I really like this one...
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Funk
This has been the proverbial "one of those days." I tend to blog more on those days... so I'm not always depressed... it just seems that way. :)
Actually, I'm not all that depressed, just faced with the reality of life which is a lot less glamorous than the picket fence picture we paint in childhood.
Both my daughter and wife are sick. I was cleaning up baby vomit to start my morning. This transitioned into doing laundry. My wife is sick so I try as best as I can to make her comfortable. I work a bit from home, make lunch for us...and leave for my office.
I go to work and "one of those days" just continues. It was one of those times when you work and put in the time... and nothing happens. I missed a meeting. I got an email that could have been bad, but turned out manageable. I worked on a message... consisting of staring at a computer screen trying to make sense of stuff that made perfect sense the week before. I had a meeting with my creative team that I was so out of that it I felt it was a waste of their time. I was reminded that my worship leader is leaving and we have to find a replacement...
I came home to my sick wife and daughter...
I made dinner for Laura and me, fed Lydia, cleaned up dinner, clean up Lydia. I got her ready for bed... just in time for her to start crying again for mommy. So Laura got to put her to bed and cuddle with her (which is why you have kids...the 30 minutes putting them to bed... it makes up for all the time cleaning up vomit.)
So rather I sit here and type as a way to vent. As a way to connect. Maybe to others, maybe to God... maybe even to myself.
Actually, I'm not all that depressed, just faced with the reality of life which is a lot less glamorous than the picket fence picture we paint in childhood.
Both my daughter and wife are sick. I was cleaning up baby vomit to start my morning. This transitioned into doing laundry. My wife is sick so I try as best as I can to make her comfortable. I work a bit from home, make lunch for us...and leave for my office.
I go to work and "one of those days" just continues. It was one of those times when you work and put in the time... and nothing happens. I missed a meeting. I got an email that could have been bad, but turned out manageable. I worked on a message... consisting of staring at a computer screen trying to make sense of stuff that made perfect sense the week before. I had a meeting with my creative team that I was so out of that it I felt it was a waste of their time. I was reminded that my worship leader is leaving and we have to find a replacement...
I came home to my sick wife and daughter...
I made dinner for Laura and me, fed Lydia, cleaned up dinner, clean up Lydia. I got her ready for bed... just in time for her to start crying again for mommy. So Laura got to put her to bed and cuddle with her (which is why you have kids...the 30 minutes putting them to bed... it makes up for all the time cleaning up vomit.)
So rather I sit here and type as a way to vent. As a way to connect. Maybe to others, maybe to God... maybe even to myself.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Hear that sound?
That is the sound of the proverbial can of worms being opened. And here I stand with my can opener.
So I have bad feelings about this.
No matter what your view on the practice of homosexuality, I'm not sure this is a biblical solution.
So I have bad feelings about this.
No matter what your view on the practice of homosexuality, I'm not sure this is a biblical solution.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Will I be alone?
Will everyone miss the time change? Will I be speaking to a bunch of empty chairs?
My phone (which serves as my alarm) didn't catch the time change. Of course, once I turned it off and then back on...THEN it figured it out, but by then I was still an hour later than I wanted. Maybe it's time for an alarm clock?
I think I am "in favor" of the early time change, but the first day is always hard. Can't they figure out a way to do it a minute at a time over a period of 60 days?
No... Sprint would mess that up.
My phone (which serves as my alarm) didn't catch the time change. Of course, once I turned it off and then back on...THEN it figured it out, but by then I was still an hour later than I wanted. Maybe it's time for an alarm clock?I think I am "in favor" of the early time change, but the first day is always hard. Can't they figure out a way to do it a minute at a time over a period of 60 days?
No... Sprint would mess that up.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Highlighters
"You guys are all into that born again thing, which is great. We do need to be born again, since Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus. But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy too.
[And he paused in awkward silence]
"But I guess that's why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest."
[Rich Mullins speaking at a chapel service in Wheaton, IL.]
A while back, I was looking through the bible I had in college. I was looking at the things I had written in the margins, the passages I highlighted (my campus ministry was big on highlighters). But mostly I was looking at the questions I asked. And I was struck by something. Most of them were questions I don't ask anymore. Not because I have the answers, but because I have bigger questions.
Many of my questions in college were about "them." Other people. ("What about the person on the island of [Bowa Bowa] who doesn't hear about Jesus?") Or they were about theological issues ("How can people NOT believe that adult baptism is necessary for salvation!!! It's right there in the bible!" AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was in the Church of Christ at the time.)
I "used" the bible a lot...reading it topically on subjects like baptism, predestination, homosexuality, women in ministry...mostly to prove the things I was being taught at the time (Which is strange if you think about it).
Back then, we called it "defending our faith." I'm not sure what I call it now.
I loved highlighters.
Now I'm older. Maybe more cynical, but probably just more awestruck by the Uncaged Lion ("...He is not a tame Lion...but he is good.").
Maybe I like letting The Lion out of the cage more. He never really belonged there in the first place...
And apparently the "cage" didn't hold him anyway. (1 Cor. 15:54)
But what that means is that, more and more, I keep running into This Lion in random places. He is not contained by my little study guides. He sneaks into my life... sometimes he prowls into the places I would least expect Him. My worry, my eating, my understanding poverty, my understanding of my poverty in riches, my relationship with my neighbors, my buying patterns, my relationship with the earth and the environment. Rather than Him being all consumed that I looked at pornography (my big college struggle), He asks me to question why pornography exists in the first place. Why do we live in a world that objectifies people? Why do we think that lust satisfies? What about the young girls (and boys) who are objects of the porn trade?
The questions are bigger, and they are not as easy to answer... there are not enough highlighters. And the answers don't fit into the study guide blanks. Sometimes they seem at odds with them.
It was easier when it was just me, my bible (and study guide!)...
And my highlighter.
[And he paused in awkward silence]
"But I guess that's why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest."
[Rich Mullins speaking at a chapel service in Wheaton, IL.]
A while back, I was looking through the bible I had in college. I was looking at the things I had written in the margins, the passages I highlighted (my campus ministry was big on highlighters). But mostly I was looking at the questions I asked. And I was struck by something. Most of them were questions I don't ask anymore. Not because I have the answers, but because I have bigger questions.
Many of my questions in college were about "them." Other people. ("What about the person on the island of [Bowa Bowa] who doesn't hear about Jesus?") Or they were about theological issues ("How can people NOT believe that adult baptism is necessary for salvation!!! It's right there in the bible!" AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was in the Church of Christ at the time.)
I "used" the bible a lot...reading it topically on subjects like baptism, predestination, homosexuality, women in ministry...mostly to prove the things I was being taught at the time (Which is strange if you think about it).
Back then, we called it "defending our faith." I'm not sure what I call it now.
I loved highlighters.
Now I'm older. Maybe more cynical, but probably just more awestruck by the Uncaged Lion ("...He is not a tame Lion...but he is good.").
Maybe I like letting The Lion out of the cage more. He never really belonged there in the first place...
And apparently the "cage" didn't hold him anyway. (1 Cor. 15:54)
But what that means is that, more and more, I keep running into This Lion in random places. He is not contained by my little study guides. He sneaks into my life... sometimes he prowls into the places I would least expect Him. My worry, my eating, my understanding poverty, my understanding of my poverty in riches, my relationship with my neighbors, my buying patterns, my relationship with the earth and the environment. Rather than Him being all consumed that I looked at pornography (my big college struggle), He asks me to question why pornography exists in the first place. Why do we live in a world that objectifies people? Why do we think that lust satisfies? What about the young girls (and boys) who are objects of the porn trade?
The questions are bigger, and they are not as easy to answer... there are not enough highlighters. And the answers don't fit into the study guide blanks. Sometimes they seem at odds with them.
It was easier when it was just me, my bible (and study guide!)...
And my highlighter.
Monday, March 05, 2007
An "Inconvenient Truth"
POWER: GORE MANSION USES 20X AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD; CONSUMPTION INCREASE AFTER 'TRUTH'
Mon Feb 26 2007 17:16:14 ET
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through free market policy
solutions, issued a press release late Monday:
Last night, Al Gore's global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.
Gore's mansion, [20-room, eight-bathroom] located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).
In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.
The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh-more than 20 times the national average.
Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh-guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore's average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.
Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore's energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.
Gore's extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore's mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.
"As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk to walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use," said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.
In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.
For Further Information, Contact:
Nicole Williams, (615) 383-6431
editor@tennesseepolicy.org
Mon Feb 26 2007 17:16:14 ET
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through free market policy
solutions, issued a press release late Monday:
Last night, Al Gore's global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.
Gore's mansion, [20-room, eight-bathroom] located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).
In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.
The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh-more than 20 times the national average.
Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh-guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore's average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.
Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore's energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.
Gore's extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore's mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.
"As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk to walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use," said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.
In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.
For Further Information, Contact:
Nicole Williams, (615) 383-6431
editor@tennesseepolicy.org
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Giving up Christianity
Well... it's over. James Cameron (director of Titanic and self proclaimed, "King of the World") has debunked the "myth" of Jesus raising from the dead. In this "revolutionary discovery" [yawn] they have found Jesus tomb.
Don't people read?
Why is this news?
This was found over 25 years ago! Archeologist dismissed it and said it was ridiculous! ("Wow, someone named "Maria!" Never heard THAT name before!)
Three sentences from the article say it all...
"To a layman's eye it seems pretty darn compelling," executive producer James Cameron, the Canadian director of the movie Titanic, said at a press conference in New York.
Wow... "pretty darn compelling." [yawn]
"A senior Israeli archaeologist who thoroughly researched the tomb after its discovery, and at the time deciphered the inscriptions, cast serious doubt on the documentary's claim."
But Cameron finds it, "pretty darn compelling." [double yawn]
"Professor Juergen Zangenberg, an expert on the New Testament at the Dutch University of Leiden, said the documentary's claim was unrealistic, and more likely "about money and headlines".
NO... not about money and headlines! NO... this is about the search for truth! This is about archeology and science... pretty darn compelling stuff!
[wipes sarcasm from dripping chin]
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
worth dying for...
"Essentially, I went to Iraq because I believe in a God of scandalous grace. I have pledged allegiance to a King who loved evildoers so much he died for them, teaching us that there is something worth dying for but nothing worth killing for."
Shane Claiborne, talking about why he went as a peacekeeper to Iraq
From "The Irresistible Revolution"
Shane Claiborne, talking about why he went as a peacekeeper to Iraq
From "The Irresistible Revolution"
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Waking up is "hard" to do?
Not the greatest pictures... but man... I wish we could all wake up like my daughter.
These are taken probably within 2 minutes of each other...
These are taken probably within 2 minutes of each other...
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Pulling back
My daughter is growing up... and it is just amazing to watch. She was around 6 months old when I took this picture. That is her sleeping... as caught by her baby monitor. (My wife and I have decided we are going to keep this camera well into her teen years.) We call this, "Lydia TV!" ("All Lydia, all the time.")It is amazing how much joy this video baby monitor has brought to our lives. Originally purchased for her safely/my paranoia, it has been a bonding thing for my wife and me as we watch her sleep. When we first got it, she would easily fit within the shot on the camera. Sometimes during the night, she would slip down out of the view of the camera. (The vanishing baby trick.) By the time this was taken, she could not fit all of her body in the shot.
Eventually, I had to pull back. In two years, she has grown so much that now, in order to see her, we moved the camera back so that, basically, her entire crib is in the shot. Where she once had so much room in her crib it was laughable, she now often has limbs sticking out one side with other limbs sticking out the other. As she grows, continual adjustments had to be made.I don't know, but maybe much of parenting is learning the art of pulling back. I'm not sure what this means exactly, but I know after 2 years, the way I relate to my daughter is already changing. She is getting some independence. Although most of the time, she still would rather be with her mother or me... every now and then, she just wants to be alone. And so I pull back.
By pulling back, I get perspective. By pulling back, more comes into my vision.
But it's hard... and many people don't navigate this well.
"And a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife... "
"God, remind me that the "one flesh" relationship is with my wife... not my daughter. Remind me that my goal in life is not to cleave to her, but to my wife. That our marriage was meant to be permanent, and that the goal of parenting is designed to be temporary. Help me to enjoy these years with her to their fullest, to help her to grow... and to pull back."
Monday, February 12, 2007
Haggard
My sincere hope is that my collegue is on the road to healing and restoration, but it takes me almost three weeks to change my socks.
Friday, February 09, 2007
I knew it!
Okay, my blog strike is over. Rumor has it that someone has snuck on my computer over the past couple of days, logged on using my username and password, and has been making posts using my name!
The nerve of some people!
I, for one, have been wayyyyyy to busy to do something as worthless as blog.
But now, for the really important stuff.
Ready?
I'm glad I'm using Safari and Firefox.
My friend Tobias was right.
Bill Gates is the anti-Christ.
And I have found proof.
Now, wasn't that worth the wait until I finished my blog strike?
The nerve of some people!
I, for one, have been wayyyyyy to busy to do something as worthless as blog.
But now, for the really important stuff.
Ready?
I'm glad I'm using Safari and Firefox. My friend Tobias was right.
Bill Gates is the anti-Christ.
And I have found proof.
Now, wasn't that worth the wait until I finished my blog strike?
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
On Strike
Due to the comments of certain members of the blogging community, I am officially on a blog strike. It appears my comments are not prized and my valuable opinions aren't sought.
I feel nothing but disillusionment. :O)
I also am way too busy, with way too much to do, to spend anytime reading certain blogs of little or no sociological value.
I hope you all enjoy writing your posts without my commentary
Monday, February 05, 2007
Some Favorites, part 1
On Sunday, the team that went to Honduras got together to show our favorite pictures. Thought I would share some with you all. I have nothing profound to say and won't comment on any of them...
yep... here they are...
Friday, February 02, 2007
Thursday, February 01, 2007
MP3
Okay...Does anyone know how I can post an MP3 song to this blog?
Can any of you do this through your hosting spot?
I really want you to hear a song.
No, seriously.
No, you really need to hear this.
Can any of you do this through your hosting spot?
I really want you to hear a song.
No, seriously.
No, you really need to hear this.
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