nearly 5 years since I lived a single day without thinking about our child. Some thoughts are wonderful. Some are maddening. Some are frightening. But for roughly 1700 days now, I've lived life as a father, rather than just as some guy.

I changed the strings on my guitar last night for the first time in roughly 5 years. Actually, back before we were even married, Erin had bought me a package of Elixir guitar strings for my birthday. Right around the time I had stopped playing. I've kept the strings ever since, and finally had occasion to use them last night. It was tough....I never ever have liked changing out guitar strings....but it still felt good.

Because of the example, testimony, and recommendation of our friends Emily & Chase, we bought a rice cooker this weekend. Black and Decker. 14 cups (cooked) capacity with a steamer basket so you can steam veggies while the rice cooks. Non stick removable cooking bowl. Already used it, and I'm very excited. Finally, a kitchen gadget I really feel like I'm going to get real value out of. Unlike the waffle maker, toaster oven, sandwich press, and hard-to-use electric can opener that have graced our kitchen at some point.

12 days with no meat. But plenty of rice, broccoli, zucchini, squash, ramen noodles, pasta, baked potatoes (dan quayle spelling), veggie pizza, a veggie burrito from Salsarita's, the veggie plate at Shono's in the City, homemade whatever-I-can-think-to-put-on-it salads, tofu (marinated in heinz 57 sauce this weekend), peppers, and Mello Yellow....a staple vegetarian drink.

2008-03-07T09:10:00.003-05:00

Nine days without meat.

And I'm still alive! =)

crap, darn, shoot, &@%#!!!

2008-03-05T07:51:00.005-05:00

Yesterday afternoon in Knoxville produced one of the hardest, heaviest, scariest storms I've seen around here in a while. It only lasted about 15 minutes, but some of my co-workers were really freaking out, thinking we may need to take shelter in a bathroom or something. The rain was coming down sideways. The tin roof of our facility of creaking and sounded like it may rip off. Water was coming in every door of the building, wetting the floors and carpets. Pretty much everyone here was huddled at a window or a door or in the distribution center looking out of the open bay door. It was wild.

And the sunroof on my car was open. $%&#@!!!

MY guitar hero

2008-03-03T16:44:00.006-05:00

We went to Kentucky this weekend to visit my family. We're trying to visit every 2-3 months so we can see our nephew/cousin, Grayson, grow up. Here's a picture of Eli and Grayson:

But, there was another highlight to this trip. We do not own a video game system at our home. The last one I owned was an original Playstation that I ended up selling about 6 years ago. I hope to hold off as long as humanly possible before Eli gets a game system for himself.

My sister and brother-in-law, however, own a Nintendo Wii. And while we were there this weekend, Rodney went out and bought Guitar Hero III. We all had fun playing and laughing and making fun of each other's lack of skillzz. But when it was Eli's turn to take it on, holy cow. He watched others play and did a great job of being patient and waiting his turn. When the time came, his aunt Kari Jo took care of the "strumming", while Eli's job was to hit the colored buttons.

After going through a "slow" practice session, we let him go through a practice song at the full speed. I believe the song was "Slow Ride." And my little homeboy hit 25% of the notes! And Kari will probably admit that some of the misses were from her strumming, not his misses, so he may very well have gotten over 30% of the notes at full speed.

But not only that, he was TOTALLY into it. He was screaming out the colors when he changed them, jumping up and down, frantically getting to the next color button in time, grunting. It was freaking hilarious. And he never let down either, even though the songs on that game last forever. It was a blast. I certainly hope he's got some actual music skills as he gets older.

a few more random tidbits...

2008-02-29T11:38:00.008-05:00

My Mamaw Edelen was born on leap year day. Today is her birthday. She's turning 20. How cool is that?

My fingers and my wrist are really sore from practicing guitar again over the last couple of weeks. But it feels better than my eyes hurting from doing nothing but watching tv every night.

So, it looks like our choices in November 2008 are going to be an inexperienced Senator whose middle name is Hussein, who never shows up to vote on bills, and whose campaign is based primarily on rockin-the-hizzouse ....vs.... a guy in his 70's who has the cordial personality of an angry donkey, has almost spooky transparent skin, is anxious to exercise even more miliary strength, and who, frankly, wasn't even a good enough candidate to beat out George Bush in 2000. Bummer.

I'm currently infatuated with the Toyota Yaris.

I'm beginning to realize that, as I move forward in this vegetarian venture, that I need to bid a sad farewell to fast food. In general, here's what is offered at fast food places that I will actually be able to eat: baked potatos, french fries, apple pies, yogurt, bean burritos, ice cream, plain biscuits, and not much else. This is going to be tough. But I'll be better off for it.

Has anyone noticed that the NBA is back in full force? Remember 6 years ago when you sort of forgot it existed, and any mention of it made you cringe?

During the UT - Vanderbilt game, Bruce Pearl was so angry at one point he actually turned green. No kidding. Me and a few friends were watching the game at Spicy's and thought he might actually tear his clothes off and morph into the Incredible Hulk.

It's lunch time, so I gotta go. Today's menu - Ramen noodles. Hmmm, good.

experimenting with tofu

2008-02-26T08:31:00.006-05:00

Just recently, I wrote this post about my interest in the vegetarian lifestyle. Although I have a hard time seeing myself becoming a "full fledged" vegetarian, there are many aspects about the lifestyle, the diet, and the motivation behind it that I find hard to ignore.

One thing that has peaked my interest is tofu. Never before had I eaten it. And...even though I had not eaten it...I possessed a mindset that said, "tofu is diguisting." Why would I think that without having tried it? Well, for the same reason you might believe that Jesus was a white man, that Ford builds better trucks that Chevy, or that Nike basketball shoes are actually worth spending $100.00 on ... ignorance, someone told you so you just believed it, preconceived notions, advertising, etc.

Sunday was a new day for me. After church, Erin, Eli and I went to lunch at Taste of Thai with friends from church. I ordered the "Rainbow Chicken" meal - but substituted with tofu, and ordered it at the number 3 spicy level (on a scale of 1-5). On Sunday evening, I marinated some tofu at home in soy sauce & honey, chopped up fresh peppers, zucchini, and carrots, and made a tofu stir-fry along with some white rice.

Here, now, after much reading, research, and actually EATING it, is what I can informatively say about tofu.

It's inexpensive. I bought a 16oz package for $2.00. It's full of protein and very low in calories, carbs, and fat. It is practically a "flavor sponge". It has almost no flavor on its own, but totally soaks up whatever flavors you marinate or cook it in. It has a little bit of a spongy texture, but that can be firmed up by freezing the tofu for a day or two, then thawing it before cooking. This is what I'm going to do next week. It's supposed to firm up the texture even more, to where it feels more like a meat substitute. It's incredibly easy to stir-fry it. It's already fully cooked when you buy it, so you only have to cook it for 3-5 minutes, just to heat it through and allow the flavor to really cook in well. You can marinate it in practically anything. It doesn't really taste good or bad. It's sort of like eating mushrooms on a pizza. You notice them in your mouth when you're chewing them, but they don't really add or take away any flavor from the pizza itself.

Say what you will. Call me a hippy. I can handle it. But the truth is, we all have notions about things that have no foundation in anything real whatsoever. I've finally overcome that notion with tofu. Now it's on to asparagus. I've never eaten asparagus, but I still think it's gross. Although it does make an awfully cute Veggie Tales character.

the distinction of a man

2008-02-22T08:40:00.006-05:00

You may or may not have seen this recently popular You Tube video with the Baptist church preacher talking about "what makes a man...not a male." If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth the next 5 minutes of your life.

In the Old Testament - only in the King James Version - the Bible signifies that which designates the "true men" from all others. Here it is:

1 Kings 16:11 (KJV)
11And it came to pass, when he (David) began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends.

Well, think what you will. Maybe it's vulgar. Maybe it's euphamistic translation. But it only appears in the KJV and only on 6 occasions.

Regardless, you'll be glad to know that my small group from church has talked it over and we now proudly proclaim our stance....and we shall be known as true men.

you tube addiction

2008-02-20T15:26:00.005-05:00

Have you given thought to what we would do....we, the blogging, internet dependent nation of clones...if You Tube had never come along?

What would we laugh about? Would our senses of humor have ceased to evolve? How many posts could we possibly come up with on our own? How would we watch things - like the slam dunk contest or a series of Tiger Wood's Top 10 shots - that we either don't have access to or are not able/willing to pay for? What would we do when we get bored at work? Have we forgotten that there was once a time when people truly worked at least 8 hours each day?

I love reading things like, "I was doing some research the other day, and I came across this video on You Tube." Isn't that at least a little like saying, "I needed some insight on America's unhealthly love of sports, so I spent the day playing basketball on my X-Box."

Don't get me wrong. I'm guilty too. But it almost feels like I took a nap and woke up and suddenly You Tube ruled the world. And we're all willing servants in its widespread rule.

a meat eating vegetarian?

2008-02-18T10:22:00.005-05:00

Trevor - a friend from church, we're in a small group together - is a vegetarian. Has been for about a year or so. Which is pretty difficult when you're a Bible college student and the cafeteria serves mainly crap. I think he eats a lot of cereal.

A couple of weeks ago during small group, he explained to me his decision (along with his girlfriend) to become a vegetarian, why they did it, how it's changed him, what rules he follows, etc. Overall, he's definitely very "green" conscious, recycles, and has true concern for the health of the environment. I have to admit I was about as knowledgable as the next over-indulging meat-eater when it comes to the vegetarian lifestyle. Which is to say I knew almost nothing.

But I'm glad to admit that Trevor really opened my eyes in some positive ways. Although I don't yet have a desire to become a "true" vegetarian, I have decided to make a concerted effort to drastically reduce my meat consumption. Since I'm not much on seafood anyway, this would mainly apply to chicken and beef. This weekend, I bought tofu at the grocery store for the first time in my life. I've researched cooking and preservation methods for tofu and am anxious to start giving it a real effort.

To be honest, Super Size Me and Fast Food Nation had both served to peaked my interest over the last couple of years, I just never followed up on it. I've always eaten WAY too much fast food, have considered meat to be the main course of any good hearty meal, and quite frequently eaten myself into a slow and painful stomach ache. All of which is stupid and contrary to a healthy lifestyle.

Anyway. I'm gonna give this an honest effort. More vegetables and grains. Way less meat. Absolutely minimal fast food. It's healthier for me. It's healthier for the environment. And, as much as anything, I think it will simply make me feel better about myself.

if you could do anything ...

2008-02-14T13:21:00.007-05:00

The other night I was talking to my friend Daniel. He and his wife run The Restoration House, a ministry that provides temporary housing and support for single mothers. I asked him how, exactly, they came to start this ministry.

Basically (not in his exact words), they were in a small group meeting, and a person in the small group asked everyone, "if you could do anything in life...with no concerns about money, time, difficulty, etc...what would you do?" Daniel's wife, Mandy, answered, "I would buy a big piece of property and provide housing for single mothers."

Within a few weeks, guess what happened? A big piece of property, with more than one living space, very near to where they currently were living, went up for sale. They bought it. They did a bunch of renovations and put together a ministry plan. And now Mandy's dream is being fleshed out in reality.

That's totally amazing. And as I think about it, I'm trying to answer that question for myself. If I could do anything in life, with no worries regarding money, time, difficulty, etc...what would I do? My answer? I'm not really sure. I have ideas. But no true sense of "calling" in a specific area. It's something I'm praying about. And once that answer becomes clear, I hope I'll have what it takes to pursue it. Give it some thought. What would you do?

"practice?"

2008-02-13T08:18:00.003-05:00

Remember this? It's still hilarious 6 years later.

some blogging thoughts

2008-02-11T09:17:00.000-05:00

Just a few things on my mind this morning....

At this moment, I've received 2,999 visits on this blog since starting it back in July. Not a totally impressive number in comparison to many, but definitely more than I would have imagined. That means about 14-15 people are checking this thing out each day on average. I hope it's been fun for those of you reading. Thank you.

In the last 3 days, I've received over 20 visits to the site as a result of this particular referral. The referral is from some type of "city-data" site for Knoxville, and one of the members on there - an individual from Kingsport - was inquiring about bounce houses. Another member - I do not know who this person is - referred them to this blog, and more specifically to a post I'd done a few months back about bounce houses. This is one of the things I find fascinating about blogging. Somehow, over time, you are connected to people you never knew existed.

And for those of you who may be reading this because you thought you were being linked to a well written and informative "bounce house mania" website, I welcome you and hope you'll enjoy your visit.

And finally....Crossings turned 1 year old yesterday. It was an excellent morning. It featured lots of excitement, cheesecake, great worship, a live broadcast video, living room stories, the kids city group providing music and scripture, a compelling message, and nearly 300 people there to be a part of it. The entire team, in all areas, did an awesome job making so many things happen yesterday, and it made for a truly incredibly anniversary.

jonah ... seriously?

2008-02-08T11:44:00.000-05:00

Have you ever read the book of Jonah? Here it is in The Message version. It's 4 chapters in total. I totally recommend it.

It had been a while since I'd read it. We read it last night during the guys small group I'm in. Holy crap! What a weird, trippy, fascinating story. It's very difficult to distinguish whether it's literally true, or more of a parable. And though you may know that Jonah was sent to speak to Ninevah, you may not realize he only spoke ONE SENTENCE to them, and the entire city - 120,000 strong - turned to God.

And you may know that Jonah spent three days inside a whale. But did you know that Jonah very well may not have realized he was in a whale? At least not until he was vomited out. Well, there are too many amazing occurences to point out here. Check it out for yourself.

God's Word never ceases to amaze.

investigating my jesus poll

2008-02-06T15:12:00.000-05:00

The last poll I loaded onto this blog - which, at this time, is still listed on the left hand side of the page - asked: "If Jesus were alive and ministering today - as opposed to 2000 years ago - is it possible that we wouldn't even know he was here?"

This is not meant to be a controversial questions, just one that caused me to think about our culture today. Imagine if Jesus were born 31 years ago. That for the last 2000 years, God's people were still anticipating the birth of the Messiah.

Now, let's think about a few things. There are over 6 billion people on the earth today. Billions more than were alive in Jesus' day. Could Jesus just get lost in the shuffle? Church as we know it now would not be what it is had Jesus not been born 2000 years ago. What would it be? We don't know.

Assuming Jesus were still born in Bethlehem, even if He performed miracles and did all the same things we know He did, would we recognize Him for who He is? Or would He just be dismissed as another religious figure, a "so called miracle worker", a "television evangelist", or a person who heals people who "obviously aren't really sick or in need of healing." Would we see Him as a fanatical middle eastern Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, or Jimmy Swaggart? Would we, as a people, be so sick of waiting for the Messiah that we just didn't believe He would come....or would we be so excited for Him to finally come that anyone who did anything deemed as "miraculous" suddenly received our praise as "the one".

I don't know. It's totally hypothetical, really, but really tweaked my interest once I thought about it.

What do you think?

guitar separation blues

2008-02-04T13:53:00.000-05:00

My guitar is pictured to the right. I bought it in the fall of 1999. It's a limited edition, Takamine Santa Fe model. Each year, Takamine makes a Santa Fe style that is exclusive to that year. Mine is a 1999 exclusive. If I remember right, it cost me about $1100.00. I got about $400.00 out of a Yamaha (my first guitar) that I sold to a friend of a friend, so my net expenditure was really only $700.00. Still. A lot of money.

This guitar is sweet. The design is beautiful, it's got a fully digital pick-up with a built in tuner, reverb, and pre-settable EQ levels. And it sounds awesome. All Takamine's do.

The problem is, over the last 5 years, I've BARELY touched my guitar. Seriously. I think I've played it about 4 times in 5 years. I used to play all the time when I was involved in the worship ministries at previous churches. That basically ended in 2002. And I've never enjoyed playing just for the sake of playing. The whole reason I taught myself to play back in the mid-90's was to play for youth groups, church camp, and in worship services within the church. Once that opportunity ended, so did my motivation to play music.

I toyed with selling it. This picture, taken back in May 2007, was one of several I took to put a flyer together to try and sell the guitar, case, cords, stand, and pedals as a package deal. I didn't really try that hard to advertise it, and it did not sell.

So now I'm struggling with whether or not to pick it back up again. I'll be extremely rusty. Any callouses my fingers ever developed are long gone. I wonder if I'll even have the time to devote to practicing again. Yet, somewhere deep down, I know I want to. I want to play all the great worship songs that have impacted me over the last few years. I want to play during my quiet times, even singing spontaneous songs of worship to God. I want to spike my hair, put on some cool glasses, and play while standing on my bed, imagining that I'm David Crowder, leading worship under disco strobe lights with some funky record scratching going on in the background. I'd like to think that if I devote myself again, that in a couple of years I could play better than I ever had before. We shall see. I just don't know. But I'll make sure and update you if I do.

bad mamma jamma punk a** pimpin for real

2008-02-01T11:34:00.000-05:00

and these are phrases that I would like to use more often in every day life...except that I'm either too white, too dorky, too conversative, too thoughtful, too scared, or too lazy to do so...

"dude, you's a bad mamma jamma!"
"i kill the fool dat took my mountain dew"
"come on wicha bad self"
"homey don't play dat"
"ooooohhhhh, yeaaahhh" (think Macho Man Randy Savage)
"whacha gonna do, when jaybo-mania rains down, on youuu!!!" (think Hulk Hogan)
"when the dogs are away, the cats will play"
"you be illin"
"i said a Big Mac with NO cheese, punk...should I repeat myself again?"
"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."
"Hamburgers. The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast."
anything else from Pulp Fiction that you can think of
"stop looking at my butt"
"you want some drama? believe me, you don't want no drama."
"sike!"

things i'd like to see happen before i die...

2008-01-30T08:15:00.000-05:00

I'm 31 years old. I'll be 32 in 3 months. I'd like to estimate that I've got about 45-50 years left on this earth, God willing. This is a non-comprehensive list of things I'd like to see become reality before I take my last breath.

I'd like to see...

automobiles that are affordable and do not run on fuel.
a unified church that truly begins focusing the bulk of its time and resources outward rather than inward, effectively eliminating hunger and untreated disease throughout the world.
up close, vivid, detailed pictures of Saturn. Eli absolutely loves Saturn. I think it's his favorite planet.
at least 3 more completely new and unique "fashion trends" - none of the recycling of old fashion trends and making them new again.
universal shoe sizing. Why is it that, depending on the shoe brand, I sometimes have to try on a 10M, 10W, 10.5M, 10.5W, or an 11M just to find one that fits right. If my foot is a 10W, then I should buy a 10W, regardless of the brand. But it never works that way. That's ridiculous.
an overall reduction in average home sizes. How many families of 2-4 across our nation live in 3000 sq ft or larger homes? How much space is really necessary to live comfortably?
reruns of The Cosby Show still airing when I'm 50 years old. I have a feeling that show will be even funnier to me then. Which would be difficult, consider how funny it still is to me now.
a revolutionary trend of churches "combining" as opposed to "splitting". How cool would that be?
cell phones that are nothing but small ear pieces. That's it. It would be completely voice activated, and you would never need to touch it, except to take it off.
free or truly affordable health care coverage for ALL. I don't care how. But in the 21st century, if a person is sick or injured, they should be able to get treatment without worrying about bankruptcy, a court date, or bill collectors.
Michael W. Smith release his 28th studio album in 2032, entitled, "1982 - 2032, The First Half Century".
Steven Curtis Chapman steal MWS's limelight by releasing his 29th studio album a week later, entitled, "The Last Adventure".
at least one grandchild that I can totally spoil.
Eli grow up and do whatever the heck God wants him to do with his life...regardless of the location or money. There's nothing more fulfilling than doing the work of Christ.
an honest, serious, practical review and revision of the US Constitution. It's an incredible document, don't get me wrong. But how long are we going to ignore that the right to bear arms was based on the fact that the country had been through years of war, there was practically no law enforcement, and that enemy soldiers might walk onto your land, kill you and your family, and take your stuff at will. Or that freedom of speech was revolutionary because you could be hung for saying something derogatory about the royal family of England. Not wholesale changes...just making sure that this dynamic document adapts to cover the realities of our changing culture.
anything without wearing contacts or glasses. I've been of poor sight since the 3rd grade, and it would be nice to be rid of that at some point. But I'm scared of Lasic...and it's expensive.
my waistline when I'm standing up.

So, what am I missing here?

am i Lost?

2008-01-28T14:01:00.000-05:00

I was a huge fan of the tv show Alias. I saw all but a couple of episodes over 5 full season.

JJ Abrams created Alias. He also created Lost. Therefore, I committed to watching Lost from the time it first aired on September 22, 2004.

This show has been amazing, confusing, intricately woven, fragmented, maddening, action packed, romantic, emotional, frustrating......you get my point.

There are times I've watched and thought it was some of the greatest story telling I've ever seen on television. Other times I've watched (remember the polar bear back in season one?) and thought, "what the crap does this stuff mean?" And sometimes that question has never been answered.

Lost returns this week. Is this the last season? Don't know. Do I want it to be the last season, or do I want the story to go on for another 2 years? Don't know. Am I as excited about this abbreviated season as I have been regarding previous seasons? Don't know. I do know that I will continue to faithfully watch. I'm too deeply invested not to.

I'm just crossing my fingers and holding out hope that all the loose ends will tie together, the nagging questions will be answered, The Others will be completely identified and ousted, that no more random "survivors" miraculously show up out of nowhere, that Locke will forever inhabit the island and start a profitable adventure program, that Sawyer will come to know Jesus as his Savior, and that Hurley may actually begin to show signs of weight loss.

Considering he's been living on an island for about 4 months, eating nothing but natural fruits and vegetation and walking a good 5 miles a day, I'd say that's not too much to ask.

what makes mornings worth it

2008-01-25T08:13:00.000-05:00

Every weekday morning, around 7:20am, I drop Eli off at his daycare center. Sometimes he grumpily walks in, won't hug me, and just slumps back to his friends, complaining about something that has made him angry.

Other days, we go in, take off his jacket, and he takes off, sprinting to his friends and leaving me standing there. No hug. No goodbye.

Still other days, we'll check his cubby, go see what they have for breakfast, exchange hugs and kisses, and then when I start to leave he'll holler at me and run to give me another hug before I go.

Some days - not nearly as much anymore - he'll cry when I leave and plead for me not to go. Then a teacher will have to hold him while I exit.

This morning, we went inside...took off his coat...switched his shoes back over to the correct feet after he had put them on by himself at home...went over to the breakfast table to pick which cereal he would like to eat...he took off one of his shoes (that we had just fixed) in order to show Ms. Rachel his Incredibles socks...then we hugged.

Then I said, "You have a good day, okay?"
And he replied, "Okay, dad, you have a good work."

And that makes mornings worth it.

the moment of truth

2008-01-24T14:46:00.000-05:00

Anybody happen to catch "The Moment of Truth" last night on Fox? It was the premeire episode of the new show where you win money simply by telling the truth. Contestants are given an extensive polygraph test before the shows with over 50 probing questions. 21 of those questions - mostly the juiciest and most embarrassing ones - are asked during the show.

Last night, a guy admitted that he had not yet pursued having a child with his wife of 2 years because he was not sure if she would be his life long partner. He smiled. She didn't.

The show originated in Columbia. And despite high ratings...it was cancelled...because a contestant admitted she had hired someone to kill her husband! Seriously! You can read about it here.

The show almost demands we ask some questions of ourselves.

If you were submitted to a polygraph and could be asked ANYTHING by your significant other, what would they discover about you? If you could do the same to them, would you even want to? Would it even be remotely healthy? Is it better to know EVERYTHING about your mate (their every thought, fantasy, temptation, past sins, etc.) or is it better to know and understand them as a whole person...a flawed person...and to ultimately trust that their love is real and their intentions are good, despite those flaws?

the turn or burn truck

2008-01-22T08:33:00.000-05:00

I work in west Knoxville. Once you get off the interstate, you turn right onto Lovell Road, go about 100 yards, then turn right again onto the road on which my place of work is located - Lexington Drive.

For about 2-3 months now, for various periods of 3-4 days at a time, the "Turn or Burn" truck has been parked in a vacant lot on the corner of Lovell and Lexington. This morning, I finally took pictures of it. I wanted to share it with you.

This is what you see when you make the turn onto Lexington:

Then, if you're coming from Lexington back to Lovell, here is what you see:

Let's point out some interesting things. First, do you see the 4 images of the little frowning dude burning in hell? That's sad. Second, who among you has ever though of Jesus as standing in flames, holding what looks to be a bottle of ketchup, with a blacked out face and huge white hands? Also, on the bottom right corner of the truck in the first image, it pretty much insists that I read Matthew - Revelations TODAY. I'm sorry, I love God, I'm a pretty good reader, and am trying to read the Bible more often, but I'm not sure if I can possibly read all of that in one day. I simply just cannot read that much in one sitting. Who took the time and spent the money to make this truck a reality? Do they believe they're doing good? Do they truly believe it will save the lives of those who read it? It's much more likely to cause a traffic accident (it's at a busy intersection with a traffic light) than to save a soul. But is it better than doing nothing at all, which is what I too often do? I just don't know.

if i can remember

2008-01-21T11:01:00.001-05:00

If I can remember to bring my camera to work tomorrow, I promise to have a new post. I just stuck a post it note in my pocket as a reminder. There's something I've been wanting to post on here for a few weeks, I just cannot for the life of me remember to bring my camera. I wonder if Jesus was ever forgetful?

wrestling with God and ministry...

2008-01-16T08:51:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm going to ask you who read this to pray for me in a specific way.

As of today, it's been approximately 7 years and 7 months since I last served in full time ministry. I've prayed often - and more so recently - asking God if a return to full time ministry might ever be a part of my future. Given the events that necessitated my exit the first time, I'm just not sure if that's going to be possible, at least not for a few more years. Who knows.

When I was 17, I felt a true calling from God to serve in ministry. I founded the first FCA at my high school. I went to a christian college, graduated with a degree in Bible and ministry, and was doing as my work what I thought I was going to do for the rest of my life. But, despite my eventual fallout, the way I thought of ministry and how I viewed "success" were way off base. I felt relatively "successful" in ministry at a young age because I had a lot of connections with ministry people and ministry stuff. By age 20 I was traveling each January to lead seminars at an annual youth workers convention. I won an award my senior year of college as the "top ministry student" in the graduating class. I was comfortable in front of people, leading worship or speaking. I was getting calls from ministers at other churches inviting me to come and speak to their groups or go on their retreats as a special guest.

But, really, those things were all pretty much crap. My heart wasn't in the right place. The way I viewed helping people was wrong. I wasn't connecting with people in my own church. I wasn't building lasting relationships. I wasn't serving the community and helping those in need. I wasn't leading people to Christ by befriending them and showing them His love, but by doing things I thought was cool or fun and hoping those things were somehow reflecting Jesus to others.

Even now, I struggle with those kinds of things. I'm still concerned about numbers, and image, "being relevant" and almost dumbing Jesus down in a way that allows me to live with less discipline and conviction.

And in spite of all that, I really miss the calling of ministry. As time goes by, the work I do each day to make a living seems less and less fulfilling, and I yearn more for the opportunity to serve God again in a full time capacity. I don't know if this will happen. If God opens a path in some way, I don't know if it would be in the local church. Maybe it could be with a charity or other service organization. Maybe I continue the work I'm doing now and pray more for consistent opportunities to serve in the evenings and on weekends, either with my church or with other area ministries.

I'm still praying these things out. Even if God said, "Yes, go for it", I'm not even sure where my area of desire is. Sometimes I wonder if I'm even praying these things in vain. My sin was great and is a difficult thing for most people to forgive. I understand that. I understand that I would be held highly accountable, and that in the human realm, my slate will likely never be wiped clean.

So, as I stated at the beginning, I'm asking you to pray for me. I need to wrestle with God on this and see if there's any answers He might have, one way or another. I'm very thankful for you who read this. Feel free to comment - anonymously even - if you have any thoughts or suggestions. And may God be for the Packers and against the Patriots in the NFL playoffs. Amen.

the brothers solomon

2008-01-14T12:02:00.001-05:00

My wife and I have differing tastes in movies. I'm really into movies that are typically at least 2 hours long, have a plot that forces you to watch the movie with no interruptions, and really leave you speechless when they're over - think Braveheart, The Last of the Mohicans, JFK, The Bourne Ultimatum, 3:10 to Yuma, Gladiator, stuff like that. Now, I like other types of dramas, comedies and so forth, but these are my favorite types of things to watch.

Erin is more into cute, funny, shorter, easier to watch movies. She likes comedies and romance movies more than I do. And if the direction of the movie isn't pretty obvious by about the 20 minute mark, she gets frustrated and doesn't really want to get a headache trying to figure it all out. She's more into Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, and Ben Stiller type of stuff.

So when she came home from Blocksbuster this weekend with "The Brother's Solomon", a ridiculous looking comedy written by and starring Will Forte from SNL sort-of-fame, I rolled my eyes, snickered, and vowed to watch the movie and simply not like it. I mean, Will Forte plays a pretty good "McGruber", does an okay impression of President Bush, and totally sucks as "The Falconer", but the feature role in a movie? Please.

Give me a second. I'm still picking myself up off the floor. I actually laughed during the movie. Quite a bit, actually. And fairly hard. I would have laughed more had I not spent the first 20-30 minutes determined not to like it. It's corny, over-the-top, and definitely an SNL kind of flick, but there are some really awesome one-liner kind of stuff, and it all finally just bowls you over so you can't help but to laugh.

Yes, I'm actually recommending you give "The Solomon Brothers" a try. And I already slapped myself before typing that, so I really do mean it.

2007 in Review

2008-01-10T15:05:00.000-05:00

I've been wresting over some "top 10" kind of lists, but I doubt I can put any together. Erin and I simply don't see enough movies to compose a movie list...and most of the ones we see are ones we take Eli to. I'm very limited in my musical tastes, and I rarely buy new music. I don't read nearly enough, and when I do, it's mostly popular fiction.

So, I'm just going to list some stuff from 2007. Some movies. Some music. Some events. Some experiences. Some changes. Some of it may not actually "originate" from 2007, but they were meaningful to me somehow in this year. Without further adieu:

Sicko, Stardust, Once, Bridge to Terabithia, Superbad, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Ratatouille are very worth seeing. Sicko made me mad. Once and Bridge to Terabitha made me cry. Stardust and Ratatouille made me smile. Superbad made me laugh...and feel guilty for watching it. And The Bourne Ultimatum just got me pumped up!
Here's who I enjoyed listening to in '07, regardless of the album, song, or dates of release: Caedmon's Call, Kanye West, Rich Mullins, dc talk, Dixie Chicks, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Passion Worship, Bob Dylan, Alanis Morrisette, and lots and lots of sports talk radio.
We began attending Crossings in June. Since July I've had the privilege of being involved with the setup/productions team every week, including producing, setting up lights, running video and sound, and tearing down after the service.
"Relative" freedom came in July, after 6 years of punishment.
Erin & I took our first vacation ever as a couple - and the first real vacation for either us in about 6 years - when we went to Charleston for 4 1/2 days in early September.
This blog began the first week of July. I'm not sure if I would consider it successful or not, because I don't know how to define the success of this blog. It's been fun to write, and I can tell there are at least 12-15 of you out there reading each week, so let's keep truckin.
I became an uncle in September. My sister and brother-in-law had their first child, Grayson, and we've been fortunate enough to visit them 3 times since his birth.
The month of April is host to my birthday, Eli's birthday, and our wedding anniversary. So April's always a good month, just in general.
In September a good friend died. I didn't hear about it for over 3 months. I hope he's having fun in heaven.
Around May-June, a friendship was rekindled with a truly great friend that I'd, for the most part, lost contact with for the last few years. I really needed it, and am very thankful.
In February, Eli and I went sledding on about 1/4 inches of snow. You take what you can get around here.

I'm sure there's more, but this is the stuff that comes to mind. As life goes forward, I'm really just trying to live better, learn more, serve more faithfully, be more grateful, and realize that no matter what kind of crap may come, my life is far far better than I could ever deserve.

the imposter, once, and other tidbits

2008-01-09T09:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, at McKay's Bookstore, I traded in about 9 cd's and got $26.00 in trade credit. For $24.00 of that credit, I picked David Crowder Bands "Remedy", Kanye West's "Late Registation", and Kevin Max's "Between the Fence and the Universe" and "The Imposter."

For those who don't know (shame on you), Kevin Max is one of the original DC Talk members. Granted, his solo career since dc talk hasn't quite rivaled that of Toby Mac's. But listening to "The Imposter" over the last day has once again confirmed for me that this guy has quite possibly the greatest singing voice I've ever heard. I'd read good things about this album. On Amazon, the album actually has 5-star reviews from all 23 people who reviewed it. But it's actually kind of hard to find, and I'd been looking for it at McKay's for several months now. Yesterday, I got it for $5.95, and it was still in it's original cellophane wrapping. If you're not a dc talk fan (again, shame on you), don't worry. If you can find it, you should give this album a try. It's very poetic, smooth yet edgy, and his vocals are as clear and amazing as ever. And it leaves me hoping - more than ever before - for an eventual dc talk reunion.

Side note...I finally saw the movie "Once" yesterday on dvd. It's gotten great reviews and it's songs have been played during our church's pre-service music pretty much ever since the movie came out. I was very impressed. I actually went to McKay's hoping to find the soundtrack, and ended up with the other stuff instead. The acting was great, the plot was great, the music was incredible, and the ending left me with my hands over my face wishing for more. If you haven't already, check it out.

PS - Kevin Max just released a brand new album entitled "The Blood", and one of the songs features dc talk members Toby McKeehan and Michael Tait. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

family pictures

2008-01-07T14:23:00.001-05:00

About 2 weeks ago, we took our first "professional" family pics in over 2 years. Because I've developed a man-crush on this new picture show site I recently stumbled across, I thought I'd share some. And is it obvious that I now weigh about 190 lbs? Pretty sad.

my friend is gone...

2008-01-04T08:15:00.000-05:00

Just in the last two days, I found out that a good friend of mine from Kentucky committed suicide in September. We were good friends, although not necessarily really close friends. I'd known him since 1996, when I was serving at a church in Kentucky while still in college.

Over the last 9 years, from the time I moved to Knoxville in 1998, he faithfully called me about once every 3 months, and even drove down to visit a couple of times. He was very much a country-boy, talked with a deep accent, always drove a pickup truck, chewed tobacco, and was an avid Florida State Seminoles fan.

Not really knowing what had happened, I found the online guest book hosted by the funeral home that handled his burial. I emailed a person from the guest book who seemed to have known him well over the last few years.

It seems that he killed himself primarily over a failed relationship with a girl he had dated for only 2-3 months, but simply could not get over. All evidence points to the fact that his suicide was not premeditated, but more of a rash decision as a way to get back at this girl. I'm hesitant to provide all the details, but that definitely seemed to be the case.

I'm just dumbfounded, really. Although I'd only seen him twice in the last 9 years, I'll miss this friend very much. He was always a great guy, encouraging, was very active at his church in Lexington, Ky, outgoing, talkative. I understand there were no signs of mental health issues, no sickness. I just don't get it. And I'm very sorry he's gone. I'll miss you, David.

how i would ring in the new year if i had real cahones...

2008-01-02T09:34:00.000-05:00

Yes, he jumped an entire football field on a motorcycle. On New Years Eve.
Ridiculous.

we've had a great year...

2007-12-28T13:47:00.000-05:00

Topic #12 - New Year's Resolutions

2007-12-27T11:54:00.000-05:00

I love the idea of New Year's Resolutions. A fresh start. A new beginning. A chance to try something new. A motivation to acccomplish something difficult. An opportunity to mold your life in a new and better direction.

I just don't really like coming up with them, writing them down, and then following through.

However, they have become almost as necessary in our society as washing your underwear and engaging in small talk with other humans - things which many men only began doing in the last couple of decades.

So, with the suffocating pressure of society upon me, here are my resolutions:

Hike a trail in the Smoky Mountains that I've never hiked before...minimum 2 miles.
Throw darts at Spicy's on Emory road at least twice a month
Reduce my "soda" consumption to no more than one beverage each day
Begin walking/jogging 2 miles at least twice a week
Commit to the previous two resolutions, or commit to actually buying a larger size of pants
Floss my teeth...um, at least once...each month?
Try my best to make the most smart-assed comments on all the blogs I read. As of now, sometimes I only have the 2nd or 3rd most smart-assed comments. And that blows.
Stop eating anything by Chef Boyardee. Period. For some reason, about twice a year Spaghetti-O's sound really good to me. Then I eat them. Then I barf.
Listen to more worship music and less rap music. This has been a long time struggle.
Pray less while laying on my back half asleep in bed...and pray more when I'm fully awake, on my knees, and actually focused on having a conversation with God.

They're not extraordinary, I know. But they're real. And they're attainable. And that's what counts.

Have you made resolutions? Are they real and attainable? Are they important enough to follow through on? Feel free to share them. I've been told it helps to have accountability in these types of things. And if you'll take time to comment, I'll be sure to put forth my best effort in regards to my 7th resolution.

Happy New Year!

Topic #11 - The Prosperity Gospel

2007-12-24T10:12:00.000-05:00

Sheerly by chance, I caught most of a Joel Osteen interview on 60 Minutes last night while at a family Christmas gathering. I think it originally aired in October but was aired again.

I want to direct you to the CBS website recapping this interview. It's a 3 page report, and this link will take you straight to page 3. You may or may not want to read the enitre recap. It is pretty interesting. What's more interesting to me are the reader comments. 86 of them at the time I looked a few minutes ago. And mostly mean, seething, evil, sarcastic, cynical comments at that.

I'm not sure if I can think of a human being in my lifetime who has been so loved and so despised by the Christian community. Even among television evangelists. Millions love his "Prosperity Gospel", tens of thousands attend his church, and millions watch it on tv each week. In fact, his church collects roughly $30,000,000.00 each year through the mail from tv viewers - and they don't even solicit money on the television program!

However, many have grown up in the "Turn or Burn Gospel", and believe it to be the correct way salvation is preached. In addition, many others (myself included) are very focused on a more "balanced" Gospel message. Teaching the good with the bad. The love and the rebuke. The rewards and the punishments. And understanding all of it in the light of God as a LOVING God whose ultimate desire is for His people to love Him, honor Him, live peaceful and fruitful lives, and spend eternity with Him.

In our society today, is the Prosperity Gospel necessarily bad? Is it better or worse than the Turn or Burn Gospel? I'd love to know what else happens at Osteen's church. Small groups, classes, Sunday School, specialized ministries. What do their people study in those environments? Do they dig deeper? Do they wrestle with tougher questions? Do they truly believe that by living the right way, God will provide you with a better life and financial stability? I don't really know. And I'm certainly in no position to judge.

I simply hope and pray that if we believe in the saving grace of Christ, that no matter what lens we see it through - prosperity, turn and burn, catholic, methodist, lutheran, king james only, traditional, modern, missional, attractional, etc - we'll all be able to talk about it someday in Heaven together.

Topic #10 - Giving vs Helping

2007-12-21T11:08:00.000-05:00

"Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he'll eat forever."

Matthew 19:21 - Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

I think a lot about my lack of giving or service or help to those in need (aka - "the poor"). Anytime in my life where I've given or served freely, I've always been blessed and so thankful for the opportunity to help. Yet I do so little. I'm serious...SO little. I'm so concerned with my own life, my own time, my own needs, and my own happiness that I simply block out the needs of others. It's sad.

But I've also been thinking a lot about the difference between "giving" and "helping". It's so easy to give. Take donations to Goodwill. Put in a little extra offering. Support a local charity with a monthly check. Even serving food in a shelter to the homeless. All good things, but all pretty easy and non-invested types of things.

I came across this story recently. I don't know if it's wholly true or not, but I think it probably is. It really brings to light the vast difference between "giving" and "helping" people in need.

It's easy to give someone money....but how do we HELP that person learn better work skills, earn more money and manage it more wisely? It's easy to donate food to a pantry. But how do we connect with families in need of food and HELP them get off their feet and provide for themselves? It's easy to see someone on Sunday at church who is struggling with finances, marriage, their job, sin, or a broken down car and to be nice to them and tell them we're praying for them, but how do we HELP this person work through the situation and come out better on the other side?

Again, as usual, I don't have much in the way of answers. Just a continued struggle. It's just frustrating to see Christians and the church miss the mark so often when it comes to helping those who need it most. We all work more, do more, drive more, commit to more, have a hundred responsibilities a week, and are left with almost no time leftover to truly invest ourselves in the lives of others. We like the concept of serving, but don't understand the application of it.

I'm praying that God might give me clarity and opportunity in this area. I'm tired of being stressed and busy and all about me. Life is not very fruitful or satisfying without serving others in need. And I don't want to be 68 years old and "retired" before I realize it. Please pray about how we all might serve/help others daily. Jesus lived it. He taught it. He commanded it. It's ultimately what our lives on earth are all about once we've been saved.

1 John 3:17-19 (The Message) This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

Topic #9 - Church Saturation

2007-12-19T10:30:00.000-05:00

I've sort of been a long time fan of the "megachurch" - typically defined as a church with 2000 or more attenders in a typical week. There are many who disagree, saying you lose that close knit family feeling, it's too impersonal, you don't know anyone. I've been a part of more than enough churches of 50-150 to say with confidence that I still never knew everyone - at least not by more than name. And, really, what is a megachurch? It's a bunch of smaller groups of people who, when gathered together, make up a really large group of people.

However, this is not really the point of this post.

I'm simply wondering if there are too many churches in our nation, our region, our state, or even our city.

Here's what my searching has uncovered. In the "Bible Belt", it is estimated that there are typically about 15 churches for every 10,000 residents. This would be about 667 persons per church, if EVERY person went to church. But they don't.

Various studies and research show that, on average, about 40-45% of Americans attend church regularly. However, most of these studies also qualify that 40-45% of Americans SAY they attend church regularly. So the true figures may be lower.

But, since we're talking about the Bible Belt, let's offer the benefit of the doubt, and say that 50% of the people actually do attend church. This would mean that there is a church for every 333 people who attend church. So, for the sake of balance, for every church with 50-100 attenders (of which there are many), there would be a church of 500-600. Or, which is more likely, for every 4-5 churches of 50-100, you've got one church of 1200-1500.

Now, are big churches better than small churches? No. Are small ones better than big ones? No. But this over-saturation of churches concerns me. It seems to speak to a greater & deeper division among Christians who, rather than coming together, pooling their gifts and resources, experiencing in the unifying power of large corporate worship, and living in dynamic faith communities, would rather build their own church with their own people who like to do things their own way.

And - at least to me - this just doesn't seem healthy.

PS - Did I mention that most STATES in the Bible Belt each have over 100 different divisions/denominations of churches to choose from throughout the state? That's amazing, but a totally different discussion for another day.

Topic #8 - "The Christmas Season"

2007-12-17T10:41:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer...my opinions in this post have nothing to do with the fact that Christmas truly exists to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, of which I am extremely grateful. It deals with Christmas as a "holiday season", celebrated by the masses, many of whom may not have a speck of faith in Christ, but enjoy the holiday nonetheless.

With that in mind, here are the things that I truly ENJOY about "The Christmas Season":

The weather. For some reason, in the last 3-4 years, I've grown from hating cold weather to actually really really enjoying it. Weird.
Days off. If you include Thanksgiving and New Year's as a part of the entire season, you normally get to enjoy quite a few days off from work. Nice.
Rudolph, Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, and any other classic Christmas cartoons.
Christmas services at church. No matter what denomination you are, what church you attend, or what type of services they do, you know at Christmas time you'll be talking about Jesus and singing familiar Christmas worship songs.
Eli's anticipation of Santa Clause. How fun is it to be young enough to still believe in Santa? I love hearing him talk about Santa, what Santa's going to bring, seeing Santa at every mall, etc.
Christmas lights. I've always enjoyed driving through neighborhoods looking at the wide variety of decorations, lights, yard displays, and more.

Here are the things I truly DO NOT LIKE about "The Christmas Season":

Gift buying. I know this sounds harsh. But I'm really tired of buying gifts, getting gifts, expecting to buy gifts for people I don't think I should be buying them for, getting pressured to participate in gift exchanges at work. I think Christmas would be so much nicer if it were more like Thanksgiving...just a time to relax, eat good meals, be with family and friends, and remember Jesus.
Sale prices. Some people see the $20.00 pair of shoes that are normally $60.00 and think it's awesome. I see it and often think, "man, they are really ripping people off throughout the rest of the year when they sell those for $60.00." Really, when you see how low stores will mark things down, it almost makes you wonder why we would buy anything the rest of the year?
Political correctness. Happy holidays. Enjoy the season. We wish you a happy holiday season. Crap, crap, crap. It's especially disheartening when 90% of the "Christmas" cards don't really say anything about Christmas or Jesus. Which leads me to...
Christmas cards. This has been a pet peeve of mine for a looong time. I truly do not like to receive Christmas cards that simply say, "from the ____ family". If you can't take time to write a personal note, include a family picture, or put together a more creative card, please don't send out Christmas cards. Just my opinion. =)
Christmas falling on the 25th. The 25th is the day we celebrate Christ's birth. But any research will tell you that Jesus probably wasn't actually born on December 25th. I wish Christmas would always be on a Friday or Monday. That way - like Thanksgiving - you could always have a long weekend off of work and really fully enjoy the holiday. Doesn't it stink when Christmas falls on a Wednesday or a Saturday, and you end up not getting any extra days off?
Increased stress. Isn't this the opposite effect Christmas should have on us? Shouldn't we be happier, more reflective, and slow down? Instead we have 7 different gatherings to go to, 20 gifts to buy, increased traffic everywhere we go, and a personal budget crisis. It's just not right.

Well, those are my thoughts. I'd love to hear yours. And I want to wish everyone a very happy and joyful holiday season and may you and family enjoy each other's love and company as you rip off the wrapping paper and think about which things you're going to keep and which you're going to take back for exchange. No really...Merry Christmas. And thank you God for sending Jesus.

2007-12-14T08:50:00.000-05:00

yes, i keep changing the way this thing looks...sorry....just trying to make it easier to read, harmony of colors, contrasts, all that good stuff. i promise i won't keep changing it.

again, the randomness of life.

Topic #7 - The Randomness Of Life

2007-12-13T17:14:00.000-05:00

I've always been a person to notice the randomness of things in life. I often say things that cause the people around me to say, "that was kind of random." But life IS, in many ways, totally random. And I sort of think it's by God's design. Just think about a few things:

A person who has always been healthy, works out, and eats right can contract cancer....while a person down the street who never exercises and has smoked their whole life can live to be 82.

Some people live in the midwest and have never once seen a tornado....others may live only a couple of counties away and have seen many, and possibly had homes destroyed.

A person can grow up in a wonderful Christian home with awesome God loving parents, and rebel against God and never truly believe...another person can grow up in a terrible environment, have no positive influences, and end up becoming a devout follower of Christ.

You can plant 100 trees in an open field. Some will never grow. Some will grow and die. Some will grow and grow and flourish for decades.

I can buy a fictional Elmore Leonard book at McKay's bookstore for $2.50, take it home to read it, and when I open it, an airplane ticket from Boise to Denver, and a one-day ski lift ticket from Sun Valley, Idaho from 02/25/2007 can fall out of the middle of the book. Oh yes, this is true. It just happened this week. I would absolutely love to know the history is this paperback book. It was copyrighted in 1989, but when was it actually printed? Who bought it first? Where? How many people have owned it and read it? How in the world did it get from either Idaho or Colorado to McKay's bookstore in Knoxville, then into my own home?

I don't know who you are, John Murphy, but I hope you're flight went well, and that you enjoyed the book. I'm only 2 chapters in, but I like it so far.

Topic #6 - Going to the Doctor

2007-12-12T08:02:00.000-05:00

I've been sick the last two days. So has Eli. On Monday afternoon, we both went to the doctor. He had thrown up a couple of times but she said just to monitor him and be careful what he eats for a couple of days. I had a horribly sore throat, no strep, and was given an anti-biotic prescription.

I also went to the doctor last Friday. I wasn't sick, but I've had a dry cough now for about 4-6 weeks that hasn't gone away, and am getting tired of it. My wife works for an ear, nose, and throat group, so I was able to visit with no co-pay out of pocket.

The two doctor visits, and a prescription for my cough and one for my sore throat cost a total of $85.00. To be honest, there's hardly ever a time when we can afford a sudden loss of $85.00. So not only have I been sick, but very frustrated as well. Not to mention the doctor on Friday ran a flexible scope up my nose, down my naval passage, and into my chest. Not enjoyable.

I've been to the doctor a total of 3 times this year. Before April, it had been probably almost 3 years since my last doctor visit. I hate going. Not because I don't trust them. But because I hate getting a cold, paying $20.00 to see the doctor, then paying another $20.00-$40.00 for some medicine, only for the cold or flu to take as long to go away as it normally would. I can understand going when you're REALLY sick or injured in a way that you can't possibly care for yourself. But how many people go at the drop of a dime? Everytime they feel something? Everytime they get a cold? Everytime they have nausea? It's been said that this is part of the extremely high cost of healthcare....the fact that people who have free or low cost healthcare grossly overuse it.

Sorry, I guess I'm just venting a little. Feeling mostly better now, both physically and emotionally. Throat still a little sore, and the cough is not gone. I'm very grateful for doctors. It's hard to understand how hard they work to get to where they are. They do incredibly important things daily to help people stay alive and healthy. And although I DO believe that God can heal people even today, I'm not really one who shuns doctors as a way to fortify my faith in the healing power of God.

I just don't like going to see them....could just be that I really hate needles?

Topic #5 - Chuck Norris

2007-12-07T17:00:00.000-05:00

I don't know much about Chuck Norris. I'm not sure if I've ever watched any of his movies from beginning to end. "Walker, Texas Ranger" was a pretty boring show. And his workout, product promo tv stuff if terribly lame.

But I freaking LOVE Chuck Norris facts. I laugh everytime I hear them, read them, or make them up in my head.

I especially like this one: "If you spell Chuck Norris in Scrabble, you win. Forever."

Check out a bunch of good ones here.

Topic #4 - Fuel Economy

2007-12-06T15:22:00.000-05:00

I've always been a junkie for compact cars. I currently drive a 2002 Mazda Protege LX, which looks very much like the one picture to the left. I bought it new. It now has about 85,000 miles. I've always gotten about 29-30 mpg from it.

I'm now pretty totally enamoured with the Honda Fit. Awesome car. 35 mpg, tons of room, sporty, great standard features, air bags all the way around, and really fun to drive.

In my vehicle history, I've owned a 1987 Ford Escort, a 1994 Mazda Protege, a 1998 Mazda Protege, and a couple of compact pickups for a short time. So, for most of my driving life, I've gotten about 30 mpg....and I really like it.

What's very frustrating is to know that fuel economy is the USA could be much better.

Get this.....in 2007, only TWO cars in the US got an average of at least 40 mpg...the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybid. In Europe in 2007, 113 cars got at least an average of 40 mpg. That's right. 113 different cars.

In 2007, the average mpg of ALL cars/light trucks on the road in the US ranged from 21-24 mpg. In Europe, 2007, the average mpg of ALL cars/light trucks on the road ranged from 40-43 mpg. That's right...about 70% better than our vehicles. That's ludicrous. Again, Capitalism bites us in the rear end. Not only that, but have you seen many pictures of the compact cars and trucks in Europe? They look way cooler, more stylish, and more sporty than their counterparts here do! And I'm not just talking about the 2 seater Smart cars. The best resource I can find to look at a sampling of different European cars is this page from Wiklipedia listing the Top 3 finishers the last several years in the European Car of the Year voting. Also, the Toyota Yaris has been gaining in popularity in the US over the last year. This car was released in Europe all the way back in 2000. This is a pretty normal trend, actually. Cool cars are released in Europe, gain popularity, then are released in "modified" versions here in the US...modified in the sense that they are rarely as good looking and get worse gas mileage. I truly cringe when I see the vast number of Hummers, Envoys, Expeditions, Suburbans, Sequoias, Armadas, Range Rovers, Durangos, and other gas guzzlers that rove our roads. And I don't think people that drive these vehicles are bad people. It's just that I'm a fuel economy kind of guy. And I hope I'll have the sense and frugality to remain that way.

Topic #3 - Cats

2007-12-04T08:12:00.000-05:00

I do not like cats. They sneaky, arrogant, they shed, and even the cutest nicest ones have a little evil streak in them just waiting to be released. I hope that I shall never be forced to own a cat. The purring thing is kinda cool, but it doesn't make up for everything else.

To reiterate....just to provide clarity....I do not like cats.

Topic #2 - Racism

2007-12-03T12:54:00.000-05:00

Let me say two things to start. 1) I do not consider myself racist. A person is a person. A bad person is a bad person, regardless of color or culture. A good person is a good person, regardless of color or culture. 2) I do not believe racism will ever be eliminated - or for that matter, really even "reduced" - in our nation in my lifetime. It's an attitude that has simmered and boiled for many decades, and I believe will be invariably impossible to overcome.

I almost think racism needs a new name. When I say the word, I immediately think "whites who are prejudice against blacks, or vice versa." But it's much more than that. Racism involved whites, blacks, hispanics, asians, middle easterners, and anyone else in between. I believe whites can have racist attitudes toward other whites. If a button-uped, upper class white sees a 20 year old in public with baggy pants, a vulgar oversized shirt, and a backwards cap, and thinks "what a punk", does he really care if the 20 year old guy is white or black?

Our nation is polarizing itself in many ways - political affiliation, christians/non christian, rich/poor, city/urban, and definitely by race/culture. We've become intolerant of almost anything or anyone who is not like us, does not believe like we do, or think like we do. It's been reported that more than ever, Democrats are moving to democratic areas and Republicans are moving to republican areas. Most of us in the church have heard the stat that within a few years of becoming a saved Christian, you have basically no more friends who are NOT believers. City people believe rural dwellers are all red-necked, slack jawed, dumb, calloused, ignorant nobodies who drive 20 year old trucks and can't speak right. Country folks think city people are high fallutin', liberal, egotistical, arrogant jerks who will never understand the meaning of a hard day's work nor the enjoyment of a quiet life.

Is this not all, in some way, racism? Hence the reason I think the term needs revisiting. And I realize that in many cases, I'm as guilty as the next person as "judging a book by its cover", and I do not like that I do it. There's so much to be learned from others, regardless of their social status, color, or position in life. I've been friends with blacks and hispanics. I spent several months a few years ago working with a group of Korean men who were unbelievably hard working, kind, humble, frugal, persistant, and often very funny. I've experienced friendship with white people who were a few economic levels above me, and I've had a long time friendship with a guy so country I can barely understand what he's saying when we talk on the phone. (If by some chance he's reading this, I meant that in the most complimentary way!)

The point is, ultimately, people are people. I have no answers or suggestions on this topic. It's just something I think about regularly. Having the mind of Christ involves seeing a person for who they can be, in addition to who they are. His involvement with Samaritans was not much different than if I became poker-playing-buddies with a bunch of drug dealing hoodlems from downtown Knoxville. At least it wouldn't be looked upon much differently. Yet He did it, and I can hardly see myself doing it. Which is just one reason why Jesus is so incredible. In His heart, He never experienced racism. He never judged by color or position. He never avoided someone because of how they looked, walked, dressed, or even smelled. He knew that people were simply people in need of something greater than themselves. He knew that I was someone in need of something bigger than myself. He knew that you were someone in need of something bigger than yourself. God, open our eyes, help us see people the way you did.

Topic #1 - Being a Sinner

2007-11-29T18:08:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I'm overwhelmed with the fact that I AM a sinner. I don't just commit sins. I am a sinner. And so are you. And if you say you are not, then you've just committed a sin, so there. =)

There's a tremendous conflict of language in the Bible regarding sin. The wages of sin is death. One who lives in sin and does not love his brother cannot know God. Christ died for our sins so they would be wiped away. But if you do sin, ask God for forgiveness and it will be granted. But don't sin, because sin is darkness, and God is light. I understand there are "contexts" to all verses of the Bible, and that it must be read and understood as a whole. But still.

I'd like to think I don't "live in sin", but that's probably a lie....which is a sin. The key here is to understand that SIN is SIN. Bad thoughts, worrying about things you shouldn't worry about, unkind words, lies, untruths, holding an earthly person in too high of esteem (idolatry?), seeing opportunities to help someone in need and consciously ignoring it. These are sin just as much as rage, robbery, and assault are sin. Yes, the consequences differ, but they are sin. And SIN is SIN. It separates us from God. And we spend our whole lives - if we're fortunate enough to believe in Him - bridging that separation. Which is almost futile in a sense, because we will continue to sin, regardless of how hard we try not to.

Which is why Christ's sacrifice - for our sin - is so utterly amazing and unbelievable and really hard to understand deep down inside. No act of goodness can save me. Once I'm saved, no measure of good living can "enhance" my saved-ness in any way. Christ did it all. And I believe it and accept it. And I'm so grateful for it. And yet...I still sin. And although it does matter....somehow, through Christ's death, it doesn't. And I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to comprehend it.

a 5 week topical series

2007-11-27T17:38:00.000-05:00

I want to prepare you for what's to come. From now until the end of the year, I'm going to be posting blogs on various topics. Some will be decidedly biblical topics, others may not be, most could go either way. My post title will simply be the topic for that day. Plain and simple.

Then, I'll simply write my thoughts on that topic. I may or may not use biblical references, since I'm not really offering this as a Bible study or platform to preach. I'll write honestly about each topic. Some things could possibly be R-rated. My words may be a little rough on some points, more refined on others.

I'm not really looking for any debate. Not looking "stir things up" in any way. But I'll be totally open to all comments you may have, either about the topics or my thoughts on them. You should know this about me...in most areas of thought or debate, I'm pretty open to all sides of the issues. This is true of my faith as well.

There are very very few things to me which are DECIDEDLY firm (Jesus is God's Son, God created everything, Christ died to save us, etc). On the other hand, most biblical or spirtual topics - especially those which cause so many arguments and divisions (tongues, steps of salvation, worship, gifts of the Spirit, etc) - I have always had a very open mind about. In some respects, I really don't even care. I hope you'll see what I mean by that over the next month.

So, that's the deal. From now to December 31st, all my posts will follow this set up. I hope you'll read, ponder, and share freely as you see fit. If you agree or disagree with things I have to say, that's okay either way. I simply hope you'll join me.

where are you, arrested development?

2007-11-26T17:49:00.001-05:00

At this moment, on my Windows Media Player, Arrested Development is singing the song, "Washed Away" from their excellent 1992 album, "3 Years, 5 Months, and 2 Days in the Life Of...". Definitely one of my favorite albums to listen to, ever.

Every time I listen to them, I can't help but wonder, what in the world happened to them? They were big time, had several really awesome songs (Mr. Wendal is an incredible song), and then they disappeared. Poof. Gone. No more music.

They weren't the only music artists I listen(ed) to that made sort of a sudden disappearing act. I know sometimes it's because of outside circumstances, sometimes because of talent, and sometimes because they're just not making money. Regardless, here are a few that I can think of....and these are only people that I actually listened - or still listen - to.

Arrested Development
Fu-Schnikins
Vanilla Ice
Snow
C&C Music Factory
Burlap to Cashmere
Reality Check
Waterdeep (any word on them?)
Young MC
Heavy-D
O-Town (j/k)

Well, those are the ones that come immediately to mind. I'm sure you can think of others that were important to you.

PS - Now I'm listening to Heavy D and the Boyz, "Now That We Found Love". Awesome song. Where are you Heavy, still trying your hand at acting?

christian concept of retirement?

2007-11-21T08:06:00.001-05:00

There's a concept I've mentally struggled with for a long time. We talked about it in my small group last week. It's the concept of "retirement" and "investment savings" as a Christian.

Here's my struggle. In the New Testament church, no one really owned anything. All possessions and material needs belonged to everyone and people used stuff as it was needed most. The Bible speaks often about trusting God for provision, not worrying about tomorrow, and giving what you have to those who need it more than you.

Yet we live in a current world - Christians included - in which we earn and save mostly for ourselves...we're taught to put away nest eggs for college savings, retirement, and those "just in case" moments (worrying about tomorrow?) when we'll need the money.

I realize that this practice is really a result of a community shift. If ALL Christians were committed to New Testament possession principles, we could live the way they did. Even if one church body were committed to it, that church could probably live the NT way. But people don't do this. We think it's an awesome concept, but we don't really trust others, ourselves, and maybe even God enough to really believe that it could work and we could still live comfortable lives.

So, do I look at retirement savings (IRA, 401K, mutual funds, savings, etc) as provisions from God - maybe that's God's way of providing for us. Or do I look it as a lack of trust for provision, do I consider it hoarding, and a way to plan on being totally lazy for the last 10-15 years of my life?

Should Christ followers ever truly retire? Or do we simply retire from a worldly job in order to focus our full-time efforts on ministry work? And if we do that, wouldn't that retirement nest egg be wonderfully spent on missions, providing for the poor, helping people get back on their feet, helping new church plants.....yes, it's important to have enough to eat and have a roof over your head and a car to drive, but isn't that really a secondary concern to doing the work of Christ?

Help me out, here. I'm totally on the fence. Sometimes I'll lean hard one way, then hard the other way. I want to be more committed to saving and investing and making sure my son has all he needs down the road....but I also want to commit to live more frugally, to trust more in God's provision, to teach my son that we don't need all the best possessions to be happy and at peace. What are your thoughts? How do you see the Bible teaching us in this area?

old school big wheels...

2007-11-19T15:46:00.001-05:00

When I was younger, I used to have a Dukes of Hazzard style big wheel, much like this one:

It was such a blast, man. My buddy had a Knight Rider big wheel. We'd race, spin out, go down hills way too fast, spin the wheels in the rocks, all kinds of stuff. I've always had these unusually nostalgic memories about riding a big wheel. I'm not sure why.

Now, finally, my son is able to ride a big wheel. Erin and I actually bought him one when he was 18 months old, thinking he'd be tall enough to pedal it when he turned 2. Well, another year and half later (what were we thinking?), and he's finally up to speed. And, yes, I realize this is not a "classic" big wheel, but there aren't many of those around any more, so this one had to do.

It's awesome to watch and remember how much fun I had doing the very same thing over 20 years ago. I hope he'll also get to enjoy a cool Huffy or BMX bike, an Atari, and a whiffle ball bat and some rocks. Just like dad did.

dissed by my sis...

2007-11-15T10:06:00.000-05:00

Kaly - my 16 year old sister - just dissed me. On this blog. A couple of weeks ago, I offered this post. It was a challenge to think, if someone said, "That's just (your name) being (your name)" ... what would that entail about you? I offered some thoughts of what it might mean if someone were to say, "That's just Jason being Jason."

Yesterday, my loving sister commented on this. Here were her thoughts....about me.

"He's just congratulated me on a new album, or tried to convince me that i look like avril lavigne"
"He's just given you all the information you could ever want on a topic"
"He's just thrown a frisbee on grandma's roof"
"He's just decided to give brandon (our 19 yr old brother) an n'sync calendar for christmas, or maybe even a cardboard cutout of michael jackson"

hahaha yeahhh...

Ok, I get it. Very funny. Veerryy funny.

Yes, I do weird things sometimes. I did give my brother an n'sync calendar for Christmas once, when he was about 17. It was funny. Kaly laughed, if I remember.

Yes, I do randomly send them postcards with Missouri landscapes and write messages that say things like, "I saw the trees on this postcard, the way they stood there, round and brown and still and perfectly spaced apart, and they reminded me of you. Love, Jason". Is that so odd?

Yes, I did mail Kaly a cutout picture of a model from a Marie Claire catalog (that did look like her - and Avril Lavigne) and congratulated her on her new modeling career, expressed confusion as to why she didn't tell me about it, and wished her good luck. Humorous, right?

Yes, I used to collect barf bags from airplanes, and mail them to people I knew when they were sick with notes inside that said, "thought you could use this...hope you get better."

You can actually mail a barf bag just like it is....as long as you tape up the open end. You can also mail McDonald's french fry boxes...put a note in the open end, fold over the arched top, tape it up, write address on the box, apply a stamp...and it mails just fine. Done this several times.

So, to my wonderful sister, who could actually pass as Avril's little sister...and who is capable of temper fits that rival any hollywood celebrity...and who likes dating boys with car names (Bentley, Tacoma, and 525i to name a few)...and who used to run out to my car excitedly when I used to come home from college to visit...and who is anxious to pursue a career in dermatology, where she is destined to invent a creme that makes freckles disappear, unless applied unevenly, which would then cause them to turn purple...I say "nice dis".

a case of blogger's block

2007-11-14T08:34:00.000-05:00

I don't really know what to write about. When I entered the blogosphere, I sort of made a commitment to myself that I would be honest, free my mind, and try my hardest not to go more than 3-4 days without a new post....the exceptions coming when I'm out of town and have no computer access.

But I'm starting to find it more difficult to come up with interesting things to write about. Almost like all my best thoughts and ideas have already spilled out, and there's nothing left, which leaves me feeling much less introspective and insightful than I thought that I was.

Sometimes I'm not sure whether to blog about things going on in my life, or stick more to random thoughts/questions that I have about life, religion, people, the universe, etc. I don't really want this blog to be a "diary", but when I have nothing deeper to offer, it's just easier to talk about going to the bounce house or taking a vacation.

So please hang with me as I attempt to think harder, delve deeper, search my soul, and continue to offer new posts, even if they're not all terribly funny and thought provoking (not that they all were to begin with).

In the meantime, check out this meaningless, but funny, picture:

eli loves greg's music

2007-11-12T12:54:00.000-05:00

My friend Greg has just released two new Cd's...."Chasing the Western Sky" and "Thirty Three". You can check them out or buy them here. Me, Erin, and Eli went to see him perform this past Friday night at The V Cafe. He played 12 songs with a full band, it was pretty awesome.

What really blew me away was how enthralled our son Eli was. He watched the entire show. He played percussion on the table he was sitting at, bounced up and down in his chair, and even got up in front of the stage and danced to an entire song. Unfortunately, we didn't have a camera with us. It was so funny.

This morning I was taking Eli to school. We were listening to the "Thirty Three" album in my car. During the very first song, he recognized it was Greg singing. He asked me, "Dad, why is Greg singing in our car?"

Then when the song ended, he asked, "Can we listen to another Greg song?". Then when the second song ended, he asked again, "Can we listen to another Greg song?". Then we made it to school. Thankfully, one of the songs we listened to was entitled, "Four Bucks." I hope Eli listened to it closely and learned an important lesson about inflation and gross overspending.

Thanks, Greg, for your subliminal influences on my son.

off to work...

2007-11-01T12:20:00.000-04:00

This Sunday morning at 8:00am, I'll be driving a 16 ft box truck full of apparel and displays about 11 hours to Merritt Island, Florida. Along with two other co-workers, we'll be working 4 straight 11 - 14 hour days at 4 different Sea Ray manufacturing facilities along the Florida coast. We call it a "Plant Sale." It's typically more like a "flea market."

Drive a big bulky truck for 11-12 hours. Check into hotel. Eat. Go to sleep. Get up at 5am. Spend 2 hours unloading a truck and setting up stuff. Run an event sale for 8 hours. Spend 2 hours reloading everything on the truck. Get something to eat. Chill out, go to sleep. Do the same thing the next day. And the next day. And the next day. Then drive about 10 hours back home. Sounds fun, doesn't it?

Anyways, I'll be going dark for a few days. Until next Friday, be good, stay warm, and drink plenty of water.

12 years of worship music

2007-10-30T15:58:00.000-04:00

In 1995, a guy named Chris in my dorm let me borrow a Vineyard worship album entitled "Glory and Honor". It's pictured here. That album includes in the original release of the song "We Will Dance" by David Ruis...a popular song for several years. The song is over 10 minutes long on the album, which I loved. If you've been in church or around any type of contemporary worship over the last 10 years, there are probably 4-5 songs on the album that you would know.

For me, this borrowed album was the beginning of my love of worship music. I began buying almost every new Vineyard album that came out...and they use to release a new one every 3 months. Soon I was buying/listen to Davis Ruis, Brian Doerkson, Sonic Flood, Hillsong, Tony & Donny, and Matt Redmon.

Then, in 1998, the Passion series began. Amazing stuff. I have every Passion CD and love every one. David Crowder and Chris Tomlin, two of the core Passion members, have gone on to sell millions of their own worship albums. Worship music subscription companies formed, sending out new CD's every so often to minister who signed up. Contemporary Christian artists all began releasing their own worship albums...mostly made up of songs written by other worship artists. By the early 2000's, Vineyard Worship - which was really the best stuff coming out in the 1990's - was hardly relevant anymore. Other styles began to grow...grunge worship, rock worship, ska worship. Labels like Wow and Worship Together began releasing worship albums with 20-30 songs, all the most popular songs of that particular time or place.

Here's the weird part for me. In the last couple of years, other than Chris Tomlin and David Crowder, I don't know of any new worship music that's caught my attention. I've not really heard, seen, or bought anything new that's really pulled me in the way Vineyard and Passion did. Maybe I'm just not paying attention. Maybe the worship music craze that seemed to last about 10 years has faded a bit. Maybe the style is headed in a different direction - back to more traditional sounding stuff (?) - and I just haven't noticed it. What I know is that the worship music I've been belting out in my car (I'm a pretty enthusiastic worship driver) is the same stuff I've been listening to for quite a long time.

So help me, if you will. If you're a fan of worship music, what are you listening to? What's worth buying and listening to again and again? What album or artist first got you listening to worship music? What song do you love to sing loudly in your car? Who, if they were leading worship somewhere, would you drive 3 or 4 hours just to be a part of it?

pimp slapped by 1 John

2007-10-29T14:55:00.001-04:00

I am a Christian, a believer and follower of Christ. However, I've found it difficult to use this blog as a way to promote or discuss that much. I'm not sure why, really. It's possible that I've envisioned this site as a way to just kind of put ideas/thoughts in my mind to (virtual) paper, and frankly, I don't dwell on spirtual or Christ-related things all day long. I'm not necessarily proud of that, and I don't mean to sound "unspiritual" in some way, it's just the truth. I'm aware of Christ daily and strive to mold my life in ways that are true to my beliefs, I just don't find myself thinking all that much about spiritual matters.

However, I would like to direct you to 1 John, chapters 1, 2 & 3. Notice, this is not a reference to the Gospel of John, but the first of three smaller writing by John. This is what we've been studying the last 3 weeks in my small group at church. I'm going to paste the text at the end of this post, just in case you feel led to read it. If not, that's okay. But if you do, I just want you to be aware of the strong terms in which John writes. The black and white of it. Notice both the encouragements he gives to believers, then the almost backhanded pimp-slaps he follows it up with. At least that's how I felt. It was hard to read, but here's what it left me with:

Being a follower of Christ requires intentional, consisent, daily, fleshed out effort by way of living right, loving your brother, avoiding sin, and holding true ("remaining") to Jesus love, care, and teaching. You don't get to take a day off and be okay with it. You don't have a choice to not love people. You don't get to think of sin in any type of light hearted way. You either walk in the light or you walk in the dark. There is no half-lighted middle passage. To me, this felt like a body-shot from Iron Mike....or like a pimp slap from John. And I needed it.

1 John 1
The Word of Life 1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4We write this to make our joy complete. 5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

1 John 2
1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also forthe sins of the whole world.
3We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 7Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 9Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 10Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. 11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. 12I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 13I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. 14I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. 18Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is what he promised us—even eternal life. 26I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. Children of God 28And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 29If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

1 John 3
1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 4Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. 11This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. 13Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

"that's just being "

2007-10-24T16:38:00.001-04:00

Here's a thought....when someone refers to Manny Ramirez with the phrase, "That's just "Manny Being Manny", they mean he's being aloof, doing something that's funny but hurts his team, making up his own rules, etc.

Now, insert your name. If someone says, "Ah, that's just (your name) being (your name)", what would they mean by that?

For instance, if someone were to say, "That's just Jason being Jason", here are a few things I at least think they might mean:

"He just pulled a well-conceived prank on somebody...and got them really good" (ask my co-workers on this one, they'll confirm)
"He was just trying to be witty but ended up coming across as a jackass"
"He's in a bad mood for some unknown reason...it's not like he's actually mad at you"
"He just made a comment or observation that was totally out of left field, but actually somewhat insightful"
"He can be a little bit of a control freak, just live with it and move on"
"He said something really funny, but you had to think for a minute to get it"

I'm sure there's more that could be added to that. Some good, some bad. So...think for a minute...what would it mean if someone said that phrase about you?

a deadly middle name...

2007-10-23T08:00:00.001-04:00

Just a suggestion for any readers who might be having kids anytime in the future. When contemplating middle-names for your child, do not pick the name Wayne. You may thank me for it.

Wanna know why?

Check out this site.

manny being manny

2007-10-19T13:28:00.000-04:00

Manny Ramirez makes me laugh. Amazing baseball player. 490 career home runs. .313 career batting average. 2200 hits. 1600 RBI's. The most postseason home runs of any player in history. Amazingly powerful swing. Always wears a do-rag under his helmet to keep is dreadlocks tidy. Says pretty much whatever is on his mind, regardless of the consequences. Dude makes $17,000,000.00 a year in salary. He's possibly the best right-handed slugger in the history of the game.

But he doesn't run. He loofs around in the outfield. He never hustles. Just last night he should have scored from 2nd on a single by Mike Lowell, but he decides to slow down to take his helmet off, doesn't beat the throw, and refuses to slide into home - instead just running into the tag. Then, a few innings later, he hits (what he thinks) is a home run....decides to pretty much walk to first base....and then it hits the top of the wall and comes back into play. Could have had a triple. Ends up with a single.

Wouldn't you think if you'd hit roughly 500 home runs in your career, you would know the difference between a ball that was definitely a home-run, and one that was borderline? Come on, Manny. For $17,000,000, the least you can do is run.

yes, i did..

2007-10-18T13:41:00.000-04:00

just change the background color of this blog. Frankly, the previous color was starting to look a little bit too "purpley" for me. Don't be suprised if it changes again. I'm crazy like that. If you're interested, the color is Grey Hex #212121. Very dark grey, but not black.

Thanks so much for stopping by...please continue reading...

The Colonel

2007-10-17T13:08:00.000-04:00

This is me…

This is Eli…

This is me & Eli with Colonel Sanders...at the very first Kentucky Fried Chicken ever opened, in Corbin, Kentucky. I love that Colonel Sanders. He actually makes me look tan. And he cooks up a darn good drumstick. Eli loves the Colonel's mac-n-cheese. They just don't make mac-n-cheese anymore like the Colonel does. Hmm, hmm. Finger lickin' good.

corn toss...an old west folklore tradition?

2007-10-15T08:36:00.000-04:00

This weekend, we went to Kentucky to visit family and see our newest nephew/cousin, Grayson, who is only 3 weeks old. On Sunday, we began our drive back to Tennessee. Not long after leaving my sister & brother-in-law's, we drove through a town named Columbia. It has one of those cool, old timey town "circles" where there's a big circle in the middle of town with 4 or 5 roads that branch off from it in different directions. We saw the following sign while driving on this circle:

Just to be clear, it says "Downtown Days - Folklore of the Old West Festival". Cool, huh? A little town festival. We had these kinds of things in my home town growing up. Vendors and food stands set up. People walking around, enjoying the town. Pretty neat theme too, "Folklore of the Old West." You would expect to see people dressed in Old West costumes, cowboys and indians, maybe some big black kettles cookin up some stew for lunch on the sidewalk.

But no. As we head down our branch off of the town circle, this is what we see:

I'm kidding, right? No. It in fact does say, "Corn Toss - Register Here." Hmm. This must be some Old West version that we've never seen before, right? Maybe they take big ears of corn and throw them through tire swings hanging from old oak trees. Maybe in the 1800's men filled canvas bags with corn and heaved them over wooden fences in an effort to build strength and stroke their egos.

But no. This is what was happening:

That's right. A full-blown Corn Toss Tournament. From what I could see, there were 8 Corn Toss matches going on simultaneously. There was even a small crowd of spectators cheering on their friends and family. The matches were important enough that the parking lot was sealed off with top-grade, bright-yellow Caution tape.

Way to go, Columbia, Kentucky. It's nice to know there's a place with people who have the courage to elevate Corn Toss to the level it deserves. You've captured the spirit of the Old West and made our early settlers proud. I say again, way to go, Columbia, Kentucky.

bounce house mania

2007-10-12T12:53:00.000-04:00

Eli & I have a new found joy. The Bounce House. There are no less than 3 of them here in Knoxville. The one we go to has "open play" on Wednesday nights from 6:00 - 8:30pm and costs only $7.00 per child. It's such a blast!! They have 3 of the standard "bounce houses" where you just go inside and just jump up and down. There's an obstacle course just for kids. There's an "adventure course" that he and I both go on, a 24-foot tall slide, basketball hoops, and they offer very inexpensive and healthy snacks.

After about 90 minutes at the Bounce House, we are totally exhausted. My joints hurt, my knees are burned, Eli is sweating like crazy and making multiple trips to the water fountain. It sort of causes me to realize how spoiled our son is when the things that he gets to do on almost a monthly basis (dollywood, bounce house, chuck e cheese, the zoo) are things that I may have gotten to do once every 1-2 years when I was growing up! Heck, the only time I ever remember seeing Bounce House type stuff was at yearly state fairs or carnivals. And then they were so crowded with kids you were lucky to make it out without an injury!

So we'll continue bouncing each month. And I'll continue mentally griping about how I didn't get to do all these things as a kid. Then I'll just make up for it all by doing it now. And then one day my son will make fun of me for griping about all the things I was deprived of as a child. Just like how my dad had to walk a mile to school and back every day, regardless of the weather (this is actually true), and that was after getting up at 5am to milk the cows, and how he never went ANYWHERE - vacation, ocean, amusement park, etc - until he was in his 20's. And then 30 years from now Eli will gripe about how he never got to travel cross-country in 2 hours on a hovercraft when he was a kid, and how he actually had to brush his teeth and scrub his body with soap before the 24-hour-entire-body-clean chewable vitamin came out in 2019.

And I will laugh.

if i could only eat one thing the rest of my life....

2007-10-10T17:46:00.000-04:00

It would be hamburgers. I love hamburgers. I love Big Macs, Double Cheeseburgers, Whoppers, Singles, Doubles, Sonic Burgers, burgers fresh off the grill, burgers cooked on the stove, medium, medium-well, well done. I like plain hamburgers. I like them with ketchup and mustard. I like them with mayo or Miracle Whip. I like them with A-1 sauce. I like lettuce and onions. I like plain buns and sesame seed buns. I even like Krystal burgers. At least I like the first 4 or 5. Then I begin to really hate them.

I've eaten at Whataburger in El Paso, TX. Loved it. I like Jack-in-the-Box burgers too. In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of a burger I've eaten in my life that I didn't like. Seriously. They're awesome. They're filling. Easy to hold. Easy to eat. They come in different shapes and levels of thickness. You can put a wide variety of toppings on them. Check out Cheeburger-Cheeburger if you ever get the chance...amazing burgers and tons of different toppings to choose from.

Dear God...If destruction should come to the earth, or I crash unexpectedly while flying across the ocean on a Fed-Ex airplane, and I find myself in that often referenced but terribly unrealistic position of being "stranded on a deserted island", please God, just provide me with burgers from heaven. Or a few cows would be okay too.

hooray for cousins

2007-10-09T08:18:00.001-04:00

By my count I think I have 21 first cousins. Yeah, a lot. Big families on both my mom and dad's sides. I know them all by name, but most of them I hardly know, simply because they are much younger than me. My cousins Todd & Matt (brothers) are very close to my age, and we used to have amazing adventures on our grandparents farm when we were growing up. Hay forts, tobacco stick sword fights, long wades through a long and windy creek, treating the barns as if they were abandoned castles. I have some great memories of those times.

My favorite cousin though - not to offend all the others - is Dianna. She's 1 year older than me, and we've been great friends since we were about 3-4 years old. Coincidentally, the same age as our children - Elijah and Eliza - shown in the picture above. This past weekend, we went to Kingsport to visit them. It was the first time in 2 years that Eli and Eliza saw each other. They played with puzzles, a train set, at the park, and had a blast at Chuck E Cheese.

I have countless memories of the last 28 years of friendship with Dianna. Most of them make me laugh, but you probably wouldn't find them that funny, since they're sort of inside-joke kind of stuff. For instance, she was obsessed with Phil Collins back in the 80's. When she sent me letters - we were pen pals for a LONG time - she used to return address them as "Dianna Collins". This happened for years. We used to love to sing "Su-Su-Sudio...Oh, Oh", a Phil Collins favorite. Then there's the story about how much I love Manwich, and she and I laughing so hard in the car about it, I almost had to pull off to the side of the road. If she's reading this right now, she's laughing. The rest of you are saying, "I don't get it." I understand.

My first time ever going to a Piggly Wiggly was with Dianna. Her New Kids on the Block love affair could have rivaled any other girl's in America. When it was time for me to go to college, I wanted to attend Milligan College in east Tennessee more than anything....mainly because Dianna was already there. Unfortunately, I simply could not afford it. We wrestled with our uncle Brian together. We served at weeks of church camp together. And I had the amazing pleasure of presiding over her wedding to Corey in 1998. It was the only wedding ceremony I ever conducted.

I hope Eli and Eliza have the same opportunity to grow up as friends. It would be very special to both of us. His other new cousin - Grayson - is only 2 weeks old. We'll have the opportunity this weekend to see him for the first time. It's highly unlikely Eli will ever have 21 cousins. I'm thinking it will be more like 6 or 7. But if he can enjoy even half the experiences that I did with my cousins, then 6 or 7 will be more than enough.

universal texting language....revealed!

2007-10-08T08:05:00.000-04:00

I have a question for you. And it’s not are you a snot nosed egotistical rude teenager. An unpleasant visual, I know. No really. Do you understand texting? I don’t. I’m confused. It’s a world where great phrases like “see you later alligator” get downsized into one word. Remember when you used to write notes on paper? As a matter of fact, I still keep shoeboxes full of old letters. To be honest, I enjoy moments of happy crying when I read those letters. They were meaningful. With messages like, “have a nice day”, “love ya”, “best of luck”, and “best friends for life”, these notes were great because they required effort. You had to work a little to write one. In my humble opinion, turning I Love You into ILY, or reducing the art of getting to know someone into age/sex/location and where are you from simply leaves me scratching my head in disbelief. In fact, it stinks. Just for fun, I thought it might have me bursting with laughter to create this texting post. For real though, I’m feeling like an egghead.

Let me know what you think about this post. Your responses could range from big deal to bored out of my skull to smiling from ear to ear. It’s your choice. Be honest. Just fill in the blank. That would be fine by me. Please reply quickly though, or I’ll go straight evil on you. Thanks for reading. Good luck deciphering. Just to let you know, this message will be revealed in full. Just don’t quote me on this. Because, frankly, I couldn’t care less. Giggling my butt off….your brother in Christ…Jason

universal texting language

2007-10-03T08:09:00.000-04:00

Warning: this post could cause an immediate need for Advil.

?4U. and its not ru a snert. an uv, ik. no really. do u understand txting? i dnt. %-( its a wrld whr grt phrses like l8rg8r r dwnsizd 2 1 wrd. remembr whn u used 2 wrt notes on papr? aaf, i have shuboxs full of old ltrs. tbh, i enjy momnts of :'-) whn i read thm. thy were meangful. with msges like "hand", "ly", "bol", & "bffl", thy were grt bc thy reqrd effrt. u had 2 wrk a lttle to wrte 1. imho, trning ily into ily or rducing the art of gtting to no a prson in2 a/s/l and wuf smply lvs me smhid. infct, pu. jff, i thght it mght hav me bwl to mk this txt post. frt, im feeling lik (:>

let me no wht u thnk abt this post. ur rsponses cld rnge from bd 2 booms 2 sete. ur choice. b hnest. jst filb. tht wld b fbm. pls rply qik though, or ill go str8 >-( on u. thnks for rding. good lck dcphering. jtlyk, ths msg will b rveald in full. jst dqmot. bcs, ficcl. gmba....ybic...json.

being a dad

2007-10-01T16:47:00.000-04:00

There's nothing like being a dad. For the longest time, I really thought I would never have children. I pretty much thought I'd live life as a bachelor, doing what I wanted, traveling, etc. And granted, Eli was not actually planned. But neither was I. And I'm glad I'm alive.

I never slept as little as I did his first 2 weeks of life. It was horrible. Erin was not able to do much after a c-section, and every night, every 2 hours, it was me and Eli on the rocking chair in the living room, me singing make believe songs in his ear, with lyrics like, "please go to sleep and daddy will spoil you forever", and "God loves it when we sleep".

It wasn't too long before he started to be fun! Learning to talk, crawling and walking, realizing when he did things that were funny and then doing them again. Eating on his own, recognizing things like animals, cars, and balls. It was amazing. As a parent, you pretty much think you're child is the only one in the world learning these things at such a young age. It's so fulfilling.

It wasn't too long before he started getting an attitude. Refusing to do things. Saying no all the time. Not eating something he didn't like. Laying on the floor and pouting. Fake crying. Not wanting to go to bed. I'm not sure where "Terrible Two's" came from, but it's not entirely true. Our 3rd year has been the rough one. He's too smart now. He knows how to manipulate. He understands emotions. He's stubborn and sometimes refuses to give in, regardless of the punishment. He's pretty much been poddy trained for about 6 months, but still gives in sometimes, even though he knows it's yucky and will make mom and dad upset. We've had to start an "Eli Bank" just to start rewarding him again for successful pooping, because he was having a really rough stretch for about a month.

But I can't wait to see him every morning. And each evening. Going to do things together is so much fun....Dollywood, hayrides at the corn maze, Happy meals, shopping at Walmart, the bounce house, playgrounds. He's learning to ride a big wheel...his legs are finally long enough. He's so much fun, he's becoming more thoughtful and polite, he learns things every day that I often don't even realize until he springs them on me days later. His vocabulary continues to grow. His bad days are pretty bad, but the good days are so so so so good.

Like I said, there's nothing like being a dad. And I thank God everyday that I got to be one.

And, yes, I'm aware that his shirt is on backwards in the picture. But he likes to put it on "by himself." Who am I to stop him?

more random thoughts

2007-09-28T08:53:00.000-04:00

How do fashion trends actually start? I think one disadvantage to living in Tennessee is that we're always a little behind the curve on trends in general...especially fashion. For instance, let's say that a current fashion trend is wearing jeans that are torn. My question is...who was the first person to do that on purpose? Did that kid get laughed at? Where did it happen? How long did it take before 100 people were doing it? Then 1000? Then 10000? Another example might be the big New Era style backwards caps that cost $50.00. I see them all over the place. Again, who wore that for the first time? Where? When? How long did it take until kids in TN were wearing them too? This fascinates me.

Subdivisions are getting out of hand. They are literally everywhere. And everywhere there's not one, there's one being built. And they all have such great names like, "Walker's Point", "Pleasant Valley", "Mountain Ridge", and "Lakeside Manor". Maybe it's because I grew up in the country, but I've always thought it would be much nicer to own (for example) a $120,000 home that sits on 2 acres of land than to have a $200,000 home that sits 8 feet from the homes on either side of it. Problem is, with the massive amount of subdivisions out there, you almost can't find a home to purchase anymore that's NOT in a subdivision. You have no choice. It's as if Microsoft took over the real estate market. You either buy a home in a subdivision, or you have to wait (sadly) for an elderly family member to pass away and leave their long-held property to you in their will. Or you somehow acquire $100,000 extra dollars to actually buy a piece of property. Then of course you have to build a home to live there. It's very sad.

Finally, for golf fans. The President's Cup is taking place right now. And does anybody really care? The entire golf world gets totally siked up about The Ryder Cup, which takes place on even numbered years and pits the US against Europe in head-to-head golf matches. It's crazy, fans are wild, they yell, both sides just want to kick the crap out of the other. It's almost like a soccer match in golf. But The President's Cup is more of a friendly engagement. A nice competition between the best golfers in the US and "the rest of the world" (aka, not Europe). Their jovial, coureous, and everybody wants the matches to be of good spirit and one accord. Very weird. Regardless, Tiger kicked some tail yesterday, which is all I really care about. He's only 4 months older than me, about $500,000,000 richer, and I've been following his career since he was about 13 years old. Amazing. Hope to get to see him play someday. If I'm lucky, maybe in the cosmic scheme of things, my son and his daughter could end up together. Sam Alexis Woods-Edelen...has a good ring to it.

uncle jason

2007-09-26T17:55:00.000-04:00

Last night I became an uncle for the first time. My sister Kari Jo delivered a 7lb 12oz baby boy - Grayson Carter Booe - at about 8:58pm. For any of you Bible College people out there, both I, my sister, and her husband Rodney graduated from KCC...now KCU. KCU is located in Grayson, Ky, which is in Carter county. Hence, Grayson Carter. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures yet. I'm really excited to have the chance to be that "cool uncle" that we all remember from when we were kids. If you didn't get to have a cool uncle growing up, I'm sorry, but you really missed out.

I'm 4 1/2 years older than my sister...I also have another younger sister and a younger brother. I have some pretty good memories of Kari Jo when she was about 2-3 years old. I can remember some pretty major fights we had when we were roughly 12 and 8 years old. I recall founding the first FCA at my high school when I was a senior, and thinking it was awesome that my sister and some of her 8th grade friends were members of it. I remember one night at church camp around 1995 or 1996 when she and I hugged and cried for a really long time. I remember the summer of 1998 when she made sort of a last minute decision to attend college at KCC, and thinking what a bummer it was that we wouldn't be able to be students there at the same time, since I had just graduated. Her husband and I lived on the same floor of the same dorm for a while. I don't think he thought much of me at that time. We're better friends now. =)

I remember participating in her wedding, and not feeling weird about the fact that she was married before I was. I felt very proud not too many months ago when she completed her Master's degree in education. She's certainly proven to be an excellent daughter, wife, teacher, younger sister, older sister, and an awesome aunt to our son Eli. And she'll certainly be an incredible mother.

church signs from hell

2007-09-24T17:01:00.001-04:00

I love - and hate - the signs you find in front of most churches in the south. Maybe in the north and west too, but I haven't seen enough of them to know. Here's one I just found that made me laugh.

I just don't understand the motivation behind church signs. Very rarely have I encountered one that genuinely captured my interest in a way that made me think, "I think it might be enjoyable to visit that church one day." They mostly make me think, "what jerks", or "how stupid", or "I want to throw eggs at that sign".

Maybe the funniest one I ever read - right here in Knoxville - said "Church parking lot is for church members only. Violaters will be baptized." Pretty awesome, huh?

Do you have any favorite church signs that you've seen?

bad night of sleep in a campus house

2007-09-21T07:19:00.001-04:00

It's 7:20am in Johnson City, TN. I'm sitting at an open computer on the 3rd floor of an old student fellowship campus house on the campus of ETSU. 7 of us arrived here last night after playing 18 holes of disc golf in Knoxville. In about 30 minutes, we're headed out to try and play 4 different 18 hole courses by the end of the day today.

We went to "bed" around midnight. Bed meaning really really old couches spread throughout the 3 floors of the house. I finally fell asleep around 2:30am. Woke up around 6:45am. I'm really exhausted, but ready to hit the courses!

These old campus houses are amazing. There's probably 3000 square feet of space in here. Room to sleep 30-40 if they wanted. Old, crooked, creaky hardwood floors. Huge back deck. Old tired walls filled with event flyers and student's favorite scripture verses written in Sharpie marker. Two kitchens, a wide open gathering room on the main floor. A dingy smelling basement with a warped floor and an old Nintendo 64 with some cool games like hockey and Mortal Combat 4. And it works. But there's only one full bathroom. And the toilet in it barely flushes. Definitely not a real livable house. But I don't think anyone actually lives in here, so I guess it doesn't really matter. Even so, as I sit here and type, it's almost like I can feel the ghost of a frustrated college student breathing on my neck, as if he thinks I'm writing an important term paper than he can copy verbatim and turn in to the professor before I do. Kind of gives me the old Blair Witch Project goose bumps. I think I'll go ahead and stop before an exorcism become necessary.

a reminder on how to live

2007-09-20T07:40:00.000-04:00

On my friend Mark's blog, he's reminded us that it's been 10 years since the death of Rich Mullins. What a loss. This reminder has been bringing the homeless/poor community to the forefront of my mind. My wife recently - and probably for the first time ever - was compelled to help a homeless man she encountered. She bought him food from a drive-in and gave him some money. When she gave this to him, he simply yelled out something like "alright!" and took off running. She wasn't sure what to think about his reaction.

I recently got on the interstate when leaving work, and there was about a 25 year old guy on the exit. Looked more like a cross country hitcher than actually homeless. But he was holding one of those classic cardboard signs. Except his said, in really big letters, "I'm Nice".

Here's what I'm eventually trying to get to with this thought. I can't count how many times in my life I've thought how great it would be to live a life like Rich's life. Very few possessions, traveling the country, commonly befriending people in bars, choosing to live at times among the poorest of people. I'd always heard that Rich never really knew how much money he truly earned. Everything he earned went straight to his home church. Then, he instructed them to pay him as a salary each year the equivalent of what the median income of a single-income wage earner was in the US....which, in the 1990's, I remember hearing was about $25,000 yearly. He chose to live on $25,000 a year, simply so he could resist the pride, ego, and temptation that come with money. And so he could better identify with the common man.

I always thought that was incredible. For a long time, I really felt drawn toward a life of minimalism. Possibly the mission field in a poor area. Maybe working with some type of organization in poor areas of the US. The few times in my life that I've actually done something to truly serve the poor, it was so very gratifying.

I'm saddened of how things have changed. By how important money has become in my life...in my family's life. How Erin and I squabble about it, sometimes needlessly, mostly because of my issues. How I sometimes feel poor simply because the people I'm around at church or at work have nicer homes or more expensive vehicles than we do. It's so stupid and petty. Thinking about Rich's life and what his life meant to me has really got me thinking about how lucky and truly blessed I am. But also how I've done little to help those less fortunate. And that must change.

i'm a little behind

2007-09-19T10:15:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't said much in the last week. I've been pretty good at posting regularly. However, I've been totally swamped. I've got more to do at work than I can even stomach thinking about. On top of that, I started getting sick on Monday. I worked late Monday, and 3 times before I left work, I was hugging the toilet trying to puke. When I'm sick, I usually feel better if I puke. But nothing...just a bunch of dry heaving. The whole way driving home I was praying that I wouldn't have to pull over to the side of the road. Thanks God. Missed work yesterday sick. Did nothing but lay in bed and on the couch from 7:00pm Monday night until 4:00pm Tuesday afternoon. Now back at work....and even more behind. Hence the lack of posting. And the lack of constructive thought.

Tomorrow after work, I'm heading out with some guys from church on a little 2 day disc golf trip through east Tennessee. I'm siked up, but I'm already preparing for the fact that my arm might practically fall off before we get back. I'm definitely packing lots of Ibuprofen. Wish me luck.

i'm confused

2007-09-13T17:15:00.000-04:00

Do you, like me, get confused about consumer pricing? We're sort of taught to believe that as "technology" improves, the prices of things that technology is applied to goes down. TV's are a good example. New, advanced TV model comes out, and the TV is $5000.00. Technology improves, that same tv is $3000.00 a year later. More technology, and soon the TV is available for $1500.00.

Same thing with cell phones, right? Except that when NEW phones come out, they continually are higher in price than previous new models. Soon after that they're cheaper than the phone you bought 7 years ago that felt like a big remote control. So are they cheaper, or more expensive? Or both? My first nice cell phone in 2000 cost me about $125.00. The phone I have now is much nicer and only cost $50.00, but that's because it was on some sort of closeout special. The phone I liked would have cost about $50.00 IF I was a new subscriber, but was about $150.00 since I was only a renewing subscriber. That seems confusing too. Isn't it better to offer things to KEEP your subscribers, rather than to tick them off?

Technology has certainly improved the way automobiles have been built over the years. Countless workers are laid off because machines do the jobs they used to do. But auto prices keep going up each and every year. My first car - a 1987 Ford Escort - cost me $2300, had 60,000 miles when I bought it, and last me over 4 years. There's not a car out there for $2300 now that I would trust to drive across the street to Weigles. But doesn't the advances in factory technology make cars cheaper and faster to build?

And how is it that CD's are pretty much the same price they were 12 years ago? Or maybe even more expensive in some cases? Are the artists just making a ton more money off of CD sales than they used to, or does it really cost the same to make a CD as it did in 1992, when I picked up my first DC Talk cd..."Free at Last", for about $15.00?

I really just get the sense that it's all about greed. Apple charges $599 for a new phone, not because that's its true market value, but just because they can. My wife loves finding shirts on sale for $7.00 when they were originally $42.00. Doesn't that make you wonder about the actual value of a $42.00 shirt? When you go to that store in the mall and buy the $35.00 jeans, do you ever stop to think about the time 6 months ago when they were on sale for $18.00, and realize you might be getting jipped? Do you really wear them that much longer than you would a $14.00 pair of Wranglers from Walmart? And are they really made that differently to justify a 150% higher price?

It's gotten me to the point that I have little joy in buying things when, really, there used to be joy in the obtaining of something new. I can't stop wondering if it's worth it, and if it's 30% cheaper at the next store down the street. Problem is I don't want to take the time to drive down there and see. So I buy something I need just hoping it will last and praying I don't walk in a store 2 days later and see the same thing for less.

I'm going now. I want a hamburger. I just can't decide whether to get the $1.00 Double Cheeseburger, the $2.59 Single, the $3.39 Whopper with bacon, or just buy 4 patties from Krogers for $3.00 and actually invest the time and effort to cook them. Almost makes me not hungry anymore.

moving on...

2007-09-11T12:43:00.000-04:00

Moving On. Our vacation was great. It was the first time since 2000 that either Erin or I had been to the ocean. We look forward to taking Eli on our next beach trip. Every time we saw other couples with kids on the beach, we missed him that much more.

Charleston, SC is a great place to go if you want to go to the beach, but don't really want to spend all day there. Downtown "historic" Charleston is basically a place you can walk around for 2-3 hours and get a glimpse of what colonial city living looked like 250 years ago. Some of the homes have literally existed that long. A downtown church that was commissioned in the 1750's actually has a cemetary in which two original signers of the Declaration of Independence were buried...and the original tombstones are still there. The folks who live in Charleston seem committed to keeping their city historic and beatifully asthetic.

Although the beach was great, I'm really still more of an outdoors/nature type of person. I hope in the years to come to visit Yellowstone, Alaska, Canada, Grand Canyon, Montana, Vermont in the fall, Niagra, etc. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

going dark...

2007-08-31T11:47:00.000-04:00

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?

2007-08-29T17:49:00.001-04:00

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

2007-08-27T11:21:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-23T12:03:00.000-04:00

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?